Carbon Capture Credit Grabs Bipartisan Support

August 3, 2021 by Reece Nations
Carbon Capture Credit Grabs Bipartisan Support
Carbon capture technology used at a coal mine in 2014.

WASHINGTON — Sens. Michael Crapo, R-Idaho, and Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., proposed legislation on Thursday that would grant tax credits to energy companies innovating carbon capture or energy storage tech.

The legislation, entitled the “Energy Sector Innovation Credit Act of 2021,” would establish investment credits for qualified emerging energy properties utilizing or developing pollution abatement technology.

“It is difficult for innovative technologies to move into a mature market, especially large infrastructure projects,” Breakthrough Institute Senior Nuclear Analyst Adam Stein said in a written statement. “The ESIC Act targets support for these innovative and early-stage clean energy technologies that are critical to modernize our energy infrastructure, including nuclear energy.”

The proposed tax credits are targeted towards up-and-coming companies to fortify and expand clean energy pioneers in the sector. Additionally, the investments aim to strengthen the technological underpinnings of the power grid by providing reliable energy that safeguards the environment.

The credits seek to encourage emerging companies in the sector to develop pollution abatement technology to accomplish long-term emissions targets while stimulating job growth.

Stein continued in support of the legislation, “Specifically, the ESIC Act will diversify and increase the U.S.’s energy generation portfolio and security by providing tax credits to new and emerging clean energy technologies. The flexible design allows developers to choose the tax credit options that best fit their technology and business model. Importantly, by promoting private sector innovation in clean energy technology, public and private sector market participation will invest in the U.S.’s capability to lead the world in clean energy innovation.”

Provisions of the bill categorize ESIC qualifiers in groups based on input from government agencies, stakeholders, and nonprofits. The credit amounts are awarded based on companies’ total sales volume compared to the total market of all technologies within each categorical group.

The act is co-sponsored by Sens. John Barasso, R-Wyo., Michael Bennet, D-Colo., James Risch, R-Idaho, and John Hickenlooper, D-Colo. Its companion legislation in the House is being carried by Reps. Tom Reed, R-N.Y., and Jimmy Panetta, D-Calif.

“With new tax credits for clean energy technologies at an early development stage, this bill expedites the decarbonization of our power grid,” Stein continued in his written statement. “These subsidies are most effective not only as a standalone decarbonization policy but as a temporary tool in technology innovation policy. As the Breakthrough Institute noted in a recent report, federal tax resources are limited, it is critical that incentives are directed at early-stage technologies that contribute to a clean energy system including offshore wind, enhanced geothermal, advanced nuclear, and carbon removal.” 

A+
a-
  • carbon capture
  • Energy Sector Innovation Credit Act
  • Michael Crapo
  • Sheldon Whitehouse
  • In The News

    Health

    Voting

    Climate

    March 20, 2024
    by Dan McCue
    White House Unveils Sweeping Rules to Speed Switch to Cleaner Cars

    WASHINGTON — The Biden-Harris administration on Wednesday rolled out an ambitious new regulatory regime aimed at bolstering the standards of... Read More

    WASHINGTON — The Biden-Harris administration on Wednesday rolled out an ambitious new regulatory regime aimed at bolstering the standards of electric and hybrid vehicles by placing new restrictions on tailpipe emissions. According to administration officials, who briefed reporters on the new rules during a conference call... Read More

    March 15, 2024
    by Tom Ramstack
    Senate Told Growing Wildfire Threat Needs New Strategies

    WASHINGTON — The number of wildfires driven by climate change has grown but the U.S. effort to control them has... Read More

    WASHINGTON — The number of wildfires driven by climate change has grown but the U.S. effort to control them has not, according to emergency response officials at a Senate hearing Thursday. At least not fast enough to prevent disasters like the fire that ravaged Maui in... Read More

    Storm Carrying Massive 'Gorilla Hail' Hits Parts of Kansas and Missouri

    ST. LOUIS (AP) — Massive chunks of hail pelted parts of Kansas and Missouri on Wednesday night, bringing traffic to... Read More

    ST. LOUIS (AP) — Massive chunks of hail pelted parts of Kansas and Missouri on Wednesday night, bringing traffic to a standstill along Interstate 70, as storms unleashed possible tornadoes and meteorologists urged residents to stay indoors. There were three unconfirmed reports of tornadoes in Wabaunsee... Read More

    Climate, a Major Separator for Biden and Trump, Is a Dividing Line in Many Other Races

    RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The race for the White House isn’t the only one with big stakes for climate policy.... Read More

    RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The race for the White House isn’t the only one with big stakes for climate policy. In campaigns for Congress and for governor around the country, candidates are talking about how green the grid should be, too. Voters are increasingly feeling the impacts... Read More

    The First-Ever European Climate Risk Assessment Finds a Continent Unprepared for Growing Extremes

    Europe is facing growing climate risks and is unprepared for them, the European Environment Agency said in its first-ever risk... Read More

    Europe is facing growing climate risks and is unprepared for them, the European Environment Agency said in its first-ever risk assessment for the bloc Monday. The agency said Europe is prone to more frequent and more punishing weather extremes — including increasing wildfires, drought, more unusual... Read More

    Fewer Fish and More Algae? Scientists Seek to Understand Impacts of Historic Lack of Great Lakes Ice

    RACINE, Wis. (AP) — Michigan Tech University biologists have been observing a remote Lake Superior island's fragile wolf population every... Read More

    RACINE, Wis. (AP) — Michigan Tech University biologists have been observing a remote Lake Superior island's fragile wolf population every winter since 1958, but they had to cut this season's planned seven-week survey short after just two weeks. The ski plane they study the wolves from... Read More

    News From The Well
    scroll top