DOE outlines carbon capture strategy through 2030

By Brian Dabbs | 10/11/2024 06:32 AM EDT

The department called for five actions to support the technology, including building out pipelines and other infrastructure.

The Petra Nova carbon capture plant.

The Petra Nova carbon capture plant in Texas. NRG Energy

The Department of Energy on Thursday released a draft strategy for “carbon management” technologies through 2030, arguing that carbon capture and direct air capture are “essential to achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by mid-century.”

The report says those projects will grow dramatically over the next decade and beyond. Eighteen carbon capture and storage (CCS) facilities are operating now in the U.S., according to the report.

“There will be dozens,” the report says. “The goal is that around the United States, emitters, workers, and communities will be able to point to them and attest to the CO2 they removed, and the jobs they created.”

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The strategy calls for five actions to support CCS technology, including building out pipelines and other infrastructure; supporting regulations at multiple federal agencies; and focusing research and deployment on “priority use” cases, where there are few alternatives to decarbonization. As one example, DOE cited heavy-emitting industries like cement as good targets for carbon capture. DOE added that engaging communities on projects and supporting international climate diplomacy also are important to advance the technology.

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