1. House Resources permitting proposal enters the chat
House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Bruce Westerman’s (R-AR) proposal to amend the National Environmental Policy Act is set for a hearing next week. The proposal could:
- Modernize the energy permitting system to meet increasing energy demand and maintain American energy leadership.
- Expedite project timelines to help create more market predictability.
- Speed up court challenges that are currently slowing projects for years.
What’s clear: ClearPath Action supports this proposal and believes it pairs well with the Senate’s Energy Permitting Reform Act of 2024, which recent analysis shows would not only speed up project permitting but also dramatically lower carbon emissions.
Plug in: Check out our whiteboard video on the ins and outs of permitting with CEO Jeremy Harrell.
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2. Permitting progress for Texas’ Class VI wells
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued draft Class VI permits for three carbon sequestration wells proposed by Oxy Low Carbon Ventures in Ector County, Texas which will:
- Officially be the first draft permits that EPA has issued in Texas for Class VI wells;
- Safely and permanently store carbon emissions captured by the Stratos direct air capture (DAC) facility in Texas; and
- Have the potential to store about 722,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year at a depth of about 4,400 feet.
Texas is also one of six states that is currently engaging in the early application process to receive Class VI primacy. The EPA can take years to issue a decision on a Class VI permit, while states have a record of approving these permits in a matter of months.
What’s clear: The build-out of carbon storage infrastructure is critical for deploying carbon management technologies, such as carbon capture and direct air capture. Project developers still need more timing predictability on acquiring Class VI permits to start reducing emissions at greater scale.
Plug in: Check out this blog on carbon storage wells to learn more about what is to come for carbon storage wells in the rest of 2024.
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3. Data centers facing 7-year wait time to connect to grid
Due to demand, data centers are now facing as long as seven years in the queue to connect to the grid. Dominion Energy expects the time it takes to connect data centers of more than 100 megawatts to increase by one to three years amid a surge in requests.
- The rapid surge in demand from data centers is now bumping up against the available power supply in many parts of the world.
- Longer waiting periods for businesses to access the grid could spur concerns over price increases in these markets.
What’s clear: Some companies such as Google, Meta and consortiums that include Duke Energy, Amazon, Google, Microsoft are looking into ways to build new clean energy generation on site to meet their need for more power with rate structures that will be positive for ratepayers.
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4. New uranium enrichment coming to Oak Ridge
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, state officials, and Orano USA announced Oak Ridge, Tennessee, as the preferred site to construct a new uranium enrichment facility. The new facility will provide enriched uranium for existing and new nuclear reactors.
- The state of Tennessee is providing Orano funding from its “Nuclear Energy Fund.”
- Orano says the operational facility will create more than 300 jobs.
What’s clear: Uranium enrichment is a critical piece of the nuclear fuel supply chain. However in 2022, U.S. nuclear plants purchased almost 75% of our enrichment services from other countries, and more than 20% of total enrichment services were provided by Russia.
Plug in: Check out why it is important for the United States to have a robust, domestic nuclear fuel supply chain.
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5. LNG export permit doesn’t mean pause is lifted
The Department of Energy (DOE) has issued a permit to export liquefied natural gas (LNG) to countries without a free trade agreement, the first time it has done so since the White House issued an LNG pause in January.
The new order authorizes New Fortress Energy’s offshore Altamira terminal to export up to 1.4 million metric tons of LNG a year for a five-year term, expiring at the end of August 2029.
What’s clear: North America’s LNG export capacity could be on track to more than double by 2028. But, if the U.S. cannot meet that demand, foreign adversaries will supply it. Exporting cleaner American LNG not only benefits the environment but also our national security and economy. The export pause should be lifted.
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6. Carbon removal tech can support AI growth
A Morgan Stanley analysis found that the rapid increase of data centers needed to power global AI development could emit as much as 2.5 billion metric tons of CO2 by 2030.
- Data centers could benefit from investments in technologies like carbon capture, engineered carbon removal solutions, and lower-emissions concrete and steel.
- The analysis highlighted ExxonMobil, Holcim, and Vale among potential cleantech companies in this space who could be ready to support the data centers.
What’s clear: For the U.S. to remain competitive in emerging technologies like generative AI and meet its global emissions reduction goals, we need to keep all energy sources at the table and invest in clean technologies across the board.
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7. ICYMI
- ABOVE: We heart nuclear energy, too - Clean energy has everyone’s hearts, even at College Game Day this past weekend in College Station, TX for the Texas A&M vs Notre Dame game.
- Don’t miss the latest whiteboard video from our team, diving into everything you need to know about CO2 pipelines.
- The CarbonMapper Coalition launched the Tanager-1 satellite that uses the EMIT technology developed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory to detect methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions anywhere in the world.
- Idaho National Laboratory's Light Water Reactor Sustainability group released a Nuclear Integrated Hydrogen Production Analysis Tool, allowing users to analyze the cost to produce hydrogen from nuclear power plants.
- Bank of America announced a $205 million agreement to purchase tax credits to finance carbon capture from an ethanol plant in North Dakota.
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