Carbon Capture coming to Sweetwater County

Carly Eversole, [email protected]

Sweetwater County – During the Rock Springs City Council meeting on December 6, 2022, a presentation was given by Carbon Capture Inc. about potentially establishing a carbon capture site in Sweetwater County. Project Bison has been in the works to take root in Wyoming with the goal of storing CO2 emissions through a process called direct air capture (DAC). DAC essentially involves pulling CO2 from the air over a solvent or pellet. Once the solvent is saturated, it is then heated up to about 86 degrees releasing pure CO2, which is then transferred to large storage containers and moved underground.

Presenter Meghan Kenny, Director of Strategy and Projects for Carbon Capture, stated, “Wyoming was selected as the optimal location due to its attractive geology, regulatory environment, and the prevalence of relevant energy industry and job skills.”

The slide show by Kenny also laid out plans in four phases, with Phase 1 estimating storing 10,000 tons/year on 5 acres in 2023-2024. Phase 4 is estimated to take place in the 2029-2030 year and is estimated to store five megatons/year on 160 acres. The four-phase process of Project Bison starts small and ramps up over time, giving ample time to adjust to community feedback, technology changes, and project needs as the company grows.

By the final phase in 2030, an estimated 200+ operational jobs could be created along with hundreds of workers for construction and installation. A manufacturing facility is expected to be constructed as well resulting in over 1000 jobs.

Environmental impacts to wildlife and to Wyoming-specific recreation such as hunting are projected to be minimal as the facility will be on private property. Carbon Capture is working closely with local Wyoming Game and Fish Departments to minimize the impact on the local environment.

Similar successful projects exist in Switzerland and Iceland, storing smaller amounts of CO2 than what Project Bison is projected to store.

At this time, the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is responsible for approving Project Bison as well as all Class VI injection wells. Sweetwater County Commissioners are also responsible for certain permitting requirements.

For additional information on this project which is speculated to be located near Granger, Wyoming, click here.