PDF versionAugust 1, 2014
Senator John Walsh (D-MT) introduced legislation on August 1 that would fund the establishment of power plants with carbon capture and storage (CCS) units. The bill calls for funding of CCS units across the country and follows recent regulations issued by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that mandate a reduction in carbon emissions.
Under Sen. Walsh’s Ten in Ten Act (S. 2776), the Secretary of Energy would administer the Carbon Capture and Sequestration Deployment Acceleration Fund and would oversee the establishment of no fewer than ten CCS units in ten years. The act focuses specifically on funding CCS units for new and upgraded coal-fired power plants.
Sen. Walsh has spoken previously of his commitment to investing in clean-coal technology and has highlighted CCS as an effective way to reduce carbon emissions. Other senators from coal-producing states have introduced legislation to encourage the development of CCS technologies, including Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-WV). Sen. Rockefeller introduced the Carbon Capture and Sequestration Deployment Act of 2014 (S. 2287), which would provide loan guarantees for the construction of CCS units, as well as for retrofitting existing coal-fired power plants.
The Ten in Ten Act was referred to the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
Sources: E&E News, Environmental Protection Agency, Senator John Walsh