ClearPath’s CEO Rich Powell delivered a TED Talk on modernizing the energy permitting process. Powell shares optimism on the otherwise gloomy permitting outlook. He offers a plan to:
expedite project development, and
improve the judicial review process.
Plug in: Watch the full TED Talk from Powell here.
2. Wyoming greenlights first CO2 wells
The Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality issued three Class VI permits last month – its first since the EPA granted the state top regulatory authority over the wells in 2020.
Over 10 months, Wyoming reviewed the company’s three permit applications.
Carbon storage developer Frontier Carbon Solutions plans to begin construction on the three carbon dioxide storage wells in the summer of 2024.
CO2 removed from the atmosphere will be stored in the wells by the proposed Wyoming Regional DAC Hub in Sweetwater County.
North Dakota and Louisiana also have Class VI Primacy.
What’s clear: Granting states primacy on Class VI wells expedites the process for sequestering CO2. North Dakota was able to permit a project in nine months. Other than North Dakota and now Wyoming, the only other Class VI well is in Illinois which took the EPA roughly six years.
Plug in: Click here to read our take on removing roadblocks for CO2 pipelines and wells.
3. New video:
Atlanta-based Emrgy is expanding the United States’ hydropower portfolio with an exciting new twist on low-cost, modular hydropower.
Emrgy turbines could be placed into existing open channel water flows – like a canal or irrigation ditch – to harvest energy as the water flows naturally downhill.
This modular nature eliminates the need to construct or modify existing water infrastructure.
What’s clear: Hydropower generates nearly 30 percent of all U.S. renewable energy. Modern hydropower or hydroelectric power has been utilized for over 100 years and remains a clean, reliable electricity asset.
Energy Northwest is partnering with Bellevue-based Puget Sound Energy to accelerate research on the feasibility of developing and deploying a next-generation nuclear energy facility in the northwest.
Energy Northwest is also partnering with reactor developer X-energy
Looks to follow the construction of X-energy’s first reactor at a Dow Chemical facility in Texas.
Plug in: Learn more about the importance of American nuclear fuel leadership in this blog by Jack Ridilla.
5. ICYMI
The EIA reports more than 30 GW of battery storage capacity plans to come online in 2024, which would nearly double battery storage capacity on the grid.
The DOE released a request for a proposal to kickstart the domestic production of the specialized fuel needed for many next-generation reactors like X-energy’s.
API’s 2024 State of American Energy event featured Oklahoma Gov. Stitt and U.S. Sens. Cassidy (R-LA) and Hickenlooper (D-CO) on permitting, Class VI primacy, and ensuring affordable, reliable, and cleaner energy. Watch the event recording here.
In 2023, the U.S. saw a growing economy paired with the largest decline in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions since before the pandemic, according to a new Rhodium analysis.
The DOE’s Loan Program Office announced a conditional commitment to LongPath Technologies, Inc. for real-time methane emission monitoring.
That’s all from us. Thanks for reading and have a great weekend!
