Game-Changing SCALE Act Could Enable Carbon Capture Infrastructure Needed for Net-Zero Goals

Bipartisan legislation re-introduced on March 17 could provide game-changing support for carbon dioxide (CO₂) transport and storage infrastructure that will be essential to reaching midcentury climate goals. The Storing CO₂ and Lowering Emissions Act (SCALE Act), re-introduced in both chambers and led by Senators Chris Coons (D-DE) and Bill Cassidy (R-LA) in the Senate and Representatives Marc Veasey (D-TX) and David McKinley (R-WV) in the House would enable CO₂ transport and storage infrastructure required to scale up carbon capture, removal, use, and storage across domestic industries, including those that are difficult to decarbonize.

The re-introduced SCALE Act is being supported by a diverse and influential bipartisan group of original cosponsors, including Senators Tina Smith (D-MN), John Hoeven (R-ND), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Mike Braun (R-IN), Jon Tester (D-MT), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), and Joe Manchin (D-WV), and Representatives Cheri Bustos (D-IL), Pete Stauber (R-MN), Terri Sewell (D-AL), and Liz Cheney (R-WY).

The SCALE Act also received bipartisan support from state leaders, with Governors John Bel Edwards (D-LA), Mark Gordon (R-WY), Kevin Stitt (R-OK), and Tom Wolf (R-PA) signing a letter to lead House and Senate sponsors on behalf of the seven signatory states to the State CO₂ Transport Infrastructure MOU (Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Montana, Pennsylvania, Oklahoma, and Wyoming). The governors wrote “in strong support” of the bill and urged Congress to prioritize its inclusion in a broader infrastructure package.

The SCALE Act would give the federal government tools to enable US leadership on critical technology innovation and deployment in industries across the economy. The bill focuses on three key areas:

• Provides a federal financing mechanism for CO₂ transport and storage infrastructure and realizes economies of scale by reducing the overall costs associated with buildout of an interconnected system;
• Supports development of saline geologic storage resources, focusing on projects that could serve as regional hubs for the deployment of large-scale saline geologic storage, and supports implementation of the EPA permitting program on CO₂ injection for secure geologic storage; and,
• Provides grants for states and municipalities to procure low- and zero-carbon products derived from CO₂ and carbon oxides.

GPI Vice President Brad Crabtree, speaking in his role as the director of the GPI-convened Carbon Capture Coalition, stated that the bill would “drive the billions of dollars in private investment in infrastructure required to accelerate and scale up the deployment of carbon capture, removal and utilization from our nation’s industrial facilities, power plants and future large-scale direct air capture facilities.”

In addition to its statement endorsing the legislation, the Coalition shared quotations of support from over 20 unions, NGOs, and companies in the Coalition. For example, Roxanne Brown, vice president at large, United Steelworkers, stated:

Carbon capture is a key technology for maintaining good manufacturing jobs as the global economy decarbonizes to move towards the industry of the future. The SCALE Act enables the buildout of CO₂ transport and storage infrastructure, with Buy America requirements, that is necessary for large-scale deployment of carbon capture at industrial facilities across our vast country.

The SCALE Act also gained support from the Industrial Innovation Initiative, a coalition of key industrial and power companies, environmental organizations, unions, and state officials from Midwestern and Gulf Coast states (convened by GPI and World Resources Institute). The Initiative sent a letter to Congressional leaders strongly supporting the SCALE Act and urging Congress to prioritize the inclusion of the legislation in any broader infrastructure package, given its essential role in helping achieve net-zero emissions economywide.

Carbon capture has an essential role in addressing emissions from key industrial sectors like steel, cement, plastics, and fertilizer production that make up approximately 30 percent of global CO₂ emissions and have inherent CO₂ emissions in production processes. Carbon capture, along with direct air capture, must be deployed at scale to achieve economywide decarbonization by midcentury.

