Energy secretary says he will support carbon capture and sequestration pilot, demonstration projects

At a recent hearing of the Senate Energy and Water Appropriations Committee, Energy Secretary Rick Perry told Senator John Hoeven (R-ND) that he would support pilot and demonstration projects for carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) technologies.

“If we want to realize the benefits of CCS technology, we need to make it commercially viable, not just technically feasible,” Hoeven said. “That means moving the research out of the lab and into the field with pilot and demonstration projects. We have two innovative projects in North Dakota, and I’m working to ensure DOE has money in the budget to move these efforts forward.”

At the hearing, Hoeven highlighted two CCS projects in North Dakota, which are currently supported by private and state funding. Earlier this year, Hoeven invited Perry to visit the state to review local CCS efforts.

The senator is currently working to fully fund the CCS research accounts at the Department of Energy (DOE) in the Fiscal Year 2018 funding bill.

He also recently secured U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approval of North Dakota’s application for regulatory primacy over Class VI injection wells, which are used for geological sequestration or long-term storage of carbon dioxide (CO2).