Carbon Capture Technology Is Not Just for Coal and Gas 

In the United States, CO2 emissions fall into one of five main sectors: electricity, transportation, industry, buildings and agriculture. If you combine the emissions coming from just the electricity and industry sectors — we’re talking about half of all CO2 emissions in the U.S. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could kill two birds with one stone — or in this case two major sectors’ emissions, with one technology. For the first time in more than a decade, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) awarded significant funding to kickstart commercial industrial carbon capture projects. Read more from ClearPath Policy Analyst Savita Bowman in our latest blog, “Carbon Capture Technology Is Not Just for Coal and Gas."
 

More Innovation, Unfortunately More Regulation
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Next week, the House is expected to vote on an energy package, the Clean Economy Jobs and Innovation Act.

The measure combines a number of energy-related bills – several of which are bipartisan, and adds several regulations to the package, among other things. The following innovation bills are included in the package:

1. Advanced Geothermal Research and Development Act – Subtitle E Part III
2. Better Energy Storage Technology Act – Title V Subtitle C - Part 1
3. Water Power Research and Development Act – Subtitle E Part IV
4. Fossil Energy Research and Development – Title III Subtitle A
a. Launching Energy Advancement through Innovations in Natural Gas (LEADING) – Section 3104 (does include the 5 project by 2025 goal)
5. Nuclear Energy Research and Development Act (titled the Nuclear Energy Leadership Act) - Title IV Subtitle B
6. Advanced Nuclear Fuel Availability Act - Title IV Subtitle A
7. Integrated Energy System Act - Title IV Subtitle B - Sec. 4202
8. ARPA-E Reauthorization Act - Title VII
9. Reliable Investment in Vital Energy Reauthorization Act - Sec. 2201
10. The Clean Industrial Technology Act
11. The Grid Modernization Research and Development Act
12. The Energizing Technology Transfer Act
13. The Solar Energy Research and Development Act
14. The Wind Energy Research and Development Act
 

Rich’s Take

“Republicans support reducing carbon dioxide emissions in the U.S. and around the globe by scaling up clean energy innovation with less regulation. This bill gets the innovation part right, setting up a suite of moonshots for key clean innovation technologies we’ll need to decarbonize affordably and reliably. Unfortunately, it also adds new regulatory hurdles that makes the clean energy technology deployment much more difficult to build. We hope policymakers will work towards a bipartisan solution based on the principle of more innovation and less regulation for clean technologies before the end of the Congress.”
 

“Natrium” is Latin for Sodium, and Big for Advanced Nuclear 
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TerraPower and GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH) recently announced the launch of a new reactor and energy system architecture called Natrium. Learn more about the project at the new website NatriumPower.com. On September 21, ClearPath will host a webinar with experts from TerraPower, Duke Energy and Centrus to talk about design and explain how they will commercialize nuclear stations within the next 10 years. In their announcement, the TerraPower/GEH team stated the advanced nuclear technology will feature a cost-competitive sodium fast reactor combined with a molten salt energy storage system.

Register for the webinar here
 

​​​​​​Rich Powell and the Conservative Case for Nuclear
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ClearPath Executive Director Rich Powell joined Jordan Cox of the Clean Energy Leaders Podcast to discuss the importance of nuclear energy. Listen to the podcast, “Rich Powell and the Conservative Case for Nuclear,” on Spotify here.
 

International Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM) Features Flexible Nuclear
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In 2010, the Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM) – a global forum that convenes top energy officials of major economies – was created to share best practices and promote policies and programs that encourage and facilitate the transition to a global clean energy economy.

ClearPath is a part of the CEM’s Nuclear Innovation: Clean Energy (NICE) Future initiative, which presented a new report, Flexibility in Clean Energy Systems: The Enabling Roles of Nuclear Energy, to the participating energy ministers and stakeholders at CEM.

In addition to the report, check out our promotional video shown at this year’s CEM11. Watch the video
 

E&E News: DOE-backed hydrogen pilot to tap Texas wind
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A Texas-based pilot project – funded by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and partners including Shell and Southern California Gas Co. – is attempting to drive down the cost of producing hydrogen fuel by making use of excess wind and solar power. The project aims to speed up development of a hydrogen fuel that’s both low-carbon and low-cost. Project leaders hope to deploy a “dual-pathway” to the fuel by combining electrolysis, in which wind or solar power is used to split hydrogen from water molecules, with a production process that involves capturing landfill methane emissions. Read more
 

IN THE HEARING ROOM

Last Friday, the House Science, Space, and Technology Subcommittee on Energy hosted a hearing on, “Biological research at the Department of Energy: Leveraging DOE’s unique capabilities to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic." This week, the Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee heard from Mark Christie and Allison Clements, nominees to be Members of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). Read more about the nominees and the hearing ​​​​​​here. Additionally, the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment and Climate Change held a hearing on, “Building a 100 Percent Clean Economy: Opportunities for an Equitable, Low-Carbon Recovery."
 

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Remember California’s Energy Woes in November | Opinion

Last week, Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) penned an op-ed in Newsweek on the importance of utilizing reliable energy sources, such as coal, nuclear and natural gas, to maintain a resilient grid. Senator Cramer wrote, “If you want to be assured the lights will come on with a flip of the switch, your grid needs coal and nuclear’s 24/7 generation capability. Unlike renewables, they work despite the weather or the time of day.” Read the op-ed.
 

How the Private Sector Is Shaping the Future of Nuclear Energy 
 

Christopher Barnard, the national policy director at the American Conservation Coalition, penned an op-ed in the National Review on the critical role the private sector plays in the U.S. leading the world in energy innovation. Read the op-ed.  
 

Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI) introduces Nuclear Energy Reactor Demonstration Act

This week, Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI) introduced the Nuclear Energy Reactor Demonstration (NERD) Act. Rep. Gallagher says the bill “would strengthen U.S. nuclear energy competitiveness by requiring the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to establish advanced nuclear reactor research and development goals. It directs the DOE Secretary to work with private sector partners to complete at least 2 advanced reactor demonstration projects. Read more.

THE PATH AHEAD

 
HAPPENING TODAY: The Industrial Innovation Initiative is hosting a webinar from 10:30am – 11:30am ET on, “Industrial Sector Emissions and Eight Priority Recommendations for Economic Recovery.” Register here
 
September 21: ClearPath Executive Director Rich Powell will moderate a panel, “Natrium is Latin for Sodium, and Big for Advanced Nuclear,” with experts from TerraPower, Duke Energy and Centrus to release the Natrium™ design and explain how they intend to commercialize nuclear stations within the next 10 years. Register here

September 21-25: Don’t miss the week-long celebration of clean energy innovation at National Clean Energy Week. Registration, sponsorship and schedule information can be found here.

September 22​​: The Columbia Center on Global Energy Policy is hosting an event from 9:00 am – 10:30am EDT on, “Achieving a Net Zero Emissions Economy: Returning Carbon to the Earth.” More details and registration information here.

October 6: The Department of Energy (DOE), the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), and the Fusion Industry Association (FIA) will host a Virtual Public Forum on a regulatory framework for Fusion. More details and registration information here.
 

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