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CCS IN THE AMERICAS | December 2022 Recap

This newsletter provides updates on policy and advocacy events important to the work of the Global CCS Institute in the Americas.


The year ended with strong support for CCS from the U.S. government, continuing to take bold action to support CCS and carbon management in the form of incentives, USEPA recommendations to states on Class VI permitting, and the Passage of Bipartisan Omnibus Spending Bill, which has strong support for carbon Management. In addition, across the Americas, positive movement is seen from carbon pricing movements in Canada to discussions regarding CCS regulatory framework in Brazil.


     

Table of Contents

  1.  United States – Federal (Policy/Legislation/Regulation) 
    1.  Executive Branch
    2. Federal Government Enacted Bill
  2. United States – States (Policy/Legislation/Regulation)  
    1. California 
    2. Illinois
    3. Indiana 
    4. Louisiana
    5. Pennsylvania
    6. Wyoming 
  3. Brazil - Federal (Policy/Legislation/Regulation)
  4. Other - Shipping Guidelines 
  5. Institute Events in the Americas 
  6. Other News 
    1.  Agency Proposal - U.S. 
    2. Carbon Pricing - Canada 
    3. Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) 
    4. Reports 

     

United States – Federal (Policy/Legislation/Regulation) 

EXECUTIVE BRANCH 

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA or Agency) on December 9 issued a letter to States where the Agency stated “[t]o avert the worst impacts, the United States will need to develop and deploy clean energy technologies at an unprecedented pace and scale, including technologies to capture and remove carbon from the atmosphere and store it beneath the earth’s surface.” The Agency  recommended for States considering obtaining Class VI authorization that the State “ first meet with EPA staff, who can explain the primacy process, discuss expectations, and outline different approaches to ensure that equity and environmental justice will be appropriately considered in permit reviews. .. it is important for environmental justice and equity considerations to be fully integrated into the UIC Class VI program, including in permitting. EPA is currently evaluating strategies to address these considerations in the UIC Class VI permitting program and will be providing guidance that will serve as a resource for states.” 


The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM) announced on December 12 more funding for the carbon capture industry. The government will give $20 million to projects that will improve stakeholder access to region-specific information and technical assistance regarding carbon capture, transport, conversion, and storage across the United States. 

 

The Biden-Harris Administration, through the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), introduced on Dec. 13 four programs that will support carbon removal technologies in the United States. The $3.7 billion in funding will come from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and will support private-sector investment, monitoring and reporting practices for carbon management, and offer grants opportunities for state and local governments to procure and use products created from captured CO2 emissions. 


FEDERAL GOVERNMENT ENACTED BILL
Omnibus. The bill will provide funding for research and optimization of carbon capture technologies at industrial facilities and CCS technologies for natural gas power systems. See the appropriators statement to the House of Representatives and the Senate submitted regarding the agreed upon Act making appropriations for energy and water development for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2023. 


     

United States – States (Policy/Legislation/Regulation)

CALIFORNIA  The California Air Resources Board (CARB) approved its  climate action plan (Scoping Plan (Plan)) to shift the world’s 4th largest economy from fossil fuels to clean and renewable energy.  CCS is one of the mitigation tools in the Plan. 

 

ILLINOIS  Decatur could soon be home to a carbon dioxide pipeline pumping the liquified gas all the way from Cedar Rapids, Iowa.  On December 12, some community members got the chance to learn about what that project could look like — and about why Decatur is coveted land for the process of carbon sequestration. “Decatur is, in the carbon capture and storage industry, a household name,” said Sallie Greenberg, a principal research scientist at the University of Illinois and the Illinois State Geological Survey. 


INDIANA The Biden administration told state governors it wants states to run underground injection permit programs necessary for carbon capture and sequestration project development and said it will provide $50 million in grants for states to do so. The Indiana Department of Natural Resources, which oversees the state’s oil, gas and water well permits, said it did not intend to seek state-level primacy over the underground injection permitting program “at this time.” 

 

LOUISIANA Governor of Louisiana John Bel Edwards said carbon capture and sequestration is a crucial tool to reduce emissions and diversify the economy, yet projects that involve the technology need more transparency. Edwards spoke at a year-end news conference on Dec. 19. 


PENNSYLVANIA  Carbon emissions from the power sector in a 10-county region of southwestern Pennsylvania would be almost eliminated by 2050 under a program that increases generation with renewables, boosts storage, improves energy efficiency and uses existing nuclear capacity to meet growing demand for electricity, according to a study published on Monday. 


