Carbon Capture & Storage in The United States Power Sector

The report finds that the 45Q tax credit could lead to the annual capture and storage of approximately 49 million metric tonnes of CO2 by 2030 in the U.S. power sector, primarily through retrofits on coal and natural gas combined cycle (NGCC) plants. This deployment is found to be complementary to renewable energy growth and could meet two-thirds of the 2030 U.S. power sector goal set by the International Energy Agency (IEA) to limit global temperature rise to 2 degrees Celsius. The analysis emphasizes that the economics of the 45Q credit make enhanced oil recovery (EOR) more favorable than saline storage, necessitating rapid infrastructure development to realize the credit's full potential.

• The expanded 45Q tax credits are projected to result in the annual capture and storage of approximately 49 million metric tonnes of CO2 by 2030 in the U.S. power sector, which is equivalent to removing roughly 7 million cars from U.S. roads.
• Coal plant retrofits are expected to be the primary driver of these reductions, capturing 41.3 million tonnes of CO2 annually by 2030, while NGCC plant retrofits capture 7.4 million tonnes.
• The modeling indicates that CCS deployment induced by 45Q is additive to and does not displace electricity generation from renewable sources, with renewable generation remaining near 550 TWh in 2030 regardless of the tax credit.
• The model predicts that all 45Q-driven CCS projects will be retrofits located near enhanced oil recovery (EOR) basins, as the combined value of the $35 tax credit and EOR revenue is more favorable than the $50 credit for saline storage.
• By 2030, the model projects 20.4 GW of existing electricity generating capacity will be partially retrofitted with CCS, consisting of 10.8 GW of coal-fired and 9.6 GW of NGCC plants.
• The projected CO2 storage by 2030 is distributed across three EOR basins: the Mid-Continent Basin (23.5 million tonnes), East & Central Texas (19 million tonnes), and the California Basin (6.4 million tonnes).
• The report argues that while 45Q is a powerful incentive, additional policy actions are needed to remove bottlenecks in the permitting, financing, and construction of CO2 pipelines and injection sites to fully realize the technology's impact.

APA

NAGABHUSHAN, D., & THOMPSON, J. (2019). Carbon Capture & Storage in The United States Power Sector. Clean Air Task Force. https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/21093745/CATF_CCS_United_States_Power_Sector.pdf

Chicago

NAGABHUSHAN, DEEPIKA, and JOHN THOMPSON. Carbon Capture & Storage in The United States Power Sector. Clean Air Task Force, 2019. https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/21093745/CATF_CCS_United_States_Power_Sector.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=NAGABHUSHAN |first1=DEEPIKA |last2=THOMPSON |first2=JOHN |title=Carbon Capture & Storage in The United States Power Sector |publisher=Clean Air Task Force |date=February 2019 |url=https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/21093745/CATF_CCS_United_States_Power_Sector.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{nagabhushan2019carbon, author = {NAGABHUSHAN, DEEPIKA and THOMPSON, JOHN}, title = {{Carbon Capture \& Storage in The United States Power Sector}}, institution = {Clean Air Task Force}, year = {2019}, month = feb, url = {https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/21093745/CATF_CCS_United_States_Power_Sector.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }