The Carbon Corner - Issue #15

Welcome back to another week of The Carbon Corner! Today, we are serving up the first issue of 2023! We hope you had an excellent start to the new year! We expect lots to happen in this space over the next year!

We have migrated this newsletter to ConvertKit from the Revue platform, so if you have any issues with delivery, please let us know at info@schaperintl.com.

Summit Carbon Solutions Update on 2,000 Mile Underground Pipeline

You may recall our earlier discussion of the Summit Carbon Solutions (SCS) pipeline that is planned to run across five Midwestern states for 2,000 miles. We have news that this project is still on track, with the anticipated start date of this year. Although massive, this $4.5 billion project should be completed by 2024.

The project requires a good bit of citizen approval, which the company has worked hard to gain with ease agreements and landowner property payments. As of December 19th, 50% of easement agreements have been executed, with 82% of Lake County's being executed. There is still some opposition, shown by the 70 lawsuits between SCS and landowners scheduled this year.

Although there is still some pushback, 3,400 easements have been signed, and $200 million has been distributed. So, for now, the project seems to be moving toward construction. We will have to see what 2023 brings!

Kern County's Idea of Carbon Management Business Park

Kern County, California, is conceptualizing a carbon park. Although the idea doesn't seem fully formed in terms of what all is encompassed, the county has an online meeting set for the middle of January that will relay more of the campaign.

The leaders have shared that CO2, pulled from the area or other nearby spots, will be captured and injected underground for storage. They expect to create 100,000 jobs during the construction phase and 4,000 permanent positions.

According to Lorelei Oviatt, Kern County's Planning and Natural Resources Department Director, "This is a concept and vision. The actual location and execution is being left to the private sector and property owners. Once one or more parks are designed by them, they would come to the county and would then consider it through a land use and (environmental review) process."

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Crescent Midstream joins CCUS Projects in Gulf of Mexico

Crescent Midstream (CM) has partnered with Spain's Repsol and Cox Oil to develop, as said by CM, "one of the Gulf of Mexico's largest CCS developments." The group joined to repurpose Cox's offshore infrastructure for carbon capture use. Cox has more than 600 wells in 66 fields.

Currently, front-end engineering and design have been completed for the 110-mile pipeline that will run from Geismar, Louisiana to Grand Isle. With this new partnership, the hope is that offshore wells will now have the potential to store in US hubs.

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U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Finalizes Guidance for DAC Hub Grants

In May 2022, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) published a draft of their guidance for Direct Air Capture (DAC) Hub grants. Now, eight months later, the department has finalized the guidelines.

While most of the policy remains the same, funding for projects tied to oil and gas production has reversed. Initially, funding was prohibited in this area; however, any project using CO2 for enhanced oil recovery can now qualify for the grant.

Some think this position has slowed the drive to lower emissions.

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Wyoming to Create New Energy Related Office

After receiving a federal grant funding of $700,000, Wyoming has decided to establish an office in its state that will focus solely on energy industry development. The newly established Wyoming Energy Regional Economic Coordination Office will work to create a plan for nuclear energy and carbon capture and storage.

The office plans to reach out to the public to ensure that the energy transition includes ideas from the community and is viable long-term.

Rocky Mountain Power Raising Electricity Rates for Future CCS Work

Rocky Mountain Power, a Wyoming electricity provider owned by PacifiCorp, will implement a .3% "carbon capture compliance" charge on bills starting February 1. The company will collect this fee in anticipation of future state energy costs. This was prompted by House Bill 200, which outlined a decline in the coal industry and called for Wyoming to generate "a percent" of its electricity from coal plants outfitted with CCS by 2030. Although the percentage has yet to be decided, the state is preparing now with this small fee.

The Rocky Mountain Power Integrated Resource Plan failed to identify any facilities that they plan to retrofit; however, PacifiCorp's David Eskelsen says the parent company is "fully committed [to CCS] as required by the Wyoming legislature and the Commission."

That it for this week! Thanks for joining us to catch up on the latest happenings in the Carbon Capture & Sequestration space.

Come visit us at https://schaperintl.com to find out more about partnering with us to advance your carbon capture site development or email us at info@schaperintl.com for more information.

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