The Energy Advance Center supports the incentive for CCUS enacted by the Congress in the revised 45Q credit. We believe that the Federal Government must implement the credit so that potential barriers to 45Q are alleviated and so that the credit is broadly available to industry.

The Department of the Treasury has a statutory requirement to write a regulation defining “secure geologic storage”. Existing regulatory requirements including Subpart UU, taken together with enhancements to the requirements of Subparts PP, W, and C, as well as the Class II UIC permitting requirements, provide “adequate security measures for the geological storage of carbon dioxide” to meet the requirements of 45Q.

Enhanced oil recovery (EOR) is a method a resource recovery with a long history of safe and secure containment of CO2. There are approximately 180,000 Class II injection wells across the country for oil, gas and CO2 with a demonstrated record of safe and secure operations. Annually, over 60 million tons of CO2 are injected into formations that have securely contained hydrocarbons over geologic time. EOR represents a ready to deploy method for ensuring that millions of tons of CO2 are never emitted to the atmosphere that simultaneously creates economic value.

For additional information on the EAC’s views on the Section 45Q tax credit, please contact Executive Director Chris Romans at info@eaco2.org.