Carbon Sequestration/Carbon Capture and Geological Storage
- Reduction of carbon dioxide
emissions, the most significant green house gas released from large, industrial
point sources such as fossil fuel-fire electric power generation facilities, is
a high priority in the current portfolio of alternatives to address the specter
of global climate change.
- Considering the projected increase in demand for
electricity and current heavy reliance on fossil fuel for electric power
generation, Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) technologies are projected to play
a major role in the mitigation of a major source of carbon dioxide emissions
for the remainder of this century.
- Recent studies indicate that long term
storage of carbon dioxide in geological media, Carbon Geostorage (CGS), offers
the most promising alternative, both technically and economically, for CCS
systems in many locations.
- Implementation of CO2 capture and geological storage
(CCGS) technology at the scale needed to achieve a significant and meaningful
reduction in CO2 emissions requires three fundamental components:
- 1) Knowledge
of the CGS feasibility and capacity in proximity to large emissions sources,
- 2)
Public acceptance of this technology as a safe and effectively permanent approach
to point source green house gas emissions mitigation, and
- 3) Public recognition
and acceptance of the substantial cost of implementation of CCGS systems.
- These
fundamental research and public education/outreach challenges require a major
effort on the part of a host of agencies, both public and private, with
Research intensive Universities most ideally suited to lead the way.
