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Carbon Capture and Storage – Why It’s Essential
EPA’s move last week to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from new power plants marks the beginning of an era of widespread use of carbon capture and storage (CCS) in fossil power generation. Going forward, in the absence of any other technology allowing emissions reductions, all new coal-fired power plants must…
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First Things First: Capping Corn-Based Biofuel Production
When Congress dramatically expanded the Renewable Fuel Standard in 2007, supporters of the revised RFS—which is supposed to push 36 billion gallons of biofuel into the US fuel market by 2022—touted the program as a solution to our overdependence on foreign oil, a cure for flagging rural economies, and a…
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Seismicity and carbon storage: MIT responds to Zoback
In the December 2012 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), a published letter by MIT researchers Ruben Juanez, Howard Herzog and Brad Hagar provides several cogent geophysical counter-arguments to a 2012 PNAS Perspectives piece by Stanford researchers Mark Zoback and Steve Gorelick. The two had…
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The Dash for Gas – No Climate Cure Without CCS
With the advent of unconventional gas technologies, the energy industry has turned toward natural gas as an alternative to coal, a step to energy independence and a solution to climate change worldwide. However, without CCS, natural gas will be unable to achieve needed reductions from the utility sector without carbon…
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Seismic Risk Won’t Threaten the Viability of Geologic Carbon Storage
This week’s rumblings against carbon capture and storage (CCS) as a powerful means to mitigate global climate change come not from any natural geological source, but solely from an opinion piece published in this week’s Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (PNAS) Perspectives. Despite the arguments of two Stanford…
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Fracking and Geologic Carbon Storage Can Safely Coexist
A recent paper by Princeton researchers published in Environmental Science and Technology questions the compatibility of hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) and geologic carbon storage and has received an unwarranted amount of attention. Despite the conclusions of the paper, the overwhelming evidence suggests that geologic storage can indeed coexist safely with other…
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Enhanced Oil Recovery Takes a Big Step Forward
There was some rare bipartisan good news on the Hill this week, with the release of the National Enhanced Oil Recovery Initiative (NEORI) study and policy recommendations. Congressman Mike Conaway (R-TX) joined Senator Kent Conrad (D-ND) for the announcement in the Dirksen Senate Office Building, and three other Senators (Baucus,…
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Underground Coal Gasification – Coming Soon to Wyoming?
After years of talk, things are starting to get real: developers are looking at pioneering underground coal gasification (“UCG”) projects in Wyoming. Some may see these projects as first steps to finally producing truly clean energy from coal, while others may perceive them as unnecessary, risky experiments. What’s the truth?…
