Alaska Railbelt Carbon Capture and Storage

What is the ARCCS project?

The ARCCS project is a carbon dioxide storage feasibility study evaluating the CO₂ storage capacity in northwestern Cook Inlet near the Beluga River field. The project will evaluate deep geological sites in northwestern Cook Inlet to screen for their potential as a commercial scale carbon dioxide storage site. Potential sites include depleted natural gas fields and deeper saline aquifer formations in the area. The project also evaluates CO₂ pipeline transportation feasibility from a proposed biomass-coal power plant in West Susitna and two existing natural gas power plants in Anchorage.

ARCCS project steps include:

• Data collection.
• Geologic analysis.
• Subsurface modeling in support of storage characterization and risk assessment and monitoring plan development.
• Pipeline routing and concept design.
• Identification of project contractual and regulatory requirements.
• Community outreach.

Why is a new power plant vital for Alaska?

For more than 70 years, residents in Alaska’s Railbelt, from Homer to Fairbanks, have relied on natural gas for industrial and home heating and for making electricity — reliable, affordable and available instantaneously. The impending shortage of natural gas supply leaves a significant shortage of electricity for the Railbelt, even with proposed wind and solar farms.

Two recent studies found that even with 80% of Railbelt power provided by renewables, 80% of existing power generation would need to be retained as firm power backup [1]. Existing natural gas power plants will soon require either importing LNG, building the gas pipeline from Prudhoe Bay, or quickly finding more natural gas in the Cook Inlet.

[1] Achieving an 80% Renewable Portfolio in Alaska's Railbelt: Cost Analysis. Golden, CO: National Renewable Energy Laboratory. NREL/TP-6A40-85879. Denholm, Paul, Marty Schwarz, and Lauren Streitmatter. 2024.

Why ARCCS is important for Alaska?

With Southcentral’s natural gas resources projected to rapidly decline, ensuring Alaskans along the Railbelt continue to have access to affordable and reliable energy for electricity and home heating requires addressing these evolving challenges. Power and gas utilities are evaluating importing liquefied natural gas, developing new wind and solar farms backed up by existing natural gas and coal power plants and building a new biomass-coal power plant. ARCCS aims to show that the storage sites and pipeline transport are feasible, ushering in the advancement of carbon dioxide capture projects that benefit the Railbelt.