By Andrew Ozaki, KETV
Could more nuclear energy be the answer to providing power during extreme weather events and curbing global warming. One Nebraska lawmaker wants to spend a million dollars of federal recovery money to study if advanced reactor technology would work in Nebraska. “Nationally and internationally this has been recognized now as a need that we have to have this type of technology in order to reach that zero-carbon,” state Sen. Bruce Bostelman said. He also points to a year ago when most of the country was thrown into a polar plunge. Read more or watch the video here.
Previously Posted Research
- U.S. can get to 100% clean energy with wind, water, solar and zero nuclear, Stanford professor says, CNBC
Department of Energy Nuclear Energy News & Resources
- Office of Nuclear Energy
- DOE Establishes $6 Billion Program to Preserve America’s Clean Nuclear Energy Infrastructure
- Spent Fuel and Waste Disposition
- STEM Resources
NUCLEAR FUSION “SCIENCE ON SATURDAY” TOPIC
The 2022 Science on Saturday series presented by DOE’s Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory on “Energy and the Environment” showcases the Lab’s research and technology on environmental issues and climate change. Geared toward high school and middle school students, the virtual series is FREE. Click the above link to join the discussions and download companion student worksheets.
Sign in: 11:45 a.m. Central Time. Presentations begin at 12 p.m.
- February 19: Bringing Star Power to Earth: Harnessing Nuclear Fusion
- February 26: The Future in Focus: Predicting Climate Change through Observations, Modeling, and Artificial Intelligence
Past presentations can be viewed on LLNL’s Science on Saturday YouTube channel
NEBRASKA ALSO IN THE NEWS HERE
Tri-State strife over cost, coal highlights energy transition challenge, S&P Global
Two of Tri-State’s distribution co-ops left in 2016 and 2020, respectively, for an up-and-coming power provider that fronted nearly $100 million in early exit fees. Tri-State’s largest member, Colorado’s United Power Inc., gave notice Dec. 14, 2021, that it intends to depart as well. Two days later, Poudre Valley REA Inc. followed suit, as did Northwest Rural Pub Power District in Nebraska on Dec. 30, 2021.
United Power, Northwest and five others are participating in a February 2021 complaint before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission over Tri-State’s exit fee calculations, which suggests that more members might be on their way out. A FERC administrative judge will hear the case in 2022.
CORPORATE RENEWABLE ENERGY PROCUREMENT
Clean Energy Buyers Association Announces Top 10 U.S. Energy Customers in 2021, CEBA News Release, Business Wire
In 2021, CEBA introduced a simple, yet powerful vision of customer-driven clean energy for all. The 2021 Deal Tracker Top 10 demonstrates the scale and influence of energy customers that have contracted nearly 47 gigawatts of clean energy – about 20% of all wind and solar capacity in the U.S. – over the last decade. As a business trade association, CEBA will continue to catalyze its community of nearly 300 members thorough foundational education, stakeholder collaboration and acceleration of advanced and innovative market strategies.
ALSO IN THE NEWS
- Clean Energy Trade Associations Urge FERC to Act on Near-term Interconnection Improvements, American Clean Power Association
- New Faces on a Vital National Commission Could Help Speed a Clean Energy Transition, Inside Climate News
- US senators express bipartisan support for hydrogen as states vie to become hydrogen ‘hubs’, Utility Dive
- DOE will build nation’s first large-scale facility to turn fossil fuel waste into rare materials for tech, News Channel Nebraska
- Opinion: Let’s grow a brighter Kansas future by combining agriculture and solar energy, contributed by Pam Martin, The Reflector
Driven primarily by projected electric vehicle (EV) demand, the global Lithium-ion battery industry and its associated supply chain have committed more than $600B in funding towards launching new electric vehicle models. This includes large scale investment in mineral extraction, chemical processing, anode and cathode production, cell production, recycling facilities and the provision of EV component parts.
