1. ClearPath launches Conservative Climate Leadership Program

Learn more about the CCLP in this video

ClearPath launched its new Conservative Climate Leadership Program (CCLP) this week. CCLP prepares individuals for roles within the energy policy sector, including positions on Capitol Hill.

Roles within the program include:

• Congressional Fellowships,
• Policy fellowships and;
• Internships at ClearPath.

What’s clear: “In DC, people are policy, and we recognize the pivotal role of having talented individuals in the policy process,” said Andrea Steiner, Chief Operating Officer, ClearPath. “We are excited to find young professionals eager to contribute to shaping conservative clean energy policy solutions while gaining valuable experience in the heart of the legislative process.”

Plug in: Learn more about the program here from E&E.
 

2. Advancing projects for industrial decarb and innovation

The DOE announced project selections for the Industrial Demonstrations Program, a $6 billion program for 33 projects across 20 states authorized by the Energy Act of 2020 and partially funded by the bipartisan IIJA to demonstrate commercial-scale industrial decarbonization.

Recipients include:

• The first cement CCS facilities in the U.S – Heidelberg Material’s Mitchell plant in Indiana,
• The world’s first commercial-scale hydrogen-based steel mill at SSAB’s’ Perry County, Mississippi facility, and
• The U.S.’s first new aluminum smelter in 45 years from Century Aluminum Company.
• Cement innovators Brimstone Energy and Sublime Systems both received funding to construct first-of-a-kind facilities.

What’s clear: The Industrial Demonstrations Program is a crucial down payment to de-risk and commercialize technologies required to reduce industrial emissions and position the U.S. as a clean industrial leader. The projects together have the potential to avoid ~14 million tons of emissions annually – equivalent to taking 3 million cars off the road.
 

3. Retired nuclear plant to turn back on

This week, the DOE’s Loan Programs Office issued a conditional commitment for a $1.5 billion loan guarantee to reopen the Palisades nuclear plant in Michigan. This nuclear restart would:

• Mark the first reopening of a nuclear plant in U.S. history.
• Mark the first use of the LPO’s new energy infrastructure reinvestment program.
• Bring up to 600 jobs back to the area.

What’s clear: The need for clean, reliable, affordable energy is growing. Building new nuclear plants will provide not only clean energy but also hundreds of high-paying jobs to communities.

Plug in: To learn more about the growing opportunity for new nuclear power, check out this blog by Jake Kincer and Joey Labrie.
 

4. Louisiana DAC Hubs establish momentum following funding

The DOE’s Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED) issued over $50 million to Project Cypress to begin the first phase of one of the nation’s first Direct Air Capture (DAC) Hubs in Louisiana.

OCED is working with Battelle to manage the project and with technology providers Climeworks and Heirloom Carbon.

What’s clear: The United States is leading the way for supportive policies for DAC innovation. As the DAC narrative unfolds, it underscores the importance of bold, forward-thinking American policies like the IIJA, which have the potential to catalyze transformative change within the industry.

Plug in: To learn more, check out this blog by Senior Program Manager of Carbon Management Savita Bowman.
 

5. 45V changes needed to support clean hydrogen innovation

The Department of Treasury and Internal Revenue Service held a public hearing this week on the Section 45V Proposed Rulemaking. Last month, ClearPath offered recommendations to the Treasury, emphasizing the need for existing clean assets, like nuclear, to produce qualifying power for 45V and other crucial suggestions.

What’s clear: The current draft guidance could lead to stifled hydrogen production and the U.S. losing its competitive advantage in the hydrogen sector.
 

6. DOE supporting first pumped storage hydro in decades

The DOE selected five organizations to receive funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law as part of the Clean Energy Demonstration Program on Current and Former Mine Land (CEML). One recipient, Rye Development, will construct the Lewis Ridge Project in Kentucky, which is:

• One of the first traditional pumped storage hydropower facilities in America in over 30 years, and
• The first to be built on former mine land.

What’s clear: According to a National Renewable Energy Laboratory study from 2023, pumped storage hydropower facilities are a key component in building a cleaner grid with long-duration storage.

Plug in: Rye Development grew its hydro portfolio and footprint over the past few years.
 

7. ClearPath talks permitting reform at ECOS Conference

ClearPath joined state and territorial environmental agency leaders from all 50 states at the Spring Environmental Council of States (ECOS) Conference in Austin, Texas.

Cheryl Lombard, Senior Program Director of Power Infrastructure & Minerals, addressed the group with an update on permitting reform and Congressional action, including:

• Class VI primacy applications;
• Permitting for nuclear and geothermal energy projects; and
• Urgency for passing bipartisan legislation this Congress that includes project pre-clearance and judicial review.

8. ICYMI

• ClearPath CEO Rich Powell wrote an op-ed on conservatives’ clean energy and climate leadership wins over the past decade.
• Managing Director of International and Nuclear Policy, Niko McMurray, was featured in the National Journal discussing the bipartisan momentum on the hill for nuclear energy.
• Tokyo-based JERA will buy 500,000 tons of ammonia from a planned Exxon Mobil “blue” hydrogen with a carbon capture project in Texas.
• U.S. Army Corps of Engineers approved the first-ever stand-alone marine carbon removal test in U.S. waters.