The Department of Energy announced Friday it will allocate $2.4 billion of government stimulus funds for the deployment of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology.

To prevent the worst effects of climate change, we must accelerate our efforts to capture and store carbon in a safe and cost-effective way, Energy Secretary Steven Chu said today at the National Coal Council. This funding will both create jobs now and help position the United States to lead the world in CCS technologies, which will be in increasing demand in the years ahead.'.

The Department of Energy will support initiatives such as clean coal power, industrial carbon capture and storage, geologic sequestration site characterization and staff training and research.

$800 million will be granted to the department's clean coal power initiative which co-finances new coal technologies that can help utilities cut sulfur, nitrogen and mercury pollutants from power plants.

Another $1.52 billion will be placed in the department's industrial carbon capture and storage program, which includes industries such as cement plants, chemical plants, refineries, steel and aluminum plants, manufacturing facilities, and petroleum coke-fired and other power plants.

In this program, $20 million will be given for the Ramgen Modification which will allow scaling-up and testing an existing advanced CO2 compression project. And 70.6 million to the Arizona Public Services Modification which will allow the algae-based carbon mitigation project to expand testing with a gasification system based on coal.

The department is allocating $50 million for Geologic Sequestration Site Characterization to distinguish at least 10 geologic formations throughout the U.S. where carbon dioxide can be stored.

Geologic sequestration training and research to prepare a staff for the CCS program will receive $20 million.

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