Exploring a Sustainable Future
Carbon capture would reduce carbon emissions by over 95% while preserving a third of the Navajo Nation’s General Fund.
Navajo Transitional Energy Company was awarded $6.5 million by the U.S. Department of Energy for a Front End Engineering Design (FEED) study to determine the feasibility of adding carbon capture at Four Corners Power Plant. Carbon capture could remove more than 95% of the carbon dioxide CO2 emissions at the plant.
CCS CONTRIBUTION:
The IEA considers that Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS), as part of a portfolio of actions, can account for 14% of total energy-related CO2 reductions needed by 2050.
Decarbonized
Power Generation
There is also additional potential for the captured carbon to become a valuable, sustaining resource for the Navajo Nation. Pure CO2 is used in greenhouses, for beverage carbonation, dry ice production, in the pharmaceutical and biotech fields, as a fire suppressant, in clean water applications, and in many other applications.
Carbon Capture and Storage systems take the CO2 gas from the exhaust of the power plant and transport it in pipelines either for permanent sequestration in the ground or other uses.
1
CAPTURE
Utilizing a chemical solvent, CO2 emissions can be successfully separated and then captured from the power plant’s exhaust gas stream before they are emitted into the atmosphere.
2
TRANSPORT
Once captured, CO2 will be pumped inside a pipeline to either its final permanent storage location or for beneficial usage.
3
BENEFICIAL USAGE
Captured CO2 can be utilized to mitigate its environmental impact. One approach involves using it in greenhouse operations to enhance plant growth. This application increases crop yields while also removing CO2 from the atmosphere.
4
PERMANENT STORAGE
CO2 is transported away from the power plant and injected deep underground into microscopic spaces in porous rocks. A layer of impermeable rock, called a cap rock, lies directly above the porous rocks ensuring that the CO2 remains there permanently.