Abby L. Harvey
GHG Monitor
2/2/2015
Funding for carbon capture and storage research and development programs at the Department of Energy would see a significant increase next year under DOE’s Fiscal Year 2016 budget request, released today. The request includes $117 million for carbon capture R&D, up $29 million from current funding levels; and $109 million for carbon storage, up $9 million from current levels. DOE’s FY16 request represents a significant shift from last year, when the Department had proposed deep funding cuts for CCS research efforts.
Overall, DOE’s Office of Fossil Energy is seeking $560 million next year, largely matching current funding. “Fossil Energy Research and Development (FER&D) advances technologies related to the reliable, efficient, affordable, and environmentally sound use of fossil fuels that are an important component of the President’s ‘All of the Above’ energy strategy to ensure our Nation’s security and economic prosperity,” DOE’s request says.
The request would provide $51 million for Cross Cutting research, up slightly from current levels, while funding for supercritical CO2 research (STEP) is nearly doubled, to $19 million from $10 million in FY 2015. The STEP program “is focused on technology development for supercritical carbon dioxide-based power conversion cycles. These cycles can be applied to most heat sources, including fossil, nuclear, solar and geothermal applications, while offering significant improvements in efficiency, cost, footprint, and water use. FER&D’s ultimate goal is a directly-fired supercritical CO2 fuel cycle which could also significantly reduce the costs of carbon capture and storage,” the request says. “The increase in the FY 2016 Budget Request over the FY 2015 Enacted level will enable FER&D to issue a solicitation for a 10 MW pilot in FY 2016.”
DOE Again Proposes Natural Gas CCS Demonstration Project
DOE’s FY 2016 request for carbon capture R&D also would cover a proposed natural gas CCS demonstration project, but does not specify a funding level for the project. DOE had sought $25 million in its FY 2015 request for such a project, but that was not backed by lawmakers. The FY 16 request states, “The increase in the FY 2016 Budget Request over the FY 2015 Enacted level funds a new emphasis on optimizing carbon capture on natural gas systems, funds ongoing projects, and proceeds to larger scale pilot tests of technologies on both coal and natural gas. These efforts will support the program’s commitment to deliver a demonstration project that captures and stores more than 75 percent of the carbon emissions from a natural gas power system of at least 50 MWe capacity by 2020 using what has been determined to be the best available carbon capture technology available for demonstration at the time.”
Some Programs Face Cuts
Within the proposed Office of Fossil Energy’s coal research and development funding, only two programs are facing cuts. The DOE Advanced Energy Systems program, which aims to “increase the availability and efficiency of fossil energy systems integrated with CO2 capture, while maintaining the highest environmental standards at the lowest cost,” would be funded at $39 million next year, down from a current funding level of $103 million. The FY16 request would also cut funding for the National Energy Technology Laboratory Coal R&D Program to $34 million, down from the FY 2015 enacted level of $50 million.
