Alternate Energy Sector Ideas

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BWXT - >>> Cathie Wood Loads Up On This Nuclear Play As The Senate Announces Industry Support In Trump Bill


Investor's Business Daily

by KIT NORTON

06/17/2025


https://www.investors.com/news/cathie-wood-nuclear-stock-market-senate-industry-support-in-trump-bill/?src=A00220


The Senate Finance Committee released recommendations for key elements of the Republican budget bill late Monday that would boost investment in nuclear energy. The news followed Monday stock market action in which Cathie Wood and Ark Invest loaded up on nuclear reactor supplier BWX Technologies (BWXT), a stock that hovered in a buy zone.

Wood's ARK Innovation (ARKK) ETF on Monday purchased 215,830 shares of BWX Technologies for an estimated $30.14 million, according to Wood's ETF daily trade disclosures.

BWX Technologies traded in a buy zone on Monday, advancing 1.2% to 139.67. Aggressive investors would read the stock as extended, up more than 60% from an April low, according to analysis of MarketSurge charts.

The stock edged up 0.3% to 140.15 on Tuesday, just above a traditional 136.31 buy point from a cup base, according to MarketSurge. The company supplies the U.S. Navy with nuclear reactors and also has a strong position in the supply chain for Canada's nuclear energy program. William Blair analysts wrote in late May that BWX could "expand its commercial nuclear power business" into small modular reactor, or SMR, technology.

Wood and Ark Invest also have positions in Canada-based uranium refiner Cameco (CCJ) and SMR startup Oklo (OKLO). Wood's ARK Autonomous Tech (ARKQ) ETF trimmed Cameco and Oklo holdings in late May as nuclear-related stocks soared broadly following President Donald Trump's nuclear executive orders.

The changes sharpen the cuts to Medicaid designed into the House bill, leading to some pushback among House and Senate GOP leaders, according to Politico.

The committee also aimed to eliminate hundreds of billions of dollars in Biden-era Inflation Reduction Act, or IRA, tax credits, but would also increase investment in nuclear energy. The House version of the bill keeps a full phaseout of solar and wind energy tax credits by 2028.

The committee's recommended changes to Trump's signature tax and spending bill would end the $7,500 tax credit for EVs 180 days after becoming law. That's vs. the House's end-of-2025 cutoff. In either case, the loss of credits is likely to hit Tesla (TSLA) and other auto manufacturers.

Oklo Stock Soars After First-Quarter Earnings; OpenAI Deal Potential

While the legislation would strip away tax credits for EVs along with incentives for wind and solar energy, the bill makes modifications to clean energy production tax credits to allow nuclear, hydro and geothermal to continue receiving incentives, in some form, if facility construction starts before 2036.

The House and Senate aim to deliver a reconciled budget proposal to the White House by July 4.

Trump Executive Orders Fuel Nuke Stocks

The inclusion of pronuclear carve-outs in the Senate spending bill comes after Trump in late May signed four executive orders to support the nuclear energy sector and put in place a "total and complete reform" of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the NRC. The executive orders also look to speed up the deployment of new nuclear power reactors in the U.S.

The May 23 executive orders directed the government to cut down on regulations and fast-track licenses for reactors and power plants to shrink a multiyear process to 18 months, the Financial Times reported.

Trump's 'Consequential' Shift In Energy Policy Fuels Upgrades For These Stocks

The Trump White House defines artificial intelligence as a national security objective and stipulates that the Department of Energy and Defense work with the private sector to accelerate deployments of SMRs, to power AI.

Big Tech has been bullish on investing in SMRs to power AI data centers. SMRs aim to provide power at the site level, drastically reducing the time and cost of permitting, constructing and operating full-scale nuclear facilities.

Cathie Wood-backed Cameco is placed to be a major beneficiary of these executive orders. Cameco has a partial ownership of Westinghouse.

Westinghouse is reportedly the "top pick" to construct the mandated 10 new large nuclear reactors by 2030.

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>>> Finland warms up the world’s largest sand battery, and the economics look appealing


TechCrunch

by Tim De Chant

June 16, 2025


https://finance.yahoo.com/news/finland-warms-world-largest-sand-215429320.html


https://media.zenfs.com/en/techcrunch_finance_785/1de8de1a011bf029e06db69895d4fd6c">https://media.zenfs.com/en/techcrunch_finance_785/1de8de1a011bf029e06db69895d4fd6c" />


Two technicians walk by the Pornainen sand battery.

It doesn’t look like much, but Finland recently flipped the switch on the world’s largest sand-based battery.

Yes, sand.

A sand battery is a type of thermal energy storage system that uses sand or crushed rock to store heat. Electricity — typically from renewable sources — is used to heat the sand. That stored heat can later be used for various ends, including to warm buildings.

The economics are compelling, and it’s hard to get any cheaper than the crushed soapstone now housed inside an insulated silo in the small town of Pornainen. The soapstone was basically trash — discarded from a Finnish fireplace maker.

Though it might not be as visually impressive as a large lithium-ion battery pack, the 2,000 metric tons of pulverized rock inside the 49-foot-wide silo promises to slash Pornainen’s carbon emissions, helping the town eliminate costly oil that currently helps power the town’s district heating network.

Like many Scandinavian towns, Pornainen operates a central boiler that heats water for homes and buildings around town. Polar Night’s battery can store 1,000 megawatt-hours of heat for weeks at a time, enough for a week’s worth of heating in the chilly Finnish winter. From storage to recovery, only about 10% to 15% of the heat is lost, and the temperature at the outlet can be up to 400°C.

The town’s district heating system also relies on burning wood chips, and the sand battery will reduce that consumption by about 60%, according to Polar Night. Heat from the battery could also generate electricity, though the process would sacrifice some efficiency.

As renewables have gotten cheaper, interest in thermal batteries has grown. Beyond Polar Night, numerous startups are pursuing thermal batteries. Scotland-based Sunamp is building one that relies on the same material that gives salt-and-vinegar potato chips their flavor. Electrified Thermal Solutions, TechCrunch’s Startup Battlefield 2023 runner-up, has created a type of brick that can produce heat approaching 2,000°C. And Fourth Power is making graphite blocks that store electricity as 2,400°C heat.

Pornainen’s battery is charged using electricity from the grid, and its massive storage capacity allows the operator to draw power when it’s cheapest. Finland’s grid is mostly renewables (43%) and nuclear (26%), meaning its electricity is pretty clean. It’s also the cheapest in Europe at just under €0.08 per kilowatt-hour — less than half the EU average.

Polar Night didn’t disclose the project’s cost, though the raw materials are cheap and the structure itself isn’t particularly complex. A much smaller prototype built a few years ago cost around $25 per kilowatt-hour of storage, the company estimated at the time. It’s likely the new version is cheaper. Lithium-ion batteries cost around $115 per kilowatt-hour.

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XGS Energy, Fervo Energy - (geothermal) -


>>> Meta signs deal for advanced geothermal power in New Mexico


Reuters

by Laila Kearney

June 12, 2025


https://finance.yahoo.com/news/meta-signs-deal-advanced-geothermal-214446357.html


By Laila Kearney

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Meta signed an agreement with XGS Energy to help develop 150 megawatts of advanced geothermal electricity in New Mexico to power the Facebook parent company's artificial intelligence expansion, the companies said on Thursday.

Giant technology companies like Meta are striking unprecedented power deals to secure massive amounts of electricity for the data centers needed to develop AI, which is a top driver of the record U.S. power consumption projected for 2025 and 2026.

Geothermal energy, which does not produce climate-warming carbon emissions, has become a popular source of electricity for Big Tech companies, many of which have emissions reduction goals. Unlike conventional geothermal power production, advanced geothermal does not rely on natural water sources.

Last year, Google announced plans to fuel its data centers with advanced geothermal power produced by Fervo Energy.

While 150 megawatts is a tiny fraction of the many gigawatts of power sought by technology companies to power AI, it would represent about 4% of total U.S. geothermal production.

New Mexico, which lays claim to a section of the world's largest shale oil basin, has 160,000 megawatts of untapped geothermal power generation potential.

The phased-in project between XGS and Meta is projected to be operational by the end of the decade. The advanced geothermal electricity will be deployed to the electric grid and support Meta's operations in the state.

“With next-generation geothermal technologies like XGS ready for scale, geothermal can be a major player in supporting the advancement of technologies like AI as well as domestic data center development," Urvi Parekh, Global Head of Energy at Meta said in a written statement.

"We’re excited to partner with XGS to unlock a new category of energy supply for our operations in New Mexico,” he said.

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Geothermal - >>> Meta signs deal for advanced geothermal power in New Mexico


Reuters

by Laila Kearney

June 12, 2025


https://finance.yahoo.com/news/meta-signs-deal-advanced-geothermal-214446357.html


By Laila Kearney

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Meta signed an agreement with XGS Energy to help develop 150 megawatts of advanced geothermal electricity in New Mexico to power the Facebook parent company's artificial intelligence expansion, the companies said on Thursday.

Giant technology companies like Meta are striking unprecedented power deals to secure massive amounts of electricity for the data centers needed to develop AI, which is a top driver of the record U.S. power consumption projected for 2025 and 2026.

Geothermal energy, which does not produce climate-warming carbon emissions, has become a popular source of electricity for Big Tech companies, many of which have emissions reduction goals. Unlike conventional geothermal power production, advanced geothermal does not rely on natural water sources.

Last year, Google announced plans to fuel its data centers with advanced geothermal power produced by Fervo Energy.

While 150 megawatts is a tiny fraction of the many gigawatts of power sought by technology companies to power AI, it would represent about 4% of total U.S. geothermal production.

New Mexico, which lays claim to a section of the world's largest shale oil basin, has 160,000 megawatts of untapped geothermal power generation potential.

The phased-in project between XGS and Meta is projected to be operational by the end of the decade. The advanced geothermal electricity will be deployed to the electric grid and support Meta's operations in the state.

“With next-generation geothermal technologies like XGS ready for scale, geothermal can be a major player in supporting the advancement of technologies like AI as well as domestic data center development," Urvi Parekh, Global Head of Energy at Meta said in a written statement.

"We’re excited to partner with XGS to unlock a new category of energy supply for our operations in New Mexico,” he said.

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>>> Meta's nuclear deal signals AI's growing energy needs


AP

by MATT O'BRIEN

6-3-25


https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/other/metas-nuclear-deal-signals-ais-growing-energy-needs/ar-AA1G1isa?ocid=TobArticle


Meta's deal to help revive an Illinois nuclear power plant was one way of signaling that the parent company of Facebook and Instagram is preparing for a future built with artificial intelligence.

Meta's 20-year deal with Constellation Energy follows similar maneuvers from Amazon, Google and Microsoft, but it will take years before nuclear energy can meet the tech industry's insatiable demand for new sources of electricity.

AI uses vast amounts of energy, much of which comes from burning fossil fuels, which causes climate change. The unexpected popularity of generative AI products over the past few years has disrupted many tech companies' carefully laid plans to supply their technology with energy sources that don't contribute to climate change.

Even as Meta anticipates more nuclear in the future, its more immediate plans rely on natural gas. Entergy, one of the nation’s largest utility providers, has been fast-tracking plans to build gas-fired power plants in Louisiana to prepare for a massive Meta data center complex.

France has touted its ample nuclear power — which produces about 75% of the nation's electricity, the highest level in the world — as a key element in its pitch to be an AI leader. Hosting an AI summit in Paris earlier this year, French President Emmanuel Macron cited President Donald Trump’s “drill baby drill” slogan and offered another: “Here there’s no need to drill, it’s just plug baby plug.”

In the U.S., however, most of the electricity consumed by data centers relies on fossil fuels — burning natural gas and sometimes coal — according to an April report from the International Energy Agency. As AI demand rises, the main source of new supply over the coming years is expected to be from gas-fired plants, a cheap and reliable source of power but one that produces planet-warming emissions.

Renewable energy sources such as solar and wind account for about 24% of data center power in the U.S., while nuclear comprises about 15%, according to the IEA. It will take years before enough climate-friendlier power sources, including nuclear, could start slowing the expansion of fossil fuel power generation.

A report released by the U.S. Department of Energy late last year estimated that the electricity needed for data centers in the U.S. tripled over the past decade and is projected to double or triple again by 2028 when it could consume up to 12% of the nation’s electricity.

Why does AI need so much energy?

It takes a lot of computing power to make an AI chatbot and the systems they're built on, such as Meta's Llama. It starts with a process called training or pretraining — the “P” in ChatGPT — that involves AI systems “learning” from the patterns of huge troves of data. To do that, they need specialized computer chips — usually graphics processors, or GPUs — that can run many calculations at a time on a network of devices in communication with each other.

Once trained, a generative AI tool still needs electricity to do the work, such as when you ask a chatbot to compose a document or generate an image. That process is called inferencing. A trained AI model must take in new information and make inferences from what it already knows to produce a response.

All of that computing takes a lot of electricity and generates a lot of heat. To keep it cool enough to work properly, data centers need air conditioning. That can require even more electricity, so most data center operators look for other cooling techniques that usually involve pumping in water.

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>>> 3 Stocks to Buy to Ride the Nuclear Power Renaissance


Motley Fool

By Matt DiLallo, Neha Chamaria, Reuben Gregg Brewer

May 31, 2025


https://www.fool.com/investing/2025/05/31/3-stocks-to-buy-to-ride-the-nuclear-power-renaissa/


CCJ
Cameco Corp

CEG
Constellation Energy Corporation

SMR
NuScale Power Corporation


President Trump recently signed an executive order aimed at giving the nuclear energy industry a boost. The president wants to overhaul the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and speed up the development of new nuclear power reactors in the country. The order could power a resurgence in the sector.

NuScale Power (NYSE: SMR), Constellation Energy (NASDAQ: CEG), and Cameco (NYSE: CCJ) stand out to a few Fool.com contributors as nuclear energy stocks that could benefit from the industry's renaissance. Here's a closer look at why they could produce powerful returns for investors if the nuclear energy sector's resurgence gains steam.

NuScale Power has a new power model to offer

Reuben Gregg Brewer (NuScale Power): When President Donald Trump signed an executive order that will help to speed up the adoption of nuclear power in the United States, NuScale Power's stock rallied. A lot of nuclear power stocks did the same, but NuScale's rally brought the shares back up to all-time highs.

There's both risk and opportunity here. NuScale Power's price advance is being driven by emotions, since the company doesn't technically have a product to sell just yet. But the small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs) it is attempting to build are a very exciting advance in nuclear power.

SMRs are built in a factory, which makes them cheaper, easier, and quicker to build than large, site-built nuclear power plants. Their small size also means they can be transported to where they are needed and placed closer to population centers. The inclusion of modern safeguards, meanwhile, reduces the risk of a high-profile meltdown.

If NuScale Power can start selling its SMRs, it has a huge opportunity ahead of it as nuclear power demand increases. The most exciting thing here, however, is that the big turning point for the business is likely to take shape later in 2025. That's when RoPower, a Romanian power company, will make the final call on whether it will buy six SMRs from NuScale Power. Once the first deal is inked, additional deals are likely to be easier to come by.

A lot has to go right for NuScale Power before it has a sustainably profitable business, making execution a risk to keep close tabs on. But if the dominos keep falling into place, the nuclear renaissance could lead to material long-term gains for early investors in this growth stock.

A nuclear powerhouse

Matt DiLallo (Constellation Energy): Constellation Energy is the country's leader in producing nuclear power by a wide margin. It currently owns 22.1 gigawatts (GWs) of competitive nuclear power generation capacity, nearly four times that of rival Vistra (6.3 GWs).

Unlike utilities that own power generation assets and distribute the electricity to customers, Constellation sells the power it produces to other utilities and large corporate customers under long-term, fixed-rate power purchase agreements (PPAs). This strategy can enable it to cash in on higher power rates.

The company is investing heavily on expanding its clean energy operations. It signed a deal with Microsoft late last year to support the restart of its Three Mile Island Unit 1 nuclear plant, which it shut down several years ago for economic reasons. However, Microsoft's need for clean power to support its cloud and AI growth led the tech giant to sign a 20-year contract for all the power produced from this nuclear plant when it comes back online in 2028. Constellation is also exploring other nuclear power growth opportunities, including SMRs.

On top of that, Constellation is investing in other cleaner energy sources, like renewables and natural gas. It's in the process of significantly expanding its leading clean power operations by acquiring Calpine, which is a leader in natural gas and geothermal energy.

These investments position Constellation to deliver powerful earnings growth in the coming years. It's on track to grow its adjusted operating earnings at a more than 13% compound annual rate through 2030 on a stand-alone basis. It can grow even faster if it closes its Calpine deal. Meanwhile, the nuclear resurgence could power additional growth over the longer term.

A rare dividend-paying nuclear fuel stock

Neha Chamaria (Cameco): President Trump wants to speed up the design and build-out of nuclear reactors and quadruple the nation's nuclear energy capacity by 2050 to make it a major source of power. However, while investors expect companies building nuclear reactors and generating nuclear energy to be the biggest beneficiaries from Trump's pro-nuclear stance, the supply side of the equation is going unnoticed.

The thing is, nuclear power plants run on uranium. That means demand for uranium should rise, too, as more nuclear reactors come online. That makes a stock like Cameco a solid pick to play Trump's nuclear renaissance. Cameco was, in fact, hugely bullish about the uranium industry before Trump signed the executive order.

Earlier in May, Cameco estimated that nearly 70% of the total estimated uranium fuel requirements of nuclear reactors worldwide through 2045 remain uncovered. In other words, upcoming nuclear reactors will have to buy nearly 3.2 billion pounds of uranium to power their plants. For perspective, only around 119 million pounds of uranium were contracted by utilities in 2024 under long-term contracts.

Since Cameco is one of the largest uranium producers in the world, its outlook is closely followed by the uranium and nuclear energy industry. Cameco is already witnessing an uptick in long-term uranium contracting activity. To top that, Cameco also owns a 49% stake in Westinghouse Electric, which supplies nuclear technology, equipment, fuel, and services for nuclear reactors. Westinghouse, therefore, provides an edge to Cameco over other uranium miners.

Cameco is also a financially strong company and has even paid a dividend every year since 1991, also increasing it by 33% last year. Combine all of it, and Cameco looks like a smart nuclear stock to buy and hold.

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>>> 3 Best Nuclear Energy ETFs to Buy Now


Motley Fool

By Scott Levine

Nov 20, 2024


https://www.fool.com/investing/stock-market/market-sectors/energy/nuclear/nuclear-etfs/


Key Points

AI-driven power demands raise interest in nuclear energy stocks and ETFs.

AI data centers may increasingly use nuclear energy, boosting sector growth.

U.S. aims for 200 GW new nuclear capacity by 2050, influencing market trends.

Top nuclear energy ETFs

Global X Uranium ETF
Sprott Uranium Miners ETF
VanEck Uranium and Nuclear ETF

Should you invest?

With the market's rampant interest in artificial intelligence (AI), investors have begun to pay greater mind to nuclear energy stocks and, with them, nuclear energy exchange-traded funds (ETFs). For investors who don't closely follow the AI industry, the connection between AI and nuclear energy may seem odd. But the reason is simple. AI computing places considerable power demands on the electrical grid -- a problem that many believe can be ameliorated by a data center embrace of nuclear energy.

Experts believe that the sizable power demands that AI is causing will continue to escalate. According to consulting firm McKinsey and Company, demand for AI-ready data center capacity could rise at an average annual rate of 33 percent between 2023 and 2030."

Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence is the use of machines to mimic human intelligence.

To put in perspective the growing size of data centers, consider the fact that Oracle (ORCL 1.43%) chairman and chief technology officer Larry Ellison stated on the company's first quarter 2025 conference call that it's developing an 800-megawatt (MW) data center that "will contain acres of Nvidia (NVDA -2.85%) GP clusters able to train the world's largest AI models." Three small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs) are planned to power the data center. McKinsey estimates that the average data center size is 200 MW.

