CLIMATEWIRE | What approaches can atmospheric carbon reduction initiatives take to slash their considerable expenses?
A new venture in Texas proposes a solution: harness energy straight from a wind farm.
This cutting-edge initiative, unveiled recently by three European corporations, aims to become the globe’s inaugural direct air capture (DAC) project primarily powered by what is termed behind-the-meter electricity. This setup allows the DAC operation to predominantly utilize inexpensive, on-site generated clean energy, bypassing traditional grid electricity metering.
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Projected to be operational by 2028, this facility plans to remove up to 500,000 metric tons of carbon annually from the atmosphere—surpassing the typical yearly emissions of a standard natural gas facility, based on EPA figures. This upcoming Texas plant is poised to be the largest of its kind, although several other DAC projects of comparable scale are in progress.
The initiative is spearheaded by Return Carbon, a Dutch investment and project development firm, and Skytree, a direct air capture technology provider also based in the Netherlands. The wind energy will be supplied by the North American renewable energy branch of EDF, a major French utility company owned by the state. The captured carbon dioxide will then be permanently stored underground by Verified Carbon, a Texas-based company.
“This represents a new model, which we have established in agreement with EDF,” explained Martijn Verwoerd, co-founder and managing director of Return Carbon, in a pre-announcement interview. “That’s the reason for making it public now.”
This innovative arrangement ensures that Return Carbon, which will own and operate the DAC facility, has a steady, affordable clean energy supply from the windy Texas Gulf Coast. Verwoerd chose not to disclose the specific kilowatt-hour rate agreed upon and mentioned that the consortium will determine the exact site later this year.
For EDF, this agreement minimizes the risk of having to sell electricity at a loss or even paying to contribute it to the grid, as Verwoerd pointed out. Utilities sometimes experience what’s known as negative power pricing when electricity generation exceeds demand.
Additionally, the deal permits EDF to divert its electricity from Return Carbon to the grid when market prices peak. In such cases, the DAC facility could either use renewable energy from another agreement Return Carbon has established with different power providers or temporarily cease operations until electricity prices decrease to a more favorable level.
“It’s a win-win scenario for all involved,” Verwoerd stated.
To mitigate the severe effects of climate change, experts argue that immediate reduction in carbon dioxide emissions, primarily from burning oil, gas, and coal, is crucial. Concurrently, the deployment of carbon removal technologies like DAC is necessary to address the excessive carbon already released into the atmosphere.
However, these actions are not progressing swiftly enough, with former President Donald Trump vowing to increase oil drilling while cutting federal funding for climate initiatives.
DAC facilities function by using fans, absorbent materials, electricity, heat, and piping to extract carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and sequester it in deep underground rock formations. Both Congress members and leading companies have shown strong support for DAC technologies, largely because the removed CO2 quantities are easily measurable.
Yet, the costs are steep, hovering around $500 per ton of carbon dioxide removed, as per CDR.fyi, a sector data hub. This price is nearly triple that of capturing CO2 through bioenergy with carbon capture and storage, which involves burning biomass for energy and capturing the emissions.
Return Carbon and Skytree, which originated from the European Space Agency in 2014, did not provide a follow-up response regarding their targeted cost for carbon removal in the new Texas project.
Last November, Return Carbon and Skytree announced a comparable wind-powered DAC megaproject in Texas in collaboration with Greenalia, a Spanish renewable energy firm.
According to Verwoerd, European climate and clean energy companies are increasingly interested in Texas due to its abundant wind resources and well-understood geological landscape.
Reprinted from E&E News with permission from POLITICO, LLC. Copyright 2025. E&E News delivers essential news for energy and environment professionals.
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