Aug. 19—A new, community-based model for managing carbon in the southern San Joaquin Valley is the goal of a unique study about to launch with federal support.

Big differences distinguish it from the three other locally focused grant winners on Aug. 11: No oil companies would be involved, the resulting operation would be community-owned, and it might not inject supercritical carbon dioxide deep underground.

The $2,999,999 feasibility study awaiting final approval by the U.S. Department of Energy is to be led by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the University of California, Berkeley's Center for Law, Energy and the Environment.

The project could address some of the biggest concerns environmental justice groups have with competing proposals for pulling CO2 from the atmosphere as part of a climate priority called direct air capture.

Local business leaders have voiced enthusiasm for the tax-generation and job-creation potential of DAC and other forms of carbon capture and sequestration. Such discussions have centered on projects led by oil producers with underground storage capacity, injection expertise, a ready workforce and the capital to make it happen.

The Berkeley study would compete for later federal taxpayer grants against projects for injecting CO2 into depleted oil wells, as proposed by local oil producers Aera Energy LLC and Chevron, both of which got feasibility study grants of about $3 million, and California Resources Corp., which received almost $12 million to begin project design. The grants are subject to final negotiations.

There's no reason why different projects couldn't move forward. CLEE Executive Director Louise Bedsworth said just because the project has avoided bringing oil companies to the table, for the sake of building meaningful community engagement, doesn't mean the project will compete with industry efforts.

"I really think that's the competition that we see, is showing that what we all see as the right way to do this is possible," she said.

Two locally active renewable energy companies have signed up with the Berkeley-led effort. So have several nonprofits known for working closely with communities.

One of the tech partners is Oakland-based Rondo Energy, whose technology turns intermittent energy sources like solar and wind into heat measuring up to 2,200 degrees. Heat is a major component in DAC projects. Rondo is part of San Diego-based Pacific Steel Group's $350 million plan to build a "green steel" plant in Mojave powered at least partly by renewable power.

Another partner on the Berkeley project is Rancho Cordova-based Clean Energy Systems, owner of an idle biomass power plant near Delano that recently applied for a federal operating permit. CES has proposed reopening the plant to combust local ag waste then bury byproduct gas, generating electricity or hydrogen as part of the process.

Bedsworth emphasized biomass carbon-capture process would not be part of the Berkeley project, but that CES' properties in Kern and further north in the San Joaquin Valley could serve as physical campuses for community-led DAC operations utilizing local expertise.

Also on the team are Carbon 180, a Washington-based climate non-governmental organization; Washington-based Data for Progress, a progressive think tank and polling firm; and Valley Onward, a Merced-based nonprofit focused on increasing equity for Spanish-speaking and other minority communities.

Newsha Ajami, chief development officer for research in Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory's earth and environmental sciences area, said the plan is to build scientific inquiry aimed at designing a project around local concerns rather than oil industry-driven solutions.

There must be a strong governance structure, Ajami said, ideally leading to a community-ownership model — perhaps something like a local water utility or community choice aggregation that sources and sells energy based on local priorities.

Data generated would be made public for the sake of ensuring transparency and accountability, she said, noting one goal is to create a model that can be copied elsewhere.

Another priority is to avoid outsourcing technology. Ajami said other projects too often bring in workers from outside the area rather than hiring from within the community.

She said it must begin by learning about people's concerns, adding, "We'll see what happens."

Bedsworth said she wants to see the project bridge gaps with environmental justice groups, some of which have been skeptical of oil companies' involvement in DAC. They have also pointed out risks associated with CO2 leaks and the potential for asphyxiation.

Through deep community engagement starting next year and going on for two years after that, she said, the project would bring people to the table to co-design a project offering public good alongside monetary benefits.

She said there would be an oversight committee with representatives from environmental justice, labor and other community organizations. Participants would be compensated financially.

Bedsworth said oil was not invited because of the need to engage closely with the community.

"I don't believe we can do that with the oil companies at the table," she said.