“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...
COP29: US-UAE Climate-Friendly Farming Partnership Grows to $29 Billion
Funding for a climate-friendly farming effort led by the U.S. and United Arab Emirates has reached $29.2 billion, the countries announced on Monday at the COP29 climate summit in Baku. The Agriculture Innovation Mission for Climate (AIM for Climate) was launched in 2021. Under the program, governments, companies, and non-government organizations pledge funding for projects...
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,...
Biden administration gives support to controversial land trade in Alaska wildlife refuge
The Department of the Interior has set the stage for a controversial land trade that would allow a road to be built through Alaska’s Izembek National Wildlife Refuge. In a draft environmental impact statement released on Thursday, the department’s U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recommended a multi-part swap of land between the federal government and a for-profit...
America’s Struggling Solar Industry Has a New Comeback Plan
For years, U.S. officials have complained about Chinese companies ripping off American technology to build their own industries, a practice known as “technology transfer.” In industries like autos, Beijing required U.S. companies set up joint ventures with Chinese firms, which helped jump-start China’s domestic auto industry. Now, there’s evidence that the transfer is going in the opposite...
How Hydrogen Can Strengthen the United States’ Energy Sovereignty
Political uncertainty over the past few months has hindered U.S. leadership in the global hydrogen sector. The Biden administration struggled to formalize a long-term clean hydrogen policy, posing risks to the country’s energy security. Following the recent election results and upcoming change of administration, there is now an opportunity to accelerate the adoption of clean...