Frontier Carbon Solutions secures first permits for Sweetwater carbon storage hub in Wyoming
(WO) – Frontier Carbon Solutions, a project developer in the carbon capture, utilization, and sequestration ("CCUS") sector, has received the first three Class VI UIC permits issued by the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality ("DEQ"). This key milestone for Frontier's first carbon storage hub in southwest Wyoming, the Sweetwater Carbon Storage Hub represents the first Class VI permits issued by the State and nearly 20% of the Class VI permits issued nationally.
With the issued permits, the Sweetwater Hub, which will ultimately comprise over 100,000 acres of leased pore space and over 550 million metric tons of CO2 storage capacity, is set to become the premier carbon storage solution in the Rocky Mountain region and one of the largest and most advanced carbon storage hubs in North America. At full scale, Frontier expects that the Sweetwater Hub will provide safe, permanent geologic sequestration of CO2 for emitters across the Mountain West.
Frontier is led by Co-CEOs Robby Rockey and Steve Lowenthal, and is supported by an operational team with decades of experience in CO2 compression, transportation, injection, project management, regulatory and financial markets. Frontier plans to complete construction of the three Class VI wells in 2024, with permanent sequestration of CO2 commencing shortly thereafter. Additionally, the company is preparing six additional Class VI UIC permits to file with the Wyoming DEQ in early 2024.
"Securing these permits is a pivotal achievement as Frontier continues to build a premier CCUS platform focused on providing value-added CCUS infrastructure solutions to local and regional emitters. The Wyoming DEQ has a clear and concise process to advance Class VI permits and we look forward to further work with them to position Wyoming as a national leader in carbon storage," said Rockey.
In June 2023, the Department of Energy selected the University of Wyoming's School of Energy Resources ("SER"), with Frontier as partner and collaborator, as the recipient of a $40.5 million award through its CarbonSAFE initiative to complete site characterization for the Sweetwater Hub. The award was the largest amount awarded to date through the CarbonSAFE program.
Frontier and SER additionally received a $9.1 million award from the Wyoming Energy Matching Funds, managed by the Wyoming Energy Authority. The Company's first three Class VI injection wells will be used to expand reservoir characterization across the area and advance the first commercial-scale carbon storage project in the Mountain West.
Frontier is also working with multiple proximate emitters to develop CO2 capture and transportation infrastructure. The Sweetwater Hub is located within 25 miles of numerous critical industrial emitters constituting 8 MMtpa of CO2 emissions, representing 15% of Wyoming's total annual CO2 emissions of nearly 55 MMtpa.
Additionally, the Sweetwater Hub is expected to be serviced by both intrastate pipeline and Class I rail infrastructure that can be utilized to service a wide catchment area across the broader Midwest and Mountain West. To that end, Frontier has commenced front-end engineering and design work on a first of its kind CO2 rail transload facility at the Sweetwater Hub.
Lead image source: Frontier Carbon Solutions
