SECRETARY OF ENERGY DETAILS PLANS FOR CCS FUNDING IN RECOVERY ACT

摘要

The Department of Energy is poised to issue several Notices of Intent for more than $2.5 billion in Recovery Act funding set aside for carbon capture and sequestration projects, Secretary of Energy Steven Chu said last week in remarks to the National Coal Council. "To prevent the worst effects of climate change, we must accelerate our efforts to capture and store carbon in a safe and cost-effective way," Chu said. "This funding will both create jobs now and help position the United States to lead the world in CCS technologies, which will be in increasing demand in the years ahead." Specifically, the Department will provide:rn1. $800 million for Round III of the Clean Coal Power Initiative, which provides government co-financing for new coal technologies that can help utilities cut sulfur, nitrogen and mercury pollutants from power plants;rn2. $1.52 billion for a two-part solicitation for industrial carbon capture and storage, one for CCS at large industrial sources and one for beneficial reuse of CO_2;rn3. $50 million to fund a competitive solicitation to characterize a minimum of 10 geologic formations throughout the United States; andrn4. $20 million will be used to educate and train a future generation of geologists, scientists, and engineers with skills and competencies in geology, geophysics, geomechanics, geochemistry and reservoir engineering disciplines needed to staff a broad national CCS program.