1. A game-changing clean energy market signal
A bipartisan energy tax proposal to encourage innovation in the clean energy sector called the Energy Sector Innovation Credit (ESIC) is well-positioned to become law.
Plug in: Our ED Rich Powell explains more about the bill in our latest 5-minute video.
Poised for passage: Given the strong support from high ranking members, this legislation is in good shape. Who are the leads?
- Sen. Mike Crapo (R-ID), Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member
- Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Senate Finance Committee Member
- Rep. Tom Reed (R-NY), House Ways & Means Committee Member
- Rep. Jimmy Panetta (D-CA), House Ways & Means Committee Member
What’s clear: ESIC creates incentives for breakthrough innovation for power generation and storage technologies across the clean energy spectrum. It helps overcome initial financing hurdles associated with developing “first-of-a-kind” and nascent power generation technologies.
- ClearPath’s Jeremy Harrell and ACC’s Quill Robinson dive in with this op-ed.
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2. How to avoid Taliban-controlled critical mineral supply chains
Afghanistan, a nation rich in critical minerals needed for a clean energy future, is getting a lot of attention from China.
Rich Powell explains in the Washington Examiner how supply chains for minerals like lithium are troublesome, and reason for more American innovation.
- “It was innovation in the past that freed America from energy dependence on the Middle East, and it is poised to do so again with energy storage,” Rich writes.
- “The good news is that innovators are exploring solutions to source lithium domestically but also get beyond lithium-ion batteries for grid-scale storage.”
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3. Potentially 10 new American nuclear exports announced
U.S. nuclear energy industry market opportunities are continuing to expand with Ukraine and Poland announcing recent deals.
The details:
- Ukraine has agreed to “deepen” a strategic partnership including working with Westinghouse to complete a stalled reactor project, followed by four new Westinghouse AP1000 reactors at a total value of $30 billion.
- Polish companies, Synthos and ZE PAK, signed an investment agreement to build four to six GE Hitachi BWRX-300 reactors at the site of ZE PAK's Pątnów coal-fired power plant in central Poland.
- Synthos also previously signed a cooperation agreement with Ultra Safe Nuclear Corporation to use their advanced microreactor for hydrogen production.
What’s clear: Both deals signal new market opportunities for American companies, and a desire to diversify away from Russian gas, boosting America’s geopolitical standing in the region.
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4. Carbon removal technology charms the industrial sector
Carbon removal company Charm Industrial has removed 1,000 tons of CO₂e (carbon dioxide equivalent) for e-commerce company Shopify ahead of schedule using technology to break down biomass into a carbon rich bio-oil and permanently store it underground.
- An additional 3,000 tons of CO₂e is expected to be removed by the end of 2023.
What’s clear: Charm’s ability to meet project deadlines early likely will instill confidence in this growing technology.
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5. Texas Port to develop offshore CCUS hub
The Port of Corpus Christi, one of the nation's top energy exporting facilities, is working on a project to capture emissions in the Port area and sequester offshore in the Gulf of Mexico.
What’s clear: Offshore carbon dioxide sequestration is gaining traction following a recent announcement for a new project site off the shore of Beaumont and Port Aurthur, Texas which says it will be able to sequester 225-275 million metric tons of carbon dioxide.
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6. Coming down the pipeline
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