Rich Powell
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Biography
Rich Powell is the CEO of ClearPath and ClearPath Action, the DC-based organizations advancing policies that accelerate breakthrough innovations to reduce emissions in the energy and industrial sectors.
Rich advises policymakers on investing wisely in energy innovation, removing roadblocks to building and exporting American clean energy and industrial technology, and maintaining and promoting our flexible clean energy resources. He frequently testifies before congress on climate change and energy innovation.
Rich’s work has been published in the Wall Street Journal, FoxNews.com, Washington Examiner, The Hill, Morning Consult, RealClear Energy, and a number of regional publications. His views are regularly featured in national publications including the National Review, NPR, Politico, USA Today, Axios, E&E, New York Times, the Washington Post, Forbes, LA Times, Houston Chronicle, MIT Tech Review, Bloomberg, Green Tech Media, Utility Dive, the Guardian, and many others.
Rich serves on the boards of the 2040 Foundation and the Conservative Climate Foundation, is a Strategic Advisor to the Silverado Policy Accelerator, and is part of the Atlantic Council Global Energy Center’s Advisory Group. Rich served on the Advisory Committee to the Export Import Bank of the United States from 2019 to 2021.
Previously, Rich was with McKinsey & Company in the Energy and Sustainability practices. He focused on corporate clean energy strategy, government low carbon growth strategy, and clean tech market entry.
Education
B.A. from Harvard College in Environmental Science and Public Policy, and a J.D. from New York University.
Area of Expertise
Policy and Strategy
Featured Content from Rich
Investing in clean energy innovation pays off. All major advances in new energy technology, from oil to nuclear energy to renewables, had serious government support in their early stages – even the hydraulic fracturing revolution that caused the natural gas boom. All of these have led to American energy independence. Early-stage government support launched a $100 billion annual market. Not a bad return.
Economic inflation, post-Covid global supply chain chaos, Russia‘s war in Ukraine, and the onslaught of China’s effort to dominate markets have combined to bring on a global energy crisis. The question is how do we address these challenges and restore American energy independence while working to solve the climate challenge?
Over the past three years, more than 70 electric utilities, serving roughly 81 percent of American customers, have launched significant carbon emissions pledges. Concurrently, many have made clear in those pledges that they need firm, flexible clean energy. Thankfully, clean energy innovation and huge investment in sectors like nuclear energy, carbon capture, and geothermal is turning goals into reality.
Reducing carbon emissions in the U.S. to net zero is achievable. It’s economically sustainable, environmentally essential, technologically feasible and, with some work, even politically viable. But to have a good chance of reaching net zero, we must change the way we regulate the construction of clean energy projects.
The big international climate conference called COP — which stands for ‘Conference of the Parties’ — took place in Glasgow, Scotland in November of this year. ClearPath was thrilled to spend a week in Scotland with a group of conservative Members of Congress.
As countries tout their net-zero goals to decarbonize economies and mitigate the impacts of climate change, many in government and industry have assessed what meeting such pledges will take, and hydrogen has emerged as a promising energy solution.
