Solar + storage has taken the headlines, but what about solar + carbon capture storage? These partnerships may = great opportunity

Source: Corbin Kehrberg · SOLAR POWER INVESTOR · | August 27, 2020

Jaeson Cardiff, CEO and Co-Founder of CleanO2 Cabon Capture Technologies has been at the forefront of carbon capture and storage (CCS) and sees an opportunity for solar integration to increase the value proposition of CCS.

Source: Solar Power Investor

When it comes to climate change mitigation, there are two strategies: prevention and adaptation. The preventative and adaptive solutions regarding CO2 emissions in energy systems are switching to renewable energy sources and reducing the CO2 emissions of current, non-renewable sources, respectively.

For corporate sustainability program managers, choosing a strategy of how to offset CO2 emissions at various scopes is a tough battle. They need a simple solution. Solar energy procurement is a preventative solution they are actively pursuing. CCS is an adaptive solution being considered but rarely adopted, to reduce the CO2 of energy-intensive processes.

Why is CCS so behind its renewable counterparts? CCS can actually be a net carbon emitter! CCS systems are energy-intensive and may use non-renewable energy to power themselves. For the technology to be adopted, it needs to be more efficient and powered by clean energy so that the CO2 budget isn’t unbalanced. 

For these reasons, CCS has received some criticism from people like Micheal Barnard, Chief Strategist at TFIE Strategy. Barnard claims CCS is inefficient at CO2 displacement with the argument that “Wind & solar are displacing roughly 35 times as much CO2 every year as the complete global history of CCS.”