Reports & Research

Summary of Assessments on Carbon Capture and Storage

This four-page summary draws conclusions from three assessments done in 2009 on the viability of large-scale, integrated commercial CCS network in Pennsylvania. The concept is intended to get CCS to scale faster than planned by other state and Federal efforts by capturing both economies of scale through the use of shared infrastructure and the economic development benefits that would accrue to a state in a leadership role in deploying CCS. These three reports, along with DCNR’s Report of the Carbon Management Advisory Group published in May, 2008, are a part of DCNR’s continuing contribution to the formation of Pennsylvania’s policy response to the challenges of reducing the Commonwealth’s global warming emissions and building a sustainable economy for our state.

Read summary

The three assessments:

Assessment of Risk, Legal Issues, and Insurance for Geologic Carbon Sequestration in Pennsylvania Act 129 of 2008 required DCNR to assess the costs, potential risks, existing federal/state regulatory standards, and the types of insurance, bonds, other instruments needed for large-scale CCS network within Pennsylvania. This 402-page reports details the human-health, safety and environmental risks associated with CCS in Pennsylvania and potential means to mitigate them. Legal and insurance issues associated with future statewide geologic sequestration of CO2 in Pennsylvania are also evaluated. Read report Viability of a Large-Scale Carbon Capture & Sequestration Network in Pennsylvania In the summer of 2008, the Commonwealth, led by DCNR, partnered with the Clinton Climate Initiative to assess the technical and economic viability of a large-scale, integrated commercial CCS network in Pennsylvania. This report focuses on the first phase of such a network — the retrofit of six coal-fired power plants in central and southwest Pennsylvania. Later phases of a CCS network would involve the integration of additional power plants, industrial facilities, and new-build generation and the creation of transport and storage facilities. Read report Geologic Carbon Sequestration Opportunities in Pa. This 149-page report, required by Act 129 of 2008, contains detailed and technical information about the state’s geology to determine is the commonwealth has the geologic ability to store carbon dioxide underground to help mitigate climate changes caused by carbon. The assessment included reviewing available data on deep saline aquifers, depleted oil-and-gas reservoir rocks, unmineable coal beds, shales and thick salt beds. Most of the available data is from oil and gas well records from western Pennsylvania where such activity is more prevalent. The report found that four potential geologic formations could be candidates for sequestration in the western and north central regions, although these formations are known to underlie most areas of the state. Download report: Geologic Carbon Sequestration Opportunities in Pennsylvania* * CSTA report REV 1.1 - DCNR has determined that a calculation of the CO2 storage capacity of salt caverns contained in the original May 1, 2009 version of the report was incorrect. We have updated Section 4.1.2, page 73, with the correct CO2 volumetric storage estimate for a hypothetical salt cavern (~1.2 million metric tonnes) and provided additional explanation as to how this number was derived. In addition, related footnotes and pagination have been updated.

DCNR Carbon Management Report

To advance action on a host of state issues integrated with climate change (including energy, wood products, resource management and land use), DCNR spent the last two years (2006-2008) developing a Department Carbon Management Report. This initiative identified the agency’s best potential opportunities to directly achieve or through it programs influence state level carbon and methane reductions and related co-benefits.

The goal of the collaborative effort was to develop a carbon management report for DCNR that achieves specific estimated greenhouse gas reductions and co-benefits in the near and mid term through a range of specific new policies and programs, including expansion of existing efforts and the development of “learn as you go” pilots and demos.

Actions were identified through a consensus based, technical planning process. It included assessments of relevant carbon and methane emissions and storage sources and trends in Pennsylvania, and the benefits, costs, co-benefits and feasibility issues associated with specific GHG emissions reduction options by DCNR.

Recommendations to DCNR were developed jointly by members of a working group and consulting team (Carbon Management Advisory Group - CMAG) with the goal of adoption of specific actions that can be implemented solely by DCNR or in partnership with other agencies and institutions.

Background on the report development: