WIDESPREAD CCUS DEPLOYMENT COULD LEAD TO $200B IN ANNUAL REVENUES, COAL COUNCIL SAYS

Tamar Hallerman
GHG Monitor
06/22/12

The widespread deployment of carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) technologies at domestic coal-fired units and liquid fuels production plants could boost oil production by more than 3.5 million barrels per day for decades while leading to $200 billion in industry sales, according to a new study from the National Coal Council (NCC). The NCC, a coalition of coal industry stakeholders and experts tasked with advising the secretary of Energy on coal issues, voted unanimously June 22 to present the CCUS study to Energy Secretary Steven Chu. The report, which NCC Executive Vice President Robert Beck said is based on the input of more than 60 coal and oil experts, woks under an ‘aspirational scenario’ through 2035 that applies EOR operations to 100 GW of coal capacity as well as increased coal-to-liquids fuels plants. The robust deployment of carbon capture technology and enhanced oil recovery on that capacity could help net roughly $60 billion in federal, state and local tax revenue while creating more than 1 million jobs and also reducing oil imports and CO2 emissions by 2035, the report said.

However, reaching that large-scale build out of EOR will require “massive amounts” of CO2 that is derived from large concentrated stationary sources, the report says. Growing CCUS and EOR infrastructure, particularly in the Ohio River Valley, could help reach that goal, the report says, given the area’s concentration of coal capacity. “The dynamic activity associated with deploying advanced coal, carbon capture and EOR technologies will stimulate the economy, provide jobs, revive established industries and create new ones,” the report concludes. “But, without a facilitating regulatory regime in place to assure proper integration of these three elements, attaining these benefits will remain elusive as all nations struggle to meet the rising tide of energy demand amid higher prices, uncertainty, international tension and the need to improve our global environment.”

NCC Recommends More Regulatory Support

In order to build out the market for CCUS and EOR nationwide, the report calls for the Secretary of Energy to ensure that there is regulatory certainty on the federal, state and local levels to help incentive the technology. It also asks the secretary to support the development of CO2 pipeline networks with industry, particularly in the Ohio River Valley. The department should also continue R&D and demonstrations-scale work on developing advanced coal technologies, the report says.