Please stay safe and healthy, wherever you’re reading this week.
$230 million in Funding for the
Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) this week announced the launch of the Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program (ARDP) within the Office of Nuclear Energy (NE). ARDP will help domestic private industry demonstrate advanced nuclear reactors in the United States. Read more
RICH’S TAKE
“This new program has the potential to drastically change the landscape for advanced nuclear here in the U.S.,” ClearPath Executive Director Rich Powell said. “Investments in next-generation nuclear technologies will ensure the U.S. remains on a path to deep decarbonization while maintaining industry competitiveness against China and Russia.”
House E&C Leaders Release Emerging Technology Agenda to Beat China
Energy and Commerce Committee Republican Leader Greg Walden (R-OR) and Consumer Protection and Commerce Subcommittee Republican Leader Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) released an agenda to ensure American leadership in emerging technology to beat China and other challenges to global competitiveness. Many of the bills they have included would have positive implications for clean energy innovation. Read more
Modernizing Emergency Preparedness Regulations for
Small Modular Reactors
This week, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) announced they are moving forward on modernizing the Emergency Planning Zone (EPZ) regulations for new nuclear reactor designs. NRC is seeking comments on a proposed rule and associated draft regulatory guide on risk-informed, performance-based emergency preparedness requirements for small modular reactors and other new technologies. Read the NRC announcement
This move builds on the Commission’s late 2019 approval of the Tennessee Valley Authority’s EPZ proposal for its Clinch River site, which could host one of the nation’s first small modular reactor projects. Read more
RICH’S TAKE
“The operational profile of advanced nuclear reactors is rapidly improving, and the regulatory framework needs to keep up. Recent policy reforms, like those included in the Nuclear Energy Innovation and Modernization Act, have pushed the NRC to make improvements, but much more could be done — like modernizing their emergency planning zones. This proposed rule establishes an important precedent for future advanced reactor emergency planning activities.”
Energy Storage Technology Company, Form Energy,
Moves to Commercialization
Last week, Form Energy, a company developing low-cost, long-duration energy storage for the grid, signed a contract with Minnesota-based utility Great River Energy making this technology commercially viable. Form Energy will deploy a 1MW / 150MWh pilot project in Cambridge, MN. Great River Energy is the 2nd largest electric power supplier in Minnesota and 5th largest generation and transmission cooperative in the U.S.
$27 Million for Advanced Nuclear Reactor
Systems Operational Technology
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced $27 million in funding for 9 projects as part of the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy’s (ARPA-E) Generating Electricity Managed by Intelligent Nuclear Assets (GEMINA) program.
Multiple companies, DOE national laboratories, and universities received awards. These projects will support the commercialization of multiple reactor designs including GE Hitachi’s BWRX-300 small modular reactor, Kairos Power and Moltex Energy’s molten salt reactors, and X-Energy and Framatome’s high temperature gas reactors.
These projects will work to develop digital twin technology to reduce operations and maintenance (O&M) costs in the next generation of nuclear power plants by 10-times in order to make them more economical, flexible, and efficient. Read the full list of winners here.
Rep. Randy Weber (R-TX) Introduces Advanced Nuclear Energy Bill
House Science, Space, and Technology Committee Energy Subcommittee Ranking Member Randy Weber (R-TX) introduced H.R. 6796, The Nuclear Energy for the Future Act, which will help make nuclear energy even safer, more efficient, and more affordable through the development of advanced technologies. Read more
Major Milestone For Vogtle Nuclear Reactor
Georgia Power’s Vogtle Nuclear Power Plant near Waynesboro, Georgia hit a major milestone this week setting the Integrated Head Package (IHP) atop the reactor vessel. Vogtle is the nation’s first new nuclear unit in more than 30 years. Read more
ClearPath Team Hitting Web Panel Circuit in COVID-19 Era
Managing Director of Policy Jeremy Harrell, joined a web panel entitled, “Advances in Nuclear Power: Increased Resiliency in Face of COVID-19”, hosted by the United States Association for Energy Economics, a non-profit organization of professionals that advances the understanding and application of energy economics. Watch the panel here.
Jeremy also joined the EarthX E-Capital Virtual Summit 2020 on Transformational Technology for a Climate-Smart Inclusive Economy. The panel, Charting a Bipartisan Pathway Forward, included moderator Matt Myers of EarthX, and panelists Heather Reams of Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions (CRES), Dylan Reed of Advanced Energy Economy, and Addison Stark of the Bipartisan Policy Center. You can watch the panel here.
Senior Director of Government Affairs Jeff Morehouse, joined Congressional Leaders from the Texas delegation including Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz, Reps. Michael Cloud, Lizzie Fletcher and Henry Cuellar, and Texas energy industry experts in an event, “Managing the Critical Importance of Energy in America in a COVID-19 World.”
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
X-energy Teaming with MIT on TRISO-X fuel Research
X-energy announced they will be partnering with Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Nuclear Reactor Laboratory to irradiate X-energy’s TRISO-X fuel. The irradiation process will provide data on the performance and quality of the fuel and will support the licensing of X-energy’s Xe-100 and other TRISO-based reactors. Read more
Epoch Times Column on Grid Security Executive Order, Threats from China
A column in the Epoch Times highlights an executive order to act on the threat to America’s electrical grid from foreign actors through supply chain vulnerabilities and cyber threats. There are concerns that outsourcing foreign parts and software leave the grid vulnerable to espionage and sabotage. Read the column here
CSIS: Climate Solutions Series: Decarbonizing the Electric Power Sector
The Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS) published a brief on the power sector emissions and technologies to decarbonize. The report stated in 2018, 13.6 billion tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) were emitted into the atmosphere by the power sector, which accounts for 41 percent of total global emissions.
“To have a chance of holding global temperature rise below 1.5 degrees Celsius relative to its preindustrial level, global emissions from all economic sectors, including the power sector, must be reduced to net-zero around 2050.” Read more
THE PATH AHEAD
May 20: The U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources will hold a hearing at 2:30 p.m. ET to consider the nomination of Mark Menezes to be Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy.Details here
May 20: The Carbon Capture Leaders Roundtable is hosting a web event on Global Perspectives on the Role of CCUS in Building a Clean Energy Future. Register here
May 21: The U.S. Energy Association (USEA) is hosting a webinar on Supporting The Next Generation Of CCUS Projects: Highlights Of The USDA-DOE Collaboration. Details and register here
May 22: The U.S. Nuclear Industry Council (USNIC) and the Global America Business Institute will host a virtual workshop from 10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. ET on Areas for International Cooperation in Advanced Nuclear. Register here
$230 million in Funding for the
House E&C Leaders Release Emerging Technology Agenda to Beat China
ClearPath Team Hitting Web Panel Circuit in COVID-19 Era
