Martin Schneider
GHG Monitor
7/25/2014
Senate appropriators matched the Obama Administration’s $475 million request for the Department of Energy’s fossil energy R&D program in the FY 2015 Energy and Water Appropriations bill released by the full Appropriations Committee this week, though there is not expected to be further action on the legislation in the Senate. The full Senate Appropriations Committee had planned to mark up the bill in June, but cancelled the markup due to a disagreement between Democrats and Republicans over a controversial amendment that would scuttle new carbon emissions regulations on power plants. The release of the bill and accompanying report this week signals that Senate leaders have given up hope of marking up the bill, and will use the proposed markup during conference negotiations with the House in several months. The Senate bill stands in contrast to the version approved by the House earlier this month, which provides $593 million for DOE’s fossil energy R&D programs.
Notably, while Senate appropriators backed the overall request, the report accompanying the bill said the panel is “concerned with the lack of long-term program plans and research and development roadmaps that should guide this office’s activities. The Committee notes that the Office of Fossil Energy has not presented any comprehensive and updated planning documents that set long- and short-term priorities, milestones, and goals against which the budget request should be judged.” The report directs the Secretary of Energy to submit within 180 days after enactment “a comprehensive program plan and research and development roadmap for the Office of Fossil Energy.”
The bill matched the Administration’s $25 million request for a proposed natural gas CCS demonstration project, with the committee report noting that “The Committee considers this one-time funding for this demonstration project, and directs the Secretary to ensure this funding is awarded competitively. Prior to using any of the funds provided, the Secretary shall submit a report to the Committee which provides additional specific detail regarding cost-sharing requirements, milestones, oversight, and monitoring plans.”
The only changes to the fossil energy R&D budget from the request in the Senate bill came in the CCS and Power Systems account, with appropriators cutting $5 million each from Advanced Energy Systems and Cross Cutting Research to add $5 million to Natural Gas Technologies and research into unconventional fossil energy technologies from petroleum. “Within available funding, the Committee urges the Department to fund research and development activities to improve the efficiency of gas turbines used in power generation systems, working cooperatively with industry, small businesses, universities, and other appropriate parties. The Committee is aware of research and development efforts to develop supersonic CO2 compression technology that could reduce the cost of carbon capture and sequestration. The Committee encourages the Department to fully complete research and development on such technology, including a pilot demonstration, prior to September 30, 2015, and to report on the results in early 2016,” the report says.
