A major direct air capture project in Wyoming has been paused after its developers struggled to secure enough emissions-free power, raising concerns about the future of carbon removal technologies.
Project Bison, aimed to remove 5 million tons of CO2 yearly by 2030, is on hold due to limited clean energy availability.
The rise of AI data centers and cryptocurrency operations has increased competition for renewable power in Wyoming.
Wyoming's governor remains committed to carbon removal, despite the project's relocation outside the state.
Key quote:
“We’ve seen growing competition for clean power amongst industries that are emerging much faster than anybody would have ever predicted.”
— Adrian Corless, CEO of CarbonCapture
Why this matters:
Direct air capture is seen as a vital tool to combat climate change, but the difficulties in finding sufficient clean energy for such projects signal potential obstacles to scaling these technologies. Without clean power, the carbon removal benefits are limited.
If the world is to reach net zero, billions of tons of carbon dioxide need pulling from the air every year. At the moment, the global carbon removal system extracts less than 0.01 percent of that.
