(from NYTimes) Festival organizers are trying to block plans to build a clean energy plant in the Nevada desert, highlighting the struggle to combat climate change and the cost of clean power. One of…
(from The Guardian.) UN agency says El Niño and human-induced climate breakdown could combine to push temperatures into ‘uncharted territory’ The world is almost certain to experience new record temperatures in the next five years,…
As Washington wages parallel battles on permitting and new environmental regulations, one conundrum crisscrosses both: A pileup of permit applications to store carbon dioxide underground. Storing carbon will likely be increasingly important to power plants…
Normally, I’m very skeptical of geoengineering proposals. They can incent people to think they can keep emitting GHGs, and the “unintended consequence” risk are huge. But here’s one worth considering further. Did you know that…
There’s enough uranium dissolved in the oceans to power the world for 100,000 years and more. The good news is that there’s a known chemical reaction and method for capturing it, albeit at a cost ($200/kg) about twice that of getting U-238 from mining uranium ore on land. This post summarizes four recent announcements.
The two sides prioritize vastly different policy goals. Broadly speaking, Republicans want to accelerate the approval process for pipelines and other fossil fuel projects, while Democrats have tried to speed the construction of the electric transmission lines needed to carry clean power.
New fusion announcements and next-generation fission reactors appear to be viable sooner than expected. (1) See “Microsoft Bets That Fusion Power Is Closer Than Many Think” and (2) Andreesen-Horowitz leads Series B for Radiant Industries (air-cooled, 1-megawatt nuclear reactors, the size of a shipping container). See also Aalo. The promise: non-interruptible, clean power at 3 cents / kwh.
Note: We at CCL are working hard to speed the transition to clean energy. Getting to NET ZERO (and even to negative emissions to move back from the brink) requires removing CO2 from the air. Here are two projects to keep an eye on.
The White House on Wednesday endorsed a plan by Senator Joe Manchin III to speed the approval of some fossil fuel projects in order to also hasten the construction of new transmission lines critical for meeting President Biden’s climate goals.
[Editor: When private companies bet on tech that not supposed to be ready until the 30’s (or 40’s), I pay attention!] Scientists have been dreaming about nuclear fusion for decades. Microsoft thinks the technology is…
This is a good summary of the differences between Republican and Democratic proposal re “Permitting Reform.”
Spoiler Alert: The answer to the question in the title is “Probably, no.” 😉
Editor: New authority being used to fast-track a mining project in Arizona. Can Nevada be far behind?
The Biden administration is moving to expedite the review and approval of a manganese and zinc mine in southern Arizona, setting up a standoff with a local …
