It's not part of a combined air/source capture strategy. These are both
considered separately and the emphasis is on ambient air and lower
concentration sources like oil refineries and not mentioned, but applicable,
natural gas where the flue gas level is usually around 3% vs. 10 for CO2.
Since this bill has been around for at least 4 years, it doesn't seem likely
to get anywhere, especially in the next few months.
http://www.eenews.net/public/eenewspm/2009/11/12/2?page_type=print
CLIMATE: Barrasso, Bingaman float legislation to promote CO2 capture
(E&ENews PM, 11/12/2009)
Katie Howell, E&E reporter
A key Senate Democrat and a leading Republican critic of cap-and-trade
legislation today introduced a new bill that would award monetary prizes to
researchers who figure out a way to suck carbon dioxide directly from the
air.
Energy and Natural Resources Chairman Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) and Sen. John
Barrasso (R-Wyo.) last week introduced the bill, S. 2744, which would
encourage development of technology to capture CO2 from the atmosphere and
permanently sequester it. Sen. Michael Enzi (R-Wyo.) is a co-sponsor of the
legislation.
"Our proposal takes a fresh look at climate change," Barrasso said in a
statement. "We want to remove carbon dioxide directly from the atmosphere."
Scientists and engineers are currently scaling up methods to capture CO2
from industrial sources, like coal-fired power plants. The bill would
promote development of additional technologies to scrub the gases from the
air or from sources, like oil refineries, that have lower concentrations of
the greenhouse gas than power plants and factories.
"If we could capture carbon dioxide emitted by low-concentration sources, or
even the atmosphere, it would be a major step toward a cleaner energy
future," Bingaman said. "A federal prize to inspire inventive solutions to
this technical challenge could help us get there quicker."
The bill would establish a federal commission within the Energy Department
to award prizes to scientists and researchers making headway in the field.
The nine commission members, who would be appointed by the president, would
be climate scientists, physicists, chemists, engineers, business managers
and economists.
Prizes would be awarded to innovators who design technology to mop up CO2
and permanently store it. The bill does not establish the amount of the
awards.
The bill would allow the United States to share intellectual property rights
with the inventor after the technology is developed.
"The bill taps into American ingenuity and innovation," Barrasso said. "It
recognizes the need to develop the technological solutions needed to address
climate change. With financial awards, we can encourage the extraordinary
breakthroughs needed to tackle this problem."
Some researchers are already investigating the problem. Scientists and
engineers from organizations like chemicals giant BASF, glass and ceramics
maker Corning, Columbia University and the University of Calgary in Canada
are all investigating new technologies that would capture CO2 from the air.
Their ideas are varied and at different stages of development. But most
involve using some sort of material to react with CO2 in the atmosphere and
form a stable solution or mineral.
Other efforts to award monetary prizes for technology development have also
emerged. Airline entrepreneur Richard Branson and former U.S. Vice President
Al Gore launched the Virgin Earth Challenge in 2007 to offer $25 million to
the first demonstrated design to remove 1 billion metric tons of greenhouse
gases per year from the atmosphere (Greenwire, Feb. 9, 2007). No one has yet
claimed that prize.
Barrasso introduced similar legislation last session. That bill, S. 2614,
stalled in the Environment and Public Works Committee.
The new bill has been referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural
Resources, which Bingaman chairs, and an aide said it could move as part of
larger energy and climate legislation in the Senate.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Josh Horton" <joshuahorton...@gmail.com>
To: "geoengineering" <geoengineering@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Saturday, April 09, 2011 3:16
Subject: [geo] Re: calling all CDRers
This report gives the impression that the bill is narrowly focused on
conventional point-source post-combustion CCS, but note its title: "A
bill to provide incentives to encourage the development and
implementation of technology to capture carbon dioxide from dilute
sources on a significant scale using direct air capture
technologies." The bill appears to be directed at ambient-air CDR
combined with CCS, which is more encouraging from the standpoint of
climate engineering. Of course, there is tremendous distance from a
bill to a law to implementation to success, so more than a fair amount
of skepticism is in order.
Josh Horton
joshuahorton...@gmail.com
http://geoengineeringpolitics.blogspot.com/
On Apr 8, 3:16 pm, "Rau, Greg" <r...@llnl.gov> wrote:
CLIMATE: Barrasso, Bingaman reintroduce CCS prize bill (04/08/2011)
Katie Howell, E&E reporter
Sens. John Barrasso and Jeff Bingaman yesterday reintroduced their
bipartisan measure that would award monetary prizes to researchers who
figure out a way to suck carbon dioxide directly from the air.
Barrasso, a Republican from Wyoming, and Bingaman, the New Mexico Democrat
who chairs the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, first
introduced the carbon capture and storage (CCS) legislation last Congress,
where it stalled in committee.
But Bingaman in recent weeks has targeted CCS as an area with potential
for bipartisan cooperation on the committee. Several Republicans,
including Barrasso, are co-sponsors of CCS legislation he floated last
week (E&ENews PM, April 1).
And yesterday, Bob Simon, the committee's Democratic chief of staff, said,
"the whole area of carbon capture and storage is one that is ripe for
bipartisan cooperation in the Senate."
"Frankly, if we can make sure, if we can demonstrate that you can
economically capture and store carbon dioxide, you dramatically increase
the range of technologies you can call clean energy technologies," Simon
said yesterday at an event in Washington, D.C.
Barrasso and Bingaman's latest bill (S. 757), which is also co-sponsored
by Wyoming Republican Sen. Mike Enzi, would encourage development of
technology to capture CO2 from the atmosphere and permanently sequester it
by establishing a federal commission within the Energy Department to award
prizes to scientists and researchers making headway in the field. The
commission members, who would be appointed by the president, would be
climate scientists, physicists, chemists, engineers, business managers and
economists.
Prizes would be awarded to innovators who design technology to mop up CO2
and permanently store it.
"This bill taps into American ingenuity and innovation," Barrasso said in
a statement. "This will increase America's energy security by ensuring the
long-term viability of coal and other sources of traditional energy. Our
bill provides the technology to eliminate excess carbon in the atmosphere
without eliminating jobs in our communities."
But despite Bingaman's optimism about moving CCS legislation this
Congress, he said earlier this week that no decisions had been made about
when the committee would take up the CCS measures.
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