ClearPath Action Rundown
August 18, 2023
Happy Friday! We hope everyone is having a productive August recess.
Huge congratulations to Dan Brouillette, the next President & CEO
of Edison Electric Institute (EEI)!
Please note the Rundown will not publish Aug. 25, but we’ll be back in your inbox Sept. 1!
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1. ClearPath brings Congressional Staff to Cleveland
Last week, ClearPath’s Clean Energy Innovation Academy (CEIA) brought a delegation of seven Congressional Staff to Cleveland, Ohio. CEIA is an ongoing educational series with briefings focused on conservative clean energy, industrial technology, and policy.
In Cleveland:
- The delegation visited Cleveland-Cliffs’ Cleveland Works steel facility to educate Congressional professional staff on how U.S. companies are lowering emissions in the industrial sector.
What's clear: The production of steel accounts for 8% of total global emissions. In the U.S., the industrial sector is set to become the highest emitting sector by 2035, passing the power and transportation sectors. However, U.S. steelmakers already produce the cleanest steel in the world and are paving the way to reduce emissions.
Plug in: ClearPath's Government Affairs Associate Mallory Shaevsky details the trip in her latest blog.
Front Row L to R: Emily Johnson, Sarah Alexander, Dana Faught, Mallory Shaevsky, Ivy English, Amanda Sollazzo Back Row: Ray Phillips, Luke Bolar, Steve Hansen, Chase Hite, Niko McMurray, Rafae Ghani, Dillyn Carpenter, Emily Henn, Danny Hartl, Jeremy Harrell
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2. DOE announces 2 new demonstration DAC Hubs winners
The DOE announced up to $1.2 billion to advance the development of two commercial-scale direct air capture (DAC) facilities in Texas and Louisiana as part of the hubs authorized in the Energy Act of 2020 and funded in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law of 2021.
- Clean technology developers Battelle in partnership with technology providers Climeworks and Heirloom, received $600 million in matching funds from DOE for Project Cypress in Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana.
- Oxy subsidiary 1PointFive, in partnership with Carbon Engineering, is building the South Texas DAC Hub in Kleberg County, Texas.
What’s clear: Through this opportunity, Battelle will make robust investments in Louisiana and 1PointFive in Texas, creating new job pathways in the design, construction, and operation of the DAC Hubs, and helping drive the growing DAC industry in support of U.S. decarbonization goals.
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3. Securing domestic nuclear fuel critical for U.S. clean energy
The first step in establishing American clean energy leadership abroad is building a secure nuclear fuel supply chain at home. Nuclear energy currently produces about 20% of U.S. electricity, and next generation reactors are actively under development.
However, uncertainty in the nuclear fuel supply chain creates risk for these new projects, and since 2000, Russia and China collectively brought 64 new nuclear reactors online globally compared to only six U.S.-designed reactors built globally during that same timeframe.
- The DOE’s Critical Material Assessment added uranium, the material used to generate nuclear energy, and recognizing its importance to energy, uranium scored 4 out of 4.
- Unfortunately, the DOE only rated the overall risk of supply chain disruption of uranium at a 2 out of 4, which relied on data prior to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and doesn’t take into account the importance of uranium to the U.S. energy sector.
What’s clear: There is strong bipartisan support to develop a domestic nuclear fuel supply, including the Senate recently voting 96-3 in favor of including legislation focused on nuclear fuel security in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
Plug in: Check out our new blog from Policy Advisor Natalie Houghtalen.
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4. DOE to purchase CO2 to kickstart new technology
As private sector net-zero commitments increase, many corporations are interested in investing in carbon dioxide removal (CDR) to reach their climate goals. Last week, the DOE announced a funding opportunity to help kickstart the technology, the Carbon Negative Shot Pilots, which includes:
- $60 million for the development of the direct air capture (DAC) Pilot Prize;
- $35 million for the CDR Purchase Prize; and
- Additional resources for the Regional DAC Hubs and small scale CDR pilots
What’s clear: Market opportunities for CDR are too limited to prompt significant investment in new technologies in this space, which makes legislation known as the Carbon Removal and Emissions Storage Technologies (CREST) Act, even more important.
Plug in: CREST was re-introduced by U.S. Senators Collins (R-ME), Cantwell (D-WA), Cassidy (R-LA), Coons (D-DE), and King (I-MN) earlier this spring and would expand the scope and competitiveness of American CDR and launch the world’s first program to incentivize technology-inclusive competition.
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5. Occidental to buy Canadian startup Carbon Engineering
Occidental plans to acquire Canadian direct air capture (DAC) startup Carbon Engineering Ltd. for $1.1 billion in an announcement made earlier this week.
Oxy worked with Carbon Engineering for four years, using their technology for a West Texas-based Stratos project – the world’s largest DAC plant by 2025.
What’s clear: Occidental is actively expanding its position as a global leader in removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
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6. NRC updates emergency planning requirements for new reactors
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Commissioners approved a new rule that will help expedite the deployment of new nuclear energy.
- After initiating the rulemaking process in 2016, the NRC modernized its emergency preparedness requirements for the latest nuclear reactor technologies.
What’s clear: “The Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s vote to update their emergency planning requirements provides certainty for developers looking to deploy the next generation of nuclear reactor technologies,” said Niko McMurray, Managing Director of Public Policy, ClearPath. “Continued regulatory modernization that recognizes the differences in new reactor technologies will enable the commercialization of clean, reliable, always-on energy and promote U.S. leadership.”
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7. ClearPath attends CEM
Last month, the 14th Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM) and the 8th Mission Innovation (MI) gathering took place jointly with the G20 Energy Transition Ministerial Meeting in Goa, India.
Gatherings like CEM/MI convene problem-solvers to exchange learnings and viewpoints to discover opportunities faster than they would on their own, and work toward achieving the international clean energy advancements we need.
Plug in: Read more in a blog by ClearPath's Senior Program Director of International Policy Nick Lombardo who attended the gathering and highlights the need for bright American leadership.
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8. ICYMI
- ClearPath’s Chief Executive Officer Rich Powell joined Just the News to discuss the current and future status of clean energy in the United States including:
- The growth of public support within clean energy policy and
- Southern Company for its milestone in Plant Vogtle Unit 3 reaching commercialization.
- Senators Mike Crapo (R-ID), Jim Risch (R-ID), Ted Budd (R-NC) and 11 other colleagues from the Senate introduced a bipartisan resolution supporting nuclear power as a “clean baseload energy source.”
- In a recent Newsweek article, ACC’s Director of Communications Karly Matthews sat down with Miss America, a nuclear engineer, to discuss the growth of support nationally for nuclear energy.
- Rondo Energy announced the company raised $60 million in funds to help advance technologies targeted at cutting global emissions.
- The NRC issued its final environmental impact statement (FEIS) for the Construction Permit for the Kairos Hermes research and test reactor in Oak Ridge, TN.
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That's all from us. Thanks for reading and have a great weekend!
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