1. Texas moves on carbon capture class VI primacy
The Texas Railroad Commission is now able to apply for Class VI primacy for the state of Texas, which would expedite progress on carbon capture and sequestration (CCUS) projects.
- The federal permitting process for Class VI wells, which are used for geologic sequestration of carbon dioxide, currently takes years to complete under the EPA.
- States with primacy, or enforcement authority, over the process are able to approve and construct Class VI wells years faster.
Plug in: Currently, only Wyoming and North Dakota have Class VI primacy. Over the past year, North Dakota has issued two Class VI permits in a matter of months.
What's clear: In order to build clean energy projects faster, it is crucial to modernize permitting.
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2. Natural gas: a public-private success story
Technology breakthroughs need both public and private support to reach their full scale and deployment potential, and there is no better example than the shale gas boom in America.
Hydraulic fracturing — the process of breaking up shale rocks to release the natural gas inside — was pioneered by Texas entrepreneur George Mitchell in the 1970s, but got off the ground with federal investments.
- DOE supported research, development, and demonstration of hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling through the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s.
- R&D plus tax incentives got the technology off the ground, then expired once mature.
Thanks to public-private partnerships, we now have a $100 billion annual natural gas market in America.
Plug in: Rich Powell summarizes this in under 2 minutes in our new whiteboard video.
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3. A potential path to maintaining California’s last nuclear plant
Diablo Canyon, California’s last nuclear power plant, remains at risk of a 2025 shutdown. Governor Newsom suggested that funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) could help preserve the plant, yet some are skeptical it’s too little too late...
- It is crucial that Diablo Canyon remain open to keep clean and reliable baseload power on the grid during emergencies.
- Democrat Governors have been warming more to nuclear energy as a means to reach clean energy goals for their states, but is a sentiment change now enough?
Despite the Governor’s statement, there are still obstacles to keeping Diablo Canyon open:
- Representatives from the Governor’s office said he supports closing the plant in the long term in the interest of transitioning to renewable power.
- Burdensome state regulations which led to the announced closure still exist.
- Whether or not the plant will apply for the Civil Nuclear Credit Program funding depends on the decision of PG&E, which operates the plant.
- The plant still needs to have its license renewed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and California needs to address state level permits.
What's clear: Nuclear development in the U.S. has virtually flat-lined for the past three decades and continues to face huge challenges. Maintaining the existing fleet of reactors is the cheapest and best way to meet utilities’ net-zero goals.
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4. Rolling back NEPA reforms compromises clean energy goals
In an effort to cease reliance on Russian gas, public French utility Engie has made a purchase deal with Houston liquid natural gas (LNG) provider NextDecade.
- Engie has committed to buy the equivalent of 2.4 billion cubic meters of LNG per year.
- The utility currently relies on Russia for 20% of its gas imports, and has stated its intention to forge new contracts with American and European suppliers.
- Europe’s shift away from Russian LNG has revived and created new opportunities for privately-owned LNG providers like NextDecade.
What's clear: Public-private partnerships with ally countries like this one are an important step in reducing reliance on Russian natural gas.
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5. NuScale brings advanced nuclear to NYSE
NuScale is bringing advanced nuclear to the stock market. As of Tuesday, May 3, NuScale’s merger with Spring Valley Acquisition Corp., operating as NuScale Power Corporation, will begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
- The business combination between NuScale and Spring Valley is expected to have an enterprise value of $1.9 billion.
- These funds will allow NuScale to further commercialize and deploy their small modular reactor (SMR) technology.
What's clear: Developing and deploying the next generation of nuclear technology is essential to reaching our emissions reduction goals, and increased private sector investment will help companies like NuScale build cleaner faster.
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6. Billions for energy storage and battery manufacturing
DOE announced its $3.1 billion funding opportunity to strengthen energy storage and battery manufacturing supply chains as part of the bipartisan infrastructure law.
Energy storage investments are needed in order to:
- Build domestic supply chains and reduce dependence on China;
- Enable more manufacturing of batteries and other components in the U.S.; and
- Create more energy jobs.
What's clear: With an improved domestic supply chain and more American energy storage production, the U.S. will be able to reduce dependence on foreign adversaries for manufacturing and energy resources.
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7. NRC nominations announced
This week, President Biden announced two nominees to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC):
- Annie Caputo is a former NRC Commissioner and current advanced nuclear consultant with the Idaho National Laboratory. Prior, she worked on the Senate Armed Services and Environment and Public Works Committees
- Bradley R. Crowell is the current Director of the Nevada Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. He is a former Hill staffer and former Assistant Secretary of Energy for Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs at DOE.
What's clear: A full suite of qualified NRC Commissioners is necessary to enable the deployment of new nuclear reactors.
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8. ICYMI
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