Amendment to Repeal the Extension of the Wind Production Tax Credit
Via Press Release: U.S.
Senator Kevin Cramer and U.S. Senator John Hoeven introduced an amendment to the American Energy Innovation Act repealing the extension of the wind production tax credit (PTC).
“For years we have been promised the wind PTC would be phased out, yet some in Washington jammed it through despite our opposition,” the Senators said. “Instead of continuing the wind PTC, baseload coal should be fairly valued to ensure we have grid reliability and resiliency.”
The wind PTC, originally meant to phase out by January 1, 2020, was extended for one year as part of the appropriations package passed by Congress last December.
This week the Senate is debating S.2657, the bipartisan energy bill introduced by Senators Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Joe Manchin (D-WV). Senators Cramer and Hoeven are offering several amendments and working with their colleagues to advance North Dakota’s energy priorities.
Click here to read the text of the amendment.
Hoeven Meets with FERC Commissioner
Senator Hoeven met with FERC Chairman Neil Chatterjee last week, stressing that the grid is being forced away from baseload resources like coal and outlining the need to maintain diverse sources of electricity. Hoeven has been pressing FERC to ensure the benefits of coal-generated electricity are properly valued, given its reliability as a baseload source of power which is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Industry Awaits Final Guidance on the 45Q Tax Credit for CCUS
Last month, the Treasury Department issued two pieces of key guidance on the implementation of the 45Q tax credit. The guidance provides greater clarity to developers of CCUS projects and will enable them to begin moving forward with financial arrangements and construction plans. However, the third and final piece of the issuance has not been released yet.
The third rule needs to provide certainty to make CCUS commercially-viable for both long-term storage and enhanced oil and gas recovery. Specifically, Senator Hoeven has introduced legislation that would align Internal Revenue Service (IRS) guidelines with current Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations to reflect the operational and legal differences between using captured CO2 for enhanced oil recovery and geological storage, also known as Class II wells and Class VI wells, respectively, under the Clean Air Act and the Safe Drinking Water Act. LEC supports his legislation and is working to make sure that the final regulations include this certainty. The rules are expected to be released later this spring.