Tamar Hallerman
GHG Monitor
8/2/13
The first of three planned public meetings on the Department of Energy’s draft solicitation for a batch of new loan guarantees for advanced fossil energy projects drew few attendees this week. All three attendees at the meeting, held at DOE headquarters in Washington, told DOE staffers that they sought more detail about the $8 billion in new loan guarantee authority, particularly the Department’s timeline for issuing a request for proposals. Officials from DOE’s Loan Programs Office, though, said they were not in a position to respond to the comments, and the meeting ended after less than 10 minutes. DOE’s press office denied a request to comment on the meeting.
President Obama announced the $8 billion in loan guarantee authority as part of his sweeping climate plan unveiled earlier this summer. DOE released the draft solicitation earlier last month and said that “innovative and advanced fossil energy projects and facilities that substantially reduce greenhouse gas and other air pollution,” including carbon capture and storage, chemical looping and advanced coal technologies, were eligible for the loan guarantees. The draft solicitation is open for public comment until early September. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz previously said that DOE plans to issue a final solicitation by this fall, but few additional details have been provided to date. The next hearings will be held on Aug. 14 and Aug. 27 at DOE headquarters. In previous interviews with GHG Monitor, CCS stakeholders have appeared split on how much new loan guarantee authority could truly incentivize new CCS RD&D.
