Clean Energy is Popular with Voters

The Washington Examiner reported on new ClearPath Action polling which found that support for expanding clean energy is growing across party lines.

“Nearly 80% of respondents to the survey, conducted by Echelon Insights, said it is extremely or fairly important that their member of Congress support policies that promote clean energy…

“On a policy level, the survey found majority support in both parties for Congress offering tax incentives for companies to develop clean energy technologies.

“Broadly speaking, 63% of respondents said they favor “more innovation and better technology” as the “best way” to fight climate change, compared to “more regulation.”

The polling includes an analysis of the 3,000 person nationwide poll for every Congressional District and State. View the polling and analysis here.

Carbon Capture Hot Streak Continues with Senate 45Q Reintroduction

Senators Shelly Moore Capito (R-WV) and Tina Smith (D-MN) led the bipartisan reintroduction of The Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS) Tax Credit Amendments Act to modify the 45Q and 48A tax credits for carbon capture technologies. The CCUS Tax Credit Amendments Act would allow carbon capture technologies to advance further for wide-scale deployment and is crucial for the U.S. to lead innovation in reducing and abating carbon emissions. Read more

Rich’s Take

"Carbon capture projects are often billion-dollar investments that require long-term certainty to pencil out and attract investment, and this extension to 45Q can make a massive impact -- supporting more than three gigatons of emissions reductions. 45Q is so effective because it can incentivize emissions reductions in both the power sector and the industrial sector. This bipartisan proposal will also clear the path for even more financing of clean energy infrastructure outside the traditional energy sector, as evidenced by recent project announcements from Blackrock and Microsoft.”

Power Industry, NGOs Launch Carbon-Free Technology Initiative

ClearPath and the Edison Electric Institute (EEI), along with several NGOs, have launched a Carbon-Free Technology Initiative (CFTI), which is focused on implementing federal policies that can help ensure the commercial availability of affordable, carbon-free, 24/7 power technology options by the early 2030s. In their announcement, the groups say existing technologies can get us much of the way to a clean energy future, but the work will require new carbon-free, 24/7 technologies that are affordable for customers. The CFTI focuses on policy recommendations to advance key technology areas such as:

Advanced nuclear energy (both fission and fusion);
Carbon capture, utilization, and storage, especially for natural gas facilities;
Long-duration energy storage and advanced demand efficiency;
Advanced, dispatchable renewables (e.g., superhot rock deep geothermal), advanced power electronics, and advanced wind and solar energy systems; and
Zero-carbon fuels, such as hydrogen, produced from a variety of sources.

Learn more at the CFTI’s website: www.carbonfreetech.org

ClearPath Joins Clean Hydrogen Future Coalition

This week, a group of industry stakeholders and NGOs, including ClearPath Action, launched the Clean Hydrogen Future Coalition (CHFC), which shares a vision to promote clean hydrogen as a key pathway to achieve global decarbonization objectives while also increasing U.S. global competitiveness. ClearPath Government Affairs Managing Director Zak Baig serves as Vice President of the coalition. Learn more about CHFC

Read more about ClearPath’s policy insights and recommendations on hydrogen here.

Lucas Bill to Secure American Leadership in Science and Technology

This week, ClearPath Action applauded the reintroduction of the Securing American Leadership in Science and Technology Act (SALSTA), led by House Science, Space, and Technology Committee Ranking Member Frank Lucas (R-OK), which would create a long-term strategy for investment in basic research and infrastructure to protect the economic and national security of the United States. Read more

NextDecade Announces NEXT Carbon Solutions

NextDecade announced it formed NEXT Carbon Solutions, which will develop a carbon capture and storage project to reduce carbon dioxide emissions at Rio Grande LNG (which is located in Port of Brownsville, TX). The project has the potential to capture 5 million tons of carbon dioxide annually and be a leader in the production of sustainable, low carbon-intensive fuel. Read more

Rich to Join Global Energy Institute’s “EnergyInnovates” Webinar

The Global Energy Institute is hosting an EnergyInnovates Event Series and is kicking off on April 1 with a virtual event, “EnergyInnovates: Funding our Energy Future.” ClearPath Executive Director Rich Powell will participate in a roundtable discussion along with Josh Freed from Third Way and Robin Millican from Breakthrough Energy. Register here

