06.16.21

Hoeven Urges Energy Secretary to Help Advance Key Priorities for CCUS Development

Senator Affirms Secretary Granholm’s Support for CCUS, Outlines Need for Federal Investment, Loan Guarantees & Enhanced 45Q, 48A Tax Credits

WASHINGTON – At a hearing of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee this week, Senator John Hoeven urged Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm to help advance three key priorities needed for the development and implementation of carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS):

  • Front end investment in technology development, including bolstering the partnership between the Department of Energy (DOE) and the University of North Dakota’s Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC) in support of efforts like Project Tundra.
    • Hoeven has helped secure $43 million in federal funding for Project Tundra to date.
    • The senator also previously secured a commitment from Granholm to visit North Dakota and learn more about Project Tundra firsthand.
  • Loan guarantees to help project developers secure financing to build the equipment and infrastructure needed to capture and store CO2.
    • Hoeven included funding in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 appropriations legislation for critical loan guarantee programs at DOE and the Rural Utilities Service (RUS).
  • Enhancements for the 45Q and 48A Advanced Coal tax credits to provide important revenue streams to project developers and encourage adoption of CCUS.
    • Hoeven is sponsoring legislation to modernize the 48A tax credit for CO2 capture retrofit projects and helped introduce a bipartisan bill to provide a direct payment option for the 45Q and 48A CCUS tax incentives.

“CCUS technologies are key to reducing emissions while ensuring our nation continues to have access to low-cost, reliable energy,” said Hoeven. “Continued federal investment, loan guarantees and enhanced tax credits are all needed to crack the code and bring CCUS technology to commercial-viability. These efforts benefit not only coal and other traditional energy sources, but also renewable energy, like biofuels, and our agriculture producers. We look forward to highlighting this broad nexus to Secretary Granholm when she visits North Dakota, and I appreciate her continued support for these priorities.” 

-###-