Take one experimental climate project. Add nuclear.

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Jan 03, 2024 View in browser   By Carlos Anchondo An artist’s rendering of the Wyoming Regional Direct Air Capture Hub. | Courtesy of CarbonCapture The Biden administration is poised to spend millions on a novel project that would pull carbon dioxide from the air, using energy from a new type of nuclear power plant. If successful, the idea for the Wyoming Regional Direct Air Capture Hub would be a win-win: a facility that removes planet-warming pollution without emitting any itself. But some experts worry that wedding two nascent technologies — direct air capture and so-called small modular reactors — is too risky, writes Corbin Hiar. “It adds complication upon complication,” Wil Burns, the co-director of American University's Institute for Carbon Removal Law and Policy, told Corbin. The idea comes from the climate technology company CarbonCapture, which submitted the hub proposal last year to the Department of Energy. The project is a front-runner for a $500 million award from the agency, which has $2.4 billion left to spend on advancing the deployment of direct air capture. The company and its team have already received $12.5 million from DOE to carry out an engineering study of the Wyoming hub plan over the next two years. Risky business Direct air capture, which targets carbon that's already been dumped into the atmosphere, is drawing major support as a climate solution — both from the Biden administration and from corporations seeking to offset their emissions. Climate scientists say carbon removal, along with a rapid transition away from fossil fuels, is a necessary tool to tackle climate change and stave off its worsening impacts. Still, only two commercial-scale direct air capture facilities are in operation globally. Meanwhile, just two new nuclear reactors have come online in the United States over the past 25 years. Nuclear energy advocates have promoted small modular reactors as a cheaper, more flexible alternative to traditional nuke plants — but recent setbacks have sparked new questions about their future. The United States’ first expected commercial small modular reactor was canceled by NuScale Power in November, for example, after the company cited a lack of customers. In a letter of intent outlining its hub proposal, CarbonCapture argued that nuclear is “core to the global [direct air capture] deployment at the gigaton scale.” That term means sucking up 1 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide, or roughly the annual emissions of more than 260 coal-fired power plants. Burns said the federal government should be cautious about funding a DAC proposal that relies on novel nuclear plants. "Government needs to be thinking this through before we commit a lot more money," he said. Yet, in an interview, CarbonCapture played down the significance that small modular reactors could have for the final hub plan, which is still subject to negotiation with DOE. Small nuclear reactors would be “nice to have when we’re at full capacity in the 2030s,” said Patricia Loria, that startup’s vice president of business development.   It's Wednesday — thank you for tuning in to POLITICO's Power Switch. I'm your host, Carlos Anchondo. Power Switch is brought to you by the journalists behind E&E News and POLITICO Energy. Send your tips, comments, questions to canchondo@eenews.net. Listen to today’s POLITICO Energy podcast Today in POLITICO Energy’s podcast: Alex Guillén breaks down the latest on a long-running climate change lawsuit brought by children that is moving forward after a ruling over the weekend. Power Centers Claudine Hellmuth/E&E News (illustration); Arne Hückelheim/Wikipedia (pumpjacks); Freepick (stock ticker); jannoon028/Freepik (oil barrels) Oil and gas's banner year U.S. oil and gas production soared to new highs in 2023, creating an unusual political situation for President Joe Biden, who has been assailed by Republicans for stifling industry and Democrats for not doing enough to curtail it, Shelby Webb writes. The new year promises new rules to limit methane emissions and could see more mega-mergers, as Shelby notes in her story on four things to watch in 2024. Read them all here. 'Line in the sand' for net-zero buildings The White House has proposed a definition for "zero-emissions" buildings, as part of its efforts to crack down on planet-warming pollution, Robin Bravender writes. The Biden administration has set a goal to reach economywide net-zero emissions by 2050 — and the country's buildings account for 30 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. To meet the proposed net-zero criteria, buildings would need to be “highly energy efficient,” “free of on-site emissions from energy use” and “powered solely from clean energy.” “The definition is incredibly important in terms of creating market alignment and a clear line in the sand of where we're trying to go with the building sector to get to zero emissions,” said Heather Clark, director of building emissions in the White House's Office of Domestic Climate Policy. In Other News Waste on ice: A proposed plant in Youngstown, Ohio, that would have used discarded tires and plastic waste for energy has been put on hold for a year after stirring opposition from environmental and citizens groups, in part because it would be sited near downtown and a prominent Black neighborhood. Plugging away: About 200 abandoned oil and gas wells in Michigan were plugged in 2023 using a $25 million grant from the Interior Department. Subscriber Zone A showcase of some of our best subscriber content. A pump jack operates near wind turbines in Gray Horse, Oklahoma. | Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images A federal judge has ordered the removal of the Osage Wind project in Oklahoma over the developers' repeated refusal to obtain leases from the Interior Department for the 84-turbine commercial project on Osage Nation land. The developer of the Empire Wind 2 offshore wind project canceled its contract with New York, citing rising costs and supply chain issues. The first four months of 2024 will see marquee action from EPA as it works to finalize President Joe Biden's first-term climate agenda. That's it for today, folks! Thanks for reading.   Follow us on Twitter Arianna Skibell @ariannaskibell   Follow us

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