Carbon capture to cost billions: Alberta report
Alberta has set aside $2 billion for a handful of carbon-capture test projects, but that is not initially enough to meet the province's goal of reducing CO2 by between 25 and 30 megatonnes a year by 2020, the Alberta Carbon Capture and Storage Development Council concluded in a report released Friday.
"We estimate that an investment of between $1 billion to $3 billion per year from the governments of Alberta and Canada will be required to promote further [carbon capture] projects after the first wave of demonstration projects. Industry will likewise need to shoulder significant additional investment," says the report.
"Energy consumers will ultimately bear a large share of the burden of the costs of [carbon capture]."
Extra cash would be needed "until such time as cost improvements and/or higher compliance costs level the field for industry worldwide."
'Expensive and currently uneconomic'
Carbon capture and storage means that the CO2 emitted from oil and gas operations, coal-fired power plants and industrial facilities is injected deep into the ground rather than released into the atmosphere.
Carbon storage development is "expensive and currently uneconomic," with a price tag of between $70 and more than $150 per tonne, states the report, which goes on to conclude there is nonetheless a "very solid long-term business case" in Alberta.
Around the world, CO2 is already injected into conventional oil reserves so even more oil can be pumped to the surface. The report suggests if oil sits at $75 US per barrel, storing 450 megatonnes of CO2 in Alberta would produce an extra 1.4 billion barrels of oil, translating into between $11 billion to $25 billion in provincial royalties and taxes.
Carbon capture and storage could also help address the "carbon footprint" of Alberta's coal reserves, the report says.
"Sustainable, coal-fired electricity generation is important to Alberta's continued competitiveness in an integrated North American energy market — but without [carbon capture], the acceptability of power from coal will be far from assured."
The report concludes that Alberta should complement any carbon capture and storage program with policies that promote the wise use of energy resources and green energy production.
The Alberta Carbon Capture and Storage Development Council is made up of academics, industry, and provincial and federal government representatives.
Alberta has said it hopes to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 200 megatonnes a year by 2050.
Critics have questioned Alberta's plan, arguing taxpayers should not have to pay to reduce the pollution created by industry, and instead the province should create regulations that force industry to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.