CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Last Thursday, the Biden Administration announced an up to $1.2 billion investment in the development of the nation's first direct air capture facilities. Sites in Texas and Louisiana have been chosen for these facilities.
The King Ranch will be the site for the Texas location.
Combined, these “direct air capture” hubs will remove more than 2 million metric tons of carbon dioxide from the air each year.
The president of the Kingsville Chamber of Commerce, Manny Salazar, says this project will have a great influence on the city.
“We are very excited about the opportunity this presents to the Kingsville community and we are excited about the job creation that this is going to bring about. We are excited about the investments and all the opportunities this is going to provide to the local community,” Salazar said.
Salazar says the project has a positive climate impact.
"This is a green project; direct air capture basically takes ambient air, puts it through a process, and at the end of a process, the pure carbon will be sequestered about a mile and a half below earth.” Salazar said.
This project will not only protect the public's health, but it will also create nearly 2,500 jobs in Kleberg County.
“Kingsville has a poverty rate that is twice the state average, so when you bring in a project like this that is going to create jobs that can support a family, you really do break the cycle of generational poverty that we have seen here in Kingsville,” Salazar said.
Even though the project is based in South Texas, it is expected to have a global impact in purifying the air.
