Abby L. Harvey
GHG Monitor
12/19/2014
The United States has become a global leader in carbon capture and storage efforts, but beyond research and development, issues relating the legal and regulatory climate surrounding the technology must be cleared up, the International Energy Agency found in a review of U.S. energy policy released this week. In addressing CCS, the review notes that support of the technology has become a priority for the government. “A cornerstone of the federal government’s long term energy strategy is the development of a Clean Energy Standard, which will double the share of electricity from clean energy sources to 80 [percent] by 2035. Coal-fired power with CCS is part of this 80 [percent]. Accordingly, the federal government has made significant investment in CCS and other clean coal technology and invested in the use of CO2 for enhanced oil recovery,” the report says.
Various CCS demonstration projects are in development in the United States, including Mississippi Power’s Kemper County energy facility, which the report looks at in-depth. Kemper is a new-build first-of-its-kind coal plant which, once operational, will utilize carbon capture and sequestration technology. The project has been plagued with cost overruns and delays, as well as legal challenges. “The Kemper County project is an example of the scale of the challenges as well as rising capital costs facing the technology. Furthermore, the legal and regulatory landscape for CCS remains unsettled and while a federal regulatory scheme for permitting underground storage facilities is in place, there are gaps in areas such as … ownership and long term liability, some of which are being addressed by individual states and here again, leadership is the thing that is required,” IEA Executive Director Maria van der Hoeven said during an event hosted by the Bipartisan Policy Center this week.
EPA Rules Addressed, Cooperation Called For
Addressing the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed carbon emissions standard for existing coal fired power plants, which sets state-specific carbon emission reduction targets and requires states to develop action plans to meet those targets, van der Hoeven said that “these are exactly the kind of plans that will see political climate commitments effectively realized.” However, referencing discord between the Obama Administration and Congress regarding these and other climate rules, van der Hoeven stated that there is room for improvement. “There has been increased cooperation between Congress, the Administration and state governments but there are still some bridges to be built. Climate and greenhouse gas emissions policy in particular remains an unsettled disputed area of energy policy between the executive and legislative branches of government,” van der Hoeven said.
The report also addresses EPA’s proposed New Source Performance Standards, which set a strict limit on carbon emissions from new build coal fired power plants, essentially mandating carbon capture and storage. The report recommends that DOE “work with the Environmental Protection Agency to simplify environmental regulations and processes without compromising the intent of the rules.”
