Energy & CivilizationStudent Project Showcase: Fall 2023

Fall 2023

Fall 2023

Group Members

Andrew Schoenen, Anna Kleinhans, Isabel Johanson, Maximiliano Magaña Pineda

Problem Identification Video

Project Report

Executive Summary

Underground Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) is a new technology crucial for fighting climate change by capturing Carbon dioxide (CO2) from industrial processes and power generation and then securely storing this CO2 deep within geological formations. In California, the relevant formations are usually depleted oil and gas fields. These are characterized by porous rock overlain by a nonporous cap rock which means that CO2 can be injected into the Earth and then sequestered as the cap rock prevents it from migrating upward and leaking out (Carbon Capture | MIT Climate Portal). Reports have found that simply relying on technological advancement to make energy less carbon-intensive won't meet the INDC goal of keeping warming under the 2-degree warming ceiling necessitating CCS, which takes a proactive approach conceptually on a scale relevant to the whole globe.

California’s geology makes the state perfect for the implementation of this technology. The state is filled with sedimentary basins that have previously been used for oil and gas extraction, making them available for CO2 storage with great rock depth and composition (California Department of Conservation).

This geology has the potential to sequester up to 120 million tons of carbon per year, which would last several hundred years. This shows how crucial CCS is in California's strategy to reduce its carbon footprint. California’s unique geology is crucial to this conversation and delved into deeper detail later (Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory).

Final Paper: Optimizing California's Regulatory Policy Pertaining to Underground Carbon Capture & Storage.