click here to view Part 19

Carbon Capture and Sequestration

Our congressman, Bart Stupak announced gleefully the week of October 8th, 2009, that $2.7 million of federal stimulus funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA)were awarded to Wolverine Power for carbon capture.  I wrote about the stimulus bill on this blog and rereading shows me that there was 2.4 billion in the stimulus for carbon capture and sequestration projects.

The Advance quotes Stupak, “This funding will allow Wolverine Power to develop innovative new technologies to reduce carbon dioxide emissions while also creating jobs for our workers.  I am pleased Energy Secretary Steven Chu is investing this stimulus money in  northern Michigan so we can continue to be a leader in developing and implementing green technology here in Michigan and across the nation.”

First of all, Steven Chu didn’t invest anything, we have to pay for it with future taxation, but that aside, it is only a little over 2.7 million dollars.  With a little research I found out that because carbon capture and sequestration is not fully developed yet, it is very expensive.

As you can read from the Council for Climate Research’s 2008 NIChE Carbon Capture and Sequestration Conference

Particular focus is given to CO₂ capture from coal-fired power plants, because these plants account for about 33% of the total CO₂ emissions in the United States – more than the combined emissions from all other large point sources. CO₂ capture options for coal-fired plants include post-combustion capture (e.g., using amine or ammonia scrubbing to treat the flue gas from a pulverized coal (PC) plant), pre-combustion capture (e.g., using a physical absorption process to treat the synthesis gas in an integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) plant), and oxy-combustion (i.e., combusting coal in pure oxygen and recycled CO₂). Pilot- and/or commercial-scale demonstrations of these configurations are in various stages of development; a realistic timeframe for commercial deployment of these technologies is proposed. However, widespread deployment of CO₂ capture using today’s best available technologies would have a substantial impact on the nation’s economy and energy supply. Retrofitting a coal-fired power plant with amine scrubbing for 90% CO₂ capture can triple its cost of producing electricity and decrease its net electrical output by 30%. A new IGCC plant with CO₂ capture can have 50-100% greater capital costs and ≥60% greater cost of producing electricity than a new supercritical PC plant without CO₂ capture. Hence, there is a strong need for the continued development of technologies that have potential to reduce the costs and energy requirements associated with CO2 capture. (emphasis added mine)

So, basically, we will be taxed in the future for the project that is so cost-prohibitive and undeveloped, that Wolverine’s cost of doing business will skyrocket.  Much like President Obama said would happen and I discuss in Part 8.

Now, all this talk about CO2 has got to be put into perspective, and by doing so, I believe you will understand my opinion on the whole carbon project.

We exhale carbon dioxide and it is needed by plants to grow.  Carbon dioxide accounts for .004 % of the atmosphere.  The extremist environmental school of thought puts carbon dioxide as a major source of pollution and is what is causing global warming.  Remember, Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth was based on .7 degrees celcius increase over one hundred years.

The Supreme Court of the United States on April, 2, 2007, ruled in a 5-4 decision that th EPA has the authority to regulate greenhouse gases, an authority the current administration accepts with vigor.  Because of the extreme environmentalist view of the current administration, Wolverine, in my view, has to pony up an awful lot of money.

How could so many people buy into falsehoods and “scientific consensus?”  I will discuss that later.

Back to the 2.7 million dollar grant.  It seems a mere pittance since Wolverine has to prove if it works to be accepted for the second phase of grants.  Quoting the Advance,  “The remaining ARRA funding will be awarded to the most promising projects during a competitive phase two selection process.  Projects that best demonstrate the ability to address their emission needs will be in the final portfolio that will receive additional funding for design, construction and operation.”

So, not only do we have to pay for the competitive research with future tax dollars, Wolverine isn’t guaranteed any more funds, and who knows what may happen if the project fails.  From  Part 17 about Cap and trade, I discuss how the bill calls for carbon sequestration.

From the October 9th, 2009 post on Varnum Blogs,  “The Department of Energy has awarded an initial $3.71 million grant to study whether carbon dioxide from Holland Board of Public Work’s proposed new coal-fired electric generating plant can be safely injected in below-ground sandstone formations.  PraxAir Inc. assisted in garnering the funds for the Board’s study.  Test wells will be drilled at the location of the plant.  The cost of the carbon-sequestration project is estimated to be $150 million in addition to the $240 million cost of the new plant.   The DOE has also awarded Wolverine Power Supply Cooperative Inc. $2.7 million to demonstrate the use of advanced amines and additives to capture 300,000 tons of  CO₂ per year from its proposed 600 MW circulating fluidized bed power plant near Rogers City.  Both projects are in the process of negotiating air permits with the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality.  Meanwhile the state legislature is working on a bill that would charge a one-time $1 per ton CO₂ fee and 15 cents per ton annually in exchange for the state assuming liability for the CO₂ storage.”

Like the blog says, on top of it all, the legislators are still working on a way to charge the energy user more.

click here to view Part 21