1. ClearPath adds to its Advisory Board
Marty Hall is rejoining our Advisory Board after serving as Republican Staff Director for the House Climate Select Committee for three years.
- In this role, Hall worked closely with Climate Select Ranking Member Garret Graves (R-LA).
Rich’s take:
- “We are constantly working to educate and engage conservative policymakers on clean energy issues, and are thrilled to add Marty back to our slate of advisors.
His energy policy experiences in both the public and private sectors will help advise ClearPath on expanding that bench, and on policies that commercialize clean energy technologies needed to reduce global emissions as quickly and cheaply as possible.”
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2. …and to its policy team!
ClearPath also announced two new policy analysts this week.
- Grant Cummings, former legislative aide for U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan (R-AK), will work across ClearPath’s clean energy technology portfolio, with a focus on export policies, trade, and carbon capture.
- Casey Kelly, former fellow for the International Council on Clean Transportation, will work closely with our modeling and research team, supporting power markets and technology-specific research projects.
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3. Nuclear energy remains essential
The world needs nuclear energy to reduce global carbon emissions.
Our friend, Jason Bordoff, Co-Founding Dean of the Columbia Climate School, recently penned a piece detailing why nuclear power has returned to the energy debate. Highlights include:
- There is growing recognition that the pathway to net-zero emissions will be faster, easier, and cheaper if nuclear energy is part of the mix of solutions.
- Advanced nuclear energy provides a bright outlook for the future of nuclear, including cheaper costs, enhanced safety features and smaller designs.
- There is a national security component to engagement with other countries on civilian nuclear energy.
Rich's take:
- "There's a global reawakening that nuclear has got to be part of the solution … There's nothing like an energy crisis to make nuclear look really good.”
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4. Hydropower draws bipartisan support
At a Senate Energy and Natural Resources hearing this week, Ranking Member John Barrasso (R-WY) stated, “Hydropower is clearly an important component of an all-of-the-above energy strategy, and we should encourage more hydropower generation.”
What’s clear: Hydropower currently produces more than seven percent of the U.S.’ electricity and has the potential to be the nation’s largest source of renewable energy – it increases the reliability and resiliency of our electric grids and is critical to reducing emissions.
Plug in: Learn more about hydropower.
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5. Geothermal heats up in Texas
An advocacy group created to advance geothermal energy in Texas, dubbed Texas Geothermal Energy Alliance (TxGEA), officially launched operations yesterday.
- Representatives include oil & gas operators, utilities, scientists and engineers from several Texas universities, and leading environmental organizations advocating for Texas public policy solutions.
What’s clear: The Texas energy sector has benefited tremendously from a diversified energy portfolio that has included nuclear power, oil, natural gas, and renewables like wind and solar.
- Texas has the opportunity to expand that portfolio in the near-term by applying its oil and gas expertise to clean geothermal energy.
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6. Goldman Sachs invests in long-duration energy storage
Goldman Sachs invested $250 million into a Canadian energy storage startup.
- Hydrostor, the company, stores surplus electricity by compressing air into underground caverns, which can later be used to generate electricity during periods of high demand.
What’s clear: This is one of the largest corporate investments ever made in a long-duration storage company.
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7. ICYMI: Future CCUS hub in the Gulf
A trade group representing the offshore energy industry called on policymakers to lay the groundwork for companies to make the Gulf of Mexico a hub for carbon capture and storage projects.
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