EXTRACTED: Daily News Clips 1/27/22
PIPELINE NEWS
Bloomberg: Mountain Valley Pipeline’s Up-And-Down Legal Journey: Explained
Agri-Pulse: Carbon dioxide pipelines unearth anxiety in farm country
Spectrum News: Environmental group in LA sues federal government over pipeline spill
Bloomberg: Enbridge Pipeline Argument by City Draws D.C. Circuit Skepticism
Government Accountability Office: Pipeline Safety: Manufacturing Defects in Pipeline Components Rarely Contribute to Accidents
The Independent: Oil gushing from pipeline leak off Thailand threatens to hit popular beaches in next 48 hours
WASHINGTON UPDATES
Washington Post: Biden fails to change course on fossil fuels, despite a bold campaign pledge
Argus Media: US court weighs tossing 2021 offshore lease sale
E&E News: On anniversary of Biden’s EJ order, is Justice40 delivering?
Politico: AN EJ ENFORCEMENT CRACK DOWN
STATE UPDATES
CNBC: Los Angeles bans new oil and gas wells and will phase out old ones over five years
Santa Fe New Mexican: Leading Democrats not ready to back hydrogen hub bill
EXTRACTION
S&P Global: US crude exports expected to see modest rise in 2022
The Weather Network: IS A NEW TAX BREAK FOR CANADA'S OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY A MISTAKE? EXPERTS WEIGH IN
Press release: Lehigh Cement and Enbridge Agree to Advance a CO2 storage solution in Alberta
Bloomberg: CNOOC to Restart Oil Sands Upgrader Closed by Fatal Explosion
Mirage News: Greener, cheaper hydrogen could give Alberta new edge in energy
CLIMATE FINANCE
Financial Times: JPMorgan fights nuns and activists over climate disclosure proposals
OPINION
Globe and Mail: Carbon capture could ease Canada into the energy transition. So why restrict it?
OilPrice.com: The Hype Around Carbon Capture Is Causing Problems
PIPELINE NEWS
Bloomberg: Mountain Valley Pipeline’s Up-And-Down Legal Journey: Explained
1/26/22
“For about seven years, the Mountain Valley Pipeline project has forged through a raft of legal challenges and regulatory hurdles that ultimately doomed several other projects in the region,” Bloomberg reports. “...But the latest legal blow arrived Tuesday. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit tossed the federal government’s approval of the project’s three-and-a-half-mile route through Jefferson National Forest… “The Mountain Valley project, if it succeeds, would be a major win for the industry as other regional gas pipelines have succumbed to rising local opposition and political pressure. Among projects canceled since 2020: The 116-mile PennEast Pipeline from Pennsylvania to New Jersey; the 600-mile Atlantic Coast pipeline from West Virginia across Virginia and into North Carolina; and the 121-mile Constitution pipeline, which would have traveled from northeast Pennsylvania to central New York. Environmental groups sued to block the PennEast Pipeline, Atlantic Coast Pipeline, and other canceled projects. Their opposition to the Mountain Valley Pipeline is just as vigorous, according to Carolyn Elefant, an attorney with her own energy practice who started her career at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission… “One of the differences between the Mountain Valley Pipeline and the PennEast, Constitution, and Atlantic Coast pipelines is that the canceled projects faced strong opposition from states, Carolyn Elefant told Bloomberg… “Overall, the tolerance for adverse impacts from large fossil fuel projects has gone down,” Suzanne Mattei, an energy policy analyst who covers pipeline projects at the Institute for Energy Economics & Financial Analysis, told Bloomberg.”
Agri-Pulse: Carbon dioxide pipelines unearth anxiety in farm country
Steve Davies, 1/26/22
“Interest, but also concern, is rising over three pipelines planned for the Midwest to capture carbon from ethanol plants and sequester it, which advocates for the projects say is a crucial step for meeting climate change goals,” Agri-Pulse reports. “But farmers in Iowa and other states are raising questions about the projects, particularly the first two which have announced more details. “We're signing miles and miles of easements each and every day across the project in the state of Iowa,” Chris Hill, Summit’s director of environmental and permitting, told Agri-Pulse. “We're making really good progress on our right of way acquisition.” “...Landowners in the path of both Summit and Navigator are concerned about long-term yield losses, which some growers experienced after the construction of the Dakota Access crude oil pipeline… “But when Dakota Access was in the works, landowners were not united, Jess Mazour, conservation program coordinator at the Iowa Chapter of the Sierra Club, told Agri-Pulse. “There were a lot of people that were against it,” she told Agri-Pulse. “But they were working on their own, or they were working in a small group in their neighborhood, and there was not a lot of coordination and unity across the state.” “...Jan Norris, whose Red Oak, Iowa, property is about a mile from the proposed route, is organizing opposition against both Summit and Navigator. In some cases, landowners’ property is in the path of both the Summit and Navigator projects, Norris, who also is a representative on the state Democratic Party's central committee, told Agri-Pulse. She’s worried about safety, pointing to a 2020 rupture of a CO2 pipeline in Mississippi that sent more than 40 people to the hospital. But she also questions the market's ability to support three CCS projects. If the ethanol market tanks in the future, in part because of the adoption of electric vehicles, the state would still be left with the pipelines.”
Spectrum News: Environmental group in LA sues federal government over pipeline spill
1/26/22
“An environmental group sued the federal government Wednesday in Los Angeles, alleging in federal court that officials are failing to protect endangered whales, sea turtles and other species from continued oil and gas drilling off California's coast,” Spectrum News reports. “The lawsuit brought by the Center for Biological Diversity comes after an undersea pipeline connected to drilling platforms off Orange County ruptured in early October. The spill fouled sensitive beaches and wetlands, forced fishery closures and harmed or killed dozens of fish, birds and marine mammals, according to the suit. Since the spill, multiple oil sheens have been reported off Huntington Beach… “The center's lawsuit names the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement and National Marine Fisheries Service, alleging the agencies' existing Endangered Species Act analysis failed to predict or plan for an oil spill as big as the one over three months ago in San Pedro Bay… “The new lawsuit asserts that the existing analysis is not based on the best available science and fails to consider new information regarding the threat to whales being hit by ships engaged in oil and gas activity — or how existing oil drilling worsens the climate crisis and affects newly designated critical habitat for humpback whales.”
Bloomberg: Enbridge Pipeline Argument by City Draws D.C. Circuit Skepticism
1/21/22
“An Ohio city’s arguments that U.S. energy regulators should redo its analysis—for a second time—of an already-built natural gas pipeline that exports some natural gas to Canada fell flat with a panel of federal judges on Friday,” Bloomberg reports. “The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit appeared unconvinced the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission erred in finding benefits from Enbridge Inc.'s 256-mile Nexus Gas Transmission project. The $2 billion, built by Enbridge and DTE Energy Co., carries gas through Ohio and Michigan, exporting some of its capacity to Canada.”
Government Accountability Office: Pipeline Safety: Manufacturing Defects in Pipeline Components Rarely Contribute to Accidents
1/26/22
“Almost 350,000 miles of interstate gas and hazardous liquid transmission pipelines transport products across the U.S. The quality of individual components used in constructing these pipelines is critical to protect life, property, and the environment. We reviewed data on the quality of fittings, flanges, and valves on interstate transmission pipelines, and found that manufacturing defects rarely contribute to accidents. For instance, such defects contributed to less than 2% of all accidents between 2016-2020. They caused zero deaths or hospitalizations, and spilled fewer gallons of hazardous liquid (on average) than other types of accidents… “Due to potential concerns about the manufacturing process for pipeline components, GAO was asked to review the quality of fittings, flanges, and valves on interstate transmission pipelines… “GAO interviewed officials from PHMSA and the National Transportation Safety Board, as well as representatives from 10 pipeline operators, six industry associations, four pipeline manufacturers, three standards-setting organizations, and one safety group.”
