ClearPath Action Rundown
December 13th, 2024
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1. ClearPath welcomes
Lisa Epifani, new Head of Policy |
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Previously, she was Head of
Government Affairs and Public Policy at Google’s innovation
division called X, The Moonshot Factory. Lisa has 20+ years of government affairs and
public policy experience at the intersection of energy policy, clean
tech, and commercialization.
She will lead ClearPath’s policy
team, focusing on developing innovative solutions across a portfolio
of clean energy and clean manufacturing technologies.
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Plug in: Read
more on Lisa’s
extensive background and her role on the ClearPath team.
Welcome, Lisa!
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2. The Nuclear Refuel
Act: cutting the red tape |
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Reps. Latta (R-OH) and Peters
(D-CA) introduced the Nuclear
REFUEL Act to
clarify licensing requirements for nuclear fuel recycling facilities.
This bill would:
- Help
increase investment in nuclear energy technologies which can more
easily use recycled fuel; and
- Require
the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to approve certain used fuel
reprocessing facilities under Part-70: a single-step licensing
process.
What’s clear: "Rep. Latta's 'Nuclear REFUEL Act' will clear the path for used
nuclear fuel recycling for advanced reactors,"
said Jeremy Harrell, CEO of ClearPath Action. "Innovative recycling technologies,
which are more proliferation resistant, could get more clarity at the
Nuclear Regulatory Commission with a simple definition
change."
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3. Governor Cox
announces Utah’s Operation Gigawatt |
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Governor Spencer Cox (R-UT)
announced Operation
Gigawatt, an
initiative to double Utah’s power production over the next decade to
meet growing energy demand. To support this, the Governor’s
recommendations for the state’s FY26 budget dedicates $20 million
toward nuclear energy development and $4.2 million for geothermal
energy.
Four key goals:
- Increasing transmission capacity;
- Expanding and developing energy production;
- Enhancing Utah’s policies to enable clean, reliable energy like
nuclear, geothermal and storage; and
- Investing in Utah residents’ innovation and
research.
What’s clear:
Capitalizing on the state’s diverse energy resources, this plan will
further secure Utah as a national energy production leader. “We will
build upon Utah’s ‘any of the above’ energy policy with a ‘more of the
above’ approach…” said
Governor Cox.
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4. ClearPath Action
discusses permitting reform at WGA |
Jeremy Harrell alongside
seven Western Governors on a permitting panel at the WGA Winter
Meeting |
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ClearPath Action CEO Jeremy Harrell
participated in a panel discussion on “Smarter, Faster Permitting” at
the Western Governors’ Association (WGA) Winter meeting.
He was joined by WGA Chair Gov.
Lujan Grisham (D-NM), Vice-Chair Gov. Cox (R-UT), and Govs. Gordon
(R-WY), Polis (D-CO), Little (R-ID), Lombardo (R-NV) and Green (D-HI)
to discuss:
- The
rapidly growing energy needs including transmission, especially in the
West; and
- How
federal permits, especially NEPA delays and inefficiencies, stall
critical projects.
Plug in: “Current
permitting rules are geared purely at preventing negative outcomes.
We need regulations that actually promote energy development,”
said
Harrell.
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5. Natural gas with
carbon capture to power data centers |
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Exxon Mobil announced it is designing a large natural gas-fired
power plant that would directly supply electricity to data
centers.
The plant will:
- Be
outfitted with carbon capture technology to reduce emissions while
meeting increased power demand; and
- Filter
carbon dioxide out of the power plant’s exhaust stream, transport it
via existing pipelines and store it underground.
Exxon currently owns and operates
the largest network of carbon dioxide pipelines in the U.S. along the
Gulf Coast, Wyoming and Montana.
What’s clear: Data
centers are rapidly expanding, and demand for electricity – available
24/7/365 – is surging. Alongside other energy solutions, such as
nuclear, geothermal and long-duration energy storage, natural gas and
carbon capture are key to providing clean, firm and reliable
power.
Plug in: Chevron
is also eyeing
gas-fired plants to serve this market.
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6. Net Power plants
popping up in CA |
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Carbon TerraVault (CTV) and the
California Resources Corporation are planning to develop Net Power’s ultra-low emissions,
baseload power plants in California.
Here’s the plan:
- Conduct
feasibility studies on locating Net Power’s facilities near CTV’s
underground storage vaults, reducing carbon dioxide (CO2)
transportation costs and midstream investments.
- Deployment of up to one gigawatt (GW) of clean power capacity
from Net Power’s new modular plants in Northern
California.
- Generate
reliable power while eliminating substantially all carbon
emissions.
Plug in: Net Power
could change everything about clean energy development in the U.S. and
around the world. Net Power plants burn gas with pure oxygen, which
produces just CO2 and water. That CO2 is used to turn the turbine –
rather than steam, like a normal gas plant uses – and is recycled back
into the combustor. Watch
more about the technology.
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- Congratulations to newly elected
Republican Governors Kelly Armstrong (R-ND), Kelly Ayotte (R-NH), Mike
Braun (R-IN), Mike Kehoe (R-MO) and Patrick Morrisey
(R-WV).
- Check out this Wall
Street Journal commentary on why the Supreme Court
should take account of all the environmental laws enacted since 1970,
potentially cutting red tape around NEPA.
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The Financial Times named Pillsbury as the Energy
Transition Law Firm of the Year as part of its FT Innovative Lawyers North
America Awards. Congrats to ClearPath Advisory Board member,
Jeff
Merrifield, who
leads this team.
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The Minnesota Public Utilities
Commission approved a permit for Summit Carbon Solutions'
carbon pipeline, which would transport carbon captured from 57 ethanol
facilities in the Midwest to underground carbon storage sites in North
Dakota – which were also approved this week.
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That's all from us. Thanks for reading and have a great
weekend!
View this Rundown online
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