Some critics worry that complicated new carbon capture projects are vulnerable to cost overruns that could cause electricity prices for consumers to spike. The cost of one proposed carbon capture project at a large coal plant in North Dakota, for instance, has jumped to $1.45 billion, up from $1 billion five years ago.
Some environmental groups also oppose carbon capture, arguing that it doesn’t do enough to reduce conventional air pollution from power plants and would do little to address leaks of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, from natural gas wells and pipelines. Critics have also raised questions about whether the technology actually reduces emissions by as much as advertised, noting that Chevron’s carbon capture facility in Australia has fallen far short of expectations.
“The track record has not been good at all, and that’s being charitable,” said David Schlissel, an analyst for the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis who has criticized carbon capture projects.
There are also some practical hurdles: The United States currently has about 5,000 miles of pipelines to transport carbon dioxide, but it may need more than 30,000 miles if carbon capture technology is widely adopted, according to the Energy Department, and some proposed carbon dioxide pipelines are already facing opposition. And while the United States has enough capacity to store centuries’ worth of emissions underground, the E.P.A. has been slow to approve permits for subterranean wells to store carbon dioxide.
Some power companies question whether the technology is ready for prime time. Southern Company, an electric utility that has been testing carbon capture for natural gas plants at a facility in Alabama, told the E.P.A. last year that the technology needed further improvements to bring down cost and improve reliability.
Others are optimistic.
“Back in the 1970s, when the E.P.A. set rules for sulfur pollution, there were only three plants in the country with sulfur scrubbers,” said Jay Duffy, litigation director at Clean Air Task Force, an environmental advocacy group. “And by the end of the decade they were widespread. You see this dynamic every time a new pollution regulation comes along.”
