II 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 957 

To establish a clean coal power initiative, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 28, 2005 

Mr. BUNNING (for himself and Ms. LANDRIEU) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To establish a clean coal power initiative, and for other 

purposes. 

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 ‘‘Clean Coal Power Ini5 tiative Act of 2005’’. 

6 SEC. 2. CLEAN COAL POWER INITIATIVE. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

8 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of En9 ergy (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Secretary’’) 

10 shall establish a clean coal power initiative under 
2 

•S 957 IS

1 which the Secretary shall provide assistance under 

2 this Act for projects described in paragraph (2). 

3 (2) PROJECTS.—To be eligible to receive assist4 ance under this Act, a project shall advance effi5 ciency, reliability, environmental performance, and 

6 cost competitiveness significantly more than the level 

7 of technologies that are in commercial service or 

8 have been demonstrated on a scale that the Sec9 retary determines is sufficient to demonstrate that 

10 commercial service is viable, as determined by the 

11 Secretary. 

12 (b) TECHNICAL CRITERIA.— 

13 (1) GASIFICATION PROJECTS.— 

14 (A) ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.—In allocating 

15 the funds made available under section 5(a), 

16 the Secretary shall ensure that at least 60 per17 cent of the funds are used to fund projects 

18 using coal-based gasification technologies, in19 cluding— 

20 (i) gasification combined cycle; 

21 (ii) gasification fuel cells; 

22 (iii) gasification coproduction; and 

23 (iv) hybrid gasification or combustion. 

24 (B) TECHNICAL MILESTONES.— 

25 (i) PERIODIC DETERMINATION.— 
3 

•S 957 IS

1 (I) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary 

2 shall periodically establish technical 

3 milestones specifying the emission and 

4 thermal efficiency levels that coal gas5 ification projects under this Act shall 

6 be designed, and reasonably expected, 

7 to achieve. 

8 (II) RESTRICTIVE MILE9 STONES.—The technical milestones 

10 shall become more restrictive during 

11 the period of the clean coal power ini12 tiative. 

13 (ii) 2021 GOALS.—The Secretary shall 

14 establish the periodic milestones so as to 

15 achieve by the year 2021 coal gasification 

16 projects able— 

17 (I) to remove at least 99 percent 

18 of the sulfur compounds; 

19 (II) to emit not more than .05 

20 lbs of NOx per million Btu; 

21 (III) to achieve at least 90 per22 cent reductions in mercury emissions; 

23 and 

24 (IV) to achieve a thermal effi25 ciency of at least— 
4 

•S 957 IS

1 (aa) 50 percent for coal of 

2 more than 9,000 Btu; 

3 (bb) 48 percent for coal of 

4 7,000 to 9,000 Btu; and 

5 (cc) 46 percent for coal of 

6 less than 7,000 Btu. 

7 (2) OTHER PROJECTS.— 

8 (A) ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.—The Sec9 retary shall ensure that not more than 40 per10 cent of the funds made available under section 

11 5(a) are used to fund projects other than those 

12 described in paragraph (1)(A). 

13 (B) TECHNICAL MILESTONES.— 

14 (i) PERIODIC DETERMINATION.— 

15 (I) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary 

16 shall periodically establish technical 

17 milestones specifying the emission and 

18 thermal efficiency levels that projects 

19 other than those described in para20 graph (1)(A) shall be designed, and 

21 reasonably expected, to achieve. 

22 (II) RESTRICTIVE MILE23 STONES.—The technical milestones 

24 shall become more restrictive during 
5 

•S 957 IS

1 the period of the clean coal power ini2 tiative. 

3 (ii) 2015 GOALS.—The Secretary shall 

4 establish the periodic milestones so as to 

5 achieve by the year 2015 projects able— 

6 (I) to remove at least 97 percent 

7 of sulfur dioxide; 

8 (II) to emit not more than .08 

9 lbs of NOx per million Btu; 

10 (III) to achieve at least 70 per11 cent reductions in mercury emissions; 

12 and 

13 (IV) to achieve a thermal effi14 ciency of at least— 

15 (aa) 43 percent for coal of 

16 more than 9,000 Btu; 

17 (bb) 41 percent for coal of 

18 7,000 to 9,000 Btu; and 

19 (cc) 39 percent for coal of 

20 less than 7,000 Btu. 