Government attention to nuclear energy is another factor motivating investors to take a closer look at this niche of the energy sector. Providing support for the nuclear industry, the Biden Administration revealed a framework that attempts to have the United States deploy 200 gigawatts of net new nuclear energy capacity by 2050.

Understanding nuclear energy

While investors may recognize the strong attention that nuclear energy is receiving right now, many may still be unclear about what exactly nuclear energy entails. And since the best investors are well-informed investors, it's worth taking a quick look at how nuclear energy is used to generate electricity.

Essentially, nuclear energy results from two types of reactions: nuclear fission and nuclear fusion. These days, nuclear power plants generate electricity from nuclear fission, the process of splitting the nucleus of an atom into smaller parts, which results in the production of free neutrons and lighter nuclei, along with a large amount of energy. This process generates substantial amounts of heat, which is then used to produce steam for driving turbines connected to electricity generators.

Unlike the situation with burning fossil fuels, no carbon dioxide is produced when electricity is generated as a result of nuclear fission.

Three top nuclear energy ETFs to buy in 2024

While investing in individual nuclear energy stocks is certainly a valid approach, those interested in mitigating risk may find nuclear energy ETFs more appealing since the downturn of an individual stock that's part of a fund will have a less ruinous effect on one's portfolio than investing in a single stock.

1. Global X Uranium ETF

With 51 holdings in its portfolio and $3.6 billion in assets under management, the Global X Uranium ETF (URA -0.65%) provides investors with ample exposure to the nuclear energy industry. Besides companies that produce uranium, the ETF includes businesses that make nuclear components and provide services for nuclear power plants.

Cameco (CCJ -1.08%), a leading producer of uranium, represents the largest position in the Global X Uranium ETF with a 24.4% weighting. Small modular reactor stocks NuScale Power (SMR -2.37%) and Oklo (OKLO -0.08%) also find themselves among the top 10 largest positions with weightings of 3.6% and 3.1%, respectively.

Due to the large position that Cameo occupies as well as the high weightings of other uranium producers like Uranium Energy (UEC -1.17%) and Denison Mines (DNN -1.56%), energy stocks represent the largest sector in the portfolio at 65%, while industrials and materials are the next two largest sectors represented.

The Global X Uranium ETF has a 0.69% total expense ratio.

2. Sprott Uranium Miners ETF

Characterizing itself as "the only ETF to provide pure-play exposure to uranium miners and physical uranium essential to nuclear power," the Sprott Uranium Miners ETF (URNM -0.32%) attempts to invest at least 80% of its total assets in securities found in the North Shore Global Uranium Mining Index -- an index which strives to track the performance of companies dedicating at least 50% of their assets to the uranium mining industry.

Cameco again stands as the largest position with a 16.8% weighting in the ETF, which has 38 holdings overall and net assets of $1.7 billion. Besides established uranium producers like Cameco and Denison Mines, the Sprott Uranium Miners ETF includes exploration stage companies such as Ur-Energy (URG -2.92%).

The Sprott Uranium Miners ETF has a 0.75% total expense ratio.

3. VanEck Uranium and Nuclear ETF

Unlike the previously mentioned nuclear energy ETFs, the VanEck Uranium and Nuclear ETF (NLR 0.08%) will appeal to investors who are also looking to generate some passive income since it has a 12-month yield of 3.7% and makes annual distributions.

The ETF, which has 27 holdings, has the usual suspects of nuclear energy stocks like Cameco and Denison Mines, but it also gives strong weighting to utility stocks that operate nuclear power assets among its holdings. Energy sector stocks and utilities stocks represent 44.6% and 41.5% of the portfolio, respectively.

Constellation Energy (CEG 1.01%), for example, is the largest position in the fund with a 7.9% weighting, and Public Service Enterprise Group (PEG 1.8%) is the third-largest position with a 7% weighting.

The VanEck Uranium and Nuclear ETF has a 0.61% net expense ratio.

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>>> Nuclear Stocks Reach Critical Mass: The Time to Buy Is Now


Market Beat

By Thomas Hughes

May 27, 2025


https://finviz.com/news/66782/nuclear-stocks-reach-critical-mass-the-time-to-buy-is-now#


Nuclear Energy

The U.S. nuclear energy has just reached critical mass. A series of Executive Orders unleashed by the Trump Administration reduced red tape, focusing attention on “advanced nuclear technologies, paving the way for the United States to become a global leader in nuclear technology, fuel, and services.

Due to the many references to size and scalability, advanced nuclear technologies can be translated as small modular reactors, or SMRs. Investors should take away that stocks like NuScale Energy (NYSE: SMR) and Oklo (NYSE: OKLO) are uniquely positioned to benefit from these developments, as seen in their stock prices.

Both stocks gained solid double-digit amounts on the news. Oklo led with a gain that topped out above 25%, followed by a slightly smaller increase in SMR shares. The moves were accompanied by significantly increased volume, about 4.5x the 30-day average for OKLO and 3.5x for SMR, a sign of short-covering and rapidly shifting market sentiment.

The short interest on these stocks was above 15% for OKLO and 20% at the end of April. It is likely much lower now and will likely continue falling in the coming weeks.

What exactly does the executive order do? First, it establishes advanced nuclear technology as critical for national security. The energy it provides is considered necessary to support not only the nation's AI interests but also its military installations. The order aims to speed up the deployment process for SMR technology by reducing red tape, prioritizing clearances and approvals, and establishing timelines for advancement.

Among them are a three-year deadline to develop a program for building and operating SMRs at U.S. military installations and a 30-month deadline to identify and begin developing SMR sites on Federal lands.

Oklo Has an Advantage Over NuScale Power

The Executive Orders are good news for Oklo and NuScale, but Oklo increased its advantage over NuScale.

Not only is it on track to begin commercialized operations of its first reactor years ahead of NuScale, but its fuel sources are now assured. One of Oklo’s technological advantages is the use of HALEU fuel. HALEU or high-assay low-enriched uranium is of higher quality than the traditional, standard low-enriched fuel used today, the fuel used primarily by NuScale reactors.

The critical detail is that the Executive Order directs the Secretary of Energy to release 20 metric tonnes of HALEU into a fuel bank for the private sector.

Centrus Is a Win for Nuclear Investors

Centrus Energy (NYSE: LEU) is another benefactor of the Trump orders and central to Oklo’s advantage. The company operates a centrifuge cascade for purifying HALEU fuel and partners with Oklo. The two are working to establish a co-located facility that includes a reactor, fuel-recycling facility, and HALEU cascade.

The goal is to produce, efficiently use, and recycle fuel for Oklo reactors and the nuclear industry.

The reaction from Centrus Energy analysts has been positive, including numerous initiated ratings in 2025 and an aggressive price target. The consensus in late May assumes a 25% upside in addition to the 20% gain sparked by the orders.

Technically, the 20% target is low because moving to that level will break this stock from a trading range and cross a critical pivot point. In that scenario, the stock could rise by $60 to 100% from the critical target, and the forecasts for OKLO and SMR are more robust.

Centrus Energy Stock chart

The technical indications for SMR and OKLO suggest a 200% gain from the critical resistance targets. Those targets are at the all-time highs, the tops of long-term trading ranges, and likely reached by early to mid-summer 2025 if not sooner.

The question is whether these markets will continue to attract new money or if the gains will be capped at resistance. The odds are high that new funds will continue to flood into this market because of the business tailwinds and outlook for revenue and profits.

Oklo, for one, will likely have commercialized operations within the next 24 months, will begin producing significant revenue immediately, and will profit soon after.

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>>> Trump Signs Orders to Revive US Leadership in Nuclear Power


Bloomberg

by Jennifer A. Dlouhy

May 23, 2025


https://finance.yahoo.com/news/trump-signs-orders-revive-us-181453260.html


(Bloomberg) -- President Donald Trump on Friday signed orders meant to accelerate the construction of nuclear power plants, including small, untested designs that offer the promise of rapid deployment but haven’t yet been built in the US.

The effort is a bid to meet a coming surge in electricity demand and help the US reclaim its edge in nuclear energy. While the country was once the leader in deploying and producing nuclear power, it’s finished building only two new reactors in the last 30 years and shuttered existing plants, even as China and Russia race to deploy them.

Trump’s initiative to unleash nuclear energy could give a boost to an emission-free source of power that’s championed as a climate-friendly alternative to electricity generated by burning coal and natural gas. However, the president has cast nuclear energy as a complement, rather than a replacement, for fossil fuels.

“We’re signing tremendous executive orders today that really will make us the real power in this industry,” Trump said as he issued the directives in the Oval Office, adding that nuclear technology “has come a long way, both in safety and costs.”

Trump was joined by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and energy industry executives including Constellation Energy Corp. CEO Joseph Dominguez and Jake DeWitte of Oklo Inc.

The initiative represents the latest bid by an American president to jump start the domestic nuclear industry, which has languished in recent decades. Former President Joe Biden last year laid out a plan to triple US nuclear capacity by 2050, and Trump’s new plan aims to quadruple it. It also comes as technology companies are clamoring for power to supply energy-hungry data centers.

The effort is likely to give a boost to companies developing small reactors, including Last Energy Inc., Oklo, TerraPower LLC and NuScale Power Corp.

One of the orders also aims to get 10 large, conventional reactors under construction by 2030, potentially benefiting Westinghouse Electric Co., whose gigawatt-scale AP1000 design was the last commercial nuclear unit built in the US and has been embraced worldwide.

Trump’s nuclear initiative also would encourage the use of government financing to support the restart of shuttered nuclear plants, target 5 gigawatts worth of upgrades at existing sites and help spur the completion of others — potentially aiding South Carolina utility Santee Cooper’s bid to resume building two reactors at its V.C. Summer plant, where soaring costs prompted the company to halt construction in 2017.

However, Trump’s nuclear push comes as lawmakers move to phase out a government subsidy that’s seen as critical to helping propel construction of new reactors and support existing plants. Developers have said the change would create a significant barrier to building nuclear plants.

Under a bill that passed the House early Thursday, new and expanded advanced nuclear projects would be eligible to receive clean energy tax credits only as long as they begin construction by the end of 2028, while tax credits for existing nuclear power plants would expire at the end of 2031.

Trump’s initiative aims to spur construction of at least one reactor at US military installations. That would allow nuclear energy to power and operate critical defense facilities and AI data centers, a senior White House official said. And, because that approach doesn’t involve commercial plants, it lets developers bypass the customary approval process through the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

In the meantime, the NRC would also get an overhaul. Trump is ordering a reorganization of the agency and a culling of its workforce in consultation with the president’s Department of Government Efficiency cost-cutting program, along with fixed timelines for license approvals and “a wholesale revision” of its regulations.

While some developers have decried the lengthy and expensive process to secure NRC approval for proposed designs and renew licenses for existing facilities, some nuclear power advocates worry the effort may backfire by sparking regulatory upheaval and uncertainty. If new reactor designs can’t be fully vetted within the president’s proposed 18-month deadline, they warn, the models could even be rejected altogether, an outcome that would likely undermine Trump’s deployment goals.

Trump is also ordering the NRC reconsider radiation limits, saying its reliance on safety models assuming there is no safe exposure threshold has led to “a myopic policy of minimizing even trivial risks.”

Some energy experts have expressed alarm about the president’s plan to strengthen the domestic supply chain for nuclear fuel, potentially creating a market for reprocessed radioactive material and surplus plutonium stockpiles. Former US Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz this week warned that the proposal may lead “to the creation of additional stocks of weapons-usable materials.”

The president is also embracing the Energy Department’s Loan Programs Office as a potential source of financing for nuclear projects. Under Trump’s orders, the office would be directed to prioritize activities and resources for restarting shuttered plants, increasing output at existing sites, completing construction of unfinished reactors and building new advanced-nuclear units.

Constellation’s Dominguez said current permitting processes waste time, especially as data center operators and hyperscalers seek out 24/7 power supply. “We need to do this for America,” he said alongside Trump.

Reactors currently supply almost a tenth of the world’s power, including about 100 gigawatts of capacity in the US. Advocates say the industry needs to grow threefold by 2050 to help avoid the most catastrophic consequences of climate change. Like wind and solar plants, nuclear generates electricity without producing the greenhouse gas emissions that drive global warming. But reactors also have the advantage of running around the clock, delivering the non-stop power that’s in-demand from artificial intelligence companies and data center operators.

The US was at the vanguard of installing nuclear power plants for decades, but China is now the world’s top builder, with roughly 30 reactors under construction. Russia, meanwhile, has spent years honing its own technology and has exported reactors to buyers in India, Iran and elsewhere.

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>>> Dow wants to power its Texas manufacturing complex with new nuclear reactors instead of natural gas


AP

by JENNIFER McDERMOTT

March 31, 2025


https://finance.yahoo.com/news/dow-wants-power-texas-manufacturing-183503604.html


Dow, a major producer of chemicals and plastics, wants to use next-generation nuclear reactors for clean power and steam at a Texas manufacturing complex instead of natural gas.

Dow's subsidiary, Long Mott Energy, applied Monday to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission for a construction permit. It said the project with X-energy, an advanced nuclear reactor and fuel company, would nearly eliminate the emissions associated with power and steam generation at its plant in Seadrift, Texas, avoiding roughly 500,000 metric tons of planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions annually.

If built and operated as planned, it would be the first U.S. commercial advanced nuclear power plant for an industrial site, according to the NRC.

For many, nuclear power is emerging as an answer to meet a soaring demand for electricity nationwide, driven by the expansion of data centers and artificial intelligence, manufacturing and electrification, and to stave off the worst effects of a warming planet. However, there are safety and security concerns, the Union of Concerned Scientists cautions. The question of how to store hazardous nuclear waste in the U.S. is unresolved, too.

Dow wants four of X-energy's advanced small modular reactors, the Xe-100. Combined, those could supply up to 320 megawatts of electricity or 800 megawatts of thermal power. X-energy CEO J. Clay Sell said the project would demonstrate how new nuclear technology can meet the massive growth in electricity demand.

The Seadrift manufacturing complex, at about 4,700 acres, has eight production plants owned by Dow and one owned by Braskem. There, Dow makes plastics for a variety of uses including food and beverage packaging and wire and cable insulation, as well as glycols for antifreeze, polyester fabrics and bottles, and oxide derivatives for health and beauty products.

Edward Stones, the business vice president of energy and climate at Dow, said submitting the permit application is an important next step in expanding access to safe, clean, reliable, cost-competitive nuclear energy in the United States. The project is supported by the Department of Energy’s Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program.

The NRC expects the review to take three years or less. If a permit is issued, construction could begin at the end of this decade so the reactors would be ready early in the 2030s, as the natural gas-fired equipment is retired.

A total of four applicants have asked the NRC for construction permits for advanced nuclear reactors. The NRC issued a permit to Abilene Christian University for a research reactor and to Kairos Power for one reactor and two reactor test versions of that company's design. It's reviewing an application by Bill Gates and his energy company, TerraPower, to build an advanced reactor in Wyoming.

X-energy is also collaborating with Amazon to bring more than 5 gigawatts of new nuclear power projects online across the United States by 2039, beginning in Washington state. Amazon and other tech giants have committed to using renewable energy to meet the surging demand from data centers and artificial intelligence and address climate change.

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>>> TerraPower

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TerraPower#:~:text=Natrium%20fuel%20is%20made%20from,5%20and%2020%20percent%20uranium.

TerraPower, LLC

Company type Private

Industry Nuclear power

Founded 2006

Founder Bill Gates

Headquarters Bellevue, Washington, United States

Key people -

Bill Gates
(Chairman)

Chris Levesque
(President & CEO)

Products Natrium Sodium-Cooled Fast Reactor, Molten Chloride Fast Reactor, Traveling wave reactor

Website terrapower.com

TerraPower is an American nuclear reactor design and development engineering company headquartered in Bellevue, Washington. TerraPower is developing a class of nuclear fast reactors termed traveling wave reactors (TWR).[1]

TWR places a small core of enriched fuel in the center of a much larger mass of non-fissile material, in this case depleted uranium. Neutrons from fission in the core "breeds" new fissile material in the surrounding mass, producing Plutonium-239. Over time, enough fuel is bred in the area surrounding the core that it can undergo fission, enabling a steady-state reactor composition to be approximated by moving outer fuel rods towards the core as original core fuel rods are moved to the periphery.[2]

In September 2015, TerraPower signed an agreement with state-owned China National Nuclear Corporation to build a prototype 600 MWe reactor unit at Xiapu in Fujian province, China, from 2018 to 2025.[3] Commercial power plants, generating about 1150 MWe, were planned for the late 2020s.[4] However, in January 2019 it was announced that the project had been abandoned due to technology transfer limitations placed by the Trump administration.[5]

In October 2020, the company was chosen by the United States Department of Energy as a recipient of a matching grant totaling between $400 million and $4 billion over the ensuing 5 to 7 years to build a demonstration reactor using their "Natrium" design. Natrium uses liquid sodium as a coolant (reducing the cost using an ambient pressure primary loop). It then transfers that heat to molten salt, which can be stored in tanks and used to generate steam on demand, enabling the reactor to run continuously at constant power, while allowing dispatchable electricity generation.[6]

History

TerraPower is partly funded by the US Department of Energy (DOE) and Los Alamos National Laboratory.[7] One of TerraPower's primary investors is Bill Gates (via Cascade Investment). Others include Charles River Ventures and Khosla Ventures, which reportedly invested $35 million in 2010. TerraPower is led by chief executive officer Chris Levesque. In December 2011 India's Reliance Industries bought a minority stake through one of its subsidiaries and its Chairman Mukesh Ambani joined the board. Other TerraPower participants include[8] scientists and engineers from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, the Fast Flux Test Facility, Microsoft, and various universities, as well as managers from Siemens, Areva NP, the ITER project, Ango Systems Corporation, and DOE.

SK Group agreed to invest $250 million in 2022. The round was co-led by SK Inc and SK Innovation and Gates. DOE gave TerraPower cost-share funding through the Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program (ARDP) to test, license and build an advanced reactor within seven years.

TerraPower selected Kemmerer, Wyoming as the site for a 345 MWe Natrium reactor using a molten salt energy storage system. The reactor can temporarily boost output to 500 MWe, enabling the plant to integrate with renewable resources.[9] In June 2024 the site broke ground, beginning preparation for the as-yet unapproved reactor.[10] It is estimated to cost $4 billion, with the DOE supplying half of that cost, and Gates contributing $1 billion of his money.[11]

Mission

Company objectives include:[12]

Exploring significant improvements to nuclear power using 21st century technologies, state-of-the-art computational capabilities and expanded data.

Evaluating the impact of new concepts on the fuel cycle, from mining to spent fuel disposal.

Pursuing independent private funding.

Designs

Traveling wave reactor

TerraPower chose traveling wave reactors (TWRs) as its primary technology. Their major benefit is high fuel utilization that does not require nuclear reprocessing and could eliminate the need to enrich uranium.[13] TWRs are designed to convert typically non-fissile fertile nuclides (U-238) into fissile nuclides (Pu-239) in-situ and then shift power production from the "burned" region to the "bred" region. This allows the benefits of a closed fuel cycle without the expense and proliferation-risk of enrichment / reprocessing plants. Enough fuel for between 40 and 60 years of operation could be included in the reactor during manufacturing. The reactor could be installed below ground, where it could operate for an estimated 100 years.[14] TerraPower described its reactor design as a Generation IV design.[15]

Environmental effects

By using depleted uranium as fuel, the new reactor type could reduce depleted uranium stockpiles.[16] TerraPower notes that the US harbors 700,000 metric tons of depleted uranium and that 320 metric tons could power 100 million homes for a year.[17] Reports claim that TWR's high fuel efficiency, combined with the ability to use uranium recovered from river or sea water, means enough fuel is available to generate electricity for 10 billion people at US per capita consumption levels over million-year time-scales.[2]

Research and development

The TWR design is still in research and development. The conceptual framework was simulated by supercomputers with empirical evidence for theoretical feasibility. On November 6, 2009, TerraPower executives and Bill Gates visited Toshiba's Yokohama and Keihin Factories in Japan, and concluded a non-disclosure agreement with them on December 1.[18][19][20] Toshiba had developed an ultracompact reactor, the 4S, that could operate for 30 years without fuel handling and generated 10 megawatts.[20][21][22] Some of the 4S technologies are considered to be transferable to TWRs.[19]

Molten salt reactor

In October 2015 the company was reported to be investigating a molten salt reactor design with Southern Company as a technology alternative.[23][24] In February 2022, it was announced that the two companies had agreed to build a demonstration fast-spectrum salt reactor at Idaho National Laboratory (INL).[25] In 2023, the US Department of Energy announced a project to build a test reactor using high-enriched fuel (HEU) containing as much as 90% 235 U, contradicting the country's longer-term project to remove HEU from all reactors.[26]

Sodium fast reactor (Natrium)

Natrium combines a molten sodium reactor with a 1 GWh molten salt energy storage system. Sodium offers a 785-Kelvin temperature range between its solid and gaseous states, nearly 8x that of water's 100-Kelvin range. Without requiring costly and risky pressurization, sodium can absorb large amounts of heat. It is not at risk of decomposition at high temperature as water does. Natrium primarily uses austenitic stainless steels for components in contact with molten sodium, due to the nature of the components involved a protective oxide layer is formed on the steels in the presence of the sodium, inhibiting further corrosion.[27] Corrosion monitoring systems utilizing Ultrasonic testing are in place to detect any potential issues. Regular maintenance and inspections help identify and address corrosion concerns before they become significant.

