Carbon Capture Coalition Statement on the Reintroduction of the Growing Renewable Energy and Efficiency Now (GREEN) Act

The following statement can be attributed to Carbon Capture Coalition Director Brad Crabtree:

“The Carbon Capture Coalition’s 80-plus companies, unions and NGOs thank Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal (D-MA), Subcommittee Chairman Mike Thompson (D-CA), and majority members of the House’s tax-writing committee for the commitment shown to carbon capture in today’s reintroduction of the Growing Renewable Energy and Efficiency Now (GREEN) Act.  The GREEN Act includes a direct pay option for the federal Section 45Q tax credit and an additional one-year extension of the commence construction window for 45Q, which build upon the two-year extension enacted as part of December’s fiscal year (FY) 2021 omnibus.

The Coalition also extends a special thanks to Representative Terri Sewell (D-AL) for her continued leadership on the Ways and Means Committee in support of measures to expand and accelerate carbon capture deployment to reduce emissions, create and retain high wage jobs and spur investment in domestic energy, industrial and manufacturing as our nation seeks to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.

By once again including a direct pay option and an extension of 45Q in the GREEN Act, Ways and Means Democrats reaffirm the critical role carbon capture, removal, transport, use and storage must play in ensuring our nation fulfills its climate obligations and achieves economywide net-zero emissions by 2050.

Direct pay is an important tool that allows project developers the opportunity to receive the 45Q tax credit as an estimated payment on their tax return, allowing them to finance carbon capture, direct air capture and carbon utilization projects without being subjected to the onerous financial terms and burdensome transaction costs of tax equity financing, thus incentivizing more technology innovation, jobs and emissions reductions at no extra cost to the federal government.

While the GREEN Act’s inclusion of these important priorities is a crucial step in the right direction, more must be done. A further multiyear extension of the 45Q tax credit is critical to secure the long-term financial certainty and investment horizon required to scale carbon capture, direct air capture and carbon utilization technologies to meet midcentury climate goals. We know from the successful commercialization of wind, solar and other low and zero-carbon technologies that the availability tax credits over many years is critical to leveraging significant private capital investment and realizing widespread project deployment. Sustained deployment policies lead to further innovation and cost reductions that drive still greater project development.

The Coalition is eager to continue working with members from both sides of the aisle to build upon the GREEN Act and several bipartisan bills introduced last Congress to include direct pay and a multiyear extension for 45Q in a first 100 days legislative package that addresses COVID-19 recovery, infrastructure and climate.”

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The Carbon Capture Coalition is a nonpartisan collaboration of more than 80 businesses and organizations building federal policy support for economywide deployment of carbon capture, removal, transport, use, and storage. Our mission is to reduce carbon emissions to meet midcentury climate goals, foster domestic energy and industrial production, and support a high-wage jobs base through the adoption of carbon capture technologies. Convened by the Great Plains Institute, Coalition membership includes industry, energy, and technology companies; energy and industrial labor unions; and conservation, environmental, and energy policy organizations.