An area south of Lake Preston, known as Harvey Ridge, has been identified as the best potential location for carbon dioxide geosequestration to service the South West coal industry.
An area south of Lake Preston, known as Harvey Ridge, has been identified as the best potential location for carbon dioxide geosequestration to service the South West coal industry.
The study was commissioned by the state government’s Coal Futures Group as part of its objective to investigate clean coal technologies in order to assist the long-term viability of the state’s coal industry.
Conducted by Canberra-based Cooperative Research Centre for Greenhouse Gas Technologies, the study identified and prioritised potential CO2 geological storage opportunities in the Collie and Perth basins.
Coal from the Collie basin provides fuel for generation of about 70 per cent of the electricity consumed in the South West. Collie’s coal-fired power stations are considered to be major emitters of CO2 in the region.
Located within 50 kilometres of the town of Collie, Harvey Ridge was found to have a combination of suitable trapping mechanisms, which would enable injection of carbon dioxide at depths of about three kilometres.
Coal Futures Group chairman and Collie MLA, Mick Murray, said the coal industry had been watching the group’s work with interest for some time, and had come to the realisation that the industry was about to undergo a period of significant change.
“It’s no longer the case that people can sit back and say ‘it doesn’t affect us’,” he said.
Mr Murray said the group would now go back to industry stakeholders and gauge their willingness to adopt the new technologies.
The Collie basin, while showing potential for storage, was found to be too small for the anticipated volume of CO2 – about 10 million tonnes per year – to be sequestered from the Collie region over the long term.
The report also raised concerns about the possibility of upward migration of CO2 after injection and vertical escape pathways due to the large occurrence of north-west trending faults in the Collie basin.
Other concerns for potential storage in the basin included contamination risk to substantial fresh groundwater resources, and the possibility that CO2 storage could restrict future coal mining in the area.
The report recommended further, more rigorous assessment of Harvey Ridge, followed by an integrated two-stage work program involving geological modelling and drilling of a pilot well.
Energy and Resources Minister Fran Logan supported the Coal Futures Group for meeting its objective on advancing knowledge of clean coal technology, saying further investigations of the area would be considered.
Investigation into carbon capture and storage technologies have formed the cornerstone of the federal government’s climate change strategy for industry, devoting more than half of its $500 million low emissions technology demonstration fund to “clean coal” projects.
A number of potential carbon sequestration projects have been proposed in the WA, including the Gorgon natural gas project off the North West coast, and the proposed BP/Rio Tinto $2 billion coal-fired power station at Kwinana.
