Latest News

Credit: Mandel Ngan/AFP / Getty Images

The Biden administration on 22 July announced the selection of 25 projects to receive $4.3bn in grants through the president’s signature climate law. 

The selected projects were pitched by 30 different state, local and tribal governments across the country. 

The grants will support deployment of clean energy technology across sectors, ranging from housing to agriculture, and be distributed to winners by early autumn this year. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said it has reviewed nearly 300 applications that requested more than $30bn. 

The administration said that, together, the selected projects will lead to a reduction in greenhouse gas pollution by as much as 150 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent by 2030.

With Biden announcing the end of his re-election campaign on 21 July, Vice President Kamala Harris is expected to replace him as the Democratic nominee in the upcoming election. Harris has a similar approach to Biden on the climate, having supported EPA regulations during her time as attorney general of California. 

A recent survey, circulated by GlobalData to members of the power industry ahead of the UK general election, demonstrated industry’s desire for the new UK Government to push for nuclear, while also expecting hurdles along the way. 

Affordability, followed closely by security and reliability, ranked highest in terms of priorities around electricity, trumping other factors such as sustainability and modernisation. 

When asked about hopes for the new parliament’s priorities around the power sector, increasing nuclear power production came out on top, reflecting industry’s belief that nuclear power is the UK’s route to affordable electricity prices and energy security.

Simultaneously, however, the survey revealed that nuclear will also likely be the most controversial topic within the new parliament, reflecting its divisive nature and the complexity of its implementation. The controversies to come were foreshadowed in the political parties’ manifestos this year, with the Conservatives and Labour outlining plans to expand nuclear while the Greens advocated for its phase-out.  

Thin-film solar module producer First Solar has opened a new research and development (R&D) innovation center in Lake Township, Ohio in the US.

The Jim Nolan Center for Solar Innovation is the largest of its kind in the western hemisphere. The 1.3 million ft² centre has a high-tech pilot manufacturing line capable of producing full-sized prototypes of thin film and tandem photovoltaic (PV) modules. 

First Solar has committed to investing $500m in R&D, generating 300 new jobs by 2025, primarily at the new centre. The company has previously invested $2bn in R&D and laboratories across Santa Clara in California, Perrysburg in Ohio and Uppsala in Sweden.

As of the end of 2023, First Solar had a global annual nameplate manufacturing capacity of 16.6GW. It anticipates expansion to more than 25GW by 2026. The company’s growth trajectory includes the commissioning of new manufacturing facilities in Alabama and Louisiana, projected to increase its total US nameplate capacity to 14GW by 2026. 

The German Government has announced plans to put 5GW of hydrogen-ready (H₂-ready) gas power plants and 2GW of “comprehensive H₂-ready modernisations” out to tender by the beginning of 2025.

Under the Power Plant Safety Act, the plants will need to switch to green or blue hydrogen operation by their eighth year of operation. The transition from gas to 100% hydrogen is expected to occur between 2035 and 2040. 

The Government said that the investment cost of moving from gas to hydrogen will be subsidised for 800 full-time hours of use per year. The subsidies will be sourced from Germany’s €212bn Climate Transformation Fund. 

In addition to the hydrogen components, the government’s plan includes 5GW of tender for new gas-fired power plants, helping the country transition to a “technology-neutral capacity mechanism” that will be operational from 2028. 

In February, the Government agreed to provide €16bn ($17.3bn) of subsidies for the construction of 10GW of H₂-ready gas power plants, which has now been downsized to 7.5GW. 

Constellation Energy is in discussions with the Pennsylvania governor’s office and state legislators regarding funding for a potential restart of a unit at the Three Mile Island nuclear power facility, which was operational from 1974 until its closure in 2019.

The ongoing talks have been described as “beyond preliminary” by two sources.

The unit that may be restarted is distinct from the facility’s unit 2, which suffered a partial meltdown in 1979 – the most notorious nuclear accident in US history. The move would be the first re-opening of a US nuclear power plant following a shutdown.

The sources added that a recently revived Michigan nuclear plant, which received a $1.5bn conditional loan for its restart, could provide a model for a public-private partnership at Three Mile Island. 

While it remains unclear whether the Baltimore-based company would proceed with reopening the facility, Constellation confirmed that it had completed an engineering study of the site in June.