Please stay safe and healthy, wherever you’re reading this week.
Carbon Capture Now a Jobs Lifeline, Thanks to 45Q Credit
Wrongly perceived as unachievable, capture carbon is on the cusp of major developments. A natural gas power plant in California. A coal power plant in North Dakota. A cement facility in Colorado. A new Louisiana LNG terminal. A Texas facility that sucks up carbon dioxide straight from the air. Dozens of new carbon capture project proposals are sprouting up across the country. Read ClearPath’s latest blog by Justin Ong here
DOE Funding for Advanced Nuclear Reactor Demos,
Storage Technologies
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) made two funding opportunity announcements (FOA) this week. These opportunities are critical to help technologies cross the valley of death from design to commercialization.
The FOA for advanced nuclear reactor demonstrations will provide funding for several advanced reactors with the capabilities of achieving reliable, cost effective, licensable, and commercially operational designs. Read more
The FOA for advanced energy storage will be for technologies capable of improving the overall performance, reliability, and flexibility of fossil-fueled assets. This announcement is in support of the DOE’s Energy Storage Grand Challenge. Read more
Fusion Technology Getting a Boost
ARPA-E’s second fusion program, Breakthroughs Enabling THermonuclear-fusion Energy (BETHE), announced $32 million in awards this week to projects developing low-cost fusion systems. The 15 awards were given to a pretty wide array of researchers, including several universities and labs, but two private developers, Commonwealth Fusion Systems and Zap Energy, also received awards.
The program is a successor to their successful ALPHA program. They are also currently soliciting applications for GAMOW, the third iteration of ARPA-E’s fusion programs.
This week, ClearPath Executive Director Rich Powell joined the Atlantic Council and other energy and finance experts for an event entitled: COVID-19: Clean energy and climate impacts.
Our biggest takeaway is how much potential there is for carbon capture on new coal plants in places like China and SE Asia. Further developing and commercializing our carbon capture technology will not only be a win for U.S. clean energy innovation, but a huge win for lowering CO2 emissions.
Harnessing Heat:
How the Federal Government Can Advance Geothermal Energy
ClearPath and the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation partnered on a report Harnessing Heat: How the Federal Government Can Advance Geothermal Energy.
There is a virtually limitless supply of energy right beneath us: geothermal heat. The Earth’s core produces heat that radiates out to the subsurface. This heat , which can be harnessed for a variety of uses including electricity generation, heating and cooling of buildings, and other industrial and hybrid applications. Geothermal energy is clean, safe, and renewable and can provide multiple economic benefits. Because geothermal electricity is reliable, always-on energy, it is an excellent match for a grid replete with intermittent renewables like wind and solar energy.
E&E reported on the EPA’s proposed rule that would give Wyoming authority to enforce regulations over wells for underground carbon dioxide injection — potentially making it the second state to receive such authority. Excerpts from the story in include:
“Some project developers believe that giving states primary authority could decrease the time it takes to issue permits, according to Zak Baig, managing director of government affairs at ClearPath, a conservative clean energy group.”
“Sequestration permits have been bottlenecked by red tape in the past, but giving states the ability to provide regulatory certainty would ultimately lead to a lot more carbon being captured,” said Baig.”
Utility Dive:
BlackRock, Morgan Stanley to utilities: Tackle climate-related risks or lose market value
Utility Dive reported how utilities that address risks associated with the changing climate are rewarded by investors and have strong market value.
“Analyses from BlackRock, Morgan Stanley and others reflect what the world is learning in the COVID-19 fight: Aggressive action proactively addressing systemic risk produces better outcomes than pretending there is little risk. For utilities, the data shows that addressing climate-related risks with system hardening and emissions reductions attracts investors and shifts stock valuations, while relying on business as usual discourages investors and increases stock price volatility.” Read the story
American Action Forum:
The Need for Testing Advanced Nuclear Power
American Action Forum published a piece this week on why they believe we need to support testing for advanced nuclear. Here’s a summary:
Advanced nuclear energy can help mitigate climate change by providing energy that is both reliable and free of greenhouse gases.
Federal legislation and funding are positioning the advanced nuclear energy industry for commercialization in the coming years by supporting demonstration projects to evaluate their safety and environmental impacts.
Moving forward, demonstration projects can go beyond reviewing safety and environmental impacts of advanced nuclear technology and consider the operational costs of these facilities to identify their role in the future energy mix.
New Poll: “Clean Energy Innovation” Very Popular With Voters
Wondering what constituents in your state think of clean energy innovation? ClearPath launched a new nationwide poll recently, with data for every state and every Congressional District.
A 3,000 person nationwide survey conducted by Kristen Soltis Anderson’s firm Echelon Insights shows respondents across the country, including in some of the most conservative parts, believe clean energy innovation is a better path than government regulation.
Clean Energy Poll Highlights:
89% Believe it is possible for the U.S. to develop cleaner energy sources that can also provide more affordable energy.
87% Believe clean energy is an issue that Republicans in Congress SHOULD care about, only 50% believe they do.
58% Say that instead of regulation, they believe more innovation and better technology that lets us reduce carbon emissions is the best way to fight climate change.
Scaling Energy Storage Is a Climate Action Enabler
This week ClearPath’s Rich Powell and Rocky Mountain Institute’s James Newcomb published an op-ed in Morning Consult encouraging the federal government’s continued investments in grid scale energy storage. For example, The Department of Energy’s Energy Storage Grand Challenge, included in White House’s 2021 budget request, is meant to turbocharge the development of energy storage from basic R&D through commercialization. Read their op-ed
THE PATH AHEAD
May 13: Save the Date. Industry and Congressional leaders representing Texas energy interests will be hosting an online event, Managing the Critical Importance of Energy in America in a COVID-19 World. Stay tuned for registration details.
Carbon Capture Now a Jobs Lifeline, Thanks to 45Q Credit 
DOE Funding for Advanced Nuclear Reactor Demos,
Fusion Technology Getting a Boost
E&E:
New Poll: “Clean Energy Innovation” Very Popular With Voters