The Independent: Oil gushing from pipeline leak off Thailand threatens to hit popular beaches in next 48 hours
Stuti Mishra, 1/26/22
“Efforts are underway to contain a vast oil spill in the Gulf of Thailand, with the country’s navy now joining the race to prevent thousands of tonnes of crude oil from reaching the shore,” The Independent reports. “A slick containing up to 160,000 litres of oil has leaked from an undersea pipeline near an industrial area in Rayong province since Tuesday, and could hit areas of the shoreline including popular beaches…”
WASHINGTON UPDATES
Washington Post: Biden fails to change course on fossil fuels, despite a bold campaign pledge
Anna Phillips, 1/27/22
“After years of federal lease sales to oil, gas and coal companies, environmentalists had hopes that President Biden would end the fossil fuel bonanza,” the Washington Post reports. “But one year after announcing a halt to any new federal oil and gas leasing, Biden has outpaced Donald Trump in issuing drilling permits on public lands… “The administration’s actions reveal an uncomfortable truth: Although Biden supports a shift to cleaner sources of energy, he has failed to curb fossil fuel development in the United States. His push to suspend federal oil and gas auctions has run headlong into political and legal challenges, and his administration has offered no plan to address the climate impact of mining in Wyoming’s coal-rich Powder River Basin. Collectively, these activities account for nearly a quarter of the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions… “Climate activists have expressed dismay at the administration’s actions, questioning how the White House can allow more fossil fuel extraction on public lands, given its commitment to cut U.S. emissions. “On one hand, we’re very happy with the administration’s climate goals,” Athan Manuel, director of the Sierra Club’s lands protection program, told the Post. “But we’re very disappointed and really kind of confused as to why the actions on leasing and drilling haven’t matched the rhetoric.” “...Climate advocates said they had expected Biden officials would find a way to slow drilling, either through litigation or by reopening the environmental review process for proposed lease sales — delaying them and possibly canceling them outright… “Beyond filing lawsuits, frustrated environmentalists are pressuring their allies in the administration to change course, arguing that climate voters who supported Democrats in 2020 could stay home during midterm elections and cost the party its hold on Congress. Jeremy Nichols, who directs the climate and energy program at the advocacy group WildEarth Guardians, said in an email that he never anticipated the administration would take this path when Biden was elected. “This administration seems to actually have a zeal for catering to the oil and gas industry, something that was very unexpected and now very distressing as the climate crisis ravages our nation,” he told the Post.
Argus Media: US court weighs tossing 2021 offshore lease sale
Chris Knight, 1/26/22
“An offshore oil and gas lease sale that President Joe Biden's administration held last year appears at risk of being invalidated or suspended, depending on how a court responds to a lawsuit by environmentalists,” Argus Media reports. “That 17 November offshore lease sale drew $192mn in high bids from Chevron, ExxonMobil, BP and other companies that bid on 303 tracts in the US Gulf of Mexico. The Biden administration had tried to defer the sale, but it was forced to move forward by a federal judge in Louisiana who last summer barred any further "pause" of leasing. But a separate federal judge last week hinted there could be problems with the environmental analysis behind the sale, called Lease Sale 257. That has set off alarms among offshore producers, who worry an unfavorable ruling could jeopardize their investments or reveal confidential bidding strategies based on proprietary drilling information… “The judge overseeing the case, US district court judge Rudolph Contreras, is reviewing a lawsuit from environmentalists that faults the Interior Department for "incredulously" saying that while the lease sale could result in the production of up to 1.1bn bl of crude and 4.4 Tcf of natural gas, holding the sale would actually reduce greenhouse gas emissions… “The Interior Department has yet to formally award leases from last year's sale, according to a 24 January court response. If the court requests a redo of the record, Interior said it could prepare a new climate analysis and then decide whether to affirm or void the leases, without having a new round of confidential bids. But Interior said if the record is thrown out, it would have no choice but to void every lease and refund all money it received.”
E&E News: On anniversary of Biden’s EJ order, is Justice40 delivering?
By Jean Chemnick, 1/27/22
“Today is the one-year anniversary of Justice40, President Biden’s landmark environmental justice commitment to funnel an unprecedented level of federal investment to communities injured by decades or centuries of neglect,” E&E News reports. “In an executive order released only one week after he took office, the president promised that disadvantaged communities would see 40 percent of the total benefits of climate and infrastructure spending — an influx of capital that would go toward redressing past imbalances that have left marginalized communities without basic services and disproportionately exposed to harms from pollution and climate change. But one year later, the White House and federal agencies are still struggling to set Justice40 in motion. It is unclear how, or if, it is being applied to spending already underway, including from last year’s Covid-19 recovery bill and the $1.2 trillion infrastructure law that could prove to be Biden’s largest legislative achievement.. “Environmental justice advocates, including several of the 26 outside experts the Biden administration asked to help shape its environmental justice agenda, say they are still waiting for more details to corroborate the administration’s claim that Justice40 has been reflected in spending decisions that have already been made.”
