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Grant Grothen of Burns & McDonnell explained that some of the proposed regulations would reduce the present seven billion tons of greenhouse gases down to as low as 1.25 billion tons or one half of 1949 levels. Power generators could be required to reduce emissions from 2.5 billion tons to less than 500 million tons.
The volumes are daunting. U.S. CO2 emissions in one year would create a blanket across the U.S. which is 13.5 inches high. Even if this were compressed to a few inches it would be a huge amount to try to sequester. If fully implemented, enhanced oil recovery (EOR) would accommodate only 10-20 percent of the CO2 worldwide. Sequestration of the remaining amount would face difficult permitting including NUMBY (not under my back yard). Grant told the participants that capture will be commercial by 2020 and EOR is commercial now, but geologic storage is not likely to be commercial until 2030. Public acceptance and investors willing to take the financial risk are two significant hurdles. |
