(Bloomberg) -- California received permission to move forward with a project that would inject carbon dioxide into the state’s deep rock formation using a technology that has long tantalized the fossil fuel industry but has yet to break through.
The Environmental Projection Agency approved California’s first carbon capture and storage project in Kern County, the state’s hub for oil production and agriculture. The EPA announced in a Dec. 31 statement the site can safely receive and store carbon dioxide without harming local drinking water.
Carbon capture and sequestration has a spotty track record, both from an environmental and efficacy standpoint. The process is energy-intensive and has a history of high profile failures. Oil companies favor the technology because it allows them to potentially continue extracting and selling fossil fuels while seeking to address emissions.
California Resources Corp.’s permits authorize it to construct four deep injection wells in the Elk Hills Oil Field. The wells would inject about 1.5 million metric tons of carbon dioxide per year for 26 years, totaling almost 38 million metric tons of carbon dioxide removed and stored, according to the EPA.
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