WYOMING The State of Wyoming, Japan Coal Energy Center (JCOAL), and Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to develop a Carbon Capture test project at the Wyoming Integrated Test Center in the city of Gillette. The Memorandum of Understanding signals the U.S. state’s intent to partner with JCOAL and KHI in testing their solid sorbent CO2 capture technology at the Wyoming Integrated Test Center (ITC).  


     

Brazil - Federal 

(Policy, Legislation, Regulation)

FEDERAL SENATE In Brazil, the regulatory framework for CCS activities was discussed on November 30 during the Public Hearing of the Draft of Bill 1,425/2022, in the Federal Senate. Expert guests and the audience highlighted the importance of regulating CCS activities, in particular the geological storage stage, and its implications for the necessary actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The debate highlighted the diversity and richness of actors engaged and capable of developing CCS projects. In addition to the author of the Draft of Bill and its rapporteur, representatives of public bodies, sectoral associations linked to biofuels and oil and gas producers, CCS Brasil and companies interested in the subject, as well as professors and researchers from Brazilian universities were present in the Public Hearing. Given the quality of the exhibitions and the participation of such diverse actors, the audience not only fulfilled its function of debating and promoting information to society, but also brought optimism that the regulatory foundation of future CCS projects in Brazil is developing in a constructive way, and in a very favorable scenario. The bill will still be voted on in the Senate before moving on to the House of Representatives. 

     

Other - Shipping Guidelines

The American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) has been working with stakeholders in the shipping industry and has developed guidelines for shipboard carbon capture. Using the organization’s vast knowledge of the industry and combining it with data and conclusions from test projects that explored carbon capture on ships, we now have the “ABS Requirements for Onboard Carbon Capture“ 

     

Institute Events in the Americas

December 6, 2022. Jeff Erikson participated as a speaker and panelist at the 20th annual Carbon Management Workshop in Midland, Texas. Jeff’s presentation covered the status of CCS globally, as well as emerging trends and advice on building public trust.    


December 12, 2022. The Institute and CCS Brazil presented a webinar entitled: The Rise of Carbon Capture & Storage in Brazil. At the recent COP27 Brazilian President-elect Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva declared that “Brazil is back” and renewed the country’s vow to be a global climate leader. The 90-minute informative webinar featured Brazilian policy and industry experts covering regulatory perspectives, financing CCS projects, Climate Justice and CCS, and opportunities and challenges for CCS in Brazil. 

     

Other News

This section is for other news that may directly or indirectly impact CCS deployment


AGENCY PROPOSAL - U.S. 

 

CARBON PRICING - CANADA

  • Federal Government Approves Saskatchewan's Output-Based Performance Standards.  On November 22, the provincial government received confirmation that a provincial plan has been approved to replace the federally imposed carbon tax on industrial emitters in the province, effective January 1, 2023. The Saskatchewan Output-Based Performance Standards (OBPS) Program meets the requirements for the 2023-2030 federal carbon pricing benchmark, including the addition of the electricity generation and natural gas transmission pipeline sectors. All industrial carbon taxes will now stay in Saskatchewan, saving Saskatchewan industry (and the jobs and families these industries support) an estimated $3.7 billion in federal carbon taxes between now and 2030 compared to federal carbon pricing.  
  •  Alberta's industrial carbon tax to triple by 2030 to match Ottawa's minimum standards. Alberta’s tax on industrial carbon dioxide emissions will triple by 2030 to keep pace with the federal carbon pricing schedule, according to an order in council issued [mid-December] outlining sweeping changes to the province’s Technology Innovation and Emissions Reduction (TIER) program. 

 

ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL, AND GOVERNANCE (ESG) 

 

REPORTS 

  • National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine. Industry and government should start planning for the deployment of CO2 utilization systems that enable a circular economy, according to a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. The study looks at the state of infrastructure for carbon transport, use, and storage, and provides an overview of the current limitations, and the opportunities ahead of CO2 utilization.  
  • Research: Carbon Capture Crucial To The Future Of Natural Gas .New research has discovered that carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies are an essential component of natural gas’ role in the energy transition, Natural Gas Intelligence reported.  The peer-reviewed study, published in the journal Nature Climate Change, was led by academics coming from universities in the U.S. and Canada. The researchers performed a life cycle analysis for the 108 nations with gas-fired energy in 2017 and estimated the total life cycle emissions for each country.  
  • The House of Representatives Select Committee on the Climate Crisis (SCCC) issued its final  report. The committee asserts that more than 300 of their policy recommendations have been enacted through several key measures championed by President Joe Biden and passed by Congress, like the $1.2 trillion Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the CHIPS and Science Act, a bill aimed at boosting domestic semiconductor production, and the Inflation Reduction Act, Democrats' climate change, health care and tax reform bill.  

     
 
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