Natrium fuel is made from high-assay, low enriched uranium (HALEU). HALEU is enriched to contain between 5 and 20 percent uranium. The fuel is in the form of metal uranium slugs that are housed within steel tubes to form fuel rods. Whilst this metallic fuel has a melting point much lower than the ceramic pellets used in light water reactors it also has higher heat conduction. Plant sites are expected to be smaller and 4x more efficient than conventional plants. Natrium control rods descend using only gravity in case of equipment damage/failure. Power output is a constant 345 MWe. The plant is designed to run at 100 percent output, 24/7. The storage system is designed to work in tandem with intermittent energy sources, responding to their spikes and crashes. It can produce 150% of the rated power output, or 500 MWe for 5.5 hours.[28]

In June 2021, TerraPower and PacifiCorp (a subsidiary of Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Energy) announced plans to build a joint Natrium reactor.[29] Four cities in Wyoming affected by closure of fossil-fuel power plants were under consideration for the demonstration reactor: Gillette, Kemmerer, Glenrock and Rock Springs, Wyoming.[30] PacificCorp does business in Wyoming as Rocky Mountain Power and has a coal power plant in each of the candidate locations.[31] It was announced November 16, 2021 that Kemmerer had been selected. Groundbreaking ceremony was held on June 10, 2024.[32] The power station is designed to consist of two adjacent parts: an "energy island" and a "nuclear island". Construction of a "nuclear island" is planned to begin in 2026.[32] The commercial power plant could be operational by 2030.[33][34]

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to TerraPower.

Fast breeder reactor
Small modular reactor
Generation IV reactor
Sodium-cooled fast reactor

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>>> Plug Power

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/3-beaten-down-stocks-arent-165700765.html

Another risky stock that investors will want to think twice about buying is Plug Power. Amid the meme-stock highs of 2021 when investors were willing to paying egregious multiples for risky investments, Plug Power's stock hit highs of more than $70. Today, investors can buy one of its shares for less than $2.

Investors have been hopeful that the company's hydrogen fuel cell systems could be key in providing the world with greener energy solutions, but the problem is that's a long-term play, and Plug's financials are abysmal -- it may not be able to survive.

As of Sept. 30, 2024, the company had just $94 million in cash and cash equivalents on its books. It not only incurred operating losses of more than $720 million during the first nine months of 2024, but it also burned through $597 million just from its day-to-day activities; its operations simply don't look sustainable.

With so much uncertainty around the company, investors are better off looking at other growth stocks than Plug Power. <<<

__________________________________


>>> Plug Power Inc. (PLUG) develops hydrogen and fuel cell product solutions in North America, Europe, Asia, and internationally. The company offers GenDrive, a hydrogen-fueled proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell system that provides power to material handling electric vehicles; GenSure, a stationary fuel cell solution that offers modular PEM fuel cell power to support the backup and grid-support power requirements of the telecommunications, transportation, and utility sectors; ProGen, a fuel cell stack and engine technology used in mobility and stationary fuel cell systems, and as engines in electric delivery vans; GenFuel, a liquid hydrogen fueling delivery, generation, storage, and dispensing system; GenCare, an ongoing Internet of Things-based maintenance and on-site service program for GenDrive fuel cell systems, GenSure fuel cell systems, GenFuel hydrogen storage and dispensing products, and ProGen fuel cell engines; and GenKey, an integrated turn-key solution for transitioning to fuel cell power. It also provides electrolyzers, a hydrogen generator for clean hydrogen production; liquefaction systems that provides liquid hydrogen to customers; cryogenic equipment for the distribution of liquified hydrogen, oxygen, argon, nitrogen and other cryogenic gases, including trailers and mobile storage equipment; and liquid hydrogen, an alternative fuel to fossil-based energy. The company sells its products through a direct product sales force, original equipment manufacturers, and dealer networks. Plug Power Inc. was incorporated in 1997 and is headquartered in Latham, New York. <<<

https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/PLUG/profile/

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>>> Tesla's stock slide looks to be unrelenting


Yahoo Finance

by Brian Sozzi

February 12, 2025


https://finance.yahoo.com/news/teslas-stock-slide-looks-to-be-unrelenting-111050162.html


Tesla's (TSLA) stock has known only one direction in February: reverse.

Shares of the Elon Musk-led EV maker dropped another 2% to $321 each in premarket trading on Wednesday, continuing an eye-opening slide from their recent 52-week high.

At its current premarket price, Tesla's stock is down 33% since hitting a record high on Dec. 18, 2024, weeks after the Election Day win for President Donald Trump — who was heavily backed by Musk.

The stock is the worst-performing member of the closely watched "Magnificent Seven" group of tech megacaps, which includes Meta (META), Amazon (AMZN), Microsoft (MSFT), Nvidia (NVDA), Google parent Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL), and Apple (AAPL).

Musk's net worth — which is closely connected to the fortunes of Tesla — has plunged $54 billion year to date, according to Bloomberg data. Musk is still the richest person in the world with a net worth of $378 billion

"The bears are owning the narrative," Wedbush analyst Dan Ives told me.

And the bears have a lot to feast on regarding Tesla at the moment. For starters, numbers on Tesla sales in important overseas markets have come in soft to kick off the year. The readings have triggered some concerns in Tesla circles that Musk's close proximity to Trump is damaging its brand.

Tesla sold 63,238 vehicles in China in January, according to data released this week by the China Passenger Car Association. The figure marked a steep 33% drop from December.

At the same time, Australia's Electric Vehicle Council reported that Tesla's overall sales fell 33% year over year in January.

"We're cautious on what's happening for the EV maker," Oppenheimer analyst Colin Rusch said on Yahoo Finance's Market Domination.

Meanwhile, fresh tariffs from the Trump administration stand to raise costs for Tesla and other automakers.

On Monday, the president signed two executive orders imposing additional 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum. Both steel and aluminum are key raw materials used by Tesla.

Trump's new trade war with China doesn't help either — a 2023 study by Nikkei found that 40% of the suppliers for materials used in Tesla's batteries are Chinese companies.

"Changes in government and economic policies, incentives or tariffs may also impact our production, sales, cost structure and the competitive landscape," Tesla pointed out in its latest 10-K filing.

And last, Tesla's fourth quarter left a lot to be desired.

The company's earnings per share missed analyst estimates by a penny. Automotive sales fell 8% year over year alongside price cuts across the Tesla vehicle lineup.

"There's a bit of a disconnect, in our view, between what's happening fundamentally and what's happening from a sentiment perspective," Rusch said.

The Oppenheimer analyst is also concerned that even with the sell-off in the stock, Tesla remains overvalued.

Yahoo Finance data shows Tesla shares are valued at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 111 times. The forward PE ratio for the S&P 500 is about 22 times. Auto rivals Ford (F) and GM (GM) are valued at PE multiples of 6 times and 4 times, respectively.

Rusch thinks Tesla's valuation will be "a little bit challenged" in the coming years unless the company can "deliver on a number of promises" it has made to investors such as robotaxis and humanoids.

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>>> Battery firm abandons plan for a $2.6 billion plant in Georgia


AP

by JEFF AMY

February 7, 2025


https://finance.yahoo.com/news/battery-firm-abandons-plan-2-204124656.html


ATLANTA (AP) — A clean energy company is abandoning a plan to build a giant electric battery factory in Atlanta's suburbs after it shifted to buy a solar panel plant in Texas.

Freyr Battery told officials in Newnan on Thursday that it wouldn't build a $2.6 billion plant that was supposed to hire more than 700 people, after sending a Jan. 21 letter to the Coweta County Development Authority announcing its plans to end the project.

The factory would have built batteries to store electricity produced by renewable sources and release it later, company officials said. It would have been the second-largest battery factory worldwide when it was announced in 2023. But Freyr, a startup founded in 2018, never began construction on the 368-acre (149-hectare) site.

Freyr, which moved its corporate headquarters from Norway to Newnan in part to maximize its eligibility for the U.S. tax benefits of President Joe Biden's climate law, said it was shifting its focus to a newly opened solar panel factory that it bought last year for $340 million from top Chinese solar panel maker Trina Solar.

“We are so grateful for the support and partnership we found in Coweta County and throughout Georgia," Freyr spokesperson Amy Jaick wrote in a statement, "However, as noted in our December release, we are focusing at the moment on the solar module manufacturing facility in Texas.”

The Newnan Times-Herald first reported the story, saying Freyr senior vice president of business development Jason Peace met Thursday with local officials. Peace told Coweta County Development Authority board members that the decision was driven by rising interest rates, falling battery prices, a change in company leadership and a shift in its goals, authority President Sarah Jacobs wrote in an email Friday.

The Georgia Department of Economic Development said the state conveyed a $7 million grant to buy a site for Freyr in Newnan, about 35 miles (55 kilometers) southwest of Atlanta. Department spokesperson Jessica Atwell said the state and company are “working together” to ensure the money is “repaid expeditiously.” Freyr may also owe money to Coweta County.

“Georgia’s incentives process protects the Georgia taxpayer, and when a company’s plans change, that process ensures discretionary incentives are repaid," Atwell said in a statement.

Jacobs said planning for the project made Coweta County a stronger candidate for future projects.

The company had said it planned to build battery factories in Norway and Finland but said in November that it will try to sell its European business. The company also said it was terminating its license for technology to make batteries, paying $3 million to the company it was licensed from.

Tom Einar Jensen, then the company's CEO, told investors in August that it had grown difficult to raise money to make batteries because of a surplus of Chinese batteries being produced at lower costs. The company said it was switching its strategy into businesses that would allow it to raise cash, including solar panel manufacturing. The company saw its cash on hand fall from $253 million at the end of 2023 to $182 million on Sept. 30.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp has targeted recruitment of the electric vehicle industry.

Korean firm SK Innovation built a $2.6 billion battery plant in Commerce, northeast of Atlanta and hired 3,000 workers, but later laid off or furloughed some workers.

Hyundai Motor Group has started production at a $7.6 billion electric vehicle and battery plant near Savannah, with plans to hire 8,500 workers. Electric truck maker Rivian revived its plans to build a plant east of Atlanta after a $6.6 billion loan from the Biden administration.

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>>> 11 years after a celebrated opening, massive solar plant faces a bleak future in the Mojave Desert


AP

Jan 30, 2025

by MICHAEL R. BLOOD


https://news.yahoo.com/news/11-years-celebrated-opening-massive-000749414.html


LOS ANGELES (AP) — What was once the world's largest solar power plant of its type appears headed for closure just 11 years after opening, under pressure from cheaper green energy sources. Meanwhile, environmentalists continue to blame the Mojave Desert plant for killing thousands of birds and tortoises.

The Ivanpah solar power plant formally opened in 2014 on roughly 5 square miles of federal land near the California-Nevada border. Though it was hailed at the time as a breakthrough moment for clean energy, its power has been struggling to compete with cheaper solar technologies.

Pacific Gas & Electric said in a statement it had agreed with owners — including NRG Energy Inc. — to terminate its contracts with the Ivanpah plant. If approved by regulators, the deal would lead to closing two of the plant's three units starting in 2026. The contracts were expected to run through 2039.

“PG&E determined that ending the agreements at this time will save customers money,” the company said in a statement on its website.

Southern California Edison, which buys the rest of the power from the three-unit plant, is in discussions with owners and the U.S. Energy Department regarding a buyout of its Ivanpah contract.

The plant appears likely to become a high-profile loser in the race to develop new types of clean energy in the era of climate change.

The Ivanpah plant uses a technology known as solar-thermal, or concentrated solar, in which nearly 350,000 computer-controlled mirrors roughly the size of a garage door reflect sunlight to boilers atop 459-foot towers. The sun’s power is used to heat water in the boilers’ tubes and make steam, which drives turbines to create electricity.

NRG said in a statement that the project was successful, but unable to compete with rival photovoltaic solar technology — such as rooftop panels — which have much lower capital and operating costs.

Initially “the prices were competitive but advancements over time in photovoltaics and battery storage have led to more e?cient, cost effective and flexible options for producing reliable clean energy,” NRG added

A post on the PG&E website said that Ivanpah's “technology had worked on a smaller scale in Europe.” But over time, it couldn't match the lower prices of photovoltaic technology.

The plant has long been criticized for the environmental tradeoffs that came with large-scale energy production in the sensitive desert region. Rays from the plant's mirrors have been blamed for incinerating thousands of birds. Conservation groups tried to stop construction on the site because of threats to tortoises.

“The Ivanpah plant was a financial boondoggle and environmental disaster,” Julia Dowell of the Sierra Club said in an email.

“Along with killing thousands of birds and tortoises, the project’s construction destroyed irreplaceable pristine desert habitat along with numerous rare plant species," Dowell said. “While the Sierra Club strongly supports innovative clean energy solutions and recognizes the urgent need to transition away from fossil fuels, Ivanpah demonstrated that not all renewable technologies are created equal.”

There were other early problems. After its much-hyped opening, the plant didn’t produce as much electricity as expected for a simple reason: the sun wasn’t shining as much as expected.

The plant can be a startling sight for drivers heading toward Las Vegas from Southern California along busy Interstate 15. Amid miles of rock and scrub, its vast array of mirrors can create the image of a shimmering lake atop the desert floor, but depending on the angle of the sun and mirrors, it could also be blinding.

If the PG&E agreement is approved, NRG said the units will be decommissioned, “providing an opportunity for the site to potentially be repurposed for renewable (photovoltaic) energy production.” The company did not respond to questions about the projected cost or what would become of the equipment at the site.

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Instead of CO2, we get deadly hydrogen fluoride gas -


>>> Smoke forces evacuation from world’s largest battery storage plant in California


MarketWatch

1-18-25


https://www.msn.com/en-us/public-safety-and-emergencies/health-and-safety-alerts/smoke-forces-evacuation-from-world-s-largest-battery-storage-plant-in-california/ar-AA1xqgAs?ocid=TobArticle





A fire at the world’s largest battery storage plant in Northern California smoldered Friday after sending plumes of toxic smoke into the atmosphere, leading to the evacuation of up to 1,500 people.

The fire at the Vistra Energy lithium battery plant in Moss Landing generated huge flames and significant amounts of smoke Thursday but had diminished significantly by Friday, Fire Chief Joel Mendoza of the North County Fire Protection District of Monterey County said. Vistra is based in Texas.

“There’s very little, if any, of a plume emitting from that building,” Mendoza said. Crews are not engaging with the fire and are waiting for it to burn out, he said. Letting lithium-ion battery fires burn out is not unusual because they burn very hot and are hard to put out.

No injuries have been reported but residents raised concerns about hazardous gases being released into the air.

The fallout from the fire at the battery storage facility about 100 miles (160 kilometers) south of San Francisco was just beginning.

“This is more than a fire, this a wake-up call for the industry. If we’re going to be moving ahead with sustainable energy, we need to have a safe battery system in place,” Monterey County Supervisor Glenn Church said at a Friday morning briefing.

Battery storage is considered crucial for feeding clean electricity onto the grid when the sun is not shining or the wind is not blowing, and it has been used in significant amounts only in the last couple of years. But the batteries are nearly all lithium, which has a tendency toward “thermal runaway,” meaning it can catch fire and burn very hot, releasing toxic gases.

Vistra sells energy to Pacific Gas & Electric one of the nation’s largest utilities.

The blaze did not spread beyond the facility, according to Monterey County spokesperson Nicholas Pasculli. Evacuation orders for from 1,200 to 1,500 people were lifted Friday evening after officials confirmed there was “no threat to human health,” (??) the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement. But residents were advised to close their windows and turn off their air conditioning.

“There’s no way to sugar coat it. This is a disaster,” Monterey County Supervisor Glenn Church told KSBW-TV.

Brad Watson, Vistra’s senior director of community affairs, said the Environmental Protection Agency is testing air quality at the facility and that the company has hired an air consultant to check for pollution in nearby communities. Vistra will share the results when they are available, Watson said.

Kelsey Scanlon, director of Monterey County’s Department of Emergency Management, told reporters that the release of hydrogen fluoride into the atmosphere from the blaze is a cause for concern.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says hydrogen fluoride gas can irritate the eyes, mouth, throat, lungs and nose, and that too much exposure to the gas can be deadly.

Residents expressed concerns about air quality during an emergency meeting of the Monterey County Board of Supervisors earlier Friday.

“It doesn’t appear that the fire department had the appropriate fire retardants to minimize this fire and have to resort to actually letting it burn, exposing all of the residents, including Watsonville in Santa Cruz County, and this is extremely disturbing,” resident Silvia Morales said.

Monterey County Sheriff Tina Nieto said air quality monitoring systems had not detected any hazardous gases in the air. (??)

Watson said two “overheating events” happened at the battery plant in 2021 and 2022 because the batteries got wet. A third incident happened in 2022 in the neighboring Elkhorn battery plant that is owned by PG&E, he said.

Lithium batteries make the power grid more stable and reduce the need for energy to be generated from fossil fuels, which release planet-warming gases. California was an early adopter of battery storage and leads the nation with more than 11 gigawatts of utility-scale storage online, which can meet nearly half of the demand on the state’s main grid for four hours per day.

Experts say lithium batteries are a safe technology that are essential for lowering carbon emissions and making grids more reliable. But they are a significant fire risk if they are damaged or overheat.

“We are not convinced that this incident could materially shift the national trend of growing grid scale battery deployment,” said Timothy Fox, managing director of ClearView Energy Partners, a non-partisan energy research firm.

It was unclear what caused this latest fire. Vistra said in a statement that after it was detected, everyone at the site was evacuated safely. After the fire is out, an investigation will begin.

“Our top priority is the safety of the community and our personnel, and Vistra deeply appreciates the continued assistance of our local emergency responders,” Jenny Lyon, a spokesperson for Vistra, said in a statement.

Jodie Lutkenhaus, professor of chemical engineering at Texas A&M University, said safer batteries must be found that can be used on the grid.

Some improvements, such as more fire prevention measures, can be made to reduce fire risks with lithium batteries, Lutkenhaus said, “but the only way to really address the problem is to use a safer technology.” Water-based and redox flow batteries are being developed by scientists but have not yet scaled commercially.

Lithium iron phosphate batteries are a possible alternative because they are highly stable, but they still carry some fire risk.

No matter what kind of lithium battery you use, “when you reach a certain size, it is inherently very dangerous and easy to catch fire,” said Yiguang Ju, engineering professor at Princeton University.

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>>> Wall Street firms are ditching climate coalitions. Do they matter?

BlackRock, the world’s biggest asset manager, is the latest financial firm to back out of a voluntary climate initiative it joined just a few years ago.


