U.S. plans two large-scale CO2 projects

WASHINGTON, May 7 (UPI) -- The U.S. Department of Energy says it has awarded more than $126.6 million for its fifth and sixth large-scale carbon sequestration projects.

The awards went to the West Coast Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership, or WESTCARB, and the Midwest Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership, MRCSP. The Energy Department said the projects in California and Ohio will demonstrate the ability of geologic formations to safely, permanently and economically store more than 1 million tons of carbon dioxide.

The Midwestern project, led by Battelle Memorial Laboratories, will demonstrate CO2 storage in the Mount Simon Sandstone formation that stretches from Kentucky through Ohio and has the potential to store more than 100 years of CO2 emissions. The MRCSP covers Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York and Michigan.

Officials said the western project, led by the California Energy Commission, will conduct a similar CO2 storage project in the San Joaquin Basin in Central California. The WESTCARB includes California, Arizona, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Alaska, Hawaii and British Columbia.