Carbon Capture and Storage Potential in Ireland — Returning Carbon Whence It Came

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) involves the capture of CO2 emissions produced from industrial and electricity generation sources, followed by transport to permanent underground geological storage. Hence, CCS is one mitigation option available to achieve the targets set out in the Paris Agreement. Here we discuss CCS potential with particular reference to Ireland’s emission targets, policy positions and geological storage options. In Ireland, CCS could be utilised (1) with gas-powered electricity to provide secure and reliable low-emissions electricity, (2) to reduce emissions in hard-to-abate industries such as cement manufacturing, and (3) to facilitate the future deployment of negative emissions technologies. Ireland has significant potential to store CO2 in geological formations in depleted gas fields and deep saline aquifers in its offshore sedimentary basins. Two high-graded options are the offshore Kinsale Head and Corrib gas fields. Provisional estimates for the CO2 storage capacity of these two fields are 321 Mt and 44 Mt respectively. The depleted Kinsale Head gas field alone could have sufficient storage capacity to take the equivalent of up to 40 years of CO2 emissions from the top 10 point-source emitters in Ireland. Further work is needed to fully characterise and mature the potential for CCS in Ireland.