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Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership (RCSP)

 

For the BSCSP Kevin Dome project, two characterization wells were drilled. Photo courtesy of Montana State University DE-FC26-05NT42587.

RCSP Overview:

The United States (U.S.) Department of Energy (DOE) created a nationwide network of seven Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnerships (RCSPs) early in the Carbon Storage Program, to help determine and implement the technology, infrastructure, and regulations most appropriate to promote carbon storage in different regions of the U.S. and portions of Canada. After successfully concluding multiple small- and large-scale injection test projects, storing more than 12 million metric tons (MMT) of carbon dioxide (CO2) in geologic formations via with no indications of negative impacts to either human health or the environment, they positioned the U.S. as world leaders in the development of CO2 storage technologies.

Today, the mission of the RCSPs is complete, having successfully set the stage for commercial-scale deployment of safe and durable geologic storage of captured CO2, which DOE is currently executing through the Carbon Storage Assurance Facility Enterprise (CarbonSAFE) program. DOE continues to leverage the expertise and stakeholder base built by the RCSPs through the newly established DOE Regional Initiatives. Four projects were competitively selected in late 2019 to kick off DOE’s Regional Initiatives. DOE subsequently selected two offshore projects and is seeking to expand the technical assistance efforts throughout the U.S. DOE regards the Regional Initiatives effort and subsequent projects as having the core mission to provide technical assistance to regional stakeholders with interest in developing CCUS projects. Below is information on the previous DOE led RCSPs, including highlights of their extensive accomplishments that helped lay the foundation for the DOE Regional Initiatives.

Map of RCSPs


 

The RCSPs’ efforts and accomplishments from almost 20 years of carbon storage research can be reviewed in DOE’s Carbon Storage Atlas, 2015 Interactive Edition

The RCSPs were implemented in three phases:

RCSP Infographic (Click to enlarge)
The Characterization Phase (2003–2005) collected data on CO2 stationary sources and geologic formations and develop the human capital to support and enable future carbon storage field tests.
The Validation Phase (2005–2013) evaluated promising CO2 storage opportunities through a series of small-scale (each less than 1 MMT CO2) field tests.
The Development Phase (2008–2021) involved the injection of 1 MMT or more of CO2 by the RCSPs into regionally significant geologic formations.

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