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The Biden administration is reportedly finalizing a proposal that would force fossil fuel-fired power plants to substantially curb emissions or utilize costly carbon capture technology. The proposal — which will soon be released by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) — is expected to require coal- and natural gas-fired power plants to cut or capture the vast majority of their carbon dioxide emissions by 2040, The New York Times reported on Saturday, citing officials briefed on a draft of the plan. The regulation, if finalized, would represent the first-ever federal action curbing power plant emissions. "EPA cannot comment because the proposals...

The European Union is set to propose a plan to counteract the US $369 billion [€339 billion] Inflation Reduction Act on Wednesday (1 February), with looser state-aid rules for tax credits in green investments. The EU Commission has drafted plans to simplify and speed up companies’ access to tax credits in an effort to prevent companies from leaving the EU. Large wind and solar developers have criticized the EU funding regime for being too complicated and have pointed out that tax incentives in the US trigger automatically, making them more attractive. To address this, the commission has built a plan...

The carbon capture package includes a bill, introduced Wednesday, for the United States to work toward a global goal of planting a trillion trees. It also features an expansion of a tax break approved by Congress in 2018 and signed by President Trump for companies that use carbon capture technology to trap carbon from fossil fuel or industrial plants. The new bill would make the so-called 45Q tax credit permanent, increasing the amount paid to companies and lowering the threshold of captured carbon to qualify for it. Another bill looks to boost research, development, and deployment of carbon capture technology...

Representative Dan Crenshaw, joined by Representatives Cuellar (TX-28), Flores (TX-17), Gonzalez (TX-15), Lamb (PA-17), Lucas (OK-3) and Walberg (MI-7), introduced the Launching Energy Advancement and Development through Innovations for Natural Gas (LEADING) Act of 2019. The legislation prioritizes research and development funding for technology that captures carbon emissions by instructing the Department of Energy to utilize up to $50 million each year of existing funds. Ultimately, the bill seeks to develop more carbon capture technology to make it more accessible, resulting in widespread use and lower carbon emissions from power plants across the country. Yesterday, the Senate companion bill advanced...

Guest post by David Middleton THE 240MWE FACILITY IS THE LARGEST POST-COMBUSTION CARBON CAPTURE PROJECT IN THE WORLD WASHINGTON, D.C. — Secretary of Energy Rick Perry took part in a ribbon-cutting ceremony today to mark the opening of Petra Nova, the world’s largest post-combustion carbon capture project, which was completed on-schedule and on-budget. The large-scale demonstration project, located at the W.A. Parish power plant in Thompsons, Texas, is a joint venture between NRG Energy (NRG) and JX Nippon Oil & Gas Exploration Corporation (JX).“I commend all those who contributed to this major achievement,” said Secretary Perry. “While the Petra Nova...

On Friday a group of government officials, environmentalists, and local bigwigs gathered in the coastal town of Squamish, British Columbia, about an hour north of Vancouver, to mark the onset of what could one day be a new industry: creating carbon-neutral transportation fuel made from carbon dioxide captured from air. The company that built the plant, Carbon Engineering, was founded by a Canadian scientist named David Keith. A Harvard professor of applied physics, Keith has made headlines before for his outspoken advocacy for more research into geoengineering (specifically, seeding the lower stratosphere with sulfuric acid to reflect sunlight and cool...

The war has been waged on several fronts for nearly a decade, and the aggressors are poised to declare victory over the wounded U.S. coal industry. After powering the Industrial Revolution and helping to turn the U.S. into the world’s top economic power, coal now seems to be drowning in what environmentalists call a “deadly cocktail” — a rabid, politically potent anti-fossil fuels movement, the rise of cheap, abundant, relatively clean domestic natural gas and an Obama administration that freely admits it wants to decrease coal use in America through a host of new rules. That near-perfect storm is taking...

7000 ft below the city of Decatur, Illinois, population 74,710 people, is a high pressure reservoir which contains 1 million tons of CO2. From the press release: "One of the largest carbon sequestration projects in the U.S., the Illinois Basin – Decatur Project (IBDP) has reached its goal of capturing 1 million metric tons of carbon dioxide and injecting it deep underground in the Mount Simon Sandstone formation beneath Decatur, Illinois. The project is designed to demonstrate the feasibility of carbon capture and storage. IBDP director Robert Finley talked about the million-ton milestone with News Bureau physical sciences editor Liz...