Politico: AN EJ ENFORCEMENT CRACK DOWN
1/26/22
“The Biden administration is unveiling a series of actions to help environmental justice communities in the South, with stricter enforcement for environmental violations and random checks in industrial facilities,” Politico reports. “We are going to keep these facilities on their toes,” Regan told reporters in a press call Tuesday. “We will use all available tools to hold them accountable.” “...The announcement comes as activists have been pushing the administration to put more action behind its rhetoric in helping environmental justice communities.”
STATE UPDATES
CNBC: Los Angeles bans new oil and gas wells and will phase out old ones over five years
Emma Newburger, 1/26/22
“The Los Angeles City Council on Wednesday voted to ban new oil and gas wells and to phase out existing wells over a period of five years, following decades of complaints by residents who have grappled with health problems from living near drilling sites,” CNBC reports. “The measure, introduced by Council members Nury Martinez and Paul Krekorian in December 2020, is part of a broader push by the county and the state of California to establish more distance between drilling and people and transition away from climate-changing fossil fuels. The region includes one of the largest urban oil fields in the country, with more than 5,000 active wells in LA County and more than 1,000 active or idle wells within city limits. More than half a million people in LA live within a quarter-mile of active wells that release air pollutants like benzene, hydrogen sulfide, particulate matter and formaldehyde, and the pollution disproportionately affects Black and Latino residents. “Today, we are reinforcing our commitment to environmental justice,” Martinez said during a news conference on Wednesday morning. “For far too long, neighborhood drilling has disproportionally affected the health of our low-income communities of color,” Martinez said. “From freeways to power plants, our frontline communities bear the brunt of pollution and climate impacts.” Research shows that people who live near oil and gas drilling sites are at greater risk of preterm births, asthma, respiratory disease and cancer. Living close to wells is also linked to weakened lung function and wheezing, according to a study published in the journal Environmental Research.”
Santa Fe New Mexican: Leading Democrats not ready to back hydrogen hub bill
By Daniel J. Chacón, 1/26/22
“New Mexico’s two U.S. senators are lending their support to a highly touted but contentious plan by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham to turn the state into a hub of hydrogen production,” the Santa Fe New Mexican reports. “But in the New Mexico Legislature, where Democrats hold majority control of both chambers and will decide the fate of the bill, leaders have yet to take a stand. For good reason, perhaps — the proposed Hydrogen Hub Development Act is generating stiff opposition from environmentalists and other members of the Democratic Party’s base who view the legislation as an incentive for fossil fuel-based hydrogen during a climate crisis. House Speaker Brian Egolf, D-Santa Fe, told the NM Tuesday he’s reviewing the 68-page bill, which was introduced Monday. “It’s critical that we get the details right,” Egolf said in a statement. “We must look at the use of hydrogen through a climate lens first and foremost, and we have to make sure that any hydrogen bill that we move forward sets in place incredibly stringent environmental protections.”
EXTRACTION
S&P Global: US crude exports expected to see modest rise in 2022
Jordan Blum, 1/26/22
“US crude oil exports are expected to rise in 2022 and exceed an average of 3 million b/d as North American production rises amid a higher oil and gas pricing environment,” S&P Globa reports. “However, US exports will not spike as much as crude production volumes this year because domestic demand also is expected to increase with refineries still underutilized as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic potentially switches to the endemic phase later this year, according to S&P Global Platts Analytics and Kpler projections. Because of their different methodologies, Platts Analytics sees US exports rising from about 2.9 million b/d in 2021 to more than 3.04 million b/d in 2022, while Kpler has crude shipments hiking from 2.8 million b/d to 3.05 million b/d, Matt Smith, Kpler Americas lead oil analyst, told S&P… “Other factors include more heavy Canadian barrels making their way to the US Gulf Coast courtesy of the recent completions of Enbridge's Line 3 replacement pipeline and the Capline Pipeline reversal project. And the uptick in US Gulf of Mexico production since the recovery from Hurricane Ida means USGC refineries have more options with greater volumes of both Western Canadian Select and Mars grade barrels… “Platts Analytics sees US exports rising even more to above 3.3 million b/d in 2023. However, Smith cautioned that Canada's expansion of the Trans Mountain Pipeline west to Vancouver could create more competition for Canadian barrels to leave from its own West Coast to China. Trans Mountain has maintained a late-2022 completion timeline, although most energy analysts expect delays well into 2023.”
