WASHINGTON, DC- The Senate today passed an amendment by U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) to help accelerate research and development of carbon capture and storage technology. This amendment to help combat global warming pollution was added to the Senate Budget Resolution passed by a voice vote.
“This amendment paves the way for legislation in the Senate that invests in simultaneous research, technology deployment and commercialization of carbon capture technologies,” said Senator Casey. “We must make a serious commitment to developing these technologies to capture and store carbon in order to help the effort to reverse global warming. Pennsylvania is home to world class research universities and the Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory, which positions our state to be the leader in developing carbon capture technology and create good paying green jobs by exporting that technology to the rest of the world.”
This budget amendment will create a deficit neutral reserve fund to accelerate the research, development, demonstration and deployment of advanced carbon capture and storage (CCS) and coal power generation technologies.
Coal provides over half of the Nation’s electricity and supplies more than 40 percent of worldwide electricity demand. Any domestic program to meet the challenge of climate change must include advanced coal technologies.
In addition to addressing our own greenhouse gas responsibilities, this amendment will make the U.S. a leader in the development and export of advanced coal technologies to such countries as China and India that rely on coal as their dominant energy source.
The amendment is intended to complement the demonstration of Carbon Capture and Storage technologies that was included in the Economic Recovery Act that was enacted in February.
The amendment is supported by the following groups: International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, United Mineworkers, National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, Consol, Pennsylvania Rural Electric Cooperative Association, PPL, Duke, Exelon, American Electric Power, Arch Coal and Consol.
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