There’s a new U.S. Government Accountability Office report out today about the Department of Energy’s program concerning Carbon Capture and Storage, or CCS.

Among the findings:

— DOE does not systematically assess the maturity of key coal technologies, but GAO found consensus that CCS is “less mature” that power plant efficiency technologies.

— Commercial deployment of CCS is possible within 10 to 15 years, while many efficiency technologies have been used and are available for use now. Both technologies, though, face a host of technical, financial and legal hurdles.

— In particular, related to CCS, GAO interviews with stakeholders “highlighted the large costs to install and operate current CCS technologies, the fact that large-scale demonstration of CCS is needed in coal plants, and the lack of a national carbon policy to reduce CO2 emissions or a legal framework to govern liability for the permanent storage of large amounts of CO2.”

Read the report here.