USDOE Announces Plans For Direct-Air Plants That Could Cut Annual Global CO2 Emissions By 1/10,000th

[hatrack]

EDIT

The Department of Energy on Thursday is releasing a notice of intent for developers for four direct air capture hubs – each capable of removing over a million tons of CO2 per year – using $3.5 billion from the bipartisan infrastructure law. Removing 1 million tons of CO2 per year is equivalent to taking around 200,000 gas-powered cars off the road.

“The UN’s latest climate report made clear that removing legacy carbon pollution from the air through direct air capture and safely storing it is an essential weapon in our fight against the climate crisis,” Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm said in a statement. Granholm said the infrastructure law funding “will not only make our carbon-free future a reality but will help position the U.S. as a net-zero leader.”

Department officials say the notice, which was shared first with CNN, is a crucial step in building this industry in the US. “For us to get to millions of tons [removed from the air] per year through these demonstrations will be critical,” said Jen Wilcox, principal deputy assistant secretary in DOE’s Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management.

President Joe Biden is targeting net-zero carbon emissions in the US by 2050, but experts say that isn’t achievable by simply transitioning from fossil fuel energy to renewables – the country must also actively remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere because of how much it has already emitted.

EDIT

https://www.cnn.com/2022/05/19/politics/doe-carbon-capture-investment-climate/index.html

[hunter]

1. If you find yourself in a hole...

... the first thing you need to do is quit digging.

Carbon capture will happen when we have enough carbon-free energy to turn atmospheric carbon dioxide into stuff such as plastic and concrete that will remain buried long after we're gone.

But first we need to quit fossil fuels.