Feds Deny 5 Million Ton Per Year "Carbon Capture" Permit For TX LNG Plant W. 163 Million Ton CO2E Output Per Year

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In tossing out FERC’s approval for Rio Grande, the D.C. Circuit found regulators failed to properly consider how that terminal and another proposed LNG project nearby would impact environmental justice communities in Cameron County, Texas. FERC also hadn’t properly reviewed the impacts of the carbon capture element of Rio Grande, the D.C. Circuit found. For over a year, Rio Grande had failed to give FERC “complete and timely” responses to the Commission’s requests for information on the carbon capture project.

NextDecade had claimed its CCS project would capture at least 90 percent of the carbon emissions from the LNG terminal, while harvesting valuable 45Q tax credits that are designed to give taxpayer subsidies to carbon sequestration projects. Environmental groups had labeled NextDecade’s CCS proposal a “band-aid,” as DeSmog previously reported, comparing the company’s plans to capture more than 5 million tons per year of carbon dioxide to the project’s full climate impact of up to 163 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent per year — a total reduction of just three percent.

Project opponents also pointed out that Rio Grande LNG had highlighted the voluntary nature of its carbon capture addition in regulatory filings, warning that the company might not be serious and that the technology involved was unproven. In a January 2022 filing, NextDecade called Sierra Club’s concerns that the company wasn’t dedicated to using carbon capture at Rio Grande “unsupported, near-conspiratorial allegations.”

“We appreciate the FERC’s diligence during the review process,” NextDecade Chairman and CEO Matt Schatzman said in a statement today. “The CCS project at RGLNG is not sufficiently developed to allow FERC review to continue at this time. We remain committed to advancing and lowering the cost of utilizing carbon capture and storage and helping companies reduce their facility emissions and achieving their clean energy goals.”

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https://www.desmog.com/2024/08/20/nextdecade-scraps-carbon-capture-plans-for-its-rio-grande-lng-terminal/