II 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1685 

To require the Secretary of Energy to establish a program for the research, 

development, and demonstration of commercially viable technologies for 

the capture of carbon dioxide produced during the generation of natural 

gas-generated power. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 23 (legislative day, MAY 22), 2019 

Mr. CORNYN (for himself, Mr. CASSIDY, Mr. COONS, and Ms. SINEMA) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To require the Secretary of Energy to establish a program 

for the research, development, and demonstration of commercially viable technologies for the capture of carbon 

dioxide produced during the generation of natural gasgenerated power. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Launching Energy Ad5 vancement and Development through Innovations for Nat6 ural Gas Act of 2019’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. NATURAL GAS CARBON CAPTURE RESEARCH, DE2 VELOPMENT, AND DEMONSTRATION PRO3 GRAM. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle F of title IX of the En5 ergy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16291 et seq.) is 

6 amended by adding at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘SEC. 969. NATURAL GAS CARBON CAPTURE RESEARCH, 

8 DEVELOPMENT, AND DEMONSTRATION PRO9 GRAM. 

10 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

11 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligible en12 tity’ means an entity that documents to the satisfac13 tion of the Secretary that— 

14 ‘‘(A) the entity is financially responsible; 

15 and 

16 ‘‘(B) the entity will provide sufficient in17 formation to the Secretary to enable the Sec18 retary to ensure that any funds awarded to the 

19 entity are spent efficiently and effectively. 

20 ‘‘(2) NATURAL GAS.—The term ‘natural gas’ 

21 means any fuel consisting in whole or in part of— 

22 ‘‘(A) natural gas; 

23 ‘‘(B) liquid petroleum gas; 

24 ‘‘(C) synthetic gas derived from petroleum 

25 or natural gas liquids; 


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1 ‘‘(D) any mixture of natural gas and syn2 thetic gas; or 

3 ‘‘(E) any product derived directly from 

4 natural gas, including hydrogen. 

5 ‘‘(3) NATURAL GAS-GENERATED POWER.—The 

6 term ‘natural gas-generated power’ means electric 

7 energy generated through the use of natural gas. 

8 ‘‘(4) PROGRAM.—The term ‘program’ means 

9 the program established under subsection (b)(1). 

10 ‘‘(5) QUALIFYING ELECTRIC GENERATION FA11 CILITY.— 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘qualifying 

13 electric generation facility’ means a facility that 

14 generates electric energy using natural gas as 

15 the fuel. 

16 ‘‘(B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘qualifying 

17 electric generation facility’ includes— 

18 ‘‘(i) a traditional natural gas plant; 

19 ‘‘(ii) a simple cycle plant; 

20 ‘‘(iii) a combined cycle plant; 

21 ‘‘(iv) a combined heat and power 

22 plant; or 

23 ‘‘(v) any other facility that uses nat24 ural gas as the fuel for generating electric 

25 energy. 


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1 ‘‘(6) QUALIFYING TECHNOLOGY.—The term 

2 ‘qualifying technology’ means any commercially via3 ble technology, as determined by the Secretary, for 

4 the capture of carbon dioxide produced during the 

5 generation of natural gas-generated power. 

6 ‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT OF RESEARCH, DEVELOP7 MENT, AND DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall estab9 lish a program of research, development, and dem10 onstration of qualifying technologies for use by 

11 qualifying electric generation facilities. 

12 ‘‘(2) OBJECTIVES.—The objectives of the pro13 gram shall be— 

14 ‘‘(A) to identify opportunities to accelerate 

15 the development and commercial applications of 

16 qualifying technologies to reduce the quantity of 

17 carbon dioxide emissions released from quali18 fying electric generation facilities; 

19 ‘‘(B) to enter into cooperative agreements 

20 with eligible entities to expedite and carry out 

21 demonstration projects (including pilot projects) 

22 for qualifying technologies for use by qualifying 

23 electric generation facilities to demonstrate the 

24 technical feasibility and economic potential of 


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1 those qualifying technologies for commercial de2 ployment; and 

3 ‘‘(C) to identify any barriers to the com4 mercial deployment of any qualifying tech5 nologies under development. 

6 ‘‘(3) PARTICIPATION OF NATIONAL LABORA7 TORIES, UNIVERSITIES, AND RESEARCH FACILI8 TIES.—The program may include the participation 

9 of— 

10 ‘‘(A) National Laboratories; 

11 ‘‘(B) institutions of higher education; 

12 ‘‘(C) research facilities; or 

13 ‘‘(D) other appropriate entities. 

14 ‘‘(4) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.— 

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the 

16 program, the Secretary may enter into coopera17 tive agreements with eligible entities to carry 

18 out research, development, and demonstration 

19 projects for qualifying technologies. 

20 ‘‘(B) APPLICATIONS; PROPOSALS.—An eli21 gible entity desiring to enter into a cooperative 

22 agreement under this paragraph shall submit to 

23 the Secretary an application at such time, in 

24 such manner, and containing such information 

25 as the Secretary may require. 


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1 ‘‘(c) CARBON CAPTURE FACILITIES DEMONSTRATION

2 PROGRAM.— 

3 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—As part of the pro4 gram, the Secretary shall establish a demonstration 

5 program under which the Secretary shall enter into 

6 cooperative agreements with eligible entities for dem7 onstration or pilot projects to license, permit, con8 struct, and operate, by not later than September 30, 

9 2025, three or more facilities to capture carbon diox10 ide from qualifying electric generation facilities. 

