Bingham Research Center Receives Grant to Study Carbon Capture & Storage

VERNAL, Utah — Utah State University’s Bingham Research Center has received a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy for a $480,000 project. The grant is part of a larger project called the Uinta-Piceance Basin Carbon Management and Community Engagement Partnership, which is led by the University of Utah.

USU researchers will work to assess the air quality impacts of a carbon capture and storage project (Uinta Basin CarbonSAFE) that is being explored for the Bonanza Power Plant, located in Vernal. This carbon capture and storage (CCS) project aims to sequester at least 50 million metric tons of captured CO2 from the power plant and other sources over the next 30 years. Additionally, USU will be assisting the University of Utah with other aspects of the overall project.

“We are looking to see how feasible it is to commercially store CO2 emissions that would otherwise enter the atmosphere,” said Seth Lyman, director of the Bingham Research Center. “The basic idea of CCS is to capture carbon emissions before they enter the air and, instead, store them in the ground.”

Lyman is part of the local advisory board for the overall CCS project and will be providing the public with results of this study. With this information, lawmakers can create better policy and decisions on how this could be implemented in the region going forward.

“The purpose of the project is to provide information to our local Uinta Basin community and receive community input about potential carbon sequestration projects,” Lyman said. “This will include investigation of possible impacts, preparation and distribution of materials and information, and conducting listening sessions.”

The Bingham Research Center is located in Vernal on the campus of Utah State University Uintah Basin. Scientists, technical staff, and students at the Bingham Research Center are dedicated to energy and environmental research in Utah and around the world, specializing in the areas of air quality, energy, and environmental science. Learn more at www.usu.edu/binghamresearch.