[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 16 (Wednesday, January 27, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Pages S268-S269]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 2988. Mr. BENNET (for himself and Mr. Portman) submitted an
amendment intended to be proposed to amendment SA 2953 proposed by Ms.
Murkowski to the bill S. 2012, to provide for the modernization of the
energy policy of the United States, and for other purposes; which was
ordered to lie on the table; as follows:
At the appropriate place, insert the following:
SEC. ___. CARBON DIOXIDE CAPTURE FACILITIES.
(a) Short Title.--This section may be cited as the ``Carbon
Capture Improvement Act of 2016''.
(b) 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.
(c) Carbon Dioxide Capture Facilities.--
(1) In general.--Section 142 of the Internal Revenue Code
of 1986 is amended--
(A) in subsection (a)--
(i) in paragraph (14), by striking ``or'' at the end,
(ii) in paragraph (15), by striking the period at the end
and inserting ``, or'', and
(iii) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
``(16) qualified carbon dioxide capture facilities.'', and
(B) 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.''.
(2) 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)''.
(3) 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
[[Page S269]]
dioxide capture facility (as defined in section 142(n)) which
is owned by a governmental unit shall not constitute private
business use.''.
(4) Effective date.--The amendments made by this subsection
shall apply to obligations issued after December 31, 2015.
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