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Carbon capture funding announced

The Harper government has given the “green” light to eight projects aimed at developing carbon capture and storage technologies.

CALGARY — The Harper government has given the “green” light to eight projects aimed at developing carbon capture and storage technologies.

Funding was announced last April but it took the Natural Resources Department a year to choose from almost 40 proposals it received.

“I don’t think it’s possible to overstate the importance of this technology,” Natural Resources Minister Lisa Raitt said Thursday in Calgary.

“These companies span B.C., Alberta and Saskatchewan. . . they will demonstrate how carbon capture and storage can be used to reduce our emissions associated with projects such as fertilizer production, gas processing and coal-fired electricity generation.”

Ottawa will spend between $3 million and $30 million on each of the projects up to a total of $140 million. The Alberta government has already said it will spend $2 billion to develop a carbon capture system for the oilsands.

Carbon capture and storage is a process in which carbon dioxide is taken from the air and buried.