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CO2 Sequestration Study In August 2003, the U.S. Department of Energy and its National Energy Technol- ogy Laboratory announced the forma- tion of seven regional partnerships as part of a nationwide network to study the most suitable carbon sequestration methods for specific areas of the coun- try. The CGS (Genevieve Young, Beth Widmann, and Jim Cappa) is participat- ing in the Southwest Regional Partner- ship whose primary goal is to determine an optimum strategy for minimizing greenhouse gas intensity in the south- west. The Southwest Partnership is led by the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology and comprises a large, diverse group of expert organizations and individuals specializing in carbon sequestration science and engineering, as well as public policy and outreach. These partners include 21 state govern- ment agencies and universities, five major electric utility industries, several oil, gas and coal companies, three fed- eral agencies, the Navajo Nation and several non - government organizations. In the absence of action, annual CO2 emissions in the Southwest Partnership Region are expected to rise from 500 mil- lion tons per year (2001) to nearly 750 million tons per year by 2012. The region can offset much of this growth through various sequestration technolo- gies. The region contains the principal CO2 pipeline infrastructure in the coun- try; there is the potential to offset nat- ural CO2 production with flue gas sequestration from the numerous large coal -fired plants, and there are diverse terrestrial, geologic, and mineralization options available. The Partnership is lay- ing out the framework necessary for assessing optimum sequestration strate- gies for the Southwest Region. The main approach includes (1) dissemination of existing regulatory /permitting require- ments, (2) assessing and initiating pub- lic acceptance of possible sequestration approaches, and (3) evaluation and rank- ing of the most appropriate sequestra- tion technologies for capture and storage CGS ROCKTALK Vol. 8, No. 1 Idealized diagram illustrating how COz could be captured at a power plant, then injected into the ground to help produce more fossil fuel to power the facility. Of CO2 in the Southwest Region. The Partnership is also identifying potential gaps in monitoring and verification approaches needed to validate long -term storage efforts. The CGS has been gathering a wide variety of geological data to evaluate geologic storage options in the South- west Region, which include unminable coal beds, natural gas and CO2 fields, depleted and marginal oil fields, and deep saline aquifers. One option that the Partnership is exploring is the via- bility of supplanting the CO2 currently produced from natural CO2 reservoirs (used for improved oil recovery and enhanced coalbed methane applica- tions) with anthropogenic (man -made) power plant COz. Although terrestrial CO2 sequestration appears to be a viable alternative in several parts of the South- west Region, the Partnership recognizes that the rate of CO2 emissions caused by drought - related forest fires and wind dispersal of cropland soil may increase under a range of plausible, dryer -than- usual climate futures. In some parts of the Southwest Region it is important to evaluate the tradeoffs associated with using saline aquifers as COz sequestra- tion reservoirs when they might ulti- mately be needed as a source of potable, post- desalination water for human con- sumption in this rapidly growing region. Establishing and communicating the consequences and tradeoffs between alternative emissions reduction strate- gies is the initial step required in formu- lating an effective and publicly acceptable sequestration program. As additional details about the project become available, they may be accessed on the Partnership's Web site at http: // southwestcarbonpartnership.org/.