1.This Act may be cited as
the Coal-to-Liquid Fuel Energy Act of
2007
.
2.In this Act:
(1)The
term coal-to-liquid means—
(A)with respect to a
process or technology, the use of a feedstock, the majority of which is the
coal resources of the United States, using the class of reactions known as
Fischer-Tropsch, to produce synthetic fuel suitable for transportation;
and
(B)with respect to a
facility, the portion of a facility related to producing the inputs to the
Fischer-Tropsch process, the Fischer-Tropsch process, finished fuel production,
or the capture, transportation, or sequestration of byproducts of the use of a
feedstock that is primarily domestic coal at the Fischer-Tropsch facility,
including carbon emissions.
(2)The
term Secretary means the Secretary of Energy.
3.Coal-to-liquid
fuel loan guarantee program
(a)Section 1703(b) of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42
U.S.C. 16513(b)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
(11)Large-scale
coal-to-liquid facilities (as defined in section 2 of the
Coal-to-Liquid Fuel Energy Act of
2007) that use a feedstock, the majority of which is the coal
resources of the United States, to produce not less than 10,000 barrels a day
of liquid transportation
fuel.
.
(b)Authorization
of appropriationsSection 1704 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005
(42 U.S.C. 16514) is amended by adding at the end the following:
(c)
(1)There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are
necessary to provide the cost of guarantees for projects involving large-scale
coal-to-liquid facilities under section 1703(b)(11).
(2)If no appropriations are made available under paragraph
(1), an eligible applicant may elect to provide payment to the Secretary, to be
delivered if and at the time the application is approved, in the amount of the
estimated cost of the loan guarantee to the Federal Government, as determined
by the Secretary.
(3)
(A)No loan guarantees shall be provided under this title for
projects described in paragraph (1) after (as determined by the
Secretary)—
(i)the tenth such
loan guarantee is issued under this title; or
(ii)production
capacity covered by such loan guarantees reaches 100,000 barrels per day of
coal-to-liquid fuel.
(B)
(i)A loan guarantee may be provided under this title for any
large-scale coal-to-liquid facility described in paragraph (1) that produces no
more than 20,000 barrels of coal-to-liquid fuel per day.
(ii)Non-Federal
funding requirementTo be eligible for a loan guarantee under
this title, a large-scale coal-to-liquid facility described in paragraph (1)
that produces more than 20,000 barrels per day of coal-to-liquid fuel shall be
eligible to receive a loan guarantee for the proportion of the cost of the
facility that represents 20,000 barrels of coal-to-liquid fuel per day of
production.
(4)
(A)Not
later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this subsection, the
Secretary shall publish guidelines for the coal-to-liquids loan guarantee
application process.
(B)Not
later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this subsection, the Secretary
shall begin to accept applications for coal-to-liquid loan guarantees under
this subsection.
(C)Not
later than 1 year from the date of acceptance of an application under
subparagraph (B), the Secretary shall evaluate the application and make final
determinations under this subsection.
(5)The Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Energy
and Natural Resources of the Senate and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of
the House of Representatives a report describing the status of the program
under this subsection not later than each of—
(A)180 days after
the date of enactment of this subsection;
(B)1 year after the
date of enactment of this subsection; and
(C)the dates on
which the Secretary approves the first and fifth applications for
coal-to-liquid loan guarantees under this
subsection.
.
4.Coal-to-liquid
facilities loan program
(a)Definition of
eligible recipientIn this section, the term eligible
recipient means an individual, organization, or other entity that owns,
operates, or plans to construct a coal-to-liquid facility that will produce at
least 10,000 barrels per day of coal-to-liquid fuel.
(b)The
Secretary shall establish a program under which the Secretary shall provide
loans, in a total amount not to exceed $20,000,000, for use by eligible
recipients to pay the Federal share of the cost of obtaining any services
necessary for the planning, permitting, and construction of a coal-to-liquid
facility.
(c)To
be eligible to receive a loan under subsection (b), the eligible recipient
shall submit to the Secretary an application at such time, in such manner, and
containing such information as the Secretary may require.
(d)To be eligible to receive a loan under this section, an
eligible recipient shall use non-Federal funds to provide a dollar-for-dollar
match of the amount of the loan.
(e)
(1)To be eligible to receive a loan under this section, an
eligible recipient shall agree to repay the original amount of the loan to the
Secretary not later than 5 years after the date of the receipt of the
loan.
(2)Repayment of a loan under paragraph (1) may be made from
any financing or assistance received for the construction of a coal-to-liquid
facility described in subsection (a), including a loan guarantee provided under
section 1703(b)(11) of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C.
16513(b)(11)).
(f)
(1)Not
later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary
shall publish guidelines for the coal-to-liquids loan application
process.
(2)Not
later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall
begin to accept applications for coal-to-liquid loans under this
section.
(g)Not later than each of 180 days and 1 year after the
date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on
Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate and the Committee on Energy and
Commerce of the House of Representatives a report describing the status of the
program under this section.
(h)Authorization
of appropriationsThere is authorized to be appropriated to carry
out this section $200,000,000, to remain available until expended.
5.Location of
coal-to-liquid manufacturing facilitiesThe Secretary, in coordination with the head
of any affected agency, shall promulgate such regulations as the Secretary
determines to be necessary to support the development on Federal land
(including land of the Department of Energy, military bases, and military
installations closed or realigned under the defense base closure and
realignment) of coal-to-liquid manufacturing facilities and associated
infrastructure, including the capture, transportation, or sequestration of
carbon dioxide.
