A Houston startup seeking approval for Louisiana’s second-ever carbon capture and storage well has met opposition from Ascension Parish residents, the latest sign of concern over an emerging industry that state leaders view as key for future economic development.
Five-year-old firm Blue Sky Infrastructure is planning an underground carbon dioxide storage hub in the heart of Louisiana’s Mississippi River industrial zone near Geismar and Donaldsonville. The company is currently seeking a permit for the first of seven planned wells, with the initial one to be located in western Ascension Parish.
The project is among more than 30 similar proposals that the state has been examining for potential approval, but backlash from residents and politicians has complicated the plans. Gov. Jeff Landry issued a moratorium on new injection applications last fall to provide time to review the process, but the Ascension proposal is one of six that remained on the state’s fast track.
Effective carbon capture would in theory address two problems at once. Louisiana’s petrochemical industry could lower its carbon footprint and make its products more competitive for foreign export, while climate-warming emissions could be reduced…