Welcome to your weekly Rundown, for the week ending October 23.
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Carbon Capture Incentive Study Forecasts Big Returns In Power & Industrial Sectors
ClearPath Executive Director Rich Powell was a keynote presenter at the 2020 CarbonX Summit, an event hosted by the U.S. Department of Energy as part of their InnovationXLab series. Rich shared analyses ClearPath recently did with the Rhodium Group that shows a permanent extension of the 45Q tax credit could drive CO2 emissions reductions from power plants and industrial facilities across more than 30 states.
ClearPath recently published a blog that includes a video entitled, “A Carbon Capture Credit with Huge Returns,” which describes why a federal carbon capture tax credit (affectionately known as “45Q”) has such broad support. Rich puts in perspective exactly how much of a difference long-term extension to 45Q can make. And it’s big.
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Event: Universities Going Nuclear
Several universities are starting to look at new nuclear energy technologies for their campus. Next Wednesday, October 28, ClearPath and the Clean Air Task Force (CATF) are hosting a webinar that will feature these universities. Dr. Rita Baranwal, Assistant Secretary for Office of Nuclear Energy, and representatives from Abilene Christian University, the University of Illinois, and the University of Tennessee Knoxville will talk about this exciting work. ClearPath Executive Director Rich Powell and CATF Executive Director Armond Cohen will co-moderate the event. Register here
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Poland to Buy $18b of U.S. Nuclear Technology
On Monday, U.S. Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette and Poland’s Secretary of State for Strategic Energy Infrastructure Piotr Naimski signed the first Intergovernmental Agreement to cooperate on the development of Poland’s civil nuclear power program. As part of this 30 year agreement, Poland could spend at least $18 billion on U.S. nuclear energy technology which could benefit U.S. companies such as Westinghouse, Southern Co. and Bechtel. Read more
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DFC to Support 2,500MW Nuclear Project in South Africa
On Friday, the United States International Development Finance Corp. (DFC) pledged to support NuScale Power, a U.S. nuclear energy company, to develop 2,500 megawatts of power in South Africa. The DFC, which ended its prohibition on supporting nuclear power in July, signed a letter of intent to support NuScale’s bid for South Africa’s independent power producer program. For scale, this would mean building around four 12-module NuScale plants. Read more
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DOE cost-share award of $1.355 billion is approved for UAMPS’ Carbon Free Power Project
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) approved a multi-year cost-share award to the Carbon Free Power Project (CFPP). This award will serve as a funding vehicle to advance the CFPP as funds are appropriated by Congress. The $1.355 billion award, allocated over 10 years, will fund the one-time costs for the first-of-a-kind project to reflect what second and subsequent NuScale plants would cost. This will help ensure that the levelized cost of energy target price of $55/MWh can be achieved at a level of risk Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems (UAMPS) can manage. Read more
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 National Carbon Capture Center Will Be Site for Direct Air Capture (DAC) Testing Funded by DOE
Recently, the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Fossil Energy awarded more than $3 million for direct air capture (DAC) technology testing managed by the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL). This week, the National Carbon Capture Center (NCCC) announced they will serve as the test facility for two new carbon capture research and development (R&D) projects – including the facility’s first evaluation DAC technology.
“As the first DAC technology designated to come to the center for testing, this project represents an expanded focus for the facility as we seek to incorporate negative carbon concepts into our research strategy,” said NCCC Director John Northington. Read more.
To learn more about DAC technology, watch this ClearPath video, A New Tool In The CO2 Reduction Toolkit: Direct Air Capture (DAC).
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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Reuters: US demonstration reactor finalists champion innovative designs
Last week, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) selected TerraPower and X-energy to receive $80 million each in initial funding to build two advanced nuclear reactors that can be operational within seven years under the new Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program (ARDP). “The ARDP is an opportunity for the NRC to adjust to the new wave of upcoming reactors,” according to Niko McMurray, Nuclear Program Director at ClearPath and previously a materials engineer at the NRC focusing on new and advanced nuclear reactors. Read more
Telegraph: Why fossil fuel dinosaurs may still have life in them yet
Major oil and gas companies are embracing carbon capture more and more – “mobilizing its engineering muscle to beat renewables at their own game in the net-zero arms race.” The piece states, “Public money is flooding in from the US Department of Energy. Private money is chasing the federal 45Q tariff for captured CO2: $50 a tonne when sequestered underground, and $35 when used in enhanced oil recovery for declining wells.” Read more
Vox: Geothermal energy is poised for a big breakout
David Roberts from Vox.com wrote an in-depth look at geothermal power, or as they call it, the also-ran of renewable energy. He reports on new companies and technologies that are bringing new enthusiasm to geothermal and how it can scale up and become a major player in clean energy. Read the column here
It’s Happening… US to Build Two New Advanced Nuclear Reactors
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) on Tuesday selected TerraPower LLC (Bellevue, WA) and X-energy (Rockville, MD) to receive $80 million each in initial funding to build two advanced nuclear reactors that can be operational within seven years under the new Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program (ARDP). Read DOE’s announcement here
ClearPath Executive Director Rich Powell and Program Director Niko McMurray wrote a piece explaining the timeline of the ARDP, why it's important and provided some background on the two companies chosen. Read their blog here
ICYMI: We recently hosted a webinar that featured TerraPower and GE Hitachi’s new reactor design: Natrium. Watch it here
A Simpler, Dedicated Pathway for Advanced Nuclear Reactor Licensing
Alex Gilbert, a Project Manager at the Nuclear Innovation Alliance, and ClearPath’s Niko McMurray wrote a column examining how private sector innovators are currently paving the way for advanced reactors to begin producing clean energy. Due to the differences between these technologies and the existing fleet of large light-water reactors, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is modernizing its review process. A modernized approach will be a gamechanger for future American reactor designs, enabling their
deployment to aid in decarbonization.
Read their column here
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THE PATH AHEAD
October 28: The Cleantech Group is hosting a webinar at 11:00am EDT on, “Nuclear Innovation and Deep Decarbonization: Can Innovation Transform the Global Energy System?” More details and registration information here
October 28: ClearPath and the Clean Air Task Force (CATF) are hosting a virtual event at 4:30pm ET, “Universities Going Nuclear,” which will feature presentations from Abilene Christian University, the University of Illinois, and the University of Tennessee Knoxville. More details and registration information here
October 29: The Versatile Test Reactor team is hosting a webinar at 12:00pm EDT on, “Advancing U.S. Nuclear Research and Development – A Briefing and Discussion on the VTR” to share information about the project, research capabilities and next steps as a follow up to the recent announcement by the U.S. Department of Energy that it has approved Critical Decision 1. The panel will focus on U.S. competitiveness, energy, new innovation capabilities, and other drivers. More details and registration information here
November 10: S&P Global Platts is hosting the Hydrogen Markets Americas Virtual Conference, featuring an event titled, “Financing Hydrogen Infrastructure: Next Steps.” More details and registration information here
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