Integrated Stacked Carbon Storage in the Midcontinent of the United States

The Integrated Midcontinent Stacked Carbon Storage Hub (IMSCS-HUB) is studying the feasibility of integrated commercial CO₂ storage in Nebraska and Kansas. The objective of the project is to develop a stand-alone commercial storage project by 2025. The confluence of the region’s agricultural (corn) output, ethanol production, and oil industry make it an ideal candidate for early implementation of a stacked-CO₂-storage hub.

Carbon capture, utilization, and storage in the Midcontinent will set the example for future integrated projects by combining CO₂ from multiple, varied, sources with storage in stacked saline formations and CO₂-enhanced oil recovery reservoirs allowing shared transport and surface infrastructure. The low cost and high readiness level of capture from ethanol plants, coupled with regional storage capacity means that the midcontinent is poised to take full advantage of the CO₂ tax credit in section 45Q of the US tax code. However, careful planning for pipeline routing and infrastructure development will be required to allow existing electric utilities to bring CO₂ to market as post-combustion capture becomes commercial. The addition of captured CO₂ from electric utilities would significantly increase capture and storage in the study area, from approximately 3 million tonnes per year to approximately 10 million tonnes per year. Coal-fired utilities in the Midcontinent area produce some of the lowest cost power in the United States and are likely to produce power for decades to come.

This presentation covers the process to select possible CO₂ sources for inclusion in the IMSCS-HUB including development of transportation infrastructure and routes considering both early ethanol and later electric utility source locations, along with estimated capture and transportation costs. The presentation also covers the process to identify and characterize stacked-storage sites in the region, including the estimation of storage capacities, storage costs, and methods of integration with CO₂ sources and transportation infrastructure.