Advanced Fossil Solicitation Press Release

Draft Advanced Fossil Energy Solicitation to Support Reductions in Greenhouse Gas and Other
Pollution

The Department of Energy’s (DOE) Loan Programs Office is releasing a new draft loan guarantee
solicitation for innovative and advanced fossil energy projects and facilities. The Advanced Fossil Energy
solicitation is authorized by Title XVII of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 through Section 1703 of the Loan
Guarantee Program. The solicitation will support projects that avoid, reduce, or sequester air pollutants
or greenhouse gas emissions, an important part of the Administration’s long-term plan towards a
cleaner and more secure energy future. The Department will make available up to $8 billion in loan
guarantee authority through this solicitation.
When issued, the solicitation will seek applications for projects and facilities that cover a range of
technologies. These technologies could include any fossil technology that is new or significantly
improved, as compared to commercial technologies in service in the U.S. Applicants must show that
their proposed project avoids, reduces, or sequesters air pollutants or greenhouse gas emissions. In
addition to soliciting public comment about the technologies that DOE identifies in the draft solicitation,
DOE welcomes comments that identify other technologies within its statutory authority that DOE should
consider supporting through this loan guarantee solicitation.
The solicitation identifies the following specific technology areas:
Technology Area 1: Advanced Resource Development
Resource development and extraction can be an energy intensive process and a major contributor of
lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions associated with fossil fuel use. Together, the processes account for
roughly five percent of the United States greenhouse gas emissions. Advances in technologies and
practices associated with developing coal, natural gas, and oil resources offer the ability to improve
efficiencies and reduce upstream greenhouse gas emissions associated with producing and delivering
fossil energy to end users. This area is seeking projects that employ new or significantly improved
technologies that avoid, reduce, or sequester air pollutants or greenhouse gas emissions from the
development, recovery, and production of traditional and non-traditional fossil energy resources. While
initial eligibility will ultimately be evaluated on a project by project basis, DOE anticipates qualifying
projects may include, but are not limited to, the following:
a) Novel oil and gas drilling, stimulation, and completion technologies, including dry
fracking, that avoid, reduce, or sequester air pollutants or anthropogenic emission
of greenhouse gases;
b) Use of associated gas production to reduce flaring;
c) Coal-bed methane recovery to reduce methane emissions into the atmosphere
associated with coal mining;
d) Underground coal gasification; and
e) Methane emissions capture from energy production, transmission, or distribution.
Technology Area 2: Carbon Capture
Fossil-based energy systems are point-sources that generate CO2 in their processes and typically emit
large volumes of CO2 into the atmosphere. Currently, these facilities account for over half of the United

States’ annual greenhouse gas emissions. The purpose of carbon capture technology is to selectively
remove CO2 from process streams and flue gases, and produce a concentrated stream that can be
compressed and transported to a permanent storage site. Carbon capture technologies are most
applicable to large, centralized sources of CO2 in the power and industrial sectors. This area could
support projects that integrate fossil fuel usage with new or improved technology that captures and
removes CO2 for permanent storage in underground formations or through beneficial reuse. While
initial eligibility will ultimately be evaluated on a project by project basis, DOE anticipates qualifying
projects may include, but are not limited to, the following:
a) CO2 capture from synthesis gases in fuel reforming or gasification processes;
b) CO2 capture from flue gases in traditional coal or natural gas electricity generation;
and
c) CO2 capture from effluent streams of industrial processing facilities.
Technology Area 3: Low-Carbon Power Systems
Fossil-based electricity generation traditionally involves fuel combustion with air as a heat and power
source, producing a flue gas with low concentrations of CO2, and, therefore, making the adoption of
carbon capture expensive and inefficient. Novel processes have been proposed with carbon mitigation
in mind that generate fossil-based electricity and do not require traditional gas separation technology in
order to capture CO2 emissions. This area is seeking projects that utilize fossil fuels for electricity
generation using novel processes or improved technologies that can seamlessly integrate with CO2
storage or beneficial reuse. While initial eligibility will ultimately be evaluated on a project by project
basis, DOE anticipates qualifying projects may include, but are not limited to, the following:
a)
b)
c)
d)

Coal or natural gas oxycombustion;
Chemical looping processes;
Hydrogen turbines; and
Synthesis gas, natural gas, or hydrogen based fuel cells.

Technology Area 4: Efficiency Improvements
Industrial fossil-based systems typically utilize only a fraction of the energy available from their
feedstocks, and often reject a large amount of low quality and waste heat from their processes.
Technology improvements to increase the efficiency of fossil-based systems can result in reduced
emissions-per-product and better feedstock utilization. This area is seeking projects that incorporate
new or improved technologies to increase efficiencies and substantially reduce greenhouse gas
emissions associated with fossil fuel supply and use. While initial eligibility will ultimately be evaluated
on a project by project basis, DOE anticipates qualifying projects may include, but are not limited to, the
following:
a) Combined heat and power;
b) Waste heat recovery on industrial facilities;; and
c) High-efficiency distributed fossil power systems.

Department of Energy | Loan Programs Office

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