This weeks issue of the Economist tackles the enormous topic of “The future of energy”.
The article adresses solar, geothermal, biofuels, electric cars, nuclear power, and our favorite pipedream technology- carbon storage.
In my last post I discussed the skepticism within the industry around carbon capture and storage technology; the Economist does an excellent job of echoing that sentiment:
In order to address these two problems they break the process in half, first carbon capture and then the issue of storage. Carbon capture as they put it “is not all that hard”. However the storage is wherein lies the problem.
In order to “store” CO2 you have to be able to permanently bury it within the earth. As one would guess this is no easy feat. Not only do you have to have a certain type of rock, it needs to be at a proper depth with enough cracks and pores for the CO2 to occupy, while being covered with a “non-porous, non-cracked rock to provide a leakproof cap”. Whew, that will certainly be easy enough- perhaps not.
There are test projects underway, however the article points out that:
And that’s just America, add the rest of the world it becomes too overwhelming to imagine. This point deserves emphasis.
The cost of CCS is often referenced as the primary hindrance to successful deployment of carbon storage technology; however the feasibility of safe and permanent storage remains a question. The report “False Hope” released by Greenpeace describes this concern in greater detail.
Permanence of CO2 storage is a real concern because any amount of leakage could undermine climate mitigation efforts. In addition there are safety and liability risks involved because the impacts of leakage are not yet properly understood. In fact, in 1986 an expulsion of a CO2 rich cloud at Lake Nyos, Cameroon asphyxiated over 1700 people. While this was a naturally occurring CO2 dense area, it demonstrates the dangers of compressed CO2 beneath the earth’s surface.
But on a more optimistic note the remainder of the Economist article is spent discussing alternatives: wind, solar, electric cars and how they are already shaping our energy future. The environmental movement is too often critiqued for being against things but not “for” anything.
So while we can talk ourselves blue in the face about how dirty coal is, we have to promote the solutions too. Read more: There is a Better Way.
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