A bipartisan energy tax proposal to encourage innovation in the clean energy sector called the Energy Sector Innovation Credit (ESIC) is well-positioned to become law.
Poised for passage: Given the strong support from high ranking members, this legislation is in good shape. Who are the leads?
Sen. Mike Crapo (R-ID), Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Senate Finance Committee Member
Rep. Tom Reed (R-NY), House Ways & Means Committee Member
Rep. Jimmy Panetta (D-CA), House Ways & Means Committee Member
What’s clear: ESIC creates incentives for breakthrough innovation for power generation and storage technologies across the clean energy spectrum. It helps overcome initial financing hurdles associated with developing “first-of-a-kind” and nascent power generation technologies.
ClearPath’s Jeremy Harrell and ACC’s Quill Robinson dive in with this op-ed.
2. How to avoid Taliban-controlled critical mineral supply chains
Afghanistan, a nation rich in critical minerals needed for a clean energy future, is getting a lot of attention from China.
Rich Powellexplains in the Washington Examiner how supply chains for minerals like lithium are troublesome, and reason for more American innovation.
“It was innovation in the past that freed America from energy dependence on the Middle East, and it is poised to do so again with energy storage,” Rich writes.
“The good news is that innovators are exploring solutions to source lithium domestically but also get beyond lithium-ion batteries for grid-scale storage.”
3. Potentially 10 new American nuclear exports announced
U.S. nuclear energy industry market opportunities are continuing to expand with Ukraine and Poland announcing recent deals.
The details:
Ukraine has agreed to “deepen” a strategic partnership including working with Westinghouse to complete a stalled reactor project, followed by four new Westinghouse AP1000 reactors at a total value of $30 billion.
Polish companies, Synthos and ZE PAK, signed an investment agreement to build four to six GE Hitachi BWRX-300 reactors at the site of ZE PAK’s Pątnów coal-fired power plant in central Poland.
Synthos also previously signed a cooperation agreement with Ultra Safe Nuclear Corporation to use their advanced microreactor for hydrogen production.
What’s clear: Both deals signal new market opportunities for American companies, and a desire to diversify away from Russian gas, boosting America’s geopolitical standing in the region.
4. Carbon removal technology charms the industrial sector
Carbon removal company Charm Industrial has removed 1,000 tons of CO₂e (carbon dioxide equivalent) for e-commerce company Shopify ahead of schedule using technology to break down biomass into a carbon rich bio-oil and permanently store it underground.
An additional 3,000 tons of CO₂eis expected to be removed by the end of 2023.
What’s clear: Charm’s ability to meet project deadlines early likely will instill confidence in this growing technology.
5. Texas Port to develop offshore CCUS hub
The Port of Corpus Christi, one of the nation’s top energy exporting facilities, is working on a project to capture emissions in the Port area and sequester offshore in the Gulf of Mexico.
What’s clear: Offshore carbon dioxide sequestration is gaining traction following a recent announcement for a new project site off the shore of Beaumont and Port Aurthur, Texas which says it will be able to sequester 225-275 million metric tons of carbon dioxide.
