Schlumberger New Energy, Chevron Corporation, Microsoft and Clean Energy Systems are collaborating on a bioenergy with carbon capture and sequestration (BECCS) project designed to produce carbon negative power in California.
The planned BECCS plant will convert agricultural waste biomass, such as almond trees, into a renewable synthesis gas that will be mixed with oxygen in a combustor to generate electricity.
The consortium expects to begin front end engineering and design immediately, leading to a final investment decision in 2022.
More than 99% of the carbon from the BECCS process is expected to be captured for permanent storage by injecting carbon dioxide (CO2) underground into nearby deep geologic formations.
By using biomass fuel that consumes CO2 over its lifetime to produce power and then safely and permanently storing the produced CO2, the process is designed to result in net-negative carbon emissions, effectively removing greenhouse gas from the atmosphere.
The plant, when completed, is expected to remove about 300,000 tons of CO2 annually.
“We are excited to welcome Chevron and Microsoft on this exciting opportunity, as it further demonstrates how we play an enabling role to deploy carbon capture and sequestration solutions at scale,” said Ashok Belani, Schlumberger New Energy executive vice president.
“We are diversifying our portfolio of projects with partnerships in selected markets and geographies where existing policies and regulations can make projects attractive today.
“This unique BECCS project in California is a game-changing example of this.”