President Orders Rapid Development of CO2 Capture Technology

President Obama ordered "the rapid development of technology to capture CO2 emissions from the burning of coal," the New York Times reported today. As expected, Obama's move--which follows up on statements in the State of the Union address to Congress--will focus on how to replace "dirty fuels with cleaner sources, jump-start an American clean-energy industry, reduce dependence on foreign oil and attract Republican votes for legislation to do all three," the Times wrote.

Obama was quoted as saying to a group of about a dozen bipartisan governors who came to Washington to discuss the energy agenda: "There's no reason that we shouldn't be able to work together in a bipartisan way to get this done. I know that there is some concern about how energy fits together with climate change. I happen to believe that climate change is one of the reasons why we've got to pursue a clean energy agenda, but it's not the only reason."

A key component of Obama's plan is to have the U.S. Department of Energy build "five to 10 projects by 2016 to capture and store carbon dioxide emissions from the burning of coal."

Energy Secretary Steven Chu was quoted as saying: "Our nation's economy will continue to rely on the availability and affordability of domestic coal for decades to meet its energy needs, and these advances are necessary to reduce pollution in the meantime."

Obama announced his order for a trans-agency task force on ways to encourage the creation of up to 10 commercial carbon capture and storage demonstration projects by 2016, E&E News PM reported. The task force included DOE, EPA and nine other agencies. The recommendations are due in six months. Obama said the task force needed to focus "on the broad areas where we agree" on clean energy goals and "overcome the weight of our own politics" in order to "win the race to build a clean energy economy."

The Los Angeles Times reported that Obama backed the use of "cleaner and more efficient" fossil fuels and warned that "we can't afford to spin our wheels while the rest of the world speeds ahead."

Chu said the coal target was "both necessary and within our reach," although "we need to be aggressive with scientific research as well as public policy." Chu declared: "We are strongly committed to CCS technology as part of clean energy economy. We believe it is a critical part of our response to climate change." American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity President and CEO Steve Miller was quoted as saying: "It is clear that we do not need to choose between affordable, reliable energy and a clean environment. With new, advanced technology, we can have both."

- Related stories also appeared in the Associated Press via the Washington Post, CNN Political Ticker blog, McClatchy Newspapers, and Reuters.