Ringside: Evaluating Underground CO2 Sequestration in California

While the confirmed skeptic will consider Carbon Capture and Sequestration (CCS) to be the ultimate waste of money, it nonetheless is happening. Billions of dollars have already been committed, with no end in sight. Regardless of how one might judge its necessity, having some facts about CCS belongs in any serious discussion about California’s energy future. So here goes, starting with natural gas used for generating electricity.

According to the California Air Resources Board, natural gas fueled electricity generating plants emit approximately 42 million metric tons (MMT) of CO2 per year, which is 11 percent of California’s total emissions of CO2, estimated at 381 MMT in 2021. These plants also generated over 97,000 gigawatt-hours of electricity, fully 50 percent of California’s in-state electricity production in that year. What if all of that CO2 could be pumped underground? ---More...

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