The Washington Post

January 11, 2025

By Nicolás Rivero


https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2025/01/11/blackrock-net-zero-coalition/


The Stratos Direct Air Capture facility (DAC), a joint venture between Occidental Petroleum Corp. and asset manager BlackRock, is seen in Ector County, Texas. (Adrees Latif/Reuters)

BlackRock, the world’s biggest asset manager, is the latest Wall Street giant to ditch a global group of investment firms founded in 2020 to pressure companies to cut carbon emissions. On Friday, it announced it had left the Net Zero Asset Managers (NZAM) initiative.

BlackRock is part of a broader exodus from green finance groups that banks and investors launched a few years ago to show their commitment to fighting climate change. Now, with Republicans in control of Congress, President-elect Donald Trump set to take office and Republican-led states suing financial firms for their green stances, those banks and investment managers are abandoning their climate coalitions in droves.

How big of a setback is this for slashing carbon emissions? Experts say that financial firms are likely to continue what they were already doing to promote green investments. “A lot of this is just political show,” said Madison Condon, an associate professor at Boston University School of Law.

BlackRock said as much in a letter to its clients explaining its decision. Even after leaving NZAM, the company said that it planned to keep giving investors the option to put their money into climate-focused funds designed to nudge companies toward cutting emissions, and that it would continue tracking the risks climate change poses to the companies it invests in.

What does a climate alliance do?

The point of forming green finance groups was to nudge banks and asset managers to push the trillions of dollars they control toward companies that are working on cutting carbon emissions and away from those that contribute to climate change. In theory, that would create an incentive for climate action. Participating firms were supposed to set aggressive climate goals and regularly report on their progress.

“NZAM has successfully helped raise the level of ambition across investors globally and supported their progress as they have sought to navigate their own individual paths toward a decarbonizing economy in line with their long-term financial objectives and fiduciary duties,” a spokesperson for the initiative wrote in an email.

But from BlackRock’s perspective, its NZAM membership didn’t do much. “Our participation in NZAM did not impact the way we managed client portfolios,” the company wrote in its client letter.

Many of BlackRock’s U.S. peers have also backed out of climate groups. Over the past month, the six biggest U.S. banks — Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo, Citi, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan — left another climate group, the Net-Zero Banking Alliance, four years after they helped create it. Several of the biggest Wall Street giants abandoned a U.N.-backed sustainability alliance called the Climate Action 100+ last year.

But, despite these departures, the companies that BlackRock and its peers invest in are already factoring climate change into their decisions, whether or not they talk about it publicly or face pressure from investors, according to Lin Peng, a finance professor at Baruch College.

“Climate change is still an important part of how companies make decisions,” Peng said. “Real estate companies and insurance companies have to take into consideration how wildfires or sea level rise change their risk.”

A ‘chilling effect’ for green finance

While climate alliances didn’t affect how banks and investment firms operate, they left the companies more vulnerable to criticism and investigations from Republican officials, experts said.

In November, 11 Republican state attorneys general led by Texas sued BlackRock and other financial firms for allegedly colluding to raise energy prices by encouraging companies to mine less coal. In December, Republicans in the House accused BlackRock and other asset managers of forming a “climate cartel” to cut companies’ emissions at the expense of shareholders.

In both cases, officials pointed to groups like NZAM and the Climate Action 100+ as evidence that financial firms were colluding with each other in ways that violate anti-monopoly laws.

“Our memberships in some of these organizations have caused confusion regarding BlackRock’s practices and subjected us to legal inquiries from various public officials,” the firm said in its letter.

Condon said it doesn’t matter much whether a bank or investment manager joins or leaves a climate alliance. But, she said, the backlash against BlackRock and its peers has created a “chilling effect” to discourage financial firms in the United States from taking a public stand on climate change.

In recent years, banks and investment firms, along with regulators at the Securities and Exchange Commission, have pushed companies to disclose more information about how climate change or the shift to renewable energy might affect their business. Oil and gas companies, for instance, might expect to sell less fuel in a world with more electric cars.

“If investment managers are chilled to the point where they can’t even acknowledge the green transition, this would clearly be a loss because the transition is happening,” she said. “With Trump being elected, we’re going see less interest in America to pressure companies for this type of disclosure.”

“That’s why that could be a significant step backward.”

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>>> Federal Reserve withdraws from global regulatory climate change group


Reuters

by Pete Schroeder

January 17, 2025


https://finance.yahoo.com/news/federal-announces-exit-regulatory-climate-183656966.html


WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Federal Reserve announced on Friday it had withdrawn from a global body of central banks and regulators devoted to exploring ways to police climate risk in the financial system.

In a statement, the Fed said it was exiting the Network of Central Banks and Supervisors for Greening the Financial System (NGFS) because its increasingly broadened scope had fallen outside the Fed's statutory mandate.

The central bank joined the group in 2020. The exit comes three days before President-elect Donald Trump, who is critical of efforts by governments to prescribe climate change policies, is set to take office.

The NGFS, formed in 2017, is charged with helping central banks and bank supervisors with integrating risks stemming from climate change into their work steering monetary policy and policing the financial system. A spokesperson for the group did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In recent years, the Fed had taken some steps to integrate climate change into its work via preliminary analysis and reports, but Chair Jerome Powell has repeatedly insisted the Fed has a limited role to play. Powell has maintained the Fed is not responsible for setting climate change policy, and the matter lies in the hands of Congress.

Republicans in Congress have been skeptical of any regulatory efforts to police climate risk in the banking sector, and Trump's impending takeover in Washington has spurred similar exits in the private sector. Also on Friday, Bank of Montreal became the first Canadian bank to announce its exit from the Net-Zero Banking Alliance, a private-sector climate alliance.

Several of the largest U.S. banks have already announced their own exit from that group.

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>>> US Hits Southeast Asian Solar Imports With Duties up to 271%


Bloomberg

by Jennifer A. Dlouhy

November 29, 2024


https://finance.yahoo.com/news/us-levies-more-duties-southeast-175114907.html


(Bloomberg) -- Solar imports from Southeast Asia are being unfairly sold in the US below their production costs, according to initial findings of a Commerce Department review that laid out duties of as much as 271% to counteract the practice.

The preliminary determination released Friday marks another victory for US solar panel makers that argued those cheap imports are harming their business and undermining government investments meant to nurture a domestic supply chain.

At issue are imports of crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells — and modules made with them — from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam, countries which provide the bulk of US supply of that equipment today. Those nations provide the bulk of US solar cell and module imports. The announcement comes nearly two months after the US agency issued preliminary findings from a separate but related probe that the solar imports from Southeast Asia are unfairly benefiting from government aid.

The investigations represent the latest bid by US manufacturers to confront overseas rivals. After similar duties were imposed on solar imports from China roughly 12 years ago, Chinese manufacturers responded by setting up operations in other Asian nations that weren’t affected by the tariffs. The US probes were triggered by an April petition from the American Alliance for Solar Manufacturing Trade Committee, which represents companies including First Solar Inc., Hanwha Qcells USA Inc. and Mission Solar Energy LLC.

“With these preliminary duties, we are moving closer to addressing years of harmful unfair trade and protecting billions of dollars of investment in new American solar manufacturing and supply chains,” Tim Brightbill, partner at Wiley Rein and lead counsel to the petitioners, said in an emailed statement. “These initial rates are in line with our expectations of market conditions and how these four countries were engaging in unfair trade practices to undermine American manufacturing and jobs.”

Shares of First Solar rose as much as 3.8% after the announcement, while JinkoSolar’s US depository receipts fell as much as 2.9%.

The cases have drawn opposition from some foreign manufacturers and domestic renewable power developers that argue tariffs give an unfair advantage to larger incumbent panel makers operating in the US while raising the cost of solar power projects.

New Rates

Under Friday’s action, imports from Cambodia face a cash deposit rate of 117.12%.

For Malaysia, initial assessed rates range from 17.84% for Jinko Solar Technology Sdn. Bhd. to 81.24% for other suppliers. Hanwha Q Cells Malaysia Sdn. Bhd. was preliminarily assessed to have no dumping margin and therefore was assigned an initial cash deposit rate of 0%.

Imports from a host of exporters in Vietnam, including JA Solar Vietnam Co. Ltd., Jinko Solar (Vietnam) Industries Company Ltd., Boviet Solar Technology Co., Ltd. and Trina Solar Energy Development Company Ltd., face cash deposit rates ranging from 53.19% to 56.4%. Exporters in Vietnam not specified by the Commerce Department in Friday’s action are subject to a rate of 271.28%.

Final decisions in both trade probes are expected next April and the preliminarily assessed duties could be raised, lowered or rejected altogether as a result of the investigations.

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>>> Hyliion Holdings - Top US Penny Stocks To Watch In November 2024


Simply Wall St

November 20, 2024


https://finance.yahoo.com/news/starbucks-considers-selling-stake-chinese-044324837.html


Overview: Hyliion Holdings Corp. develops sustainable electricity-producing technology focused on clean and efficient energy solutions, with a market cap of approximately $540.31 million.

Operations: Hyliion Holdings Corp. has not reported any specific revenue segments.

Market Cap: $540.31M

Hyliion Holdings Corp., with a market cap of US$540.31 million, exemplifies the challenges and potential of penny stocks. The company is pre-revenue, focusing on innovative energy solutions like the KARNO generator, which recently demonstrated its versatile fuel capabilities. Despite being debt-free and having short-term assets of US$161.4 million exceeding liabilities, Hyliion faces financial hurdles with less than a year of cash runway if free cash flow continues to decline at historical rates. While unprofitable with a negative return on equity, its revenue is forecasted to grow significantly in the coming years as it targets sectors such as EV charging and data centers.

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>>> Constellation Energy, nuclear stocks plummet after regulators block Amazon power deal


Yahoo Finance

by Laura Bratton

November 4, 2024


https://finance.yahoo.com/news/constellation-energy-nuclear-stocks-plummet-after-regulators-block-amazon-power-deal-151109123.html


Constellation Energy stock (CEG) fell 12.5% Monday amid a broader decline in nuclear power stocks following the US government's rejection of another Big Tech nuclear power agreement late Friday.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) rejected a proposal from a grid operator, PJM, to ramp up the amount of power supplied through the grid from Talen Energy (TLN) to an Amazon (AMZN) artificial intelligence data center. Talen said in a statement on Sunday it believes the FERC "erred" in its ruling, adding the company is "evaluating our options, with a focus on commercial solutions."

Talen Energy dropped 2.2%, while Sam Altman-backed Oklo (OKLO) fell 2.8%, Centrus Energy (LEU) tumbled 28.8%, NANO Nuclear (NNE) dropped 12.8%, Vistra (VST) sank 3.2%, and NuScale Power (SMR) fell 2.8%.

Even with Monday's drop, Constellation Energy stock is up more than 90% this year and is among the best-performing stocks in the S&P 500 (^GSPC).

Big Tech’s interest in nuclear energy has risen substantially as companies look to meet growing demand from power-hungry data centers to run generative artificial intelligence software without falling behind on their climate goals. Amazon, Google (GOOG), and Microsoft (MSFT) have all announced investments in nuclear power.

Constellation entered into a 20-year deal with Microsoft in late September to supply power to one of its AI data centers. The stock is up 36% from three months ago, as the Microsoft deal and Big Tech’s growing interest in nuclear power have sent shares soaring.

Constellation Energy also on Monday reported third quarter adjusted earnings per share of $2.74, ahead of Wall Street’s forecast of $2.65, according to Bloomberg consensus estimates. Its quarterly revenue of $6.6 billion also surpassed the $5.2 billion expected by analysts.

“The importance of AI and the data economy to America’s economic competitiveness and national security can’t be overstated, and Constellation will do our part to meet the moment,” Constellation CEO Joe Dominguez said in a statement Monday.

Still, red tape plagues the industry. Nuclear projects have been subject to stringent regulations in response to high-profile global nuclear meltdowns at Three Mile Island in 1979, Chernobyl in 1986, and Fukushima in 2011.

On average, it takes the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission 80 months to approve nuclear plant construction in the US, according to research cited by Canaccord Genuity.

The FERC said in its filing Friday that it rejected the Amazon nuclear power agreement due in part to concerns that it could threaten the reliability of the power grid and raise energy costs for the public.

Constellation’s deal with Microsoft, which would restart Three Mile Island for the first time following the meltdown, still requires approval from the NRC.

Bipartisan support, however, has mounted to reduce regulatory hurdles. The recently signed ADVANCE Act, for example, speeds up the permitting process for nuclear projects. Both US presidential candidates have signaled support for nuclear energy projects, though Republican nominee and former president Donald Trump recently expressed concerns over safety implications.

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>>> Big Tech is going all in on nuclear power as sustainability concerns around AI grow


Yahoo Finance

by Daniel Howley

October 26, 2024


https://finance.yahoo.com/news/big-tech-is-going-all-in-on-nuclear-power-as-sustainability-concerns-around-ai-grow-201418764.html


Artificial Intelligence has driven shares of tech companies like Microsoft (MSFT), Amazon (AMZN), Nvidia (NVDA), and Google (GOOG, GOOGL) to new highs this year. But the technology, which companies promise will revolutionize our lives, is driving something else just as high as stock prices: energy consumption.

AI data centers use huge amounts of power and could increase energy demand by as much as 20% over the next decade, according to a Department of Energy spokesperson. Pair that with the continued growth of the broader cloud computing market, and you’ve got an energy squeeze.

But Big Tech has also set ambitious sustainability goals focused on the use of low-carbon and zero-carbon sources to reduce its impact on climate change. While renewable energy like solar and wind are certainly part of that equation, tech companies need uninterruptible power sources. And for that, they’re leaning into nuclear power.

Tech giants aren’t just planning to hook into existing plants, either. They’re working with energy companies to bring mothballed facilities like Pennsylvania’s Three Mile Island back online and looking to build small modular reactors (SMRs) that take up less space than traditional plants and, the hope is, are cheaper to construct.

But there are still plenty of questions as to whether these investments in nuclear energy will ever pan out, not to mention how long it will take to build any new reactors.

A nuclear AI age

While solar and wind power projects provide clean energy, they still aren't the best option for continuous power. That, experts say, is where nuclear energy comes in.

“Nuclear energy is, effectively, carbon-free,” explained Ed Anderson, Gartner distinguished vice president and analyst. “So it becomes a pretty natural choice given they need the energy, and they need green energy. Nuclear [power] is a good option for that.”

The US currently generates the bulk of its electricity via natural gas plants that expel greenhouse gases. As of 2023, nuclear power produced slightly more electricity than coal, as well as solar power plants.

Last week, Google signed a deal to purchase power from Kairos Power’s small modular reactors, with Google saying the first reactor should be online by 2030, with plants expected to be deployed in regions to power Google’s data centers, though Kairos didn’t provide exact locations.

Amazon quickly followed by saying just two days later that it is investing in three companies — Energy Northwest, X-energy, and Dominion Energy — to develop SMRs. The plan is for Energy Northwest to build SMRs using technology from X-energy in Washington State and for Amazon and Dominion Energy to look at building an SMR near Dominion’s current North Anna Power Station in Virginia.

Last month, Microsoft entered into a 20-year power purchasing agreement with Constellation Energy, under which the company will source energy from one of Constellation's previously shuttered reactors at Three Mile Island by 2028.

Three Mile Island suffered a meltdown of its other reactor in 1979, but according to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, there was no serious impact to nearby people, plants, or animals, as the plant itself kept much of the dangerous radiation from escaping.

In 2023, Microsoft announced it would source power from the Sam Altman-chaired nuclear fusion startup Helion by 2028. Altman also chairs the nuclear fission company Oklo, which plans to build a micro-reactor site in Idaho. Nuclear fusion is the long-sought process of combining atoms that produces power without dangerous nuclear waste. No commercial applications of such plants currently exist.

Microsoft founder Bill Gates has also founded and currently chairs TerraPower, a company working to develop an advanced nuclear plant at a site in Wyoming.

Nuclear is expensive and some technologies are still untested

Nuclear power output has remained stagnant for years. According to US Energy Information Administration press officer, Chris Higginbotham, nuclear power has contributed about 20% of US electricity generation since 1990.

Part of the reason has to do with the fear of meltdowns, like the one at Three Mile Island, as well as the meltdowns at Chernobyl in Ukraine in 1986 and the Fukushima Daiichi plant in Japan in 2011.

Chernobyl was the worst meltdown ever, spreading radioactive contamination across areas of Ukraine, the Russian Federation, and Belarus, resulting in thyroid cancer in thousands of children who drank milk that was contaminated with radioactive iodine, according to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Plant workers and emergency personnel were also exposed to high levels of radiation at the scene. The Fukushima plant suffered multiple meltdowns as a result of a massive earthquake and subsequent tsunami, which caused significant damage to three of the plant's six reactors.

But according to the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR) as of 2021, “no adverse health effects among Fukushima residents have been documented that could be directly attributed to radiation exposure from the accident.”

Outside of the perception, nuclear plants are expensive and take time to construct.

Georgia Power’s two Vogtle reactors came online in 2023 and 2024, after years of delays and billions in cost overruns. The reactors, known as Unit 3 and Unit 4 were originally expected to be completed in 2017 and cost $14 billion, but the second reactor only started commercial operations in April this year. The final price tag for the work is estimated to top out at $31 billion, according to the Associated Press.

The explosion in cheap energy from natural gas has also made it difficult for nuclear plants to compete financially. Now nuclear companies are hoping SMRs will lead the way in building out new nuclear energy capacity. But don’t expect them to start popping up for a while.

“The SMR conversation is really long term,” Jefferies managing director and research analyst Paul Zimbardo told Yahoo Finance. “I'd say almost all of the projections are into the 2030s. The Amazons, the Googles, some of the standalone SMR developers, 2030 to 2035, which is also what some of the utilities are saying as well.”

What’s more, Zimbardo says, power generated by SMRs is expected to cost far more than traditional plants, not to mention wind and solar projects.

“Some of the projections are well above $100 a megawatt hour,” Zimbardo explained. “To put it in context, an existing nuclear plant has a cost profile of around $30 a megawatt hour. Building new wind, solar, depending on where you are in the country, can be as low as $30 a megawatt hour, or $60 to $80 a megawatt hour. So it's a very costly solution.”

Not everyone is buying the promise of SMRs, either. Edwin Lyman, director of nuclear power safety at the Union of Concerned Scientists, says the small-scale reactors are still an untested technology.

“Despite what one might think of all the brain power at these tech companies, I don't think they've done their due diligence,” Lyman told Yahoo Finance. “Or they're willing to entertain this as a kind of side show just so they have all their bases covered to deal with this postulated massive expansion and demand for data centers.”

Lyman also takes issue with the idea that SMRs will be able to get up and running quickly and begin providing reliable power around the clock at low cost.

“The historical development of nuclear power shows that it's a very exacting technology, and it requires time, requires effort, requires a lot of money and patience,” he said. “And so I think the nuclear industry has been trying to make itself look relevant, despite their recent failures to meet cost and timeliness targets.”

Still, with tech companies promising an AI revolution that requires power-hungry data centers, nuclear may be the only realistic green choice until solar and wind can take over permanently.

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Advanced Nuclear - >>> Big Tech investments reignite debate over advanced nuclear reactors


Yahoo Finance

by Akiko Fujita

October 27, 2024


https://finance.yahoo.com/news/big-tech-investments-reignite-debate-over-advanced-nuclear-reactors-133016399.html


Small modular reactors (SMRs) have long held the promise of cheaper, more efficient nuclear energy. Their smaller, standardized designs were expected to usher in a new era for an industry historically plagued by cost overruns and safety concerns.

But as major tech firms, including Google (GOOG) and Amazon (AMZN), turn to advanced technologies in hopes of powering their AI ambitions with a low carbon footprint, skeptics are raising questions about their viability, largely because no commercial SMR has been built in the US yet.

Despite the talk of a simplified process, there are only three SMRs operational worldwide — two in Russia and one in China.

"Nobody knows how long they’re going to take to build," said David Schlissel, an analyst at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis who has been critical of SMRs. "Nobody knows how expensive they’re going to be to build. We don't know how effective they will be in addressing climate change because it may take them 10 to 15 years to build them."

