Texas’ three elected railroad commissioners will consider ExxonMobil’s application for its Rose Carbon Capture and Storage Project.
Critics say the project would be subsidized by taxpayers and will increase energy bills. ExxonMobil stated the project “is grounded in facts, validated by science, and engineered for safety.”
Molly Vogt, of American Energy Works and Texas Energy Works, wrote that this is among the first such permits the commission will consider since taking responsibility for oversight from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in December 2025.
“If it’s approved, ExxonMobil will inject up to 53 million tons of carbon dioxide underground, permanently, beneath the ground our communities sit on,” she wrote. “Not to produce energy. Not to create Texas jobs. Just to warehouse CO2 so the company can collect a federal subsidy.”
Vogt explained how the subsidy works.
“Under Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, taxpayers are footing the bill for carbon capture through a tax credit worth up to $180, for every ton of CO2 captured. The Treasury Department estimates this credit alone will cost taxpayers $30.3 billion between 2022 and 2032,” she wrote. “And if projects like Rose become the norm across Texas, we won’t just pay for it once through our taxes. We’ll pay again through higher energy bills, as these costs get passed on to every consumer in the state.”
