Alaska legislators give closer look at bill aimed at storing carbon emissions underground

Alaska legislators are considering a bill proposed by Gov. Mike Dunleavy last year to store carbon emissions, which could have implications from Cook Inlet to the North Slope. According to industry experts, it could allow a wide range of new opportunities and enable the continuation of existing ones.

House Bill 50, the Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage Act, would allow the state to lease subsurface rights for the purpose of storing carbon dioxide, the largest contributor to human-caused climate warming.

Combined with generous federal subsidies, the bill could enable everything from enhanced oil recovery using carbon dioxide to the sequestration of emissions from new coal-fired power generation to removing carbon dioxide directly from the air. According to a consultant hired by the state, a carbon capture framework could even make it economic for the state to export North Slope natural gas not as gas but as hydrogen or ammonia, with the carbon dioxide from processing sequestered underground.

The legislation could also help maintain existing fossil fuel production and justify new development amid pressure to reduce carbon emissions.

https://washingtonstatestandard.com/2024/02/20/alaska-legislators-give-closer-look-at-bill-aimed-at-storing-carbon-emissions-underground/