Federal Task Force Sends Recommendations to President on Fostering Clean Coal Technology

August 12, 2010     

Federal Task Force Sends Recommendations to President on Fostering Clean Coal Technology

 Interagency report marks an important step forward on administration priority

WASHINGTON –  President Obama's Interagency Task Force on Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS), co-chaired by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Energy (DOE), delivered a series of recommendations to the president today on overcoming the barriers to the widespread, cost-effective deployment of CCS within 10 years. CCS is a group of technologies for capturing, compressing, transporting and permanently storing power plant and industrial source emissions of carbon dioxide. Rapid development and deployment of clean coal technologies, particularly carbon capture and storage (CCS), will help position the United States as a leader in the global clean energy race. The report concludes that CCS can play an important role in domestic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions while preserving the option of using coal and other abundant domestic fossil energy resources.

In February 2010, the president charged the task force with proposing a plan to overcome the barriers to the widespread, cost-effective deployment of carbon capture and storage within 10 years, with a goal of bringing five to 10 commercial demonstration projects online by 2016.

Charting the path toward clean coal is essential to achieving the administration's clean energy goals, supporting American jobs and reducing emissions of carbon pollution.  Already, the United States has made the largest government investment in carbon capture and storage of any nation in history, and these investments are being matched by private capital.  DOE is currently pursuing multiple demonstration projects using close to $4 billion in federal funds, matched by more than $7 billion in private investments, which will begin to pave the way for widespread deployment of advanced CCS technologies within a decade. Ongoing EPA efforts will clarify the existing regulatory framework by developing requirements tailored for CCS, which will reduce uncertainty for early projects and help to ensure safe and effective deployment.

"If we can develop the technology to capture the carbon pollution released by coal, it can create jobs and provide energy well into the future," President Obama told the nation's governors when establishing the task force, co-chaired by Energy Secretary Steven Chu and EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson.

"These recommendations mark an important step forward in combating climate change and strengthening our economy through green jobs - top priorities for this administration," said EPA Administrator Jackson.  "Consistent with these recommendations, EPA is proactively developing regulations tailored to carbon storage technology that will reduce uncertainty for early projects and help to ensure safe and effective use of the technology. By encouraging efforts to develop clean coal technology we will obtain new tools to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, create jobs, and make our nation more competitive in the global race for clean energy technology."

"Around the world countries are moving aggressively on investing in clean energy," said Energy Secretary Chu. "The U.S. has the ability to develop clean energy innovation here at home. Rather than sending billions overseas to pay for clean technologies, we should invest these dollars here - in America's workers, industries, and innovations."

"A diversified energy portfolio, which includes coal, is important for a strong 21st century American economy," said Nancy Sutley, Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality. "These recommendations move us toward bringing safe and deployable CCS technologies to the marketplace to help us meet the goal of reducing harmful carbon emissions while continuing to use this energy source.”

The report reflects input from 14 federal agencies and departments as well as hundreds of stakeholders and CCS experts.  It addresses the incentives for CCS adoption and any financial, economic, technological, legal, institutional, or other barriers to deployment.  The task force also considered how best to coordinate existing federal authorities and programs, as well as identify areas where additional federal authority may be necessary.

The report's main findings and recommendations include:

• CCS is Viable: There are no insurmountable technical, legal, institutional, or other barriers to the deployment of this technology.
• A Carbon Price is Critical: Widespread cost-effective deployment of CCS is best achieved with a carbon price, but there are market drivers and actions that can and are taking place now, which are essential to support near-term CCS demonstration projects that will pave the way for broader deployment after a carbon price is in place.
• Federal Coordination should be Strengthened: With additional federal actions and coordination, the task force believes our nation can meet the president's near-term goal and get 5-10 commercial demonstration CCS demonstration projects online by 2016. The report recommends the creation of a standing federal agency roundtable and expert committee to facilitate that goal.
• Recommendations on Liability: The task force conducted an in-depth analysis of options to address concerns that long-term liability could be a barrier to CCS deployment. It concluded that open-ended federal indemnification is not a viable alternative but that four approaches merit further consideration: relying on existing frameworks, limits on claims, a trust fund, and transfer of liability to the federal government (with contingencies). Efforts to improve long-term liability and stewardship frameworks led by EPA, DOE and the Department of Justice (DOJ) will continue in order to provide evaluation and recommendations in these areas by late 2011.

Additional recommendations include setting up an effort by DOE and EPA – in consultation with other agencies – to track regulatory implementation for early commercial CCS demonstration projects and consider whether additional statutory revisions are needed. The report also encourages leveraging existing efforts among federal agencies, states, industry, and NGOs to gather information and evaluate potential key concerns about CCS in different areas of the United States and develop a comprehensive outreach strategy that would include: (1) a broad plan for public outreach targeted at the general public and decision makers; and (2) a "more focused engagement with communities that are candidates for CCS projects, to address such issues as environmental justice.”  

Many experts consider CCS an important option as part of a portfolio of strategies – including increased efficiency and greater use of low-carbon energy resources -- to help mitigate growing atmospheric CO2 emissions from human sources.   It can play a major role in reducing GHG emissions globally. However, widespread cost-effective deployment of CCS will occur only if the technology is commercially available at economically competitive prices and supportive national policy frameworks, such as a cap on carbon pollution, are in place. The administration's policy and technology initiatives are intended to address these needs.

The full report and the presidential memorandum establishing the task force:

http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/policy/ccs_task_force.html  and http://www.fe.doe.gov/programs/sequestration/ccs_task_force.html

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