{"id":273354,"date":"2023-08-14T11:07:29","date_gmt":"2023-08-14T09:07:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=273354"},"modified":"2023-08-14T11:07:32","modified_gmt":"2023-08-14T09:07:32","slug":"stop-the-carbon-capture-insanity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=273354","title":{"rendered":"Stop the Carbon Capture\u00a0Insanity"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From Science Matters<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By\u00a0Ron Clutz<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

From the geniuses who brought you the missnamed IRA spending spree, a new push to suck plant food (CO2) out of the air to \u201cfight global warming.\u201d\u00a0 \u00a0The insanity is doubled:\u00a0 Billions are wasted in an effort to deprive the biosphere of essential CO2.\u00a0 LA Times\u00a0How the Biden administration is pouring billions into technology that sucks carbon from the air.\u00a0<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0Excerpts in italics with my bolds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
The Biden adminstration is funding projects by Occidental Petroleum and Climeworks that will remove carbon dioxide from the air. The Climeworks plant in Hinwil, Switzerland, above, filters carbon dioxide from the air above a garbage incineration plant. (Climeworks)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some Might Call it a Ruse<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The technology is \u201cessentially a giant vacuum that can\u00a0suck decades of old carbon pollution straight out of the sky,<\/strong>\u201d Energy Secretary Jennifer M. Granholm told reporters. \u201cIf we deploy this at scale, this technology can help us make serious headway\u00a0toward our net-zero emission goals<\/strong>.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once operational, the hubs are expected to\u00a0remove<\/strong>\u00a0more than\u00a02 million metric tons of carbon dioxide a year<\/strong>\u00a0from the atmosphere, the\u00a0equivalent<\/strong>\u00a0of taking nearly\u00a0half a million gas-powered cars off the road,<\/strong>\u00a0Granholm said. Additional projects are expected to be announced next year, the Energy Department said.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Critics worry that carbon capture is\u00a0too untested to be<\/strong>\u00a0a\u00a0reliable<\/strong>\u00a0tool in fighting climate change. And some opponents see carbon capture efforts as\u00a0a way to extend the life of facilities that produce or use fossil fuels.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Background:  Wasting Money on Carbon Capture<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Robert Bryce explains in his Real Clear Energy article\u00a0Carbon Capture Didn\u2019t Make Sense 12 Years Ago And It Doesn\u2019t Make Sense Now<\/strong><\/a>.\u00a0 Excerpts in italics with my bolds and added images.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It appears the reconciliation bill that includes some $370 billion in energy-related spending is going to become law. The measure includes a panoply of tax credits for alternative energy technologies, including incentives for electric vehicles, hydrogen, energy storage, and of course, billions of dollars in tax credits for wind and solar energy.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The measure also includes, according to the Congressional Budget Office, some\u00a0$3.2 billion in tax credits for carbon capture and sequestration<\/strong>, a technology that has plenty of supporters but\u00a0precious little in the way of commercially successful projects<\/strong>. Back in 2018, Al Gore blasted CCS, calling it \u201cnonsense\u201d and an \u201cextremely improbable solution.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new tax credits for CCS remind me that I published a piece in the New York Times on May 12, 2010, about the technology. In looking back, the piece is still relevant today. In fact, I wouldn\u2019t change a word of it. Furthermore, my prediction about the\u00a0difficulty of siting the pipelines needed to move the CO2 has already come true<\/strong>. For proof, see this August 6, Wall Street Journal article about the opposition to a proposed CO2 pipeline in Iowa.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In any case here\u2019s my 12-year-old take on why CCS is a bad bet:<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Wednesday, John Kerry and Joseph Lieberman introduced their long-awaited\u00a0Senate energy bill, which includes incentives of $2 billion per year for carbon capture and sequestration,<\/strong>\u00a0the technology that removes carbon dioxide from the smokestack at power plants and forces it into underground storage. This significant allocation would come\u00a0on top of the $2.4 billion for carbon capture projects that appeared in last year\u2019s stimulus package.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s a lot of money for a technology whose adoption faces three potentially insurmountable hurdles:<\/strong>\u00a0it greatly reduces the output of power plants; pipeline capacity to move the newly captured carbon dioxide is woefully insufficient; and the volume of waste material is staggering. Lawmakers should\u00a0stop perpetuating the hope that the technology can help make huge cuts in the United States\u2019 carbon dioxide emissions.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. An Energy Intensive Process<\/strong><\/em><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s take the first problem. Capturing carbon dioxide from the flue gas of a coal-fired electric generation plant is an energy-intensive process. Analysts estimate that capturing the carbon dioxide\u00a0cuts the output of a typical plant by as much as 28 percent.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Given that the global energy sector is\u00a0already straining to meet booming demand for electricity,<\/strong>\u00a0it\u2019s hard to believe that the United States, or any other country that relies on coal-fired generation, will agree to reduce the output of its coal-fired plants by almost a third in order to attempt carbon capture and sequestration.