Full Title: Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage and Louisiana's Power Sector
Author(s): Chirag Lala, Joshua Castigliego, Sachin Peddada, and Elizabeth Stanton
Publisher(s): Applied Economics Clinic
Publication Date: April 4, 2023
Full Text: Download Resource
Description (excerpt):
As a potential decarbonization strategy to aide in the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions within the power and industrial sectors, carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) must be compared to alternative decarbonization strategies to ensure that surrounding communities are prioritized and not negatively impacted. Louisiana’s 2022 State Climate Initiatives Task Force’s Climate Action Plan assigns a critical role to CCUS in achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions statewide by 2050 while reaching 100 percent carbon-free electricity by 2035. According to the Plan, CCUS could reduce emissions by capturing CO2 to either inject into geologic formations for storage or to use in the extraction of new oil and gas resources. While it may form part of a plan for decarbonization, CCUS emissions reduction potential is limited and does not address the upstream fugitive emissions or environmental and public health impacts from fossil fuel extraction, storage, and transmission.
To fully understand and mitigate the risks associated with CCUS, decision-makers must assess (1) how and to what extent CCUS could negatively impact surrounding communities, (2) what policies, rules and regulations are required to ensure that CCUS deployment is conducted in a safe and responsible manner, and (3) which applications are most appropriate for CCUS versus other decarbonization alternatives. This Applied Economics Clinic (AEC) report assesses viability of CCUS as a decarbonization strategy in Louisiana’s power sector, while providing an overview of its associated risks and vulnerabilities with the following key takeaways
To identify the most appropriate role that CCUS could play in Louisiana’s decarbonization efforts, decision-makers must take into consideration the technical and economic feasibility, emissions reduction potential, and safety of CCUS infrastructure compared to that of alternative decarbonization strategies.