skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: The Water, Energy, and Carbon Dioxide Sequestration Simulation Model (WECSsim). A user's manual

Abstract

The Water, Energy, and Carbon Sequestration Simulation Model (WECSsim) is a national dynamic simulation model that calculates and assesses capturing, transporting, and storing CO2 in deep saline formations from all coal and natural gas-fired power plants in the U.S. An overarching capability of WECSsim is to also account for simultaneous CO2 injection and water extraction within the same geological saline formation. Extracting, treating, and using these saline waters to cool the power plant is one way to develop more value from using saline formations as CO2 storage locations. WECSsim allows for both one-to-one comparisons of a single power plant to a single saline formation along with the ability to develop a national CO2 storage supply curve and related national assessments for these formations. This report summarizes the scope, structure, and methodology of WECSsim along with a few key results. Developing WECSsim from a small scoping study to the full national-scale modeling effort took approximately 5 years. This report represents the culmination of that effort. The key findings from the WECSsim model indicate the U.S. has several decades' worth of storage for CO2 in saline formations when managed appropriately. Competition for subsurface storage capacity, intrastate flows of CO2 and water, andmore » a supportive regulatory environment all play a key role as to the performance and cost profile across the range from a single power plant to all coal and natural gas-based plants' ability to store CO2. The overall system's cost to capture, transport, and store CO2 for the national assessment range from $74 to $208 / tonne stored ($96 to 272 / tonne avoided) for the first 25 to 50% of the 1126 power plants to between $1,585 to well beyond $2,000 / tonne stored ($2,040 to well beyond $2,000 / tonne avoided) for the remaining 75 to 100% of the plants. The latter range, while extremely large, includes all natural gas power plants in the U.S., many of which have an extremely low capacity factor and therefore relatively high system's cost to capture and store CO2.« less

Authors:
 [1];  [1];  [1];  [1];  [1];  [1];  [1];  [1];  [2]
  1. Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)
  2. National Energy Technology Lab., Morgantown, WV (United States)
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); National Energy Technology Laboratory,, Morgantown, WV
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)
OSTI Identifier:
1204085
Report Number(s):
SAND2014-0687
499211
DOE Contract Number:  
AC04-94AL85000
Resource Type:
Technical Report
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

Citation Formats

Kobos, Peter Holmes, Roach, Jesse Dillon, Klise, Geoffrey Taylor, Heath, Jason E., Dewers, Thomas A., Gutierrez, Karen A., Malczynski, Leonard A., Borns, David James, and McNemar, Andrea. The Water, Energy, and Carbon Dioxide Sequestration Simulation Model (WECSsim). A user's manual. United States: N. p., 2014. Web. doi:10.2172/1204085.
Kobos, Peter Holmes, Roach, Jesse Dillon, Klise, Geoffrey Taylor, Heath, Jason E., Dewers, Thomas A., Gutierrez, Karen A., Malczynski, Leonard A., Borns, David James, & McNemar, Andrea. The Water, Energy, and Carbon Dioxide Sequestration Simulation Model (WECSsim). A user's manual. United States. https://doi.org/10.2172/1204085
Kobos, Peter Holmes, Roach, Jesse Dillon, Klise, Geoffrey Taylor, Heath, Jason E., Dewers, Thomas A., Gutierrez, Karen A., Malczynski, Leonard A., Borns, David James, and McNemar, Andrea. 2014. "The Water, Energy, and Carbon Dioxide Sequestration Simulation Model (WECSsim). A user's manual". United States. https://doi.org/10.2172/1204085. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1204085.
@article{osti_1204085,
title = {The Water, Energy, and Carbon Dioxide Sequestration Simulation Model (WECSsim). A user's manual},
author = {Kobos, Peter Holmes and Roach, Jesse Dillon and Klise, Geoffrey Taylor and Heath, Jason E. and Dewers, Thomas A. and Gutierrez, Karen A. and Malczynski, Leonard A. and Borns, David James and McNemar, Andrea},
abstractNote = {The Water, Energy, and Carbon Sequestration Simulation Model (WECSsim) is a national dynamic simulation model that calculates and assesses capturing, transporting, and storing CO2 in deep saline formations from all coal and natural gas-fired power plants in the U.S. An overarching capability of WECSsim is to also account for simultaneous CO2 injection and water extraction within the same geological saline formation. Extracting, treating, and using these saline waters to cool the power plant is one way to develop more value from using saline formations as CO2 storage locations. WECSsim allows for both one-to-one comparisons of a single power plant to a single saline formation along with the ability to develop a national CO2 storage supply curve and related national assessments for these formations. This report summarizes the scope, structure, and methodology of WECSsim along with a few key results. Developing WECSsim from a small scoping study to the full national-scale modeling effort took approximately 5 years. This report represents the culmination of that effort. The key findings from the WECSsim model indicate the U.S. has several decades' worth of storage for CO2 in saline formations when managed appropriately. Competition for subsurface storage capacity, intrastate flows of CO2 and water, and a supportive regulatory environment all play a key role as to the performance and cost profile across the range from a single power plant to all coal and natural gas-based plants' ability to store CO2. The overall system's cost to capture, transport, and store CO2 for the national assessment range from $74 to $208 / tonne stored ($96 to 272 / tonne avoided) for the first 25 to 50% of the 1126 power plants to between $1,585 to well beyond $2,000 / tonne stored ($2,040 to well beyond $2,000 / tonne avoided) for the remaining 75 to 100% of the plants. The latter range, while extremely large, includes all natural gas power plants in the U.S., many of which have an extremely low capacity factor and therefore relatively high system's cost to capture and store CO2.},
doi = {10.2172/1204085},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1204085}, journal = {},
number = ,
volume = ,
place = {United States},
year = {Wed Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 2014},
month = {Wed Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 2014}
}