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.

Carbon Capture Regulations Must Match Pace of Innovation (RealClear Energy)

This op-ed was originally published by RealClear Energy on December 9, 2024. Click here to read the entire piece.

Carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) technologies are often described - on both sides of the aisle - as a central pillar of America’s clean energy future. They can help solve for global energy emissions and decarbonize hard-to-abate industries, all while reinforcing U.S. energy independence and growing our economy. And yet, despite decades of investment in American CCUS innovation, an out of date regulatory bottleneck at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) continues to hold back the full deployment of these critical technologies.

The broad appeal of CCUS stems from its ability to address environmental concerns while working within our existing power system, particularly in regions where heavy industry dominates. For example, the production of cement, steel, and chemicals account for almost 70% of direct CO2 emissions from industry worldwide, and these industries require access to abundant baseload power to get the job done - they cannot rely on renewable energy alone. According to the Global CCS Institute, over 40% of projects in the global CCS pipeline are in these hard-to-abate sectors.

It’s no wonder that CCUS is bipartisan: the George W. Bush administration laid the groundwork for advancing carbon capture technology through initiatives like the Global Climate Change Initiative (GCCI), the Obama administration built upon these investments with the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the Trump administration provided updated direction for CCUS R&D in the Energy Act of 2020 and enhanced and extended the 45Q tax credit to make CCUS projects more economically viable - not once but twice. Most recently, the Biden Administration invested billions in American CCUS through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act.

In addition to these decades of federal investments, the U.S. also possesses world-class geological resources and technical expertise to store CO2 permanently underground at the scale developers need. While we currently lead the world in this technology, and major U.S. energy companies are looking to invest billions of dollars to maintain this leadership role, other countries are ramping up too - and closing the gap.

Click here to read the full article

Cement and Concrete Innovation Unleashed

Did you know that concrete is the second-most used material on Earth after water? Cement and concrete are all around us, and humans have been using them for over 2,000 years to build houses, monuments, and bridges. Concrete is essential to building due to its strength, low cost, and abundance.

Together, cement and concrete contribute up to 8% of global emissions. Because developing countries are rapidly building infrastructure, by 2050, cement and concrete emissions are expected to exceed the amount of emissions from all the cars on the road today.

Before we dive in, let’s clear up one thing. People often think concrete and cement are the same. But they’re not! So what’s the difference? Cement is the glue that binds together rocks, sand, and water to make concrete. Concrete is the final material used in buildings and infrastructure. This video will focus on Portland cement, the most widely used type of cement, and the industry standard. 

So, where do these emissions come from?Cement is made by baking limestone at extremely high temperatures to produce a material called clinker. Clinker is then mixed with other rocks and processed to make cement. Burning fuels to create these high temperatures generates roughly 40% of emissions. And then baking limestone, which contains carbon, releases CO2 into the atmosphere through an unavoidable chemical process that produces the remaining 60% of emissions.

Fortunately, new and existing producers in the U.S have been hard at work to reduce these emissions. 

One exciting technology is carbon capture and storage, or CCS for short. We expect it to be responsible for one-third of all emissions reductions by 2050. CCS systems can be retrofitted to existing cement facilities or built into new ones to capture, transport and then store CO2 safely underground. For example, Heidelberg Materials North America, a leading building materials company based in Irving, Texas, announced in August 2024 plans for carbon capture at its Mitchell, Indiana cement plant. The Mitchell plant is one of two U.S. facilities that received $500 million from the Department of Energy to install CCS. Combined, these two projects aim to avoid almost 3 million tons of CO2 emissions a year. That is roughly equal to the emissions from 650,000 cars. Utilizing CCS allows the industry to keep using Portland cement and preserves American manufacturing jobs, all while reducing emissions. 

The second exciting innovation is alternative cement chemistries. American companies are finding ways to produce cement with almost no emissions. Two of them, Brimstone and Sublime Systems, have come up with their own unique processes to replace limestone with other rocks and use technologies, such as electro-chemistry, to make safe, industry-compliant cement. In September 2024, existing producers Holcim and CRH announced a combined $75 million investment to scale up Sublime Systems’ cement manufacturing technology. Together, Sublime Systems and Brimstone have received over $276 million in DOE funding to bring their first commercial plants online. 

More policy support is needed to boost American innovation, unleash private-sector jobs and build a lot more. Through consistent policy support for American ingenuity and streamlined regulations to allow the use of low-carbon materials, the U.S. is set to enter a clean manufacturing revolution in cement and concrete production.

So let’s get building.

Conservatives Champion Clean Energy Innovation at COP29

This year’s UN Climate Change Conference, known as COP29, took place in Baku, Azerbaijan and was positioned as the “Climate Finance COP.” Notably, an official House Energy and Commerce bipartisan delegation, led by Rep. August Pfluger (R-TX), attended the conference. Five House Republicans including Reps. John James (R-MI), Jay Obernolte (R-CA), Morgan Griffith (R-VA), and Troy Balderson (R-OH), held a press conference and highlighted the importance of American leadership in clean innovative solutions to reduce global emissions without sacrificing economic development or national security. They discussed the need for increased clean energy innovation technologies like carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS), nuclear, fusion and more. Watch their full press conference here.

L to R: Rep. John James (R-MI), Rep. Troy Balderson (R-OH), Rep. August Pfluger (R-TX), Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-VA), Rep. Jay Obernolte (R-CA)

Embracing All-of-the-Above Energy Solutions

This year’s conference convened tens of thousands to continue the vital work of advancing innovation to reduce global emissions. ClearPath CEO Jeremy Harrell discussed American financing tools to lead a global scale-up of low-carbon solutions with the U.S. Development Finance Corporation’s (DFC) Chief Climate Officer, Anna Shpitsberg, during a fireside chat hosted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Highlights included DFC’s leadership in global clean energy deployment through a record year of lending more than $12B across more than 180 transactions in 2024 and the recent ~$1 billion letter of interest (LOI) with Poland to build Westinghouse Electric Company AP1000 nuclear reactors. Jeremy continued the conversation with U.S.-based private sector leaders from Southern Company, Emerson and HSBC on recent momentum in private sector clean energy finance, the clean manufacturing supply chain and power sector decarbonization.

L to R: Anna Shpitsberg, U.S. Development Finance Corporation; Jeremy Harrell, ClearPath

Energy security remained a central theme at COP29, with many stakeholders advocating for a balanced, all-of-the-above approach. They emphasized technologies that can provide 24/7 clean, firm power like nuclear, carbon capture and storage. Diverse solutions are essential for meeting both economic and environmental goals, and this year, industry showcased a number of commitments to clean energy projects, emphasizing the need for a resilient energy mix, including emerging technologies like hydrogen and small modular reactors (SMRs).

Accelerating Deployment of Nuclear and Carbon Management Solutions

At COP29, nuclear and carbon management received significant attention, reaffirming the global commitment to scaling up clean, firm power as a critical pathway for reaching net-zero goals. This included six more countries joining the declaration to triple nuclear energy by 2050. Industry leaders are focused on long-term strategies, knowing that these technologies will progress and that America has the opportunity to lead global emissions reduction through optimized private and public financial mechanisms.

Chris Tomassi joined a CRES Forum roundtable to highlight the need for new nuclear.

ClearPath also partnered with the Conservative Climate Foundation (CCF) to discuss the potential of CCUS in reducing global emissions—especially for difficult-to-decarbonize sectors like cement, steel and petrochemicals. Harrell moderated a panel featuring Dr. Mark Berry, Senior Vice President of Research & Development and Environment at Southern Company and Roger Martella, Chief Sustainability Officer at GE Vernova. The panel explored how CCUS technologies must abate one billion tons of CO2 by 2030 and six billion tons by 2050, as outlined in the 2023 IEA Roadmap to Net Zero. Discussions focused on the economic opportunities, regulatory pathways forward, and scenarios for scaling CCUS in the power and industrial sectors while emphasizing the need for innovation, policy support and streamlined permitting to overcome barriers. Panelists emphasized the importance of bipartisan support for advancing CCUS technology, reflecting a growing conservative leadership role in pragmatic climate action.

Savita Bowman, ClearPath, at the COP29 Ministerial on Carbon Management

Building on American Leadership and Bipartisanship

COP29 served as an important reminder of the U.S.’ role as a global leader in clean innovation. The bipartisan American delegation emphasized the need for all-of-the-above, market-driven solutions. This approach resonates with allies and partners alike, who recognize the U.S. as not only a driver of technological innovation but also a steadfast partner in international efforts to reduce global emissions.

