The future economic prosperity of Montana - not to mention the fate of the world - rides on finding practical ways to dispose of carbon dioxide.
Montana possesses the nation's largest reserves of coal, the nation's dominant fuel for electricity. Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer envisions broader uses for coal through gasification and liquefaction. Montana also is a net producer of oil, the lifeblood of America. And Montana's forests comprise a huge, mostly untapped source of biofuel. The state's vast agricultural lands also have tremendous biofuel-production capacity.
None of this can possibly happen, however, unless the producers of energy manage to keep a lid on carbon dioxide emissions.
Carbon dioxide - CO2 - is a so-called greenhouse gas. Increasing concentrations of CO2 in Earth's atmosphere contribute to global warming. While some people quibble over the extent to which the increase in CO2 is attributable to humans and to what extent that contributes to the planet's changing climate, there's no debating it's the determining factor in Montana's future as an energy producer. It's increasingly apparent that companies, communities, industries and states are going to steer clear of anything associated with increasing CO2 emissions, lest they be perceived as contributing to global warming. As public understanding and opinions about global warming evolve, the free market is likely to achieve what government regulations couldn't - what amounts to a ban on new CO2 emissions.
Gov. Schweitzer touched on this in his State of the State address last month.
“It was California who changed their law, who said they will no longer buy electricity from anyone who increases the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere,” he said. “They are the 900-pound gorilla in the western United States for purchasing electricity. If we're going to sell into the California market, we will have to sell using wind power and coal gasification with sequestration. California will not accept and Montana should not put carbon dioxide in our atmosphere.”
His reference to “sequestration” alludes to methods of capturing and locking away carbon dioxide before it hits the atmosphere. One method involves separating CO2 after burning or liquefying coal and injecting the gas deep underground into geologic formations that will trap it indefinitely. “Sequestration” also is used to describe natural processes - such as growing trees - effectively remove carbon dioxide from the air. Carbon sequestration isn't simply a matter of catering to trendy Californians. It doesn't take a crystal ball to see that it soon will be easier to sell trans fat to school lunch programs than it will be to get utilities to handle energy involving CO2 emissions. Poorer developing countries may not be as selective, but the United States has achieved the kind of affluence that allows people to make such choices.
Carbon sequestration is a developing science. The global implications are sufficient to focus tremendous resources on this field of research and development - regardless of anything having to do specifically with Montana. That means Montana doesn't have to invent the solution. But it does have to implement it. That's a challenge of unknown complexity. The general idea has been pretty well proven. That is, CO2 can be captured and squirreled away in one fashion or another. But practical application of carbon sequestration on a large scale in Montana is another question. At this point, capturing CO2, transporting it to where the geology is suitable, injecting it into the ground and verifying that it stays there - all at a cost that makes energy affordable and profitable - is a hope, not a reality.
Montana legislators are considering at least five carbon sequestration bills. The bills range from measures that define sequestration to creating tax breaks for the technology and facilities to requiring carbon capture and sequestration at all new energy facilities. These measures haven't gotten a whole lot of attention yet this session, but they should.
The future of Montana's energy industry rides on them.
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