Budget deal includes carbon capture legislation
WASHINGTON – A budget deal passed by Congress and signed by the President Friday included a bipartison bill to encourage technological innovation in carbon capture utilization and storage while reducing carbon emissions.
U.S. Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-ND, and three other senators took the lead on the FUTURE Act, which supports maintaining a place in the nation’s energy mix for existing resources such as coal and natural gas.
“Particularly during these partisan times, I’m particularly proud to have been able to bring together such an extensive, diverse group of unlikely allies, including conservative and progressive lawmakers as well as coal companies, environmental groups, and labor organizations, around our bill,” Heitkamp said. “With 70 percent of North Dakota’s electricity derived from coal, it’s clear that we need to forge a viable path forward for coal to meet our energy needs and continue to support jobs and the economy in our state, while reducing emissions.”
The FUTURE Act extends and expands the 45Q tax credit to provide certainty to utilities and other industrial sources and would incentivize the build-out of industrial carbon capture projects that plan to use CO2 and CO for enhanced oil recovery and carbon utilization – the conversion of carbon dioxide into useable products.
In addition, the bill strengthens support for carbon capture technologies by increasing the “commence construction” window for carbon capture projects from five to seven years and by increasing the number of years to claim the credits from 10 to 12 years.