TAFT, Calif. (KGET)—Excitement filled the air as officials spread the news Kern County will now be one of the state’s Direct Air Capture Hubs as part of Governor Gavin Newsom’s green agenda to reach carbon neutrality by 2045.
Carbon Advisor, Ken Haney, with the California Resources Corporation, says, “It puts Kern County at the front of California, and California’s been at the front of the world.”
The Department of Energy will dole out nearly $2.8 million for a feasibility study for a (DAC) hub at Aera Energy’s Belridge oil field. $3 million will also go towards a potential hub at Chevron’s San Joaquin Valley and $12 million to the California Resources Corporation to design the CALHub, a regional DAC hub comprised of a storage site and pipeline transport of CO2.
The news was shared at the West Side Recreation and Park District in Taft where Officials say it took more than 40 organizations over the course of two years to receive millions in funding from the DOE. “We can’t do enhanced oil recovery in California,” said Nicole Parra, Vice President of Executive Affairs for CRC. “So, we’re going to sequester that carbon, move it 8,000 feet below. We’re going to keep it there, and we’re going to help California meet its climate targets.”
Climate Advisor Haney told 17 News it’s going to take technology to get our region where we want to be in the transition, and Carbon Capture and Storage is going to be up to 20% of that equation.