Conservatives are leading on solutions to unleash clean, affordable, reliable power, and at COP29, ClearPath helped bolster this message. By actively engaging with domestic and international partners, ClearPath continues to champion solutions to bridge the gap between today’s technologies and tomorrow’s climate ambitions. COP29 illustrated that smart policy, private sector innovation and cross-party collaboration can address the climate challenge while upholding economic growth and energy security for future generations.

Make America’s Largest Clean Energy Investor More Efficient

Since its creation in 1977, the Department of Energy’s (DOE) mission has continued to expand. Born out of a national energy scarcity crisis, DOE now holds the key to cutting-edge innovation with the opportunity to advance first-of-a-kind technology. This exciting new, expanded authority allows DOE to accelerate innovation while streamlining award negotiations.

The ClearPath Proposal to Modernize the U.S. Department of Energy notes that DOE can develop and implement “early-success, early advancement” or “rapid prototyping” initiatives to accelerate promising, high-impact technologies to keep America a global leader. To achieve well-defined milestones on a rapid timeframe, DOE can first seek to identify department-funded research and development (R&D) with proven early success and then quickly provide additional funding. This will promote end-to-end innovation within and across programs, complementing other innovation funding tools across DOE. Such tools include prizes, vouchers to work with the National Laboratories and those from the Advanced Research Project Agency for Energy (ARPA-E). To succeed, an “early-success, early-advancement” program cannot be an ad hoc set of one-off custom contracts; it needs to be an initiative that is replicable. 

Under Secretaries can administer rapid prototyping within each of their portfolios and across offices. Such an approach has major advantages without the need for new legislation. Within the confines of the law and compliance, Under Secretaries can expedite decision-making and contracting at their discretion. Doing so enables innovation to advance on merit rather than individual offices doing it themselves. Traditional DOE R&D funding tends to work on two to four-year performance cycles for each award. To ensure less than one year of contracting and research advancement turnarounds, proper leadership at the Under Secretary level and implementation of focused goals will be vital for advancing breakthrough technology. Speed is the name of the game for rapid prototyping to be a success and for the effective application of an accelerated innovation agenda. Increased speed will accelerate market adoption of clean energy technologies to advance key R&D concepts to commercial deployment. Expediting commercially viable technology will help build toward our clean energy future.

Award Negotiation Map

Fewer Strings Attached for FOAs

Streamlining the competitive funding process at the outset is an additional key to accelerated innovation. Funding opportunity requirements must be reduced and simplified within Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOAs) and target what is statutorily required. FOAs have significantly increased in size in the last few years and become overly complex. In many cases, requirements that are well-intentioned, but extraneous to the ultimate success of the project are added on.

Limiting the page count of FOA’s would be a first step to address this problem while improving transparency by publishing all administrative and financial requirements to receive an award. To allow DOE to focus on targeting performance and outcomes for the awards, the program policy factors published within every FOA should be limited to five factors to reduce interference. Additionally, rather than prioritizing unrelated social policies such as Community Benefit Plans, Justice40 requirements and Diversity Equity and Inclusion plans, DOE should return its focus to the elements that will determine whether new tech will be successful R&D efforts to advance promising technology. To help reach this goal, it is vital that DOE initiates negotiations immediately upon selection.

Right now, given the increasing inconsistencies throughout DOE offices when managing negotiations, potential awardees don’t know where to start. Widespread standardization is necessary throughout the DOE offices in terms of knowledge-sharing, training, documentation and certification to limit delays and reduce confusion. At times, information requests from DOE for information regarding company practices are intended well but can be difficult for potential awards to navigate. Companies look to protect their intellectual property (IP) and such requests may discourage applicants from moving forward. Cutting-edge research is a high-profile target for foreign adversaries that look to steal U.S. IP, requiring extensive measures to be taken to safeguard it. ClearPath recommends streamlining the requirements for applying for grants, cooperative agreements and loans as well as developing procedures to protect American IP. Streamlined requirements can help prepare companies with what to expect when navigating award negotiations to ensure there will not be requests for information that may compromise an applicant’s IP. By doing so, applicants will be encouraged to continue to move through the process as seamlessly as possible without unexpected roadblocks. This initiative can be further accelerated with metrics to evaluate DOE’s performance during negotiations to ensure the most constructive approach. 

A Substance Based Approach

There is a middle ground that not only advances innovation, protects the taxpayer and ensures IP protection but also pushes the boundaries of technology and results in a stronger American economy.

