As the world's leading energy user and greenhouse gas emitter, the U.S. must take the lead in showing the world carbon capture and sequestration can work.
--John Deutch, Ph.D., MIT, Department of Chemistry

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The Wallula Energy Resource Center (WERC) site lies within the Attalia Industrial Area in far Western Walla Walla County near the unincorporated town of Wallula. The site is in the geographic heart of the Pacific Northwest. The Port of Walla Walla has optioned approximately 750 acres to Wallula Resource Recovery, LLC.

Attalia is zoned "Heavy Industry." It hosts the Northwest's largest feedlot, its largest slaughterhouse and other significant industrial uses. The Boise Paper Mill adjacent to the Columbia River is within sight.

The site is well suited for WERC. Rail access is superb; the area is served by both UP and BNSF. The Columbia River offers another transport option particularly for moving heavy equipment. U.S. Highway 12 is currently being upgraded to four lanes. PacifiCorp and the Bonneville Power Administration own high-voltage transmission lines within several miles of the site and TransCanada National Gas Transmission pipeline runs near Attalia.

The Project site area was extensively studied several years ago. Washington State's Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council (EFSEC) permitted the "Wallula Power Project," a 1300 MW gas-fired power plant, in December 2002.

The Project site has another very important characteristic. Wallula is located in the Columbia Basin where the complete sequences of ancient volcanic flows that form the Basin are in evidence. These basalt formations are as deep and as extensive as any in the Northwest and are well suited for permanent CO₂ sequestration.