A Carbon Management Business Park would be a fully permitted, industrial business park for clean energy and carbon management industries specialized in reducing carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions in the atmosphere. Carbon Management industries are those that capture CO₂ emissions, utilize CO₂ in their production process, or provide a necessary service or product for CO₂ capture or utilization industries. Clean energy (low- or no-carbon emitting) industries can also exchange useful services with carbon management industries. Co-locating multiple carbon management and clean energy industries in a single location, which can be permitted through zoning and the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) as one large project, will help to expedite the development of new business in Kern County and provide opportunities for collaboration and efficiency improvements between these different industries.

No specific location has been determined at this time. However, the park would be sited near one or more known subsurface geologic storage sites and employment centers and would be sited far from residential and urban uses, all within the region of Kern County known generally as the “Western Subarea.” The Western Subarea is bound by Interstate 5 (I-5) to the east and the Temblor Mountain Range to the west. Close proximity of a carbon management park to such geologic storage sites is a large advantage to carbon management industries, because it reduces the need of transporting CO₂ long distances for storage.

Kern County is one of only a few regions in the U.S. to possess a type of subsurface geology that is particularly well suited for safe and permanent storage of CO₂. Additionally, much of the existing workforce in Kern County’s local industries possess skills and knowledge that are directly transferable to carbon management industries. With these assets, Kern County is ideally equipped to become a global Center of Excellence for carbon management and clean energy. Implementation of a fully permitted location for these new industries under zoning and CEQA would accelerate the diversification of Kern County’s economy and provide hundreds of new jobs and tax revenue to benefit communities. Kern County could become the destination for new carbon management and clean energy industries in California, helping the state achieve its goal of being carbon neutral by 2045.

The Carbon Management Business Park demonstrated here is purely conceptual, envisioned by the Kern County Planning and Natural Resources Department, and showcasing different industries that could (but don’t necessarily need) to be located in a carbon management park. Development of the CMBP would be facilitated by private investors. Those investors would need to submit a proposal that includes a location and a Specific Plan designating the industries and land uses to be built. An Environmental Impact Report (EIR) would be required and the EIR and Specific Plan would go through a full public process.

There are several types of carbon management technologies, and development of new technologies is rapidly evolving. These technologies range from pulling CO₂ out of the air or plants to filtering CO₂ out of facilities that produce products or energy. As part of the visioning project, the Kern County Planning and Natural Resources Department investigated the available and emerging technologies and determined the technologies that have characteristics consistent with economic development policies of the Kern County Board of Supervisors.

• Direct Air Capture (aka DAC)
• Biomass Carbon Removal and Storage (aka BiCRS)
• Hydrogen (Green and Blue)
• Micro Steel production

Clicking on each industry on the interactive map will lead you to a summary of information regarding that specific technology. In addition, a comprehensive report has been prepared that provides more detailed information on each industry through four lenses:

• Technological
• Economic
• Societal
• Environmental

The entire report can be viewed by clicking on the Download Report button at the top of the web page.

A comparative analysis of the costs and benefits of the carbon management industries is available by clicking on the Comparative Analysis, which allows you to compare the estimated range of impact of each industry on various metrics, including water use and energy use.

Email the Kern County CMBP Team at kerncmbp@kerncounty.com.