Project Pele Continues to Move Forward

The U.S. Department of Defense’s (DOD) project to develop a mobile reactor – Project Pele – selected BWXT and X-energy to continue to develop their final designs for a prototype. Project Pele is spearheaded by the DOD’s cutting-edge Strategic Capabilities Office (SCO), and could lead to breakthroughs for the future of advanced nuclear energy. After reviewing the final designs, SCO may select one of the companies to build their prototype starting in 2022 and commence full power testing in 2023. The key to unlocking the exciting potential of advanced nuclear and de-risking development is through demonstrations, and Project Pele should be viewed as an important element of the broader U.S. strategy to decarbonize and develop advanced reactor technologies.
Read more

David Turk Confirmed as Deputy Energy Secretary

The Senate confirmed David M. Turk as Deputy Energy Secretary by a vote of 98-2 on Wednesday.

NGOs Submit Carbon Dioxide Removal Budget Letter

ClearPath Action, Bipartisan Policy Center Action, Carbon180, Clean Air Task Force, Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions, Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, LTC Action, and Third Way sent a letter to Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Granholm requesting the inclusion of robust funding for research, development, demonstration, and deployment (RDD&D) of decarbonization technologies, including the full suite of carbon capture, removal, and storage technologies, in the DOE’s FY2022 budget request.

House, Senate Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Establish Investment Tax Credit for Energy Storage

This week, Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Martin Heinrich (D-NM) in the Senate, and Representatives Mike Doyle (D-PA), Vern Buchanan (R-FL), and Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) in the House introduced the Energy Storage Tax Incentive and Deployment Act to establish an investment tax credit for business and home use of energy storage.
Read more

DOE Invests in Scaling Up Solar Perovskites

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced a goal to cut the cost of solar energy by 60% within the next 10 years, improve performance, and speed the deployment of solar energy technologies. The announcement included $43 million for perovskite R&D.
Read more

Moltex Receives $50.5M to Build a Small Modular Reactor

Canada and UK-based Moltex Energy received $50.5 million from the Government of Canada’s Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF) and Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) to advance its project to design and commercialize a molten salt reactor and spent fuel recycling facility.
Read more

The Iron-y of Metal Jokes? People Always ‘Steel’ Them

Metals are an integral part of our society. Ranging from basic steels to high-performance alloys, they are a necessary resource in transporting electricity on the grid, constructing buildings, producing everyday kitchen and household items, creating bridges and tunnels, and building trains, cars and even planes.

As part of our new industrial portfolio, we are focused on three technology areas with high emissions reduction potential – metals, concrete & cement, and hydrogen.

Want to learn more about steel? Check out Savita Bowman’s Steel 101 here.

The Permitting Program Crucial for Carbon Capture’s Success

Carbon capture hit a policy trifecta at the end of 2020 and start of 2021, and that momentum has continued with recent, exciting commercial developments. While promising technologies are being developed to utilize carbon emissions in fuels and materials, storage of carbon dioxide deep underground remains a tried and true mitigation solution and is feasible around the U.S. because of the vast amount of available storage resources. However, we can only capture and reduce carbon emissions as fast as we can permit the projects to do so. And the success of the rapidly growing number of carbon capture projects hinges on the ability to timely obtain a single permit – the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Underground Injection Control (UIC) Class VI permit. Read more in our latest blog, “The Permitting Program Crucial for Carbon Capture’s Success,” by ClearPath Policy Analyst Jena Lococo.

THE PATH AHEAD

March 26: The American Nuclear Society is hosting a roundtable discussion, “Perspectives from Past DOE Nuclear Energy Officials,” from 1-2:00pm ET. Register here

March 30: The Anthropocene Institute is hosting “SMR Applications: The Future of the End User” at 9:00am ET. Register here

March 31: Register now for a Reuters Event, “Mining & Micro-Reactors: A New Off-Grid Horizon,” and hear from Westinghouse, MIRARCO Mining Innovation AND the mining industry themselves on exactly how they see nuclear fitting into their needs for the future. Register here

April 1: The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Global Energy Institute is hosting an EnergyInnovates Event Series, and is kicking off on April 1 at 10:00am ET with an event, “EnergyInnovates: Funding our Energy Future.” ClearPath Executive Director Rich Powell will be a panelist. Register here