Bill Summary
The Carbon Capture Improvement Act of 2019 is a proposed bill that aims to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 in order to provide tax-exempt bonds for qualified carbon dioxide capture facilities. These facilities would capture and store carbon dioxide from coal, natural gas, and industrial processes, which would help protect the environment and improve the economy and national security of the United States. The bill recognizes the potential for large-scale carbon capture in the US but notes that costs are currently high. By providing access to lower-cost financing through tax-exempt bonds, the bill hopes to accelerate the deployment of this technology. The bill also outlines the criteria for a qualified carbon dioxide capture facility, including a capture and storage requirement of at least 65% and a definition of eligible components. The bill also clarifies that the sale of carbon dioxide produced by a qualified facility owned by a governmental unit would not constitute private business use. These changes would take effect for obligations issued after December 31, 2019.
Possible Impacts
1. Lower costs for carbon dioxide capture: This legislation could potentially lower costs for carbon dioxide capture projects, allowing for more companies to afford the technology and reducing the financial burden on businesses and industries.
2. Accelerated deployment of carbon capture technology: By providing access to lower-cost financing, this legislation could accelerate the deployment of carbon capture technology, which could have a positive impact on the environment by reducing carbon emissions.
3. Economic and national security benefits: The use of tax-exempt financing for carbon dioxide capture projects could have economic and national security benefits by reducing the country's reliance on foreign energy sources and promoting the growth of domestic industries in this field.
[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1763 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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116th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1763
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide for the issuance
of exempt facility bonds for qualified carbon dioxide capture
facilities.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
June 10, 2019
Mr. Bennet (for himself and Mr. Portman) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide for the issuance
of exempt facility bonds for qualified carbon dioxide capture
facilities.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Carbon Capture Improvement Act of
2019''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Capture and long-term storage of carbon dioxide from
coal, natural gas, and biomass-fired power plants, as well as
from industrial sectors such as oil refining and production of
fertilizer, cement, and ethanol, can help protect the
environment while improving the economy and national security
of the United States.
(2) The United States is a world leader in the field of
carbon dioxide capture and long-term storage, as well as the
beneficial use of carbon dioxide in enhanced oil recovery
operations, with many manufacturers and licensors of carbon
dioxide capture technology based in the United States.
(3) While the prospects for large-scale carbon capture in
the United States are promising, costs remain relatively high.
Lowering the financing costs for carbon dioxide capture
projects would accelerate the deployment of this technology,
and if the captured carbon dioxide is subsequently sold for
industrial use, such as for use in enhanced oil recovery
operations, the economic prospects are further improved.
(4) Since 1968, tax-exempt private activity bonds have been
used to provide access to lower-cost financing for private
businesses that are purchasing new capital equipment for
certain specified environmental facilities, including
facilities that reduce, recycle, or dispose of waste,
pollutants, and hazardous substances.
(5) Allowing tax-exempt financing for the purchase of
capital equipment that is used to capture carbon dioxide will
reduce the costs of developing carbon dioxide capture projects,
accelerate their deployment, and, in conjunction with carbon
dioxide utilization and long-term storage, help the United
States meet critical environmental, economic, and national
security goals.
SEC. 3. CARBON DIOXIDE CAPTURE FACILITIES.
(a) In General.--Section 142 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986
is amended--
(1) in subsection (a)--
(A) in paragraph (14), by striking ``or'' at the
end,
(B) in paragraph (15), by striking the period at
the end and inserting ``, or'', and
(C) by adding at the end the following new
paragraph:
``(16) qualified carbon dioxide capture facilities.'', and
(2) by adding at the end the following new subsection:
``(n) Qualified Carbon Dioxide Capture Facility.--
``(1) In general.--For purposes of subsection (a)(16), the
term `qualified carbon dioxide capture facility' means the
eligible components of an industrial carbon dioxide facility.
``(2) Definitions.--In this subsection:
``(A) Eligible component.--
``(i) In general.--The term `eligible
component' means any equipment installed in an
industrial carbon dioxide facility that
satisfies the requirements under paragraph (3)
and is--
``(I) used for the purpose of
capture, treatment and purification,
compression, transportation, or on-site
storage of carbon dioxide produced by
the industrial carbon dioxide facility,
or
``(II) integral or functionally
related and subordinate to a process
described in section 48B(c)(2),
determined by substituting `carbon
dioxide' for `carbon monoxide' in such
section.
``(B) Industrial carbon dioxide facility.--
``(i) In general.--Except as provided in
clause (ii), the term `industrial carbon
dioxide facility' means a facility that emits
carbon dioxide (including from any fugitive
emissions source) that is created as a result
of any of the following processes:
``(I) Fuel combustion.
``(II) Gasification.
``(III) Bioindustrial.
``(IV) Fermentation.
``(V) Any manufacturing industry
described in section 48B(c)(7).
``(ii) Exceptions.--For purposes of clause
(i), an industrial carbon dioxide facility
shall not include--
``(I) any geological gas facility
(as defined in clause (iii)), or
``(II) any air separation unit
that--
``(aa) does not qualify as
gasification equipment, or
``(bb) is not a necessary
component of an oxy-fuel
combustion process.
``(iii) Geological gas facility.--The term
`geological gas facility' means a facility
that--
``(I) produces a raw product
consisting of gas or mixed gas and
liquid from a geological formation,
``(II) transports or removes
impurities from such product, or
``(III) separates such product into
its constituent parts.
``(3) Capture and storage requirement.--
``(A) In general.--Subject to subparagraph (B), the
eligible components of an industrial carbon dioxide
facility shall have a capture and storage percentage
(as determined under subparagraph (C)) that is equal to
or greater than 65 percent.
``(B) Exception.--In the case of an industrial
carbon dioxide facility with a capture and storage
percentage that is less than 65 percent, the percentage
of the cost of the eligible components installed in
such facility that may be financed with tax-exempt
bonds may not be greater than the capture and storage
percentage.
``(C) Capture and storage percentage.--
``(i) In general.--Subject to clause (ii),
the capture and storage percentage shall be an
amount, expressed as a percentage, equal to the
quotient of--
``(I) the total metric tons of
carbon dioxide annually captured,
transported, and injected into--
``(aa) a facility for
geologic storage, or
``(bb) an enhanced oil or
gas recovery well followed by
geologic storage, divided by
``(II) the total metric tons of
carbon dioxide which would otherwise be
released into the atmosphere each year
as industrial emission of greenhouse
gas if the eligible components were not
installed in the industrial carbon
dioxide facility.
``(ii) Limited application of eligible
components.--In the case of eligible components
that are designed to capture carbon dioxide
solely from specific sources of emissions or
portions thereof within an industrial carbon
dioxide facility, the capture and storage
percentage under this subparagraph shall be
determined based only on such specific sources
of emissions or portions thereof.''.
(b) Volume Cap.--Section 146(g)(4) of such Code is amended by
striking ``paragraph (11) of section 142(a) (relating to high-speed
intercity rail facilities)'' and inserting ``paragraph (11) or (16) of
section 142(a)''.
(c) Clarification of Private Business Use.--Section 141(b)(6) of
such Code is amended by adding at the end the following new
subparagraph:
``(C) Clarification relating to qualified carbon
dioxide capture facilities.--For purposes of this
subsection, the sale of carbon dioxide produced by a
qualified carbon dioxide capture facility (as defined
in section 142(n)) which is owned by a governmental
unit shall not constitute private business use.''.
(d) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall
apply to obligations issued after December 31, 2019.
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