Rather than setting desired performance outcomes and enabling applicants to propose how to meet them, DOE tends to dictate project plans. As a result of a long competitive process for the award and a surplus of non-technical requirements, the negotiation process can become quite lengthy. Complex teaming agreements between contractors and subcontractors detailing the scope of work for the companies acting as subcontractors can further slow down the process. Shifting priorities to a principle of technical substance and efficiency instead would achieve a better, more coherent result. 

ClearPath wants to see high-impact technologies reach commercialization and deployment at an expedited rate. Streamlining award negotiations while developing and implementing rapid prototyping initiatives will allow this. Guaranteeing access to complementary funding tools across the DOE ecosystem and additional funding can help overcome developmental obstacles projects may face while focusing on technical innovation. To ensure such tools are implemented effectively, efforts should be advanced at the Under Secretary level, with the goal of facilitating contracting and decision-making in the most efficient manner. With the help of DOE’s tools and guidance, American innovators are up for the challenge to create the next generation of energy technology. We believe by refining the partnership between awardees and DOE, the U.S. will remain a global leader for clean energy innovation.

The Heat Beneath Our Feet: The U.S. Needs More Geothermal Energy

Hello I’m Matt Mailloux from ClearPath. 

What if I told you one of our best clean energy resources is right under our feet? We take for granted the heat buried in the Earth’s core. But have you ever thought about turning that heat into electricity — or harnessing it to power a heavy manufacturing site?

That’s ok if you haven’t, because at ClearPath, we think about this a lot!

Geothermal is one of the most reliable, zero-emissions energy sources. Even though it provides 24/7 clean reliable power, it is often the most overlooked. The good news is that private companies are now using geothermal to meet our energy needs – powering datacenters, U.S. manufacturing, and affordably keeping the lights on.

Enhanced geothermal projects are ready to go. Using technology from the oil and gas industry to unlock heat in a much wider set of geologic areas.

Some often think of geothermal as a technology prime for the Western U.S., but as these new innovations progress — we could see states all across the country deploying enhanced geothermal. Today geothermal is less than one percent of the U.S. electric grid. But, by 2050 the NREL predicts it could increase to provide up to 60 gigawatts of power added to the grid. That’s the type of energy supply we’ll need to meet ever-growing demand. 

First, let’s take a look at two exciting companies putting innovation into action... and then....we’ll look at the policy barriers standing in the way.

Fervo Energy is an enhanced geothermal company based in Houston, that leverages oil and gas technology to get heat. Fervo’s first projects rapidly reduced costs, reaching parity with drilling costs for oil & gas. 

Eavor [“Ever”] — Is another company pioneering the future of geothermal energy, using a series of closed loop wells that collect heat through conduction.

These two companies, paired with federal R&D support from the DOE FORGE site… have advanced drilling techniques to make drilling new geothermal wells more predictable, reduce upfront costs, and encourage more private sector investment.

With promising developments like these, let’s talk a little bit about the policy barriers that are holding them back. For starters, out of the $62 billion for demonstration projects at DOE from the IIJA, geothermal received a fraction of that amount. 

Think about it this way, Geothermal received just 10 percent of the funding allocated to technologies like energy storage or carbon management. We will need all of these resources to meet energy demand and provide clean, affordable, and reliable energy. 

But perhaps the biggest roadblock to geothermal is the permitting process. Geothermal projects can trigger environmental review up to 6 different times during development. Congress can expedite reviews for resource confirmation wells – like regulations for oil & gas development have allowed for two decades. Congress has been working to address these policy challenges in a bipartisan manner. 

Expediting environmental reviews and funding demonstration projects could lead to the huge increases in geothermal capacity like I mentioned before. It’s time for Congress to unlock the heat beneath our feet.

Turning the U.S. Hydrogen Field of Dreams Into Reality (Utility Dive)

This op-ed was originally published by Utility Dive on October 14, 2024. Click here to read the entire piece.

Perhaps a line from the classic American film “Field of Dreams” best summarizes the approach to hydrogen production and infrastructure: “If you build it, they will come.”

Increasing manufacturing and energy production in the U.S. is obviously good economic policy, but also strong climate policy, because our environmental standards are some of the strongest in the world. Unlike fuels in use today, hydrogen produces no carbon when it’s burned or used as a feedstock and has applications for the industrial sector including steel, cement and chemicals. The U.S. is sitting on the potential to produce more, we just need policies that work.

