Carbon Capture Use and Sequestration - Minnesota Senate Energy Briefing Mike Holmes - Minnesota State Senate

Carbon Capture Use and Sequestration
   Minnesota Senate Energy Briefing

               Mike Holmes
                VP of R&D
             February 9, 2021

                 1

Historical Challenges Met
•       Thriving with high-sodium coal          ▪     Meeting regulations for primary pollutants

        Optimized operations and cleanability    Addressed control of nitrogen and sulfur emissions

▪       Addressed mercury and trace             ▪     Support of only US coal-to-synfuels plant
        metals
                                                           DGC added urea to product suite
        Costs reduced by more than 20X

    ▪    Spiritwood – industrial
         complex
    ▪    Dryfining – coal upgrading
    ▪    Lignite mining, use, and
         reclamation advances
         through data,
         instrumentation & controls

            To highlight a few
                                                 Basin Electric Antelope Valley Station and DGC Synfuels Plant
                                                 www.dakotagas.com
                                                2

Research & Development
Benefits the Regional Economy
• Support continued options to enhance performance of
  the existing fleet
• Invest in transformational research (Next generation
  of Lignite conversion systems that integrate CO2
  capture)
• Focus on Carbon Capture Utilization & Storage (CCUS)
• Leverage international R&D breakthroughs
• Renewed Focus
   – Additional value propositions for lignite
   – Polygeneration opportunities

                         3

EPA Air Trends (U.S.) - https://www.epa.gov/air-trends/air-quality-national-summary#air-quality-trends
                                                               4

BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2019   5

Greatest Challenges to Coal-Fired Power
• Undervalued
    • Baseload power provides the backbone of the grid and economy
    • Low-Cost, Clean, Reliable, and Resilient
    • Maintains its role on uneven playing field
• Prescriptive Regulations and Policy
    • Rather than targeting carbon goals they target generation type
    • Puts cost of intermittency on coal power
• Low-Cost Natural Gas. However,
    • Limited gas infrastructure in the region
    • Associated gas is better used for maintaining oil pressure and
      solvency (i.e. reinject).
• Inaccurate Information
    • More information is needed to better inform leaders and public
    • Inaccurate information needs to continue to be addressed (jobs,
      costs, impacts, …)
                             6

Positive Impact of Coal Power on Businesses and the Region

      • High-Paying Jobs and Economic Impact
         • Lignite Industry Responsible for $5.4 billion and 13,000 jobs
         • CCUS can as much as double the impact
      • Grid efficiency and affordable energy costs.
         • The regional GDP depends on low-cost reliable electricity.
         • The region spends over twice the national per-capita average on
            energy.
             • Climate, agriculture and energy industry, and wide-open spaces
         • For example, ND is second only to Louisiana in energy costs in on a
           dollars per million Btu Basis
      • Provides grid stability

                                      7

Carbon Solutions Needs

                                      CO2 Utilization and
         Existing Plant Solutions     Storage Solutions     New/Replacement Solutions

                                    PCOR and      EOR
          Project Tundra            CarbonSAFE   Partners               Allam Cycle

                                             8

CAPTURE TECHNOLOGY OVERVIEW

• Carbon dioxide capture technology (Amine)
  – Flue gas pretreatment
    ♦ Cool gas
    ♦ Remove impurities
  – Absorb CO2
    ♦ Bind chemically with liquid
  – Solvent regeneration
    ♦ use heat to separate the CO2 from the
      liquid
    ♦ Return the liquid for reuse (Amine solvent)
  – CO2 compression and dehydration
    ♦ Remove water
    ♦ Pressurize for storage and/or use

                                                    9

Value-Added Opportunities for North
Dakota Lignite

 Lignite Energy Council (LEC) commissioned a
 study to assess additional uses of North
 Dakota’s immense coal resource.

 The report is available at LEC’s Web site:
 https://cdn.lignite.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/LEC-value-added-
 executive-summary-2018-1_14_19-small.pdf

Questions??

   12