WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), and Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), bipartisan Senate leaders on market-driven climate policy, today welcomed the Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) issuance of regulatory guidance related to the 45Q tax credit for carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS). CCUS is an essential technology for reducing carbon emissions while preserving and growing jobs in the US economy. This guidance facilitates implementation of the credit and comes after several efforts by the senators urging its release, including several follow up letters and a February phone call with U.S. Department of Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin where the senators pressed the agency to issue these guidelines.

Senators Capito, Whitehouse, and Barrasso authored the Furthering Carbon Capture, Utilization, Technology, Underground Storage, and Reduced Emissions (FUTURE) Act, bipartisan legislation that expanded and enhanced the 45Q tax credit for CCUS activities and required the newly updated regulatory guidance. This legislation was signed into law by President Donald Trump on February 9, 2018.

“These are complex, capital-intensive, and large-scale projects on the bleeding edge of technology and are integral to any serious efforts to address climate change,” said Senator Capito. “The issues involved in implementing the FUTURE Act are certainly complicated, but the loss of two years waiting on guidance has delayed projects from breaking ground and getting this technology out into the field, and so this regulatory guidance should have been issued sooner. That said, I thank Secretary Mnuchin and his staff for largely following congressional intent and the recommendations of our bipartisan comment letter in this guidance document. The implementation of 45Q will help encourage American competitiveness in a growing and competitive global market for CCUS technologies and will positively impact domestic energy, manufacturing, and construction jobs at a time when we now need that job creation most. As we more fully review this technical document, I will continue working with my colleagues and stakeholders to ensure the credit’s benefits are as impactful as possible and stakeholders can finally get off the sidelines and get to work.”

“This important move is long overdue. We passed this bill to signal the market that capturing carbon pollution and safely using it or storing it underground is a good investment—providing a healthy incentive to correct a market that subsidizes dumping pollution into our atmosphere. These new rules free up stalled investments in important carbon capture projects. We pledge our oversight to ensure the long-term monitoring and storage rules are followed, and I’m grateful for the bipartisan effort that got us here,” said Senator Whitehouse.

“Carbon capture technologies hold the key to reducing carbon emissions and creating new jobs in Wyoming. This long-awaited guidance from the Internal Revenue Service provides much needed certainty to carbon capture innovators and investors. I look forward to continuing to work with the Trump administration to strengthen and finalize the rule,” said Senator Barrasso. “The 45Q tax credit will spur advancements in the coal industry, advance our environmental goals, and lead to the development of new commercial uses for carbon emissions. America is the global leader of carbon capture development and this new guidance will help keep it that way.”

“The Treasury Department delivered important, long-awaited guidance on carbon capture tax credits. They were designed by Congress in a bipartisan fashion to incentivize investment in carbon sequestration technology; but coal, ethanol, and energy producers in places like North Dakota have been waiting to receive these rules to ensure they can invest properly,” said Senator Cramer. “I appreciate Secretary Mnuchin and the Trump Administration delivering this proposed rulemaking, and I look forward to working with them to finalize the rules without further delay.”

BACKGROUND:

In addition to the FUTURE Act, the same group of senators are the lead sponsors of the Utilizing Significant Emissions with Innovative Technologies (USE IT Act) to facilitate deployment of CCUS infrastructure through regulatory improvements. Senator Capito has long been a leader in advocating for a national energy policy focused on domestic energy production and distribution to reduce dependence on foreign oil, the deployment of advanced technologies in the marketplace, and informed environmental regulation. As a leader on the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW), she oversees the agencies regulating the country’s carbon- and nuclear-fueled baseload electric generation, manufacturing, and transportation sectors. In this role, Senator Capito is focused on preventing regulatory red tape from discouraging investments that will have economic and environmental benefits.

Senator Capito has also long supported institutions like West Virginia University (WVU) and the National Energy Technology Lab (NETL) that work on carbon capture, advanced materials manufacturing, and energy efficiency technologies. 

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