10.08.19

Hoeven Working to Advance Commercially-Viable CCUS Technology, True Path Forward for Coal

Senator Highlights Tech Development & Regulatory Relief Efforts, Hosts EPA Administrator Wheeler as Conference Keynote

BISMARCK, N.D. – At the Great Plains and EmPower ND Energy Conference today, Senator John Hoeven highlighted his efforts to advance commercially-viable carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) technologies to provide a true path forward for coal. Hoeven delivered the remarks as part of a roundtable discussion with Senator Kevin Cramer and Governor Doug Burgum, with whom he hosted Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Andrew Wheeler as the conference’s keynote speaker.

“CCUS technologies like Project Tundra are essential to the future of energy production in this nation, enabling us to have affordable, reliable energy while also reducing emissions,” Hoeven said. “Our efforts are all about cracking the code of this technology and proving that not only does it work technically, but that it is commercially-viable. That’s what’s required to implement this technology here in the U.S. and around the world, and it will allow us to continue making use of our abundant coal reserves and other traditional energy sources. Further, by coupling new technology developments with regulatory relief and infrastructure development, we will maintain our nation’s competitive edge and ensure we remain an energy powerhouse for years to come.”

MAKING CCUS COMMERCIALLY-VIABLE

As a member of the Senate Energy and Water Appropriations Committee and the Senate Energy Committee, Hoeven has worked to support the development of new technologies, like CCUS, which will improve efficiency and energy production. This includes:

  • Project Tundra, a post-combustion technology to retrofit existing power plants, being led by Minnkota Power and the University of North Dakota’s Energy and Environment Research Center (EERC), as well as BNI Coal and Allete Clean Energy.
    • Hoeven recently announced that the U.S. Department of Energy has awarded $9.8 million for the final design phase of Project Tundra. The senator included this funding in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 appropriations legislation and has secured approximately $26 million to advance Project Tundra to date.
  • His efforts to modernize the 48A and 45Q tax credits to better support the development of CCUS projects.
  • Support under the Senate’s FY2020 funding legislation for:
    • The Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership program.
    • The Carbon Storage Assurance Facility Enterprise (CarbonSAFE) initiative.

REGULATORY RELIEF

Regulatory relief has remained one of Hoeven’s top priorities throughout his time in the Senate. Hoeven stressed that North Dakota demonstrates that good environmental quality can be maintained while also supporting a strong economy and growing energy production. To this end, the senator is advancing a states-first approach to regulating energy development and has worked to:

  • Replace the previous administration’s burdensome rules for coal-fired power plants with the Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) Rule.
    • The senator cosponsored, and the Senate passed, two resolutions during the 114th Congress to repeal the EPA’s power plan rules. President Obama subsequently vetoed the resolutions.
  • Repeal the 2015 Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS) rule, removing the patchwork of regulations that have been in place due to litigation against the rule.
    • Hoeven previously worked as a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee to defund the rule in 2016 and 2017 and prevent its implementation.
    • Hoeven is urging the EPA to ensure the WOTUS replacement provides certainty to the nation’s energy and agriculture producers.
  • Streamline the approval process for cross-border infrastructure, like transmission lines and pipelines, as well as oil and gas wells where less than 50 percent of subsurface minerals are owned or held in trust by the federal government and there is no federal surface land.

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