Carbon Capture and Storage

The Great Plains Institute and the University of Wyoming have published a new analysis on carbon capture and storage.

This past December, the City of Laramie commissioned the Environmental Advisory Committee (EAC) to create an emissions reduction plan with the end goal of net carbon neutrality - offsetting our carbon emissions with carbon removal techniques. 

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology has been a source of hope for coal country and touted by the Trump Administration as a way to keep the coal industry alive, while reducing its emissions. CCS aims to remove carbon dioxide from significant fossil-fuel emitting sites like power plants – it then either be stored or eventually used to develop products. But one report questions if its development is too slow to have a mainstream impact.

The federal Department of Energy has awarded the University of Wyoming $2.4 million dollars for two carbon capture studies.

The grants will be used to research the potential for commercial-scale carbon capture and storage at the Jim Bridger power plant near Rock Springs and the Dry Fork Station near Gillette.

Previous studies have identified the Rock Springs uplift as an ideal location for storing large volumes of carbon dioxide. These grants are intended to move beyond the technical specifications.