By: Seliger S.R. No. 712
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.
_______________________________
President of the Senate
I hereby certify that the
above Resolution was adopted by
the Senate on May 23, 2017, by the
following vote: Yeas 29, Nays 2.
_______________________________
Secretary of the Senate