PNNL

Abstract

The FutureGen 2.0 Project has developed a design for a first-of-its-kind, near-zero emissions coal-fueled power plant with carbon capture and storage (CCS) in a deep saline reservoir. To assess storage site performance and meet the regulatory requirements of the Class VI Underground Injection Control Program for CO2 Geologic Sequestration, the FutureGen 2.0 project evaluated, selected, and designed a suite of monitoring technologies for use in 1) evaluating CO2 mass balance, 2) detecting any unforeseen loss in CO2 containment, 3) tracking the spatial extent of the CO2 plume and advancement of the pressure front within the storage reservoir, and 4) identifying the occurrence and location of any injection-related induced seismicity . The monitoring program design includes direct monitoring of the injection process (above ground and in the injection wells) and in a network of injection zone monitoring wells, early-leak-detection monitoring directly above the primary confining zone, and compliance monitoring within the lowermost underground source of drinking water (USDW). The design also adopts an adaptive monitoring strategy whereby monitoring results are periodically evaluated and the monitoring network is modified as required, including the option to drill additional wells in out-years. The monitoring program includes measurements of formation pressure and other geochemical/isotopic signatures that provide indication of changes in CO2 concentration and/or brine composition, both within the injection zone and immediately above the primary confining zone. In addition to these direct measurements, several indirect geophysical monitoring technologies were included in the monitoring program design, including passive seismic, integrated surface deformation, time-lapse gravity, and pulsed neutron capture logging. Collection of baseline datasets for several near-surface environmental monitoring modalities was also incorporated into the design, including surficial aquifer and surface-water monitoring, soil-gas monitoring, atmospheric monitoring, and hyperspectral data acquisition for assessment of vegetation conditions. Although the FutureGen 2.0 project was suspended by the Department of Energy prior to implementation of the monitoring program design, this overview is provided with the hope that other current or future CCS projects will derive benefit from consideration of the monitoring approach, design process, and resulting monitoring network configuration that was adopted by the project.