The US government announced $251 million for pollute gas capture and storage projects in seven states, with the goal of reducing global warming pollution from power plants and other industrial facilities.
Wednesday’s announcement is a vote of confidence in the new technology that proponents – often oil and gas companies – say can go a long way in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. However, environmentalists insist that the technology is a long way from being implemented on a large scale and that focusing on it distracts from the search for renewable energy alternatives.
Wednesday’s announcement, the billions of dollars passed through the legislature, and statements from President Joe Biden and climate envoy John Kerry make it clear that the government is increasing pressure on the gas capture and storage industry to show that the technology can do its job. Is.
“We are trying to completely raze the gas-handling industry to the ground,” said Noah Deutch, assistant secretary of the Energy Department’s Office of Gas Management.
In gas capture and storage, carbon dioxide is extracted either from a source of pollution or from the atmosphere, and stored deep underground. In some cases, carbon dioxide is transported from one state to another through pipelines and used for other purposes.
The projects are financed through the Department of Energy, with funds provided by the bipartisan Infrastructure Act, which earmarked $12 billion for that purpose. Recipients include universities and a major oil company, and come from several states, including Texas, Illinois, Georgia and Wyoming.
Most of the money, $242 million, will go to nine storage projects capable of storing at least 50 million metric tons of carbon dioxide, only a tiny fraction of the amount that goes into the atmosphere. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the United States will emit approximately 5.5 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide in 2021.
