Clean Baseload Power: A Politically Durable Energy Agenda

ClearPath was founded in 2014 to fill the whitespace in the energy debate. Plenty of technology and industry-specific organizations existed. But who was working on an American innovation agenda and policy strategy focused on building clean, baseload energy? And, more specifically, who were the conservative voices? 

That’s where ClearPath founder Jay Faison stepped in: “I want conservatives to be leaders on clean energy—from nuclear to hydropower to clean fossil fuels—both to improve the environment and strengthen real conservative leadership.” 

Today, politics remain polarized, and there is still healthy debate over which technology is the best, most affordable way to meet growing demand. 

Instead of falling into the false choice trap of fossil fuels versus renewables, or the economy versus the environment, we espouse choosing markets over mandates and innovation over regulation. 

And now, as the post-One Big Beautiful Bill dust settles, an actual clear path for a politically durable American energy system has emerged.

Amidst the political noise, a quiet, bipartisan consensus has formed around a critical piece of America’s energy future: clean, firm, 24/7 energy technologies.

Both parties recognize that if we want to maintain a reliable grid, meet growing electricity demand to win the AI race, and reduce emissions, we need firm, always-on clean power.

This is where technologies like advanced nuclear, carbon capture, hydropower, fusion and enhanced geothermal systems come in. These solutions can provide round-the-clock electricity. And crucially, they have gained champions on both sides of the aisle. Recent federal policies prove the point. The Energy Act of 2020, which had strong bipartisan support in Congress and was signed into law by President Trump, authorized research, development and deployment policies for clean, firm power. 

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021, passed with bipartisan support and signed by President Biden, dedicated billions to fund demonstrations of those technologies authorized in the Energy Act of 2020. 

The Inflation Reduction Act, driven by Democrats in 2022, and One Big Beautiful Bill, by Republicans this year, both have one thing in common — support for new nuclear, long-duration energy storage, carbon capture, geothermal and hydropower, or, as we’ve already said…clean, 24/7 reliable energy. 

At the same time, Republican-led states like Wyoming, Utah, Louisiana and West Virginia are actively partnering with private developers to host small modular nuclear reactors and carbon capture projects, while Democratic strongholds like California, New York and Michigan are extending the life of their nuclear plants to keep clean, reliable power on the grid.

The motivation is not ideological; it’s practical. A manufacturing renaissance, more electrification of buildings and industry, and a data-driven economy all require massive amounts of reliable electricity. Without 24/7 power, renewables alone cannot meet that demand without risking blackouts or skyrocketing costs. And while we want to see more fossil fuel power plants with carbon capture get built, supply chains and infrastructure challenges make meeting the entire demand challenging. 

Policymakers in both parties are seeing the same reality: the U.S. must invest in American-made technologies that can run all day, all year.

The alignment is not just good for political discourse; it’s good for American energy dominance. China and Russia are aggressively deploying advanced nuclear and other clean energy infrastructure around the world. To beat them, we must diversify our innovations and accelerate the deployment of technologies at home while opening up new global buyers of American-made energy. 

At the same time, the drumbeat for modernizing energy permitting is getting louder and for good reason. If we want America to lead the world and develop more of the clean, baseload power that has bipartisan support, developers must have a better path to obtaining permits. 

Energy policy may never be completely free from partisanship, but we should not lose sight of the common ground that now clearly exists. When it comes to keeping the lights on, powering the economy and new AI, and lowering global emissions, clean 24/7 energy is one issue where America can still move forward together.

 

20 Years Since the Energy Policy Act of 2005

It is hard to believe that this month marks 20 years since Congress passed the Energy Policy Act (EPAct) of 2005. EPAct 2005 focused on increasing energy supplies, building energy infrastructure and driving investment in American innovation. While it was far from perfect, EPAct was bold and set the stage for U.S. energy dominance. Congress can build on the lessons from EPAct 2005 and continue to deliver energy policy that moves our nation forward.

When EPAct 2005 was crafted, the country was facing complex energy issues. We were grappling with the impacts of the 2003 Northeast Blackout, which affected more than 50 million people and caused an estimated $10 billion in economic losses. There were growing concerns about too much dependence on foreign oil and gas. The nuclear industry was in need of a serious revival to meet its potential. Innovative technologies were struggling to get the financing needed to achieve speed and scale. Congress took these challenges and turned them into opportunities.

Some key provisions of EPAct 2005 included:

Today, the saga of challenging energy issues continues. Our grid must be ready to meet increased demand driven from data center growth, industrial reshoring and widespread electrification while also dealing with aging infrastructure, the complexity of integrating variable resources and an evolving regulatory landscape. Permitting hurdles remain a major barrier to building critical energy infrastructure. Innovative technologies still need strong public-private partnerships to bridge the commercialization gap and scale to competitive solutions. These challenges set the stage for the next opportunity for energy leadership.

Forecast of Data Center Demand Growth by 2030

Adapted from DOE’s Resource Adequacy Report (2025), underlying data from EPRI, McKinsey & Company, LBNL, S&P

Congress has shown in EPAct 2005 as well as the Energy Act of 2020 that it can deliver broad, bipartisan energy policy. It is time for an updated big, bold, bipartisan energy bill.  

The following are examples of policies that can address today’s energy challenges:

Streamline Permitting: Outdated permitting processes are jeopardizing critical infrastructure development. Bills like the SPEED Act, introduced by House Natural Resources Chairman Bruce Westerman (R-AR) and Rep. Jared Golden (D-ME), can help modernize NEPA to reduce duplication, increase transparency and reform judicial and litigation practices. The administration and legislation proposals like the FREE Act introduced by Sen. Lummis (R-WY) and Rep. Maloy (R-UT) have also highlighted the potential for using a regulatory tool called permit-by-rule to expedite permitting, which is a process that allows certain activities to proceed without undergoing a full individualized permit review, as long as they meet predefined criteria.

Improve the Grid:  American energy security, AI leadership and manufacturing competitiveness require a robust transmission system. Transmission siting and permitting improvements could streamline grid expansion while balancing and fully respecting states’ roles in the process. Innovative grid technologies and transformer manufacturing deployed at scale would also help optimize the grid. Safeguarding the grid, such as through the work of DOE’s Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security and Emergency Response (CESER), is also critical.

Strengthen Pipelines: A modern pipeline system is essential to deliver reliable, affordable energy to homes and industry, including AI data centers. Policy ideas like the Next Generation Pipelines Research and Development Act, which passed the House on a bipartisan basis in the 118th Congress and was reintroduced in April 2025 by Reps. Randy Weber (R-TX) and Deborah Ross (D-NC) would support the build-out of all types of pipelines, such as natural gas, LNG, petroleum, carbon dioxide, hydrogen and more. There are also opportunities to update some safety regulations for pipeline infrastructure.

Expand Critical Minerals: Critical minerals are essential to America’s energy security, industrial base and national defense. President Trump’s March 2025 Executive Order prioritized U.S. mineral production and directed DOD and DOI to accelerate support for mining and processing. There have also been several legislative efforts in the 118th and 119th Congress that seek to accelerate permitting for mining projects, boost R&D and strengthen strategic mineral partnerships and finance domestic mineral supply chains. Some examples include: the Critical Mineral Consistency Act, the Mining Regulatory Clarity Act, the Unearth Innovation Act and the STRATEGIC Minerals Act.

Expand Nuclear: Building more clean, firm nuclear power is essential for national and economic security. Bills like the Accelerating Reliable Capacity (ARC) Act introduced in the 118th Congress by Senator Risch (R-ID), or a similar policy, can spur nuclear deployment by addressing cost uncertainty and reducing investment risk. Also, continued funding for the DOE’s Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program (ARDP), first authorized in the Energy Act of 2020, has supported ongoing nuclear energy projects and their fuel supply chain.

