The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED) today announced up to $890m in funding for three projects to demonstrate technologies designed to capture, transport, and store carbon emissions that would otherwise accelerate climate change and jeopardize public health.
Two projects from Calpine were chosen for a combined $540m of funding, while a TC Energy project was awarded $350m.
Funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the three projects—located in California, North Dakota, and Texas—have the potential to curb carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from three power plants by preventing roughly 7.75 million metric tons of CO2 emissions from being released into the atmosphere each year—an amount equivalent to the annual CO2 emissions of 1.7 million gasoline-powered cars.
Funding applicants were required to submit Community Benefits Plans, which will help ensure meaningful community and labor engagement in carbon management technologies while addressing environmental burdens in partnership with communities to ensure an equitable and just energy transition.
Projects selected for award negotiation include:
- Baytown Carbon Capture and Storage Project: Baytown, Texas – The Baytown Carbon Capture and Storage Project plans to capture CO2 from the Baytown Energy Center, a natural gas combined-cycle power plant. The CO2 will be transported using new and existing pipelines and sequestered in storage sites on the Gulf Coast. The project is evaluating the use of greywater cooling to minimize freshwater consumption by reusing wastewater. Calpine leads this project and has partnerships with Minority-Serving Institutions to support equitable job access and workforce development. Calpine plans to develop a Community Benefits Agreement and will include third party monitoring and validation of its Community Benefits Plan to support accountability and transparency.
- Project Tundra: Center, North Dakota – Project Tundra is a carbon capture system that will be developed adjacent to the Milton R. Young Station, a coal-fired power plant near Center, North Dakota. The captured CO2 will be safely and permanently stored in saline geologic formations beneath and surrounding the power plant. Project Tundra is led by the project sponsors of Dakota Carbon Center East Project LLC, which includes Minnkota Power Cooperative and TC Energy, and was formed to facilitate investment in and development of Project Tundra. Planning has already begun for the Community Benefits Agreements and other related agreements with impacted communities. Other related workplace and environmental concerns are being addressed, which support rural quality of life issues while also allowing for responsible project development. Project sponsors have engaged organized labor to discuss the prospect of negotiating a Project Labor Agreement and are committed to the continued engagement of stakeholders throughout the development process. Minnkota Power Cooperative, as a project sponsor and host-site, currently partners through existing Collective Bargaining Agreements with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.
- Sutter Decarbonization Project: Yuba City, California – Also owned by Calpine, the Sutter Decarbonization Project will demonstrate and deploy a commercial-scale carbon capture system at the Sutter Energy Center, a 550-megawatt natural gas combined-cycle power plant. The project will then transport the CO2 and sequester it permanently and safely more than a half a mile underground in saline geologic formations. This project will be the first in the world to deploy an air-cooling system at a carbon capture facility, which will eliminate the use of cooling water and significantly minimize freshwater usage—a critical concern of the local community. Negotiation of a Project Labor Agreement is underway and the project plans to engage with local and statewide labor organizations and educational institutions to secure qualified and highly skilled craft labor. The project also plans to negotiate a robust Community Benefits Agreement.
