World Class Carbon capture project in Victoria
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2 April 2008
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The world-class carbon dioxide storage project launched today in Victoria’s south-west Otway region has drawn international attention to the state’s climate change research and already stimulated several billion dollars worth of proposals for clean energy developments in Victoria.
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Australia’s first carbon dioxide storage demonstration project, conducted by the Cooperative Research Centre for Greenhouse Gas Technologies (CO2CRC), will see 100,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide injected deep underground and stored in a depleted natural gas reservoir.
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“It is one of the world’s most comprehensive subsurface carbon dioxide monitoring programs undertaken, and it was designed, developed and implemented by CO2CRC researchers from Australia, New Zealand, the USA and Canada,” CO2CRC Chief Executive, Dr Peter Cook said.
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“Using an innovative geotechnical monitoring program, the CO2CRC Otway Project plays an important role in demonstrating the safety of geosequestration technology to communities, industry and governments world-wide,” he added.
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Victorian Energy and Resources Minister Peter Batchelor said that the world-class subsurface carbon dioxide monitoring of this project puts Australia at the forefront of research into reducing greenhouse gas emissions and clearly demonstrate that carbon storage is possible on an industrial scale.
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“This project will help Victoria lead the way in addressing climate change and can meet the target set by the Victorian Government to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 60 per cent by 2050, compared to 2000 levels,” Mr Batchelor said.
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The success of the project is expected to provide major long-term benefits for the Latrobe Valley, where industry and the surrounding community are very closely linked to brown coal electricity generation.
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The Latrobe Valley, which has long been Victoria’s power house, is located close to the Gippsland Basin, where depleted gas and oil reservoirs provide a number of potentially suitable locations where the carbon dioxide emissions from power production could be stored.
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The CO2CRC research and demonstration activities over the past 10 years have put Australia at the forefront of international carbon capture and storage research, development and deployment.
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More information about the project can be found at www.co2crc.com.au
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