COP28: US Faces 'Huge' CCS Skills Challenge, Energy Department Official Says

by Anthony Lane (OPIS) The U.S. faces a "huge challenge" in increasing the number of skilled workers who can undertake a fast-growing list of planned carbon capture storage projects, James Crabtree, the U.S. assistant secretary of energy for fossil energy and carbon management said on Tuesday.

"There's a huge skills and human resource challenge, but that's not a bad thing. It's an opportunity," Crabtree said following an event by industry association the Global CCS Institute at the UN climate change summit here.

Crabtree said the number of CCS project proposals in the U.S. is mushrooming. "There are more than 160 pending applications for geologic storage permits with the Environmental Protection Agency. That is a complex and expensive process. Companies would not submit those applications unless they were serious."

"By 2035 we could potentially have 250-300 million metric tons per year of annual carbon capture and storage capacity in the United States," he said, cautioning that "we face a significant permitting challenge" and a need to gain public acceptance for projects.

OPIS asked Crabtree whether the U.S. has the workforce and skills base to tackle the CCS projects, especially as the country pursues heavily subsidized initiatives in many other energy transition-related sectors.

"The short answer is no, and that's the opportunity because we're reindustrializing the United States with these programs," he said. Crabtree previously served as director of the Carbon Capture Coalition and a member of the National Coal Council, a federal advisory committee. "With the funding we are providing companies and others doing these projects ... in part of the application process we are asking companies to tell us what [they are] doing for workforce development."

In the case of hydrogen and direct air capture hubs, successful applicants "are going to be supporting technical training with community colleges and apprenticeships working with unions. So, in a positive sense, we see this as an opportunity to create new high-wage jobs and improve the skills base of American workers," he added. "In any country that has a large industrial base or energy sector, [CCS] is an opportunity to sustain those industries and the high-wage jobs they already have."

Thus far, little attention has been given to the issue of whether contractors and engineering companies in countries pursuing CCS policies have the skilled workforce to enact such projects.

U.K. sources suggested that contractors there are already being stretched because of labor issues and upcoming major projects in other sectors like the construction of the Hinkley Point C nuclear plant.

Earlier this week, a Norwegian government adviser told OPIS at a COP28 event that the CCS sector will need to compete with other longstanding and emerging sectors for workers. "It's a very important question. We need to [regard] the workforce, the manpower and the specific skills needed [to develop CCS projects] as a scarce resource," said Ane Gjengedal, an advisor at Norway's Ministry of Petroleum and Energy. READ MORE

Excerpt from Associated Press: There are about 40 large-scale carbon capture projects in operation around the world capturing roughly 45 million metric tons of carbon dioxide each year, according to the International Energy Agency. That’s a tiny amount — roughly 0.1% — of the 36.8 billion metric tons emitted globally as tallied by the Global Carbon Project.

The IEA says the history of carbon capture “has largely been one of unmet expectations.” The group analyzed how the world can achieve net zero emissions and its guide path relies heavily on lowering emissions by slashing fossil fuel use. Carbon capture is just a sliver of the solution — less than 10% — but despite its comparatively small role, its expansion is still behind schedule.

The pace of new projects is picking up, but they face significant obstacles. In the United States, there’s opposition to CO2 pipelines that move carbon to storage sites. Safety is one concern; in 2020, a CO2 pipeline in Mississippi ruptured, releasing carbon dioxide that displaced breathable air near the ground and sent dozens of people to hospitals. The federal government is working on improving safety standards.

Companies can also run into difficulty getting permits. South Dakota regulators this year, for example, rejected a construction permit for a 1,300-mile network of CO2 pipelines in the Midwest to move carbon to a storage site in Illinois.

The technology to remove carbon directly from the air exists too, but its broad deployment is even further away and especially costly. READ MORE

Excerpt from Politico Climatewire: Negotiators from Riyadh argue carbon pollution can be largely captured and buried using scrubbing technology that (U.S. Climate envoy John) Kerry said remains largely unproven at the needed scale.

“There are people here who want to just continue business as usual. And the great facade is: ‘Oh no, we'll be able to capture everything,’” said Kerry, his voice hoarse from a chest cold. “No scientist tells me we can capture it all. Can't do it. Can we capture some? Yes, and by the way, I'm for it.” READ MORE