Promote Geothermal: Next-generation geothermal technologies have the potential to expand beyond the Western U.S. to provide emissions-free, reliable baseload power all across the country and leverage up to 200,000 existing American jobs in the oil & gas sector. The Trump DOE has prioritized funding for project demonstrations. Innovators have already shown great success, like reducing drilling times by more than 70 percent. Bills like the GEO Act, introduced in the 118th Congress by Sens. Lee (R-UT) and Heinrich (D-NM), can streamline federal permitting requirements and apply best practices to unlock additional deployments of these next-generation projects. The energy unlock that EPAct 2005’s categorical exclusion provided for certain oil and gas activities on federal lands could be replicated for geothermal.

Reshore Manufacturing: Meeting infrastructure needs requires producing and deploying core building materials at scale and speed. Bills like the Concrete and Asphalt Innovation Act (CAIA), introduced in March 2025 on a bipartisan basis by Sens. Coons (D-DE) and Tillis (R-NC), are designed to bring innovative cement and asphalt technologies to market faster, increase domestic production and meet the demand for 1 million tons of cement by 2028, triggered by AI data center development.

Accelerate Carbon Technologies: Industrial innovation includes carbon management innovation. Bipartisan bills like the Carbon Removal and Emissions Storage Technologies Act (CREST), introduced in the 117th and 118th Congresses, would authorize DOE’s carbon removal innovation efforts and help keep American companies ahead of global competitors. By driving private investment and reducing costs to meet growing demand, CREST can help build a trillion-dollar American industry capable of delivering gigaton-scale removals by 2050.

Strengthen Global Leadership: In order to advance U.S. national interests, level the playing field for American businesses and solidify global leadership in key energy sectors, strategic enhancements are needed at the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) and the Export-Import Bank of the U.S. (EXIM). The DFC authorization expires in October 2025 and the EXIM authorization expires in December 2026. These are financing tools designed to secure U.S. energy leadership and push back against China’s aggressive, state-funded energy expansion.

 

Unleashing U.S. Energy: Lessons from Iceland

Energy security is a key factor in securing any nation’s economy, and countries like Iceland are taking it to the next level. In under a century, Iceland went from one of the European Union’s poorest economies to one of the wealthiest by utilizing what was already under its feet: an abundance of easily accessible energy, in the form of geothermal and hydropower resources.

L-R: ON Power Representative, Ólafur Elínarson, Luke Bolar, Amanda Sollazzo, Hillary O’Brien, Hali Gruber, Dillyn Carpenter, Andrew Kelley, Ryan Mowrey, Adam Stewart, Kári Valgeirsson, Lucy Sadler, Kiddi Haflidason, Ayla Neumeyer, Alexandra Slocum, Ken Klukowski, Jeremy Harrell, Sara Lind Guðbergsdóttir, Andy Zach, Matt Mailloux, Andrew Fishbein

Iceland has some of the shallowest geologic heat reservoirs in the world and a landmass that is more than 10 percent glaciers. ClearPath’s educational series, the Clean Energy Innovation Academy, explored Iceland’s unique clean energy infrastructure with Congressional staff, learning about real energy projects and cutting-edge innovations. We traveled with 10 U.S. Senate staff to study Iceland’s grid, powered  by 70% hydropower and 30% geothermal energy. Many of Iceland’s geothermal plants are co-located with industrial parks and facilities, a successful model many U.S. energy developers are interested in to power emerging manufacturing facilities or data centers. The educational visit included:

Climeworks’ Mammoth facility, the world’s largest Direct Air Capture (DAC) facility designed to capture up to 36,000 tons of CO₂ a year.

In the 1930s, Iceland made a change from importing oil and coal to meet its electricity and home-heating needs to embracing its own geologic resources by building out geothermal and hydropower capacity. This strategic shift delivered lower energy costs for consumers, highlighting the immense value of harnessing domestically abundant natural resources. They credit low-cost energy for their economic growth. In the same way,  the U.S. can continue to advance and achieve global energy leadership, by investing in drilling technology and next-generation power generation.

