1. House Republicans pass Energy & Water Approps bill
Yesterday, House Republicans passed their FY2024 Energy-Water spending bill, H.R. 4394, on a 210-199 vote.
What's clear: This bill will support American energy innovation, and enhance our energy security and supply chains.
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2. Important nuclear energy bills pass House E&C Subcommittee
This week, 11 important nuclear energy bills made it out of the House Energy & Commerce Subcommittee on Energy, Climate and Grid Security and the full Committee will now consider the bills. This package of bills mostly aligns with the Senate’s ADVANCE Act. The proposed legislation tries to position the U.S. as a global leader in advanced nuclear development and primarily focuses on NRC Modernization.
This package also contains the Nuclear Fuel Security Act, which would reduce reliance on Russian fuel by providing the required certainty to incentivize domestic industry, build new capacity, and support our allies.
The Senate has already voted to include the ADVANCE Act and the Nuclear Fuel Security Act in the NDAA. Advancing in the House E&C subcommittee is an essential step to including these provisions in a final NDAA.
What's clear: “The challenge is America will remain reliant on Russia to fuel the new reactors unless we start making major changes here at home. This legislation will put the U.S. on a path to solving that challenge,” said Rich Powell, CEO of ClearPath Action.
Plug in: ClearPath Action sent a letter to the House E&C leadership supporting these 11 bills.
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3. DOME test bed, ready to serve industry
The Demonstration of Microreactor Experiments (DOME) test bed is up and running at Idaho National Laboratory. This unique facility was designed to be used by a number of private companies to prove their safety case for reactor licensing. This means microreactors can get to market faster. As part of this, the DOE has selected three advanced nuclear energy developers to design their experiments at this national lab user facility.
What's clear: Microreactors can produce megawatts of clean electricity and thermal energy for a number of industries. This test facility at Idaho National Laboratory will get these reactors to market faster and assist diverse communities looking to transition toward a clean energy future.
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4. U.S. development finance shows global energy leadership
The International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) brings unique flexibility and capabilities – such as direct equity investments – which is important for U.S. global leadership in clean energy and critical infrastructure development.
Some examples of the impact DFC can have:
- Signed a letter of interest to support Polish and Romanian nuclear power plants with up to $1 billion each.
- Invested in TechMet Limited to develop nickel and cobalt resources in Brazil, which will help build a secure supply of critical minerals.
- A First Solar manufacturing plant supported by the DFC recently began operations in India, which will give U.S. energy companies an alternative source to China for solar projects.
What's clear: The DFC’s upcoming reauthorization in 2025 will provide an opportunity to reinforce and enhance its unique capacity to drive international impact.
Plug in: There must be a strategy in place for the DFC; here is ClearPath’s take written by policy team members Jake Kincer, Nick Lombardo and Justin Williams.
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5. ICYMI
- The U.S. and Australia plan to establish a bilateral Clean Energy Industry Council and enhance cooperation for secure energy supply chains in areas like critical minerals, hydrogen and long-duration energy storage.
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