January 15, 2015

Manchin, Whitehouse Urge Energy Agencies to Support Carbon Capture Efforts

Senators sent letter to the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Agency

Washington, D.C. – Last year, U.S. Senators Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) pledged to work together to find common ground on energy and environmental issues.  Today, building on that pledge, the Senators urged the Obama Administration to support carbon capture and utilization (CCU) efforts.

“As Senators from different states, we don’t always agree,” the Senators wrote in a letter to Ernest Moniz, Secretary of the Department of Energy, and Gina McCarthy, Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. “However, there is an area we believe holds great promise for protecting our environment and growing our economy: carbon capture and utilization.  We write to urge the Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency to support CCU throughout your efforts and programs.”

As part of their work together, Senators Manchin and Whitehouse visited each other’s states last year to learn about the importance of coal in West Virginia and the effects of climate change in Rhode Island. Both Senators agreed during their visits that CCU technologies are important tools for reducing carbon emissions and advancing fossil fuel technology.

The full text of the Senators’ letter to Secretaries Moniz and McCarthy is below.

January 15, 2015
The Honorable Ernest Moniz
Secretary
Department of Energy
1000 Independence Avenue SW
Washington, DC 20585

The Honorable Gina McCarthy
Administrator
Environmental Protection Agency
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20460

Dear Secretary Moniz and Administrator McCarthy:

As Senators from different states, we don’t always agree.  However, there is an area we believe holds great promise for protecting our environment and growing our economy: carbon capture and utilization (CCU).  We write to urge the Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency to support CCU throughout your efforts and programs.

CCU technologies work by capturing carbon dioxide from power plants and other sources and turning it into valuable products, such as algae-derived chemicals, plastics, and fuels.  CCU transforms carbon dioxide from a waste disposal problem into an economic resource and could lower the cost of reducing carbon dioxide emissions.

Companies and research institutions across the country, including innovators in Rhode Island and West Virginia, are developing a wide range of CCU technologies.  As your agencies explore ways to reduce emissions, we urge you to support these efforts and promote innovative CCU technologies that will create jobs, save consumers money, and safeguard our environment.

Sincerely,

Sheldon Whitehouse
Joe Manchin

###