By: Seliger S.R. No. 712
(In the Senate - Filed May 2, 2017; May 3, 2017, read first
time and referred to Committee on Business & Commerce;
May 21, 2017, reported favorably by the following vote: Yeas 8,
Nays 0; May 21, 2017, sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
SENATE RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, Fossil fuels, including coal, natural gas, and oil,
currently meet more than three quarters of primary global energy
demand around the world and in the United States; and
WHEREAS, According to the International Energy Agency, under
current energy and environmental policies, fossil fuels will
continue to play a role of this magnitude for the next quarter
century or more; even assuming global adoption of policies
consistent with the agency's "climate-stabilizing" 450 Scenario,
more than half of total worldwide and United States energy demand
would still be met by fossil fuels in 2040; and
WHEREAS, The United States Department of Energy has reported
that "carbon capture, utilization, and storage technologies
provide a key pathway to address the urgent United States and global
need for affordable, secure, resilient, and reliable sources of
clean energy"; environmental advocates who recognize the value and
enduring role of fossil fuels as an essential source of energy have
come to support the accelerated development and broad deployment of
carbon capture technologies for fossil fuels as part of a
sustainable energy future; similarly, fossil energy advocates who
have recognized the role carbon capture can play in creating new
opportunities support the development and deployment of carbon
capture technologies for fossil fuels; and
WHEREAS, The United States and Texas have abundant supplies
of fossil energy, the production and use of which provide important
economic, energy, and national security benefits to our nation and
our state; Texas is the nation's largest producer of natural gas,
oil, lignite coal, and fossil fuels in total, and it has the
nation's largest proved reserves of both natural gas and oil, as
well as the ninth-largest recoverable reserves of coal; it is the
nation's largest consumer of coal for electricity generation and
the largest consumer of natural gas for both electricity generation
and industrial use; 77 percent of the electricity generated in
Texas is produced from the use of fossil fuels; and
WHEREAS, Reliable and affordable electricity is vital to
economic growth and job creation and to the well-being of all
citizens; according to the United States Department of Energy, "A
diverse portfolio of energy resources is critical to U.S. energy
and national policy . . . being more robust and resilient in
comparison to a system that is heavily dependent on a limited set of
energy resources . . . [and] helps insulate the economy from
certain risks, including price volatility and risks from supply
disruptions"; and
WHEREAS, Texas is a leader in the research and development of
technologies that provide clean, safe, and reliable power
generation, and it is committed to continued research and
development of carbon reduction strategies for fossil fuels,
including existing and emerging carbon capture, utilization, and
storage technologies such as geological sequestration, mineral
carbonation, and the beneficial use of captured carbon dioxide; and
WHEREAS, In Texas, many academic, private, and governmental
initiatives and institutions are engaged in efforts to address the
environmental, health, and economic impacts of energy production
and use through collaborations on applied CO2 research, practical
applications, workforce development, and public education; among
them are the Petra Nova Project at the W. A. Parish Electric
Generating Station in Fort Bend County, the Texas Clean Energy
Project in Ector County, the NET Power project in Harris County, the
Energy and Environment Initiative at Rice University, the Texas
Carbon Management Program, and the Gulf Coast Carbon Center at The
University of Texas at Austin; and
WHEREAS, Legislation was introduced in the 114th United
States Congress to enhance and extend current federal tax
incentives, under Section 45Q of the Internal Revenue Code, that
sustain and promote such collaborations and encourage private
industry in energy generation, manufacturing, and agriculture to
adopt and deploy existing and emerging technologies that increase
carbon capture, utilization, and storage; environmental and energy
advocates have come together in support of this legislation in a
groundbreaking coalition of environmental advocacy groups, labor
unions, and energy producers from the coal, oil and gas, ethanol,
and algae-biomass industries; moreover, the legislation has
received strong bipartisan support in both the United States Senate
and the United States House of Representatives; and
WHEREAS, Congress and the president are also currently
considering a large-scale federal infrastructure initiative to
strengthen our nation's transportation, public works, and energy
infrastructure, which could also serve as a vehicle for advancing
"jobs-ready" carbon capture projects; the United States Department
of Energy has determined that "a combination of tax incentives and
research, development, demonstration, and deployment (RDD&D) will
be critical to developing transformational carbon capture
technologies and to driving down the costs of capture"; and
WHEREAS, The Lone Star State has long been committed to a
forward-looking energy strategy that maximizes both environmental
quality and economic opportunity; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the Senate of the State of Texas, 85th
Legislature, hereby respectfully urge the Congress of the United
States to enact legislation to expand and extend the current
federal tax credit for carbon capture, utilization, and storage
under Section 45Q of the Internal Revenue Code; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That the Texas Senate respectfully urge Congress to
provide appropriations to the United States Department of Energy
sufficient to achieve and sustain a robust carbon capture research,
development, demonstration, and deployment program and to support
the inclusion of economically and environmentally beneficial
carbon capture projects in any forthcoming federal infrastructure
initiative; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That the Texas Senate respectfully urge Congress to
support policies to increase the operational efficiency, and
thereby the environmental performance, of existing
electric-generating units and to support the preservation of a
fuel-diverse electric generation portfolio critical to our
domestic economic, energy, and national security; and, be it
further
RESOLVED, That the secretary of the senate forward official
copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to
the president of the Senate and the speaker of the House of
Representatives of the United States Congress, and to all the
members of the Texas delegation to Congress with the request that
this resolution be entered in the Congressional Record as a
memorial to the Congress of the United States of America.
* * * * *