21 (3) CONSULTATION.—Before establishing the 

22 technical milestones under paragraphs (1)(B)(i)(I) 

23 and (2)(B)(i)(I), the Secretary shall consult with— 

24 (A) the Administrator of the Environ25 mental Protection Agency; and 
6 

•S 957 IS

1 (B) interested persons, including— 

2 (i) coal producers; 

3 (ii) industries using coal; 

4 (iii) organizations that promote coal 

5 or advanced coal technologies; 

6 (iv) environmental organizations; and 

7 (v) organizations representing work8 ers. 

9 (4) EXISTING UNITS.—In the case of projects 

10 at units in existence on the date of enactment of this 

11 Act, in lieu of the thermal efficiency requirements 

12 described in paragraphs (1)(B)(ii) and (2)(B)(ii), 

13 the milestones shall be designed to achieve an overall 

14 thermal design efficiency improvement, compared to 

15 the efficiency of the unit as operated, of not less 

16 than— 

17 (A) 7 percentage points for coal of more 

18 than 9,000 Btu; 

19 (B) 6 percentage points for coal of 7,000 

20 to 9,000 Btu; or 

21 (C) 4 percentage points for coal of less 

22 than 7,000 Btu. 

23 (5) PROJECT SELECTION.— 

24 (A) IN GENERAL.—In evaluating project 

25 proposals, the Secretary shall select those 
7 

•S 957 IS

1 projects that are expected to demonstrate 

2 progress toward achieving the milestones de3 scribed in paragraphs (1)(B)(i) and (2)(B)(i). 

4 (B) SITE ELEVATION AND RANK OF

5 COAL.—In evaluating project proposals to 

6 achieve the milestones described in paragraphs 

7 (1)(B)(i), (2)(B)(i), and (4) and in determining 

8 progress toward achieving the milestones de9 scribed in paragraphs (1)(B)(ii), (2)(B)(ii), and 

10 (4), the Secretary shall consider and make ad11 justments for the Btu value of various coals 

12 and the elevation of the site at which a project 

13 is proposed to be constructed. 

14 (C) EVALUATION.—The Secretary shall 

15 base project selection on an evaluation of 

16 whether the construction and operation of the 

17 proposed project will progress toward achieving 

18 the milestones described in paragraphs 

19 (1)(B)(ii) and (2)(B)(ii) through subsequent 

20 replications of the technology. 

21 (6) PERMITTED USES.— 

22 (A) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out this 

23 Act, the Secretary shall give high priority to 

24 projects that include, as part of the project— 
8 

•S 957 IS

1 (i) the reduction of the demand for 

2 natural gas if deployed; or 

3 (ii) the separation or capture of car4 bon dioxide. 

5 (B) THERMAL EFFICIENCY LIMITATION.— 

6 For purposes of subparagraph (A)(ii), the ther7 mal efficiency goals of paragraphs (1), (2), and 

8 (4) shall not apply to projects that separate and 

9 capture at least 50 percent of the potential 

10 emissions of carbon dioxide by a facility. 

11 (c) FINANCIAL CRITERIA.—The Secretary shall not 

12 provide financial assistance under this Act for a project 

13 unless the recipient documents to the satisfaction of the 

14 Secretary that— 

15 (1) the recipient is financially viable without the 

16 receipt of additional Federal assistance; 

17 (2) the recipient will provide sufficient informa18 tion to the Secretary to enable the Secretary to en19 sure that the funds are spent efficiently and effec20 tively; and 

21 (3) a market exists for the technology being 

22 demonstrated or applied, as evidenced by statements 

23 of interest in writing from potential purchasers of 

24 the technology. 
9 

•S 957 IS

1 (d) FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary shall 

2 provide assistance to projects that, as determined by the 

3 Secretary— 

4 (1) meet the requirements of subsections (a), 

5 (b), and (c); and 

6 (2) are likely— 

7 (A) to achieve overall cost reductions in 

8 the use of coal to generate useful forms of en9 ergy; and 

10 (B) to improve the competitiveness of coal 

11 among various forms of energy in order to 

12 maintain a diversity of fuel choices in the 

13 United States to meet electricity generation or 

14 chemical feedstock requirements. 

