Welcome to your Friday Rundown, for the week ending Jan. 18. I’m your driver, ClearPath Communications Director Darren Goode. Anything we missed? Let me know at goode@clearpathaction.org. Thanks for reading. Special thanks and credit also to the Bipartisan Policy Center/Greg Gibson for the event photos!
RESTARTING THE CLIMATE CONVERSATION WITH INNOVATION
Any real progress on climate change, clean energy and innovation especially in divided government will depend on a politically realistic and technologically inclusive agenda built on pushing zero-carbon and low-carbon technologies around the world.
One big solution to how to commercialize clean technologies that scale faster, perform better, and are cheaper than higher-polluting alternatives: “Goals, goals and goals.”
“If we have more focus and alignment around resources, we can do more with less,” Jay added.
But in order to achieve the goals framing a serious climate strategy, there must be recognition of what’s at stake. “You can’t talk about the problem, it’s kind of hard to set the goals,” Jay said.
What’s changed is that climate change and clean energy is beginning to seep back into the national debate.
Others on the panel – Southern Company CEO Tom Fanning, Shell Chairman Chris Holliday, American Air Liquide Holdings CEO Michael Graff and Former Aerospace Corporation CEO (and current Chevron board member) Wanda Austin – said those companies have begun to directly link long-term compensation for senior officials to meeting their goals of reducing carbon emissions. “And then the organization says, ‘I guess they’re serious because they’re putting their pay on the line,’” Holliday said. Fanning added that Southern’s decision to start doing that this year “is going to move the ball.”
But he added that existing technologies are “far short than what we need,” using as an example the “miracle” directional drilling and hydraulic fracturing has done for shale gas production.
Jay reminded that last Congress saw incremental but important clean energy wins – including robust and targeted investments, Department of Energy goals for storage and advanced nuclear and fixing the tax code for carbon capture. “We focus on singles and doubles that build trust and a little bit of muscle tissue to get these things done,” he said. “Let’s have some big conversations but meanwhile let’s don’t forget the singles and doubles that will get us there.”
At the Bipartisan Policy Center event, Energy Secretary Rick Perry announced a new Department of Energy effort to recycle lithium ion batteries. It will include a new lithium ion recycling center housed at Argonne National Laboratory and a prize worth $5.5 million over the next three years. “As always my message is very clear- innovation works,” Perry said.
NEIMA would direct the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to develop a common-sense licensing pathway for advanced reactor concepts that promotes safety without being overly prescriptive. This is part of a broader effort to “rightsize” the NRC to match its workload.
Original sponsors include Senate Environment and Public Works Chairman John Barrasso, former EPW Chairman Jim Inhofe, Republicans Mike Crapo, Deb Fischer and Shelley Moore Capito and Democrats Sheldon Whitehouse and Joe Manchin.
The final version signed by President Trump also includes language from the bipartisan Nuclear Utilization of Keynote Energy (NUKE) Act led by Reps. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.), Mike Doyle (D-Pa.), Bob Latta (R-Ohio) and Gene Green (D-Texas) to update NRC’s fee structure, expedite licensing and examine other potential benefits to the nuclear industry.
In another advance for next-generation nuclear, NuScale Power announced it has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Jordan Atomic Energy Commission to evaluate NuScale’s small modular reactor technology for use in Jordan.
President Trump this week renominated Rita Baranwal to head DOE’s Office of Nuclear Energy.
“Rita is the right person at the right time to help oversee a comprehensive U.S. effort to keep pace with China and Russia in the global advanced nuclear race,” ClearPath Executive Director Rich Powell said.
Her extensive and senior nuclear policy experience includes as director of the Gateway for Acceleration Innovation in Nuclear effort housed at Idaho National Laboratory since August 2016. She was previously director of technology development and core engineering/nuclear fuel at Westinghouse Electric and a manager at Bettis Atomic Power Laboratory.
THE PATH AHEAD
TUESDAY Information Technology and Innovation Foundation hosts a discussion on “Making Beyond Lithium A Reality: Fostering Innovation in Long-Duration Grid Storage,” featuring experts from ITIF, Union of Concerned Scientists and ClearPath Policy Analyst Faith Smith. Cannon House Office Building Room 340, Noon-1pm.
JAN. 29 The Department of Energy and ClearPath sponsor the next Atomic Wings nuclear power policy lunch, featuring discussion on microreactors. Speakers include Reps. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) and Chuck Fleischmann (R-Tenn.), DOE Office of Nuclear Energy’s Tom Miller, Nuclear Energy Institute’s Marc Nicol, George Washington University’s Joseph Cascio and ClearPath Executive Director Rich Powell. RSVP
