CARBON STORAGE TECHNICAL VIABILITY APPROACH (CS TVA): MULTI-FACTOR DATA ASSESSMENT WORKFLOW TO DETERMINE GEOLOGIC SEQUESTRATION FEASIBILITY

Over the last two decades workflows for volume assessments and economic project feasibility have been developed and advanced, providing necessary and useful tools to progress geologic carbon storage (CS) projects. However, these workflows and assessments have focused primarily on determining the in situ storage resource based on geologic and engineering parameters and do not integrate subsurface characterization with surface conditions, social factors, and environmental factors that may pose a benefit or impediment to the implementation of CS. Further, the data required to assess the technical viability of geologic CS are myriad and disparate. There is no current methodology that identifies technical viability criteria and systematically informs how to aggregate these factors for spatial assessments. To address this gap, we present the Carbon Storage Technical Viability Approach (CS TVA) workflow and matrix to inform and accelerate technically viable CS assessments in the United States.

The CS TVA uses a matrix to establish the data types necessary for CS analysis and assess the viability of each component. The CS TVA matrix defines six broad categories (capacity, seal, hazards, land use, regulations, environmental and social justice), providing a viability indicator for each category using ten designations ranging from non-viable to excellent viability. These data can then be combined to spatially summarize CS technical viability based on the information available. The CS TVA establishes the common criteria required for technically viable carbon storage and allows stakeholders to integrate additional components as needed to comprehensively assess data availability. This workflow and matrix provide guidance to those interested in advancing specific CS projects through providing a high-level understanding of viability as well as insight into current data gaps and limitations.