The Senate confirmed former North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum as Interior secretary Thursday in a 79-18 vote, with the majority of Senate Democrats joining every Republican in the chamber. Burgum, a one-time candidate for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination-turned-visible Trump campaign surrogate, has been among the president’s least controversial nominees. He advanced out of the Senate Energy...
Nuclear revival puts uranium back in the critical spotlight
Is uranium a critical mineral? Not according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), which dropped it from its critical minerals list in 2022 on the grounds it didn’t qualify because it was a “fuel mineral.” U.S. President Donald Trump wants it to think again. One of Trump’s many “Unleashing American Energy” directives requires the Secretary of the Interior...
How to Manage the Forest to Make It Easier to Manage the Fires
It’s impossible to know the devastation of a wildfire until you’ve lived it. Headlines and news clips provide a glimpse, but they cannot replicate the feeling of smoke in your lungs, seeing flames race towards you, or feeling the char and ash of destruction left in its wake. This year is already off to a...
Trump transition slowing, not stopping, US cleantech boom
US cleantech projects are being delayed and restructured since climate critic Donald Trump’s election in November. But advisors warn that examples of foreign-owned cleantech projects being halted in recent months do not foreshadow an end to the sector’s momentum under the new government. On January 22, two days after the president signed executive orders targeting cleantech...
Shut-down Iowa nuclear plant could come back online by 2028
The decommissioned Duane Arnold nuclear plant in eastern Iowa is inching closer to a restart as NextEra Energy has asked for a licensing change for the facility. A representative for the renewable energy company confirmed to Bloomberg that it filed a request with federal regulators from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Thursday, marking the first step toward bringing the plant back online. In an...
Permitting reform is key to unleashing American energy. Can Trump get it done?
President Trump has wasted no time putting his imprint on American energy policy. Within hours of his swearing in, he signed a dizzying array of relevant executive orders, including one titled “Unleashing American Energy.” While most of the attention has revolved around the president’s focus on producing more domestic oil and gas — “liquid gold,” as he...
Could floating nuclear power plants power U.S. ports?
Core Power (US) Inc, has enlisted Seattle-based naval architecture and marine engineering firm Glosten to help its team design a floating nuclear power plant (FNPP) to power ports in the United States. Created by Core Power, the FNPP concept is a nearshore infrastructure system that includes a barge-based nuclear power plant, barge support services, electrical...
Reflecting on Eight Years of Conservative Clean Energy
I just celebrated my eighth anniversary running Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions (CRES). This milestone represents eight years of working to ensure Republicans have a seat at the table to discuss the benefits of unleashing American energy while lowering emissions. During this time, I witnessed three presidential elections—each with its own nuances—and saw their impact...
Permitting Speeds Up, but 61% of Reviews Are Still Late
On the first day of his second term in office, President Donald Trump issued a series of executive orders that included several provisions aimed at accelerating the federal permitting process. While the long-term impacts of these policies remain to be seen, it is valuable to assess the current landscape. The Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) recently...
Poland and Canada sign nuclear power cooperation agreement
Poland and Canada have signed an agreement that provides a legal framework for more intensive cooperation on nuclear power, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Tuesday after meeting his Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau. Poland, which is working to reduce its reliance on coal, has chosen Westinghouse Electric to build its first nuclear plant on...