The U.S. energy landscape currently features a diverse mix, with significant contributions from natural gas and coal, alongside a growing share from geothermal. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), currently, the U.S. has 4 Gigawatts of geothermal electricity plants in operation, making it the world leader in installed geothermal power capacity. While this is roughly a quarter of the worldwide geothermal capacity, it’s less than 1 percent of our grid. As energy producers and customers look to grow capacity,  the geothermal industry is successfully adapting technologies pioneered by the oil & gas industry to unlock previously inaccessible geothermal power resources in the U.S. 

This existing capacity, combined with our vast untapped potential, provides opportunities for the U.S. to meet rising energy demand. With U.S. electricity demand projected to surge by 35-50% by 2040—the equivalent of adding three Texas-sized grids—the U.S. must pursue an energy strategy that leverages every reliable, baseload power source available. While Iceland operates a nearly 100% renewable grid, the success of that grid is due to the 100% baseload, 24/7 power characteristics of geothermal and hydropower sources. That works for a small nation of approximately 350 thousand citizens. The U.S. – with a population of 350 million – cannot replicate this formula exactly, but we can continue to learn how to utilize all natural resources, like geothermal and hydropower, but also fossil energy and critical mineral resources to meet our growing energy needs and secure America’s future.

The insights gained from Iceland’s proactive approach to harnessing its resources, streamlining processes, and fostering innovation are a look at what’s to come for the U.S. as we seek to meet surging energy demands, diversify our grid, and cement our leadership in critical technologies. 

Powering Up: CCLP Fuels Next-Gen Energy Leaders

For over a decade, ClearPath has advanced clean energy solutions. In a city where people are policy, we envision a future where policymakers have the talent, expertise, and support needed to lead on clean energy. 

To build this next generation of talent, ClearPath launched the ClearPath Conservative Leadership Program (CCLP). Designed to identify, recruit, and place talent across Washington, CCLP is driving forward our mission of accelerating American innovation to reduce global energy emissions. 

The ClearPath Conservative Leadership Program (CCLP) hosted its second annual professional development event for interns, fellows and young professionals interested in clean energy policy. Attendees at “Powering Your Energy Career: Connections and Conversations for Emerging Energy Professionals in Washington” learned from energy policymakers and key stakeholders about clear paths to accelerate their energy careers. 

The event participants engaged in many educational activities related to the energy sector, ranging from a fireside chat with Representative Juan Ciscomani (R-AZ) on navigating D.C. and tips for a successful energy career, to an interactive workshop on designing and participating in Congressional hearings.

Rep. Juan Ciscomani (R-AZ) and ClearPath advisor Kristen Soltis Anderson

At this event, Rep. Ciscomani, who has consistently championed conservative clean energy policies in Congress, stressed the importance of young people’s involvement in clean energy advocacy. He also spoke about the significance of finding “win-win” policy objectives that benefit both the environment and the U.S. economy.

Participants then worked through a mock Congressional hearing, led by Natalie Houghtalen, Senior Policy Advisor at ClearPath. Congressional hearings play a role in most D.C. careers. This workshop highlighted the complex nature of hearings by allowing attendees to participate in a “mock” hearing from a Member’s or witness’ viewpoint, focusing on issues such as permitting reform, and scaling up clean, firm baseload technologies like nuclear power and next-generation geothermal to meet rising demand. 

Participants during the mock hearing

This simulation provided an excellent opportunity to hone skills beneficial in D.C., and analytical and critical thinking skills that are important at every job. 

Event participants had an opportunity to hear from global leadership consultant Steven Van Cohen, who discussed the best practices to build credibility in professional environments.

(L-R): Kristen Byrne, Executive Director of Government Relations at EEI; Daniel Dziadon, Deputy Chief of Staff for Rep. Frank Lucas (R-OK); Molly Ross, Senior Public Affairs Advisor for Holland & Knight; Emily Johnson, Senior Director of External Affairs for ClearPath.