15 (e) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share of the cost 

16 of a coal or related technology project carried out using 

17 funds made available under this Act shall not exceed 50 

18 percent, as determined by the Secretary. 

19 (f) APPLICABILITY.—No technology, or level of emis20 sion reduction, solely by reason of the use of the tech21 nology, or the achievement of the emission reduction, by 

22 1 or more facilities receiving assistance under this Act, 

23 shall be considered to be— 

24 (1) adequately demonstrated for purposes of 

25 section 111 of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S. C. 7411); 
10 

•S 957 IS

1 (2) achievable for purposes of section 169 of 

2 that Act (42 U.S. C. 7479); or 

3 (3) achievable in practice for purposes of sec4 tion 171 of that Act (42 U.S. C. 7501). 

5 (g) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

6 of enactment of this Act, and once every 2 years thereafter 

7 through 2013, the Secretary, in consultation with other 

8 appropriate Federal agencies, shall submit to Congress a 

9 report describing— 

10 (1)(A) the technical milestones described in this 

11 section; and 

12 (B) how those milestones ensure progress to13 ward meeting the requirements of paragraphs 

14 (1)(B)(ii) and (2)(B)(ii) of subsection (b); 

15 (2) how the technologies being demonstrated 

16 under the clean coal power initiative demonstrate 

17 methods and equipment that can be used in broader 

18 commercial applications in addition to electric power 

19 generation; and 

20 (3) the status of projects that receive assistance 

21 under this Act. 

22 (h) CONSIDERATION OF APPLICATIONS.—Not later 

23 than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

24 Secretary shall issue rules providing that any application 

25 for funding for a project under this section shall be ap-
11 

•S 957 IS

1 proved or rejected not later than 180 days after the date 

2 on which the application was submitted, unless otherwise 

3 agreed to by the applicant. 

4 SEC. 3. CLEAN COAL CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall award com6 petitive, merit-based grants to institutions of higher edu7 cation (as defined in section 102 of the Higher Education 

8 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002)) for the establishment of 

9 centers of excellence for energy systems of the future, in10 cluding clean coal technology. 

11 (b) BASIS FOR GRANTS.—The Secretary shall award 

12 grants under this section to such institutions of higher 

13 education that show the greatest potential for advancing 

14 new clean coal technologies. 

15 SEC. 4. RESEARCH PROGRAMS. 

16 (a) OBJECTIVES.—The Secretary shall conduct a pro17 gram of technology research, development, demonstration, 

18 and commercial application for coal and power systems, 

19 including programs to facilitate production and generation 

20 of coal-based power through— 

21 (1) innovations for existing plants; 

22 (2) integrated gasification combined cycle; 

23 (3) advanced combustion systems; 

24 (4) turbines for synthesis gas derived from coal; 
12 

•S 957 IS

1 (5) carbon capture and sequestration research 

2 and development; 

3 (6) coal-derived transportation fuels and chemi4 cals; 

5 (7) solid fuels and feedstocks; 

6 (8) advanced coal-related research; 

7 (9) advanced separation technologies; and 

8 (10) a joint project for permeability enhance9 ment in coals for natural gas production and carbon 

10 dioxide sequestration. 

11 (b) PROGRAM.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish 

13 a program of research and development to develop 

14 cost effective carbon dioxide capture technologies 

15 that could be— 

16 (A) applicable to the existing fleet of coal 

17 fired units; or 

18 (B) used in new coal combustion systems. 

19 (2) OBJECTIVES.—The program objectives shall 

20 be— 

21 (A) to develop add-on carbon dioxide cap22 ture technologies, including adsorption and ab23 sorption techniques and chemical processes, to 

24 remove the carbon dioxide from flue gas, pro-
13 

•S 957 IS

1 ducing concentrated streams of carbon dioxide 

2 potentially amenable to sequestration; 

3 (B) to develop technologies for the existing 

4 fleet of coal units that would directly produce 

5 concentrated streams of carbon dioxide poten6 tially amenable to sequestration; and 

7 (C) to increase the efficiency of the overall 

8 combustion system to reduce the quantity of 

9 carbon dioxide emissions released from the sys10 tem per megawatt generated. 