The Weather Network: IS A NEW TAX BREAK FOR CANADA'S OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY A MISTAKE? EXPERTS WEIGH IN
Stephen Leahy, 1/26/22
“Despite decades of research and billions of dollars of investment in carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) technology, experts say it has a “terrible track record,” according to The Weather Network. “Canada’s oil and gas industry hopes to get a new tax break that hundreds of Canada’s climate scientists, academics, and energy experts call a huge mistake… “Canada’s fossil fuel industries receive more public money in the form of grants, loans, tax credits, and other subsidies than any other country in the developed world, averaging close to $14 billion a year. In the past three years Canadian pipelines have received over $23 billion in support from federal and provincial governments, according to Winnipeg’s International Institute for Sustainable Development. “Canadians care about how our collective wealth is being spent,” Emily Eaton, associate professor, Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, at the University of Regina, told TWN. “They are in favor of a just transition away from fossil fuels which we know have little future,” said Eaton, who also signed the open letter. “This new tax credit would be a huge mistake.”
Press release: Lehigh Cement and Enbridge Agree to Advance a CO2 storage solution in Alberta
1/26/22
“Lehigh Cement, a division of Lehigh Hanson Materials Limited (Lehigh) and Enbridge Inc. (Enbridge) (TSX: ENB) (NYSE: ENB) are pleased to announce a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on a carbon solution for Lehigh's cement manufacturing facility in Edmonton, Alberta. Lehigh is developing North America's first full-scale carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) solution for the cement industry at its Edmonton plant, with the goal of capturing approximately 780,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) annually. Captured emissions would be transported via pipeline and permanently sequestered by Enbridge. Subject to the award of carbon sequestration rights and regulatory approvals, the project could be in service as early as 2025. With the support of Lehigh and Capital Power Corporation (Capital Power) with their local facilities, Enbridge will be applying to develop an open access carbon hub in the Wabamun area, west of Edmonton, Alberta, through the Government of Alberta's Request for Full Project Proposals process. Combined, the emissions from Capital Power and Lehigh's planned carbon capture projects represent an opportunity to avoid nearly 4 million tonnes of atmospheric CO2 emissions. Once built, the Open Access Wabamun Carbon Hub will be among the largest integrated CCUS projects in the world.”
Bloomberg: CNOOC to Restart Oil Sands Upgrader Closed by Fatal Explosion
Robert Tuttle, 1/26/22
“CNOOC Ltd. plans to restart an oil sands upgrader at its Long Lake site that was shut six years ago after a fatal explosion, Bloomberg reports. “...The project will allow Long Lake to produce the more expensive form of crude oil at a time when the company is expanding the site to produce nearly 100,000 barrels a day. The upgrader converts a thick, sticky type of crude called bitumen into a more valuable, lighter one. Without the upgrader, CNOOC was still pumping almost 6,605 cubic meters (around 42,000 barrels) of bitumen a day in November, AER data show… “Long Lake is the only thermal oil sands well site in Canada that contains an upgrader. Usually, they’re found at oil sands mines. The explosion at the site in early 2016 killed one worker and injured another.”
Mirage News: Greener, cheaper hydrogen could give Alberta new edge in energy
1/27/22
“Researchers at the University of Alberta and University of Toronto have found a way to produce the greenest and cheapest hydrogen, a finding that would help retool Alberta’s energy sector and push the province closer to a net-zero future,” Mirage News reports. “Erin Bobicki, a mineral processing researcher in the U of A’s Faculty of Engineering who specializes in processes for extracting valuable minerals and metals from ores, has spun a technology that uses microwaves to create hydrogen — a valuable industrial feedstock and critical piece of the province’s sustainable energy future — into a startup called Aurora Hydrogen… “Aurora’s bench-scale reactor can make two kilograms of hydrogen per day, but could easily scale that up to 200 kilograms per day — enough for a fuelling station in a remote community — using a larger, commonly available microwave generator. “Most other technologies can either produce hydrogen at a small scale or produce hydrogen at a very big scale; for us there’s no fundamental limit on the scale,” she told Mirage News.
