🚨 Innisfail's $50M Carbon Removal Facility Sparks Controversy! 🌪️ Is this the future of clean air or a risky gamble? 🤔 Discover what's happening in your backyard! 👀 #Innisfail #Olds #Alberta
Deep Sky Experts Answer Carbon Removal Questions for Innisfail Community
As Deep Sky Labs gears up to build what it claims will be the world’s first carbon removal innovation and commercialization center, the company is fielding numerous questions from the Innisfail community about the facility's potential benefits and risks. The $50 million project, slated for Innisfail’s Southwest Industrial Park, has sparked a lively debate among residents, with strong opinions on both sides.
Managing Community Concerns
Concerns reached a boiling point during an Aug. 12 town council meeting, which ended early due to heightened tensions. In response, the Town of Innisfail has put measures in place, including enhanced council procedures and the presence of RCMP and local peace officers, to maintain order at future meetings. Deep Sky plans to engage with the community directly through open houses on Sept. 18 and 19, where they aim to provide more information about their plans.
A Pilot Project with Big Ambitions
Deep Sky’s chief carbon scientist and head of engineering, Phil De Luna, is a key player in the project. De Luna, who holds a PhD in materials science, explains that the facility will act as a pilot site to test up to ten different CO2 direct air capture technologies. “It’s really a pilot facility,” he says. “The amount of CO2 we’re removing, while significant for testing purposes, is just the beginning. It’s a small step toward the larger goal of scaling up to commercial levels.”
The site aims to remove about 3,000 tonnes of CO2 annually, which is relatively modest by industry standards but essential for proving the viability of these emerging technologies.
How Carbon Removal Works
The carbon removal process begins with large fans that draw air through a filter, capturing CO2 molecules while allowing other gases, like oxygen and nitrogen, to pass through. The captured CO2 is then extracted from the filter using electricity or steam, compressed, cooled, and converted into a liquid for storage. De Luna emphasizes that the process emits zero CO2, stating, “We are taking emissions out of the air, and the only thing that comes out is cleaner air.”
Safe Transport and Storage of CO2
Transporting CO2 is a routine process, familiar to industries from soda production to oil and gas. The CO2 will be transported in large cylinder tanks by Super B semi-trucks to its storage location in Morinville, about 225 kilometers north of Innisfail. Greg Maidment, Deep Sky’s director of subsurface and an expert in underground storage, explains that Alberta has decades of experience safely storing CO2 in deep saline aquifers—rock formations filled with brine located over a kilometer underground.
“We’ve been doing this since 1971, and the regulations and geological understanding we have here in Alberta are top-notch,” says Maidment. He reassures residents that the storage process is as safe as the oil and gas operations that have been in place for years. “The same geological processes that keep oil and gas securely underground also keep stored CO2 in place,” he adds.
Tried and True Technology
While the technology may sound futuristic, De Luna insists it’s built on proven industrial methods. “This isn’t rocket science. We’re using equipment from industries like cement, mining, and water treatment. We’re just combining these technologies in innovative ways to capture CO2,” he explains.
Deep Sky’s ultimate goal is to scale up quickly and move toward commercial operations within three to five years. The company plans to generate revenue by selling carbon credits to corporations that need them to meet their climate targets. “We have to prove our product—removing CO2 from the air—and sell the resulting carbon credits to businesses,” says De Luna.
Building Community Support
De Luna remains optimistic about gaining the community’s trust as more information becomes available. “I have faith in the people of Innisfail and Alberta. The more we engage, educate, and hold open discussions, the more support we’ll see,” he says. As Deep Sky continues its journey, they hope that understanding will pave the way for a collaborative future in carbon removal.