The future of carbon capture and storage in the U.S. – as well as the fate of the U.S. coal industry – may be a bleak one, due to the tax reform bill poised to pass Congress. But while coal company executives are fuming over a tax plan that one CEO says “wipes us out,” the U.S. energy secretary is moving forward on the technology with Saudi Arabia.

This week, Department of Energy Secretary Rick Perry met with his Saudi Arabian counterpart to discuss “means to enhance the relations” between the two countries when it comes to the energy sector.

Included in the talks were plans to develop a framework on cooperating on clean energy (defined as “clean fossil fuels”) and carbon management. The result was the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on Monday that seeks to advance “research and collaboration.”

Advocates of the technology have long said CCS provides the means for countries to harvest their fossil fuel reserves, while minimizing any environmental impact by sequestering those emissions underground in places such as abandoned oil wells or mining operations.

Critics of this technology say it only prolongs dependence on fossil fuels, and is far too expensive to be feasible.

Read the full article on carbon capture by Leon Kaye at TriplePundit