Programs Archives – Southern States Energy Board

The episode—featuring Benjamin Wernette, our Geologist and Project Manager—introduces listeners to the four Regional Initiatives to Accelerate Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS) Deployment, a DOE-funded project with the collective objective to identify and help address regional storage and transport hurdles affecting commercial deployment of CCUS.

Hosted by Dr. Rachelle Kernen, Postdoctoral Research Fellow with the Australian School of Petroleum & Energy Resources at the University of Adelaide, the 2022 eGeos podcast series takes a deep dive into CCUS thanks to a new partnership with the Midwest Regional Carbon Initiative.

The four initiatives discussed in the episode are:

Midwest Regional Carbon Initiative (MRCI)

Carbon Utilization and Storage Partnership of the Western United States (CUSP)

Plains Carbon Dioxide Reduction Partnership Initiative to Accelerate CCUS Deployment (PCOR)

Southeast Regional Carbon Utilization & Storage Partnership (SECARB-USA)

Alongside Benjamin, this podcast features discussions with the leaders from two other DOE-funded regional initiatives:

Sallie Greenberg and Neeraj Gupta, co-Principal Investigators for the MRCI; and

Wesley Peck, Assistant Director of Subsurface Strategies at the Energy & Environmental Research Center and Regional Infrastructure Task Lead for PCOR.

Future episodes will include discussions with members of the eGeos team and researchers from the other regional initiatives, as well as experts from a variety of CCUS-related fields.

Listen to the eGeos podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Soundcloud, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

For more information on the regional initiatives, check out our webinar from July 2021 here.

On October 15, the U.S. Department of Energy announced $20 million in funding to four projects working to accelerate the regional deployment of carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS). The projects, representing the four corners of the country, are known as DOE’s Regional Initiatives to Accelerate CCUS Deployment.

The Southern States Energy Board leads one of the four regional initiatives. Known as the Southeast Regional CO₂ Utilization and Storage Acceleration Partnership (SECARB-USA), our team of technical experts are tasked with identifying at least 50 potential regional sites to evaluate storage resource potential and infrastructure needs. The DOE funding awards approximately $5 million to our regional initiative program.

The goal of SECARB-USA is to help the United States meet its need for secure, affordable, and environmentally sound fossil energy supplies by utilizing the advancements made by the regional initiatives to continue identifying and addressing knowledge gaps.

Expanding the deployment of CCUS will reduce carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions from industrial sources and is a crucial component to achieving the Biden-Harris Administration’s goal of net-zero emissions by 2050.
DOE Announcement

We’re ready to continue leading a coalition of CCUS experts tasked with identifying and resolving regional challenges facing the deployment of carbon capture technologies in the Southeast! To learn more about our SECARB-USA program, click the logo below.