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USGS2011

U.S. Department of Energy's site screening, site selection, and initial characterization for storage of CO 2 in deep geological formations

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is the lead Federal agency for the development and deployment of carbon sequestration technologies. As part of its mission to facilitate technology transfer and develop guidelines from lessons learned, DOE is developing a series of best practice manuals (BPMs) for carbon capture and storage (CCS). The "Site Screening, Site Selection, and Initial Characterization for Storage of CO 2 in Deep Geological Formations" BPM is a compilation of best practices and includes flowchart diagrams illustrating the general decision making process for Site Screening, Site Selection, and Initial Characterization. The BPM integrates the knowledge gained from various programmatic efforts, with particular emphasis on the Characterization Phase through pilot-scale CO 2 injection testing of the Validation Phase of the Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership (RCSP) Initiative. Key geologic and surface elements that suitable candidate storage sites should possess are identified, along with example Site Screening, Site Selection, and Initial Characterization protocols for large-scale geologic storage projects located across diverse geologic and regional settings. This manual has been written as a working document, establishing a framework and methodology for proper site selection for CO 2 geologic storage. This will be useful for future CO 2 emitters, transporters, and storage providers. It will also be of use in informing local, regional, state, and national governmental agencies of best practices in proper sequestration site selection. Furthermore, it will educate the inquisitive general public on options and processes for geologic CO 2 storage. In addition to providing best practices, the manual presents a geologic storage resource and capacity classification system. The system provides a "standard" to communicate storage and capacity estimates, uncertainty and project development risk, data guidelines and analyses for adequate site characterization, and guidelines for reporting estimates within the classification based on each project's status.

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USGS2009

U.S. Department of Energy's Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership Program: Overview

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has formed a nationwide network of seven regional partnerships to help determine the best approaches for capturing and permanently storing gases that can contribute to global climate change. The Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnerships (RCSPs) are tasked with determining the most suitable technologies, regulations, and infrastructure for carbon capture, transport, and storage in their areas of the country and parts of Canada. The seven partnerships include more than 350 state agencies, universities, national laboratories, private companies, and environmental organizations, spanning 42 states, two Indian nations, and four Canadian provinces. The Regional Partnerships initiative is being implemented in three phases: ???Characterization Phase (2003-2005): The objective was to collect data on CO 2 sources and sinks and develop the human capital to support and enable future carbon sequestration field tests and deployments. The completion of this Phase was marked by release of the Carbon Sequestration Atlas of the United States and Canada-Version 1 which included a common methodology for capacity assessment and reported over 3,000GT of storage capacity in saline formations, depleted oil and gas fields, and coal seams.???Validation Phase (2005-2009): The objective is to plan and implement small-scale (<1??million tons CO 2 ) field testing of storage technologies in areas determined to be favorable for carbon storage. The partnerships are currently conducting over 20 small-scale geologic field tests and 11 terrestrial field tests.???Development Phase (2008-2018): The primary objective is the development of large-scale (>1??million tons of CO 2 ) Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) projects, which will demonstrate that large volumes of CO 2 can be injected safely, permanently, and economically into geologic formations representative of large storage capacity. Even though the RCSP Program is being implemented in three phases, it should be viewed as an integrated whole, with many of the goals and objectives transitioning from one phase to the next. Accomplishments and results from the Characterization Phase have helped to refine goals and activities in the Validation and Deployment Phases. The RCSP Program encourages and requires open information sharing among its members by sponsoring both general workshops and meetings to facilitate information exchange. Although each RCSP has its own objectives and field tests, mutual cooperation has been an important part of the Program thus far. The primary goal of the RCSP initiative is to promote the development of a regional framework and the infrastructure necessary to validate and deploy carbon sequestration technologies within each Partnership's region. ?? 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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