A new carbon capture and storage project is proposed for the Capital Region

A new carbon capture and storage project—the Live Oak CCS Hub—has been proposed for Iberville and West Baton Rouge parishes.

The project is being advanced by Tenaska Development, an arm of Tenaska, an energy company headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska.

Project stakeholders are currently in talks with local businesses about their carbon reduction challenges and with local landowners about leasing opportunities. As part of the planning process, the Live Oak team has submitted a Class VI application to the Louisiana Department of Energy and Natural Resources.

If the project comes to pass, Live Oak would be able to transport and permanently store CO2 captured from area industrial processors, manufacturers and power generation facilities deep underground. In doing so, the CCS hub would help those facilities meet federal and state climate mandates and environmental requirements in a “cost-effective, responsible manner,” according to the Live Oak team.

Once operational, Live Oak would be able to capture and store millions of tons of CO2 each year. The project also promises to bring significant economic benefits to the Capital Region in both the short and long term, according to an analysis by local economist Loren Scott.

On a regional level, the project is expected to generate about $690.6 million in new sales, $67.2 million in new earnings and $11.6 million in new local tax revenue while supporting an average of 332 new jobs per year during the three-year construction phase. Once operational, it would generate $13.4 million in new sales, $2.6 million in new earnings and up to $9.5 million in new local tax revenue each year while creating 47 new jobs.

Scott also took a look at the economic impact the project would have on the state as a whole.

On a state level, the project is expected to generate about $1 billion in new sales, $344.8 million in new earnings and $33.7 million in new tax revenue while supporting an average of 1,838 new jobs per year during the three year-construction phase. Once operational, it would generate $36.5 million in new sales, $12.3 million in new earnings and $4.1 million in new tax revenue each year while creating 224 new jobs.

As the project is still in its development phase, a precise project timeline has yet to be announced.