The U.S. Department of Energy released its long-awaited study on LNG exports Tuesday, and while the administration didn’t officially call for a ban on LNG exports – they might as well have. In a politically charged statement, U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said “that a business-as-usual approach is neither sustainable nor advisable,” echoing similar claims to those made...
Vineyard Wind Resumes Turbine Blade Installation Following Five-Month Suspension
Vineyard Wind has resumed turbine blade installation on its offshore wind farm, marking the first such activity since a blade broke off earlier this year. Vineyard Wind and government officials confirmed that the work commenced on Saturday, and three blades were successfully installed over the weekend. The resumption follows a five-month hiatus after a catastrophic...
What’s in, what’s out of the year-end funding deal
Congressional leaders finalized a deal Tuesday to extend government funding, approve more than $100 billion in disaster aid and advance a slew of bipartisan priorities that had been awaiting action for months. The stopgap funding measure, if approved this week as expected, will kick Friday night’s funding deadline to March 14, buying congressional appropriators nearly...
The World’s First Commercial Fusion Plant Will Be in Virginia
Commonwealth Fusion Systems, the buzziest and most well-funded company in the increasingly buzzy and well-funded fusion sector, announced today that it will build a commercial fusion power plant in Chesterfield County, Virginia — a first for both the company and the world. CFS will independently finance, build, own, and operate the 400-megawatt plant, which will produce...
A nuclear fuel company promising $4.5B project and 1,000 jobs is wooing an Eastern WA city
The city of Richland is considering selling 425 acres of former Hanford nuclear site land for a $4.5 billion project related to advanced nuclear fuel. The company interested in the project, which is projected to employ 1,000 workers, has not been made public. It is identified in city documents only under the code name of...
DOE Releases Three Funding Opportunities for R&D of Electricity Grid Technologies
The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Electricity (OE) has released three Notices of Funding Opportunity (NOFOs) worth about $18.4 million for programs to support research and development of electricity grid technologies. The programs will reduce the cost of HVDC circuit breakers, improve risk assessment and communication for grid operators, and ensure communities respond...
We Don’t Need This Much Permitting
America’s process for permitting infrastructure is a convoluted mess of federal, state, and local procedures, regulations, bureaucracies, lawsuits, judges, activists, and landowners. “Getting approval from all of them, getting every single box checked, is the biggest hang-up to getting projects up and running,” says Cary Davis of the American Association of Port Authorities in a video making...
EPA will grant California the right to ban sales of new gas cars by 2035
The Environmental Protection Agency plans to grant California permission to set stronger climate rules for cars and SUVs — a move that President-elect Donald Trump could attempt to reverse — according to two people briefed on the matter. The EPA intends to issue California a waiver as soon as next week to enforce its rule aimed at banning...
Permitting Reform: A Strategic Imperative for U.S. National Security and Global Competitiveness
Permitting reform has swiftly risen to the forefront in Washington as a pressing national security priority. The United States is grappling with the dual challenges of escalating energy demand and mounting global competition, particularly from China. Despite the critical role of our nation’s energy infrastructure, the U.S. is ensnared in a permitting process that can...
Japan Sees Nuclear as Cheapest Baseload Power Source in 2040
Nuclear power is forecast to be the cheapest baseload electricity source in Japan in 2040, highlighting the government’s desire to restart the nation’s idled reactors. The cost of constructing and operating a new nuclear power plant for 2040 is estimated at 12.5 yen ($0.08) per kilowatt-hour, according to documents released from a trade ministry panel meeting on...