What Carbon Capture Means for the Capital Region
Few technologies may play as critical a role in the Capital Region's economic future.
The International Economic Development Council (IEDC), the world’s largest professional association for economic developers, sums up economic development like this:
A set of programs and policies that aid in the creation, retention and expansion of jobs; the development of a stable tax base; and the enhancement of wealth.
At its core, this is what BRAC does. Our team ensures that local firms have the tools they need to expand their operations in the Baton Rouge Metro area while making sure out-of-market companies understand the advantages of locating in the Capital Region.
Our Business Investment team organizes its work into a pipeline, or a list of projects that are considering moving to or expanding in the Capital Region. The pipeline tracks the size of each project in terms of jobs and capital expenditures (CAPX), and the nature of each project (e.g. manufacturing expansion, headquarters relocation, new distribution center, etc.) The vast majority of companies in BRAC’s pipeline are economic driver companies, meaning they export significant amounts of goods or services outside the region; they also represent sizeable investments (the median project CAPX in the pipeline is $243 million).
BRAC’s Pipeline
Looking holistically at BRAC’s current pipeline, a couple things are striking.
Number one: It’s huge. As of late August 2025, there were 45 projects representing nearly 6,000 jobs and $60 billion in capital investment being considered in the Capital Region (for reference, BRAC has announced approximately $40 billion in capital investments in the region collectively since 2005.1) These represent just direct jobs associated with the projects and direct investment in new buildings, equipment, and other forms of capital. These figures do not account for the indirect jobs these projects will yield (like construction or support contractors), nor do they account for additional investments in infrastructure, residential development, and other spending that naturally follows large private investments.
Number two: Many of these projects – 23 – employ carbon capture, utilization, and sequestration (CCUS) technologies. Despite accounting for just over half of the projects in BRAC’s pipeline, projects with CCUS components represent more than 90% of the capital investment in the pipeline and nearly 80% of the jobs.
These figures only include direct impacts associated with construction of these facilities and full-time employment once the projects are up-and-running. A good chunk of these capital expenditures would be spent on goods and materials produced outside of Greater Baton Rouge. Accounting for this, if each of these projects picked the Capital Region, based on an analysis of regional average multiplier effects for capital expenditures,2 these projects with CCUS components would collectively lead to more than 220,000 jobs in the area, grow regional GDP by $25 billion (a 45% increase3), and support $44 billion in economic output.
Furthermore, full-time employees of these future facilities will spend money throughout the economy on new homes, groceries, recreation, and more. Those effects, which would likely be significant, aren’t captured in this analysis.
The Reality
These numbers assume all pipeline projects will come to fruition and that all employment estimates will be reached in full. The reality is that not all these projects will hit, headcount projections can take years to fully meet, and, for the projects that do happen, some may not begin operations until the 2030s. We can’t say how many will end up in the Capital Region – but that’s not the point. What’s important is that, according to BRAC’s project pipeline, more than 90% of Greater Baton Rouge’s potential future capital investment and nearly 80% of future direct jobs are linked to projects with CCUS components. Plainly, CCUS is absolutely key to future economic growth in the Capital Region.
Gone are the economic development days of trying to prop up brand new industries in cities or regions where they don’t currently exist. It’s well-understood that, in 2025, regions must play to their strengths to notch wins in the investment column. For a variety of reasons, from geologic advantages to human capital technical expertise, CCUS is Greater Baton Rouge’s card to play. Our region is positioned to not only compete internationally for CCUS projects, but to win.
What about Public Support?
CCUS has broad statewide support. The 2024 Louisiana Survey found 72% of statewide residents, including 67% of Republicans and 78% of Democrats, support “providing tax credits to encourage businesses to develop technology that captures and stores carbon emissions so they do not enter the atmosphere.” Few issues garner as much bipartisan support as CCUS.
President Donald Trump has signaled his support for CCUS projects, too. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed by the President this past summer, increased the incentives available for companies employing CCUS technologies. This comes at a time when incentives for other renewable energy initiatives, such as solar power, have seen drastic cuts.
The Bottom Line
Greater Baton Rouge’s economic future relies heavily on a policy environment that’s supportive of CCUS technology. Putting up unnecessary barriers that make it more difficult for local companies to employ the technology will have a drastic and negative impact on Greater Baton Rouge’s economic future. Billions of dollars of taxable property, thousands of direct jobs, and extensive downstream benefits would be at risk of vanishing should roadblocks to CCUS go up. Baton Rouge’s economic fate is intricately tied to CCUS, and support from local, state, and federal officials is critical for us to assume our place as a global leader in this burgeoning industry.
BRAC internal business investment data; past project investment amounts are inflation-adjusted.
IMPLAN was used to model the impacts associated with capital expenditures. IMPLAN uses regional average multipliers for capital expenditures to project impacts when allocations towards specific forms of capital, such as new buildings or machinery, are not available.
Baton Rouge Metro GDP was approximately $54.9 billion in 2023. Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis