Governor Josh Shapiro signed an executive order establishing the first program of its kind in the nation to give critical projects a leg up during the permitting processes. The governor calls the initiative a “game changer” for economic development in the Keystone State. “We need to move quickly to get big projects built and to...
Momentum Grows to Repower Retiring Coal Plants with Nuclear
Growing energy demand, advances in reactor technology, and recent legislative and regulatory progress are fueling rising interest in nuclear energy. This momentum could open the door to repowering retiring coal plants with nuclear—an approach that could boost local economies while providing the grid with clean reliable energy, as outlined in BPC’s 2023 report, Can Advanced Nuclear...
DT Midstream to buy three natgas pipelines from ONEOK for $1.2 bln
Pipeline operator DT Midstream (DTM.N), opens new tab said on Tuesday it would acquire three natural gas transmission pipelines from ONEOK (OKE.N), opens new tab for $1.2 billion in cash, boosting its presence in the Midwest market amid rapid consolidation in the U.S. industry. Increased consolidation among oil and gas producers and hurdles in getting new energy infrastructure approved...
This DOE-backed software is helping to unclog the grid
Brian Fitzsimons, CEO of GridUnity, doesn’t think his company alone can solve the grid interconnection backlog that’s holding back the U.S. energy transition. But he’s sure that its software is a lot better than the combination of paper, spreadsheets, and email that most grid operators use right now. In fact, he claims his firm’s software can shave about a year or more from the...
Study Group Report Says Texas Ready To Dominate In Nuclear Energy, Too
“Texas is the energy capital of the world, and we are ready to be No. 1 in advanced nuclear power,” Texas Governor Greg Abbott said in a news release Monday announcing the final report produced by the Texas Advanced Nuclear Reactor Working Group (TANRWG) that he created in August, 2023. The group’s charge was to conduct a study and...
Westinghouse, Radiant Secure $5M for Microreactor Tests at INL’s Pioneering DOME Testbed
Westinghouse and Radiant Industries have secured a $5 million Department of Energy (DOE) award to advance their microreactor designs for testing at the Demonstration of Microreactor Experiments (DOME) testbed at Idaho National Laboratory (INL)— the world’s first facility, specifically designed to support fueled reactor experiments for advanced nuclear technologies. The two companies, along with Ultra...
Trump taps Liberty Energy CEO Chris Wright for Department of Energy: ‘Leading technologist and entrepreneur’
President-elect Trump announced that Chris Wright, the CEO and founder of Liberty Energy, will lead the Department of Energy in his new administration. “I am thrilled to announce that Chris Wright will be joining my Administration as both United States Secretary of Energy, and Member of the newly formed Council of National Energy,” Trump said in...
Has nuclear power entered a new era of acceptance amid global warming?
When Heather Hoff took a job at Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant, she was skeptical of nuclear energy — so much so that she resolved to report anything questionable to the anti-nuclear group Mothers for Peace. Instead, after working at the plant for over a decade and asking every question she could think of about...
Trump names Interior nominee Burgum to head new National Energy Council
President-elect Donald Trump is putting Doug Burgum at the center of his incoming administration’s energy initiatives, naming his nominee to head the Interior Department to a czar role that will coordinate a push across the federal government to rev up energy production. In his new position, Burgum will lead a new National Energy Council, which...
Low-Energy Fridays: Are all these energy subsidies worth it? Not really.
The tax cuts adopted during the first Trump administration as part of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act are set to expire by the end of next year, putting extra pressure on the next Congress to adopt another tax reform. Republicans will likely try to extend those cuts as part of a budget reconciliation bill,...