The event concluded with a panel featuring three D.C. professionals with a wealth of experience in energy on and off the Hill. The panelists highlighted that whether pursuing a career on Capitol Hill, in the private sector, or shaping policy, there are many pathways to contribute to an affordable, clean, and reliable energy grid – both in D.C. and beyond.

Each panelist started on Capitol Hill as an intern more than one decade ago, and now, one is at a trade association, one at a lobbying and law practice, and one is a lead staff member on the Hill. From the challenges and rewards of exceeding expectations in a high-stakes environment to the transition to different career stages, the advice imparted by the panelists was inspiring. 

The “Powering Your Energy Career” professional development event has successfully equipped the next generation of clean energy leaders with invaluable insights, practical skills and crucial connections to confidently pursue and continue their careers in the clean energy sector.

The CCLP is designed to identify future leaders, help them develop professionally and find opportunities on Capitol Hill to advance clean energy issues. To keep the United States as the top innovator in clean energy technology while reducing global emissions, the program aims to fill key policy roles on Capitol Hill with savvy, passionate individuals.

If you are on the Hill and your office would benefit from having a ClearPath fellow in your office, reach out to Dana Faught dana@clearpath.org.

Sean Wiesemann is the ClearPath external affairs intern for summer 2025.

Fusion 101

Energy Incentives Will Unlock Energy Dominance (The Washington Times)

This op-ed was originally published by The Washington Times on April 28, 2025. Click here to read the entire piece.

The first 100 days of the new Trump administration have reshaped the energy landscape. Reliable, affordable energy is a top priority as the president seeks to unleash a new era of American energy dominance. Lower energy prices can usher in a true golden age for U.S. consumers. Done well, this agenda can also reduce global carbon dioxide emissions.

This dynamic is underscored by the president’s work to recruit new artificial intelligence and data center investments to the U.S. These investments can lead to economic development and will require rapid energy demand growth when paired with an American manufacturing resurgence, increasing U.S. energy demand by as much as 18% over the next decade, according to data from the North American Electric Reliability Council. Energy prices are one of the most important cost drivers in these energy-intensive industries.

A rapid increase in supply is required to maintain affordable costs for all American consumers. The U.S. must rapidly deploy all types of new American power. To effectively deploy these new technologies at speed, the administration will need to break down permitting barriers to accelerate the buildout of new energy infrastructure like pipelines, transmission, and other grid-enhancing technologies.

In addition to streamlining the permitting process to increase and maximize new investments, minimizing the tax burden on developers is another essential part of this equation. Maintaining low corporate rates is certainly going to help, but tax incentives also play an enormous role in minimizing investment risk and keeping prices low. Fortunately, some key incentives will not require drastic policy changes like the green new deal or a heavy-handed government regulation.

Existing incentives authored or supported by Republicans in Congress under current law are critical for American leadership in new, affordable, 24/7 American power. These forms of power include advanced nuclear, geothermal, hydropower, natural gas with carbon capture, and even new breakthroughs in fusion technology. Key incentives, like 48E/45Y technology-neutral electricity credit; the 45X advanced manufacturing credit; the 45Q carbon capture, utilization, and storage credit; and the 45V hydrogen credit, can reduce the costs for American producers and support the manufacturers and the mineral supply chain across the economy. Simply put, consumer prices go up if the U.S. doesn’t lower the tax and energy cost burden for American producers and manufacturers.

Click here to read the full article

State of Play: The Chemical and Refining Sectors

Modernize, Compete, Win: Upgrading America’s Energy Finance Strategy (The National Interest)

This op-ed was originally published by The National Interest on April 5, 2025. Click here to read the entire piece.

By upgrading its energy finance strategy through smart reforms and strategic investment, the United States can cement its role as the go-to energy partner for the future.

The global energy landscape is changing fast. Countries are scrambling to secure resources, invest in new technologies, and stay ahead in an increasingly competitive market. At the same time, U.S. oil and gas production is booming, artificial intelligence (AI) -driven electricity demand is surging and America remains heavily reliant on foreign critical minerals. Growing instability in key strategic regions and rising competition with China  has increased the stakes for U.S. national security, economic strength and global partnerships.

