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Development of Useful Tools Recent Energy Legislation and Summaries
Sen. Bingaman Energy Technology Deployment Bill On July 11, 2008 Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), Chairman of the Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee, introduced S. 3233, the "21st Century Energy Technology Deployment Act" which would create a government corporation to encourage deployment of new energy technologies that are perceived as too risky for needed low cost financing by commercial lenders. The primary function of the corporation is to securitize private loans and sell bonds based on their revenues in order to allow a greater amount of less-expensive lending in the private sector to deploy high risk technologies. Several technologies are considered eligible technologies for backing by the corporation, including advanced vehicle technologies, solar, wind and geothermal power generation, energy intensity reduction technologies for industry and manufacturing, CCS technologies, and low energy building technologies. One of the targets the legislation sets forth for the corporation is to deploy commercial-scale carbon capture and storage from electricity generation capturing at least 10,000,000 short tons per year by 2015. However, no other provisions are included in the bill for CCS technology deployment.
The Carbon Reduction Technology Bridge Act of 2008 Senators Kent Conrad (D-ND) and Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT), both senior members of the Senate Finance Committee, introduced the "Carbon Reduction Technology Bridge Act of 2008." This proposal includes the principal tax incentive provisions of CURC's "Near Term Technology Deployment" program and is supported by the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA). Related document: Summary of S.3208 Climate MATTERS Cap-and-Trade Legislation Attached is a summary of legislation introduced by U.S. Representatives Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and Earl Blumenauer (D-OR). The Climate MATTERS Act (Climate Market Auction Trust and Trade Emissions Reduction System) institutes a strong cap-and-trade system designed to reduce greenhouse gas pollution. This is the first such bill to receive primary referral to the Ways and Means Committee. Carbon Capture and Storage Early Deployment Act Sen. Rick Boucher (D-VA) introduced legislation today to accelerate the availability of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies. H.R. 6258 creates a Carbon Storage Research Corporation (CRSC) to accelerate the demonstration and early deployment of carbon capture and storage systems. Funds would be competitively awarded to CCS projects and generated by assessing a fee on fossil fuel based power generation. Related document: Summary of HR 6258 Accelerating Carbon Capture and Sequestration Act of 2008 Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) introduced legislation (S. 3132) that would provide tax credits to coal-fired power plants that capture carbon dioxide emissions. Under the proposed legislation, companies that capture and sequester emissions in geological formations would be eligible to receive a tax credit of $20 per metric ton, while companies that capture emissions and use them for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) would receive a tax credit of $10 per ton. The Baucus bill's distinction between CCS solely for carbon sequestration purposes and the injection of CO2 for EOR purposes echoes that in the current version of the Lieberman-Warner climate change bill, which provides fewer financial incentives for EOR projects, "to reflect the lower cost of the projects when compared to sequestration into geological formations solely for purposes of disposal."
Investing in Climate Action and Protection Act (iCAP Act)
Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA) introduced a proposed bill entitled "Investing in Climate Action and Protection Act" (iCAP Act) which amends the Clean Air Act to establish an economy-wide cap-auction-and-trade system. Related documents: Summary of iCAP
Sen. Barbara Boxer's 'Manager's Amendment' Substitute Bill Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Chair of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, released a “manager’s amendment” to S.2191, the Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act of 2008. The bill describes new provisions related to carbon capture and sequestration that will be substituted for the language included in the climate bill (S. 2191) originally reported out of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. Related document: Summary of S.3036
Comparison of Near-Term CCS Legislative Proposals in Congress
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