Carbon Sequestration Initiative
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) leads the federal government’s carbon storage research and development as part of the agency’s fossil energy programs. In 2003, DOE launched the Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership (RCSP) Initiative to advance the development and testing of carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) technologies in the United States. Carbon sequestration is just another term for carbon storage. The DOE created seven regional partnerships with the intent of developing the first national network of companies and professionals focused on CCUS, raising public awareness and setting the foundations for widespread deployment of sequestration projects.
Early phases included the completion of nineteen small-scale field projects in a variety of storage complexes (eight in oil and gas fields, five in unmineable coal seams, five in saline formations, one in basalt), providing information on reservoir and seal properties of regionally significant formations, testing and initial validation of modeling and monitoring technologies.1U.S. National Energy Technology Laboratory. (n.d.). Regional Carbon sequestration partnerships (RCSP) initiative. Retrieved October 29, 2020, from https://www.netl.doe.gov/coal/carbon-storage/storage-infrastructure/regional-carbon-sequestration-partnerships-initiative
In 2008, the RCSP focus turned to large-scale field laboratories in saline formations and oil and gas fields with a target of injecting at least 1 Mt per project in the Development Phase of the RCSP Initiative. Numerous applied research technologies have been integrated into these projects and the results have been essential in further technology development of CCUS.2U.S. National Energy Technology Laboratory. (n.d.). Regional Carbon sequestration partnerships (RCSP) initiative. Retrieved October 29, 2020, from https://www.netl.doe.gov/coal/carbon-storage/storage-infrastructure/regional-carbon-sequestration-partnerships-initiative