Offshore wind farms can capture carbon from the air and store it

Offshore wind farms can capture carbon from the air and store it

Off the coasts of Massachusetts and New York, developers are preparing to build U.S. First approved by the federal government utility scale offshore wind farm — A total of 74 turbines, powering 470,000 homes.More than a dozen other offshore wind projects Awaiting approval along the east coast.

By 2030, a Biden administration aims to 30 GW of offshore wind energy flow, enough to power more than 10 million homes.

Replacing fossil fuel energy with clean energy such as wind energy Critical to slowing the worsening impacts of climate change. but that transition doesn’t happen fast enough Stop global warming.Human activity is putting so much carbon dioxide into the atmosphere that we must also remove carbon dioxide from the air and lock it permanently.

Offshore wind farms are uniquely positioned to do both while saving money.

same as before marine geophysicist, I’ve been exploring Combining wind turbines with technology to capture carbon dioxide Extracted directly from the air and stored in natural reservoirs on the sea floor.Combined, these technologies can Reduce energy costs Carbon capture and minimize the need for onshore pipelines, reducing environmental impact.

Most of the renewable energy leases on the Atlantic coast are located near the mid-Atlantic states and Massachusetts. About 480,000 acres of land in New York Bay are scheduled to be auctioned off for wind farms in February 2022. picture: Ocean Energy Administration

Capture carbon dioxide from the air

Several research groups and tech startups Testing direct air capture devices this is okay pull carbon dioxide directly from the atmosphere. The technique works,but early project So far, these have been expensive and energy-intensive.

The system uses Filters or liquid solutions to capture carbon dioxide from the air that blows over them. Once the filter is full, electricity and heat are needed to release the carbon dioxide and restart the capture cycle.

For the process to achieve net negative emissions, the energy must be carbon-free.

This The world’s largest active direct air capture device Operations today do this by using waste heat and renewable energy. The plant, located in Iceland, then pumps the carbon dioxide it captures into the basalt below, where it reacts with the basalt and calcifies, turn to solid minerals.

A similar process can be created using offshore wind turbines.

If direct air capture systems are built with offshore wind turbines, they will immediately obtain clean energy from excess wind energy and can pipe the captured carbon dioxide directly to subsea storage below, reducing the need for extensive piping systems .

Swiss company Climeworks has 15 direct air capture units that remove carbon dioxide from the air. Photo: climate factory

Researchers are currently studying how these systems work in marine conditions. Direct air capture is just beginning to be deployed on land, and the technology may have to be modified for harsh marine environments. But planning should begin now so that wind projects can utilize carbon storage sites and are designed to share platforms, subsea infrastructure and cable networks.

Use excess wind when not needed

By nature, wind energy is intermittent. The demand for energy also varies.When wind energy produces more electricity than is needed, production is reduce And the power that could be used is lost.

that unused power can be changed to Remove carbon from the air and lock it up.

For example, New York State Goals There will be 9 GW of offshore wind by 2035. The 9 GW is expected to provide 27.5 TWh of electricity per year.

Based on historical curtailment rates in the United States, an annual surplus of 825 MWh of electricity is expected as offshore wind farms expand to meet this goal. Assuming the efficiency of direct air capture continues to improve and meet commercial targets, this surplus energy could be used to capture and store more than 500,000 tons of carbon dioxide per year.

That is if the system were only using excess energy that would have been wasted. If it uses more wind power, its carbon capture and storage potential will increase.

Several mid-Atlantic areas leased for offshore wind farms also have the potential to store carbon under the seafloor. Capacity is measured in millions of tons of carbon dioxide per square kilometer. The United States produces approximately 4.5 billion tons of carbon dioxide from energy each year.Image: DOE and Battelle

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicts that, 100 to 1,000 gigatons Compared to pre-industrial levels, $10 billion of carbon dioxide must be removed from the atmosphere this century to keep global warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit).

The researchers estimate that, Submarine geological structure A planned offshore wind development adjacent to the U.S. East Coast could store more than 500 GtCO2. Basalt is That may exist In a series of subterranean basins in the region, more storage capacity was added and allowed carbon dioxide to react with basalt and solidify over time, although geotechnical investigations have not yet tested these deposits.

Simultaneous planning saves time and costs

New wind farms built with direct air capture can deliver renewable energy to the grid and provide surplus power for carbon capture and storage, optimizing this huge investment for immediate climate benefits.

But this requires planning to start before construction.Marine geophysical surveys, environmental monitoring requirements, and approval processes for wind and energy storage are launched together to allow Save time and avoid conflicts and improve environmental management.

David Goldberg is a research professor at Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory.

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