Welcome to your Friday Rundown for the week ending July 21. Rundown is taking next week off but we always welcome your feedback at info@clearpathaction.org.
 

LAWMAKERS GIVE BIG VOTE FOR SMALL HYDRO 

House lawmakers made a big move for small hydropower in approving a bill from Reps. Richard Hudson (R-N.C.) and Diana DeGette (D-Colo.) that would expedite federal reviews of conduit (or energy-recovery) projects. There is enormous potential in these projects to provide clean and reliable power. The Promoting Conduit Hydropower Facilities Act (H.R. 2786), approved 420-2, aims to aid projects that are typically low impact because they are constructed as part of existing water infrastructure, such as irrigation canals and pipes that deliver water to cities and for industrial and agricultural use.
 

SENATE APPROPRIATORS STRESS ENERGY INNOVATION

Senate appropriators included language in their Energy Department spending plan for next year stressing that advanced nuclear technologies “hold great promise for reliable, safe, emission-free energy and should be a priority for the Department.” Specifically, the department is directed to provide Congress a strategy “that sets aggressive, but achievable goals to demonstrate a variety of private-sector advanced reactor designs and fuel types by the late 2020s.” The committee also expressed support for “grid-scale field demonstration of energy storage projects” and encouraged the department to prioritize research that resolve key cost and performance challenges.” The Senate spending bill specifies that these efforts “should also have very clear goals.” ClearPath has been specifically pushing for federal goals of demonstrating four different private advanced nuclear reactor technologies and three advanced energy storage solutions by 2027.  

This comes amid the good news that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission approved a key safety platform that would be used as part of NuScale Power’s efforts to design and commercialize the first U.S.-based small modular reactor.
 

NEWS NUGGETS 

The Senate Appropriations Committee approved a $38.4 billion Energy and Water Development spending bill that includes modest cuts to nuclear and fossil energy R&D and zeroes out loan guarantees. It increases funding for the Energy Department’s Office of Science and the ARPA-E advanced energy research program.

House lawmakers, 248-179, approved a bill from Rep. Bill Flores (R-Texas) giving FERC more control over environmental reviews of interstate natural gas pipelines and requires better coordination among agencies involved in the reviews. Similar language is included in the Senate’s bipartisan energy bill.

SPEED READ 

Murkowski Aims For Approving Nominees In August WASHINGTON EXAMINER

Lively Debate As Administration Assesses Nuclear Industry GREENWIRE

U.S. Is Falling Behind On Nuclear Power BALTIMORE SUN

Small Reactors Could Kick-Start U.S. Nuclear Sector MIT TECHNOLOGY REVIEW

So Far So Good For Petra Nova After Six Months ENERGYWIRE

August Eclipse Could Hurt 9,000 MW Of Solar Output UTILITY DIVE

THE PATH AHEAD 

TUESDAY The Nuclear Energy Institute hosts a panel discussion on a new study by the Energy Innovation Reform Project and Energy Options Network detailing the potential cost of advanced nuclear technology. Panelists include the study’s authors and representatives from Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the Electric Power Research Institute. DETAILS

TUESDAY The Senate Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Clean Air and Nuclear Safety holds a hearing on “Developing and Deploying Advanced Clean Energy Technologies.” DETAILS

WEDNESDAY The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation will release a new report assessing recent federal efforts to overcome clean energy development challenges.  Speakers will include William Bonvillian, former director of the MIT Washington Office; Joseph Hezir of the Energy Futures Initiative; former Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy Christopher Smith; and Sam Thernstrom, founder and executive director of the Energy Innovation Reform Project. DETAILS

Follow us on Twitter: @JayFaison1, @powellrich, @ClearPathAction