Climate energy solutions can (and should) save our planet, jobs
There is no debate: The need to mitigate climate change has never been more urgent. How to most effectively and efficiently defeat the CO2 foe - and at what costs - is the dispute hamstringing swift and meaningful action.
As the call for rapid abandonment of fossil fuels grows louder among activists (and, to be fair, among well-meaning but misguided leaders), more and more evidence points to the ineffectiveness of the "green only" approach - an approach that comes with a tremendous and ill-timed sacrifice of jobs, the economy and social stability.
However, the volume is finally beginning to amplify the solution that actually can save our planet, the energy industry, American jobs and all the aspects of our daily lives that depend on fossil fuels. The solution is carbon capture, use and storage (CCUS).
The International Brotherhood of Boilermakers is a strong supporter and advocate of CCUS. We take pride in being a forward-thinking union with members and leadership focused on moving together into the future. Since our earliest days when steam was first harnessed to produce energy, Boilermakers has consistently been on the forefront of industry innovations, including pollution mitigation controls - from electrostatic precipitators to bag houses, sulfur-dioxide scrubbers, selective catalytic reduction systems and so on. CCUS is a logical progression in modernizing the energy industry.
In a recently published Sustainable Recovery report, the International Energy Agency (IEA) suggests a $3 trillion green recovery plan with a three-pronged goal: stimulate economic growth; create jobs; and build cleaner, more resilient energy systems.
The report states, "Without innovation, the transition to modern, clean and resilient energy systems would be at risk. Governments have a major role to play in supporting innovation, especially in the areas the private sector perceives as being too risky."
Boilermakers' International Director of Climate Change Policy Solutions Cory Channon, left, tours the Boundary Dam CCUS facility to learn about the technology side.
Among the plan's recommendations for strategic opportunities in technology innovation is CCUS - which, the plan notes, could play a critical role in the energy sector reaching net-zero emissions while catalyzing near-term jobs.
Of course, the financial burden of any first-generation technology is a real obstacle. For CCUS, it's proven to be a barrier to pilot projects that would spur continued innovation, cost efficiencies and scale-up. If accelerated, these projects would result in further reduced costs and increased efficiencies, in turn.
SakPower's carbon capture and storage building, located at the company's Boundary Dam power station in southeast Saskatchewan.
The U.S. has been quick to invest in renewables - which, ironically, rely on fossil fuels to manufacture and count on baseload power generated from fossil fuel, nuclear and other dependable sources to provide reliable energy - and slow to embrace investment in innovations like CCUS.
In Canada, cost reduction and increased efficiencies are being realized as a result of the carbon capture initiative at the Boundary Dam power station in southeast Saskatchewan. SaskPower's largest coalfired station, Boundary Dam - originally built in the early 1970s - retired two units at the end of their lifecycles but opted to pilot CCUS technology, retrofitting a third unit that was also slated for retirement. Boilermakers worked on the Boundary Dam construction and retrofit and continues to maintain the CCUS unit.
As a first-of-its-kind retrofit, the Boundary Dam CCUS project came with a $1.5 billion price tag - arguably a solid investment in first-generation technology from which future projects will benefit. Beth Hardy Valiaho, vice president of strategy and stakeholder relations at the International CCS Knowledge Centre, explained, "Our examination of second-generation CCUS, the 'Shand CCS Feasibility Study,' estimates a 67-percent reduction in cost per metric ton of CO2 captured, among many other improvements and efficiencies for future projects because of knowledge gained at Boundary Dam."
An aerial view of SaskPower's Boundary Dam station, featuring the CCUS facility to the right of the main generation facility.
Boilermakers is part of another CCUS-involved Canadian project, North West Refining's Sturgeon Refinery in Alberta, which started operation in June. Not only is it the newest refinery in North America, but it's the world's only refinery designed from the ground up to minimize its environmental footprint through CCUS while producing the high-value, low-carbon products needed to meet North America's demand for energy.
In describing his goal for Sturgeon Refinery, North West Refinery CEO Ian MacGregor said he set out to make something valuable from bitumen - low-carbon diesel starting from a high-carbon feedstock - and build the world's largest carbon capture system.
The refinery uses gasification to convert bitumen waste product into both the hydrogen required for refinery operations and a pure, dry CO2 stream that is cost-effectively captured instead of vented into the atmosphere, eliminating approximately 70 percent of the refinery's total CO2 footprint. The captured CO2 is then sold to third parties for enhanced oil recovery and permanent storage.
The CO2 captured from the refinery serves as an anchor supply to the Alberta Carbon Trunk Line (ACTL). At full capacity, the ACTL is the largest carbon capture, transportation, utilization and storage system in the world that exclusively uses captured industrial CO2. Designed at the same time as the Sturgeon Refinery, the ACTL system represents a significant investment in a CO2 management solution for Alberta's industrial development.
According to the refinery website, the CCUS solution will result in capturing 1.2 million metric tons of CO2 per year, the equivalent of taking nearly 300,000 cars off the road annually.
MacGregor said he "can't remember how many times I've been told 'it won't work,' but we never wavered. I believe today, more than I ever did, that we're building the future of Alberta."
The Boundary Dam and Sturgeon Refinery projects are important, and yet they are mere drops in the bucket. Worldwide, there are currently only about 21 CCUS facilities in operation, four under construction and 28 in development. According to the IEA's 2019 technology report, 2,000 large-scale CCUS facilities will need to be operational by 2040 to meet the Paris Climate Agreement's goals.
We will continue to be a critical part of projects like CCUS technology that keep us on the front line of innovation.
This is why the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers will continue to speak up about CCUS as the only viable solution that can effectively mitigate climate change and preserve our industry, our jobs and our economy. We will continue to advocate for incentives that make it easier for our partners in the energy industry to invest in CCUS, and we will continue to be a critical part of CCUS technology projects that keep us on the front line of innovation.
For more information, visit www.ccs.boilermakers.org or www.boilermakers.org, or call (913) 371-2640.
