This Week in CleanTech has a weekly podcast covering the most inspiring stories in clean energy and climate in 15 Minutes or Less featuring Paul Jerk. Factor this And Mike Casey of TigerCum. Clarion Events Director of Content Jeremiah Karpucz is filling in for Paul Gerk while Paul is on paternity leave.
This week’s episode features special guest Kate Yoder from Grist, who writes about how Democrats are downplaying the term “climate change” after the 2024 election.
This week’s “Clintature of the Week” is Cardiac Color Batch, creators of the card game Klimt Frisk. The game is based on the latest report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and helps people understand the connections between climate science and climate disasters. Congratulations, Cedric!
According to the Fossil Fuel Subsidy Tracker, in 2023, government subsidies to U.S. coal, oil and gas interests increased by more than $16 billion. Another group, Oil Change International, estimates it’s actually $34 billion. Much of this support comes from tax code provisions that have been in place for more than a century.
Some economists say fossil fuel companies should be taxed more to account for pollution and climate damage, estimated at more than $820 billion a year.
Read here.
Backed by a $50 million grant from Breakthrough Energy Catalyst and corporate agreements with Meta, Nucor and others, startup Electra is building a 130,000-square-foot demonstration facility in Colorado. The plant will produce 500 tons of low-carbon iron ore annually using a low-temperature, electrochemical process powered by renewable electricity, avoiding the coal-fired blast furnace process that is responsible for steel’s 8 percent contribution to global pollution.
Nucor, America’s largest steel producer, will buy some of that iron ore, while Metta will buy environmental credentials for its production. The plant will also benefit from an $8 million state tax credit.
Read here.
The Department of Energy has canceled five grants totaling more than $700 million for battery and manufacturing projects, the first confirmed cancellations from a long list of potential cuts circulating within the agency. The cancellations are among the largest ever in battery manufacturing, affecting planned facilities in red states like Kentucky and Missouri. It also affects projects supported by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act of 2021.
The largest canceled grant, $316 million for Elements, was intended to support a $1 billion Kentucky plant that would make battery components from recycled EV materials. The company said the battery components will compete with supplies that now come mainly from China.
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Merrimack Station in New Hampshire officially closed in September, several years ahead of its scheduled closure. The coal plant had provided electricity to the region since the 60s, but with coal’s economics deteriorating and environmental pressures mounting, its closure marks what could be the end of coal-fired power in the region.
In the early 2000s, Merrimack ran about 70-80% of the time. But in the last six years, it has barely exceeded 8 percent, when demand is expected to rise.
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Democrats are playing down the term “climate change” after the 2024 election, with voters prioritizing affordability and health care over environmental issues. Think tanks such as the Searchlight Institute argue that a focus on “affordable energy” could make Democrats appear more in touch with voters’ concerns.
Meanwhile, media coverage and public debate about climate change has declined sharply, even though most Americans are worried about it. Some Democrats believe that denying the issue of cost and energy security is strategic, while others have warned that avoiding the dangers of climate talk is harming the momentum for real action.
Read here.
