State knockback for carbon capture and storage project

Queensland's environmental regulator has knocked Glencore's CTSCo Surat Basin carbon capture and storage project on the head, citing potential impacts on groundwater resources in the Great Artesian Basin. Glencore said the disappointing decision came after a damaging misinformation campaign and political opportunism by multiple players. 'The CTSCo Project was a test case for carbon capture and storage in Queensland and today's decision highlights the Queensland Government's failure to reconcile conflicting legislative provisions to enable CCS projects in Queensland,' the company said in a written statement. 'With this decision the Queensland Government has now effectively banned carbon capture and storage projects in Queensland.' Meanwhile vocal CTSCo opponent the Local Government Association of Queensland is calling for the State Government to introduce a moratorium to stop any further proposals. The Department of Environment, Science and Innovation announced today that it had determined the CTSCo project was not suitable to proceed. A rigorous assessment found that the precipice sandstone aquifer in the Great Artesian Basin, where the project had proposed to inject captured CO2 for storage, was not a confined aquifer, which is a strict requirement of the relevant regulation, it said. 'The assessment also found that CO2 injected into the aquifer could migrate, likely causing irreversible or long-term change to groundwater quality and environmental values if the project were to proceed,' the department stated. 'This includes potential increased concentrations of contaminants including chloride, sulphate, salinity, various metals, and metalloids (including lead and arsenic).' The department said its final decision on the project's EIS acknowledged the importance of the Great Artesian Basin to multiple stakeholders and made it clear that other carbon capture and storage projects would not be viable in the Great Artesian Basin. Local Government Association of Queensland chief executive officer Alison Smith said the need to protect the Great Artesian Basin had seen farmers, conservationists and councils coming together in a campaign to defend the natural asset. Ms Smith said Queensland councils now wanted to see a moratorium in place to ensure the Great Artesian Basin was protected for future generations, ensuring the very existence of many rural communities was assured. Glencore said CCS used proven technology and was in operation elsewhere in Australia and around the world today. 'Glencore will continue to consider opportunities for investing in CCS as a low emission technology which both the UNFCCC and the International Energy Agency (IEA) have indicated will be critical if the world is to achieve its climate change goals,' it stated. The company said it was now up to the Queensland Government to explain how it was going to meet its ambitious emissions reduction targets in the absence of CCS technology for heavy industry- and ultimately, how much more that was going to cost every Queenslander. The final assessment report for the EIS is available online.

State knockback for carbon capture and storage project

Industry Queensland

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