CLIMATE FINANCE
Financial Times: JPMorgan fights nuns and activists over climate disclosure proposals
Patrick Temple-West, 1/26/22
“JPMorgan Chase is fighting four shareholder petitions related to climate change at the Securities and Exchange Commission, in spite of a new policy by the US agency to take a tougher stance against attempts to block investor votes,” the Financial Times reports. “The largest lender to fossil fuel businesses, JPMorgan has faced mounting pressure from investors over climate change risk in recent years. Tulipshare, a London-based investing platform, is the latest to criticise the US bank for asking the SEC to reject the fintech start-up’s proposal that the bank halt investing, underwriting and lending for fossil fuel businesses. Two other shareholder petitions are asking JPMorgan for new climate disclosures: one requesting climate-related lobbying information, from the Boston Trust, and the other seeking details of its carbon reduction targets, by the environmental group, the Sierra Club Foundation. A third proposal, filed by the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas, asks JPMorgan to adopt a policy this year to help ensure its financing does not contribute to new fossil fuel supplies inconsistent with the scenario for net zero greenhouse gas emissions set out by the International Energy Agency. The bank has objected to the petitions on the grounds the proposals related to “ordinary business” operations. SEC rules allow companies to block certain shareholder proposals, such as those it determines might micromanage business decisions. Companies routinely ask the agency for permission to block proposals. But last year the SEC said that stopping climate-related shareholder proposals would be harder in 2022. The shift by the regulator gave impetus to those agitating for companies to address climate change risk concerns.”
OPINION
Globe and Mail: Carbon capture could ease Canada into the energy transition. So why restrict it?
Jeffrey Jones, 1/27/22
“It’s not a sure thing that carbon capture will be the main bridge across the vast expanse of the energy transition,” Jeffrey Jones writes for the Globe and Mail. “But there’s a lot riding on it becoming a key technology for reducing emissions. While it gets developed, it makes little sense to leave Canada’s biggest source of greenhouse gases – the oil and gas industry – out of government programs to try to advance it. This is a ban that a group of 400 scientists and academics is calling for. In a letter sent to Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland last week, the group said a proposed federal investment tax credit for carbon capture, utilization and storage, or CCUS, undermines efforts to reach the national target of net-zero emissions by 2050… “Last year, the government announced the tax credit for CCUS, saying the technology is “an important tool for reducing emissions in high-emitting sectors” that could cut GHGs by 15 megatonnes a year… “The program is being welcomed in the energy sector, where the capital investment for CCUS would run into the tens of billions of dollars. Some industry leaders have called for the credit to include enhanced oil recovery – where CO2 is injected into aging reservoirs to boost oil production. That’s a bridge too far. The credit is not intended for that, said Adrienne Vaupshas, spokeswoman for Ms. Freeland… “The fact is that CCUS, either by burying carbon or using it to make products, still needs to be proven at scale, both technologically and economically… “Carbon capture could come in handy until cleaner alternatives are readily available to everyone.”
OilPrice.com: The Hype Around Carbon Capture Is Causing Problems
By Felicity Bradstock, 1/26/22
“Carbon capture and storage is a seen by most energy companies and governments as having a role in reducing global emissions in the future,” OilPrice.com reports. “Unfortunately, the eagerness of certain actors to decarbonize has meant governments and companies have wasted huge amounts of money on technology that does not deliver… “There are success stories out there and plenty of projects with potential, but it’s always important to remember that not all carbon capture is equal… “However, a few years into the big CCS boom we are now seeing a lot of skepticism around the industry. Recent headlines criticize the U.S. for blowing a reported $1.1 billion on failed CCS projects. The U.S. Department of Energy (DEO) divided these funds across 11 carbon capture projects at coal-fired power plants and industrial facilities since 2009. But many of them turned out to be failures, with several never being built, according to a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report. In addition to investing in CCS projects that never came to fruition, the government reportedly continued to fund operations that were not achieving important milestones… “And it’s not just in the U.S. that we are seeing CCS technologies not meet their full potential. In Canada, a project that was once hailed as the future of CCS is now under scrutiny… “But the plant is now attracting criticism for releasing more CO2 into the atmosphere than it captures… “It is now the responsibility of energy firms and governments investing in the technology to ensure they learn from early practices and improve CCS operations over the coming decades.”