• Congressional support for carbon capture technology policies continues to grow with the introduction this month of H.R. 5745, the Fossil Energy Research & Development Act, bipartisan legislation introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Representatives Marc Veasey (D-TX) and David McKinley (R-WV).

• H.R. 5745 would bolster funding for carbon capture research and development and provide new research directives aimed at improving carbon dioxide (CO₂) storage and use and developing new CO₂ utilization technologies. Read more about the bill in this statement from Carbon Capture Coalition co-director Jeff Bobeck.

Fast Facts 

• According to Congressman Veasey, H.R. 5745 is “the first comprehensive reauthorization of DOE’s Fossil Energy Office in more than a decade.”

• H.R. 5745 would “focus the office’s work on carbon capture, utilization, and sequestration, carbon dioxide removal, improvements in efficiency, and methane leak detection.”

• Read more from Congressman Veasey here.

Why This Matters 

• Expanding support for federal research and development is crucial to improving and reducing the cost of the next generation of carbon capture technology and enabling broader commercial deployment. This bill would accomplish that by authorizing predictable funding, providing clear direction, and flexibility to pursue new goals as they are identified by the U.S. Department of Energy’s fossil energy research and development program.

Backgrounder: CO₂ Pipelines

• With the approval of the USE IT Act by the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee this month, there is increased interest in the buildout of CO₂ infrastructure, including pipelines.

• The USE IT Act, if enacted, would clarify that CO₂ pipelines are eligible for consideration under the Fix America’s Surface Transportation Act and direct the Council on Environmental Quality to coordinate the development of CO₂ pipeline permitting guidance and establish regional task forces to address permitting challenges.

• CO₂ pipelines have operated for decades under the existing regulatory framework with an excellent safety record of no serious injuries or fatalities ever reported. Today, more than 5,000 miles of CO₂ pipelines transport CO₂ for enhanced oil recovery (CO₂-EOR) at wells producing 400,000 barrels of oil per day.

• New pipelines to transport CO₂ captured from power plants and industrial facilities for use in CO₂-EOR with geologic storage would boost domestic oil production while displacing more carbon-intensive imported crude, reduce net carbon emissions, create jobs and boost economic development. An analysis by the State CO₂-EOR Deployment Work Group determined that five large-volume, long-distance pipeline corridors, strategically placed, could expand on existing commercial CO₂ pipeline networks to build out a national system of infrastructure that would help scale up geologic storage of power plant and industrial carbon emissions. Additional details from the Work Group report can be found here.

Fast Facts 

• Establishing five new CO₂ pipeline corridors, in conjunction with targeted federal incentives for deployment of carbon capture technology such as the newly reformed federal 45Q tax credit for CO₂ storage, could expand the amount of man-made (anthropogenic) CO₂ captured and transported annually by 150 million tons by 2030. According to the Work Group report cited above, those changes would result in:

1. A tripling of domestic oil production of approximately 375 million barrels per year through CO₂-EOR, combined with permanent geologic storage of the CO₂. According to the U.S. DOE, “the increase in EOR production predominately displaces crude from other sources.” Oil produced through anthropogenic CO₂-EOR is responsible for 37 percent less CO₂ emissions than a conventionally produced barrel of oil.
2. A reduction in current U.S. oil imports of roughly one-quarter from current levels, or over $20 billion in reduced annual expenditures on foreign oil, with oil at $60 per barrel; and a reduction of roughly four percent in U.S. stationary source CO₂ emissions from current levels.

• This level of CO₂ pipeline infrastructure development has the potential to:

1. Drive an estimated $75 billion of capital investment; and
2. Support thousands of high-paying construction, energy, mining, manufacturing, engineering and technically-skilled operations and services jobs.

Why This Matters 

• • Expanding pipeline capacity to transport captured carbon for storage and beneficial use would boost further development of carbon capture technologies and help reduce overall costs. These technologies reduce carbon emissions, and their widespread commercial deployment is essential to meeting midcentury emissions reduction goals.