Streamlining and Refining FEDS Loads Models - Final Report

The Facility Energy Decision System (FEDS) software is a powerful buildings energy analysis tool developed by Battelle at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory with support from numerous organizations including several within the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and U.S. Department of Defense (DoD). FEDS is used extensively throughout the federal sector to examine building energy efficiency potential and recommend energy saving retrofit projects. The focus of this CRADA was to update the foundation of the FEDS loads models, to improve the core functionality and calculation methods and position the building efficiency analysis software for continued growth. The broader intent was to increase FEDS utility and user satisfaction via improving modeling accuracy, facilitating development and making possible a wide range of new and desired capability enhancements. This report provides an summary of the various tasks performed under the CRADA

Trends and Issues in Not for Profit Camping

The purpose of this study was to examine in­fluences on not for profit agencies involved in camping programs to determine critical trends and issues related to organized camping. The American Camping Association (ACA) Not for Profit Forum and Council funded this study. The project consisted of three data collection phases: 1) an extensive literature review; 2) a survey sent to a random sample of camp directors and their not for profit agency executives; and 3) focus groups conducted at a national ACA con­ference. This descriptive research study uses information from the second phase of this pro­ject to present quantitative data about percep­tions of the trends and issues in not for profit camping

A quantitative comparison of the cost of employing EOR-coupled CCS supplemented with secondary DSF storage for two large CO2 point sources

AbstractThis paper explores the impact of the temporally dynamic demand for CO2 for CCS-coupled EOR by evaluating the variable demand for new (i.e., non-recycled) anthropogenic CO2 within EOR projects and the extent to which EOR-coupled CCS is compatible with the need for baseload CO2 storage options for large anthropogenic point sources. A profile of CO2 demand over an assumed EOR project lifetime is applied across two different storage scenarios to illustrate the differences in cost associated with different EOR-coupled CCS configurations. The first scenario pairs a single EOR field with a DSF used to store any CO2 that is not used to increase oil recovery in the EOR field; the second scenario is designed to minimize storage in the DSF and maximize lower-cost EOR-based storage by bringing multiple EOR projects online over time as the previous project’s CO2 demand declines, making the source’s CO2 available for a subsequent project. Each scenario is evaluated for two facilities, emitting 3 and 6 MtCO2/y. Annual and lifetime average CO2 transport and storage costs are presented, and the impact of added capture and compression costs on overall project economics is examined.The research reported here suggests that the cost of implementing a CCS-coupled EOR project will be more than is typically assumed; in many cases a positive price on CO2 emitted to the atmosphere will be required to motivate deployment of these CO2-based EOR projects, except in the most idealized cases. The reasons for this conclusion are twofold. First, the costs of capitalizing, operating and monitoring a secondary DSF to provide backup storage for CO2 not demanded by the EOR operation can cut sharply into EOR revenues. Second, except in cases where a single firm figures both the CO2 source emissions and the associated EOR recovery on the same balance sheet, the oil production company is not likely to share a significant portion of revenues from the EOR field with the CO2 source. Thus, while EOR-coupled CCS may offer attractive early opportunities, these opportunities are likely only available to a small fraction of the CO2 source fleet in the U.S

Source/Sink Matching for U.S. Ethanol Plants and Candidate Deep Geologic Carbon Dioxide Storage Formations

This report presents data on the 140 existing and 74 planned ethanol production facilities and their proximity to candidate deep geologic storage formations. Half of the existing ethanol plants and 64% of the planned units sit directly atop a candidate geologic storage reservoir. While 70% of the existing and 97% of the planned units are within 100 miles of at least one candidate deep geologic storage reservoir. As a percent of the total CO2 emissions from these facilities, 92% of the exiting units CO2 and 97% of the planned units CO2 emissions are accounted for by facilities that are within 100 miles of at least one potential CO2 storage reservoir

Comparing Existing Pipeline Networks with the Potential Scale of Future U.S. CO2 Pipeline Networks

AbstractInterest is growing regarding the potential size of a future U.S.-dedicated carbon dioxide (CO2) pipeline infrastructure if carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS) technologies are commercially deployed on a large scale within the United States. This paper assesses the potential scale of the CO2 pipeline system needed under two hypothetical climate policies (WRE450 and WRE550 stabilization scenarios); a comparison is then made to the extant U.S. pipeline infrastructures used to deliver CO2 for enhanced oil recovery and to move natural gas and liquid hydrocarbons from areas of production and importation to markets. The analysis reveals that between 11,000 and 23,000 additional miles of dedicated CO2 pipeline might be needed in the United States before 2050 across these two cases. While either case represents a significant increase over the 3900 miles that comprise the existing national CO2 pipeline infrastructure, it is important to realize that the demand for additional CO2 pipeline capacity will unfold relatively slowly and in a geographically dispersed manner as new dedicated CCS-enabled power plants and industrial facilities are brought online. During the period 2010Â2030, this analysis indicates growth in the CO2 pipeline system on the order of a few hundred to less than 1000 miles per year. By comparison, during the period 1950Â2000, the U.S. natural gas pipeline distribution system grew at rates that far exceed these growth projections for a future CO2 pipeline network in the U.S. This analysis indicates that the need to increase the size of the existing dedicated CO2 pipeline system should not be seen as a major obstacle for the commercial deployment of CCS technologies in the United States. While there could be issues associated with siting specific segments of a larger national CO2 pipeline infrastructure, the sheer scale of the required infrastructure should not be seen as representing a significant impediment to U.S. deployment of CCS technologies. Document type: Repor

Geological suitability and capacity of CO2 storage in the Jiyang Depression, East China

Carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS) is an effective technology to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in China. In this paper, the authors considered storage opportunities offered by oil reservoirs and deep saline aquifers in the Jiyang Depression, in east China. Based on detailed geological analysis and assessment of CO2 storage suitability, the Dongying Sag and Linyi‐Shanghe areas of the Huimin Sag within the Jiyang Depression appear promising for CO2 storage. Following more detailed characterization, the second and third members of the Shahejie Formation located in these two areas appear the most promising for CO2 storage. Within the areas identified as having potential for storage, 55 primary and 62 secondary recommended storage units were defined, with a total theoretical capacity of 5.02 × 108 tonnes (t) CO2. This represents storage of CO2 emissions from large‐scale sources in the Jiyang Depression for more than 30 years at current emission rates

An Assessment of the Commercial Availability of Carbon Dioxide Capture and Storage Technologies as of June 2009

Currently, there is considerable confusion within parts of the carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS) technical and regulatory communities regarding the maturity and commercial readiness of the technologies needed to capture, transport, inject, monitor and verify the efficacy of carbon dioxide (CO2) storage in deep, geologic formations. The purpose of this technical report is to address this confusion by discussing the state of CCS technological readiness in terms of existing commercial deployments of CO2 capture systems, CO2 transportation pipelines, CO2 injection systems and measurement, monitoring and verification (MMV) systems for CO2 injected into deep geologic structures. To date, CO2 has been captured from both natural gas and coal fired commercial power generating facilities, gasification facilities and other industrial processes. Transportation via pipelines and injection of CO2 into the deep subsurface are well established commercial practices with more than 35 years of industrial experience. There are also a wide variety of MMV technologies that have been employed to understand the fate of CO2 injected into the deep subsurface. The four existing end-to-end commercial CCS projects  Sleipner, Snohvit, In Salah and Weyburn  are using a broad range of these technologies, and prove that, at a high level, geologic CO2 storage technologies are mature and capable of deploying at commercial scales. Whether wide scale deployment of CCS is currently or will soon be a cost-effective means of reducing greenhouse gas emissions is largely a function of climate policies which have yet to be enacted and the publicÂs willingness to incur costs to avoid dangerous anthropogenic interference with the EarthÂs climate. There are significant benefits to be had by continuing to improve through research, development, and demonstration suite of existing CCS technologies. Nonetheless, it is clear that most of the core technologies required to address capture, transport, injection, monitoring, management and verification for most large CO2 source types and in most CO2 storage formation types, exist. Document type: Repor

Assessing the Effect of Timing of Availability for Carbon Dioxide Storage in the Largest Oil and Gas Pools in the Alberta Basin: Description of Data and Methodology

Carbon dioxide capture from large stationary sources and storage in geological media is a technologically-feasible mitigation measure for the reduction of anthropogenic emissions of CO2 to the atmosphere in response to climate change. Carbon dioxide (CO2) can be sequestered underground in oil and gas reservoirs, in deep saline aquifers, in uneconomic coal beds and in salt caverns. The Alberta Basin provides a very large capacity for CO2 storage in oil and gas reservoirs, along with significant capacity in deep saline formations and possible unmineable coal beds. Regional assessments of potential geological CO2 storage capacity have largely focused so far on estimating the total capacity that might be available within each type of reservoir. While deep saline formations are effectively able to accept CO2 immediately, the storage potential of other classes of candidate storage reservoirs, primarily oil and gas fields, is not fully available at present time. Capacity estimates to date have largely overlooked rates of depletion in these types of storage reservoirs and typically report the total estimated storage capacity that will be available upon depletion. However, CO2 storage will not (and cannot economically) begin until the recoverable oil and gas have been produced via traditional means. This report describes a reevaluation of the CO2 storage capacity and an assessment of the timing of availability of the oil and gas pools in the Alberta Basin with very large storage capacity (>5 MtCO2 each) that are being looked at as likely targets for early implementation of CO2 storage in the region. Over 36,000 non-commingled (i.e., single) oil and gas pools were examined with effective CO2 storage capacities being individually estimated. For each pool, the life expectancy was estimated based on a combination of production decline analysis constrained by the remaining recoverable reserves and an assessment of economic viability, yielding an estimated depletion date, or year that it will be available for CO2 storage. The modeling framework and assumptions used to assess the impact of the timing of CO2 storage resource availability on the region’s deployment of CCS technologies is also described. The purpose of this report is to describe the data and methodology for examining the carbon dioxide (CO2) storage capacity resource of a major hydrocarbon province incorporating estimated depletion dates for its oil and gas fields with the largest CO2 storage capacity. This allows the development of a projected timeline for CO2 storage availability across the basin and enables a more realistic examination of potential oil and gas field CO2 storage utilization by the region’s large CO2 point sources. The Alberta Basin of western Canada was selected for this initial examination as a representative mature basin, and the development of capacity and depletion date estimates for the 227 largest oil and gas pools (with a total storage capacity of 4.7 GtCO2) is described, along with the impact on source-reservoir pairing and resulting CO2 transport and storage economics. The analysis indicates that timing of storage resource availability has a significant impact on the mix of storage reservoirs selected for utilization at a given time, and further confirms the value that all available reservoir types offer, providing important insights regarding CO2 storage implementation to this and other major oil and gas basins throughout North America and the rest of the world. For CCS technologies to deploy successfully and offer a meaningful contribution to climate change mitigation, CO2 storage reservoirs must be available not only where needed (preferably co-located with or near large concentrations of CO2 sources or emissions centers) but also when needed. The timing of CO2 storage resource availability is therefore an important factor to consider when assessing the real opportunities for CCS deployment in a given region