Calgary energy company eyeing Pincher Creek for potential carbon capture hub

A Calgary-based energy company is seeking a permit from the province to explore the potential of a carbon capture facility in southern Alberta. 

A Calgary-based energy company is seeking a permit from the province to explore the potential of a carbon capture facility in southern Alberta.

The 2022 federal budget set a goal for Canada to become a net-zero economy by 2050, and as part of that transition, the demand for carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) is growing. Calgary’s West Lake Energy Corp. believes it’s identified a project that could fill some of that demand, with a proposal for a carbon capture sequestration hub near Pincher Creek.

West Lake CEO Bruce McDonald says the recently submitted proposal was about a year in the making, and he believes the project could be monumental for the region.

“We think we can store just short of 100 million tonnes of carbon. That’s quite substantial,” McDonald said.

“At optimal project size, we would be storing about 2.7 million tonnes a year, and that’s equivalent to just under 600,000 cars off the road.”

McDonald says the company already had operations in the area, including an old ammonia plant. It’s hoping that an approved permit will allow West Lake to repurpose that site into a carbon capture hub that will be a valuable resource in aiding in emission reduction while providing economic opportunities for the area.

“The world has changed, and we have to find solutions for carbon capture and storage,” he said.

“We put our geologists to work and we think we have an excellent area to capture carbon, to go well beyond our needs for a CCUS site and to see if we can attract other industries — including power and other industrial emitters — to the area.”