Rules for storing CO2 underground safely

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1. The law creates the legal framework for injecting and storing CO2 in underground geological formations, safely for the environment and health, to help fight climate change. It applies to underground structures in Spain, including territorial waters, the exclusive economic zone and the continental shelf, and bans storing CO2 in the water column or on the seabed.
2. The geological formations used as storage sites are state public domain property: they cannot be sold, acquired by prescription or seized.
3. The Ministry of Industry, Tourism and Trade grants and revokes storage concessions and research permits affecting more than one autonomous community or the marine subsoil. The autonomous communities approve monitoring plans, carry out inspections and oversee corrective measures.
4. Exploring whether a site can store CO2 requires a research permit, which must be decided within one year and lasts at most 4 years. Storing CO2 requires a storage concession, which gives the exclusive right to store at that site, lasts 30 years with extensions, and is granted by the Ministry of Industry, Tourism and Trade.
5. Anyone applying for a concession must provide a financial guarantee covering their obligations, including site closure and possible leaks. If the guarantee is used and not restored within two months, the concession is revoked.
6. The operator must monitor the storage site under a monitoring plan, report at least once a year and immediately notify any leak or significant irregularity. The autonomous communities inspect at least once a year and can require or adopt corrective measures, recovering the costs from the operator.
7. Responsibility for a closed site passes from the operator to the State only when all available evidence shows the CO2 will remain completely and permanently confined, at least 20 years have passed since closure, and financial obligations have been met. The operator contributes money to a financial instrument that covers later monitoring.
8. The law defines very serious, serious and minor offenses. Fines range from up to €200,000 for minor offenses to between €2,000,001 and €5,000,000 for very serious ones, such as injecting CO2 without the required permit.

Who it affects

• Energy and industrial companies that want to store CO2: They need a research permit and a storage concession, must provide a financial guarantee, and must meet monitoring, reporting and closure obligations.
• Autonomous communities: They approve monitoring plans, carry out inspections and oversee corrective measures at storage sites.
• The Industry and Environment ministries: They grant permits and concessions, keep the registries and manage the transfer of responsibility to the State after closure.
• The general public: Can consult information on CO2 storage, which public authorities must make available.

Words worth knowing

Concesión de almacenamiento (storage concession)

Administrative authorization giving its holder the exclusive right to store CO2 at a specific site.

Permiso de investigación (research permit)

Authorization to study whether an underground area is suitable for CO2 storage.

Fuga (leak)

Any escape of CO2 from the storage complex.

Irregularidad significativa (significant irregularity)

A problem in injection operations or at the storage site that poses a risk of leakage or a risk to the environment or health.

Dominio público estatal (state public domain)

Property owned by the State for public use that cannot be sold or seized.

It summarizes the law as published in the BOE. It is written by artificial intelligence and may contain mistakes: the official text is what counts. Read the official text · How we make summaries