Fossil Fuel’s Answer to Climate Change Just Got Less Expensive

Carbon capture, the fossil-fuel industry’s favorite weapon against climate change, has never really caught on because of the expense.

That may be about to change. The Internal Revenue Service recently issued crucial guidance to help developers take advantage of tax credits for the systems, and supporters say it could usher in a new era for the controversial technology.

“It’s the make-or-break financial element,” said Peter Mandelstam, chief operating officer for Enchant Energy Corp., which is preparing to put in a carbon-capture system at a coal-fired power plant near Farmington, New Mexico. “The Enchant project only works if the tax ...