Algae is on a roll in Congress

May 19, 2018 |

In Washington, the Algae Biomass Organization said that supporters of algae are putting their imprint on policy with several big moves in the first few months of 2018. The February spending deal came together as one of the winners with the algae industry’s long-time interests in carbon capture and use. The agreement included a provision to establish a $35 per ton tax incentive for carbon captured and recycled from power plants or industrial facilities using algae or other biologically-based CCU systems.

Less than two months later a group in the House introduced the Algae Agriculture Act, a bill that would lay the first groundwork for algae cultivation to become a mainstay of American farming. With sights set on the upcoming Farm Bill, the Algae Agriculture Act would push the U.S. Department of Agriculture to support algae much as it does other crops.

Just days after the Algae Agriculture Act was introduced, a new spending bill was passed that directed millions of dollars into algae research and commercial development, with the first jolt of funding expected to come as early as this summer. $30 million for algae R&D to come from the Department of Energy’s Biotechnology Office and $12 million for carbon use and reuse technology development within the DOE’s Office of Fossil Energy. Remarkably, this is a 20% increase over last year.

Category: Policy

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