Two companies seek to build the first sites in Kansas where carbon dioxide emissions get pumped deep underground to keep them out of the atmosphere, a practice that proponents argue will combat climate change but that many environmental groups oppose. The fledgling carbon sequestration industry is picking up pace globally, and geologists say rock formations beneath Kansas offer a bonanza of suitable locations for it. “Kansas has abundant geology that would be compatible with long-term permanent CO2 storage,” said Brendan Bream, a senior scientist at the Kansas Geological Survey. The Kansas Geological Survey envisions conducting a county-by-county study to identify suitable areas. The two proposals for the state’s first carbon sequestration wells are linked to ethanol plants in central Kansas. They’ll need to pass muster with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The proposals come amid a national trend of corn ethanol makers racing to access federal tax incentives that could make or break an industry at risk of being sidelined by newer biofuels with smaller carbon footprints. The wells would also mark a new chapter in Kansas’ foray into the world of carbon capture. So far, the state has three CO2 pipelines in southwest and southeast Kansas, and one well that repurposes the emissions from a Garden City ethanol plant into a tool for forcing hard-to-get fossil fuels out of the ground.
Source: KAKE – News