Clean energy project developers and those invested in lowering global emissions have rallied around hydrogen as a piece of the puzzle. The $8 billion Department of Energy Hydrogen Hubs have the potential to get these projects off the ground, but the clock is ticking on deployment.

Click here to read the full article

ClearPath in Brazil: Advancing U.S. Clean Energy Leadership

Stepping outside of the Clean Energy Ministerial and Mission Innovation (CEM/MI) meetings in advance of the G20 energy ministers’ summit in Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil, the faint smell of smoke and visible haze from Amazonian wildfires was a stark reminder of the fragile balance between economic growth and the natural environment. Locals explained the fires were both from natural causes – given recent droughts – but some set intentionally by farmers or developers to clear the land. ClearPath often emphasizes that the U.S. produces energy, goods, and agricultural products in a more environmentally responsible manner than many other nations, and my experience in Brazil was an impactful reminder about the need for America’s global clean energy leadership.

The CEM/MI gathering also highlighted the need for U.S. engagement abroad, in many ways. Perhaps the biggest was the context of Brazil's current G20 presidency and upcoming COP30 host in 2025. Strengthening U.S. ties with Brazil and like-minded partners is essential – not only to advance clean energy but also to prevent China and Russia from dominating key markets and supply chains.

Brazil: A Key U.S. Partner in Clean Energy and Beyond

Brazil’s role as a growing energy powerhouse positions it as a crucial U.S. partner in regional and global discussions about energy, economics, and environmental responsibility. The gatherings in Brazil – bringing together leading thinkers and stakeholders from government, industry, and NGOs – were a prime opportunity to engage with all who share our commitment to a cleaner, more secure energy future. Brazil’s energy infrastructure – such as the Itaipu Binacional Dam, designed with American and Italian engineering that powers approximately 10% of Brazil’s energy needs and an astonishing 80% of Paraguay’s—demonstrates that large-scale projects are achievable with the right investment and leadership.

Nick Lombardo, Senior Program Director – International Policy

ClearPath’s participation at CEM/MI was focused on advocating for an all-of-the-above energy strategy that includes advanced nuclear, carbon capture utilization and storage (CCUS), and hydrogen – technologies that ensure economic growth and energy security while also reducing emissions.

Enhancing Trade and Development Financing for Clean Energy

Some of the key issues that came up at the conversations in Brazil were the urgent need to modernize U.S. trade and development finance mechanisms, particularly through the reauthorizations of the U.S. Development Finance Corporation (DFC) and the Export-Import Bank (EXIM). These institutions are critical tools for financing clean energy projects worldwide, and their respective upcoming reauthorizations present crucial opportunities to fine-tune these agencies to effectively finance energy expansion projects, especially in countries where clean energy infrastructure is essential for economic growth and energy independence.

In Brazil, the DFC and EXIM can play a transformative role by:

Leveraging Multinational Partnerships: With Brazil hosting COP30, U.S. agencies can foster partnerships with Brazilian companies and government entities to enhance local expertise and build capacity in energy technologies. These partnerships align with Brazil’s goals and help create a more stable environment for U.S. investments, creating significant value for the American economy.

Addressing Competition with China and Russia

As the U.S. engages with Brazil and other key partners, it is essential to recognize the growing competition from China and Russia in the global energy market. These countries are actively seeking to expand their influence through aggressive financing of energy projects, often without the same environmental and ethical considerations that guide U.S. investments.

By strengthening DFC and EXIM, the U.S. can position itself as a reliable partner in Brazil’s energy expansion, countering the narrative that often favors adversarial nations. ClearPath advocates for a focused approach that not only promotes clean energy solutions but also reinforces the economic and strategic ties that underpin U.S. interests in the region.

Looking Ahead: A Conservative Approach to Global Energy Leadership

The U.S. has made world-class advancements in energy, manufacturing and agriculture production under some of the strongest environmental standards globally. As we aim to boost domestic production, more of our practices and products could be adopted and exported to the rest of the world.

Looking ahead to COP29 and Brazil's hosting of COP30, the U.S. has a unique opportunity to build on the momentum from CEM/MI. By working with Brazil and other key partners, and ensuring our financial institutions are prepared to support the next wave of energy expansion projects, we can secure a cleaner, more prosperous future where American leadership is central.