California State University, Bakersfield hosted experts from multiple disciplines on Friday for the inaugural Carbon Sequestration Symposium. Organized by the university’s California Energy Research Center (CERC), the event featured speakers and panelists discussing the unique opportunities and challenges of carbon sequestration in the Central Valley.
Fourteen energy experts addressed the crowd of around 90 in-person guests, while those who couldn’t attend watched via livestream. After a welcome mixer on Thursday evening, the main event kicked off Friday morning with a welcome from CSUB president Dr. Lynnette Zelezny, provost Dr. Vernon Harper, interim dean of the School of Natural Sciences, Mathematics and Engineering Dr. Todd McBride and interim director of CERC Dr. Anthony Rathburn.
“The land beneath our feet has always yielded prosperity and work for the families of this region,” President Zelezny said in her opening remarks. “Agriculture and oil are the powerhouses of our economy and an essential part of our cultural heritage and pride. And now the geological basins deep inside the earth that have made Kern County a top oil producer hold promise for our next venture: Capturing carbon dioxide from the air and storing it safely underground. As the only public university in the energy capital of California, CSUB feels a great responsibility to offer leadership as we write a new chapter – together - on energy, sustainability and workforce opportunities.”
Carbon sequestration is a way to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere, an important industry tool to help mitigate global climate change. Sequestration involves capturing and storing atmospheric CO2. One way to do that is geologic carbon sequestration, which stores CO2 in suitable rock formations underground, which typically involves pressurizing CO2 until it becomes a liquid, and then injecting it into porous rock that is sealed by surrounding rock so that the fluid cannot escape.
At the symposium, energy experts spoke about what it will take for the concept of carbon sequestration to be implemented across industries at a scale large enough to produce significant climate benefits. For many questions, there is no one correct answer, but the conversations like those had at the symposium are essential to making widespread carbon sequestration a reality.
“The symposium brought together stakeholders and experts, and the discussions that were had during the event will likely spark collaborations and partnerships which address energy-related issues in the Valley,” said Dr. Rathburn. “The sooner that we can implement solutions, including carbon sequestration, that reduce carbon in the atmosphere, the sooner we will be able to reap the benefits in the Valley.”
Ken Haney, the strategic adviser for carbon management at California Resources Corporation, spoke about carbon sequestration and the San Joaquin Valley. Talking about goals to reduce carbon in the atmosphere by 40% by 2030, Haney acknowledged the work cut out for scientists, industry experts and municipal planners.
“We’ve got a big job ahead of us,” said Haney, who earned his bachelor’s degree in geology from CSUB before receiving his master’s in petroleum engineering from the University of Southern California. “(Carbon capture sequestration) is going to be a big piece of California’s solution going forward. Kern County is a big piece of that.”
Another of the day’s events was a conversation with Kate Gordon, senior adviser to the Secretary of Energy. Among the topics she touched on was what the United States government and the Biden Administration are doing to invest in clean energy, including $62 billion to the Department of Energy through the recently passed bipartisan infrastructure bill and new initiatives to involve the surrounding communities in the energy projects happening in the country.
“This stuff doesn’t happen unless it’s with community partnership,” Gordon said. “It just doesn’t happen. We can have the best science in the world, we can have the best ideas in the world, we can have all the charts showing what’s necessary, but getting from ‘necessary’ to reality is a conversation with communities.”
Because no two communities are exactly the same, there is “no silver bullet” or “one-size-fits-all” solution to implementing carbon sequestration in different regions, Gordon said. That’s why it’s essential that the community has a voice in these plans. Seeking community input had previously not been a regular practice for the Department of Energy, but with the Communities LEAP (Local Energy Action Program) pilot program, the department is collaborating with 23 towns to earn their trust and work together.
“We’re doing our best from way up here (at the federal level) to think about how to best support individual places,” she said. For those LEAP communities, “we’re going to partner with you, we’re going to work with you on what you need, we’re going to bring the resources from way up here from the department to the community … and try to start getting there in a different way. You can’t underscore how different this is from the DOE’s beginnings. We don’t do a lot of community stuff and we’re increasingly doing more.”
The university and CERC hosted the event in partnership with Lawrence Livermore National Lab, Livermore Lab Foundation, Climate Now and the California Council on Science and Technology. In-person participants were also able to view CSUB student research posters and visit the future site of the Energy Innovation Center. The new building will be home to research, experimentation and collaboration in the realm of energy and will solidify CSUB’s place at the forefront of energy’s evolving future. Governor Gavin Newsom has earmarked $83 million for the center in his proposed 2022-2023 budget.
Dr. Rathburn said the event was a great success and sparked many interesting discussions. Among stakeholders and experts, “there is general agreement that Kern County and CSUB are poised to be leaders in energy solutions for California.”
NSME dean Dr. McBride agreed, calling the event “fantastic and informative.”
“The distinguished line-up of speakers that presented and the full room of high-level professionals in in the audience, both in person and virtually, is a real testament to the global importance of this topic,” Dr. McBride said. “I hope everyone left the symposium inspired and ready to get to work.”
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