Welcome to your weekly Rundown, for the week ending November 20. We will not publish on Friday, November 27, but we’ll be back on Friday, December 4. Happy Thanksgiving!
Sen. John Barrasso to Lead Senate Energy & Natural Resources
Sen. Shelley Moore Capito to Lead Senate Environment & Public Works
This week, Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY) announced his intent to become the top Republican on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, moving from his spot as Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) is term-limited. That also paved the way for Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) to step in and lead the Senate Environment & Public Works Committee. Read more
Rich’s Take
“ClearPath is very excited about the prospects for clean energy innovation under Senators Barrasso and Capito’s leadership and to build on the many successes of Chairman Murkowski. This week, Barrasso has already signaled he will continue as a champion for clean energy with the introduction of the bipartisan American Nuclear Infrastructure Act of 2020, which will support U.S. leadership in nuclear energy, reduce carbon emissions, and strengthen our economic, energy, and national security. Barrasso and Capito have been two of the Senate’s biggest champions for carbon capture and other clean energy technologies by accelerating RD&D policies, financial incentives like 45Q, and regulatory reforms that would catalyze deployment across the U.S.”
Senators Introduce Bipartisan American Nuclear Infrastructure Act
Earlier this week, Senators John Barrasso (R-WY), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Mike Crapo (R-ID) and Cory Booker (D-NJ) introduced the American Nuclear Infrastructure Act of 2020 (S. 4897), which would enable U.S. international leadership, preserve America’s nuclear fuel supply chain, reduce carbon emissions, and strengthen our economic, energy, and national security. Read more
America: the Trusted Partner for Nuclear Energy Exports
In recent months, the U.S. has taken two important steps to retake the mantle of leadership in the nuclear energy industry. First, the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) allowed for the financing of nuclear energy. Second, the U.S. has pledged financing to civilian nuclear-interested countries, should they use American technologies in their nuclear development – and a number of these potential deals have been announced recently. Read more in our latest blog, “America: the Trusted Partner for Nuclear Energy Exports,” by ClearPath Policy Analyst Cole Simons.
ClearPath Government Affairs Director Joins Women’s Energy Resource Council Board of Directors
ClearPath is pleased to congratulate Colleen Moss, Government Affairs Director, for being appointed to the Women’s Energy Resource Council (WERC) Board of Directors. WERC, launched in 2010, is a DC-based nonprofit that promotes the exchange of ideas and perspectives on energy policy among women energy professionals from both the public and private sector. Read more
Rich’s Take
“We are incredibly excited for Colleen to join such a dedicated team of community leaders committed to fostering educational and networking opportunities for women in the energy sector. ClearPath is a proud platinum sponsor of WERC, and we value the opportunity to engage with policymakers and staff, while supporting the advancement of women who are focused on energy policy. Colleen will make a tremendous impact on this group.”
FERC Nominees Advance to Senate Floor
On Wednesday, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee approved by voice vote the nominations of Republican Mark Christie and Democrat Allison Clements to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), which, if the candidates are confirmed, would give the commission a full slate. Their nominations now move to the Senate floor, and ENR Committee Chairman Lisa Murkwoski (R-AK) hopes they’ll be confirmed in the lame duck period. Read more
DOE Announces Energy Incubator Funding Opportunity
Last month, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) released a funding opportunity announcement (FOA) for its Energy Program for Innovation Clusters (EPIC). With up to $4 million in available funding, the EPIC FOA is the second of a two-part, $5 million program sponsored by DOE’s Office of Technology Transitions (OTT). The FOA seeks to recognize innovation accelerating organizations focused on stimulating energy hardware development and related supportive ecosystems. Read more
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Washington Examiner: GOP Evolution on Climate
“Republicans want to participate in the right kind of [climate change] solution,” said Saxby Chambliss, the former Georgia Republican senator who chaired the Senate Agriculture Committee. The Washington Examiner reported Chambliss’ comments suggest “some Republicans are getting engaged in climate policy talks because they’re seeing the world around them affected by climate change.” Read more
Washington Examiner: Trump boost to nuclear power to live on in Biden administration
The Washington Examiner reported the Biden Administration is poised to embrace nuclear power to reduce carbon emissions and will look to build upon the Trump administration’s support for the technology. ClearPath Executive Director Rich Powell said, “We couldn’t lose any ground with existing nuclear, and then we’d have to do a significant national deployment of all types of new clean technologies.” Read more
Recap: Foreign Policy Hosted Virtual Dialogue on Clean Energy Innovation
Foreign Policy magazine and ClearPath hosted a discussion on Wednesday with private and public sector thought leaders about driving innovation and exports in the US clean energy market to bolster domestic economic growth and reduce global carbon emissions. The event convened leading voices from government, industry and finance about how we can most effectively tailor support for U.S. clean energy innovation and exports, including strategies to reduce the cost of these technologies for developing markets worldwide.
Speakers included Brendan Bechtel, Chairman and CEO, Bechtel; Allison Carlson, Managing Director, Foreign Policy Analytics; Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND); Piotr Naimski, Poland’s Minister of Energy and Secretary of State for Strategic Energy Infrastructure; Rich Powell, Executive Director, ClearPath; and Kimberly Reed, President and Chairman, Export-Import Bank of the United States.
Video: TerraPower & X-energy to Demonstrate Advanced Reactor Technology
A moonshot goal of bringing advanced nuclear technology to market just became reality with the Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program, or ARDP. Congratulations to the two companies who were selected for the ARDP: TerraPower and X-energy!
These two companies, along with their teams, will partner with DOE and the National Labs to demonstrate their advanced reactor concepts in the next seven years.
December 1-4: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) are hosting a Virtual Workshop on Digital Twin Applications for Advanced Nuclear Technologies. More details and registration information here
December 2: The National Reactor Innovation Center (NRIC)’s webinar series, “What Inspires Us,” will host its second event from 2:30 – 4:00pm ET and will feature Chris Levesque, president and chief executive officer of TerraPower, and Clay Sell, chief executive officer of X-energy. More details and registration information here
December 8-10: The U.S. Nuclear Industry Council is hosting an event, “New Nuclear Capital 2020: A Special Summit Focused on Markets and Financing for Advanced Nuclear Energy.” ClearPath Managing Director of Policy Jeremy Harrell is a speaker. More details and registration information here
