Welcome to your Friday Rundown for the week ending June 1. Feedback is always welcome at info@clearpathaction.org.
LANDMARK NET POWER PROJECT ACHIEVES MAJOR MILESTONE
NET Power announced Wednesday that it has successfully achieved “first fire” of its landmark demonstration plant in La Porte, TX, that is intended to capture all of the carbon from new power plants that can use both coal and natural gas.
Wednesday’s milestone included the firing of a 50MW Toshiba commercial-scale combustor, which involved the integrated operation of the full NET Power process. The combustor will be integrated with the turbine and power will be generated after further testing, with the goal of global deployment of 300MW commercial-scale plants beginning as early as 2021. First fire is a critical milestone for the demonstration plant, as it validates the fundamental operability and technical foundation of NET Power’s new power system.
If successful, NET Power will greatly simplify the process and equipment needed to produce not just cleaner power, but emission-free power from coal and natural gas. It would emit no carbon and use no water. ClearPath Executive Director Rich Powell explained the Allam Cycle, the process used by NET Power, and how it could revolutionize clean energy in the U.S. and globally.
ClearPath Action Fund is endorsing Rep. Scott Taylor (R-Va.) and will begin running digital ads in June supporting his reelection.
“Scott is the kind of young, thoughtful leader on clean energy that the GOP needs for many years to come,” ClearPath Action Fund Founder Jay Faison said.
He has voted to support funding increases for energy storage research, which can lead to breakthrough grid-scale storage capabilities critical for more flexible use of both intermittent renewable and constant-running nuclear power. He has also backed increased funding for the Department of Energy’s broader ARPA-E advanced energy effort, which has led to the creation of dozens of companies and otherwise spearheaded next-generation clean energy technologies.
LABS, EXPERTS GATHER FOR ENERGY INNOVATION HUDDLE IN ALASKA
ClearPath joined Battelle, the University of Alaska Fairbanks and the University of California in sponsoring a tremendous gathering in Fairbanks this week of Department of Energy, national lab and other leaders from around the country to discuss paths forward for energy innovation at the first National Labs Day to be hosted in Alaska.
“Chances are, if you can make it work here, you can make it work practically anywhere else,” Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chairman Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) said in kicking off the two-day gathering Wednesday. “Alaska is a great living laboratory for energy innovation.”
Murkowski and Energy Secretary Rick Perry penned an op-ed as a stage-setter, arguing that Alaska “can be a significant asset to the labs.” That includes methane hydrates beneath the North Slope that could be the next shale gas, advanced micro-reactors that could power remote villages and military bases and plenty of sites for future hydropower projects.