America needs smart export and development financing policies to maintain global leadership. Agencies like the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) and the Export-Import Bank of the U.S. (EXIM) are key tools for projecting American energy dominance and pushing back against China’s aggressive, state-funded energy expansion. With both agencies up for reauthorization this Congress, now is the time to modernize their mandates, cut red tape, and give them the support they need to secure U.S. energy leadership on the global stage.

Geopolitical Competition and Energy Security

Although the U.S. leads in key areas, competitors like China and Russia aren’t sitting still. China  has invested nearly $1 trillion into clean energy projects annually while building ninety-four gigawatts of new coal capacity. Meanwhile, China and Russia dominate nuclear fuel and critical mineral supply chains, using predatory financing to lock in energy deals across emerging markets.

The U.S. can’t afford to let its competitors outmaneuver it. By modernizing key federal agencies, Washington can provide nations with competitive alternatives, securing America’s leadership in global energy for decades.

Strengthening U.S. Energy Leadership Through Strategic Financing

If the United States wants to stay ahead in global energy markets and compete with China’s massive state-backed investments, the administration needs to double down on promoting American commercial energy projects abroad. The DFC and EXIM are critical tools for backing American energy innovation and infrastructure, but bureaucracy and outdated policies make them less effective. Their upcoming reauthorizations offer prime opportunities to fix that.

Right now, the DFC makes money for the U.S. taxpayer but can only provide up to $1 billion in loans and only $60 billion in total, compared to China’s nearly unlimited state financing. Raising these caps would allow the United States to fund bigger projects, like nuclear plants and critical minerals infrastructure, that shape the future of energy. In addition, fixing how the federal government’s archaic budget rules affect the DFC is also necessary so it can fully use its resources to help American companies compete globally.bate sectors.

Click here to read the full article

Power Demand Explained: Watts, Gigawatts and the Future of Energy

These days, we hear a lot about the rapid increase in global energy demand due to various factors like growing economies, widespread electrification, and the rise of data centers as AI expands. And it’s true. Here in the United States, after 15 years of static growth, our electricity demand is rising at an accelerated rate. Researchers estimate that by 2030, we will need 20% more energy – a total of 5 million gigawatt-hours of electricity each year.

“5 million gigawatt-hours.” That sounds like a lot. But what does that really mean?

Let’s start with the basics. A watt is a measure of power in an instant. For example, the 60-watt light bulb in your lamp at home requires 60 watts of power to turn on. A Watt-hour is a measurement of that power usage over time.

So, let’s say you turn on your lamp to read a book for two hours, you use 120 watt-hours of electricity. Easy enough.

Now, let’s take a look at a few other examples, going in order from smallest to largest. But first a reminder about unit prefixes: there are one thousand watts in a kilowatt, one million in a megawatt, and one billion in a gigawatt. 

While you’re reading your book, your lamp might only use 120-watt hours of electricity, but the average American household will use 2.4 kilowatt-hours during that time. That’s your lamp, the AC, the TV playing, and so on. Scaling up – with 150 megawatt-hours – you could power 42,000 American households for three hours while they watch a Sunday afternoon football game… or you could use your 150 megawatt-hours to power the NFL stadium itself. In the same amount of time, a large city like Washington D.C. would consume 25 times that much electricity, almost 4 gigawatt hours.

Currently, the U.S. needs around 4 million of these gigawatt-hours a year – again that’s 4 million billion watt-hours – or 4 with 15 zeros after it – and those needs are met with a mixture of 60% fossil fuels, 30% renewables, and 10% nuclear energy. And to get us 20 percent more energy – up to 5 million gigawatt hours a year  – we would need the equivalent of 1,500 Hoover dams in additional generation. That means we are going to need a lot more of ALL of these energy sources to keep up with expected demand.

