Shell gives go-ahead to 2 carbon capture and storage projects in Alberta
CBC
Shell Canada has announced it will forge ahead with a pair of carbon capture projects in Alberta, after recent setbacks for other proposed projects in the sector have cast doubt on the technology.
The Calgary-based operator said Wednesday it has made a final investment decision for its Polaris carbon capture project at its Scotford refinery and chemicals complex near Fort Saskatchewan.
Shell has also given the green light to proceed with the Atlas Carbon Storage Hub, in 50/50 partnership with Atco EnPower. The first phase of Atlas will permanently store carbon dioxide captured by the Polaris project, which was first proposed in 2021.
Wednesday's announcement comes amid uncertainty about the financial viability of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology, which traps carbon emissions at their source and funnels them deep underground.
The technology is expected to play a key role in Canada's climate plan, but implementing it has proved tricky.
Other CCS projects across the country have been shelved, cancelled or continue to fall short of operational targets, despite significant investment from Ottawa and provincial governments.
The Polaris project is designed to capture about 650,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide annually from the Scotford complex. That works out to approximately 40 per cent of Scotford's direct CO2 emissions from the refinery and 22 per cent of its emissions from the chemicals complex.
A future phase of the Atlas hub, which could potentially store carbon for Shell, Atco and other companies, remains subject to a future investment decision.
Polaris and the first phase of Atlas are expected to begin operations toward the end of 2028 and will aid Canada meet its emission targets, company officials said. Shell has not disclosed anticipated costs of either project.
Shell Canada president Susannah Pierce said the company has the experience and the financial backing necessary to make the projects successful, even as other companies give up on their carbon capture proposals.
Pierce said every project is different, but in Shell's case, Polaris is a "key piece" of the company's overall decarbonization strategy.
She said the recent approval of the federal carbon capture sequestration tax credit — meant to help jump-start carbon capture projects — was also key in their decision to proceed.
"It is now a place in time where we feel like we have the right fiscal incentives," Pierce said in an interview Wednesday.
"We have greater certainty about the project. We've done additional design and engineering. And we're quite excited to move forward with it because we see it as a critical technology to help us to decarbonize our own Scotford facility.
Aggressive patients and lack of security are making nurses feel unsafe in a rural Western Manitoba emergency union, says the Manitoba Nurses Union.
Saskatoon resident Delynne Bortis knew her commute to work Tuesday morning would be particularly difficult.
WARNING: This story contains details of abuse and intimate partner violence:
The amount of money it takes for people to earn a living wage has increased across the province, according to a new report from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA).
The new owner of Ontario steelmaker Stelco says his company "will not disappoint the people of Hamilton and Nanticoke," where the business's major facilities are based.
A Winnipegger is warning others about an intricate scam she says she almost fell for.
Fort William First Nation is opposing a planned redevelopment of the Ontario Power Generation's (OPG) 117 year old Kakabeka Falls Generating Station, which is located in their traditional territory.
A building that sits at the corner of Sussex Street and Brunswick Avenue has had many lives over the last century — being a church, a school and offices. Now it's set to become housing, at a time when the city sorely needs it.
A Waterloo, Ont., elementary school principal will be sentenced in the new year after pleading guilty to child sexual exploitation charges following a joint investigation that involved the London, Toronto and Waterloo police services.
Students at UPEI have let their student union know what they want from the province this fiscal year, and those priorities are reflected in a 2024-2025 advocacy document brought to the legislature on Wednesday.
Larger communities in the N.W.T. will soon see a boost in their territorial funding to maintain infrastructure and deliver services — like water and waste management — but the increase still falls short of what communities need.