Virginia congressman pushes for methane capture, clean hydrogen tax credits

(The Center Square) — Greenhouse gas methane escapes capture in some cases, not due to deficiencies in capture technology but because of gaps in monitoring and interagency coordination, according to Virginia Democratic Rep. Don Beyer.

Beyer and Rep. Doug Lamborn, R-Colo., introduced legislation Wednesday to address those issues.

“Innovative technologies are available to mitigate or capture methane leakage, but a primary challenge is finding and tracking those leaks,” Beyer said. “Our legislation would facilitate the identification of methane leaks, and ensure timely and effective mitigation efforts.”

Methane is the “second-largest contributor to global warming after carbon dioxide,” according to the Climate and Clean Air Coalition – but there’s much more of the latter. While carbon dioxide accounts for about 76% of manmade global greenhouse gas emissions, methane comprises just 16%, according to the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions. Agriculture and fossil fuels are the largest anthropogenic (human-influenced) sources of methane.

The Methane Monitoring Science Act authorizes $1.8 million to NASA to develop a federal strategy for the large-scale monitoring of methane. NASA is to work with other government agencies to ensure a cohesive, maximally efficient, government-wide strategy and can employ satellites, ground-based and airborne devices to detect and track methane emissions.

Beyer was also part of a congressional coalition for another environmental cause this week. He and several others led a letter from 66 members of Congress that petitioned the Biden administration to finalize rules for a clean hydrogen tax credit that they believe will reduce emissions.

“The 45V tax credit is a key part of the [Inflation Reduction Act], which will help decarbonize hard-to-abate industrial sections. Treasury’s proposed rules for 45V remain critical to ensuring that 45V does not increase net carbon pollution, and we urge Treasury to finalize rules consistent with its proposal,” the lawmakers wrote.

Congress recommended a “three-pillar framework” for the rules that will prevent the greenwashing of more traditional means of energy production.

“The hydrogen tax credit [can be] part of a solution to this problem by stimulating demand for new sources of clean electricity generation while fulfilling its primary goal of reducing carbon pollution,” they wrote.