Maryland Carbon Capture Opportunities
Carbon capture can play a substantial role in meeting Maryland’s emission reduction and economic development goals. The state is taking steps to utilize clean energy technologies such as carbon capture in recent legislative proposals aimed at developing cleaner and cheaper energy to reduce emissions, while protecting Maryland jobs. Current commitments hold Maryland to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent by 2030, with proposed legislation outlining a reduction of 100 percent by 2040. These ambitious greenhouse gas reduction goals will require strategic and innovative clean energy solutions. Carbon capture can deliver a 19 percent reduction of the state’s total, non-biogenic CO2 industrial and power facility emissions annually with carbon capture retrofit of three industrial and power facilities.
Industrial Facilities that Qualify for the Tax Credit in Maryland
The Regional Carbon Capture Deployment Initiative has identified industrial facilities in numerous states as early candidates for carbon capture retrofits. These facilities could qualify for the revamped federal 45Q tax credit for projects that capture carbon from industrial facilities and power plants for geologic storage and beneficial use. Facilities were selected based on emissions, equipment, and estimated capture cost.
Economically Feasible Industries in Maryland
The Regional Carbon Capture Deployment Initiative estimated theoretical capture costs based on published capture equipment costs, facility-specific operational patterns, existing equipment, and level of emissions. Based on that data, the graphic below displays several of Maryland’s most likely economically feasible candidates for capture, along with estimated capturable emissions in million metric tons and estimated range of capture costs for facilities in each industry. This list is not meant to be definitive. Commercial decisions by participating companies and policy and regulatory decisions by state governments will ultimately determine if a project is feasible for carbon capture. “Captured Emissions” refers to the amount of carbon dioxide that can be expected to be captured at a facility considering relevant technological and economic constraints.
