The Southeast Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership (SECARB) Program integrates a national, regional, and local team leadership approach at implementing a technical research and development project. Learn more about the SECARB Program and its local project team leaders, the Southern States Energy Board, and the National Energy Technology Laboratory and how each fulfill a different level of project management and oversight to accomplish the goals of the program.

SECARB Program

In 2003, DOE issued awards initiating seven RCSPs spanning the United States and portions of Canada. The RCSPs currently represent more than 400 organizations, 43 states, and four Canadian provinces. SSEB received one of the Phase I awards on October 1, 2003, which established the Board’s management and administration of the Southeast Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership, or SECARB. The geographical region currently includes 13 states and a network of more than 100 stakeholders.

SECARB Program

The SECARB Program is divided into three phases, all three of which are funded by DOE and cost-sharing partners. Phase I (2003-2005) focused on characterizing the geology and potential terrestrial sequestration options in the Southeast, culminating in the development of an action plan for small-scale geologic carbon sequestration field demonstrations.

SECARB completed its Phase II Validation program (2005-2010). The team implemented the action plan from Phase I and validated various technologies with small-scale injections in the field. Phase II includes field tests in four locations.

The 10-year Phase III Development program began in 2007 with a goal to develop an integrated CO2 capture*, transportation, and geologic storage project utilizing post-combustion CO2 captured from a coal-fired power generating facility. Phase III includes two projects. The Early Test, currently underway in Mississippi, will inject at a rate of 1.5 million tonnes of CO2 per year for 18 months. In August 2009, the team met a milestone of monitoring an injection of more than 1 million tonnes of CO2, the largest volume to date. As of January 2015, the CO2 volume stored is over 5 million tonnes. Knowledge gained from the Early Test is applied at the Anthropogenic Test, a fully integrated CO2 capture, transportation, and geologic storage project. The Anthropogenic Test conducted integrated operations from August 2012 to September 2014. During this time, more than 114,000 tonnes of CO2 was stored at the site. The project currently is in its post-injection site closure and monitoring phase.

Southern States Energy Board

The Southern States Energy Board (SSEB) is a non-profit interstate compact organization, created in 1960 and established under Public Laws 87-563 and 92-440. Sixteen southern states and two territories comprise the membership of SSEB: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, U.S. Virgin Islands, Virginia and West Virginia. Each jurisdiction is represented by the governor and by a legislator from both the House and Senate. A governor serves as Chair, and legislators serve as Vice-chair and Treasurer. Ex-officio, non-voting board members include a federal representative appointed by the President of the United States, the Chair of the Southern Legislative Conference Energy and Environment Committee and SSEB’s executive director, who serves as Secretary.

SSEB was created by state law and consented to by Congress with a broad mandate to contribute to the economic and community well-being of the southern region. The Board exercises this mandate through the creation of programs in the fields of energy and environmental policy research, development and implementation, science and technology exploration and related areas of concern. SSEB serves its members directly by providing timely assistance to develop effective energy and environmental policies and programs and represents its members before governmental agencies at all levels.

As national and international focus on greenhouse gas emissions began to escalate, former SSEB Chairman and Governor Bob Wise of West Virginia established the Board’s Carbon Management Program in 2002 to define the role for clean coal in a carbon constrained world. Later that year, the U.S. Department of Energy issued a competitive solicitation for the development of Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnerships (RCSP) to be managed through its National Energy Technology Laboratory and to foster a geographic and scientific evaluation of each region’s unique CO2 sources and geologic and terrestrial opportunities for storage.

Currently, SSEB manages two key projects under the Carbon Management Program, including:

  • Southeast Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership (SECARB); and
  • SECARB-Ed: The Southeast Regional CO2 Sequestration Technology Training Program (originally funded through NETL and currently funded through DOE-Fossil Energy).

National Energy Technology Laboratory

SSEB NETL

The National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), part of DOE’s national laboratory system, is owned and operated by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). NETL supports DOE’s mission to advance the national, economic, and energy security of the United States.

NETL implements a broad spectrum of energy and environmental research and development (R&D) programs that will return benefits for generations to come:

  • Enabling domestic coal, natural gas, and oil to economically power our Nation’s homes, industries, businesses, and transportation
  • While protecting our environment and enhancing our energy independence.

NETL has expertise in coal, natural gas, and oil technologies, contract and project management, analysis of energy systems, and international energy issues.

In addition to research conducted onsite, NETL’s project portfolio includes R&D conducted through partnerships, cooperative research and development agreements, financial assistance, and contractual arrangements with universities and the private sector. Together, these efforts focus a wealth of scientific and engineering talent on creating commercially viable solutions to national energy and environmental problems.