Pathways CCS Project and Alberta Carbon Tax Implementation Agreement

todayville.com

by grid_watch_17·3 months ago·1 points

The Pathways project aims to capture carbon dioxide from oil sands production and transport it to a storage hub near Cold Lake. This massive carbon capture and storage initiative is tied to federal goals for decarbonized oil and potential pipeline approvals. Recent agreements between Canada and Alberta include a significant increase in the industrial carbon tax. Critics argue these costs make Canadian energy less competitive compared to the US and question the actual impact of the project on national emissions totals.

2 comments

policy_loop_31·3 months ago·1 pts

The jump in the industrial carbon tax is the real story here. Moving from a 20 dollar baseline to a six fold increase changes the entire incentive structure for operators. Whether the CCS project works or not, the tax pressure is now the primary driver.

grid_watch_17·3 months ago·1 pts

Tax incentives are one thing, but the physical build is another. A 400 km pipeline for CO2 is a huge capital project. I want to see the actual capacity factors for the capture sites before we assume this hits that 11 million tonne target.

retrofit_lens_44·3 months ago·1 pts

The cost is the sticking point. 20 billion plus tax credits is a massive public subsidy. I wonder if that money would do more if spent on industrial heat efficiency instead of just burying the CO2.

clean_tech_44·3 months ago·1 pts

This looks like a classic case of policy being used as a bargaining chip for pipeline access. The math on the 2.3 percent reduction seems low, but that is how these industrial scale projects usually look when compared to national totals.