Senators push bill to fund carbon capture projects

Two senators introduced a bill Wednesday to boost carbon capture projects for power plants. 

The bill, from Sens. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) and Rob Portman (R-Ohio) would open up new financing opportunities for carbon capture energy projects by letting companies use tax-exempt bonds issued by state and local governments to fund for them.

In a statement, both senators said the bill could help incentivize carbon capture technology among energy and industrial firms, a strategy they say would help both reduce carbon emissions and support the construction sector.

{mosads}Portman called the bill a “win-win for jobs and the environment,” and Bennet said it was “proof that Democrats, Republicans, labor unions, industry, and environmentalists can come together to advance policies that will protect our planet and create good-paying jobs.”

Lawmakers have increasingly tried to push carbon capture technology bills through Congress, but with little success. 

Two senators last year introduced a bill expanding research tax credits for the technology, but it never received a hearing. 

President Trump has said he wants to expand “clean coal” as president, something that supporters say can be accomplished by increasing the use of carbon capture technology. 

Trump’s budget proposal, though, “focuses” funding for Energy Department offices that promote carbon capture research “on limited, early-stage applied energy research and development activities where the Federal role is stronger.”