The Methane Reduction and Economic Growth Act would create a tax credit to incentivize the capture and repurposing of methane emissions from active and abandoned mines.
Methane is a greenhouse gas that is 28 times more potent than carbon dioxide, and coal mines are the country’s 5th-largest source of methane emissions. Leveraging methane capture technology can not only prevent harmful emissions from entering our atmosphere, but also allow the gas to be converted or reused for productive use, providing an additional supply of lower-emission energy that has numerous industrial and commercial applications.
The legislation, introduced today by U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner of Virginia and Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, would amend Section 45Q of the Internal Revenue Code, which houses an existing tax credit for carbon capture and sequestration, to create a Mine Methane Capture Incentive Credit. The new credit would credit taxpayers based on the amount of qualified methane that is captured and injected into a pipeline or is otherwise used for producing heat or energy.
“Capturing and repurposing methane from Virginia’s active and abandoned mines will have a significant impact in the Commonwealth and across the country,” Warner said. “This legislation will lead to new investment in methane capturing efforts, and will contribute meaningfully to efforts across the country to repurpose methane that otherwise would have harmful impacts when emitted into the atmosphere while at the same time boosting the economy and creating jobs.”
Qualified methane includes methane which:
·Is captured from mining activities, including underground mines, abandoned or closed mines, or surface mines;
·Would otherwise be released into the atmosphere as industrial greenhouse gas emission; and
·Is measured at the source of capture and verified at the point of injection or utilization.
Warner has been a leader on efforts to clean up and reclaim abandoned mine lands (AML) in Virginia, including by securing funding for this process through the bipartisan infrastructure law he helped to negotiate.
The Methane Reduction and Economic Growth Act would give a boost to existing efforts in Virginia, which recently received more than $99 million in federal funding to capture and convert methane emissions from coal mines and landfills.
Companion legislation has been introduced in the House of Representatives by U.S. Reps. Carol Miller of West Virginia and Terri Sewell of Alabama.
“Finding ways to incentivize the capture of mine methane will have a positive impact here in Virginia,” Jonathan Belcher, Executive Director of the Virginia Coalfield Economic Development Authority, said. “Encouraging beneficial use of methane, which would otherwise be wasted and emitted into the atmosphere, stimulates our economy by creating jobs in our local communities and improves our tax base, while reducing emissions both at a local and global level. Captured methane can be sold into existing marketplaces to help drive down costs for consumers and can be used as both a fuel source and a manufacturing feedstock, which will assist our existing industry and encourage new economic development in the region. We applaud Sen. Warner for his leadership on this issue and his focus on the economic health of Southwest Virginia.”
International President of the United Mine Workers of America Cecil Roberts said that the legislation is “a perfect example of how Washington ought to work. This is strong bi-partisan legislation that will grow coalfield jobs, support coalfield communities and help reduce methane emissions. It is a win-win for workers and communities in Virginia and across Appalachia and I thank Sens. Warner and Capito for taking the lead. The UMWA wholeheartedly supports this legislation and will work to secure its passage.”
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Rebecca Barnabi
