U.S. SENATE – U.S. Senator Steve Daines today announced that he is bringing U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette to Colstrip this week to meet directly with Montanans to discuss the importance of Montana energy jobs.
“I’m excited to welcome Secretary Brouillette to Colstrip to meet with hardworking Montanans and talk about the importance of supporting Montana energy jobs and having a diverse energy portfolio,” Daines said.
Senator Daines has long fought for the high paying Montana energy jobs at the Colstrip Power Plant and the Rosebud Coal Mine. Daines has been a leader in the senate on finding solutions, like Carbon Capture technology that will reduce emissions and protect and grow jobs in communities like Colstrip.
More details to come.
Background:
Daines is a sponsor of several bills that could help support Colstrip and Montana communities:
S. 1201: The EFFECT Act – This bipartisan bill has passed the Senate Energy Committee unanimously. It would direct DOE to research and develop carbon capture, utilization and storage technologies (CCUS). It would also create a large scale demonstration project at an existing plant. We hope that when this bill passes we can bring that project to Montana to create new CCUS jobs.
S. 383: The USE IT Act – This bipartisan bill recently passed the Senate as part of the yearly National Defense Authorization Act. The bill directs the EPA to establish a program to incentivize direct air carbon capture technology and how to take the carbon and create a commercial project. This means that we could remove carbon from the air and then sell it in various commercial products like cement, insulation or even other fuels. This would create jobs and spur the economy.
S. 2263: The CO2 Regulatory Certainty Act and S. 407: The Carbon Capture Modernization Act – These bills provide clarity, expand, and extend the 45Q tax credit, which is a tax incentive for the development of CCUS technology. Instead of taxing our way out of a problem we can incentivize new solutions and create jobs through the 45Q tax credit. Portions of these bills have already been enacted administratively.