Spectra Energy (NYSE: SE) is partnering with the provincial government to build a large integrated carbon capture and storage project near its Fort Nelson natural gas plant.
The province has provided a $3.4 million grant to fund an initial feasibility study to determine whether deep underground saline reservoirs in the area are appropriate to use to capture and store carbon dioxide. The total project is estimated to cost $12.1 million.
Carbon capture and storage involves collecting C02 from large industrial sources and injecting them into deep underground caverns that were originally filled with other hydrocarbons like natural gas.
If the project goes ahead, it's estimated that the site could annually capture and store one million tonnes of C02 emissions and would help the province reach its goal of cutting greenhouse gas emissions 33% by 2020.