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

    September 21, 2023
    by Dan McCue
    New ‘Climate Corps’ Will Serve as Green Jobs Training Program

    WASHINGTON — In a bid to further kick-start the green economy that is key to both his climate and economic... Read More

    WASHINGTON — In a bid to further kick-start the green economy that is key to both his climate and economic plan, President Joe Biden on Wednesday used his executive powers to create the American Climate Corps, the nation’s first large-scale job training program. According to a... Read More

    Governors, Biden Administration Push to Quadruple Efficient Heating, AC Units by 2030

    A group of 25 state governors that make up the U.S. Climate Alliance and the Biden administration announced a pledge... Read More

    A group of 25 state governors that make up the U.S. Climate Alliance and the Biden administration announced a pledge Thursday to quadruple the number of heat pumps in U.S. homes by 2030, from 4.7 million to 20 million. Heat pumps use little electricity, yet are able to heat... Read More

    Low Mississippi River Limits Barges as Farmers Want to Move Crops Downriver

    DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A long stretch of hot, dry weather has left the Mississippi River so low that barge companies... Read More

    DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A long stretch of hot, dry weather has left the Mississippi River so low that barge companies are reducing their loads just as Midwest farmers are preparing to harvest crops and send tons of corn and soybeans downriver to the Gulf of Mexico.... Read More

    September 13, 2023
    by Dan McCue
    Amazon Invests in Direct Air Capture of Carbon Emissions

    SEATTLE — Amazon said Tuesday that it is making two sizable investments intended to further both the development of direct... Read More

    SEATTLE — Amazon said Tuesday that it is making two sizable investments intended to further both the development of direct air capture technologies to scrub the atmosphere of harmful carbon and its own goal to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2040. The first investment is a... Read More

    New England Braces for More Rain After Downpour Left Communities Flooded

    LEOMINSTER, Mass. (AP) — More heavy rain was in the forecast Wednesday in New England, where residents were cleaning up... Read More

    LEOMINSTER, Mass. (AP) — More heavy rain was in the forecast Wednesday in New England, where residents were cleaning up after downpours dropped nearly 10 inches (25 centimeters) of rain in six hours and flooded parts of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. The rainfall was a “200-year event," said... Read More

    September 8, 2023
    by Dan McCue
    Chinese EV Battery Maker to Build $2B Factory in Illinois

    MANTENO, Ill. — Gotion High-Tech Co., Ltd., a global EV battery developer headquartered in China, announced Friday that it is... Read More

    MANTENO, Ill. — Gotion High-Tech Co., Ltd., a global EV battery developer headquartered in China, announced Friday that it is going to build a $2 billion “gigafactory” in this small community about 50 miles south of Chicago. Gotion specializes in the development of several different types... Read More

    News From The Well
    scroll top