US industries are ready to lead on carbon capture with key infrastructure, policy support in place

Many established and emerging companies in the US are investing in carbon management technologies that could create and sustain high-paying jobs across the US, from aviation to manufacturing and electric power generation. Yet, these companies need financing policy and available transport and storage infrastructure that the SCALE Act would support to attract the level of investment required for economywide deployment.

As lead bill author Representative Veasey (D-TX) said in a statement on the bill re-introduction, “If we successfully deploy CO₂ transport and storage infrastructure, we can help certain industrial sectors of our economy dramatically reduce their emissions while creating thousands of good jobs.”

Recently released analysis by Rhodium Group, commissioned by GPI, underscores the jobs and economic potential of enabling economywide deployment, finding that investing in carbon capture technology and infrastructure is a multi-billion dollar investment opportunity for the nation. The first-of-its-kind analysis shows detailed jobs and investment potential in several regions of the country and describes the unique opportunities for each region based on their industrial sectors. The study demonstrates the versatility of carbon capture, which can be applied across sectors and geographies.

As lead bill author Representative McKinley (R-WV) said in his statement on the bill re-introduction, “For carbon capture to work, we need to be able to transport it to geologic storage or customers who can use it.”

Regional opportunities for carbon capture infrastructure can be seen, for example, in the Midcontinent region of the US, which has localized clusters of industrial emissions.

INTERACTIVE MAP SHOWING CLUSTERS OF THE TOP-EMITTING SECTORS IN THE MIDCONTINENT

Analysis shows the need for a national CO₂ transport infrastructure network grounded in regional hubs and guided by long-term planning

Analysis by GPI, in partnership with leading research institutions, demonstrates the potential benefits of and need for a national, interconnected CO₂ transport infrastructure network grounded in regional hubs to manage and reduce carbon emissions.

Through detailed scenario modeling using the SimCCS model, the analysis found that “infrastructure with larger capacities built for long-term planning horizons can deliver more CO₂ at lower per-ton transport costs.” The analysis showed “clear climate and economic benefits of long-term coordination and planning of CO₂ transport infrastructure for midcentury decarbonization.”

OPTIMIZED TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE FOR ECONOMYWIDE CO₂ CAPTURE & STORAGE

While the US has transported CO₂ since the 1970s, the existing network is vastly insufficient to cost-effectively transport the volume of emissions from facilities eligible for the 45Q tax credit to suitable geologic storage sites. Similarly, the US needs to identify and develop more large-scale geologic storage sites that can serve these regional networks, along with funding and supporting the permitting process for geologic storage.

AREAS FOR GEOLOGIC CO₂ STORAGE

This lack of infrastructure poses a significant barrier to project development and cost-effective economywide deployment. As the Coalition shared in their SCALE ACT endorsement, “The strategic importance of access to CO₂ transport and geologic storage can be seen in the 30-plus publicly announced projects now under development in response to the 45Q tax credit, nearly all of which are presently limited to locations that benefit from close proximity to existing CO₂ pipeline infrastructure or appropriate geologic formations for storage.”

As Crabtree states in the Coalition statement, “Congressional leaders should incorporate the provisions of the SCALE Act into the next major legislative package now being developed to address COVID economic recovery, infrastructure and climate… Congress and the administration must now take the next critical step of establishing a robust federal CO₂ transport and storage infrastructure policy as provided by the SCALE Act.”

SCALE Act provides an opportunity for economywide carbon capture deployment

Carbon capture and removal is an essential part of building a net-zero carbon economy while growing jobs and supporting existing and emerging industries. Building on the landmark 45Q tax credit passed in 2019, the bipartisan SCALE Act can put the country on a trajectory to have key infrastructure in place over the next decade that will be required for midcentury decarbonization.

Learn more details about the SCALE Act and read 22 quotations of support from Carbon Capture Coalition members on the Coalition website. This blog post was originally posted on December 18, 2020, and is updated to reflect the recent re-introduction of the bill and letters of support.