Enbridge and EPCOR move forward with CCS projects

Enbridge and EPCOR are planning two large scale carbon capture and storage ("CCS") projects in Alberta. According to the Globe and Mail, each of the projects could meet almost quarter of Alberta's goal of reducing emissions by 200 megatonnes by 2050. Both the federal and provincial governments are being asked to help fund the ambitious projects.

The first project is combines an Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle ("IGCC") commercial-scale near-zero-emission thermal power plant with CCS. The companies expect the Genesee IGCC CCS project to capture more than 3,300 tonnes per day or 1.2 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions a year. The second project would use an amine scrubbing process to remove CO2 emissions from the flue gas of a conventional power plant. The companies expect the the Genesee Amine CCS project to capture 3,000 tonnes of CO2 per day, or nearly one million tonnes a year.

Both projects would pipe the captured CO2 from the project sites for use in enhanced oil recovery or permanent storage in deep saline aquifers. The transportation and storage of CO2 would be the responsibility of the Alberta Saline Acquifer Project ("ASAP"), a joint initiative of 37 companies that is on track to build a demonstration pilot project by 2012.

Recent funding announcements suggest that the two Genesee projects are still on track. On March 26, the companies announced that the Genesee Amine CCS projects would receive funding under the federal ecoENERGY Technology Initiative. The exact amount of funding will be determined as the government and companies negotiate the contribution agreement. On April 2, they announced that they had applied for funding for both projects under the Alberta Government's $2 billion CCS program under the climate change action plan. Alberta is expected to process the application over the next 3 months.