Nuclear power has received renewed interest because of the global push to move away from fossil fuels to reduce harmful emissions driving climate change. Although wind and solar power offer prevalent, low-cost energy options, nuclear remains an attractive clean alternative, in large part because it can run 24/7 in any season and has a smaller footprint.

SMRs have offered the most promise. Unlike traditional nuclear plants that have been costly and time-consuming, modular reactors are one-third the size, with a power capacity of 300 megawatts or less. The nuclear industry has touted their efficiency and cost savings, as SMRs are built in factories and assembled on-site.

"It reduces the risk associated with the project," said Jacopo Buongiorno, a professor of nuclear engineering at MIT. "For an investor, ... you may recover your investment quicker and with fewer uncertainties in terms of project execution."

'The technology is evolving'

Yet, in many ways, the hurdles facing this new generation of reactors have mirrored the old. Advanced reactor designs have taken longer than projected. Those delays have added to cost overruns.

Oregon-based NuScale (SMR) became the first company to get approval from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to build SMRs in 2022, but the company canceled plans to deploy six reactors in Idaho last year. The announcement came after costs for the project, scheduled for completion in 2030, ballooned from $5 billion to $9 billion.

Buongiorno said the buildout has been complicated by the array of technologies tested within individual projects. While all SMRs utilize uranium as fuel, its form and application within reactors differ depending on the company and its technology. That’s dramatically different from existing nuclear power plants, which all use uranium dioxide, he said.

“The technology is evolving. We expect the performance of these reactors to be different. But the big question marks are ... what's going to be the reliability? How reliable this technology is going to be, given that we don't have a lot of experience?” Buongiorno said. “Equally, if not more important, what's going to be the cost?”

AI a 'game changer'

X-energy CEO Clay Sell said demand has been part of the problem until now.

Artificial intelligence has changed that calculation, largely because of the energy needs associated with powering data centers that drive AI models, Sell said. Goldman Sachs estimates the advanced technology will contribute to a 160% increase in data center power demand by 2030.

Earlier this month, Amazon announced a $500 million investment in the development of SMRs, including funding for X-energy. That funding will help X-energy complete the design of its standard plant and construct the first facility that will manufacture the fuel used in those plants, Sell said, calling the investment a “game changer.”

“A significant portion of the increased electricity demand in the United States for the next 25 years is going to come from AI," Sell said. "It could be as high as 10%, 20%.”

Kairos Power CEO Mike Laufer, who inked a purchase agreement deal with Google, said his company is still in the process of pursuing non-nuclear demonstrations of the technology. Any “cost certainty” would hinge on a successful demonstration and the company’s ability to manufacture in-house, he said.

“[Cost certainty] has been very elusive in this space,” he said.

There are other challenges beyond cost, including a lengthy regulatory approval process and what to do with all of the nuclear waste.

While nuclear companies maintaining a smaller footprint will mean less waste, a study by Stanford University found that SMRs would increase the volume of nuclear waste “by factors of 2 to 30.”

Schlissel argues that all of the money spent on small reactors should instead go to wind and solar power and battery storage, which are proven to reduce carbon emissions and cost less to produce.

Buongiorno countered that nuclear reactors have a longer shelf life. While the upfront costs may be higher, reactors have a lifespan of 60 to 100 years, he said. With the smaller footprint, SMRs can also be built closer to data centers, minimizing infrastructure costs, he added.

The Department of Energy says nuclear energy is critical to transitioning the country away from fossil fuels. The agency has set aside $900 million in funding for the development of SMRs.

The Energy Department estimates the US will need approximately 700-900 GW of additional clean, firm power generation capacity to reach net-zero emissions by 2050, adding that nuclear energy already provides nearly half of carbon-free electricity in the country.

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>>> Hyliion Signs Letter of Intent with ANA to Deploy KARNO Generators in the Mobile Power Generation Market


Business Wire

October 9, 2024


https://finance.yahoo.com/news/hyliion-signs-letter-intent-ana-123000715.html


AUSTIN, Texas, October 09, 2024--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Hyliion Holdings Corp. (NYSE: HYLN) ("Hyliion"), a leader in sustainable electricity-producing technology, today announced the signing of a non-binding Letter of Intent (LOI) with ANA Inc., a leading provider of innovative and reliable solutions in the mobile industrial equipment industry. ANA plans to procure up to six KARNO™ generators and launch a pilot trial with their customers in the mobile power generation application. The initial deployment will feature one 200kW unit in 2025, with plans to expand to five additional 200kW units across multiple sites following successful validation.

ANA Inc. is one of the top providers of rental equipment with a focus on high-performance generators, compressors, and energy solutions. Recognized as one of the 5000 fastest-growing private companies in the United States, ANA is known for its commitment to innovation and excellence. Mike Niemela, CEO of ANA, stated, "We are excited to pilot Hyliion’s innovative KARNO generator as we continue to provide our customers with reliable and efficient power generation solutions. The KARNO generator’s advanced technology aligns with our mission to deliver cutting-edge, sustainable energy solutions and complements our product portfolio that empowers our customers to achieve greater efficiency in their operations."

The KARNO generator is a groundbreaking linear power generator system powered by heat and advanced through 3D metal printing. With a hermetically sealed design that includes only one moving part per shaft, the generator is engineered for long, low maintenance operation. Its high efficiency, minimal maintenance needs, and quiet operation make it particularly well-suited for mobile applications, with the flexibility to operate on over 20 different fuels, including natural gas.

"Partnering with ANA as our key strategic customer in the mobile rental industry to deploy the KARNO generators in a hybrid configuration marks a significant milestone in bringing our innovative technology to the market. ANA’s expertise in the mobile power market, combined with their commitment to efficiency and sustainability, makes them an ideal partner as we integrate our KARNO generators into their product lineup to address application-specific needs," said Thomas Healy, Founder and CEO of Hyliion.

The partnership between Hyliion and ANA is subject to the execution of a binding agreement, covering volume thresholds, primary responsibilities, and potential commitment to partner with each other exclusively on hybrid power generation solutions for rental market. For more information about Hyliion and its innovative electrification solutions, please visit www.hyliion.com.

About ANA, Inc.

ANA Inc. is a leading provider of innovative and reliable solutions in the equipment industry, specializing in high-performance generators, compressors, and energy solutions. Driven by a mission to "Make Your World Easier," ANA Inc. combines cutting-edge technology with exceptional service to empower customers across various industries. Known for its exceptional products and commitment to excellence, ANA Inc. continues to push the boundaries of innovation while maintaining a strong focus on customer satisfaction and sustainability. For more information, visit www.anacorp.com.

About Hyliion:

Hyliion is committed to creating innovative solutions that enable clean, flexible and affordable electricity production. The Company’s primary focus is to provide distributed power generators that can operate on various fuel sources to future-proof against an ever-changing energy economy. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, and with research and development in Cincinnati, Ohio, Hyliion is initially targeting the commercial and waste management industries with a locally deployable generator that can offer prime power as well as energy arbitrage opportunities. Beyond stationary power, Hyliion will address mobile applications such as vehicles and marine. The Company aims to offer innovative, yet practical solutions that contribute positively to the environment in the energy economy. For further information, please visit www.hyliion.com.

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>>> A Sam Altman-backed nuclear power stock soared 150% in a month


Quartz

by Britney Nguyen

10-18-24


https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/news/a-sam-altman-backed-nuclear-power-stock-soared-150-in-a-month/ar-AA1ssjIO?ocid=BingHp01&cvid=82b6b7fcafc9468ff6f0322eeaa3105d&ei=111


As tech giants turn their attention toward nuclear power for artificial intelligence and data centers, one producer is seeing its shares surge.

Oklo, a nuclear power company that counts OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman as an investor, has seen its shares climb around 150% in the past month. The stock is up almost 50% so far this year. However, during mid-day trading on Thursday, Oklo was down almost 5%.

The Santa Clara, California-based company, which has three project sites, says it’s “developing next-generation fission powerhouses to produce abundant, affordable, clean energy at a global scale.” Oklo’s Aurora powerhouse can produce 15 megawatts of electrical power (MWe), which the company says can scale up to 50 MWe and operate for ten years or longer before needing to be refueled.

Oklo’s shares have been on the up since Microsoft (MSFT) made a 20-year power purchase agreement in September with Constellation Energy (CEG) that will restart the Unit 1 reactor at Three Mile Island. Constellation, which owns most of the U.S.’s nuclear power plants, has seen its shares rise around 36% in the past month. Its stock is up 138% so far this year.

Through the Microsoft and Constellation deal, which will launch the Crane Clean Energy Center (CCEC), Microsoft will purchase energy from the Unit 1 reactor as part of its sustainability goal. The CCEC, which is expected to come online by 2028, will add more than 800 MW of carbon-free electricity to the power grid, a study by the Pennsylvania Building and Construction Trades Council found.

This week, Google (GOOGL) announced it had signed “the world’s first corporate agreement to purchase nuclear energy” from small modular reactors, or SMRs, developed by California-based Kairos Power. The tech giant said it expects to bring Kairos Power’s first SMR online by the end of the decade.

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>>> Google Backs New Nuclear Plants to Power AI


The Wall Street Journal

by Jennifer Hiller

10-14-24


https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/google-backs-new-nuclear-plants-to-power-ai/ar-AA1sfOlz?cvid=d475ee962a8f4168cf2627820480974e&ei=44


Google will back the construction of seven small nuclear-power reactors in the U.S., a first-of-its-kind deal that aims to help feed the tech company’s growing appetite for electricity to power AI and jump-start a U.S. nuclear revival.

Under the deal’s terms, Google committed to buying power generated by seven reactors to be built by nuclear-energy startup Kairos Power. The agreement targets adding 500 megawatts of nuclear power starting at the end of the decade, the companies said Monday.

The arrangement is the first that would underpin the commercial construction in the U.S. of small modular nuclear reactors. Many say the technology is the future of the domestic nuclear-power industry, potentially enabling faster and less costly construction by building smaller reactors instead of behemoth bespoke plants.

“The end goal here is 24/7, carbon-free energy,” said Michael Terrell, senior director for energy and climate at Alphabet’s Google. “We feel like in order to meet goals around round-the-clock clean energy, you’re going to need to have technologies that complement wind and solar and lithium-ion storage.”

The context

The nuclear-power industry’s fortunes are increasingly getting hitched to Big Tech. Power demand is rising in parts of the U.S. for the first time in years, much of it driven by the need to build more data centers for AI. That has sent the tech industry on the hunt for massive amounts of energy.

Last month, Constellation Energy and Microsoft struck a deal to restart the undamaged reactor at Pennsylvania’s Three Mile Island, the site of the country’s worst nuclear-power accident. Earlier this year, Amazon purchased a data center at another Pennsylvania nuclear plant.

The 500 megawatts of generation that would be built by Kairos for Google is about enough to power a midsize city—or one AI data-center campus.

The agreement answers questions that have bedeviled smaller-reactor designs: What customer would pay the higher price for a first-of-a-kind project? And who would order enough to get an assembly line started? The concept, which remains to be proven, is that building the same thing over and over in a factory would drive down costs.

The details

Kairos plans to deliver the reactors between around 2030 and 2035. Financial terms weren’t disclosed, but the companies entered into a power-purchase agreement, similar to those used between corporate buyers and wind- and solar-energy developers.

The project site—or whether there could be reactors at multiple locations—hasn’t been determined, the companies said.

Google would have data centers somewhere in the region near the Kairos reactors, but it hasn’t been determined whether they would receive power directly from the nuclear plants or from the grid. Google could count the addition of nuclear power toward meeting its carbon-reduction commitments.

Instead of water, which is used in traditional reactors, the Kairos design uses molten fluoride salt as a coolant. The units for Google will include a single 50-megawatt reactor, with three subsequent power plants that would each have two 75-megawatt reactors, Kairos said. That compares with about 1,000 megawatts at reactors at conventional nuclear-power plants.

Kairos will have to navigate complex approvals through the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, but already has clearance to build a demonstration reactor in Tennessee, which could start operating in 2027.

Kairos has a manufacturing development facility in Albuquerque, N.M., where it is building test units. They don’t have nuclear-fuel components but are something of a practice run at building and operating full-size plants to test systems, components and the supply chain.

Mike Laufer, chief executive and co-founder at Kairos, said the demonstration project and the Albuquerque plant are helping the company avoid spiraling costs, a pitfall of the conventional nuclear industry.

The big picture

Nearly 20% of U.S. power comes from nuclear plants, but the pipeline of big, new projects has been halted because of high costs and long time lines.

The second of two new reactors at Georgia’s Vogtle nuclear plant was completed this spring. Before that, the most recent nuclear-power reactors in the U.S. were completed in 2016 and 1996 by the Tennessee Valley Authority.

Tech companies such as Google started signing power-purchase agreements with renewables developers in 2010, which helped drive down costs of those technologies. Nuclear-power advocates say a stable customer could drive down costs over time in that industry, too.

In the near term, analysts expect more natural-gas-fired power plants to be added to fuel the country’s appetite for data centers, new manufacturing, heavy industry and transportation.

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>>> US looks to resurrect more nuclear reactors, White House adviser says


Reuters

October 7, 2024

By Valerie Volcovici


https://finance.yahoo.com/news/us-looks-resurrect-more-nuclear-191457261.html


NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Biden administration is working on plans to bring additional decommissioned nuclear power reactors back online to help meet soaring demand for emissions-free electricity, White House climate adviser Ali Zaidi said on Monday.

Two such projects are already underway, including the planned recommissioning of Holtec's Palisades nuclear plant in Michigan and the potential restart of a unit at Constellation Energy's Three Mile Island plant in Pennsylvania, near the site of the worst nuclear accident in U.S. history.

Asked if additional shuttered plants could be restarted, Zaidi said: "We're working on it in a very concrete way. There are two that I can think of."

He declined to identify the power plants or provide further details about the effort.

Speaking at the Reuters Sustainability conference in New York, Zaidi said repowering existing dormant nuclear plants was part of a three-pronged strategy of President Joe Biden's administration to bring more nuclear power online to fight climate change and boost production.

The other two prongs include development of small modular reactors (SMRs) for certain applications, and continuing development of next generation, advanced nuclear reactors.

Biden has called for a tripling of U.S. nuclear power capacity to fuel energy demand that is accelerating in part due to expansion of power hungry technologies like artificial intelligence and cloud computing.

Last week, the Biden administration said it closed a $1.52 billion loan to resurrect the Palisades nuclear plant in Michigan, which would take two years to re-open.

Constellation and Microsoft, meanwhile, signed a power deal last month to help resurrect a unit of the Pennsylvania plant, which Constellation hopes will also receive government support.

Zaidi told the conference that the U.S. Navy on Monday had requested information to build SMRs on a half dozen bases. "SMR is a technology that is not a decades-away play. It's one that companies in the United States are looking to deploy in this decade," he said.

Zaidi also addressed the woes that have beset a separate Biden clean energy goal, to bring 30 gigawatts of offshore wind capacity online by the end of the decade.

The administration shelved offshore wind lease sales this year in both Oregon and the Gulf of Mexico due to low demand from companies, as high costs, equipment issues and supply chain challenges hit other projects.

Zaidi said at least half of the 30GW goal is already under construction and that some of the early snags provide helpful learning for future projects.

"I am pretty optimistic about the next of wave of projects where we will have a domestic supply chain and hopefully better cost to capital relative to what projects are facing right now," he said.

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>>> Big Oil Urges Trump Not to Gut Biden’s Climate Law


The Wall Street Journal

by Collin Eaton, Benoît Morenne

10-6-24


https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/big-oil-urges-trump-not-to-gut-biden-s-climate-law/ar-AA1rLuX7?cvid=54bdd711ae1748c1fe427f19366b02e2&ei=41


Oil companies are conveying an unlikely message to the GOP and its presidential candidate: Spare President Biden’s signature climate law. At least the parts that benefit the oil industry.

In discussions with former President Trump’s campaign and his allies in Congress, oil giants including Exxon Mobil, Phillips 66 and Occidental Petroleum have extolled the benefits of the Inflation Reduction Act. Many in the fossil-fuel industry opposed the law when it passed in 2022 but have come to love provisions that earmark billions of dollars for low-carbon energy projects they are betting on.

Some executives in the largely pro-Trump oil industry are worried the former president, if re-elected, would side with conservative lawmakers who want to gut the IRA. They fear losing tax credits vital for their investments in renewable fuel, carbon capture and hydrogen, costly technologies requiring U.S. support to survive their early years.

At a Houston fundraiser for Trump in May, Occidental CEO Vicki Hollub took her case directly to the candidate, saying tax credits propping up the company’s huge investments in technology to collect carbon directly from the air should be preserved, people familiar with the matter said. The company is building its first $1.3 billion direct-air capture plant in West Texas and aims to erect dozens more in the coming years.

Exxon has also told the Trump campaign it wants to preserve portions of the IRA. It and Chevron, the two largest U.S. oil companies, have promised to pump more than $30 billion combined into carbon capture, hydrogen, biofuels and other low-carbon technologies, virtually all of which rely on tax credits in the IRA to be viable.

Meanwhile, company officials at Phillips 66, a $58 billion U.S. oil refiner, have told members of Congress the IRA’s tax credits are important for its business, people familiar with the matter said. Instead of crude oil, the company’s renewable fuels are made from used cooking oil, vegetable oil, fats and the like, which qualify it for large tax credits.

“There are elements of the IRA that the general industry says would be bad to unwind,” Mark Lashier, CEO of Phillips 66, said in an interview last month. “Everybody is working out their contingency plans for either administration.”

Green politics

Trump has called Biden’s climate efforts the “Green New Scam” and last month promised to cut unspent IRA funds. With the backing of influential conservative think tanks, Republicans in Congress have tried to repeal the law and provisions in it dozens of times and are expected to push for cuts again next year during the legislature’s budget reconciliation.

Oil billionaires are some of Trump’s biggest backers, and the candidate has privately promised to deliver on many of the policies on their wish lists if elected.

Trump hasn’t fleshed out his plans for the climate law.

Energy policy has emerged as a key campaign issue. Trump has attacked Vice President Kamala Harris’s support for a fracking ban when she was a presidential candidate in 2019, a policy she has since backtracked on.

During the presidential debate in September, Harris touted her support for the IRA, which she said had kindled clean-energy investment but also spurred the record oil production levels reached during the Biden administration. If elected, she has promised to back investment in diverse energy sources.

Some oil lobbyists have told Trump’s campaign the industry’s IRA-backed projects will be a boon to U.S. jobs and manufacturing as major oil companies invest billions.

Karoline Leavitt, a spokeswoman for the Trump campaign, said Trump’s policies turned the U.S. into a net exporter of energy.

“He cut red tape and gave the industry more freedom to do what they do best—utilize the liquid gold under our feet to produce clean energy for America and the world,” she said.

Political strategists said Trump may try to rebrand the law, given the support for it among officials and companies in some Republican-leaning states, such as Oklahoma and South Carolina, who see it as a draw for new investments and jobs.

“If we win, we need to take a scalpel, not an ax, to the IRA,” said Sen. Kevin Cramer (R., N.D.). North Dakota is well-known for its booming oil fields in the Bakken Shale. Oil companies there aim to inject industrial carbon dioxide into the ground to recover more crude, which would also make them eligible for carbon-capture subsidies.

The industry’s support for the IRA only extends so far. Many oppose tax credits for renewable energy and purchasing electric vehicles, saying those incentives undermine competition with gas- and diesel-powered vehicles. Smaller frackers, which aren’t investing in low-carbon technologies, mostly dislike the entirety of the law.

In recent months, Biden’s administration has signaled it is rushing to fund clean-energy projects from a $400 billion lending program created by the IRA. A second Trump administration might slow-walk spending by federal agencies meant to support those projects, said Gordon Huddleston, president of investment firm and natural-gas producer Aethon Energy Management.

“The DOE would just slow down giving out money in a Trump administration,” he said.

A small, vocal faction of GOP budget hard-liners could make it difficult for Trump to preserve even parts of the IRA. The law would make for a tempting target to offset fiscal deficits as the party pushes to renew its 2017 tax cuts next year.

Big bets

The oil industry has fought Biden’s administration for years on restricting fracking, rules for drilling in the Gulf of Mexico and other environmental regulations. But companies that are investing in low-carbon projects stand to lose much if Biden’s climate law is repealed or watered down.

Occidental, one of America’s largest oil producers, is betting big on a largely unproven technology—at a large scale—to suck carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and store it underground.

The process is costly and Occidental has said benefits from federal subsidies of $180 per metric ton of CO2 captured that way and stored permanently will boost the endeavor. Its CEO has for years personally lobbied in Washington to increase the value of the credits.

Bolstered by the IRA, Phillips 66 has transformed a 128-year-old Rodeo, Calif., oil refinery into one that can pump 50,000 barrel-per-day of renewable diesel and aviation fuel.

But the economics of producing renewable fuels are challenging and some of the refiner’s competitors, including Chevron, BP and Shell, have scaled back on similar plans this year. Losing IRA credits would make the business even more difficult.

Oil-and-gas companies are stressing that the IRA is valuable to the country’s economy now in hopes of avoiding tougher conversations after the election, lobbyists said.

“It’s really striking the degree of commitment the industry has made to low-carbon businesses like carbon capture, biofuels and hydrogen,” said Daniel Yergin, the vice chairman of S&P Global and a veteran chronicler of energy trends.

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>>> 5 amazing ways that hydrogen-powered tech could transform our future


by Sophia Rocha

Yahoo Tech

October 5, 2024


https://www.yahoo.com/tech/5-amazing-ways-hydrogen-powered-110008553.html


Hydrogen power is becoming an increasingly attractive energy source — mainly because when burned, it releases water vapor instead of the harmful pollution that comes from dirty energy sources like oil and gas.

What's more, there are some incredibly surprising ways that hydrogen fuel is already providing the energy that could power our future.

Hydrogen-powered ships

"This will be a world-class oceanographic research vessel."

The preliminary designs for a hydrogen-hybrid research vessel for the University of California San Diego's Scripps Institution of Oceanography have been approved by the American Bureau of Shipping. The proposed ship will run on hydrogen for 75% of its energy, with the other 25% coming from clean-running diesel generators.

In 2018, the naval architecture and engineering firm Glosten successfully completed a feasibility study on the vessel, kickstarting the design project. With this approval, Glosten and Scripps can move forward with finding a contractor to begin the ship's construction.

Enormous cranes

The potential impact of this program is almost unfathomable.

The world's first hydrogen-powered crane became operational in the Port of Los Angeles just this year. A regular diesel-powered crane releases emissions equivalent to burning 400 barrels of oil per year.

Though the single crane in Los Angeles is part of a pilot program, engineers hope that it can provide findings that suggest equal performance to diesel-powered cranes.

Ultra-efficient passenger ferries

"There's great potential here."

San Francisco recently launched the first-ever hydrogen-powered passenger ferry. The MV Sea Change is running for a six-month trial period, making trips from the downtown San Francisco ferry terminal to Pier 41. During trials, the ferry is free of charge.

The vessel holds 75 people, can run for 16 hours, and travel 345 miles before needing to refuel, and its only byproduct is water. Shipping accounts for 3% of the world's carbon pollution, so ships powered by hydrogen could have major benefits.

High-powered garbage trucks

The waste management industry is cleaning up its act.

Waste management is also getting in on the hydrogen-powered action with a new Class 8 fuel cell-powered garbage truck. The new clean-energy truck is the brainchild of Hyzon, a global hydrogen fuel cell developer, and New Way Trucks, a garbage collection equipment manufacturer.

Waste and recycling company Bigbelly reported that refuse trucks are the worst contributors to vehicle pollution on a per-mile basis in cities. Switching to hydrogen-powered refuse trucks could greatly reduce the emissions from waste management services.

A new kind of aircraft

"Imagine being able to fly ... with no emissions except water."

Joby Aviation's electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft flew over 500 miles powered by hydrogen fuel cells and electricity. Joby's goal is to have a fleet of clean-energy air taxis to reduce pollution and traffic jams in major cities.

The aircraft's all-electric prototype could previously only travel 100 miles on a single charge but has hugely increased range with the addition of hydrogen fuel cells, which provide more energy without harmful emissions.

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>>> First-ever compact nuclear reactor runs for 8 years without water


Brighterside News

by Joseph Shavit


https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/other/first-ever-compact-nuclear-reactor-runs-for-8-years-without-water/ar-AA1rC21T?cvid=91bb3ea6de3c4228b0388152d3d42bcf&ei=64


In a groundbreaking development poised to reshape the energy landscape of Saskatchewan, Canada, a compact nuclear reactor with the capacity to operate for eight years without water is set to come online by 2029.

Announced by the Saskatchewan government, the $80 million CAD project, led by the Saskatchewan Research Council in collaboration with Westinghouse, aims to demonstrate the capabilities of this innovative microreactor, known as eVinci.

Premier Scott Moe expressed optimism about the project's transformative potential, emphasizing its unique ability to cater to Saskatchewan's energy needs while also heralding a greener future. "Microreactors provide a custom solution for Saskatchewan’s unique energy needs," said Premier Moe.

Westinghouse, the company behind the eVinci, asserts that this technology will not only revolutionize energy production but also significantly reduce air pollution. According to Westinghouse, each eVinci unit will contribute to a yearly reduction of up to 55,000 tons of air pollution.

One of the key features of the eVinci microreactor is its impressive versatility. It will have the capability to generate five megawatts of electricity, produce over 13 megawatts of high-temperature heat, or operate in combined heat and power mode, according to the Saskatchewan Research Council.

To put this in perspective, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission reported in 2012 that a single megawatt of capacity from a conventional power plant can meet the energy needs of 400 to 900 homes in a year.

Westinghouse views the eVinci microreactor as a groundbreaking technology that holds great promise for future energy requirements.

Microreactors are notable for their portability and potential to provide power to remote and underserved locations. The U.S. Department of Energy confirms that various types of microreactors are currently in development across the United States.

In terms of physical installation, the eVinci microreactor will be above ground and occupy a relatively small footprint. Remarkably, the supporting infrastructure for the unit can fit inside a standard hockey rink. This compact design allows for easy integration into existing power grids and facilitates pairing with renewable energy sources.

One of the most noteworthy aspects of the eVinci microreactor is its innovative "heat pipe technology," which eliminates the need for water to cool down the system. Unlike traditional nuclear reactors, which rely on vast quantities of water for cooling, the eVinci's cooling system is water-independent.

Moreover, after approximately eight years of service, the eVinci unit can be removed for disposal, making way for a replacement unit, all according to Westinghouse. The simplicity of this design, often likened to that of a battery, enhances its appeal as a sustainable and efficient energy source.

In the United States, there are currently 54 commercial nuclear power plants, as reported by the Energy Information Administration, and Canada boasts six nuclear power stations, according to the Canadian government.

Despite their impressive energy output, traditional nuclear power plants generate substantial amounts of nuclear waste—approximately 2,205 tons per year in the U.S., which is less than half the volume of an Olympic swimming pool.

However, the waste generated by these plants consists of ceramic pellets, eliminating the risk of hazardous radioactive materials. Researchers are continually exploring innovative methods, such as utilizing bacteria, to manage and reduce this waste more effectively.

Westinghouse's approach with the eVinci microreactor is markedly different. The company plans to take responsibility for the used fuel, either returning it to their facilities or securely storing it deep underground for long-term safekeeping.

This design not only mitigates the risks associated with high pressure and coolant loss but also allows for the extraction of valuable heat for industrial applications.

The initial eVinci unit is being hailed as a proof-of-concept, paving the way for future installations. Saskatchewan Research Council CEO Mike Crabtree affirmed the significance of this pioneering project, emphasizing its role in preparing the council to assist communities and industries in future endeavors.

"What we learn through this project will prepare [the council] to assist communities and industries in future projects," stated Crabtree in the official press release.

"Westinghouse is proud to be working with the team at SRC on this vital project, and for the support from Premier Moe and the Government of Saskatchewan," Westinghouse President and CEO Patrick Fragman said. "The eVinci™ battery technology is the perfect fit for Saskatchewan since it is fully transportable. It also provides carbon-free electricity and heat, uses no water, and can be completely removed from site after operating continuously for eight years or more."

SRC is Canada's second largest research and technology organization. With nearly 350 employees, $232 million in annual revenue and 76 years of experience, SRC provides services and products to its 1,600 clients in 22 countries around the world. SRC safely operated a SLOWPOKE-2 nuclear research reactor for 38 years before decommissioning it in 2021.

With its compact design, water-independent cooling system, and potential to harness industrial heat, the eVinci microreactor showcases the possibilities of modern nuclear technology. As the first of its kind, it serves as a harbinger of a cleaner, more sustainable energy future for Saskatchewan and beyond.

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>>> India, US sign pact to cooperate on critical battery mineral supply chains


Reuters

by David Lawder


https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/india-us-sign-pact-to-cooperate-on-critical-battery-mineral-supply-chains/ar-AA1rFjTP?ocid=BingNewsSerp


WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Indian Trade Minister Piyush Goyal and U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo signed an agreement on Thursday to cooperate on strengthening supply chains in the two countries for lithium, cobalt and other critical minerals used in electric vehicles and clean energy applications.

The Commerce Department said in a statement that the memorandum of understanding (MOU), signed during Goyal's visit to Washington, was aimed at building resilience in the sector for each country.

"Priority areas of focus include identifying equipment, services, policies and best practices to facilitate the mutually beneficial commercial development of U.S. and Indian critical minerals exploration, extraction, processing and refining, recycling and recovery," Commerce said.

Goyal, speaking at a Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington after the signing, described the MOU as a multi-dimensional partnership that would include open supply chains for materials, technology development and investment flows to promote green energy.

He said the U.S. and India would also need to include third countries in their engagement, including mineral-rich countries in Africa and South America.

The MOU, which Reuters first reported was in the works on Monday, falls far short of a full critical minerals trade deal that would allow India to benefit from the $7,500 U.S. electric vehicle tax credit.

Japan last year signed a deal with the U.S. Trade Representative's office that allows Japanese automakers to more fully participate in the credit, aiming to reduce U.S.-Japanese mineral dependence on China and prohibiting bilateral export controls on lithium, nickel, cobalt, graphite, manganese and other minerals.

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>>> Michigan nuclear plant finalizes federal loan to support first reactor restart in U.S. history


by Spencer Kimball

CNBC

9-30-24


https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/michigan-nuclear-plant-finalizes-federal-loan-to-support-first-reactor-restart-in-us-history/ar-AA1rtQJP?ocid=BingNewsSerp


The Palisades nuclear plant in Michigan has closed a $1.5 billion loan to support the first reactor restart in U.S. history, the Department of Energy announced Monday.

Palisades’ owner, Holtec International, hopes to restart the plant in the fourth quarter of 2025, subject to approval by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Holtec is a privately held nuclear technology company headquartered in Jupiter, Florida.

“All necessary funding has now been secured,” said Nick Culp, a Holtec spokesperson. The company will use the funds for inspections, testing, restoration, rebuilding, and replacement of equipment at the plant, according to the Department of Energy.

Holtec has completed all major licensing submittals to the NRC, Culp said. Company executives expect to receive a response from the NRC sometime in 2025, he said.

The restart of the reactor at Palisades would mark a milestone for the nuclear industry after a decadelong wave of reactor shutdowns in the U.S. Palisades ceased operations in 2022 after a period in which nuclear efforts struggled to compete with cheap and abundant natural gas.

Demand for nuclear power is growing as the U.S. seeks carbon-free energy to meet rising electricity demand while meeting its climate goals. The planned restart at Palisades blazed a path for Constellation Energy’s recent decision to bring Three Mile Island back online by 2028.

“We’ve been using all of the tools in our tool belt to support the nuclear energy sector, keep reactors online, and to bring them back, and to finance advanced reactor deployment as well,” David Turk, deputy secretary at the Department of Energy, told reporters on a call ahead of the announcement.

Electricity demand is expected to increase about 15% over the next few years as artificial intelligence drives the need for data centers and domestic manufacturing continues expanding, Turk said.

Microsoft has agreed to purchase power from Three Mile Island to help power its data centers. In the case of Palisades, the power is spoken for by Wolverine Power Cooperative, a nonprofit that provides electricity to rural communities in Michigan.

Palisades will support 600 jobs in Covert Township, near Lake Michigan, and provide enough power for 800,000 homes, Turk said.

Holtec plans to nearly double the capacity of Palisades in the 2030s by building new designs called small modular reactors at the site. These smaller reactors, which are prefabricated in several pieces, promise to speed deployment of nuclear power by reducing costs and making plants simpler to operate.

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>>> Hyliion’s KARNO Linear Generator Now Qualifies Under California’s Renewables Portfolio Standard (RPS)


Business Wire

September 27, 2024


https://finance.yahoo.com/news/hyliion-karno-linear-generator-now-123000413.html


AUSTIN, Texas, September 27, 2024--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Hyliion Holdings Corp. (NYSE: HYLN) ("Hyliion"), a developer of sustainable electricity-producing technology, today announced that its innovative KARNO™ linear generator is now an eligible technology under California’s RPS, following the passage of Assembly Bill 1921 by Governor Newsom. This inclusion allows the KARNO technology to play a pivotal role in delivering low-emission energy solutions, using renewable fuels such as landfill gas, biogas, hydrogen, and others to meet California’s climate goals.

The RPS program requires 60% of retail electricity sales to come from renewable energy sources by the end of 2030, with a target to reach 100% carbon neutrality by 2045. The program incentivizes the adoption of clean technologies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, driving innovation in renewable energy generation. The KARNO generator’s qualification can contribute to these goals by offering a versatile, fuel-flexible power source, capable of leveraging over 20 fuels including renewable natural gas, hydrogen and ammonia for low to zero-emission energy generation.

"We believe the KARNO technology holds tremendous potential to deliver clean, efficient power generation urgently needed in today’s growing energy markets," said Thomas Healy, Founder and CEO of Hyliion. "California is leading the way in green initiatives, and we are excited to support their energy goals through our cutting-edge technology, helping to create a more sustainable and resilient energy future."

To learn more about the Assembly Bill 1921, visit: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB1921.

To learn more about the Hyliion KARNO generator, visit www.hyliion.com.

About the KARNO Generator

The KARNO generator is a linear heat generator that leverages advanced 3D metal printed components and proprietary flameless oxidation technology to produce clean electricity. Modular in design, the generator is expected to show an improvement in fuel efficiency, require significantly lower maintenance costs and have a much lower emissions profile than conventional generators. It is also capable of operating on over 20 different fuels, including hydrogen, natural gas, propane, ammonia and conventional fuels.

About Hyliion:

Hyliion is committed to creating innovative solutions that enable clean, flexible and affordable electricity production. The Company’s primary focus is to provide distributed power generators that can operate on various fuel sources to future-proof against an ever-changing energy economy. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, and with research and development in Cincinnati, Ohio, Hyliion is initially targeting the commercial and waste management industries with a locally deployable generator that can offer prime power as well as energy arbitrage opportunities. Beyond stationary power, Hyliion will address mobile applications such as vehicles and marine. The Company aims to offer innovative, yet practical solutions that contribute positively to the environment in the energy economy. For further information, please visit www.hyliion.com.

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>>> US announces $3 billion in funding for new battery projects


The Verge

by Justine Calma

9-20-24


The US Department of Energy announced today plans to dole out more than $3 billion to over two dozen battery projects across 14 states. The money will go toward processing critical minerals, building batteries and their components, and recycling batteries. It’s part of the Biden administration’s push for more domestic manufacturing to support its climate goals.

Batteries are an increasingly hot commodity needed for electric vehicles and to store renewable energy from solar and wind projects. New battery facilities are cropping up all over the US thanks in part to federal support in the form of grants, loans, and tax incentives.

New battery facilities are cropping up all over the US

The funding comes from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law passed in 2021. The 25 projects announced today have been selected for awards, but will still need to go through a negotiation process with the Department of Energy (DOE) and complete an environmental review to receive any money. The DOE predicts the funding will create 12,000 jobs, 8,000 of which would be in construction.
Two projects chosen to potentially receive the largest sums of money are meant to produce lithium from brine, each tentatively earmarked to receive up to $225 million in funding. A joint project between Standard Lithium and Equinor in Lewisville, Arkansas is expected to produce up to 45,000 metric tons per annum of battery-quality lithium carbonate over two decades.

The second project, led by TerraVolta Resources in the Texarkana region, is estimated to have the capacity to produce 25,000 metric tons of lithium carbonate equivalent each year once it’s operating. That’s enough lithium for some 500,000 EVs, according to the DOE project description.

This is the second round of funding in a program led by the DOE’s Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains (MESC). The first round of funding, announced in 2022, funneled $1.82 billion into 14 battery material and manufacturing projects.

China still leads global battery production with nearly 85 percent of the world’s capacity to produce battery cells. It also processes more of the critical minerals used in batteries than any other country. The Biden administration recently announced higher tariffs on batteries and battery parts from China, raising tariffs rates from 7.5 to 25 percent. And the administration structured the EV tax credit so that it only applies to vehicles with batteries manufactured in the US.

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Geothermal - >>> Tech companies are making an incredible investment in a surprising source of energy: 'Enormous potential'


The Cool

by Kristen Lawrence

9-18-24


https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/other/tech-companies-are-making-an-incredible-investment-in-a-surprising-source-of-energy-enormous-potential/ar-AA1qCejL?ocid=BingNewsSerp&cvid=006b22fe4f1b4738985f042a075e7f6d&ei=26


Meta and Google are digging deep to power their energy-hungry data centers, exploring new drilling techniques that will allow them to tap into vast amounts of geothermal power right beneath our feet.

As The New York Times reported, big tech companies are facing an energy crunch, as the AI boom is fueling skyrocketing demand for cheap, abundant electricity. While some tech giants have turned to wind and solar power to meet soaring energy needs, they can't generate electricity in certain weather conditions.

However, geothermal energy can essentially run 24/7 since heat from the Earth's core is always available, making it an ideal solution.

Meta is taking it one step further with a plan to harness up to 150 megawatts of heat energy — enough to power around 70,000 homes — using an innovative method to tap into this inexhaustible power source.

Per The Times, it has partnered with geothermal startup Sage Geosystems to harvest the heat to produce clean electricity, using fracking techniques similar to the oil and gas industries.

However, instead of extracting dirty, polluting fuels, Sage will be drilling for renewable thermal energy. As fractures are created deep below the Earth, water is pumped underground and heats up as it passes through small cracks. The hot water is then pumped back up to power turbines that produce pollution-free electricity.

According to a Sage press release, the project "would be the first use of next-generation geothermal power east of the Rocky Mountains" — although the company didn't disclose an exact location. Sage and Meta expect the first phase of the groundbreaking project to launch in 2027.

Google has also started tapping into geothermal power by teaming up with Fervo Energy, another geothermal startup, to construct Project Red — a 5 MW pilot project in northern Nevada helping to decarbonize Google's data centers.

Google recently announced it has expanded the partnership to bring an additional 115 MW of geothermal power to Nevada's grid, contributing to its goal of running its data centers and offices on 100% green energy by 2030.

While geothermal accounts for less than 1% of America's energy mix, that's expected to increase drastically as green technologies advance.

Iceland, which has capitalized on geothermal at a large scale for decades with its volcanic activity under large parts of the country, has continued to innovate in the area in recent years, but proximity to a volcano is not necessary to harness the Earth's power.

A Department of Energy report found that geothermal energy production could reach 90,000 gigawatts or more by 2050, unlocking plenty of cheap, clean energy for businesses and households.

"Geothermal has such enormous potential," Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said at an energy conference in March.

"We're going to need every tool in the arsenal," Michelle Solomon, a senior policy analyst at the nonprofit Energy Innovation, told The Times. "In the near term, enhanced geothermal might play a relatively small role, but I feel very optimistic about where the technology is going."

