Canada to Develop Carbon Capture and Storage Standard
This post was written by David Wagner.
Seeking to gain public and regulator confidence in carbon capture and storage (CCS), in late June two Canadian standards organizations announced plans to develop the first industry-wide standard for the underground storage of captured carbon emissions. CSA Standards, a certification firm, and the International Performance Assessment Centre for Geologic Storage of Carbon Dioxide will work together to develop a CCS standard. The two groups said that the completed standard with technical and safety guidelines will be submitted to the Standards Council of Canada for recognition, and would be the world's first formally recognized CCS standard for underground storage. CSA Standards said that it hoped the new standard would also be used as the basis for an international standard endorsed through the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).
CCS technology can reduce carbon dioxide emissions from power plants and carbon emission-intensive industries, and a formally recognized national or international standard will work to improve public confidence in the safety of the long term storage of carbon dioxide. In particular, a carbon dioxide storage standard would help to ensure risks are identified and then addressed. A standard should also remain flexible to address site-specific characteristics and improvements, especially given that technical CCS expertise is still evolving.
