THE LINK: OCTOBER 2024 16 Efforts aimed at potentially aiding coal power plants The University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) is in the lead on technical research related to Alaska’s proposed new underground carbon storage programs with Cook Inlet the first to develop followed by Interior Alaska. Interior underground storage, in saline aquifers, would allow coalfired power plants in the region to capture carbon dioxide and store it permanently underground. Storage in the interior will be phase two, however. Phase one is storing the carbon in known natural gas reservoirs that have spare “pore space,” which could include depleted reservoirs. UAF has been developing the proposed Cook Inlet study for some time with the U.S. Department of Energy, which recently approved $11 million in federal funds to support the work. This required $2 million in additional matching funds from the state, which the Legislature provided, and Gov. Mike Dunleavy approved in the current year state budget. The UAF and DOE work will define UAF leading research into carbon capture Photos Courtesy UAF
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