CAPTURING CARBON – Scott Murray, a project manager from Tenaska, addressed the Hancock County Commission Thursday about the company’s plans to bring a carbon capture and storage project to the region. -- Craig Howell

NEW CUMBERLAND — A project which would capture and store carbon dioxide in the ground could provide new opportunities for the region, according to representatives of energy company Tenaska.

Company officials appeared before the Hancock County Commission Thursday to discuss their plans and what it could mean for the Tri-State Area.

Scott Murray, a project manager for Tenaska, explained the privately owned company has been a part of the energy industry for 23 years, with local operations including explorations in the Marcellus and Utica shale formations, as well as facilities in southern Ohio and southwestern Pennsylvania.

“We have had experience in the area and a lot of good partnerships,” Murray said.

Tenaska has located an office in Weirton as it works toward establishing its carbon capture and sequestration process in the region.

According to information provided by the company, its processes would capture carbon dioxide at the point of emission from various industrial operations, process it and compress it into a liquid form, then transport it through a pipeline system to established storage sites where it would be injected into the ground at a depth of between 3,000 and 15,000 feet.

“This will be long-term storage,” Murray said. “Instead of taking it out, we’re putting it back.”

The company currently plans to be operational by 2027, with a hub established over areas of Ohio, West Virginia and Pennsylvania.

West Virginia would have injection sites in Hancock, Brooke and Marshall counties, with sites in Jefferson, Harrison and Carroll counties in Ohio, and Washington County in Pennsylvania. The company anticipates establishing seven injection well sites in West Virginia, with 12 in Ohio and three in Pennsylvania for a total of 49 permanent jobs.

Tenaska recently received an award of up to $69 million from the U.S. Department of Energy to assist with its projects, and Murray noted the company has been active in seeking out partnerships, both with industrial operations and property owners.

“We’ve already started reaching out and negotiating,” he said.