Publications: GHG Reduction Technologies Monitor

Abby L. Harvey GHG Monitor 2/13/2015 SaskPower’s decision to retrofit Unit 3 of its Boundary Dam power station with carbon capture and storage was ill-advised and will cost the utility more than it’s worth, according to a new paper released this week by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, an Ottawa-based think tank. “CCS may […]

Abby L. Harvey GHG Monitor 2/13/2015 The Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed carbon emissions standards for existing coal fired power plants is flawed and ineffective as drafted, but can be fixed by making changes to the glide path of reduction, adding a few years to the compliance schedule, adjusting the compliance formula for the rule and […]

Abby L. Harvey GHG Monitor 2/13/2015 Although funding for the Department of Energy’s Office of Fossil Energy received a slight boost in the Department’s Fiscal Year 2016 budget request, House and Senate lawmakers questioned the proposed funding level when compared to the much larger increases proposed for DOE’s renewable energy and energy efficiency programs during […]

Abby L. Harvey GHG Monitor 2/13/2015 With proposed Environmental Protection Agency regulations largely mandating the use of carbon capture and storage for all new-build coal-fired power plants due to be finalize mid-summer, last week’s decision by the Department of Energy to pull funding from the FutureGen 2.0 oxycombustion retrofit project in Meredosia, Ill. further calls […]

Abby L. Harvey GHG Monitor 2/13/2015 Work at Shell’s Quest carbon capture and storage project in Alberta is nearing mechanical completion, and the project is on schedule to begin CO2 injection in the second quarter of this year, Tim Wiwchar, Quest Project Lead, said last week at the Americas Forum hosted by the Global CCS […]

Abby L. Harvey GHG Monitor 2/13/2015 While some have suggested that today’s low oil prices could hurt the development of carbon capture and storage technology by reducing interest in enhanced oil recovery, an energy expert said last week that CCS faces greater challenges in moving toward widespread deployment. In remarks during the Global CCS Institute’s […]

Abby L. Harvey GHG Monitor 2/13/2015 Risks to the reliability of the electric grid due to the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed carbon emissions reductions standards for existing coal-fired power plants were exaggerated in a November report by the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), according to an analysis of the NERC study by The Brattle […]

Abby L. Harvey GHG Monitor 2/13/2015 Off-site construction on CO2 Solutions’ Husky Energy pilot project has begun and is on schedule to be installed at Husky’s Pikes Peak South, Saskatchewan, heavy oil site in May, CO2 Solutions announced last week. “We have pretty much completed the procurement and we are starting the assembly of the […]

Abby L. Harvey GHG Monitor 2/13/2015 Carbon can be efficiently captured from flue gas using microcapsules consisting of a sodium carbonate solution encased in a highly permeable polymer shell, researchers from Lawrence Livermore National Lab, Harvard University and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign announced in a new report published late last week in the […]

GHG Monitor 2/13/2015 ON THE INTERNATIONAL FRONT France announced late last week that it will withdraw export credit insurance for coal-fired power plants without carbon capture and storage abroad. The announcement comes ahead of the 21st Conference of the Parties of the U.N. Conference on Climate Change to be held in Paris in December, during […]

Abby L. Harvey GHG Monitor 2/6/2015 The Cooperative Research Centre for Greenhouse Gas Technologies (CO2CRC), will receive $25 million from the Australian government to further its research into carbon capture and storage processes, CO2CRC announced this week. The funding will be in used, in part, to continue work at the Otway carbon storage project located […]

Abby L. Harvey GHG Monitor 2/6/2015 The Department of Energy and Shell Canada announced this week an agreement to test advanced monitoring, verification and accounting (MVA) technology at Shell’s Quest carbon capture and storage project in Alberta, Canada. Technology developed by DOE’s National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) will be tested alongside Shell’s own MVA technology, […]

Abby L. Harvey GHG Monitor 2/6/2015 Carbon capture, utilization and storage projects could receive a boost in the form of new tax incentives proposed in the Obama Administration’s Fiscal Year 2016 budget request, released this week. The request calls for $2 billion worth of new refundable investment tax credits for new-build and retrofit projects, as […]

Abby L. Harvey GHG Monitor 2/6/2015 The National Energy Technology Laboratory is making $38 million funding available for crosscutting projects and nearly $13 million in funding available for advanced combustion systems projects, including oxy-combustion and chemical looping processes, through two funding opportunity announcements (FOAs) issued last week. The purpose of the crosscutting technology FOA “is […]

