Abby L. Harvey
GHG Monitor
2/6/2015
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) criticized this week the Department of Energy’s slow progress in expending $8 billion in advanced fossil energy loan guarantees in remarks at the Global CCS Institute’s Americas Forum. The reason for limited interest in the loan program boils down to a lack of confidence in the market by private industry, Manchin said. “The investment has to be done. I understand there’s $8 billion dollars, I’ve talked to Secretary [of Energy Ernest] Moniz, sitting in the Department of Energy for clean coal technology [and] none of it’s been basically invested or the private sector hasn’t stepped up and I asked why not,” Manchin said. “With these loan guarantees, [the private sector is] scared to death because of an uncertainty that they have and they can’t hit a moving target so they just kind of sit on the sidelines.”
Because of the lack of movement in the loan guarantee program, Manchin warned that it would be difficult for DOE to ask for further loan guarantee authority. “They won’t spend what they have,” Manchin said. “It’s going to be hard for us to give them more money when they won’t spend what they’ve got.” The DOE’s FY 2016 budget request released this week does not request additional loan guarantee authority for advanced fossil energy projects.
In December 2013, the final $8 billion loan guarantee solicitation for projects that “support innovative advanced fossil energy projects that avoid, reduce or sequester greenhouse gases”—including carbon capture and storage was released by DOE. The solicitation focuses on backing fossil technologies that are new or “significantly improved,” but not yet commercial and which fit into four categories; advanced resource development, carbon capture, low-carbon power systems and efficiency improvements. The solicitation expires Nov. 30, 2016.
U.S. Should Lead in Creating Global Market for CCS
If the U.S. can create a market for CCS and CCUS technologies, they will be able to address two large issues in the country today, climate and economy, Manchin said. By involving the private sector and creating a U.S. based market for CCS, the U.S. economy will benefit and climate change will be addressed on a global level. “Why don’t we have a whole industry around the technology that’s needed for the carbon capture sequestration, the new innovations and creations that’ll be coming along, the new technology that can be developed in a cost effective way?” Manchin said. “With our trading policies everybody wants a part of this market here in the United States. … Our trading policies could be based on proven technology. You want into this market? Then you should be doing your part and it should be a global fix.”
