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. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "geoengineering" group. To post to this group, send email to geoengineering@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to geoengineering+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/geoengineering?hl=en.
