Environment

Carbon capture no 'silver bullet' for climate change

by Karl Gotthardt - albertacowpoke | July 6, 2009 at 04:12 am

213 views | 18 Recommendations | 5 comments

Redwater, Alberta is a small town, approximately 40 minutes northeast of Edmonton. The town supports farming, a fertilizer plant and the oil industry in the surrounding community, with a population of close to 10,000.

The town has two hardware stores, two banks, a pharmacy, a GM dealership, a grocery, liquor and bargain store. Three gas stations are located in town and another along Highway 28.

Redwater is also close to the oil pipeline corydor, which transports oil from the Alberta tarsands to upgraders near Edmonton for onward transmission to the West Coast and the United States.

Prior to the Global recession, up to four oil upgraders were to be build near Redwater, in Sturgeon County in an area zoned as the Industrial Heartland. The drop of oil prices has all but cancelled these projects and there is now speculation that they will be build in the U.S.

The Alberta Government has been attempting to change the reputation of the Alberta oil sands, which have been condemned by Al Gore, have been in the talking points of President Obama and definitely environmentalists.

Carbon Capture and Storage have been high on the agenda of the Alberta government to clean up the reputation of the tar sands. To this end an experimental facility has been build just outside of Redwater, Alberta.

This system has been tested previously in Swift Current, Saskatchewan and in the United States. In an effort to grow the local town Redwater was chosen for this testing and eventual implementation.

The article below describes how this facilty is to work. You be the judge. This author has his doubts and is weary of the dangers that a facility like this will bring in an effort to continue with a fossil based industry in Alberta.

Carbon Capture and Storage: An outline here

"This isn't the silver bullet," says Chuck Szmurlo, a vice-president with Calgary-based energy distributor Enbridge, which is spearheading a group exploring carbon capture solutions in Alberta.

"But carbon capture ... we think, has a very important role to play in enabling us to continue accessing our energy resources in a way that is consistent with our environmental targets."

Carbon capture, or CCS for short, takes greenhouse gas emissions at their source — such as the emissions from a coal-fired power plant — strips out the carbon dioxide, liquefies it and then shoves it deep into the earth forever.

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Uwe Paschen

at 05:52 on July 6th, 2009

This is a good post ACP.

Karl Gotthardt - albertacowpoke

at 05:56 on July 6th, 2009

Thanks Paschen, it is timely and done in the name of the economy, not necessarily the environment. I would not want it 2 miles or less from town.

Karl Gotthardt - albertacowpoke

at 07:57 on July 6th, 2009

Thanks moonwolf.

Spydermonkey

at 18:07 on July 6th, 2009

Yes, it can work in the short term, but look what might be happening where the gas companies are useing hydraulic fracture methods. earthquakes & gas getting into the water table... I think the long term effects will prove unmanagable with CCS.