The U.S. will invest $408 million in federal funds to share the costs of developing two new carbon capture and sequestration projects in coal fired power plants, Energy Sec. Steven Chu announced on Wednesday.
“Today’s announcement represents a major step forward in the fight to reduce CO2 emissions from coal-based power plants. These new technologies will not only help fight climate change, they will also create new jobs and position the United States as a leader in carbon capture and storage technologies for many years, ” said Secretary Chu in a statement today.
The projects aim to achieve at least 90 percent carbon dioxide capture efficiency, Chu said.
The projects will be developed by Basin Electric Power Cooperative which was granted $100 million and Hydrogen Energy International LLC, a joint venture owned by BP Alternative Energy and Rio Tinto, given $308 million.