Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage as a Defense Tool against Climate Change: Current Developments in West Macedonia (Greece)

In West Macedonia (Greece), CO 2 accounts as one of the largest contributors of greenhouse gas emissions related to the activity of the regional coal power plants located in Ptolemaida. The necessity to mitigate CO 2 emissions to prevent climate change under the Paris Agreement’s framework remains an ongoing and demanding challenge. It requires implementing crucial environmentally sustainable technologies to provide balanced solutions between the short-term needs for dependency on fossil fuels and the requirements to move towards the energy transition era. The challenge to utilise and store CO 2 emissions will require actions aiming to contribute to a Europe-wide CCUS infrastructure. The Horizon 2020 European Project “STRATEGY CCUS “examines the potential for CO 2 storage in the Mesohellenic Trough from past available data deploying the USDOE methodology. Research results show that CO 2 storage capacities for the Pentalofos and Eptachori geological formations of the Mesohellenic Trough are estimated at 1.02 and 0.13 Gt, respectively, thus providing the potential for the implementation of a promising method for reducing CO 2 emissions in Greece. A certain storage potential also applies to the Grevena sub-basin, offering the opportunity to store any captured CO 2 in the area, including other remote regions.