On Monday, the US Congress proposed its bipartisan stimulus package and government funding bill which includes many energy provisions long-waited by lawmakers.
Both the US House and Senate were expected to vote on the bill late the same day.
Included in the bill is the Energy Act of 2020. It also authorized USD35 billion federal research and development funding for modernizing energy innovation programs at the Department of Energy (DOE).
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. commented, "These wins mark a major victory in this difficult political environment for those of us fighting the climate crisis." He added that as Joe Biden is the president-elect, the country will have a leader on climate change with people spending efforts to fight the climate crisis.
The DOE is given tasks in the package, which include research, development, demonstration, and commercialization of wind and solar energy technologies, funding for grid resilience, analyzing the impacts of net-metering, also assessing electricity access and reliability in tribal communities.
The DOE’s fund of USD211.7 million for grid resilience is approved by the package.
The federal government is hoped to support existing nuclear plants by providing designs for advanced nuclear reactors that are proliferation resistant and passively safe, establish a carbon capture technology program, mainly for coal & natural gas. Along with commencing with the R&D of direct air capture and storage technologies and rebuilding domestic critical mineral supply chains.
The country’s Environmental Protection Agency will be charged with studying the commercialization of carbon dioxide for use in manufactured goods, also finding the alternative uses for coal that results in net-zero emissions of CO2.
The upcoming bill is also being anticipated for its extension of the Section 45Q tax credit for carbon capture, utilization, and sequestration projects. It is pushing back the deadline for new projects to begin by two years to January 1, 2026.
According to Carbon Capture Coalition Director Brad Crabtree, the bill will be the most important carbon capture and removal legislation since Congress reformed and expanded the 45Q tax credit in 2018.
Last but not least, the package also addresses the long-overdue pipeline safety legislation.
However, the upcoming bill is still lacking the mandates for emission reduction. It also excludes provisions sought by rural electric cooperatives to mitigate the impacts of the coronavirus.
