Basin Electric Power Cooperative’s Dry Fork Station, the primary CO2 source.

Project Description

The overall objective of the project is to determine the feasibility of establishing a commercial-scale (50+ million metric tons [MMT] of carbon dioxide [CO2]) geological storage complex in Wyoming’s Powder River Basin (PRB) in the immediate vicinity of Basin Electric Power Cooperative’s (BEPC) coal-fired Dry Fork Station (DFS). The study will investigate stacked storage within four PRB geologic units of varying lithology and depositional environments.

Project Benefits

Findings from this project will advance the current state of knowledge with regards to implementing commercial-scale geologic storage in the PRB and can be integrated into best practices for use elsewhere. This project will demonstrate the feasibility of the eventual storage of more than 50 MMT of CO2 from a coal-fired utility in the PRB, a major U.S. coal supply region. The project’s integration of data from the new test well, new 3-dimensional seismic survey and purchased 2-dimensional seismic survey with existing PRB datasets will advance scientific knowledge regarding extending initial site characterization to the commercial scale by, for example, extrapolating and interpreting data in stacked storage environments in the immediate vicinity of a coal-fired power plant. The effort will also support the Carbon Storage Program mission to ensure safe, secure, and efficient CO2 containment in diverse geologic formations.