Abby L. Harvey
GHG Monitor
12/12/2014
Funding for Department of Energy programs related to fossil energy and carbon capture and storage research would see increases under the FY 2015 omnibus package Congress released this week. The bill would provide a total of $571 million for fossil energy research and development, well above the Obama Administration’s $475.5 million request. The spending package also rejects cuts to DOE CCS research and development programs called for in the Administration’s request and instead raises funding for CCS programs 44 percent above the request to $400 million, roughly two percent above FY14 funding. The bill was approved by the House late this week, and is expected to clear the Senate early next week.
The report accompanying the omnibus states that “within available funds, the agreement includes funding for the Department of Energy’s National Carbon Capture Center consistent with the budget request. To the extent possible within available funds, the Department is directed to support the joint industrial scale integrated energy systems research and development effort with the Offices of Nuclear Energy and Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.”
Fossil Energy Funds Significantly Exceed Request
The omnibus funds carbon capture research and development at $88 million, a 14 percent increase over the request, and includes $76 million for post-combustion capture systems. Carbon storage would be funded at a total of $100 million, more than the requested $80 million. Advanced energy systems are funded at $103 million, more than double the request of $51 million. Of the advanced energy funding, $30 million is earmarked for solid oxide fuel cells, $28 million is included for Advanced Combustion Systems and $25 million for gasification systems with $8 million for the Advanced Air Separation Program.
Cross cutting research is funded at $49 million in the omnibus, an increase of $14 million more than the request, including $24 million for coal utilization science. National Energy Technology Laboratory coal research and development is funded at $50 million, $16 million more than the request. An additional $10 million is included in the package for Supercritical Transformational Electric Power Generation (Supercritical CO2) which was not included in FY 14 funding or the Administration’s request. The omnibus denies funding requested for a Natural Gas CCS demonstration project.
