Clean Energy Innovation R&D Sees Big Wins in FY20 Appropriations
ClearPath Action called the fiscal 2020 spending package a big win for clean energy innovation. Both the House and Senate have passed a bill that includes more than $13 billion for clean energy research, development and deployment (RD&D) and President Donald Trump will sign the bill. The legislation characterizes the investments as needing to be outcome oriented and goal focused, a shift from old spending bills.
Axios reported on the FY20 spending bill saying federal research and development is a key part of scaling up and making affordable technologies needed to cut emissions, such as advanced nuclear power, carbon capture and energy storage. The piece includes a chart with data from ClearPath showing the increases for clean energy innovation R&D. Read the Axios story here
RICH’S TAKE
“We think the route is to make clean energy cheaper, not traditional energy more expensive. We must develop the U.S. as a test bed for globally relevant clean solutions — using U.S. policy to help developing nations easily choose clean energy. We need more clean, affordable, reliable, exportable offerings so developing nations consistently choose them over higher-emitting options. Leveraging DOE and our world class national labs, America is uniquely suited to seize this immense economic opportunity.”
House Science Moves Bipartisan Clean Energy Package, Including Geothermal, Storage & Grid Modernizations
Last week, Ranking Member Frank Lucas (R-OK) and Chairwoman Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) introduced H.R. 5374 the Advanced Geothermal Research and Development Act which focuses advanced geothermal research, development, and demonstration efforts at the Department of Energy (DOE) on key challenges that could unlock gigawatts of new baseload clean energy. ClearPath Action, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Global Energy Institute, Geothermal Resources Council and other groups sent a letter to House leadership supporting the Advanced Geothermal Research and Development Act. Read the release and letter here.
The BEST Act would reorient the U.S. Department of Energy’s grid-scale storage research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) efforts around ambitious technology and cost goals to facilitate breakthroughs for the 21st Century U.S. electricity grid’s needs. The BEST Act was originally introduced by U.S. Representatives Rep. Bill Foster (D-IL), Rep. Sean Casten (D-IL), Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-WA) and Rep. Anthony Gonzalez (R-OH), and today has nearly 50 cosponsors. The BEST Act has also cleared the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.
NRC Permit Establishes Precedent for Advanced Nuclear Reactors
This week the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) approved the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) early site permit (ESP) to build a small modular reactor at the Clinch River Site near the Oak Ridge National Lab in Tennessee.
As part of the licensing of a new nuclear reactor, the NRC has defined an Emergency Planning Zone (EPZ) surrounding the plant. The exact size and configuration of the EPZ can vary from plant to plant due to local emergency response needs and capabilities, the population surrounding the site, topographic characteristics, access routes in the specific area, and the jurisdictional boundaries of the region. Today, NRC regulations set an EPZ of “about 10 miles” in a radius around the plant. The TVA approach can result in an EPZ at the site boundary or at two miles, depending on the specific safety and design characteristics of the reactor selected within the envelope of the ESP.
Last month, ClearPath alongside Third Way and the U.S. Nuclear Industry Council published a white paper, “Advanced Nuclear Reactors Justify Modernized Emergency Preparedness Requirements.” Read the paper here
RICH’S TAKE
“The operational profile of advanced nuclear reactors is rapidly improving, and the regulatory framework needs to keep up. Recent policy reforms, like those included in the Nuclear Energy Innovation and Modernization Act, have pushed the NRC to make improvements, but much more could be done — like modernizing their emergency planning zones. This preapproval establishes an important precedent for future advanced reactor emergency planning activities.”
EXIM Bank Reauthorized for Seven Years
The Export Import Bank was reauthorized this week as part of the FY20 Appropriations bill. In September, Powell testified at the House Committee on Financial Services where he advocated for reauthorization. You can watch his testimony here
According to the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, China is financing $36B in inefficient coal plants in at least 27 countries. It has been reported that Russia has overtaken the U.S. in nuclear exports, with Rosatom developing 33 reactors in countries like India. China is close behind,
increasing nuclear exports with questionable safeguards under the belief that more nuclear proliferation will make the world more peaceful while supporting their economic goals.
RICH’S TAKE
“As we refine critical clean energy technologies here in America, we must prepare strong support for exports to the developing world to fend off the great risk of falling behind. For perspective, China and Russia view the spread of their technology as a means to expand their power, and use their state owned enterprises while there is an American vacuum on clean energy exports which also risks severe climate change while also threatening our national security and geopolitical position.”
In July, Powell was named to the The Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) 2019 Advisory Committee. The EXIM Advisory Committee advises EXIM on its programs and financing to support American jobs through exports. The Advisory Committee is made up of professionals working in small business, agriculture, environment, finance, labor, services, and textiles, among others. Read more here
FEATURED VIDEO:
ClearPath 2019 Congressional Hearing Montage
Rich Powell, ClearPath Executive Director testified at a number of Congressional hearings in 2019, becoming one of House Republicans go-to witnesses on climate change and clean energy innovation. Watch the video!
In the Hearing Room This Week
On December 18, House Committee on Science, Space, & Technology Markup of three energy bills
Wall Street Journal editorial: A Nuclear Milestone for Climate
Earlier this month, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) extended the Turkey Point nuclear reactors’ license so it can operate for 80 years. The Wall Street Journal had this to say:
Excerpts from the column:
“The decision for the Turkey Point reactors in south Florida could encourage other plant owners to apply for renewals and extend the viability of the leading carbon-free energy source…
“A majority of the 58 nuclear plants now supplying power to U.S. homes and businesses were built in the 1970s and 1980s, when they were licensed for 40 years. Most plants have applied for and received 20-year extensions to bring their life spans to 60 years. Yet antinuclear activists use the license renewal periods to pressure plants to close, and until the Turkey Point decision it was an open question whether the NRC would approve second 20-year extensions…
“The federal go-ahead for Turkey Point comes at an important time for America’s maturing nuclear fleet. The 2010s saw a wave of plant closures, and according to the Nuclear Energy Institute half of U.S. plants would shut down by 2040 without a second extension. Nine are seeking one so far…
“Because of the steep regulatory obstacles to building new nuclear plants, continued operation of existing plants is the best bet for keeping nuclear from declining below its current 19% share of U.S. electric power. Environmentalists who say the climate is an existential crisis should be the most pleased at this indication that nuclear energy will stay on the grid.”
Wired: The Next Nuclear Plants Will Be Small, Svelte, and Safer
Wired wrote about the next generation of nuclear reactors featuring designs form NuScale and Oklo, and stated that they, “may be key to hitting our climate goals. Read the story here
VIDEO: Energy Sector Innovation Credit Could Help Start Innovation Engine
At a recent House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis, Rep. Tom Reed (R-NY) discussed the Energy Sector Innovation Credit legislation he has previously introduced and may introduce again this year. His bill – especially when added to a recent suite of other GOP-led proposals to right-size the U.S. innovation engine and regulatory code – could be a major missing financing piece of the clean energy innovation puzzle. Watch the video
THE PATH AHEAD
Happy Holidays! We will see you in 2020.
January 10, 2020: U.S. Department of Energy Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy Rita Baranwal announced that Battelle Energy Alliance, LLC (BEA), the managing and operating contractor for the Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory (INL), is seeking an Expression of Interest (EOI) for partnerships on the deployment of the Versatile Test Reactor (VTR). Click here for details on the Versatile Test Reactor Program Seeking Expressions of Interest
2019 – 2020 School Year: The Energy Impact Center in partnership with the University of Michigan has created the first ever Nuclear Energy Grand Challenge: Reimagining Nuclear Waste which will engage collegiate innovators and entrepreneurs to tackle one of the most unique challenges facing the nuclear energy industry – the perception of nuclear waste. The winning team will be awarded a cash prize. Learn more about the Nuclear Energy Grand Challenge here.
EXIM Bank Reauthorized for Seven Years
