Good Morning. This is the Sunya Scoop. The newsletter that takes energy transition news and turns it into an easy-to-read email for you.
Here’s what we have for you today:
Tailwater-backed Frontier lands first three Class VI permits in Wyoming
Climeworks and BCG sign 15 year 80,000 ton carbon removal deal
Manchin criticizes new hydrogen tax credit rules coming this week
The almost headlines
Tweet of the week
Quote of the week
By the way – making a few design tweaks, feel free to reply with your feedback either way.
The U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED) has allocated up to $890 million in funding for three carbon capture projects in California, North Dakota, and Texas.
The projects have the potential to prevent approximately 7.75 million metric tons of CO2 emissions annually, equivalent to 1.7 million gasoline-powered cars’ annual emissions.
The selected projects will help reduce emissions from the power sector, which accounts for over a quarter of U.S. carbon emissions.
The three projects are:
Baytown Carbon Capture and Storage Project in Texas, capturing CO2 from the Baytown Energy Center.
Project Tundra in North Dakota, capturing CO2 from the Milton R. Young Station, a coal-fired power plant.
Sutter Decarbonization Project in California, deploying a carbon capture system at the Sutter Energy Center, a natural gas combined-cycle power plant.
These projects involve novel solvents and diverse geological settings for carbon transport and storage.
Frontier Carbon Solutions, a CCUS project developer, has secured the first three Class VI Underground Injection Control (UIC) permits from the Wyoming DEQ.
These permits are for the Sweetwater Carbon Storage Hub in southwest Wyoming, representing nearly 20% of Class VI permits issued nationally.
The Sweetwater Hub will encompass over 100,000 acres of leased pore space and over 550 million metric tons of CO2 storage capacity.
Frontier plans to complete construction of the three Class VI wells in 2024, followed by permanent CO2 sequestration.
Additionally, the company is preparing six more Class VI UIC permits for filing with the Wyoming DEQ in early 2024.
Frontier aims to provide geologic sequestration of CO2 for emitters in the Mountain West.
The project received significant support, including funding from the Department of Energy’s CarbonSAFE initiative and the Wyoming Energy Matching Funds.
The Sweetwater Hub is strategically located near industrial emitters responsible for 8 million metric tons of CO2 emissions annually.
Frontier is also developing CO2 capture and transportation infrastructure and planning a CO2 rail transload facility.
Tailwater Capital, the parent company, applauds Frontier’s commitment to sustainability and decarbonization efforts.
“We’re very glad to see these permits issued and excited to get to work on the next stages of the project.”
Nice to see these permits come through and hope Louisiana sees similar momentum soon.
ExxonMobil’s affiliate, Esso Nederland BV, plans to build a pilot plant at its Rotterdam Manufacturing Complex to test carbonate fuel cell (CFC) technology, jointly developed with FuelCell Energy
The pilot plant will collect data on CFC technology’s performance, operability, and potential technical challenges.
If successful, Exxon may deploy this tech at manufacturing sites worldwide.
CFC technology captures CO2 emissions from industrial sources and produces valuable co-products, improving the overall efficiency of carbon capture and storage.
The modular nature of CFC technology allows it to be implemented at various scales, potentially offering economical decarbonization solutions for multiple industries.
The technology is also capable of producing low-carbon power, heat, and hydrogen as co-products.
The pilot project is co-funded by the EU and the Netherlands Enterprise Agency through grants.
Climeworks and BCG sign a 15-year agreement to scale high-quality carbon removal.
The agreement involves the purchase of 80,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide, the largest by Climeworks’ corporate buyers.
The partnership includes a carbon removal purchase agreement to support BCG’s Net-Zero goals and consulting services for Climeworks.
The partnership sets a precedent for long-term carbon removal stewardship until 2040.
The agreement accelerates Climeworks’ global rollout of direct air capture and storage plants.
German energy firm Sefe and Norway’s Equinor have struck a $55 billion gas supply deal.
The deal covers 10 billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas supply annually from 2024 to 2034, with an option to extend for another 5 years, totaling 29 bcm.
This agreement will meet one-third of Germany’s industrial gas needs and is a significant step in replacing Russia as a long-term supplier.
Norway becomes Germany’s top supplier of natural gas, already accounting for approximately 40%-50% of German gas imports.
The deal follows a broader agreement between Norway and Germany for cooperation in renewables, hydrogen, battery technology, and offshore wind.
“This is a response to Europe’s need for long-term, reliable supply of energy and a viable route to decarbonisation at scale,”
The agreement also includes a non-binding letter of intent for Sefe to purchase low-carbon hydrogen from Equinor starting in 2029.
Sefe, formerly Gazprom Germania, was nationalized during Europe’s energy crisis and is tasked with securing Germany’s gas supply.
Tokyo Gas subsidiary TG Natural Resources (TGNR) will acquire Texas-based natural gas producer Rockcliff Energy for $2.7 billion from Quantum Energy Partners.
The purchase aims to expand Tokyo Gas’s overseas operations, particularly in North American shale gas, to meet the increasing demand for natural gas during the energy transition.
Tokyo Gas and other utilities from Japan are pursuing international expansion due to declining domestic demand, driven by an aging population and market reforms promoting competition.
The deal, expected to close end of year, will make TGNR one of the largest shale gas producers in Texas and Louisiana, increasing its nat gas production from 330 mmcf/d to 1.3 bcf/d.
The production location is strategically near new liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminals and other facilities, which are expected to drive future natural gas demand.
Initially, the plan is to sell all the gas in the U.S. domestic market, but the possibility of exporting it as LNG to Japan in the future is not ruled out.
18 months of whispers about Rockcliff’s sale finally hit the gas. They’ve impressively grown to 1 bcf/d, but now it’s time to cash in.
While the Permian gets the spotlight, don’t snooze on the Haynesville arms race. Gas prices may have hit a bump, but this buy will age like fine Japanese whiskey – decades ahead, a home run.
The Administration supports the ethanol industry’s methodology for claiming tax credits for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).
The administration will update the methodology by March 1, potentially impacting corn-based ethanol producers and SAF feedstock requirements.
The global aviation industry, accounting for 2% of global energy-related carbon emissions, seeks incentives for SAF, which emits 50% fewer greenhouse gases than petroleum fuel but is more expensive.
Ethanol producers see SAF as a way to boost demand amid rising electric vehicle sales.
The guidance aims to reduce price disparities between SAF and traditional jet fuel but lacks data on the extent of price reduction.
Ethanol groups lobbied for the GREET model, which will be updated with new data on emissions and emission-reduction strategies.
Senator Joe Manchin criticizes Treasury Department’s upcoming guidance for hydrogen production tax credits, calling the rules “horrible” and too stringent.
The guidance has sparked lobbying and debates within the administration.
Manchin helped craft the hydrogen tax credit provisions of President Biden’s climate law.
The tax credit is considered crucial for the growth of the clean hydrogen industry and enabling emissions reductions in industries like heavy-duty transportation.
Environmental concerns revolve around the need for strict rules to ensure hydrogen is produced with clean power sources to avoid increasing demand for fossil-fuel-based electricity.
The forthcoming guidance is expected to adhere to the “three pillars” of new clean supply, hourly matching, and deliverability.
A leaked draft of the rules included requirements limiting the credit to hydrogen production powered by recent clean-power projects.
Manchin opposes environmental guardrails for accessing the credit and warns of potential legal challenges.
“We should not demonise oil and gas in the medium term”
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