Glencore Snubbed in Plan to Showcase Carbon Capture in Australia

(Bloomberg) -- Glencore Plc’s plan to capture carbon dioxide from a coal-fired power plant in Australia to showcase the technology’s potential for industrial emitters has been rejected by local authorities.

The Carbon Transport and Storage Corporation (CTSCo) project “is not suitable to proceed due to potential impacts on groundwater resources in the Great Artesian Basin,” Queensland’s Department of Environment, Science and Innovation said Friday. 

The basin, among the world’s largest underground freshwater resources, will not be viable for any carbon capture projects, according to the department, which acts as a regulator. A three-year assessment of Glencore’s plan found CO2 injected into the aquifer could migrate, it said.

Glencore aimed to capture 110,000 tons of CO2 a year from the Millmerran Power Station, seeking to demonstrate the viability of the process in a state that’s home to multiple major emitters, including cement, aluminum and fertilizer producers.  

“It’s a missed opportunity for Queensland and sends mixed messages on emissions reduction,” Glencore said in a statement. Removing carbon capture as a potential solution in the state “will have far-reaching ramifications for the resources sector,” according to the company.

To achieve the net zero goals of the Paris Agreement, carbon capture and storage capacity for power and industry needs to increase rapidly to 3.9 billion tons a year by 2030, BloombergNEF said in its New Energy Outlook 2024 published Tuesday.

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