Test drilling in Glace Bay for a carbon capture research project is nearly completed. Core samples are being taken from a single 1,700-metre hole on property owned by Yates Trucking and Excavating, off Dominion Street. The goal of the project is to find out if the underground rock formations are suitable to hold carbon dioxide emitted by Nova Scotia Power plants. The CEO of the province’s Carbon Capture and Storage Research Consortium, Carl Porier says so far they’ve discovered that the shallow bedrock is solid enough to keep gases underground. He also wants to stress that, contrary to local rumours, there’s no hydraulic fracturing or fracking be done at the site. He adds it will require a lot more research to determine whether carbon capture and storage is financially viable in the province. Core samples taken from the Glace Bay site will analyzed and Poirer says the results will be publicly released, next year.
