Federal Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson says he expects between 20 and 25 commercial-scale carbon capture and storage projects to break ground in Canada within the next decade.
Mr. Wilkinson made the comments in an interview in Calgary, one week after Shell Canada announced it will go ahead with its Polaris carbon capture project in Alberta.
Shell’s decision to green-light the project came immediately after a new federal investment tax credit for carbon capture and storage received royal assent. Companies can now apply for and receive the tax credit.
Mr. Wilkinson says he expects additional companies to make positive final investment decisions on carbon capture “in the coming months.”
Mr. Wilkinson says he remains confident that the Pathways Alliance proposed carbon capture and storage network will ultimately go ahead.
If constructed, that $16.5-billion project by a group of oilsands companies would be one of the largest carbon capture and storage projects in the world.