Canada’s Pieridae Energy plans CCS in Alberta

Canadian LNG developer Pieridae Energy, which has substantial natural gas assets in the foothills of Alberta acquired in 2019 from Shell Canada, said May 27 it is planning what would be the largest carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) project in Canada.

Located northwest of Calgary, the Caroline Carbon Capture Power Complex (CCCPC) will be a combination of large-scale CCS and blue-power production. It would capture up to 3mn mt of CO₂ annually – equal to the expected emissions from Pieridae’s planned 10mn mt/yr Goldboro LNG terminal in Nova Scotia – and sequester it in the Caroline field’s depleted natural gas reservoirs.

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The captured carbon would come from three sources, Pieridae said: CO₂produced through gas processing at the existing Caroline gas plant, CO₂generated from power production, and CO₂ produced by third parties.

“This ‘made in Canada’ solution positions Pieridae to play a key role in helping to lower overall Canadian greenhouse gas emissions,” Pieridae CEO Alfred Sorensen said. “We know the world is looking for ways to transition to a lower-carbon intensity economy. By capturing and storing carbon on such a large scale, we move further down the strategic path of ensuring Pieridae is net carbon negative across its value chain from the wellhead to LNG delivery into Europe.”

Pieridae has been in discussions with the Canadian government since January 2020, and is looking for a contribution of some C$950mn towards the as-yet un-sanctioned Goldboro project. But that kind of support, Sorensen told NGW, clearly is tied to the carbon footprint of Goldboro – and that, essentially, is what is driving development of CCCPC.

“With carbon pricing in Canada heading towards $170 by 2030, it has become clear that if you don’t have a carbon solution, you’re bankrupt,” he said.

Pieridae will re-use and repurpose existing infrastructure at its Caroline complex to reduce overall capital costs and environmental impacts. And it expects to work with several industry partners – including an Alberta First Nations development group – in bringing the project to life.

“We have been working with a potential partner already related to the size of the power plant, which will be the main factor in the final cost of this,” Sorensen said. “We hope to be able to announce that partner in the next two or three weeks, when we might be able to put a more precise cost estimate on the project.”

Phase 1 of CCCPC would sequester 1mn mt/yr of CO² and generate about 1.9bn KWh/year of blue power. At full build-out, it would sequester 3mn mt/yr of CO² and generate up to 7.9bn KWh/yr of electricity.