Senators Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) and John Barrasso (R-WY) announced the introduction of new legislation to strengthen and extend the section 45Q tax credit for carbon sequestration. The bill, the Furthering carbon capture, Utilization, Technology, Underground storage, and Reduced Emissions Act (FUTURE Act), follows 45Q legislation introduced during the 114th Congress also introduced by Senator Heitkamp, the Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage Act. For more information on the bill, please view the one-pager and section-by-section analysis.
At the time of introduction, the bill has 25 bipartisan cosponsors and is supported by over 40 stakeholder groups. CURC issued a press release supporting the legislation, and multiple CURC members issued statements of support.
CURC Executive Director Shannon Angielski issued the following statement on the introduction of the bill:
The Carbon Utilization Research Council (CURC), including Cloud Peak Energy and Peabody Energy, is pleased to support the “Furthering carbon capture, Utilization, Technology, Underground Storage, and Reduced Emissions” Act (FUTURE Act) being introduced and championed by Senators Heitkamp, Capito, Whitehouse, and Barrasso, together with several of their Senate colleagues. Their leadership and bipartisan approach to this bill demonstrates the growing consensus around the fact that carbon capture technologies can help us improve our economic and energy security objectives, while also safeguarding the environment and mitigating emissions of CO2 from the use of fossil fuels.
As an organization focused on technology solutions for the responsible use of our coal and fossil fuel resources, our members share the view that technology is necessary to enhance and preserve the value of this country’s vast coal and fossil fuel resources, and support our nation’s – and the global – need for reliable, secure and affordable energy.
Given that global fossil fuel consumption is expected to supply 80% of the world’s energy needs by 2040, this bill will unlock the potential for carbon capture technology, making exports of American technology as well as our coal, oil and gas resources more attractive.
The current Section 45Q tax credit is limited and does not meet the needs of the entities that are best positioned to utilize it, including power generators that want to maintain and grow coal as part of their energy portfolio. Carbon capture is still a relatively expensive technology that is just being tested in the first commercial-scale, coal power project in the U.S. today. That’s why it’s critical that the federal government continue to support policies like the FUTURE Act, which are necessary to help bring down the costs of commercial-scale carbon capture projects integrated with power generation.
This legislation will help American energy security prosper not only from increased domestic oil production, but by also ensuring the availability of fossil fuel technology options necessary for a balanced generation portfolio. CURC thanks this bipartisan group of Senators for their leadership, and we look forward to working with you to advance the FUTURE Act and policies to support CCUS technology development and deployment.
Trade press on the the bill introduction can be found below: