Welcome to your Friday Rundown for the week ending Sept. 15. Your feedback is also welcome at info@clearpathaction.org.
CONAWAY INTROS BIPARTISAN CARBON CAPTURE BILL
Rep. Mike Conaway (R-Texas) has introduced a bipartisan effort (H.R. 3761) to extend and expand the Section 45Q tax incentive for projects that capture and store carbon from power plants and other facilities.
“This bipartisan bill is now an important part of a bicameral effort to give the U.S. a global edge in technologies that responsibly grow coal and natural gas generation, while also magnifying the potential for enhanced oil recovery and other economic benefits,” ClearPath Action Executive Director Rich Powell said.
Among the original 20 Republican and 9 Democratic cosponsors of the Conaway bill are Reps. Ryan Costello (R), Robert Brady (D), Tim Murphy (R) and Mike Doyle (D) of Pennsylvania, Republicans David McKinley and Evan Jenkins of West Virginia, Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Carlos Curbelo (R-Fla.), Richard Hudson (R-N.C.), Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), Andy Barr (R-Ky.) and Collin Peterson (D-Minn.).
Sens. Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) are leading a similar effort that has earned backing from Senate leaders, including Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Energy and Natural Resources Chairman Lisa Murkowski and Environment and Public Works Chairman John Barrasso.
SENATE SHINES SPOTLIGHT ON WHAT MORE IS NEEDED
Barrasso held a Sept. 13 hearing on accelerating carbon capture technologies, calling them a “win-win opportunity” for the economy and environment. “Now’s the time to see what more we can do,” he said.
NRG Energy’s David Greeson touted the Petra Nova carbon capture facility near Houston for coming online “on time and on budget” and capturing 5,000 tons of carbon dioxide daily without raising electricity bills. Matt Fry, policy advisor to Gov. Matt Mead (R-Wyo.), said other states can replicate the Cowboy State in building pipelines that can ship captured CO2 for enhanced oil recovery and other purposes by using the 45Q tax credit and thorough upfront planning. Julio Friedmann, former principal deputy assistant secretary for the Office of Fossil Energy, echoed that “closing the financial gap” through 45Q and other means was most helpful in getting more carbon capture projects off the ground. Barrasso noted that the U.S. is currently a leader in carbon capture technologies “and we want to keep it that way.” WATCH HEARING
Rich Powell and former Oak Ridge National Lab Director Thom Mason in a new op-ed lay out how clean energy innovation has been an essential part of Tennessee’s fabric for more than eight decades, including contributing to some of our nation’s most significant breakthroughs.
But they also issue a word of caution ahead of the busy budget season on Capitol Hill: We must have sustained federal energy innovation investment or risk losing much of the promise being built in the Volunteer State and elsewhere.
Here’s just a taste of what’s been accomplished — and what’s at stake:
Meanwhile, Senate Energy Subcommittee Chairman Cory Gardner at a hearing in his energy subcommittee this week noted, “China is close at our heels in research spending.” The hearing spotlighted work being done at our 17 national labs. National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s Bill Tumas told Gardner’s subcommittee that it is unrealistic to expect the private sector “to pick up the massive R&D void” that may result in under-investing in federal R&D. WATCH HEARING
NUCLEAR PLANTS WEATHER HURRICANES
Nuclear plants were among the most resilient of energy infrastructure in the path of Hurricanes Irma and Harvey.
Two reactors near Houston operated at full capacity despite wind gusts of 130 mph, which along with flooding, shut down refineries and disrupted wind and solar generation. And while several Florida reactors were preemptively shut down ahead of Irma, they suffered no damage and were powered back up this week.
The Department of Energy announced $19.7 million to help businesses commercialize promising energy technologies being developed at national labs. This second round of funding through the department’s Office of Technology Transition’s Technology Commercialization Fund will give financial help to 54 projects across 12 labs involving more than 30 private-sector partners. That includes nuclear technology breakthroughs involving AREVA, TerraPower, Southern Company and X-energy, as well as work by Occidental Petroleum at Sandia National Laboratory related to enhanced oil recovery that could be achieved via carbon capture. DETAILS
DOE also awarded $50 million in grants to be administered by nine national labs to improve the security and resiliency of the electric grid and oil and natural gas infrastructure. DETAILS
THE PATH AHEAD
TUESDAY Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee meets to vote on Kevin McIntyre to be chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and Richard Glick to be a member of the commission. DETAILS
WEDNESDAY Senate Environment and Public Works Committee holds a hearing on Jeff Baran to be a member of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. DETAILS