11 ‘‘(2) GOALS.—Each demonstration or pilot 

12 project under the demonstration program shall— 

13 ‘‘(A) be designed to further the develop14 ment of qualifying technologies that may be 

15 used by a qualifying electric generation facility; 

16 ‘‘(B) be financed in part by the private 

17 sector; 

18 ‘‘(C) if necessary, secure agreements for 

19 the offtake of the majority of the carbon dioxide 

20 emissions captured by qualifying technologies 

21 during the project; and 

22 ‘‘(D) support energy production in the 

23 United States. 

24 ‘‘(3) REQUEST FOR APPLICATIONS.—Not later 

25 than 120 days after the date of enactment of this 


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1 Act, the Secretary shall solicit applications for coop2 erative agreements for projects— 

3 ‘‘(A) to demonstrate qualifying tech4 nologies at three or more qualifying electric 

5 generation facilities; 

6 ‘‘(B) to obtain any license or permit from 

7 a State or Federal agency that is necessary for 

8 the construction of three or more facilities to 

9 capture carbon dioxide from a qualifying elec10 tric generation facility; and 

11 ‘‘(C) to construct and operate three or 

12 more facilities to capture carbon dioxide from a 

13 qualifying electric generation facility. 

14 ‘‘(4) REVIEW OF APPLICATIONS.—In reviewing 

15 applications submitted under paragraph (3), the 

16 Secretary, to the maximum extent practicable, 

17 shall— 

18 ‘‘(A) ensure a broad geographic distribu19 tion of project sites; 

20 ‘‘(B) ensure that a broad selection of 

21 qualifying electric generation facilities are rep22 resented; 

23 ‘‘(C) ensure that a broad selection of quali24 fying technologies are represented; 


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1 ‘‘(D) require information and knowledge 

2 gained by each participant in the demonstration 

3 program to be transferred and shared among— 

4 ‘‘(i) all participants in the demonstra5 tion program; and 

6 ‘‘(ii) other interested parties; and 

7 ‘‘(E) leverage existing— 

8 ‘‘(i) public-private partnerships; and 

9 ‘‘(ii) Federal resources. 

10 ‘‘(d) COST SHARING.—In carrying out this section, 

11 the Secretary shall require cost sharing in accordance with 

12 section 988. 

13 ‘‘(e) FEE TITLE.—The Secretary may vest fee title 

14 or other property interests acquired under cooperative 

15 agreements entered into under subsection (b)(4) in any 

16 entity, including the United States. 

17 ‘‘(f) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the 

18 date on which the Secretary solicits applications under 

19 subsection (c)(3), and annually thereafter, the Secretary 

20 shall submit to the appropriate committees of jurisdiction 

21 of the Senate and the House of Representatives a report 

22 that— 

23 ‘‘(1) with respect to subsections (b) and (c), in24 cludes recommendations for any legislative changes 


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1 needed to improve the implementation of those sub2 sections; 

3 ‘‘(2) with respect to subsection (b), includes— 

4 ‘‘(A) a detailed description of how applica5 tions for cooperative agreements under para6 graph (4) of that subsection will be solicited 

7 and evaluated, including— 

8 ‘‘(i) a list of any activities carried out 

9 by the Secretary to solicit or evaluate ap10 plications; and 

11 ‘‘(ii) a process for ensuring that any 

12 projects carried out under a cooperative 

13 agreement are designed to result in the de14 velopment or demonstration of qualifying 

15 technologies; 

16 ‘‘(B) a detailed list of technical milestones 

17 for each qualifying technology pursued under 

18 that subsection; 

19 ‘‘(C) a detailed description of how each 

20 project carried out pursuant to a cooperative 

21 agreement under paragraph (4) of that sub22 section will meet the milestones for carbon cap23 ture described in the September 2017 report of 

24 the Office of Fossil Energy entitled ‘AccelVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:28 Jun 04, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1685.IS S1685

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1 erating Breakthrough Innovation in Carbon 

2 Capture, Utilization, and Storage’; and 

3 ‘‘(D) an affirmation from the Secretary 

4 that all recipients of funding under that sub5 section are eligible entities; and 

6 ‘‘(3) with respect to the demonstration program 

7 established under subsection (c), includes— 

8 ‘‘(A) an estimate of the cost of licensing, 

9 permitting, constructing, and operating each 

10 carbon capture facility expected to be con11 structed under that demonstration program; 

12 ‘‘(B) a schedule for— 

13 ‘‘(i) obtaining any license or permit 

14 necessary to construct and operate each 

15 carbon capture facility expected to be con16 structed; and 

17 ‘‘(ii) constructing each facility; and 

18 ‘‘(C) an estimate of any financial assist19 ance, compensation, or incentives proposed to 

20 be paid by the host State, Indian Tribe, or local 

21 government with respect to each facility. 

22 ‘‘(g) FUNDING.—For each of fiscal years 2020 

23 through 2025, out of any amounts appropriated to the De24 partment to carry out fossil energy research and develop25 ment activities and not otherwise obligated, the Secretary 


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1 may use to carry out this section not more than 

2 $50,000,000.’’. 

3 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

4 for the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (Public Law 109–58; 

5 119 Stat. 600) is amended by inserting after the item re6 lating to section 968 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 969. Natural gas carbon capture research, development, and demonstration program.’’. 

Æ 


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