59 Scenarios Scenario name Description Cost [$million] Space requirement [m2] Risk [credits] Innovation [credits] Business as usual MIT accounts for CO2 stored through management of nonurban lands, primarily the Westford, MA and Middleton, MA campuses (Bates Research and Engineering Center, Haystack Observatory, Wallace Observatory, and Lincoln Labs). Initial costs: Project development, inventory, analysis, certification, and verification - $70,000 to $100,000 (Beane 2012) Periodic: Periodic Inventory, Future Forest Analysis, Certification, Verification, and Reporting - $50,000 every 5-10 years (Beane 2012) No additional space, but would require no future development on ~1300 acres 1 – Public perception of “greenwashing” 0 Partial implementation MIT implements postcombustion capture on the Central Utility Plant in addition to Business as usual Total As Spent Cost ~$100million (Capital cost + expected cost to ship and geologically sequester) (Lu, Lu, and Nielsen 2020) 20,000 m2 (“New Nominal 44 MW Cogeneration Plant MIT Major Comprehensive Plan Approval Application (310 CMR 7.02) Transmittal # X262144” 2016) 2 - Risk of backlash to any geological storage proposed – seen as either claiming capacity that does not belong to MIT, or the perceived risk of leakage, seismic activity, etc. will prompt fear 2 – While technologically mature, post-combustion capture remains sparsely implemented. Postcombustion capture at MIT would represent the first implementation at a university Full implementation MIT implements direct air capture on campus in addition to partial implementation Current industrial-scale projects $15million (France-Presse 2021) 1700 m2 (Choose Your Climate Action Plan & Remove CO₂ from the Air Permanently,” n.d.) 2 – Risk of backlash to any geological storage proposed – seen as either claiming capacity that does not belong to MIT, or the perceived risk of leakage, seismic activity, etc. will prompt fear 3 – Direct air capture is a nascent technology that has also garnered much media attention. MIT entering this space would provide further visibility and credibility to the technology.
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