FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DECEMBER 2, 2016
14-STATE WORK GROUP RELEASES FEDERAL AND STATE
RECOMMENDATIONS ON CARBON CAPTURE
MINNEAPOLIS – Wyoming Governor Matt Mead and Montana Governor Steve Bullock,
along with colleagues and officials in 12 other states, released a new report today
outlining growing opportunities for capturing carbon dioxide for use in enhanced oil
recovery (CO2-EOR) with geologic storage.
The new report – Putting the Puzzle Together: State & Federal Policy Drivers for
Growing America’s Carbon Capture & CO2-EOR Industry – includes detailed analyses
and federal and state recommendations of the State CO2-EOR Deployment Work
Group, which consists of representatives from 14 states, leading private sector
stakeholders and CO2-EOR experts.
Governors’ Bullock and Mead launched the Work Group in 2015. The Great Plains
Institute staffs and facilitates the Work Group.
The report notes that market forces and federal and state policy are driving the energy
industry to reduce carbon emissions and that carbon capture with CO2-EOR compares
cost-effectively with other emissions reduction options.
The Work Group recommends a targeted package of federal incentives for CO 2-EOR:
 Improving and expanding an existing tax credit for storage of captured CO 2;
 Deploying a revenue neutral mechanism to stabilize the price paid for CO2—and
carbon capture project revenue—by removing volatility and investment risk
associated with CO2 prices linked to oil prices; and
 Offering tax-exempt private activity bonds and master limited partnership tax
status to provide project financing on better terms.
States can also assist by optimizing existing taxes commonly levied by states to
complement federal incentives in helping carbon capture projects achieve commercial
viability, the Work Group says. Analysis undertaken for the Work Group shows that an
optimized approach to state taxes can add the equivalent of roughly $8 per barrel of oil
to the economics of a carbon capture project.
“The Work Group endorsed a targeted package of federal and state incentives for CO2EOR that will help ensure that CO2-EOR becomes an integral part of our future energy
system,” said Brad Crabtree, Great Plains Institute Vice President for Fossil Energy.
Crabtree noted that based on modeling results and qualitative criteria, the Work Group
identified the extension, reform and expansion of the Section 45Q tax credit as its top
federal priority for stimulating commercial deployment of carbon capture projects at
power plants and industrial facilities.
“The Work Group report is timely. Congress has a narrow window right now to pass
Section 45Q tax credit reforms before year’s end,” Crabtree said, noting that the Carbon
Capture, Utilization and Storage Act (S. 3179) introduced by Senator Heidi Heitkamp
(D-ND) has been co-sponsored by one-fifth of the U.S. Senate. Bipartisan companion
legislation in the U.S. House, the Carbon Capture Act (H.R. 4622) introduced by
Representative Mike Conaway (R-TX), has attracted 47 co-sponsors. Governor Mead
and Governor Bullock have endorsed these bills in letters to Congress.
“Complementary federal and state incentives will narrow the gap between the cost of
carbon capture and revenue received from the sale of CO2 for EOR, spur commercial
deployment by enticing private investment in projects, and bring down the cost of
carbon capture technology as incentives have accomplished for other energy
technologies,” concluded Crabtree.
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**Press releases from Governor Mead and Governor Bullock are also available**
MEDIA CONTACT:
Patrice Lahlum
701-281-5007
[email protected]