Carbon Capture

SoCalGas is working to build the cleanest, safest, and most innovative energy infrastructure company in America, with aims to achieve net zero emissions in our operations and delivery of energy by 2045. We understand the important role we play in delivering reliable, affordable, and increasingly low carbon energy to our customers while developing the associated energy infrastructure, and we are committed to promoting rapid advancement and innovation to reduce emissions. We are exploring opportunities to construct, own and operate CO2 pipelines in our service territory with an initial focus on Kern County.

What is carbon capture and storage (CC&S)?

Carbon capture and storage (CC&S) is the process of capturing CO2 that has already been or would otherwise be released into the atmosphere from industrial activity, and processing it for safe, secure and permanent storage.

What are the benefits of CC&S?

CC&S is one of the most important low-carbon technologies that can help reduce or offset emissions and get us closer to our net-zero aim. CC&S is also one of the few technologies on the horizon that could enable some large-scale industry sectors, such as the chemical, steel, cement, and refining sectors, to decarbonize. Direct Air Capture (DAC), a subset of CC&S, is of the few technologies that could enable removing already released CO2 from the atmosphere which could help accelerate achieving California’s climate goals. The California Air Resources Board includes DAC as a key component of its 2022 Scoping Plan to achieve the state’s net zero 2045 goal.

Why Us?

We are uniquely positioned to develop new cleaner fuels and CC&S infrastructure given our more than 150 years of expertise in developing pipeline infrastructure and installation and maintenance of over 100,000 miles of pipeline serving over 21 million consumers safely and reliably. Not only that, but we’ve already made significant advancement in innovation. We’re partnering on or sponsoring a dozen carbon management demonstration projects in various stages of development, including the recently announced Captura pilot. We’re a leader in operating a safe and reliable pipeline system including implementing innovative leak detection technologies and reducing fugitive methane emissions. Our expertise in energy infrastructure and pipeline safety makes this a natural pairing.

What Next?

This is an exciting time for Kern County, and we are excited to be engaging with its businesses, the community, and organizations like the Kern Economic Development Corporation for what is ahead. There is significant funding available for CC&S from the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), and Kern County is uniquely positioned as the energy capital of California to benefit from that and other funding opportunities that may arise. That funding could represent promising opportunities for Kern County, in terms of jobs, retraining, and significant economic development. We estimate that the development of a Kern County carbon management system for example, could lead to the potential creation of significant numbers of jobs. In short, California’s success is our success, and there is a growing consensus that electrification combined with clean fuels, and technologies like CC&S, could deliver a cost-efficient, resilient, and technology-proven path to full carbon neutrality.