The Biden administration on Friday announced a new $860 million grant program to reduce methane emissions within the oil and gas sector, the latest in the administration’s push to curb emissions of the greenhouse gas, which is 28 times more potent than carbon dioxide.
The grant funding will be available to a broad range of entities, Biden administration officials said, including industry groups, higher education institutions, for-profit entities, not-for-profit entities, state and local governments, and tribes.
“Together, the administration’s actions will advance the adoption of clean, cost-effective technologies, reduce waste, and yield significant economic and environmental benefits while driving continued innovation and methane detection, monitoring, and mitigation techniques,” Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said.
Speaking to reporters Thursday on a call previewing the new actions, senior administration officials said the grant program will fund three areas of interest: The first will provide three large awards to projects aimed at reducing methane emissions at existing wells and infrastructure.
The second area will fund 26 awards to accelerate the deployment of methane emissions reduction and solutions from equipment such as engines and compressors, flares, liquids, unloading products, produced water, and equipment leaks.
The third area will provide up to four grants for programs accelerating deployment and methane monitoring solutions, up to four awards for accelerating the deployment of local-scale methane monitoring solutions in disadvantaged communities, and up to five awards to form collaborative partnerships across the country to monitor methane emissions in different regions.
This immediate funding opportunity builds on existing funding the Biden administration has announced to reduce methane emissions, officials said including a $350 million methane emission reduction allocation for states.
Federal agencies have already announced several new rules aimed at slashing methane emissions, including many funded under the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, the Democratic-passed legislation that allocates $369 billion to various climate and clean energy spending initiatives. In March, the Bureau of Land Management finalized a rule to reduce gas flaring on federal lands or require producers to have a “waste minimization plan” in place to do so, and the Environmental Protection Agency has also proposed rules to either reduce methane emissions or impose higher fees on heavily polluting facilities in recent months.
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Some of these rules, however, have come under fierce opposition from oil and gas groups, including some groups who say they plan to challenge the new rules in court.
Still, Biden administration officials said Thursday’s action will help deliver on the president’s climate and decarbonization targets.