Pa. sites may store carbon
HARRISBURG - A new state report says depleted oil and gas wells, coal beds that cannot be mined, and salt caverns in north-central and Western Pennsylvania are likely places to store carbon in order to use clean-coal technology and curb greenhouse gas emissions.
HARRISBURG - A new state report says depleted oil and gas wells, coal beds that cannot be mined, and salt caverns in north-central and Western Pennsylvania are likely places to store carbon in order to use clean-coal technology and curb greenhouse gas emissions.
Pennsylvania is taking the first steps toward developing a system to capture carbon dioxide emissions from industrial plants, compress and cool the gas and then transport it via pipelines for storage in underground "sinks" for thousands of years.
The report by the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources designates Western Pennsylvania as a primary likely storage location, since a lot is known about subsurface rock formations after a century and a half of oil and gas drilling.
"CO2 sequestration efforts in this area are unknown and require much effort to properly assess," according to the study by the department's Bureau of Topographic and Geologic Survey.
Larger sources of carbon dioxide emissions include power plants emitting more than 100,000 tons of carbon dioxide annually, iron and steel plants, refineries, and cement plants. Southwestern Pennsylvania has the largest coal-fired plants, emitting 15 million to 22 million tons of CO2 each year.
State Rep. Greg Vitali (D., Montgomery) said the study shows that Pennsylvania has the right geology to support the storage of C02 underground. The state is competing for federal stimulus dollars available for such projects.
Some environmentalists, however, have voiced concern about the idea of storing carbon dioxide underground, and another study due in November will examine possible risks.