CO₂ Injection Plans Announced

Three projects that will each inject more than 1 million tons of CO₂ into deep saline geologic formations were announced last week by the Department of Energy. The projects will cost $318 million over 10 years; $197 million will be provided by DOE. The department predicts that up to two years will be needed to investigate and prepare the sites before injection begins. The projects will inject CO₂ into the Tuscaloosa Formation running from Texas to Florida, into the Entrada Sandstone Formation in Colorado and Wyoming, and into formations in North Dakota and Alberta. The CO₂ sequestration projects will be the largest in the U.S. and among the largest in the world. They mark the first U.S. pilot projects for injecting CO₂ into saline formations, which are thought to be the best for containing carbon and to have the capacity to hold more than 100 years' worth of the world's output of the greenhouse gas. DOE did not identify which utilities and companies will provide the CO₂ or exactly where the injections will take place. The department stresses that the studies will evaluate where in the area future power plants, which are major sources of CO₂, may be located in order to provide easy access to sequestration sites.