Aalo Atomics’ Aalo-X Critical Test Reactor (CTR)—dubbed “Project First Light”—has reached criticality at Idaho National Laboratory (INL), marking the fourth Department of Energy (DOE)–authorized advanced reactor startup under the federal push to accelerate reactor testing and demonstration. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) said July 6 that Aalo’s test reactor, which DOE referred to as...
Gov. Greg Abbott called for blocking new data center development in rural parts of the state during a campaign stop in East Texas on Tuesday. “We must prohibit them from building AI data centers in rural Texas neighborhoods,” Abbott said at the Bullard event, which primarily discussed his plan to cut property taxes, adding that this issue “dovetails...
The U.S. Department of Energy on Thursday said it issued a notice of proposed rulemaking to “permanently end home appliance and equipment mandates,” continuing President Trump’s campaign against limits on how much energy is used by light bulbs, washing machines, furnaces and a host of other devices. DOE’s Appliance and Equipment Standards Program is mandated...
The federal government is proposing to overhaul radiation safety regulations for nuclear power, including by eliminating a long-term principle for nuclear safety. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) this week proposed to get rid of the requirement for nuclear plants to ensure that radiation exposure is “as low as is reasonably achievable.” Read more in The Hill here.
s an electric grid operator warns of potential power shortages amid this week’s heat wave, the Trump administration is issuing emergency orders aiming to maximize output. Energy Secretary Chris Wright issued orders directing grid operator PJM to dispatch more power generation from various fossil fuel plants, as needed, despite environmental restrictions that are typically in place. Read more...
As Western governments seek to reduce dependence on Chinese rare earth supply chains, Brazil is emerging as one of the world’s most promising new sources of critical minerals. The country holds the world’s second-largest rare earth resource base and is home to a growing number of advanced ionic clay projects. At the same time, the...
When Dominion Energy first announced the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) commercial project in September 2019, the proposal was striking. At the time, the U.S. offshore wind market was still fairly nascent, though federal and state permitting activity, lease auctions, and offtake agreements were beginning to advance projects in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and New York....
The Trump administration announced Wednesday that three advanced nuclear reactors built by U.S. companies had reached key operational milestones, meeting its July 4 goal to advance the nascent technology it hopes will revolutionize the power sector. A reactor from Houston-based Deployable Energy became the third during Trump’s term to reach criticality, in which it produces...
Drew Bond wrote a letter to the Wall Street Journal on the red tape and poor tax credits hindering the solar industry. Rahm Emanuel rightly identifies America’s dependence on Chinese solar as a policy failure in his op-ed “On Energy, Democrats Can Learn From Texas” (June 16), but he misattributes the cause. The U.S. didn’t lose...
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