The phrase "cap and trade" has, for years, been a
reality for power plants, industrial plants and other high carbon
oxide emitters in the United States. Essentially, American
industries must limit their carbon oxide emissions to
governmentally mandated caps or pay a "carbon" tax,
unless the company has either earned or acquired carbon credits
that offset the carbon tax. Under section 45Q of the Internal
Revenue Code, credits were established to help power plants and
high carbon oxide emitters to decarbonize. The United States is a
global leader in carbon capture technology, hosting nearly one-half
of all carbon capture facilities operating world-wide.
A combination of recent Federal legislation3 has
expanded the benefits of carbon capture through both direct air
capture ("DAC") and carbon capture underground storage
("CCUS") methods. Through the Inflation Reduction Act of
2022, the value of such credits has been increased to USD
$60 per ton for carbon dioxide
