Prime Minister Harper and Saskatchewan Premier Wall announce major carbon capture and storage project
March 25, 2008
Estevan, SK - Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced today that the Government of Canada will partner with Saskatchewan in the development of one of the world’s first and largest commercial-scale carbon capture and storage demonstration projects. Prime Minister Harper, joined by Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall, made the announcement after touring the SaskPower Boundary Dam Power Station, the site of the demonstration project.
“By combining state-of-the-art carbon capture technology with enhanced oil recovery and carbon sequestration, the proposed Boundary Dam project would reduce Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions by a million tonnes a year while generating up to 100 megawatts of clean power,” said the Prime Minister. “Proving this technology on a commercial scale is key to reducing Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions.”
Funding for the $240 million contribution from the Government of Canada was included in Budget 2008. The funds will be delivered in trust to the Province of Saskatchewan, once legislation has been passed. Together with a matching contribution of $758 million from SaskPower, the funds will be used to partner with industry on the project.
“This announcement highlights the commitment of both the federal and provincial governments to clean coal technology,” Wall said. “This project reflects Saskatchewan’s commitment to sustain our economic momentum through environmentally-friendly power generation.”
Carbon capture and storage is an integral part of the federal Government’s aggressive plan to achieve an absolute reduction of 20 per cent in Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions by 2020. The Canada-Alberta ecoENERGY Carbon Capture and Storage Task Force has estimated that Canada has the potential to store underground as much as 600 million tonnes of carbon dioxide a year, roughly equal to three-quarters of Canada’s current annual emissions of greenhouse gases.
“The Boundary Dam project is an excellent example of the positive working relationship between Ottawa and Saskatchewan,” said Prime Minister Harper. ”Both our Governments are committed to balancing economic growth with environmental protection. We’re taking real action that will produce real, tangible results, and make Canada a world leader in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.”
http://ecoaction.gc.ca/news-nouvelles/20080325-eng.cfm
Estevan, SK - Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced today that the Government of Canada will partner with Saskatchewan in the development of one of the world’s first and largest commercial-scale carbon capture and storage demonstration projects. Prime Minister Harper, joined by Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall, made the announcement after touring the SaskPower Boundary Dam Power Station, the site of the demonstration project.
“By combining state-of-the-art carbon capture technology with enhanced oil recovery and carbon sequestration, the proposed Boundary Dam project would reduce Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions by a million tonnes a year while generating up to 100 megawatts of clean power,” said the Prime Minister. “Proving this technology on a commercial scale is key to reducing Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions.”
Funding for the $240 million contribution from the Government of Canada was included in Budget 2008. The funds will be delivered in trust to the Province of Saskatchewan, once legislation has been passed. Together with a matching contribution of $758 million from SaskPower, the funds will be used to partner with industry on the project.
“This announcement highlights the commitment of both the federal and provincial governments to clean coal technology,” Wall said. “This project reflects Saskatchewan’s commitment to sustain our economic momentum through environmentally-friendly power generation.”
Carbon capture and storage is an integral part of the federal Government’s aggressive plan to achieve an absolute reduction of 20 per cent in Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions by 2020. The Canada-Alberta ecoENERGY Carbon Capture and Storage Task Force has estimated that Canada has the potential to store underground as much as 600 million tonnes of carbon dioxide a year, roughly equal to three-quarters of Canada’s current annual emissions of greenhouse gases.
“The Boundary Dam project is an excellent example of the positive working relationship between Ottawa and Saskatchewan,” said Prime Minister Harper. ”Both our Governments are committed to balancing economic growth with environmental protection. We’re taking real action that will produce real, tangible results, and make Canada a world leader in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.”
http://ecoaction.gc.ca/news-nouvelles/20080325-eng.cfm
Stumble It!
As a greenhouse technician (formerly) and indoor plant enthusiast (Canada's first licensed medical cannabis grower), I know (as could anyone with a quick search) that plants thrive BEST at 1000-1500 ppm CO2. Right now, we are close to plant starvation levels of atmospheric CO2 (360+/-) with plant death occurring at about 250 ppm CO2. We don't need lower levels of CO2 we need MORE CO2.
Everything we eat comes from plants except for salt and coal tar food colouring (if you are smart and don't eat junk food with a gazillion chemicals in it). What is good for plants is great for us. Plain and simple. Next time you drive by a production greenhouse, get out of your car and go and talk to someone inside. The greenhouse people will more than likely have a CO2 generator, these are expensive and if they didn't work, they would not be there. 20000 'grow-shows' in Vancouver can't be wrong. But hey, don't listen to plant people, let's rely on 'scientists' with computer models that are failing. What a ridiculous world we live in.
Ciao Fer Now
lancifer
By all means, let put the future of the earth in the hands of indoor plant enthusiasts!
Here, here!
Dear Plant Person,
Please, ask the outdoor ocean enthusiasts what they think of your MORE CO2 plan.
