Market Potential for CO$_2$ Removal and Sequestration from Renewable Natural Gas Production in California

TL;DR

This paper assesses California's potential for renewable natural gas production with carbon capture and sequestration, highlighting policy-driven opportunities to reduce CO2 emissions and develop related markets.

Contribution

It develops a spatial optimization model to evaluate the market potential for RNG with CCS from biomass waste in California, considering policy incentives.

Findings

Capture and sequester 2.9 million MT CO2/year under current policies.

Produce 93 PJ RNG/year, covering 4% of natural gas demand.

Profits of $11 per GJ from existing policies.

Abstract

Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Sequestration (BECCS) is critical for stringent climate change mitigation, but is commercially and technologically immature and resource-intensive. In California, state and federal fuel and climate policies can drive first-markets for BECCS. We develop a spatially explicit optimization model to assess niche markets for renewable natural gas (RNG) production with carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) from waste biomass in California. Existing biomass residues produce biogas and RNG and enable low-cost CCS through the upgrading process and CO$_2$ truck transport. Under current state and federal policy incentives, we could capture and sequester 2.9 million MT CO$_2$/year (0.7% of California's 2018 CO$_2$ emissions) and produce 93 PJ RNG/year (4% of California's 2018 natural gas demand) with a profit maximizing objective. Existing federal and state policies produce profits of \$11/GJ. Distributed RNG production with CCS potentially catalyzes markets and technologies for CO$_2$ capture, transport, and storage in California.