And, we don’t just need more energy, we need energy that is affordable, reliable and clean. In other words, we need to take a pragmatic, all of the above approach to U.S. energy development. To keep the lights on – at a price that consumers can afford, we need more baseload energy –  the 24/7/ 300 and 65 days a year electricity sources that provide clean power. That means things like advanced nuclear, geothermal, and natural gas with carbon capture.

Ultimately, in order to generate and move all this energy around, we are going to need more than 15,000 new energy projects in this decade alone, and every single one of those projects starts with a permit. Unfortunately today in the United States, you can get a college degree faster than you can get a permit to build a clean energy project. That is why we all must work together to streamline federal permitting processes and unleash American energy. 

ClearPath’s answer to the power demand challenge? It’s time to Let America Build.

The Trump DOE Just Streamlined the Award Process

At a pivotal moment for America’s nuclear future, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) reissued a $900 million funding opportunity for the Generation III+ Small Modular Reactor (GEN III+ SMR) Program. As the solicitation details make clear, the Trump DOE is taking major steps to streamline the award process.

The newly released funding opportunity is clear evidence that the Trump administration is ready to move forward with programs that can unlock U.S. energy dominance. When announcing its re-release, DOE Secretary Chris Wright was abundantly clear: “America’s nuclear energy renaissance starts now.”

Public-private partnerships, including this program and the Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program (ARDP), are crucial for delivering reliable nuclear power to meet growing energy needs and strengthen energy security. The revised solicitation aligns with existing policy proposals that prioritize de-risking early projects, aiming to bolster order books for new nuclear projects.

Funded by Congress through 2024 appropriations, the GEN III+ SMR program will support up to two awardees to deploy an SMR to facilitate a multi-reactor order book, long a priority for House Appropriations Energy and Water Development Subcommittee Chair Rep. Fleischmann (R-TN).

The Trump administration announced significant updates to the solicitation to advance its policy goal of unleashing American energy. This includes removing unnecessary requirements implemented by the Biden administration that were unrelated to the technical and economic success of innovative projects, like mandatory community benefit plans and Justice40 requirements from both the application and evaluation criteria.

These actions are aligned with the proposal ClearPath published last year to Modernize the U.S. Department of Energy. The changes to the re-released FOAs signify a renewed focus on technical merit and removing application components that unnecessarily complicate the process.

The original solicitation issued by the Biden administration placed significant emphasis on mandatory community benefit plans, with some programs weighing these factors as much as 20% in the final evaluation criteria. While community engagement remains an important consideration for long-term project viability, assigning such a high weight to non-technical factors created an unnecessary hurdle for many applicants, especially smaller firms and first-time participants in DOE programs.

The revised solicitation prioritizes four policy factors, weighing them equally to assess the applicant’s ability to deliver a safe, technically sound and commercially viable SMR project. These adjustments represent the kind of streamlined, outcome-driven policymaking the DOE should continue applying across other funding initiatives. 

With these changes incorporated, the Trump administration can further streamline the award negotiation process by adhering to strict award negotiation timelines and accelerating permitting reviews for demonstration projects. Incorporating clear and consistent award criteria across all DOE offices will benefit all types of applicants and remedy the years-long contracting process that plagued the Biden administration. Similarly, DOE should treat demonstration project permits the same way it treats earlier-stage research and development (R&D) by adding demonstration activities to the existing categorical exclusion from NEPA reviews. ClearPath previously illustrated these opportunities as ways to Make America’s Largest Clean Energy Investor More Efficient.

As electricity demand grows and the U.S. seeks reliable and clean energy sources, SMRs offer a promising solution. DOE’s updated approach puts these projects on firmer footing and if applied more broadly, could serve as a blueprint for how the DOE accelerates innovation across the board. This reissued solicitation aligns with a more disciplined, deployment-first strategy. It reduces unnecessary red tape and better reflects the DOE’s core mission – to accelerate transformative energy technologies out of the lab and to the market.

Also contributing to this blog was our Policy Intern, John Van Fossen.