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Costly Pipelines for a Waste Gas<\/strong><\/em><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s the second problem. The Pacific Northwest National Laboratory has estimated that up to 23,000 miles of new pipeline will be needed to carry the captured carbon dioxide to the still-undesignated underground sequestration sites. That doesn\u2019t sound like much when you consider that America\u2019s gas pipeline system sprawls over some 2.3 million miles. But those\u00a0natural gas pipelines carry a valuable, marketable, useful commodity.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By contrast, carbon dioxide is a worthless waste product,<\/strong>\u00a0so taxpayers would likely end up shouldering most of the cost. Yes, some of that waste gas could be used for enhanced oil recovery projects; flooding depleted oil reservoirs with carbon dioxide is a proven technology that can increase production and extend the life of existing oilfields. But the process would be\u00a0useful in only a limited number of oilfields<\/strong>\u00a0\u2014 probably less than 10 percent of the waste carbon dioxide captured from coal-fired power plants could actually be injected into American oilfields.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Impossibly Massive Scale<\/strong><\/em><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

The third, and most vexing, problem has to do with scale.<\/strong>\u00a0In 2009, carbon dioxide emissions in the United States totaled 5.4 billion tons. Let\u2019s assume that policymakers want to use carbon capture to get rid of half of those emissions \u2014 say, 3 billion tons per year. That works out to about\u00a08.2 million tons of carbon dioxide per day,<\/strong>\u00a0which would have to be collected and compressed to about 1,000 pounds per square inch (that\u00a0compressed volume of carbon dioxide<\/strong>\u00a0would be\u00a0roughly equivalent to the volume of daily global oil production<\/strong>).<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In other words, we would need to find an underground location (or locations) able to swallow a volume equal to the contents of 41 oil supertankers each day, 365 days a year.<\/mark><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

There will also be considerable\u00a0public resistance to carbon dioxide pipelines and sequestration projects<\/strong>\u00a0\u2014 local outcry has already stalled proposed carbon capture projects in Germany and Denmark. The fact is, few landowners are eager to have pipelines built across their property. And because of the\u00a0possibility of deadly leaks,<\/strong>\u00a0few people will want to live near a pipeline or an underground storage cavern. This leads to the obvious question:\u00a0which members of the House and Senate are going to volunteer their states to be dumping grounds for all that carbon dioxide?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For some, carbon capture and sequestration will remain the Holy Grail of carbon-reduction strategies. But before Congress throws yet more money at the procedure, lawmakers need to take a closer\u00a0look at the issues that hamstring nearly every new energy-related technology: cost and scale.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Footnote:\u00a0 The project is not only impractical, its deluded objective is to deprive the biosphere of plant food.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

See also:\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0Carbon Capture Boondoggle\u00a0<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In other words, we would need to find an underground location (or locations) able to swallow a volume equal to the contents of 41 oil supertankers each day, 365 days a year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":273370,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[691818336,691821807,691818076,691818154],"class_list":{"0":"post-273354","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hentry","7":"category-uncategorized","8":"tag-biden-administration","9":"tag-carbon-capture-and-storage-ccs","10":"tag-co2","11":"tag-net-zero","13":"fallback-thumbnail"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/0carbon-cycle45.webp?fit=1320%2C880&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-196W","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":378708,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=378708","url_meta":{"origin":273354,"position":0},"title":"Carbon Capture Scam Does Not Even Offset Its Own\u00a0Emissions","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"18\/05\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"This is a remarkable story coming out of Iceland, and a warning for Net Zero zealots wanting us to go down the same route","rel":"","context":"In \"carbon dioxide (CO\u2082)\"","block_context":{"text":"carbon dioxide (CO\u2082)","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=carbon-dioxide-co%e2%82%82"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/image-238.png?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/image-238.png?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/image-238.png?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/image-238.png?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":346433,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=346433","url_meta":{"origin":273354,"position":1},"title":"Earthquakes, Leakage, Expense, Death by Asphyxiation \u2013 Is There No Beginning to the Advantages of Carbon Capture?","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"12\/10\/2024","format":false,"excerpt":"If carbon capture and storage (CCS) was fracking for gas, it would have been banned years ago. Both processes can cause earth tremors \u2013 equivalent to a man falling off a chair in the case of fracking, but potentially much greater with carbon capture. This is because it involves millions\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"capture and storage (CCS)\"","block_context":{"text":"capture and storage (CCS)","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=capture-and-storage-ccs"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/0Screenshot-2024-10-12-095018.png?fit=1200%2C676&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/0Screenshot-2024-10-12-095018.png?fit=1200%2C676&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/0Screenshot-2024-10-12-095018.png?fit=1200%2C676&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/0Screenshot-2024-10-12-095018.png?fit=1200%2C676&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/0Screenshot-2024-10-12-095018.png?fit=1200%2C676&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":332212,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=332212","url_meta":{"origin":273354,"position":2},"title":"Boondoggle: