Carbon Storage Training Seminar

Charleston, WV

October 25, 2011

May 10-11, 2011

Day 1

George Rudins, Executive Director of the USCSC, facilitated the Workshop and introduced the subject area and the objectives.  George Rudins founded the DOE CCS program while serving as DOE’s Deputy Assistant Secretary for Coal and Power Systems.

The first trainer was Dr. James (Jim) Dooley from the Joint Global Change Research Institute, who is a recognized international expert in climate change and CCS.  His presentation, CCS 101, was on the fundamental aspects of climate issues and strategy, the basics of CCS, and the role of CCS in reducing global greenhouse gas emissions.  The next training session addressed the legal and regulatory issues associated with the broad global deployment of CCS.  The trainer for this session was Thomas Russial, the former Chief Council of DOE’s National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL).  The third training session was led by a presentation from Dr. Larry Myer, the former technical director of the West Coast Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership (WESTCARB).  Dr. Myer discussed the techniques and methods used for monitoring the stored CO2 and verifying its behavior in geologic formations.  This topic is one of the critical subject areas for establishing the safety and reliability of the long term geologic storage of large volumes of CO2.  The final session of the day examined the suitability of the geology of the Southeast for the CO2 sequestration.  Ken Nemeth, Executive Director of the Southern States Energy Board (SSEB), provided an overview of ongoing CCS projects, with a particular emphasis on projects in the Southeast region – which was the principal interest of the audience. 

Day 2

The following day opened with a training session focused on the financial risks and liabilities associated with the long term storage of CO2, a major impediment to the broad global deployment of CCS.  This session was led by Michael Moore, Executive Director of the North American Carbon Capture and Storage Association.  The individual topic training sessions were followed by a concluding, collective session on several inter-related topics – a CCS Issues Panel. 

The Panel was chaired by the Honorable Robert Gentile, the former DOE Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy and the current CEO/President of LTI.  The panelists and topics included:

• What the U.S. and the World Are Doing About CCS
o Larry Myer, Former Technical Director, WESTCARB

• Legal and Regulatory Issues
o Thomas Russial, Former Chief Council, U.S. DOE/NETL

• National Need for CCS and Socioeconomic Considerations
o Terry Surles, Executive Vice President for Research, Desert Research Institute

USCSC Capacity Building Event

Columbus, OH

September 30, 2009

The U.S. Carbon Sequestration Council (USCSC), a non-profit organization focused on the education and outreach on all matters related to CO2 capture and storage (CCS), organized and held a Capacity Building Workshop titled, Carbon Storage Training Seminar. The object of the event was to instruct the invited participants on all aspects of CCS. Held on September 30, 2009 in Columbus, Ohio, this training was the first CCS capacity building workshop to be conducted in the U.S. for a U.S. audience. Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the U.S. Energy Association (USEA), the Workshop was well attended by senior managers from the State government of Ohio who were the target audience for the event.

George Rudins, Executive Director of the USCSC, facilitated the Workshop and introduced the subject area and the objectives of the Workshop. The first trainer was Dr. James Dooley from the Joint Global Change Research Institute, who is a recognized international expert in climate change and CCS. Dr. Dooley discussed the fundamental aspects of climate issues and strategy, the basics of CCS, and the role of CCS in reducing global greenhouse gas emissions. The second training session on measuring, monitoring, and verification was led by a presentation from Dr. Larry Myer, who leads the West Coast Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership (WESTCARB). The third training session was focused on the risks and liabilities associated with the long term storage of CO2, a major impediment to the broad global deployment of CCS. This session was led by James (Jim) Ekmann from LTI, who spent many years at DOE and LTI, researching this area as well as related CCS topics. The next session was combined with a working lunch. Charles McConnell, Vice President of Carbon Management for Battelle, provided an overview of ongoing CCS projects, with a particular emphasis on projects in the Ohio area – which was the principal interest of the Ohio audience. The final individual training session addressed the legal and regulatory issues associated with the broad global deployment of CCS. The trainer for this session was Frederick (Fred) Eames, a Partner in the law firm of Hunton and Williams, and the head of the CCS Alliance, a CCS association established by the Firm.

The individual topic training sessions were followed by a concluding, collective session on several inter-related topics – a CCS Issues Panel. The Panel was chaired by the Honorable Robert Gentile, the former DOE Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy and the current CEO/President of Leonardo Technologies, Inc. The panelists and topics included:

• What the U.S. & the World Are Doing About CCS
• Scott Klara, U.S. DOE/National Energy Technology Laboratory
• Technical Progress & Risk Mitigation
• Dr. Grant Bromhal, U.S. DOE/National Energy Technology Laboratory
• Private Sector View of Risk & Insurability
• Charles McConnell, Battelle
• CCS Initiatives Implemented by the State of Wyoming
• Scott Quillinan, Wyoming State Geological Survey