Capital Power Corp. and Enbridge Inc. have signed a memorandum of understanding on Nov. 29 to collaborate on carbon capture and storage (CCS) solutions in the Wabamun area west of Edmonton, Alberta, near Capital Power's Genesee Generating Station.

Enbridge and Capital Power have agreed to jointly evaluate and advance a CCS project, with Enbridge as the transportation and storage service provider and Capital Power as the CO2 provider, subject to the Government of Alberta's competitive carbon hub selection process and a future final investment decision. 

Enbridge, with the support of Capital Power, is applying to develop an open access carbon hub in the Wabamun area through the Government of Alberta's Request for Full Project Proposals process, which is expected to start as early as December 2021.

"Capital Power is helping build a carbon-neutral future in Alberta by advancing the Genesee CCS Project at our Genesee Generating Station," Chris Kopecky, Capital Power senior vice president and chief legal, development and commercial officer, said. "It's exciting to partner with Enbridge—a sustainability leader—on this project and support their efforts in pursuit of the Open Access Wabamun Carbon Hub. Collaborative development throughout the CCS value chain is key to ensuring that CCS can be deployed in a safe, responsible, and cost-effective manner."

The proposed project would serve Capital Power's Genesee Generating Station near Warburg, Alberta which currently provides over 1,200 megawatts of baseload electricity generation to Albertans. Capital Power is currently repowering the Genesee 1 and 2 units, to create North America's most efficient natural gas combined cycle power generation units, positioning them to deliver reliable and affordable electricity for generations to come.

The Genesee CCS Project is expected to capture up to 3 million tonnes of CO2 annually from the repowered units, which would be transported and stored through Enbridge's open access carbon hub that could also serve several other local industrial companies. Subject to the award of carbon sequestration rights and regulatory approvals, the proposed project could be in service as early as 2026. 

In October, with Capital Power's support, Enbridge responded to the Government of Alberta's call for Expressions of Interest to construct and operate carbon storage hubs. Within its proposal, Enbridge outlined its plans to develop an open access carbon storage hub with cost-effective, customer-focused CCS solutions in the Wabamun area while minimizing any infrastructure footprint to protect land, water and the environment.