The Interagency Task Force on Carbon Capture and Storage has published its report and is proposing several options aimed at overcoming liability obstacles that could hinder the development of “clean coal” technology.
Earlier this year, President Obama established this task force composed of 14 Executive Departments and Federal Agencies. The Task Force, co-chaired by the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), was charged with proposing a plan to overcome the barriers to the widespread, cost-effective deployment of CCS within ten years, with a goal of bringing five to ten commercial demonstration projects online by 2016.
The report states: “In its application to electricity generation, Carbon capture and storage (CCS) could play an important role in achieving national and global greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction goals. However, widespread cost-effective deployment of CCS will occur only if the technology is commercially available and a supportive national policy framework is in place.” The report gives an overview of CCS and proposes several options including that the DOE and the EPA “should create a Federal agency roundtable to act as a single point of contact for project developers seeking assistance to overcome financial, technical, regulatory, and social barriers facing planned or existing projects.”
For a complete copy of the report and all recommendations, please visit: http://www.fossil.energy.gov/programs/sequestration/ccstf/es_ccstf_2010.pdf