An integrated bottom-up optimization to investigate the role of BECCS in transitioning towards a net-zero energy system: a case study from Gujarat, India

Abstract

Bringing down energy system emissions to zero is a key step to restrict the global temperature rise to “well below 2 °C”. Recent studies have extensively discussed the integration of bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) in existing energy systems to achieve net-zero emissions. India recently initiated a carbon dioxide-based enhanced oil recovery (CO2-EOR) project in the matured oil wells of western India. Using this project, we propose a bioenergy-CO2-EOR system to study the techno-economic feasibility and potential of BECCS towards net-zero emissions from energy systems. We use mixed integer linear programming for bioenergy and CO2 source-sink matching. The proposed system breaks even, without any carbon price, at an oil price of around 56 USD per barrel (USD/bbl) if using CO2 from bioethanol fermentation and at around 90 USD/bbl for bioelectricity plants. A carbon price between USD 20 to 40 per tonne of CO2 makes the system feasible even below the oil price of 45 USD/bbl for the ethanol route. The system has net negative CO2 emissions after accounting for the lifecycle emissions of produced oil, assuming a sequestration rate of 0.5 tonne of CO2 per barrel of recovered oil. Further, the bioenergy-CO2-EOR system reduces crude oil imports, supports ethanol blending, provides additional income opportunities at local level, and reduces air pollution from crop residue burning in the fields.