CLEAR Act
Bill: H.R.6562 | Sponsor: Rep. Fletcher, Lizzie (D-TX)
Policy area: Energy

Summary:
Carbon Limiting Emissions At Refineries Act or the CLEAR Act
This bill requires the Department of Energy to submit a plan to Congress outlining opportunities for research, development, and commercialization projects that are capable of making significant reductions in global greenhouse gas emissions and/or carbon intensity of qualified fuel production facilities.

To amend the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to require the Secretary of 
        Energy to create a plan for research, development, and 
commercialization projects capable of making significant reductions in 
 global greenhouse gas emissions or carbon intensity of qualified fuel 
             production facilities, and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Carbon Limiting Emissions At 
Refineries Act'' or the ``CLEAR Act''.

SEC. 2. CARBON EMISSIONS AND INTENSITY REDUCTION TECHNOLOGIES FOR 
              QUALIFIED FUEL PRODUCTION FACILITIES.

    (a) Carbon Reduction Program.--Section 962 of the Energy Policy Act 
of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16292) is amended to read as follows:

``SEC. 962. CARBON EMISSIONS AND INTENSITY REDUCTION FOR QUALIFIED FUEL 
              PRODUCTION FACILITIES.

    ``(a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
enactment of this section, the Secretary of Energy shall transmit to 
the Congress a plan outlining opportunities for research, development 
and commercialization projects capable of making significant reductions 
in global greenhouse gas emissions and/or carbon intensity of qualified 
fuel production facilities, including a road map for advancing the 
readiness level of such technologies from laboratory scale to 
industrial use for the 5-year period beginning on the date of the 
submission of the plan.
    ``(b) Program.--Not later than 180 days after the Secretary submits 
the plan under subsection (a) to Congress, the Secretary shall 
establish a program of research, development, demonstration, and 
commercial application of carbon emissions and intensity reduction 
technologies based on such plan to facilitate the development of--
            ``(1) promising research projects including but not limited 
        to energy usage reductions, use of advanced catalysts, 
        electrification of heat and steam generation, hydrogen firing, 
        low grade waste heat recovery, membrane separations, and other 
        process improvements that, with appropriate support, could 
        produce commercially-feasible technologies capable of 
        meaningfully lowering the global greenhouse gas emissions or 
        carbon intensity of qualified fuel production facilities; or
            ``(2) carbon capture and sequestration technologies for 
        qualified fuel production facilities.
    ``(c) Demonstration Projects.--
            ``(1) In general.--In carrying out the program under 
        subsection (b), the Secretary may award funds for commercial-
        scale demonstration projects for qualified fuel production 
        facilities that test the scale of technology necessary for 
        commercial operation, in accordance with this subsection.
            ``(2) Engineering and design studies.--In carrying out the 
        program under subsection (b), the Secretary may award funds for 
        front-end engineering and design studies in addition to, or in 
        advance of, issuing an award for a demonstration project under 
        this subsection.
            ``(3) Application.--An entity seeking an award to conduct a 
        demonstration project under this subsection shall submit to the 
        Secretary an application at such time and in such manner as the 
        Secretary may require.
            ``(4) Limitations.--The Secretary shall only provide an 
        award under this subsection after reviewing each applicant and 
        application for--
                    ``(A) financial strength;
                    ``(B) construction schedule;
                    ``(C) market risk; and
                    ``(D) contractor history.
            ``(5) Requirements.--An awardee under this subsection 
        shall--
                    ``(A) utilize technologies that have completed 
                pilot-scale testing or the equivalent, as determined by 
                the Secretary;
                    ``(B) secure and maintain agreements for 
                technologies designed to reduce carbon intensity of or 
                otherwise lower net greenhouse gas emissions at, 
                qualified fuel production facilities or for the 
                utilization or sequestration of captured carbon 
                dioxide; and
                    ``(C) upon completion, demonstrate greenhouse gas 
                emissions and/or intensity reduction or carbon capture 
                technologies utilized by a qualified fuel production 
                facility.
            ``(6) Cost sharing.--The Secretary shall require cost 
        sharing under this subsection in accordance with section 988.
    ``(d) Applicability.--No technology, or level of emission 
reduction, shall be treated as adequately demonstrated for purpose of 
section 111 of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7411), achievable for 
purposes of section 169 of that Act (42 U.S.C. 7479), or achievable in 
practice for purposes of section 171 of that Act (42 U.S.C. 7501) 
solely by reason of the identification of such technology in reports or 
programs established under this section.
    ``(e) Qualified Fuel Production Facilities Defined.--The term 
`qualified fuel production facilities' means petroleum refineries or 
facilities that manufacture commercial amounts of drop-in fuel as 
defined in section 2922h(c)(1) of title 10, United States Code.
    ``(f) Authorization of Appropriations.--For activities under this 
section, there are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary 
$200,000,000 annually to carry out its purpose.''.
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