11 (3) CARBON SEQUESTRATION.—In conjunction 

12 with the program under paragraph (1), the Sec13 retary shall continue to pursue a robust carbon se14 questration program in conjunction with the private 

15 sector, through regional carbon sequestration part16 nerships. 

17 (c) COST AND PERFORMANCE GOALS.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out programs 

19 under subsections (a) and (b), in each of fiscal years 

20 2008 and 2016 and in each year following fiscal 

21 year 2021, the Secretary shall identify cost and per22 formance goals for coal-based technologies that 

23 would permit the continued cost-competitive use of 

24 coal for electricity generation, as chemical feed25 stocks, and as transportation fuel. 
14 

•S 957 IS

1 (2) ESTABLISHING GOALS.—In identifying cost 

2 and performance goals under paragraph (1), the 

3 Secretary shall— 

4 (A) consider activities and studies under5 taken as of the date of enactment of this Act 

6 by industry in cooperation with the Department 

7 of Energy in support of the goals; 

8 (B) consult with interested persons, includ9 ing— 

10 (i) coal producers; 

11 (ii) industries using coal; 

12 (iii) organizations that promote coal 

13 and advanced coal technologies; 

14 (iv) environmental organizations; and 

15 (v) organizations representing work16 ers; 

17 (C) not later than 120 days after the date 

18 of enactment of this Act, publish in the Federal 

19 Register proposed draft cost and performance 

20 goals for public comment; and 

21 (D) not later than 180 days after the date 

22 of enactment of this Act and every 4 years 

23 thereafter, submit to Congress a report that— 
15 

•S 957 IS

1 (i) describes final cost and perform2 ance goals for technologies described in 

3 paragraph (1); 

4 (ii) includes a list of technical mile5 stones; and 

6 (iii) explains how programs authorized 

7 in subsection (a) will not duplicate activi8 ties carried out under sections 2 and 3. 

9 SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATIONS OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

10 (a) CLEAN COAL POWER INITIATIVE.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be 

12 appropriated to the Secretary to carry out sections 

13 2 and 3 $200,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2006 

14 through 2013, to remain available until expended. 

15 (2) REPORT.—Not later than March 31, 2007, 

16 the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report that 

17 includes a 10-year plan that includes— 

18 (A) a detailed assessment of whether the 

19 aggregate assistance levels provided under para20 graph (1) are the appropriate assistance levels 

21 for the clean coal power initiative; 

22 (B) a detailed description of how proposals 

23 for assistance under the clean coal power initia24 tive will be solicited and evaluated, including a 

25 list of all activities expected to be undertaken; 
16 

•S 957 IS

1 (C) a detailed list of technical milestones 

2 for each coal and related technology that will be 

3 pursued; and 

4 (D) a detailed description of how the clean 

5 coal initiative will avoid problems enumerated in 

6 Government Accountability Office reports on 

7 the Clean Coal Technology Program of the De8 partment of Energy, including problems that 

9 have resulted in unspent funds and projects 

10 that failed either financially or scientifically. 

11 (b) RESEARCH PROGRAMS.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be 

13 appropriated to the Secretary to carry out clean coal 

14 technology research, development, demonstration, 

15 and commercial application activities, including ac16 tivities described in section 4(a)— 

17 (A) $259,000,000 for fiscal year 2006; 

18 (B) $272,000,000 for fiscal year 2007; 

19 (C) $285,000,000 for fiscal year 2008; 

20 (D) $298,000,000 for fiscal year 2009; 

21 and 

22 (E) $308,000,000 for fiscal year 2010. 

23 (2) PROGRAM.—There is authorized to be ap24 propriated to the Secretary to carry out section 4(b) 
17 

•S 957 IS

1 $40,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2006 through 

2 2014, to remain available until expended. 

Æ