So there you have it, the tax payer will be funding the extraction of more oil (and more CO2 emissions) through this bogus and thoroughly nonsensical plan that is likely to me harmful to the environment.
"The main goal of the project, which is sanctioned by the International Energy Agency, is to provide rock-solid evidence that CO2 can be safely stored in this manner for a reasonable period of time (nominally 5,000 years). Test results and computer simulations during the first phase have indicated that it is."
Does anyone want to bet that these computer models are completely wrong?
This is just the tip of the iceberg with respect to the global warming scams that are coming our way.
Then what are you whining about.
Good question!
You weren't the guy growing that ditch weed the cancer patients were complaining about, are you? The low quality of the first medical marijuana offered in Canada had nothing to do with CO2 levels.
When it comes to cereal grains, studies have shown little connection between increased CO2 levels and the edible part of the plant. You get a lot more stalk, but seed production is more closely tied to soil nutrients and moisture.
By all means, let put the future of the earth in the hands of indoor plant enthusiasts!
Hey, remember that episode of "Space 1999" where they landed on the planet with the killer plants?
'kay...we'll lock you in a room full of nothing but CO2 and let you explain your "theory" from there.
C.M. is right though...there is no theory that CO2 is harmful. There is a scientific theory that's been around since the 1800's...a theory that has been tested, retested, and backed up by a huge amount of data. It states that CO2 and other GHG's in the atmosphere act to trap heat. This theory is so integral to modern science that evolutionary science, atmospheric science, and even the various explanations of atmospheres on other planets do not work without it. Biology, chemistry, and parts of physics use greenhouse theory as a matter of course. Paleontology, archaeology and a host of other ologies use it to do everything from dating material to explaining the development of species. That has been the case since long before global warming theory was being attacked by the denial industry.
So you can set to work rewriting pretty much every science text on the planet, or you can accept the theory. Your call, but don't be surprised when people treat you like an inbred hillbilly for denying the science.
If you look into the history of the Weyburn project, you'll find that the science is quite sound, given the geology and the depth that the CO2 is being buried at. You'll also find that the man...a researcher at the University of Regina...who did most of the work is none too happy about what's happening right now. There was a pretty good article in Canadian Geographic a few months back, which is a good place to start, although you should dig a little deeper after that.
The "scam" you are objecting to is being perpetrated by people who largely share your point of view, Rearguard. There's the science, then there's what irresponsible corporations and governments do with the science. How does it feel to be on the same side as the oil companies, Stephen Harper, and Brad Wall? I was just out in Saskatchewan, and rye whiskey and tequila seem to help those in your position to sleep at night.
You covered all the bases and, as always, it was a pleasure to read.
Since there seems to be two versions of this thread I will cross-post from the other thread.
from the SaskPower press release:
"private sector investment of approximately $400 million will be directed to the pipeline required to transport the captured carbon dioxide to the oilfields and the infrastructure required in the enhanced oil recovery process."
Apparently there's a lot of money to be made if the private sector is ponying up 400 million. I'd be interested to know how they plan to profit. Selling the recovered oil, subsidies, tax credits, fees?
1 million tonnes @ $400 million = $400/tonne - Boundary Dam
600 million tonnes = theoretical Canadian capacity
600,000,000 x $400 = 240,000,000,000
240 billion dollars to use up our carbon storage.
And that's just carbon... in Canada
Then there's methane and N2O and...
The US and China and...
One quickly comes to the conclusion that sequestration is going to cost someone a lot of money! Reducing consumption is starting to sound better and better.
I take offense to that claim. I'm in no way on their side, quite the opposite. None of these people even care if the science behind CO2 and warming is valid or not, they are simply looking after their own selfish needs. I doubt any of them even bothered to consider looking into the matter at all. If the global warming claims somehow fit their needs (as they'll undoubtedly weasel it into), then they'll be first in line promoting the theory and whipping up the fear.
As you can see, it's already started.
Me thinks that we need a moderator!
Apparently there's a lot of money to be made if the private sector is ponying up 400 million. I'd be interested to know how they plan to profit. Selling the recovered oil, subsidies, tax credits, fees?
In the case of Weyburn, it's the increased oil recovery that pays the bills. Carbon capture makes no economic sense to the oil industry outside of that context. When they talk about carbon capture in the tarsands, they are basically just making up random stories. If we pay for the carbon capture technology and the pipelines to send the CO2 from the tarsands to someplace where they can use it, they'll be more than happy to charge us $100+ per barrel of oil.
Right now Weyburn gets the CO2 from a coal gasification plant that Jimmy Carter built (eat that one, Republicans...) in the 1970's. Wall's plan is to build another gasification plant in Saskatchewan to supply the CO2 locally. The only thing green about it is the colour I turned when I heard Wall's plan to return to deficit spending...it sounded just like Grant Devine's first budget.
So the Saskatchewan Party isn't green and isn't fiscally responsible. Their ideas are outdated and were first put into action by Democratic president who their American friends tell them to despise.