Washington, D.C., August 24, 2011- The U.S.
Department of Energy has announced support for for construction of
the nation's first large-scale industrial carbon capture and
storage (ICCS) facility in Decatur, Illinois.
Supported by the 2009 economic stimulus legislation - the
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act - the ambitious project will
capture and store one million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) per year
produced as the result of processing corn into fuel-grade ethanol
from the nearby Archer Daniels Midland biofuels plant.
Since all of the captured CO2 will be produced from biologic
fermentation, a significant feature of the facility is its
"negative carbon footprint," meaning that the storage results in a
net reduction of atmospheric CO2.
"Illinois is at the forefront of helping ensure the US remains
competitive in the global clean energy economy, creating new jobs
while reducing carbon pollution," said US Energy Secretary Steven
Chu. "This first of its kind project will bring jobs to Illinois
while advancing technology that the United States can sell around
the world."
A member of the Department's Midwest Geological Sequestration
Consortium, the ADM project is designed to sequester approximately
2,500 metric tons of carbon dioxide per day in the saline Mount
Simon Sandstone formation at depths of approximately 7,000
feet.
It is estimated that the sandstone formation can potentially
store billions of tons of CO2 and has the overall potential to
sequester all of the more than 250 million tons of CO2 produced
each year by industry in the Illinois Basin region.
Capture and storage of CO2 is expected to begin in late summer
2013. It is estimated that approximately 260 jobs will be created
through construction and operation phases.
In October 2009, DOE selected the ADM team-which now includes
Schlumberger Carbon Services, the Illinois State Geological Survey,
and Richland Community College-to conduct one of 12 projects in
Phase 1 of its ICCS program, aimed at testing large-scale
industrial CCS technologies. DOE then selected the project in June
2010 as one of three projects to receive continued Phase 2
funding.
The Department's National Energy Technology Laboratory manages the
project, which received $141 million in Recovery Act funding and
another $66.5 million private sector cost-sharing.
Find out more about DOE's support of research, development and
deployment of CCS technologies HERE.