Frank Paskvan (UAF-INE)
Haley Paine (AK DNR)
Laura Boomershine (AK DNR)
Christine Resler (ASRC)
Brent Sheets (UAF-INE)
7/2022–present
Alaska
Department of Energy through PCOR
The Alaska CCUS Workgroup was formed July 2022 to accelerate commercial carbon capture, use, and storage (CCUS) projects within the state. The workgroup’s mission is to attract new investments and to assure continued operations of power generation, industrial processes, and oil and gas production, all of which are carbon intensive activities vital to the state economy.
If you'd like to join this workgroup, send an email to CCUSAlaska@gmail.com
Figure 2 from CO2 Stationary Sources in Alaska (red) & Deep Sedimentary Basins (yellow)
[See item #7 below, Shellenbaum and Clough, 2010]
1. A 2-page summary of CCUS from the Global CCS Institute:
link: Understanding Carbon Capture and Storage (CSS 101)
1A. Link: Carbon Storage Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) from NETL, the National Energy Technology Laboratory. (click to open). NETL's page provides answers to Carbon Dioxide 101, Carbon Storage, and Permanence and Safety of CCS.
2. The NPC Roadmap to CCUS Deployment is a 2019 study provided to US Secretary of Energy. It offers a national Roadmap to CCUS deployment, including technology, economics, and other useful CCUS info. Paraphrasing this work, "To meet the dual challenge of increasing global energy demand and a growing population, there is a need to provide affordable, reliable energy while addressing the risks of climate change. The world gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to double in the next twenty years. With increasing GDP, energy consumption will also increase. Widespread CCUS deployment is essential to meeting this dual challenge at the lowest cost."
link: NPC Roadmap to CCUS Deployment
3. The following document was prepared by the Alaska CCUS Workgroup and UAF-INE in collaboration with the Department of Natural Resources. It summarizes work ahead of the legislative session on carbon storage:
link: Issue and Policy Review for Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS) in the State of Alaska, November 1, 2022
4. After reviewing prior work, the Workgroup requested a seismic hazards screening for carbon sequestration in Alaska from the DNR Engineering Geology Section. Statewide and regional (North Slope, Southcentral, and Interior) features were reviewed including mapped active faults and fault- cored folds, modern seismicity, anticipated peak ground acceleration (from USGS Probabilistic Seismic Hazard Analysis, 2007), and potential for fault surface ruptures. The North Slope is least seismically active. Southcentral, while seismically active, does not currently have faulting that extends from formation depths to surface and is considered amenable for carbon storage, as evidenced by sizeable oil and gas accumulations. The Interior target, within the Northern Foothills Fold and Thrust Belt, has greater potential for surface rupturing faults than the North Slope or Southcentral [Salisbury 2022]. Local, site- specific analysis will be needed for any potential storage project:
link: Seismic Hazard Considerations for Carbon Sequestration in Alaska
5. The Global CCS Institute publishes a summary of CCUS status and update on technology, finances, key concepts in appendicies.
link: Annual 2022 Global CCS Institute report on CCUS status
6. A discussion of the “Alaska CCUS Workgroup and a Roadmap to Commercial Deployment” was shared with Senate Resources on March 6, 2023 regarding Senate Bill 49, a bill related to Carbon Storage. The meeting record includes:
7. Alaska geologic carbon sequestration potential estimate: Screening saline basins and refining coal estimates, DNR, Shellenbaum, D., and Clough, J., 2010:
8. The USGS evaluated carbon dioxide storage resources for Alaska in 2014. Their report summarizes available data across the state, and where sufficient data is available, estimates storage potential.
link: USGS report, "Geologic framework for the national assessment of carbon dioxide storage resources: Alaska North Slope and Kandik Basin, Alaska", DOI 10.3133/ofr20121024I
9. The Cook Inlet Region Low Carbon Power Generation with Carbon Capture, Transport, and Storage (CCS) Feasibility Study evaluates a biomass-coal-fueled power plant with CCS as an alternative to natural gas for Southcentral and the Railbelt grid. The study shows that this option lowers the cost and the carbon footprint of electricity. The study also compares the cost of electricity from biomass-coal, with and without CCS, to the cost of electricity from natural gas, with and without CCS, at current and future gas prices, using three different approaches. The study concludes that biomass-coal energy supply with CCS is more economical and environmentally friendly than natural gas energy, and recommends specific actions to progress a new biomass-coal fired power plant with CCS using commercial technologies ready for deployment.
10. The University has performed research on a wide variety of topics. The search engine below returns a large number of hits under "carbon sequestration":
link: Search (alaska.edu)
