Category: Integrated CCUS Initiative

Forging a Greener Future: The Imperative of Decarbonizing Steel Production 8/26/2024

Forging a Greener Future: The Imperative of Decarbonizing Steel Production

Payne Institute CCUS Program Manager Anna Littlefield and PhD candidate at School of Mines Edikan Udofia write about the EVRAZ Rocky Mountain Steel mill, a longstanding institution in this industrial area for more than a century and how it is evolving as part of the push to decarbonize the global steel industry. Collaborating with Lightsource bp, the mill is shifting to solar energy, positioning itself as the first steel mill in North America to operate predominantly on solar power.  The solar conversion is set to abate almost half a million tons of greenhouse gas emissions. August 26, 2024.

The Colorado Geothermal Frontier

The Colorado Geothermal Frontier

Payne Institute Program Manager Anna Littlefield and CSM PhD Candidate Edikan Udofia write about how in Chaffee County Colorado, residents and visitors alike have long taken advantage of the natural hot springs generated by thermal anomalies deep underground.  Soon, this same heat may be tapped to provide energy for the local community. August 20, 2024.

Locked up for the long-term: Financial risk mitigation for CCS 8/20/24

Locked up for the long-term: Financial risk mitigation for CCS

Payne Institute Program Director of the Sustainable Finance Lab Brad Handler, and Lindene Patton, Payne researchers Siddhant Kulkarni, and Felix Ayaburi write about how Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) is widely considered an important tool in mitigating the global warming effects of excess CO2 in the earth’s atmosphere.  August 20, 2024.

Locked Up for the Long Term: Risk Mitigation and Liability Assumption in the Geological Storage of CO2 8/5/2024

Locked Up for the Long Term: Risk Mitigation and Liability Assumption in the Geological Storage of CO2

The Payne Institute Sustainable Finance Lab looks at Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS).  CCS is an integral activity in the effort to limit global warming and its harmful effects.  That contribution requires a significant scaling of CCS operations, and initiatives for new CCS projects are indeed proliferating.  August 5, 2024.

Geological Storage Risk Mitigation: The Way Forward 7/29/2024

Geological Storage Risk Mitigation: The Way Forward

Payne Institute Program Manager Brad Handler, Lindene E. Patton, and student researcher Siddhant Kulkarni write the fifth and last paper in a series that identified the operational, financial and business model risks through the lifecycle of a geological storage project. These papers then discussed steps that are being taken to mitigate each risk, as well as to ensure that adequate funds are available to pay for closure and for environmental damages should any occur. In addressing these risks, this series averred that the regulatory landscape appears adequate to address them. July 29, 2024.

Long Term Stewardship: Releasing Residual Liability 7/29/2024

Long Term Stewardship: Releasing Residual Liability

Payne Institute Program Director Brad Handler, student researcher Siddhant Kulkarni, and Lindene Patton write the fourth paper in a series of papers on the use of Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) as a climate mitigation tool envisions the permanent underground storage of CO2. In a carbon geological storage project, the final phase is referred to as Long Term Stewardship (LTS). It follows the Post Injection and Site Care (PISC) phase, i.e., after the injection well has been plugged, the developer has monitored the subsurface for any CO2 leaks for the prescribed period, and the site has been “closed.” July 29, 2024.

Financial Risk Management for Geological Storage 7/22/24

Financial Risk Management for Geological Storage

Payne Institute Program Manager Brad Handler, Lindene E. Patton, student researchers Siddhant Kulkarni and Felix Ayaburi, and Darshil Shah write the third paper in a series of papers on the use of Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) as a climate mitigation tool envisions the permanent underground storage of CO2.  The U.S. government has implemented several policies designed to position Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) projects for growth. These include a regulatory framework and financial incentives such as Internal Revenue Service Section 45Q tax credits and grants.  July 22,2024.

A Systems Engineering Approach to Decarbonizing Mining: Analyzing Electrification and CO2 Emission Reduction Scenarios for Copper Mining Haulage Systems 7/21/2024

A Systems Engineering Approach to Decarbonizing Mining: Analyzing Electrification and CO2 Emission Reduction Scenarios for Copper Mining Haulage Systems

Payne Institute Faculty Fellow Dr. H. Sebnem Düzgün, student researcher Kemalcan Aydogdu, Evren Deniz Yaylaci, and Fatih Aranoglu write that due to climate change risks, the public, regulators, and investors require solid actions to minimize the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of mineral extraction and metals production. The mining sector considers alternatives to reduce its carbon footprint by transforming the business and adopting new technologies into operations.  July 21, 2024.

Preliminary Evaluation of Community-Oriented Risk Analysis of Carbon Capture, Transport, and Storage in the United States 7/15/24

Preliminary Evaluation of Community-Oriented Risk Analysis of Carbon Capture, Transport, and Storage in the United States

Mines Civil and Environmental Engineering PhD student researcher Nicolas G. Perticari Pesci writes the second in a series of papers on the use of Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS). CCS projects are slated to be multi-billion-dollar infrastructure projects comprised of carbon dioxide pipelines, capture sites, and injection wells for the sub-surface.  While the technical feasibility of carbon capture projects is explained systematically, for example as part of the permitting application for Class VI wells for geological storage, the social implications of projects are equally important and must also be evaluated to better understand risks and holistic mitigation of liability for all involved parties.  July 15, 2024.

GEOLOGICAL STORAGE: RISKS AND OPERATIONAL RISK MITIGATION 7/8/2024

GEOLOGICAL STORAGE: RISKS AND OPERATIONAL RISK MITIGATION

Payne Institute Sustainable Finance Lab Program Manager Brad Handler, Payne Institute CCS Program Manager Anna Littlefield, and student researcher Felix Ayaburi write the first in a series of papers on the use of Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) as a climate mitigation tool envisions the permanent underground storage of CO2. The prospects for large scale adoption of geological storage has raised concerns regarding the risks — of property damage, environmental degradation, and to human health— if stored CO2 were to leak to the surface or into shallow water resources.  July 8, 2024.