More Tests Needed for Carbon Dioxide Proposal: Akron’s FirstEnergy Corp. Would Like to Store Global-Warming Gas Underground in Belmont County

By Bob Downing, The Akron Beacon Journal, Ohio

May 22–A new state study released Wednesday indicates that the underground geology in eastern Ohio is suitable for storing carbon dioxide gas from a FirstEnergy Corp. coal-fired power plant.

But more study is needed to show if the global-warming gas can actually be injected and stored — a process called carbon sequestration — in Belmont County near FirstEnergy’s R.E. Burger Power Plant at Shadyside, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources said.

Ohio completed the new analysis along with the Midwest Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership, which is studying the feasibility of the injection process in a seven-state region.

“Injection testing must be performed to see if the rock strata at the site can actually store sufficient quantities of carbon dioxide to make the effort worthwhile,” said Larry Wickstrom, chief of the state’s Division of Geological Survey.

The report documenting the Burger area geology was drawn from data acquired from oil and gas records and from the drilling of a deep well in early 2007. That well reached 8,200 feet underground and identified at least three prospective zones capable of holding carbon dioxide. All were at least 5,000 feet deep with more than 3,000 feet of impermeable shale above them.

Battelle, a Columbus-based research center, is scheduled to inject small amounts of carbon dioxide into those geological zones later this summer as site testing continues.

The plan is to collect carbon dioxide gas from the burning of coal and pump it under pressure into the ground. This would convert the gas into a liquid to be added to saline formations far below the ground. Bob Downing can be reached at 330-996-3745 or bdowning@thebeaconjournal.com.

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