Carbon capture projects are worse than a public nuisance","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"09\/06\/2024","format":false,"excerpt":"The world of climate policy abounds with bad ideas \u2013 from force-feeding an increasingly reluctant driving public a steady diet of EVs, to regulating popular household appliances out of existence.","rel":"","context":"In \"carbon dioxide (CO2)\"","block_context":{"text":"carbon dioxide (CO2)","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=carbon-dioxide-co2"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/0post-apocalyptic-ruined-city-destroyed-buildings-burnt-out-vehicles-and-ruined-roads-ai-generative-free-photo.jpg?fit=1200%2C673&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/0post-apocalyptic-ruined-city-destroyed-buildings-burnt-out-vehicles-and-ruined-roads-ai-generative-free-photo.jpg?fit=1200%2C673&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/0post-apocalyptic-ruined-city-destroyed-buildings-burnt-out-vehicles-and-ruined-roads-ai-generative-free-photo.jpg?fit=1200%2C673&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/0post-apocalyptic-ruined-city-destroyed-buildings-burnt-out-vehicles-and-ruined-roads-ai-generative-free-photo.jpg?fit=1200%2C673&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/0post-apocalyptic-ruined-city-destroyed-buildings-burnt-out-vehicles-and-ruined-roads-ai-generative-free-photo.jpg?fit=1200%2C673&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":338953,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=338953","url_meta":{"origin":273354,"position":3},"title":"Carbon Dioxide Pipeline Battle\u2014Seize Land for Green Energy","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"09\/08\/2024","format":false,"excerpt":"A battle is underway in five Midwest states over construction of carbon dioxide pipelines as part of the green energy transition. Opposition to wide-area pipeline networks is rising from farms and communities. But utilities and state governments intend to seize land over landowner protests.","rel":"","context":"In \"biofuels\"","block_context":{"text":"biofuels","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=biofuels"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/0Cellulosic-ethanol-production-needs-to-step-up-to-meet-expectations-2.jpg?fit=1200%2C901&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/0Cellulosic-ethanol-production-needs-to-step-up-to-meet-expectations-2.jpg?fit=1200%2C901&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/0Cellulosic-ethanol-production-needs-to-step-up-to-meet-expectations-2.jpg?fit=1200%2C901&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/0Cellulosic-ethanol-production-needs-to-step-up-to-meet-expectations-2.jpg?fit=1200%2C901&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/0Cellulosic-ethanol-production-needs-to-step-up-to-meet-expectations-2.jpg?fit=1200%2C901&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":306911,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=306911","url_meta":{"origin":273354,"position":4},"title":"CO2 Coalition Does Climate Reveal in\u00a0Wyoming","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"10\/03\/2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Wyoming has vast resources of coal, oil and natural gas.\u00a0With\u00a040% of the nation\u2019s coal resources, the state has been the United States\u2019 top producer since 1986, primarily from the Powder River Basin located in the northeastern part of the state. It is also a national leader in the\u00a0production of oil\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"CO2\"","block_context":{"text":"CO2","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=co2"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/00Wyoming_Grand_Tenton_Loop.jpeg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/00Wyoming_Grand_Tenton_Loop.jpeg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/00Wyoming_Grand_Tenton_Loop.jpeg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/00Wyoming_Grand_Tenton_Loop.jpeg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/00Wyoming_Grand_Tenton_Loop.jpeg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":339316,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=339316","url_meta":{"origin":273354,"position":5},"title":"Carbon Dioxide pipeline battle: Seize land for Green Energy?","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"12\/08\/2024","format":false,"excerpt":"A battle is underway in five Midwest states over construction of carbon dioxide (CO2) pipelines as part of the green energy transition. Opposition to wide-area pipeline networks is rising from farms and communities. But utilities and state governments intend to seize land over landowner protests.","rel":"","context":"In \"carbon dioxide (CO2)\"","block_context":{"text":"carbon dioxide (CO2)","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=carbon-dioxide-co2"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/0Pipeline-pipes.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/0Pipeline-pipes.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/0Pipeline-pipes.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/0Pipeline-pipes.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/0Pipeline-pipes.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/273354","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/121246920"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=273354"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/273354\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":273371,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/273354\/revisions\/273371"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/273370"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=273354"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=273354"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=273354"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}