$67 Million in Grants Awarded By DOE for Carbon Capture Research

In continuing coverage from Thursday's briefing, Discover Magazine reports the Department of Energy "has offered $67 million for research on carbon capture, in hopes of propelling nascent carbon capture and storage projects." Because "capturing the greenhouse gas requires energy, adding 80 percent to the cost of electricity for a new pulverized coal plant and around 35 percent for a high-tech coal gasification plant," the funding aims "to reduce these costs to less than 30 percent and 10 percent, respectively. The funded projects look at ways to improve membranes and solvents to capture the gas after the plant burns the coal." Energy Secretary Steven Chu said "the research is in line with the Obama administration's goal to have five to 10 commercial demonstration carbon capture projects online by 2016," explaining, "Charting a path toward clean coal is essential to achieving our goals of providing clean energy, creating American jobs and reducing greenhouse gas emissions."

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