6.Strategic
Petroleum Reserve
(a)Development,
operation, and maintenance of ReserveSection 159 of the Energy Policy and
Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 6239) is amended—
(1)by redesignating
subsections (f), (g), (j), (k), and (l) as subsections (a), (b), (e), (f), and
(g), respectively; and
(2)by inserting
after subsection (b) (as redesignated by paragraph (1)) the following:
(c)Study of
maintaining coal-to-liquid products in ReserveNot later than 1
year after the date of enactment of the Coal-to-Liquid Fuel Energy Act of 2007, the
Secretary and the Secretary of Defense shall—
(1)conduct a study
of the feasibility and suitability of maintaining coal-to-liquid products in
the Reserve; and
(2)submit to the
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources and the Committee on Armed Services
of the Senate and the Committee on Energy and Commerce and the Committee on
Armed Services of the House of Representatives a report describing the results
of the study.
(d)Construction of
storage facilitiesAs soon as practicable after the date of
enactment of the Coal-to-Liquid Fuel Energy
Act of 2007, the Secretary may construct 1 or more storage
facilities in the vicinity of pipeline infrastructure and at least 1 military
base.
.
(b)Petroleum
products for storage in ReserveSection 160 of the Energy Policy and
Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 6240) is amended—
(1)in subsection
(a)—
(A)in paragraph (1),
by inserting a semicolon at the end;
(B)in paragraph (2),
by striking and
at the end;
(C)in paragraph (3),
by striking the period at the end and inserting ; and
;
and
(D)by adding at the
end the following:
(4)coal-to-liquid
products (as defined in section 2 of the Coal-to-Liquid Fuel Energy Act of 2007), as
the Secretary determines to be appropriate, in a quantity not to exceed 20
percent of the total quantity of petroleum and petroleum products in the
Reserve.
;
(2)in subsection
(b), by redesignating paragraphs (3) through (5) as paragraphs (2) through (4),
respectively; and
(3)by redesignating
subsections (f) and (h) as subsections (d) and (e), respectively.
(c)Section 167 of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act
(42 U.S.C. 6247) is amended—
(1)in subsection
(b)—
(A)by redesignating
paragraphs (2) and (3) as paragraphs (1) and (2), respectively; and
(B)in paragraph (2)
(as redesignated by subparagraph (A)), by striking section
160(f)
and inserting section 160(e)
; and
(2)in subsection
(d), in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking section
160(f)
and inserting section 160(e)
.
7.Authorization to
conduct research, development, testing, and evaluation of assured domestic
fuelsOf the amount authorized
to be appropriated for the Air Force for research, development, testing, and
evaluation, $10,000,000 may be made available for the Air Force Research
Laboratory to continue support efforts to test, qualify, and procure synthetic
fuels developed from coal for aviation jet use.
8.Coal-to-liquid
long-term fuel procurement and department of defense developmentSection 2398a of title 10, United States
Code is amended—
(1)in subsection (b)—
(A)by striking The Secretary
and inserting the following:
(1)The Secretary
;
and
(B)by adding at the
end the following:
(2)Coal-to-liquid
production facilities
(A)The Secretary of Defense may enter into contracts or
other agreements with private companies or other entities to develop and
operate coal-to-liquid facilities (as defined in section 2 of the
Coal-to-Liquid Fuel Energy Act of
2007) on or near military installations.
(B)In
entering into contracts and other agreements under subparagraph (A), the
Secretary shall consider land availability, testing opportunities, and
proximity to raw
materials.
;
(2)in subsection
(d)—
(A)by striking
Subject to applicable provisions of law, any
and inserting
Any
; and
(B)by striking
1 or more years
and inserting up to 25 years
;
and
(3)by adding at the
end the following:
(f)Authorization
of appropriationsThere are authorized to be appropriated such
sums as are necessary to carry out this
section.
.
9.Report on
emissions of Fischer-Tropsch products used as transportation fuels
(a)In cooperation with the Administrator of the
Environmental Protection Agency, the Secretary of Defense, the Administrator of
the Federal Aviation Administration, and the Secretary of Health and Human
Services, the Secretary shall—
(1)carry out a
research and demonstration program to evaluate the emissions of the use of
Fischer-Tropsch fuel for transportation, including diesel and jet fuel;
(2)evaluate the
effect of using Fischer-Tropsch transportation fuel on land and air engine
exhaust emissions; and
(3)in accordance
with subsection (e), submit to Congress a report on the effect on air quality
and public health of using Fischer-Tropsch fuel in the transportation
sector.
(b)Guidance and
technical supportThe Secretary shall issue any guidance or
technical support documents necessary to facilitate the effective use of
Fischer-Tropsch fuel and blends under this section.
(c)For
the purpose of evaluating the emissions of Fischer-Tropsch transportation
fuels, the Secretary shall—
(1)support the use
and capital modification of existing facilities and the construction of new
facilities at the research centers designated in section 417 of the Energy
Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 15977); and
(2)engage those
research centers in the evaluation and preparation of the report required under
subsection (a)(3).
(d)The
program described in subsection (a)(1) shall consider—
(1)the use of neat
(100 percent) Fischer-Tropsch fuel and blends of Fischer-Tropsch fuels with
conventional crude oil-derived fuel for heavy-duty and light-duty diesel
engines and the aviation sector; and
(2)the production
costs associated with domestic production of those fuels and prices for
consumers.
(e)The
Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the
Senate and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of
Representatives—
(1)not later than
180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, an interim report on actions
taken to carry out this section; and
(2)not later than 1
year after the date of enactment of this Act, a final report on actions taken
to carry out this section.
(f)Authorization
of appropriationsThere are authorized to be appropriated such
sums as are necessary to carry out this section.