Welcome to your weekly Rundown, for the week ending May 28. This weekend, join us in honoring the brave women and men who fought to defend our freedom.
America’s Energy Storage Workhorse, Pumped Hydro,
at the Races Once Again
Energy storage is widely recognized as a key clean technology for maintaining an affordable, reliable electric grid. But the largest source of energy storage is also the most overlooked: pumped storage hydropower – though with recent policy and project developments, pumped storage may finally start to get the credit it deserves. Congress and DOE can build on the foundation in the Energy Act of 2020 and the Trump Administration-established HydroWIRES Initiative to support the commercialization of next-generation pumped storage projects. Learn more from our Senior Program Director Alex Fitzsimmons in his new piece, America’s Energy Storage Workhorse, Pumped Hydro, at the Races Once Again.
Catch Up Quick: Carbon Capture is on a Bipartisan Streak
This week, Reps. Tim Ryan (D-OH) and Anthony Gonzalez (R-OH) led a bipartisan group of House members in introducing the Coordinated Action to Capture Harmful (CATCH) Emissions Act, which would expand the 45Q carbon capture tax credits for industrial facilities and power plants. Read more
Rich’s Take
“The 45Q tax incentive will continue to play a huge role in decarbonization, clean investment across the country, and American job growth. Expanding the 45Q credit could drive deep reductions in power plants and industrial facilities across more than 30 states. We are talking nearly 4 gigatons of CO2 emissions reduced by 2050 — possibly more with an increase in the value of the credit. That’s the equivalent of offsetting roughly 5% of the total emissions we’ll need to reduce over the next 3 decades from this single tax incentive.”
But the bipartisan momentum didn’t stop there… Senators Rob Portman (R-OH) and Michael Bennet (D-CO) also introduced the Carbon Capture Improvement Act, which would help power plants, industrial and direct air capture facilities finance carbon capture projects. Read more in Axios
Colorado Can Get to All-clean Energy — Affordably
ClearPath Action Executive Director Rich Powell and Clean Air Task Force (CATF) Executive Director Armond Cohen penned an op-ed in Colorado Politics on how Colorado can lead the way in making the transition to 100% clean energy. Read the op-ed
New PNNL Study: SMRs Competitive in Washington’s Clean Energy Future
A new report from the Pacific Northwest National Lab (PNNL) says small modular reactors will likely be an important part of Washington State’s clean energy future. Read more on the report here
PNNL Director Steven Ashby published an op-ed in the Tri-City Herald highlighting the lab’s role and the exciting future for advanced nuclear.
“Today, nuclear energy accounts for nearly 20 percent of the electricity generated in our country. That is almost certain to increase as advanced reactor technologies become part of our evolving clean energy landscape,” Ashby wrote.
Meanwhile in Washington…NuScale Power Signs Deal to Deploy Nuclear Energy
NuScale Power and Grant County Public Utility District (Grant PUD) plan to sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for the deployment of advanced nuclear technology in Central Washington. Read more
CEM 12 Kicks Off Next Week
The all-virtual Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM) 12 kicks off next Monday, May 31. CEM brings together the world’s leading countries, companies and international experts to achieve one mission – accelerate the clean energy transition. More details and registration here
Don’t miss this side event: Many countries have announced ambitious net-zero goals. Join ministers, multi-governmental organization leaders, environmental non-profit and industry leaders to hear about diverse national and multinational pathways to net-zero. The event will highlight how technology breakthroughs and innovations can accelerate strategies to cleaner energy. Watch our preview video here
Venture Global LNG Announces Louisiana Carbon Capture Project
This week, Venture Global LNG announced a carbon capture and sequestration project at its Calcasieu Pass and Plaquemines LNG facilities in Louisiana. Venture Global says they have a shovel-ready carbon capture and sequestration project that they estimate could capture 500,000 tons of carbon per year from their two liquefaction sites. Read more
Citi, Goldman Sachs, ING, Societe Generale, Standard Chartered, and UniCredit are working together to develop a finance agreement to support reducing emissions in the steel sector. Read more
Malta teams up with Duke Energy to study possibility of converting coal units into clean energy storage facilities
Malta Inc., a Massachusetts-based energy company, is partnering with Duke Energy to study the socioeconomic, environmental and operational benefits of converting retiring coal units into long-duration, zero-emissions energy storage systems by integrating Malta’s 100-megawatt, 10-hour pumped heat energy storage system into existing infrastructure at a Duke Energy coal plant in North Carolina. Learn more
ADM Announces Successful Completion of One Million Metric Ton Carbon Capture and Storage Project
The Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (ADM), an American multinational food processing and commodities trading corporation, and the University of Illinois successfully completed the Illinois Basin – Decatur Project (IBDP), a carbon capture and storage project. This is one of two carbon capture projects located adjacent to ADM’s corn processing plant in Decatur, Illinois. Read more
USNC’s Microreactor Project Becomes First SMR in Canada to Enter Formal Licensing Phase
Ultra Safe Nuclear Corporation’s nuclear microreactor, a 5 MWe high temperature gas reactor that uses TRISO fuel, has entered the formal licensing review with the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission. This is the first next generation reactor to mark that milestone in Canada. Read more
One Cool Thing: Eiffel Tower Illuminated by Hydrogen
Earlier this week, the Eiffel Tower was illuminated using electricity produced from hydrogen. Read more
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