Welcome to your Friday Rundown for the week ending Sept. 1. Put aside Labor Day prep to offer feedback at info@clearpathaction.org.
 

VOGTLE DECISION GOOD SIGN FOR ADVANCING NUCLEAR  

The decision by Southern Company to continue conditional expansion of Plant Vogtle is an important step towards broader advancement of U.S. nuclear power.

“This is great news and signal that there is significant utility backing for sustaining and growing our nuclear sector,” ClearPath Executive Director Rich Powell said. “But there are still tremendous challenges and work ahead, including sustaining the necessary incentives to see this project through to the end.”

One important condition of the decision to continue construction is the congressional extension of a production tax credit for new nuclear facilities. The current credit created by Congress in 2005 includes a key flaw by instituting a deadline for new facilities to be in service by the end of 2021. No facility has yet claimed this credit, so an extension comes with little incremental cost.

Congress should be wary of creating unnecessary urgency to complete first-of-a-kind technology demonstrations. An advanced nuclear credit that includes a volume limitation without an expiration date will create competition, reducing uncertainty without forcing utilities and design vendors into an unrealistic construction timeline.

RELATED READING: Nuclear Power Gets Second Chance WASHINGTON EXAMINER

LANDMARK CARBON CAPTURE PROJECT MAKING PROGRESS  

NET Power’s potentially landmark carbon-capture effort is making sound progress towards beginning active demonstration. If successful, NET Power will greatly simplify the process and equipment needed to produce not just cleaner power, but emission-free power from coal and natural gas. It would emit no carbon and use no water.

In a recent video, Rich Powell explained the Allam Cycle, the process used by NET Power, and how it could revolutionize clean energy in the U.S. and globally:

THE CARBON CAPTURE GAME CHANGER

IMPORTANT NOTE: All personnel at the NET Power demonstration facility - located near Houston - are safe.
 

RELATED READING: Potential Carbon Capture Game Changer Nears Completion MIT TECH REVIEW 
 

CLEARPATH JOINS NATIONAL CLEAN ENERGY WEEK  

ClearPath is proud to join a broad coalition that will be officially participating in National Clean Energy Week, taking place Sept. 25-29. Led by Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions, the effort also includes the Nuclear Energy Institute, National Hydropower Association, Solar Energy Industries Association, the Center for Liquefied Natural Gas and other major clean energy organizations. Stay tuned for updates, including at nationalcleanenergyweek.org.

NEWS NUGGETS 

GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy and ARC Nuclear announced an agreement to further develop a new small modular nuclear reactor design. GE Hitachi will provide ARC with access to nuclear quality, safety and other infrastructure and will make an in-kind contribution to provide engineering and design expertise in the development of the ARC-100 advanced small modular reactor.

President Trump has renominated Democrat Jeff Baran to another five-year term on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, beginning in July 2018. The move could expedite Senate confirmation of two pending Republican nominees, Annie Caputo and David Wright.

Aaron Weston has been tapped to lead the Trump administration’s nuclear power review, Axios reported. Weston is senior fellow and director of nuclear energy programs at the American Council for Capital Formation and was previously a counsel on the House Science Committee.

SPEED READ 

THE PATH AHEAD 

WEDNESDAY Nuclear Energy Institute, House Science and National Lab and Senate National Lab Caucuses co-host advanced nuclear reactor technology discussion, featuring officials from Argonne, Idaho and Oak Ridge labs. DETAILS