Trace Carbon Solutions and Molpus Woodlands Group, on behalf of a client, have signed a servitude agreement providing Trace with exclusive rights to develop and operate a carbon sequestration site, to be called the Evergreen Sequestration Hub (Evergreen Hub), on approximately 20,000 acres in Calcasieu and Beauregard parishes in Louisiana.
Trace will use the site to permanently sequester industrial carbon dioxide (CO2) in underground geologic formations, while Molpus will continue to manage the aboveground acreage as a sustainably managed working forest, according to a news release.
The company anticipates that the Evergreen Hub will have high CO2 injectivity and total sequestration capacity of over 250 million metric tons of CO2. The need for this sequestration capacity is supported by significant emission sources in the nearby Southwest Louisiana and Southeast Texas areas; Trace estimates more than 65 million metric tons per year of existing stationary CO2 emissions are located within 50 miles of the Evergreen Hub.
Climate Investment recently made a large equity commitment to Trace Carbon Solutions, with capital commitments to the developer now totaling over $420m from Quantum Capital Group, CI, and Trace management.
“We are excited about this partnership with Molpus as we continue to grow this segment of our business to provide decarbonization solutions for industrial carbon emissions across Southwest Louisiana and Southeast Texas,” said Josh Weber, Trace chief executive officer. “Trace has the expertise and ability to offer superior services across the three main areas of the CCS value chain – capture, transportation, and sequestration. We recognize that large-scale, geologically superior sequestration sites are scarce in proximity to significant industrial carbon emissions. Thus, securing such a high-quality site for the Evergreen Hub, to permanently sequester CO2 emissions, is the first step towards building a full-cycle, integrated CCS business.”
“We welcome this partnership with Trace as another important and exciting milestone in the Molpus story,” said Terrell Winstead, Molpus President and Chief Executive Officer. “We are not only relying on traditional methods to drive value in our timberland investments. Our teams are also focused on creatively seeking out new and innovative revenue opportunities for our clients, which we believe add value and promote positive environmental impacts.”