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>>> Microsoft goes nuclear to power AI data centers


Yahoo Finance

by Julie Hyman and Josh Lipton

September 20, 2024


https://finance.yahoo.com/video/microsoft-goes-nuclear-power-ai-204151380.html


Nuclear energy has been a hot topic in investors' minds after Microsoft (MSFT) and Constellation Energy (CEG) announced an agreement to restore a dormant nuclear power plant to power the tech company’s AI and cloud data centers.

Microsoft wants to restore the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Londonderry Township, Pennsylvania, known for one of the largest nuclear disasters in the US when one of the plant's two reactors melted down in 1979.

Radiant Energy Group founder and managing director Mark Nelson joins Josh Lipton and Julie Hyman to explain how nuclear energy could power the artificial intelligence era.

A nuclear engineer himself, Nelson explains that the plant’s other reactor “kept going for 40 years. The only reason it closed in 2019 is because fossil fuels were really cheap.”

He says there’s a renewed interest in nuclear energy today because “we're running out of other energy sources… we're running out of power, and we're realizing that if we're going to have everybody buy electric vehicles, we have to be able to charge it from power plants that run all the time.”

Nuclear power plants could help meet the energy-intensive needs of training and running AI, which has brought the utilities sector into focus. Nelson says building new nuclear plants and restoring existing ones could help.

“The very best American design for a nuclear plant is being built in China over and over again for about four years or so per reactor and about $3 billion. I don't think we're going to meet China's prices for building our reactors, but we could probably do a lot better building our reactors if we do it in series with the same design, the same plant layout, and we do it over and over," the expert tells Yahoo Finance.

“Fortunately, we've got designs that are licensed and ready to go today at existing nuclear plants that already serve tens of millions of customers. And those are the plants that are being approached by the data centers. So I think to get over this hump, we have to accept that we've got outstanding equipment ready to install. We've just forgotten how to do it and we need to do it the same way every time.”

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>>> The Clean Jet-Fuel Technology Winning Over Wall Street

Twelve's sustainable aviation fuel plant in Moses Lake, Wash., is expected to begin production next year.


The Wall Street Journal

by Amrith Ramkumar

September 19, 2024


https://finance.yahoo.com/news/clean-jet-fuel-technology-winning-122100846.html


Cutting emissions from aircraft is one of the toughest challenges in the energy transition. A small group of startups say they have an answer, and investors are racing to give them cash.

The latest is a company called Twelve, which raised $645 million from backers including the private-equity firm TPG and Alaska Airlines in one of the largest investments ever for clean jet fuel.

The investment values Twelve at more than $1 billion. It is one of several startups using a chemical process that mimics photosynthesis to produce jet fuel with far lower emissions than fossil fuels. They are raising significant amounts of cash in the midst of a rush of funding deals.

Last week, Brookfield Asset Management said it would invest more than $200 million into a company called Infinium that has a generally similar approach. Brookfield might put in up to $850 million more. A few years ago, Prometheus Fuels, a startup with a deal to sell fuel to American Airlines that has a comparable process, hit a $1 billion valuation. A competitor called HIF Global is also a unicorn after raking in investment.

Investors are shifting their bets in clean fuels to companies that use chemistry to turn carbon dioxide, water and renewable electricity into energy. Known as eFuels, synthetic fuels or power to liquids technologies, they offer the tantalizing possibility of producing limitless amounts if given enough cheap renewable power.

“This actually has a shot at eventually replacing fossil fuels,” said Zachary Bogue, co-managing partner at the venture-capital firm DCVC. It was one of Twelve’s first investors and is putting money in again in the new fundraising.

Such approaches are seen as the most practical long-term fuel source. Airlines are currently using some biofuels, which are made from fats, oils and greases; trash; or plants. The supply of these will likely be constrained eventually by the availability of feedstock material and land.

Many clean fuels projects are facing high costs and failures, contributing to Air New Zealand’s recent shelving of a 2030 emissions target.

The wave of investment into eFuels backs a trend in the energy transition under which companies with cash and the backing of big companies emerge as potential winners.

“We’re trying to move as quickly as we can to bring supply to the market,” Nicholas Flanders, Twelve’s chief executive officer, said in an interview. Alaska Airlines and a group of European carriers including British Airways have agreed to buy Twelve’s fuel, which can have emissions up to 90% lower than conventional jet fuel.

Twelve’s first plant, located in Moses Lake, Wash., will make about 50,000 gallons annually when it starts operating next year. Production of the new fuel won’t make a dent in the 100 billion gallon a year jet-fuel market for at least another decade, but capacity is growing across the industry.

The list of industry unicorns is short. Twelve joins Prometheus, HIF and a rival startup called LanzaJet, which is backed by Southwest Airlines and makes fuel from ethanol.

TPG committed $400 million to future Twelve plants and invested in a roughly $200 million fundraising for the company as a whole. The rest of the funding is small loans from banks including Japan’s Sumitomo Mitsui.

Flanders co-founded Twelve in 2015 at Stanford University’s business school with a pair of students getting doctorates in mechanical engineering and chemistry. The company’s name refers to the most abundant form of carbon on earth, the isotope carbon-12.

Twelve’s process uses devices that run on renewable power called electrolyzers. They bring carbon dioxide and water into contact with metal catalysts. Removing an oxygen atom from CO2 yields carbon monoxide, which is combined with hydrogen from the water to make synthesis gas. That syngas can be processed into fuel.

While many companies use electrolyzers to make hydrogen, Twelve is one of the few adding carbon in an integrated process, which it says can work at much lower temperatures. Its technology also makes a hydrocarbon product that can be used to make everything from plastics to laundry detergents. Procter & Gamble and Mercedes-Benz are among the companies talking to it about its applications.

Flanders is the son-in-law of Carlos Ghosn and says he talks to the former CEO of Nissan about managing Twelve’s suppliers. Supply-chain and construction kinks have contributed to delays at Twelve’s initial plant and pushed up costs across the industry.

Subsidies from the 2022 climate law and state incentives help producers close the cost gap with conventional jet fuel, as can government grants and loans.

One constraint on the burgeoning industry is the supply of green power. Twelve’s Washington project runs on hydropower, giving it an edge over its rivals. Power availability will be a key factor dictating where Twelve locates subsequent plants, Flanders said.

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>>> US approves tariff hikes on Chinese goods, including a 100% duty on EVs


Semafor

by Marta Biino

September 13, 2024


https://www.yahoo.com/news/us-greenlights-tariff-hikes-chinese-142156503.html


The US ratified sharp increases in tariffs on Chinese products Friday including a 100% duty on electric vehicles, in ongoing efforts to protect domestic industries from a flood of cheap Chinese goods.

The tariffs, which include a 50% levy on solar cells and 25% on steel, aluminum, EV batteries and key minerals, will go into effect at the end of September, Reuters reported.

Top White House economic adviser Lael Brainard told the outlet that the decision was a way to “ensure that the US EV industry diversifies away from China’s dominant supply chain.”

Tariff stance on China is a key topic ahead of US election

The steep tariffs come as the US’ two presidential candidates — Kamala Harris and Donald Trump — have projected tough-on-China stances ahead of November’s election. Harris will likely adopt a similar policy position to that of the Biden administration, while Trump’s vowed to once again become a ”tariff man,” threatening even higher levies on Chinese goods if he is reelected, marks a “protectionist escalation” in rhetoric that is rattling Republicans, Semafor’s Burgess Everett reported. But overall, the difference in approach toward Beijing between the two candidates seem to have “less to do with direction and more to do with degree,” Time noted.

Global curbs on China EVs haven’t slowed sales

Along with the US, the EU and Canada have also introduced curbs on Chinese EVs — but they have had little effect on sales, Euronews reported. In August, delivery numbers for most major Chinese EV makers actually increased, signaling “a rebound in demand for the vehicles internationally and suggesting that Chinese EV makers may be able to withstand regulatory challenges posed by new tariffs,” the outlet noted. Beijing-backed electric vehicle makers are also looking for creative ways around the efforts to limit their sales, with BYD, the country’s biggest, investing in manufacturing facilities across the world to more easily sidestep the tariffs.

Tariffs an ‘irrational’ move in light of global green transition

From a climate perspective, tariffs on electric vehicles — such as those imposed by the EU — are “irrational,” the director of the Institute for European Policy-Making at Bocconi University in Milan argued in Project Syndicate. The race to develop electric cars should be seen as “desirable,” he wrote, given the bloc’s effort to position itself as leading the fight against climate change. And while an ongoing trade war between some Western countries and Beijing may justify some of the EU’s concerns, the tariffs will undoubtedly make reaching the bloc’s net-zero targets more expensive, if not jeopardize them altogether, an environment research associate wrote for Britain’s Chatham House think tank.

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>>> Hyliion and Jardine Engineering Corporation Sign Memorandum of Understanding to Explore the KARNO Generator's Potential in Asian Power Generation Markets


Business Wire

Aug 19, 2024


https://finance.yahoo.com/news/hyliion-jardine-engineering-corporation-sign-123000429.html


AUSTIN, Texas, August 19, 2024--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Hyliion Holdings Corp. (NYSE: HYLN) ("Hyliion"), a developer of sustainable electricity-producing technology, today announced that it has entered into a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Jardine Engineering Corporation Limited ("JEC").

The MOU represents the first step toward a commitment from both companies to work together to explore the potential of Hyliion’s advanced KARNOTM technology in power generation projects and to collaborate jointly on select business opportunities in Hong Kong, Macau, and other markets where JEC operates. The KARNO generator is a groundbreaking fuel-agnostic solution that utilizes a linear generator architecture to produce electricity both economically and efficiently. Capable of operating on various fuels, including hydrogen, natural gas, biogas, and propane, the generator is expected to offer lower maintenance costs and a significantly reduced emissions profile compared to conventional technologies.

With a history dating back to 1923, JEC is one of the key leaders of power system business in Hong Kong and represents top brand electric generator suppliers from the US and Europe. Headquartered in Hong Kong, JEC is a listed specialist contractor for public works and is a premier provider of electrical and mechanical engineering solutions in the Asia Pacific region. This relationship aims to leverage the advanced capabilities of Hyliion’s KARNO generator, along with JEC's extensive domain knowledge, market presence, and project implementation capabilities, to provide innovative, sustainable power solutions in this dynamic region.

"Hyliion's KARNO generator technology aligns perfectly with our commitment to providing advanced and sustainable engineering solutions," stated Mr. Noky Wong, Chief Executive of JEC. "This collaborative effort with Hyliion represents a strategic step forward in advancing our capabilities and offerings in the power systems sector. Together, we look forward to exploring new ways to enable our customers to achieve engineering breakthroughs in ever more efficient and sustainable ways."

Thomas Healy, Founder and CEO of Hyliion, added, "We are thrilled to partner with JEC, a leader in integrated power systems with a strong presence in Asia. This collaboration is a significant step in our mission to provide sustainable and innovative energy solutions globally. By combining our innovative KARNO technology with JEC’s extensive market knowledge and engineering expertise, we are confident in delivering exceptional value and performance to meet the evolving energy needs of our customers worldwide."

The MOU between Hyliion and JEC is subject to the execution of a binding agreement. For more information about Hyliion and its innovative electrification solutions, please visit hyliion.com. For more information about Jardine Engineering Corporation Limited and how it helps engineer a better Asia, please visit jec.com.

About JEC

JEC is a leading provider of engineering services, sourcing, and contracting expertise. It enables customers to operate their facilities at world-class standards by providing the professional expertise to design, supply, and install building and specialized processes; facility operation and management; asset enhancement and energy management; and the sourcing of electrical and mechanical equipment and architectural fixtures.

JEC is headquartered in Hong Kong and operates throughout Asia. JEC is a member of the Jardine Matheson Group.

About Hyliion

Hyliion is committed to creating innovative solutions that enable clean, flexible and affordable electricity production. The Company’s primary focus is to provide distributed power generators that can operate on various fuel sources to future-proof against an ever-changing energy economy. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, with research and development in Cincinnati, Ohio, Hyliion is initially targeting the commercial and waste management industries with a locally deployable generator that can offer prime power as well as energy arbitrage opportunities. Beyond stationary power, Hyliion will address mobile applications such as vehicles and marine. The Company aims to offer innovative, yet practical solutions that contribute positively to the environment in the energy economy.

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Confessions of an Economic Hit Man -

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confessions_of_an_Economic_Hit_Man


With a twist --> use 'climate change' as the justification for the loans to these developing countries -

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>>> Yellen says $3 trillion needed annually for climate financing, far more than current level


Reuters

7-27-24

by David Lawder


https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/yellen-says-3-trillion-needed-annually-for-climate-financing-far-more-than-current-level/ar-BB1qK5DV?OCID=ansmsnnews11


BELEM, Brazil (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Saturday that the global transition to a low-carbon economy requires $3 trillion in new capital each year through 2050, far above current annual financing, but that filling the gap is the biggest economic opportunity of the 21st century.

Yellen said in Belem, Brazil's Amazon gateway city, that reaching net-zero emissions goals remained a top priority for the Biden-Harris administration and this would require leadership far beyond U.S. borders.

"Neglecting to address climate change and the loss of nature and biodiversity is not just bad environmental policy. It is bad economic policy," Yellen said in a speech after attending a G20 finance leaders meeting on Thursday and Friday in Rio de Janeiro.

Wealthy economies provided and mobilized a record $116 billion for climate finance for developing countries in 2022, 40% of which came from multilateral development banks (MDBs). Yellen said the banks, including the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) were setting new targets.

The financing need is "the single-greatest economic opportunity of the 21st century" and can be leveraged to support sustainable and more inclusive growth, including for investment-starved countries, she said.

While in Belem, Yellen met with finance ministers from Amazon basin countries and IDB President Ilan Goldfajn. She reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to the bank's Amazonia Forever platform, which provides a holistic approach to sustainable development in the region through financing, project preparation and collaboration.

"We are hopeful that this program will incentivize greater private-sector investment in the region that supports nature (lol)," she added.

Yellen called on MDBs nearly two years ago to expand their missions and lending capacity to include fighting climate change. She said this was "now in their DNA," but massive private investment was needed, and the Treasury, Brazil's finance ministry and other stakeholders were working to boost engagement with the private sector.

She said the banks should also catalyze new business models to mobilize investments that support nature and biodiversity (lol) while strengthening economies and advancing climate transitions.

Earlier on Saturday, Yellen launched a new initiative with Amazon basin countries Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, and Suriname to combat nature crimes, such as illegal logging and harvesting of wildlife and minerals, that are threatening biodiversity (lol) and the Amazon ecosystem (lol).

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Confessions of an Economic Hit Man -

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confessions_of_an_Economic_Hit_Man



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>>> NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) is a leading renewable energy and utility company headquartered in Juno Beach, Florida. The company operates through its two wholly owned subsidiaries, Florida Power and Light and NextEra Energy Resources.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/3-best-dividend-stocks-buy-114500212.html

NextEra Energy is well-positioned to benefit from the global shift towards sustainable energy solutions. Its subsidiary, Florida Power & Light, is the largest electric utility company in Florida, and one of the largest in the United States. Moreover, NextEra Energy Resources is the world’s largest generator of renewable energy from the wind and sun. This segment operates energy storage facilities, an area that will see robust growth over the next decade. NextEra also had an incredible operational year in the 2023 fiscal year, while growing its backlog of solar and energy storage projects. Presently, management is extremely confident in its ability to execute its long-term strategy. NEE’s dividend yield currently stands at 2.87%, with a payout ratio that ensures the sustainability of its dividend. With 10% dividend growth forecasted through 2026, NEE stock is among the best dividend stocks to buy in 2024.

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>>> Stellantis tells owners of over 24,000 hybrid minivans to park outdoors due to battery fire risk


AP

7-18


https://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/news/stellantis-tells-owners-of-over-24-000-hybrid-minivans-to-park-outdoors-due-to-battery-fire-risk/ar-BB1qeC9N?cvid=8ef0a411f663480e9bc4044294c43675&ei=101


AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) — Stellantis is telling the owners of more than 24,000 plug-in hybrid minivans to park them outdoors away from buildings, and to stop charging them due to the possibility of battery fires. (!!)

The company said Thursday that it's recalling certain 2017 through 2021 Chrysler Pacifica plug-in hybrids, mainly in North America. Some are being recalled for a second time. All can still be driven.

Stellantis, maker of Jeep, Chrysler, Ram and other vehicle brands, said its investigation is ongoing but the company has linked the problem to a rare abnormality in individual battery cells. The risk of fires is reduced when the battery is depleted. (LOL)

A company review of warranty data discovered seven fires within the group of vans being recalled. All happened when the vehicles were turned off, and some occurred during charging, Stellantis said. Four customers reported symptoms of smoke inhalation.

Engineers are still testing the remedy, which involves a software update designed to detect the battery abnormality. If a problem is found, dealers will replace the high-voltage battery at no cost to owners.

Owners will be notified by mail when to take their minivans in for service. After July 24, they can go to recalls.mopar.com or checktoprotect.org and key in their vehicle identification numbers to see if their vans are part of the recall. Later models have an improved manufacturing process and are not being recalled, the company said.

The recall comes six months after U.S. safety regulators began investigating a 2022 recall of nearly 17,000 of the vans. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in documents that it would review the effectiveness of the recall and try to understand the cause of the battery fires.

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Rickards - >>> Green New Scam Is Dying


BY JAMES RICKARDS

JULY 2, 2024


https://dailyreckoning.com/green-new-scam-is-dying/


Green New Scam Is Dying

It’s no secret that the vast majority of the so-called elites are advocates of climate alarmism and are taken in by the Green New Scam.

Whether this preference is based on ignorance of the science, ideological zeal, a willful desire to hurt American growth or simple greed because of their investments in Green New Scam infrastructure varies case by case.

The typical upper-income supporter of the climate cult including academics, media figures and celebrities is probably ignorant of the fact that there is no evidence that CO2 emissions cause climate change and that the real causes are solar cycles, volcanoes, ocean currents and atmospheric moisture not caused by humans.

Climate Alarmists Have It Backward

The historical record actually demonstrates that warming periods produce higher CO2 levels — not the other way around. CO2 doesn’t cause warming. It’s caused by natural warming.

In other words, climate alarmists have causation completely backward.

Climate alarmism is based almost entirely on computer models, which depend on the inputs the modelers themselves build into them. A model is only as good as the inputs and assumptions programmed into it.

Virtually every one of these models has overestimated warming, sometimes by orders of magnitude, because it’s based on faulty assumptions that overestimate the impact of CO2 on climate.

In other words, it’s junk science. But they keep relying on these models because their political agenda requires it.

Climate: The New Communism

There’s no doubt that a fair number of neo-Marxists embrace the climate scam because they know it damages U.S. industry, raises costs to U.S. consumers and helps to undermine the U.S. economy.

Following the end of the Cold War and the collapse of communism, anti-capitalistic collectivists admitted that they needed to promote the climate agenda because the only way to combat global warming is through collective action. It requires a coordinated global effort that limits national sovereignty.

The neo-Marxists are impervious to evidence; they just want to hurt America and wasting money on windmills instead of building new refineries is a good way to do it. That leaves the greed crowd.

The Real “Green” in the Green Agenda

They’re early investors in windmills, solar modules, lithium car batteries, EVs, charging stations, carbon credits and other infrastructure of the climate scam. They stand to make billions of dollars off the narrative with help from extravagant government subsidies.

They don’t really care if it all collapses in the end (which it will) as long as they get rich at taxpayer expense in the meantime. All of this behavior is clear as far as it goes. What is not clear is the extent to which the Green New Scammers are doing this with your money.

The best example is multibillionaire Larry Fink, who runs the giant BlackRock investment fund. Fink has been aggressive in promoting the climate scam along with racial quotas, DEI and defunding police.

He’s entitled to his opinions. But is he entitled to pursue his radical agenda with pension fund money from conservative states and institutions? Fortunately, a backlash has begun against Fink and his fellow wokesters.

More state pension fund managers are beginning to pull their funds from BlackRock and other investment managers that pursue far-left policies not in the best interests of their beneficiaries. This backlash may not change Larry Fink’s lifestyle. But over time, it might change the world for the better.

