Enhance Energy breaks ground on Canada’s largest carbon capture project

Tim Hodgson listens at the Assembly of First Nations general assembly in Ottawa in July. The Energy Minister says projects such as Origins will help Canada reach its potential as an energy superpower. Justin Tang/The Canadian Press

The tiny central Alberta village of Clive is set to become home to Canada’s largest carbon-capture project after Enhance Energy Inc. broke ground Wednesday on its Origins project.

With operations slated to begin in January, the Origins carbon capture and storage (CCS) hub will initially have capacity to permanently store up to 1.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide each year. That’s roughly the equivalent of taking more than 500,000 cars off the road annually, and the hub will be able to expand over time.

Enhance Energy is no stranger to carbon capture, a technology that traps the carbon dioxide produced by burning fossil fuels before it is released into the atmosphere.