Green light for CO2 storage under Dutch town

In spite of residents' protests, Dutch parliament approved the construction of an experimental underground carbon dioxide storage facility beneath the town of Barendrecht on Tuesday.

Who can guarantee their houses won’t lose value? Or their foundations shift? Could people die in explosions, or even suffocate, if carbon dioxide escapes from its underground storage?

The people of Barendrecht, a town of 45,000 south of Rotterdam, are scared and furious the Dutch government has designated two depleted natural-gas fields below a residential area to serve as a trial for storing carbon dioxide. On Tuesday parliament approved the trial, which is seen as a prelude to large scale carbon capture and storage (CCS) in the Netherlands.

Emission reduction goals

CCS under land and sea is seen as an effective way to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. The UN climate change panel IPCC predicts 20 to 45 percent of all CO2 emission could be stored by 2050. The Netherlands has high hopes the technology will help it meet its emission reduction goals and the government has commissioned Shell oil company to capture ten million tonnes of carbon dioxide from one of its oil refineries and pump it 1,800 metres below Barendrecht before it will allow storage in the larger gas fields in the north of the country.

Parliament's approval comes with some conditions. Junior coalition party ChristenUnie demanded proof from the responsible ministers that the trial is absolutely necessary for the country to reduce its carbon dioxide emission by 30 percent in 2020, compared to 1990. Environment minister Jacqueline Cramer and economic affairs minister Maria van der Hoeven have three months to supply the evidence.

Barendrecht mayor Jan van Belzen, in response to Tuesday's decision, said the condition imposed by parliament shows "huge question marks linger" over the need for the trial in his town.

'Not under our backyard'

In December, hundreds of furious Barendrechters attended an information session with Cramer and Van der Hoeven to show they did not want the storage under their backyard. Despite the ministers assurance, backed by several studies, that the trial is perfectly safe, residents wonder how a densely populated residential area could have been chosen as the site for the experiment. Why not use the empty gas fields in depopulated parts of the country’s north or even under the North Sea?

The answer is that Barendrecht lies on top of two fields that are nearly exhausted, while the northern gas fields are still in operation. Besides, it is close to a major industrial hub, Pernis, where Shell conducts much of its operations. The Dutch-British oil giant only wanted to participate in the project if the fields under Barendrecht were made available. Residents and politicians have said the national government is being "held hostage" by the company.

To temper Barendrecht’s worries, the government has instituted a fund to compensate for any damage arising from the project. The question remains if this will prove enough to mollify the anger expressed by one resident at December's meeting. "If this goes wrong, I'll know where to find you," he yelled at minister Van der Hoeven.