Officials behind the $1B direct air capture complex, known as Project Cypress, say the facility, which is tentatively scheduled near Vinton, La., in west Calcasieu Parish, could break ground in early 2024, assuming they can get all of their legal and financial ducks in a row.
A public meeting is scheduled Nov. 7 set for 5:30 p.m. at the West-Cal Arena and Events Center at 401 Arena Road in Sulphur.
Hurdles include finalizing how much Project Cypress will receive in funding from the Department of Energy, said Shawn Bennett, energy and resilience division manager for Battelle, the Ohio company that is leading the project.
Direct air capture aims to remove carbon dioxide directly out of the atmosphere via chemical reactions.
Climeworks Corp. and Heirloom Carbon Technologies Inc. are helping Battelle to develop the technology, while Gulf Coast Sequestration will sequester the anticipated 1M tons of carbon dioxide the project will pull per year from the atmosphere. The site will be powered by renewable energy.
DOE announced in August that the project was one of two direct air capture projects picked to receive hundreds of millions of dollars from the federal government.
Project Cypress could get up to $603M. DAC Hub in Kleberg County, Texas, could get $597M.
Phase I could take about two years. The full buildout could take five.
Project Cypress is expected to create 100 permanent jobs. Another 1,300 would be temporary, mostly in construction, and another 900 would be indirect.
Officials from DOE will be at the public meeting, along with representatives from Battelle, Climeworks and Heirloom.
Direct air capture is a relatively new venture in Louisiana. No community pushback has emerged yet, said Vikrum Aiyer of Heirloom.
State environmental advocates have questioned whether investments should be made in the projects because it requires much capital and energy while sequestering only a sliver of the state’s carbon dioxide emissions. (NOLA.com 11/02/23) Project Cypress could break ground in Calcasieu in 2024 | Business News | nola.com
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