Rich Powell Testifies Before House Climate Select on How to Achieve Clean, Reliable, Affordable and Exportable Energy in the U.S.
Yesterday, ClearPath Executive Director Rich Powell testified before the House Select Committee on the Crisis on, “Creating a Climate Resilient America: Strengthening the U.S. Financial System and Expanding Economic Opportunity.”
In his testimony, Rich discussed how to help achieve clean, reliable, affordable and exportable energy in the U.S. including these five topics:
Climate change and its economic risks
Reducing these risks through global emissions mitigation and local adaptation;
The challenges of changing developing countries’ emissions trajectories;
A strategy for America to lead on solving the global climate challenge;
and Opportunities to build on last Congress’ bipartisan clean innovation record.
A Carbon Capture Credit with Huge Returns
A recently conducted study on the benefits of the 45Q carbon sequestration tax credit shows how long-term certainty could yield more clean power and manufacturing, more than 100,000 new jobs and gigatons of emission reductions. Carbon capture projects are often billion dollar investments that require long-term certainty to pencil out and attract investment. New modeling from the Rhodium Group, a leading research firm that’s partnered with BlackRock to analyze climate risk among other things, puts in perspective exactly how big of a difference carbon capture and an extended 45Q credit can make, with the credit set to expire in December 2023. And it’s big. Watch our latest whiteboard video, “A Carbon
Capture Credit with Huge Returns” here.
C3: Republicans Propose Real Solutions for Energy Sector
As Congress considers energy legislation throughout the remainder of this session, their solutions should be ambitious but also pragmatic. Too often, energy policy is oversimplified: renewables versus fossils, economy versus environment, 100% reductions globally versus inaction here at home. These are false choices. ClearPath Executive Director Rich Powell wrote an op-ed in C3 News Magazine outlining Republicans’ real, innovative, free-market solutions for the energy sector. Read the op-ed in the
newly launched c3newsmag.com.
Vanguard’s Misguided New Investment Fund Won’t
Allow Critical Base-load Power Investments
Vanguard Group, one of the largest fund companies in the world, announced this week a new exchange traded fund (ETF) that will focus exclusively on Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance (ESG) investing. Coal and nuclear power are among the industries they say they will screen out. Read more
Rich’s Take
“I’m all for the broader concept of ESG investing, but this outdated negative notion about coal and nuclear power that cuts against climate action is troubling. Net-zero goals are unachievable without significant breakthroughs in multiple technologies and industries. These innovation challenges are daunting. Targeted research, development and demonstration (RD&D) alone can require billions in investment, and the commercial scale-up of those new technology solutions will require billions more. There is growing consensus — including the IPCC and IEA — that we will not meet CO2 reduction goals by 2050 unless we scale up carbon capture technology for coal and natural gas as well as nuclear power. This outdated notion by Vanguard is actually a step backwards for solving the climate challenge.”
GOP Releases China Task Force Report
This week House Republicans’ released a blueprint on how to maintain global leadership over China’s. Most of the proposals are bipartisan and a number of them were energy related such as prioritizing U.S. development of clean energy like nuclear, and ramping up the domestic production of critical minerals used for clean energy technologies like energy storage. You can read the full report here
This week, the House Science, Space and Technology Subcommittee on Environment held a hearing on the nexus of social justice, extreme weather and the pandemic. Watch the hearing here.
The House Energy & Commerce Committee Subcommittee on Energy held a hearing, “Generating Equity: Improving Clean Energy Access and Affordability.” Read more
Additionally, the House Select Committee on the Crisis held a hearing on, “Creating a Climate Resilient America: Strengthening the U.S. Financial System and Expanding Economic Opportunity.” ClearPath Executive Director Rich Powell was the Republican witness. Watch the hearing here
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
The Hill: Energy innovation bill can deliver jobs and climate progress
Sasha Mackler, director of the Energy Project at the Bipartisan Policy Center and Quill Robinson, vice president of Government Affairs at the American Conservation Coalition (ACC) penned an op-ed on Congressional momentum on energy innovation legislation. Read their column here
Open-Source BluPrint For Nuclear Power Plants
Earlier this year, The Energy Impact Center launched the OPEN100 project, an open-source blueprint for the design, construction, and financing of nuclear power plant. This week they announced updates that include contributing organizations and experts, detailed engineering schematics, construction schedules, and an interactive economics dashboard. Read more
Carbon Capture Technology Is Not Just for Coal and Gas
In the United States, CO2 emissions fall into one of five main sectors: electricity, transportation, industry, buildings and agriculture. If you combine the emissions coming from just the electricity and industry sectors — we’re talking about half of all CO2 emissions in the U.S. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could kill two birds with one stone — or in this case two major sectors’ emissions, with one technology. For the first time in more than a decade, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) awarded significant funding to kickstart commercial industrial carbon capture projects. Read more from ClearPath Policy Analyst Savita Bowman in our latest blog, “Carbon Capture Technology Is Not Just for Coal and Gas.”
THE PATH AHEAD
October 6: The Department of Energy (DOE), the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), and the Fusion Industry Association (FIA) will host a Virtual Public Forum on a regulatory framework for Fusion. More details and registration information here
October 21 & 22: The Global CCS Institute and U.S. Energy Association, with the support of the Department of Energy’s Office of Fossil Energy, will host two days of panels exploring opportunities to deploy CCS projects in Texas. Registration for Oct. 21 Registration for Oct. 22
October 28: The Cleantech Group is hosting a webinar at 11:00am EDT on, “Nuclear Innovation and Deep Decarbonization: Can Innovation Transform the Global Energy System?” More details and registration information here
Carbon Capture Technology Is Not Just for Coal and Gas 