The Stunning Key That Could Unlock 160 Billion Barrels of Oil Trapped Underneath America By Matt DiLallo | More Articles July 20, 2014 | Comments (0)  Photo credit: Flickr/Melissa  It is estimated that there are 160 billion barrels of oil still trapped underneath this country in what are considered depleted oil fields. That's a tremendous amount of oil given that America uses about seven billion barrels of it each year. In fact, if we could only find the key to unlock this trapped oil we could extend fleeting our reserves by more than 22 years.That's why it probably comes as a surprise...

WASHINGTON - The Energy Department said Tuesday it was awarding $575 million for carbon capture research-and-development projects in 15 states. The experimental technique involves storing carbon dioxide emissions from coal plants and other sources underground, in an attempt to reduce pollution blamed for contributing to global warming. "This is a major step forward in the fight to reduce carbon emissions from industrial plants," said Energy Secretary Steven Chu. "These new technologies will not only help fight climate change, they will create jobs now and help position the United States to lead the world in clean coal technologies, which will only...

Regulations: Call it cap-and-trade or bait-and-switch, but John Kerry and Joe Lieberman continue to tilt at windmills with a bill to restrain energy growth in the name of saving the planet.IBD Exclusive Series: American Freedom And Prosperity Under AttackThe bill introduced Wednesday and sponsored by the two senators is called the American Power Act, an Orwellian phrase if ever there was one. Like President Obama's offshore drilling program, for every "incentive" there is a restriction. It's as if Hamlet were to be appointed Secretary of Energy. The legislation has little to do with developing America's vast domestic energy supply. It's...

Note: The following text is a quote: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/presidential-memorandum-a-comprehensive-federal-strategy-carbon-capture-and-storage Home • Briefing Room • Presidential Actions • Presidential Memoranda The White House Office of the Press Secretary For Immediate Release February 03, 2010 Presidential Memorandum -- A Comprehensive Federal Strategy on Carbon Capture and Storage MEMORANDUM FOR THE SECRETARY OF STATE THE SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY THE ATTORNEY GENERAL THE SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR THE SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE THE SECRETARY OF LABOR THE SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION THE SECRETARY OF ENERGY THE DIRECTOR OF THE OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET THE ADMINISTRATOR OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY THE...

SANTA FE, N.M. – Rancher Jack Chatfield sees untapped value in the spaces that lie beneath New Mexico's dusty landscape. But he said the state needs to first decide who owns them. Scientists are looking at underground fissures and caverns as places where carbon dioxide emissions captured from fossil fuel power plants can be stored. Carbon emissions are among the greenhouse gases blamed for global warming. The underground space also could store compressed air as part of a process to generate clean electricity. "This is a huge issue for our society today. It's technology that is on the cutting edge...

With cap and trade legislation looming, carbon emissions seem on a track to becoming currency. But the problem lingers: Where to safely stash the vast amounts of carbon dioxide still pouring forth from coal-fired power plants? A new analysis suggests basalt formations off the east coast of the United States could store billions of tons of the greenhouse gas—and then transform it into rock. < snip> The Ultimate Repository Basalt, it turns out, is capable of performing what seems like sheer alchemy: It can transform normally buoyant CO2 dissolved in water into something decidedly non-buoyant—solid rock. Essentially, a series of...

President Obama's plan to move quickly to replace fossil fuels with renewable energy sources relies on technology that analysts agree is neither affordable nor available on a commercial scale and won't be for many years to come. Expensive, small-scale pilot projects are under way that convert vegetation into fuel for cars and capture carbon dioxide before it is released into the air from coal-burning power plants. But these prototypes have not been proved at levels that would make even a dent in the U.S. appetite for fossil fuels, casting doubt on the viability of the president's plans. Still, the administration...

Shell will no longer invest in renewable technologies such as wind, solar and hydro power because they are not economic, the Anglo-Dutch oil company said today. It plans to invest more in biofuels which environmental groups blame for driving up food prices and deforestation. Executives at its annual strategy presentation said Shell, already the world's largest buyer and blender of crop-based biofuels, would also invest an unspecified amount in developing a new generat­ion of biofuels which do not use food-based crops and are less harmful to the environment. The company said it would concentrate on developing other cleaner ways of...