If you Walk the Bay, you won’t miss seeing the two giant smokestacks that rise above Moss Landing. They are visible for much of the first two days of walking. What are they? And, what are they doing?
The first power plant at Moss Landing started operation in 1950 with five small units. In 1964, units 6 and 7 started operation. Their stacks are the two tall ones that you can see at 500 feet high. Natural gas (methane) powered, using 1.2 billion gallons of water a day units 6 and 7 only operate June to September. The rest of the time two smaller, more efficient units operate.
A company called Calera is making 10 ton test batches of cement a day by bubbling the effluent from the Moss Landing smokestacks through sea water. The CO2 combines with the calcium and magnesium in the sea water to make cement. Cement kilns in the US generate more CO2 than the airline industry and are the third largest emitter of CO2 in the country. Current processing emits 1 ton of CO2 for every ton of cement created. Calera’s process sequesters ½ ton of CO2 for every ton of cement created. Pull CO2 out of the air and sequester it in something we need… brilliant!!