Welcome to your Friday Rundown following a big, BIG week on Capitol Hill, ending Sept. 14. Feedback is always welcome at info@clearpathaction.org.
FY19 DEAL PROVIDES CLEAN ENERGY DIRECTION, INVESTMENT
Congress approved a bicameral FY19 spending bill providing critical programmatic direction and targeted funding for advanced nuclear, carbon capture, storage and other advanced clean energy technologies.
Among the highlights:
Prioritizes R&D of new advanced reactor designs by increasing the department’s reactor concepts program by $96 million. This includes finishing the two cost-shared industry awards to Southern Company/TerraPower and X-energy, as well as furthering research on advanced small modular reactors (SMRs).
Provides $65 million for the versatile test reactor, a national lab facility critical to the development of advanced nuclear by private developers.
Provides up to $20 million for preparation and testing of high assay low-enriched uranium (HA-LEU), which will be needed to fuel many advanced nuclear reactors. DOE is also directed to provide Congress a timely report describing a plan and cost profile for developing a domestic HA-LEU supply.
Provides $30+ million is provided for Front-End Engineering and Design (FEED) assistance for two commercial-scale carbon capture power projects, one to retrofit an existing coal plant and one for a coal or natural gas plant that generates CO2 suitable for utilization or storage. Public-private FEED partnerships is a cost-effective way for DOE to advance carbon capture, utilization and storage technologies within the R&D pipeline.
Allocates $46 million ($5 million increase) for energy storage research and development efforts spearheaded by the Office of Electricity Delivery.
Advances and fully funds the ongoing five-year R&D effort led by DOE’s Energy Innovation Hubs – namely the Joint Center for Energy Storage Research (developing extraordinary new batteries) and the Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis (using sunlight to turn water into clean hydrogen fuel).
Provides a record $366 million to the department’s highly-successful ARPA-E effort.
“Congress again sent an undeniable message that lawmakers are serious about keeping the U.S. in the top tier of countries pursuing clean and reliable energy breakthroughs,” ClearPath Action Executive Director Rich Powell said. “While steady and sufficient funding is essential, providing important direction and reforms to the DOE to make sure that dollars are well spent is equally vital to spurring energy innovation.”
HOUSE PROVIDES BIG NUCLEAR INNOVATION WIN
House lawmakers Thursday approved the Nuclear Energy Innovation Capabilities Act, which would strengthen partnerships between the private sector and government researchers to test and demonstrate the next generation of clean advanced nuclear reactor concepts.
The bill, led by Sens. Michael Crapo (R-Idaho), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Energy and Natural Resources Chairman Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and others, was approved by the Senate in March and now heads to President Trump. Rep. Randy Weber (R-Texas) had also been pushing similar legislation for years.
NEICA authorizes the development of a versatile neutron source for advanced reactor testing (see more on that below).
The bill also directs the Department of Energy to prioritize partnering with private innovators to test and demonstrate advanced nuclear reactor concepts. That includes creating a National Reactor Innovation Center combining the technical expertise at our world-leading national labs and DOE to spark the construction of demonstration reactors.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission would also be a partner in the effort, allowing early interactions with developers and potentially leading to the expediting of licensing as the technologies mature toward commercialization.
House lawmakers Thursday also approved the Department of Energy Research and Innovation Act (H.R. 589), which provides policy direction to the DOE on basic science research and important reforms to streamline national lab management. The bipartisan bill from House Science and Technology Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) and other leaders on the panel provides a lodestar for the Office of Science’s energy innovation hubs, which have improved agency coordination around energy innovation. The bill also modernizes the national lab system and promotes the transfer of federal research to the private sector in order to bring innovative ideas to the commercial marketplace.
The House approved a version the Senate modified and is now also being sent to President Trump for his signature.
“NEICA will create a strong new foundation for global nuclear innovation leadership. By preparing a test bed for our advanced reactor entrepreneurs, we have thrown down the gauntlet to our Russian and Chinese competitors that the United States will not be out-innovated in the technology we invented,” Rich Powell said. “NEICA’s broad bipartisan support also illustrates the virtual consensus on the need to prioritize this vital clean energy technology.”
A VERSATILE WAY TO GROW ADVANCED NUCLEAR POWER
Given all the attention from Congress of late – the FY 18 and 19 spending plans, NEICA and last week’s introduction of the bipartisan Nuclear Energy Leadership Act – we thought we’d dive in a bit on just what is a versatile test reactor and why it is so important for next-generation nuclear power.
Building a VTR – at a national laboratory that can handle energy neutrons that can go far faster inside a nuclear reactor than traditional reactors and even the Department of Energy’s existing Advanced Test Reactor at Idaho National Lab – can have huge implications for future reactors that, among other big differences from existing reactors, won’t use water that slows down or moderates the neutrons released inside reactors that are necessary to create power.
ClearPath’s policy chief Jeremy Harrell and nuclear expert Spencer Nelson explain why the U.S. needs to catch up to China and Russia, who are already trying to corner the global VTR market.
Lawmakers approved significant hydropower reform in a bicameral Water Resources Development Act deal that hits on the future of an unheralded and still largely untapped clean power source.
The WRDA deal includes a bipartisan bill from Reps. Richard Hudson (R-N.C.) and Diana DeGette (D-Colo.) that would trim federal reviews of small conduit (or energy-recovery) hydropower projects. These projects tare typically low impact because they are constructed as part of existing water infrastructure, such as irrigation canals and pipes that deliver water to cities and for industrial and agricultural use, and is one of the most promising untapped sources for new hydropower.
Also included in the WRDA package:
1. The Promoting Hydropower Development at Existing Nonpowered Dams Act (H.R. 2872) from Rep. Larry Bucshon (R-Ind.), which would establish a streamlined environmental review process for qualifying non-powered dam projects. The Department of Energy estimates the U.S. non-powered dam power generation potential is equivalent to roughly two dozen large coal power plants.
2. The Promoting Closed-Loop Pumped Storage Hydropower Act (H.R. 2880) led by Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-Va.) streamlines the federal licensing process stymying the development of pumped storage hydropower facilities that make up the vast majority of U.S. electricity storage technologies.
3. Portions of a critical measure from Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) that would improve burdensome licensing and relicensing for non-federal hydropower facilities. There are roughly 400 hydropower projects that will be up for relicensing by 2030, representing 18,000 megawatts of capacity.
THE PATH AHEAD
TUESDAY MIT and Stanford co-host symposium in DC on energy technology game changers, featuring former Secretary of State George Shultz and experts from Idaho and Oak Ridge labs, MIT and Stanford. REGISTER
SEPT. 24-28 National Clean Energy Week features a number of events, including a Sept. 26 policymakers symposium featuring senior Trump administration officials, members of Congress and experts from ClearPath and elsewhere. REGISTER
