Spencer Nelson
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Biography
Spencer Nelson is Managing Director of Research and New Initiatives at ClearPath. He leads ClearPath’s research on the cheapest path to energy system decarbonization. Spencer works with industry, national labs and other stakeholders to develop insights that guide both ClearPath’s work and broader carbon mitigation advocacy efforts.
Prior to this role, Spencer worked for Chairman Lisa Murkowski on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, where he was the lead on all the Committee’s clean energy and climate activities. He was a lead architect of the Energy Act of 2020, which is the first comprehensive energy legislation enacted in over a decade and comprises over 40 different clean energy bills.
Before his stint on the Hill, Spencer worked at ClearPath for four years during which he held multiple roles. Most significantly, he managed ClearPath’s work on nuclear energy, energy innovation, and international engagement as a Policy Program Director.
Before that, Spencer worked on state-level solar policy and conducted environmental genetics research at both UNC Chapel Hill and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.
Education
B.S. in Energy and Sustainability from UNC Chapel Hill, B.S. in Quantitative Biology from UNC Chapel Hill
Area of Expertise
Energy Innovation, Decarbonization, Energy Analysis
Featured Content from Spencer
On September 22, 2022, ClearPath Managing Director for Research and New Initiatives Spencer Nelson testified before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on the role of energy storage on the grid today, the long-term limits of lithium and the importance of alternatives, advancing alternative energy storage technology solutions, and building on federal policy wins in the Energy Act of 2020 and bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
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.
The Energy Act of 2020, once implemented, has the potential to spur significant economic development, emissions reductions, and cost savings in the energy sector. Programs included in the Energy Act are expected to cumulatively reduce between 1,400 and 2,500 million metric tons of CO2 over the next 17 years.
Congress recently passed one of the biggest advancements in clean energy and climate policy in over a decade – the monumental Energy Act of 2020. Tucked away in the 5,000 page end of year omnibus was a wholly bipartisan, clean energy innovation roadmap.
The domestic nuclear fleet is vital for both mitigating climate change and supporting the U.S. economy. By finding innovative ways to use current and future nuclear reactors, we can leverage our existing infrastructure to decarbonize and add millions to the U.S. economy.
The components to build a successful supply chain for American lithium and energy storage exist: lithium reserves, a capable workforce, domestic demand, and economic power. Yet to successfully link these components, the U.S. must strategically tackle the web of factors that a battery faces on its journey around the globe and into your pocket.
