Abby L. Harvey
GHG Monitor
7/10/2015
SCS Energy will have another six months to obtain its application for certification for the Hydrogen Energy California (HECA) carbon capture and storage project, the California Energy Commission decided last week. The project’s application for certification had been challenged by the Sierra Club, which called on the State to terminate the permitting process on the basis that SCS was not “pursuing its application with due diligence” and has not secured a site to sequester its captured CO2. Following the Sierra Club challenge, Jim Croyle, SCS CEO, filed a sworn declaration outlining SCS’s actions to pursue its application. “There is no reason for the Committee to disbelieve the sworn declaration. … The Committee finds that the facts set forth in Applicant’s declaration demonstrate that Applicant has acted with diligence in this case,” according to a Commission document released last week. Representatives from SCS did not respond to requests for comment this week.
Much of the delay cited by the Sierra Club resulted from the spin-off of Occidental Petroleum’s California operations. HECA had been in the process of signing an off-take agreement with Occidental Petroleum when the company announced the spin-off in February 2014. At that time, it appeared that the newly formed California Resources Corporation (CRC) would continue to work with HECA to develop an agreement. According to a May 26 filing with CEC, conversations between HECA and the company did and do continue. However, CRC has been focusing on “internal issues,” according to the filing, and time has run out for the inclusion of an off-take agreement with CRC in the project model, at least initially. HECA began looking into storage-only options in December 2014 with the help of scientists at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, as well as the West Coast Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership (WESTCARB).
In last week’s filing, the CEC found that the SCS was not at fault for the delay caused by the Occidental spin-off and that in working to find an alternative storage option, the company has shown a commitment to the project. “Upon learning of potential changes in its agreement with Occidental of Elk Hills, Applicant proceeded to work with Occidental of Elk Hills to develop a revised agreement, and to work to secure an alternative CO2 off-take agreement and carbon sequestration site. These facts establish that Applicant acted with the attention and care legally expected under the circumstances,” according to the document.