The EV Sham

A major part of the climate agenda includes electric vehicles (EVs). I’ve been warning for years that EVs aren’t feasible as a transportation solution for more than relatively few Americans and that they are little more than glorified golf carts despite the $70,000-and-up price tags.

In the first place, EVs don’t cut carbon emissions. The car itself does not have emissions, but it’s charged with electricity from power plants that do.

The batteries are made with poisonous chemicals and metals including lithium, cobalt, copper and nickel that come from mining operations that use enormous amounts of water and electricity to extract the needed materials.

It takes thousands of tons of ore to extract enough critical minerals to make one battery. EVs don’t take a charge in extreme cold, and the batteries can’t hold a charge. Travel range is grossly overstated for many reasons, including the fact that EV car heaters drain the batteries (with internal-combustion engines, ICEs, the engine makes heat which can easily be directed into the car to keep passengers comfortable with no additional energy required).

Resale values of EVs are close to zero because buyers of used EVs have to shell out $25,000 or more for new batteries after the vehicle is about seven years old. The list of drawbacks goes on.

Most Americans have resisted EVs because they understand the disadvantages. But many Americans were drawn to the false promise of emission-free transportation and other ridiculous claims by the Green New Scammers. Now even the most committed EV buyers are waking up.

I Want My ICE Car Back

A new survey by consulting firm McKinsey and Co. shows that 29% of EV owners in nine major economies want to return to ICE vehicles. When the sample is narrowed to just the U.S., 46% of those surveyed want to return to ICEs.

The McKinsey officials who conducted the survey claim to be “surprised” by those results. That probably says something about the fact that McKinsey experts are just as deluded about EVs as the buyers surveyed.

When breaking down the results, 45% say EVs are too expensive, 33% say they have charging concerns and 29% are concerned about the limited driving range.

The truth is that the EV was invented in 1837 and reached the peak of its popularity in 1910 just before the mass production of internal-combustion cars by Henry Ford. The American public got it right when they flocked to the Model T.

It sounds like they’re getting it right again after a brief infatuation with the false promise of the EV. The bottom line is that the Green New Scam is falling apart.

It can’t happen soon enough.

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>>> Earth Has a Third Form of Life—and It Could Change How We Generate Power


Popular Mechanics

by Darren Orf

6-14-24


https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/earth-has-a-third-form-of-life-and-it-could-change-how-we-generate-power/ar-BB1oe6g9?ocid=BingNewsSerp&cvid=32cb9ba3900e415bbb61d57c9eff8799&ei=75


Earth’s immense web of life fill three broad domains—archaea, bacteria, and eukarya.

Scientists from Monash University recently discovered hydrogen-producing enzymes in archaea, which were thought to only exist in the other two orders.

These archaea enzymes, known as hydrogenases, are smaller and more complex than those found in the other two domains, and could help biotech firms develop better, more efficient hydrogen energy systems.

Earth is home to an estimated 8.7 million species, only a fraction of which have been scientifically identified. However, despite this vast, disparate tree of life, every living thing falls into one of three large categories, or “domains”—archaea, bacteria, and eukarya.

All of the usual stuff we think of as “life”—things like trees, fungi, and animals—are eukaryotes, meaning that their cells contain a nucleus and other membrane-bound organelles. Archaea and bacteria, on the other hand, are prokaryotic, meaning they don’t contain such structures. While these two other domains might look similar under a microscope, there is a long list of differences that make archaea as different from bacteria as they are from humans.

Since the discovery of archaea in the late 1970s, scientists have believed that one difference between this third domain and other forms of life is that these organisms didn’t produce hydrogen-using enzymes known as “hydrogenases.” However, a new study published this week in the journal Cell says that not only is this not true, but in fact, archaea have been consuming and producing hydrogen for two billion years—a process that has allowed them to live in some of the most hostile locales on Earth.

Understanding this process can also help illuminate how all other life came to be—the leading biological theory suggests that the first eukaryotes formed when an ancient species of archaea merged with a bacteria cell (a.k.a. endosymbiosis) via hydrogen-gas exchange.

“Humans have only recently begun to think about using hydrogen as a source of energy, but archaea have been doing it for a billion years,” Bob Leung, a co-author of the study, said in a press statement. “Our finding brings us a step closer to understanding how this crucial process gave rise to all eukaryotes, including humans.”

In the study, the research team looked at the genomes of thousands of archaea, found hydrogen-producing enzymes, and then created those enzymes in a lab for further study. What they noticed is that some of these archaea produced an enzyme known as [FeFe]-hydrogenase.

This goes against the idea that only the other two domains made use of these kinds of enzymes, and also highlights the fact that archaeal enzymes were both the smallest and most-complex form hydrogen-using enzymes found amongst the all three domains. This could have big implications as engineers continue exploring ways to use hydrogen as a green energy source.

“Industry currently uses precious chemical catalysts to use hydrogen. However, we know from nature that biological catalysts function can be highly efficient and resilient,” Chris Greening, the lead author of the study, said in a press release. “Can we use these to improve the way that we use hydrogen?”

Amazingly, uncovering a two billion-year-old process—related to the one of the least understood domains of life—could help illuminate a path toward a desperately needed, zero-emission future. While archaea can survive beyond boiling temperatures or freezing points, a lot of us eukaryotes need things to be a bit more mild.

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>>> Alaska pipeline - >>> Environmentalists urge US to plan 'phasedown' of Alaska's key oil pipeline amid climate concerns


by BECKY BOHRER

Associated Press

6-12-24


https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/environmentalists-urge-us-to-plan-phasedown-of-alaska-s-key-oil-pipeline-amid-climate-concerns/ar-BB1o75XB?cvid=aef0dabde69640d0913ff2a0c52ec878&ei=62


JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Environmental groups on Wednesday petitioned the U.S. Department of Interior to review climate impacts related to the decades-old trans-Alaska pipeline system and develop a plan for a “managed phasedown” of the 800-mile (1,287-kilometer) pipeline, which is Alaska's economic lifeline.

The request comes more than a year after the Biden administration approved the massive Willow oil project on Alaska's petroleum-rich North Slope, a decision that was welcomed by Alaska political leaders seeking to stem a trend of declining oil production in the state and by many Alaska Native leaders in the region who see the project as economically vital for their communities. Willow, which is being developed by ConocoPhillips Alaska, could produce up to 180,000 barrels of oil a day.

Some of the groups who filed the petition, including the Center for Biological Diversity and Sovereign Iñupiat for a Living Arctic, are among those who have asked an appeals court to overturn the approval of Willow. A decision is pending.

Oil flow through the trans-Alaska pipeline system averaged around 470,000 barrels a day last year. At its peak, in the late 1980s, about 2 million barrels a day flowed through the line, which began operating in 1977.

The last environmental analysis, done more than 20 years ago as part of a right-of-way renewal, is “woefully outdated,” the groups said in their petition. They cite the rapid warming and changes the Arctic region has experienced, noting that several ice-reliant species, such as polar bears, have received Endangered Species Act protections since the last review. They also raise concerns about the impacts of thawing permafrost on the pipeline infrastructure. While the next environmental review is expected in about a decade, that's too long to wait, they argue.

“Every drop of oil that moves through the pipeline is more climate devastation, both here in Alaska and around the world,” said Cooper Freeman, Alaska director for the Center for Biological Diversity. “The longer we wait to have this hard conversation about the inevitable — because we must transition off of fossil fuels and we have to do it urgently — the harder it’s going to be for Alaska.”

Michelle Egan, a spokesperson for pipeline operator Alyeska Pipeline Service Co., said in a statement that the company continues to “collaborate with our numerous federal and state regulatory partners as we meet our commitments to safe and environmentally responsible operations. We are steadfast and dedicated to being a prudent operator, safely and reliably transporting oil from the North Slope of Alaska into the future.”

Freeman said Interior can accept the groups' request or deny it, which the groups could challenge. If Interior doesn't respond in what would be considered a reasonable amount of time, the groups can seek to compel a response through the courts, he said.

Interior did not have a comment, spokesperson Giovanni Rocco said by email.

The petition asks that the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, which falls under Interior, evaluate a range of options that include not renewing the right-of-way, issuing a right-of-way for a period of 10 or fewer years to allow for “continuous re-evaluation of the landscape in which TAPS operates,” setting potential limits on how much oil flows through the pipeline and requiring North Slope oil producers to adopt emissions controls for their operations.

The groups say the “only rational conclusion of that analysis will be a managed phasedown of the pipeline,” and their petition calls on the land management agency to begin work on such a plan. It doesn't suggest a timeline for a phasedown.

“We're not asking for the pipeline to shut down tomorrow. We’re saying you need to start the conversation now,” Freeman said. “That includes extensive conversation, engagement, consultation with communities across Alaska, especially on the North Slope. ... The longer we wait, the more pain for people, wildlife and the climate, especially here in Alaska.”

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>>> Eco Wave Power Global AB (publ), a wave energy company, engages in the development of a wave energy conversion (WEC) technology that converts ocean and sea waves into clean electricity. The company also holds various agreements comprising power purchase agreements, concession agreements, and other agreements worldwide with pipeline of projects with approximately 404.7 megawatts. It has operations in the United States, Sweden, Israel, the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar, Greece, Portugal, China, Australia, and internationally. The company was formerly known as EWPG Holding AB (publ) and changed its name to Eco Wave Power Global AB (publ) in June 2021. Eco Wave Power Global AB (publ) was founded in 2011 and is headquartered in Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel.

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European solar - >>> Losing hope of rescue, some European solar firms head to US


Reuters

by Sarah McFarlane and Riham Alkousaa

4-15-24


https://www.yahoo.com/news/losing-hope-rescue-european-solar-060514885.html


FRIEBERG, Germany (Reuters) - European governments due to move to support their solar power manufacturers this week will be too late to stop solar panel maker Meyer Burger packing up a German factory to send production to the United States.

The plant in Freiberg in eastern Germany closed in mid-March with the loss of 500 jobs, as the Swiss-listed firm joined a growing list of European renewable energy manufacturing factories shutting down or moving. In the past year, at least 10 have said they are in financial difficulties.

On a recent visit to the site, giant white robotic arms hung dormant over empty wooden pallets as workers prepared the last production line for shutdown. Talks with the German federal government to try to secure a future for the factory ended without success in late March, a company spokesperson told Reuters.

Germany's economy ministry said it was aware of the "very serious situation" of German companies and has been examining funding options with the industry for over a year. It agreed to give Meyer Burger an export credit guarantee for equipment produced in Germany to be used at the U.S. factories, which will help a site nearby but won't save the Freiberg one.

The closure, which in one sweep reduced European solar panel production by 10%, comes despite a boom in wind and solar energy in Europe. Additions to renewable energy capacity, including solar panels, are running at record pace, according to data from the International Energy Agency.

But Europe-based manufacturers that supply those panels are being crushed by competition from China and the U.S., whose governments give more support to their producers.

The situation poses a dilemma for European governments keen to fight climate change: Either offer more support to ensure local production can stay competitive, or allow the unfettered flow of imports to keep up the pace of installations. A meeting in Brussels between European energy ministers on Monday will make a gesture of support for the struggling industry.

China is expanding solar output and now accounts for 80% of the world's solar manufacturing capacity. The cost of producing panels there is around 12 cents per watt of energy generated, compared with 22 cents in Europe, according to research firm Wood Mackenzie.

U.S. subsidies announced as part of the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act allow some renewable energy manufacturers and project developers to claim tax credits, which are attracting businesses from within the European Union and beyond.

Meyer Burger says its plans include a solar panel factory in Arizona and a solar cell factory in Colorado.

"We made a bold move in the absence of any industry policy support in Europe and shifted a solar cell expansion project from Germany to the U.S.," its chief executive Gunter Erfurt told Reuters in an interview.

Similarly, battery company Freyr which operates mostly in Norway, has stopped work at a half-finished plant near the Arctic Circle and is focusing on plans for a plant in the U.S. state of Georgia after Washington announced the policy.

Freyr said in February it had changed its registration to the U.S. from Luxembourg.

"We did spend quite a bit of time trying to really make sure that we weren't committing a mistake," said Birger Steen, chief executive of Freyr: The company first hunted for support from Norwegian or European governments.

"We got to the point where we concluded that that form of policy level response was not forthcoming."

Asked to comment, Norway's ministry of trade and industry said that it had launched an industrial policy framework targeting energy transition technologies including solar and batteries, but did not directly address questions about additional funding for the companies in this story.

CHARTER

At Monday's meeting, the European Commission will launch a voluntary charter for governments and companies to sign in support of solar manufacturing plants. Industry association Solar Power Europe will coordinate company signatories. But the charter, which says that buyers of solar panels should include some domestic production in what they buy, is not enforceable, Solar Power Europe said.

Michael Bloss, EU parliament member for Greens, launched a petition earlier this month calling for action at a European level to rescue panel manufacturers.

Bloss says he is pushing for the European Commission to set up a 200 million euro ($213 million) fund to buy up unused European-made solar panels, but Europe has been unwilling to pursue that. The European Commission declined to comment.

"We are -- in headlines and Sunday speeches -- very much in favour of creating our own solar industry, but then in action, nothing happens," Bloss told Reuters.

"The charter will be more like a political declaration signed by member states, solar companies and the Commission, it's more long term, it has no immediate effect."

In February, European policymakers adopted the Net-Zero Industry Act, a set of measures including a target to produce 40% of the region's clean tech needs by 2030.

The previous month, the EU also approved almost $1 billion of German state aid for a Swedish battery producer, Northvolt, to help it set up a production plant in Germany after Northvolt threatened to take its business to the United States. It was the first time the bloc made use of an exceptional measure allowing member countries to step in with aid when there's a risk of investment leaving Europe.

But aid for ongoing operations has not been forthcoming, amid political disagreement over how much public funds should go to struggling businesses.

Decisions about supporting industries or firms like Meyer Burger are down to member states, a spokesperson for the European Commission told Reuters. Germany's economy and climate ministry believes aid to maintain an existing company like Meyer Burger would not be legal "if there is a lack of market prospects from the company's perspective," a spokesperson told Reuters.

Potential customers -- renewable energy installers that depend heavily on cheap Chinese imports -- have also pushed back against any new subsidies for local panels, arguing such moves could hurt them by causing consumers to postpone orders as they wait for the subsidies to kick in.

INTERTWINED

More than a year's worth of low-price imported panels sit in European warehouses awaiting installation, according to consultancy Rystad Energy and solar panel makers. Reuters could not independently verify that estimate.

That backlog could grow as Chinese capacity continues to expand, Rystad says: If all the plans Chinese firms have announced go ahead, China's industry will be able to make twice as many panels as are expected to be installed worldwide in 2024, said Marius Mordal Bakke, senior analyst at Rystad.

Dresden-based Solarwatt is carrying six to nine months of stocks, up from around six weeks, its chief executive Detlef Neuhaus told Reuters in March.

The company laid off around 10% of its employees last year and says its local panel production is running at roughly one-third of capacity.

"This industry is so important for the future, we cannot allow that we are losing all our competence," said Neuhaus.

Analysts say it's not clear what support could actually help, because firms like Meyer Burger produce a fraction of the volumes made by those in China, or planned in the U.S.

"They are tiny, so they will always struggle with volume, not just to compete with Chinese producers but also with U.S. producers," said Eugen Perger, senior analyst at Research Partners AG.

And local clean technology industries are so globally intertwined it's hard for European manufacturers to imagine a fully independent supply chain.

Norway-based NorSun, which produces solar wafers – thin silicon film used in panels – said Chinese equipment is crucial to both its plant in Norway and a proposed facility in the U.S. The company has halted production at the Norway plant while it decides whether to upgrade it.

Most of the equipment for either project would have to come from China. "There's essentially no other option," said Carsten Rohr, chief commercial officer at NorSun.

DEJA VU

Freiberg has been here before. Since the 1990s, companies setting up operations in the region have benefited from federal funding programmes to rebuild east Germany and help it close the gap with western Germany's prosperity.

New industries sprang up, including in solar and semiconductors. But Freiberg took a big hit in the 2010s after China's solar industry boosted production and undercut competitors.

In 2020, the German government removed a cap on subsidies for solar power installations which helped lift demand. In 2021, the EU's Green Deal signalled political support for future demand, and Russia's full invasion of Ukraine also helped solar deployment.

Meyer Burger, which is headquartered in Gwatt, Switzerland, only set up production in Freiberg in 2021 as the industry started coming back to life. It refurbished a bankrupt solar company's plant that had stood unused for almost three years.

For a while it became one of the town's largest employers, mayor Sven Krueger confirmed.

"This is the second time the German solar industry is at risk. They failed once already," said apprentice Max Lange, 19, greeting colleagues with a silent nod as they cleaned idled machinery on the factory floor.

"If it fails again, I doubt that I will be able to pursue a career in the European solar industry, because I don't think it will come back," he said, wondering aloud if he might instead find work in the U.S. solar industry.

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>>> Nextracker Inc. (NASDAQ:NXT) is a renewable power generation company headquartered in California.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/20-states-produce-most-renewable-012901150.html

It provides solar energy solutions such as utility-scale solar power, solar power plant performance monitoring, and tracking systems. On February 12, the company announced that it has been selected for a repeat order to supply its solar trackers of 1.5 GW and 375 GW by Sterling and Wilson Renewable Energy Ltd (NSE:SWSOLAR), a leading renewable solutions provider in India. The solar trackers will be utilized for phase two and phase three solar projects at the solar park of NTPC Renewable Energy Limited in Gujarat, India. The tracker selected for the plant is Nextracker Inc.'s (NASDAQ:NXT) NX Horizon smart solar tracker, which is one of the most reliable and widely deployed trackers of the company. It boasts high speed, installation ease, and the ability to provide tracking services for challenging sites. This order marks the completion of over 5 GW of collaborative solar power generation projects by Nextracker Inc. (NASDAQ:NXT) and Sterling and Wilson Renewable Energy Ltd (NSE:SWSOLAR).

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>>> Phillips 66 Announces Major Milestone in Production of Renewable Diesel


Business Wire

Apr 1, 2024


https://finance.yahoo.com/news/phillips-66-announces-major-milestone-203900162.html


HOUSTON, April 01, 2024--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Phillips 66 (NYSE: PSX) today announced a major milestone in its conversion of the San Francisco refinery into the Rodeo Renewable Energy Complex, expanding commercial scale production of renewable diesel.

The Rodeo Renewed project has progressed, with the facility now processing only renewable feedstocks and producing approximately 30,000 barrels per day of renewable diesel. The Rodeo Renewable Energy Complex is on track to increase production rates to more than 800 million gallons per year (50,000 BPD) of renewable fuels by the end of the second quarter, positioning Phillips 66 as a leader in renewable fuels.

"We are proud to announce this significant achievement at our Rodeo facility," said Rich Harbison, Phillips 66 executive vice president of Refining. "The project advances Phillips 66’s long-held strategy to expand our renewable fuels production, lower our carbon footprint, and provide reliable, affordable energy while creating long-term value for our shareholders."

Harbison added, "We’ve had strong execution to-date and are fully focused on finalizing the project in the second quarter."

The Rodeo Renewed project design also provides the capability of producing renewable jet, a key component of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), expected to start production in the second quarter of 2024.

Phillips 66 made a final investment decision to move forward with the Rodeo Renewed project in 2022, transforming the San Francisco refinery into one of the world’s largest renewable fuels facilities. As a world-class supplier of renewable fuels, the converted facility leverages a premium geographic location, unique processing infrastructure and flexible logistics to significantly reduce lifecycle carbon emissions.

About Phillips 66

Phillips 66 (NYSE: PSX) is a leading diversified and integrated downstream energy provider that manufactures, transports and markets products that drive the global economy. The company’s portfolio includes Midstream, Chemicals, Refining, and Marketing and Specialties businesses. Headquartered in Houston, Phillips 66 has employees around the globe who are committed to safely and reliably providing energy and improving lives while pursuing a lower-carbon future.

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