Goldberg et al. (2023): Upscaling DAC Hubs with Wind Energy and CO2 Mineral Storage: Considerations for Large-Scale Carbon Removal from the Atmosphere
David S. Goldberg, Sara Nawaz, James Lavin, Angela L. Slagle IN: Environmental Science & Technologie, https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.3c03492
The authors consider one location for theoretical scale-up of a DAC hub: the Kerguelen plateau in the Southern Indian Ocean which has high-potential renewable energy resources (wind) and large volumes of basalt rock for mineral storage. With consistent wind, previous studies indicate a hub in this location could collect approximately 75 Mt of CO2 annually, with conservative storage resources for 150–300 Mt of CO2 each year. Even with its immense wind and storage potentials, 14 Kerguelen-scale hubs would be needed to capture and store 1 Gt of CO2 per year. This brings into focus the important social, economic, and environmental trade-offs that must be considered in finding an acceptable balance between climate solutions, renewable energy requirements, and nature.