An Assessment of PIER Electric Grid Research 2003-2014 White Paper

This white paper describes the circumstances in California around the turn of the 21st century that led the California Energy Commission (CEC) to direct additional Public Interest Energy Research funds to address critical electric grid issues, especially those arising from integrating high penetrations of variable renewable generation with the electric grid. It contains an assessment of the beneficial science and technology advances of the resultant portfolio of electric grid research projects administered under the direction of the CEC by a competitively selected contractor, the University of California’s California Institute for Energy and the Environment, from 2003-2014

Osteology of the Jurassic lizard Ardeosaurus brevipes (Meyer)

Volume: 25Start Page: 461End Page: 46

California's Policy Approach to Develop Carbon Capture, Utilization and Sequestration as a Mitigation Technology

AbstractWhile California has been at the forefront in adopting an aggressive climate change mitigation policy, it has taken a more measured and tentative approach toward creating an enabling policy and a regulatory framework for carbon capture, utilization and sequestration (CCUS) technologies to contribute to greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions. In 2005, Governor's Executive Order S-3-05 required that California reduce GHG emissions to 1990 levels by 2020 and to 80% below 1990 levels by 2050. In 2006, State Assembly Bill 32 codified the 2020 goal into law. In 2006, the California Legislature required two California agencies, the California Energy Commission and the Department of Conservation, to produce a report recommending how the state could facilitate commercial adoption of geologic sequestration from industrial sources. In 2010, three state agencies, the Energy Commission, Public Utilities Commission, and Air Resources Board, convened the California Carbon Capture and Storage Review Panel to make recommendations on specific policy, institutional, and regulatory changes necessary for California to enable commercial-scale carbon capture and geologic storage projects. Since 2006, several legislative bills have been introduced to establish regulatory authority, liability, and address pore space ownership issues, but none have made it into law.To meet the state's aggressive targets, especially to 2050 goal, will nevertheless require widespread adoption of CCUS technologies, according to studies by the California Council on Science and Technology. California contributes 7.5% of the total GHG emissions in the USA, or 1.8% of global GHG emissions. Over half of this currently is from point sources, but that proportion will increase as the state pursues electrification of the transportation sector. Trajectories of future GHG emissions growth suggest mitigation technologies must be implemented at rates on the order of 10–20 million tonnes of GHGs removed per year.The cap-and-trade system recently adopted in California to address the GHG reduction mandates of Assembly Bill 32 would seem to encourage pursuit CCUS technology projects by industrial emitters, but uncertainties preclude developing viable business cases. Uncertainty includes a lack of data on the costs of capture and storage and the lack of cap-and-trade accounting protocols for CCUS technologies. Although these protocols are scheduled to be developed, they will lag the initialization of cap-and-trade in 2012

Assessment of the Barriers and Value of Applying CO2 Sequestration in California

Carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) is an important technology for greenhouse gas reduction worldwide, and it may be a critical component to enable California to meet its greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals. CCUS is a suite of different types of technologies used to capture carbon dioxide emissions from power plants or large industrial point sources and use this captured carbon dioxide for various purposes including storage, and injecting in rock formations deep underground. Technologies for measuring and monitoring carbon dioxide in the subsurface or in surface facilities also are part of this suite. Because of the complexity and diversity of CCUS technologies, there are numerous challenges to its deployment. The elements to undertaking a CCUS project include both technical and nontechnical—reducing the risks associated with these elements are essential to assuring CCUS is an effective and economic mitigation technology. The greatest risks are associated with the subsurface; thus, proper site characterization and monitoring are important to project success. This report reviews the findings from projects and activities in California, North America and worldwide and addresses the key questions California policy makers must answer to facilitate CCUS deployment effectively

Research Roadmap of Technologies for Carbon Sequestration Alternatives

This research roadmap reviews existing and developing technologies for the use of carbon dioxide to provide recommendations to the California Energy Commission on the further development and implementation of such technologies. The roadmap reviews and categorizes the known usage technologies currently in use or under development. Uses of carbon dioxide range from well‐developed applications, such as enhanced oil recovery, to much less mature technologies, such as the use of carbon dioxide to produce fine chemicals, chemical feedstocks, working fluids for energy‐related technologies, and building materials.  This roadmap outlines various attributes of technologies such as technology maturity and readiness, the amount of carbon dioxide that would be consumed or used if fully deployed, technology gaps and barriers to full deployment, and the companies or organizations pursuing development of the technologies. This information is then used to highlight technological advances that are needed to overcome existing barriers to deployment. The report also reviews funding from federal sources and examines the potential for California to leverage synergistic federal funding to promote investment in and deployment of usage technologies within the state. This report also discusses the relevance of carbon dioxide usage technologies to California’s greenhouse gas reduction goals. &nbsp

Renewable Energy Transmission Initiative

This roadmap reviews existing and developing technologies for the utilization of CO2 in order to provide recommendations to the California Energy Commission on the further development and implementation of such technologies. The roadmap reviews and categorizes the knownutilization technologies currently in use or under development. Uses of CO2 range from well-developed applications, such as enhanced oil recovery, to much less mature technologies such as the use of CO2 to produce fine chemicals, chemical feed stocks, working fluids for energy-related technologies, and building materials. This roadmap outlines attributes of technologies such as technology maturity and readiness, the amount of CO2 that would be consumed or utilized if fully deployed, technology gaps and barriers to full deployment, and the companies or organizations pursuing development of the technologies. This information is then used as a reference to highlight technological advances that are required to overcome these barriers to deployment. It also reviews funding from federal sources and examines the potential for California toleverage synergistic federal funding to facilitateinvestment in and deployment of utilization technologies within the state. This report also discusses the relevance of CO2 utilization technologies to California’s greenhouse gas reduction goals

An Assessment of PIER Electric Grid Research 2003-2014 White Paper

This white paper describes the circumstances in California around the turn of the 21st century that led the California Energy Commission (CEC) to direct additional Public Interest Energy Research funds to address critical electric grid issues, especially those arising from integrating high penetrations of variable renewable generation with the electric grid. It contains an assessment of the beneficial science and technology advances of the resultant portfolio of electric grid research projects administered under the direction of the CEC by a competitively selected contractor, the University of California’s California Institute for Energy and the Environment, from 2003-2014