DoE pumps fresh funds into geothermal and CCS

The US environmental community's attention may currently be split between the Gulf oil spill and the progress of the Senate's climate bill, but in the meantime the Department of Energy (DoE) is quietly getting on with dishing out hundreds of millions of dollars in stimulus funding to low-carbon projects.

The geothermal and carbon capture and storage (CCS) sectors became the latest to benefit from the department's largesse late last week, when it announced that it was to provide a $102m (£70m) loan guarantee to US Geothermal Inc and a further $612m in funding for three high-profile CCS projects.

The funding for the trio of CCS projects was matched by $368m in private sector funding, taking the total invested to almost $1bn.

The three projects in Texas, Illinois and Louisiana have already passed through an initial technical viability phase and are expected to use the new funding to begin the design, construction and operation of large-scale CCS systems.

The DoE said that combined, the three projects would capture and store 6.5 million tons of CO2 a year. It added that they would form part of an initial wave of US CCS projects with a goal of having between five and 10 commercial-scale demonstration plants operational by 2016.

"Capturing carbon emissions and storing them underground is a crucial technology as we build a clean energy future and address the threat of climate change," said Steven Chu, US energy secretary. "These investments will create jobs and help ensure that America can lead the world in the clean energy economy."

The announcement came on the same day as the department confirmed that it would provide a $102.2m loan guarantee to US Geothermal Inc to support the construction of a 22MW geothermal power project in Malheur County, south eastern Oregon.

The company said the project would create 150 jobs during the 20-month construction period and employ 10 skilled full-time workers when it begins operating in 2012.

Further funding announcements are expected from the DoE as it attempts to pump additional cash into the solar, wind and smart grid projects.

However, political commentators have warned that the DoE's investment war chest could be slammed shut if the Republicans regain control of Congress following November's mid-term elections.