Abby L. Harvey GHG Monitor 2/6/2015 Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) criticized this week the Department of Energy’s slow progress in expending $8 billion in advanced fossil energy loan guarantees in remarks at the Global CCS Institute’s Americas Forum. The reason for limited interest in the loan program boils down to a lack of confidence in […]

Abby L. Harvey GHG Monitor 2/6/2015 Assistant Energy Secretary for Fossil Energy Chris Smith late this week stressed the importance of carbon capture and storage R&D activities in the Department of Energy’s new Fiscal Year 2016 budget request. The request, sent to Congress earlier this week, includes $117 million for carbon capture R&D, up $29 […]

Abby L. Harvey GHG Monitor 2/6/2015 As world leaders prepare for the 21st Conference of the Parties to the U.N. Climate Change Conference being held in Paris in November, nations are watching the actions of the United States carefully, a panel of policy experts said at last week’s National Conference and Global Forum on Science, […]

Abby L. Harvey GHG Monitor 2/6/2015 Nearly eight months out from the spending deadline for $1 billion in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds dedicated to the FutureGen 2.0 oxy-combustion carbon capture and storage retrofit project, the FutureGen Alliance announced this week that the Department of Energy has pulled federal funding to the project. Explaining […]

Abby L. Harvey GHG Monitor 2/6/2015 Southern Co. this week reported an additional $45 million in cost overruns at the Kemper County Energy Facility, being built by subsidiary Mississippi Power, bringing the total cost of the project currently to  $6.17 billion. The latest increase is due to “operational readiness, start-up activities and fuel, and the […]

GHG Monitor 2/6/2015 IN CONGRESS Lawmakers are set to begin considering the Department of Energy Fiscal Year 2016 budget request next week with separate hearings planned in the House and Senate. On Feb. 11, Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz is scheduled to testify before the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy and Power beginning […]

Abby L. Harvey GHG Monitor 2/2/2015 States that go beyond the carbon emissions reduction goals outlined in the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed “Clean Power Plan” regulations would be eligible to receive money from a $4 billion fund the Environmental Protection Agency is proposing to create in its Fiscal Year 2016 budget request, released today. The […]

Abby L. Harvey GHG Monitor 2/2/2015 The Environmental Protection Agency is seeking a slight boost in funding for climate change and air quality programs in its Fiscal Year 2016 budget request, released today. The request would provide approximately $1.1 billion for such programs, up slightly from current funding levels of $993 million.  “The FY 2016 […]

Abby L. Harvey GHG Monitor 2/2/2015 Funding for carbon capture and storage research and development programs at the Department of Energy would see a significant increase next year under DOE’s Fiscal Year 2016 budget request, released today. The request includes $117 million for carbon capture R&D, up $29 million from current funding levels; and $109 […]

Abby L. Harvey GHG Monitor 1/30/2015 While much progress has been made to develop and deploy the technologies needed for a transition to a cleaner energy system in the United States, more work is needed, new Under Secretary of Energy for Science and Energy Lynn Orr said this week. “The energy system is so big […]

Abby L. Harvey GHG Monitor 1/30/2015 The treatment of coal amid growing concern over climate change is problematic for the advancement of carbon capture and storage technology, industry experts said during this week’s National Conference and Global Forum on Science, Policy and Environment. Experts noted perception issues that could hinder the technology’s advancement, such as […]

Abby L. Harvey GHG Monitor 1/30/2015 While progress has been made towards the full deployment of carbon capture and storage technology in the United States, the Department of Energy is not where it needs to be to support full-scale deployment of the technology, according to a National Coal Council report released this week. The NCC, […]

Abby L. Harvey GHG Monitor 1/30/2015 Due in part to a large potential for carbon storage in the North Sea, surrounding countries are physically ideal to lead the European Union in deployment of the technology, however, early progress has slowed due to economic decline and complex policy issues, according to a new report released this […]

Abby L. Harvey GHG Monitor 1/30/2015 The Environmental Protection Agency has identified several key areas within its proposed carbon emission regulations for existing coal-fired power plants that remain a concern for many states, Reid Harvey, Director of the Clean Air Markets Division with the EPA, said during the National Conference and Global Forum on Science, […]