California Clean Energy Committee

October 25, 2022

NewHydrogen: "NewHydrogen is developing a breakthrough green hydrogen generator that uses renewable energy to produce low-cost green hydrogen. Hydrogen is the cleanest and most abundant fuel in the universe. It is zero-emission and only produces water vapor when used. Unfortunately, hydrogen does not exist in its pure form on Earth so it must be extracted from a source that contains hydrogen. For centuries, scientists have known how to split water into hydrogen and oxygen using a simple and elegant device called an electrolyzer. Unfortunately, an electrolyzer – the primary component of a hydrogen generator – is still very expensive. NewHydrogen is developing breakthrough technologies to enable the next generation of low cost electrolyzers. The Company’s initial focus is on replacing and reducing expensive rare earth materials, to help usher in the green hydrogen economy that Goldman Sachs estimated to have a future market value of $12 trillion."

October 19, 2022

Washington Post: "The world’s oceans have been warming for generations, a trend that is accelerating and threatens to fuel more supercharged storms, devastate marine ecosystems and upend the lives and livelihoods of millions of people, according to a new scientific analysis. . . .

"Scientists attribute about 40 percent of global sea level rise to the effects of thermal expansion in ocean water. Warmer oceans also speed the melting of ice sheets, adding to rising seas. They disrupt traditional weather patterns and deepen drought in some areas. And they fuel more intense hurricanes, as well as create the conditions for more torrential rainfall and deadly flooding."

October 14, 2022

Georgia Power: "Georgia Power announced tonight that fuel load into the Vogtle Unit 3 reactor core has begun at Plant Vogtle near Waynesboro, Ga. The fuel load process marks a historic and pivotal milestone toward startup and commercial operation of the first new nuclear units to be built in the U.S. in more than three decades.

"'The Vogtle 3 & 4 nuclear units represent a critical, long-term investment in our state's energy future, and the milestone of loading fuel for Unit 3 demonstrates the steady and evident progress at the nuclear expansion site,' said Chris Womack, chairman, president and CEO of Georgia Power. 'We're making history here in Georgia and the U.S. as we approach bringing online the first new nuclear unit to be built in the country in over 30 years. These units are important to building the future of energy and will serve as clean, emission-free sources of energy for Georgians for the next 60 to 80 years.'"

October 11, 2022

September 29, 2022

The Local:  "French President Emmanuel Macron has made hydrogen one of the five strategic sectors in the France 2030 plan, with €9 billion set aside for low-carbon hydrogen technologies, as part of the country’s ecological transition. . . .

"Hydrogen was chosen specifically for its ability to enable heavy transport (trucks, commercial vehicles, buses, etc.) to move away from fossil fuels while avoiding a dependence on batteries."

August 13, 2022

Los Angeles Times:  "A last-minute proposal from Gov. Gavin Newsom could keep the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant open through 2035, a decade beyond its current closure date — in part by giving owner Pacific Gas & Electric Co. a $1.4-billion forgivable loan.

"The proposal is part of draft legislative language distributed to state lawmakers late Thursday night. The bill, which has yet to be introduced in the Legislature, would also exempt the Diablo Canyon extension from the California Environmental Quality Act and several other environmental rules that nuclear opponents might otherwise use to challenge the extension."

August 07, 2022

Wall Street Journal:

July 30, 2022

Holman Jenkins:  "The demand for energy will keep growing as a billion-plus humans seek to rise from poverty. Renewables will be lucky to hold even their current share of the market. Millions will want air conditioning if the world is warming."

July 29, 2022

Utility Dive:  "Pacific Gas & Electric is exploring the possibility of keeping the 2.2 GW Diablo Canyon nuclear plant open beyond its currently scheduled retirement in 2024 and 2025 to support the reliability of California’s electricity system, PG&E Corp. CEO Patti Poppe told analysts during the company’s earnings call Thursday.

“'We continue to remind all engaged parties that the clock is ticking here,' Poppe added, noting that there is a sense of urgency in order to transition from preparing to decommission the plant to instead extending its life.

"The Diablo Canyon nuclear plant contributes to roughly 15% of California’s carbon-free electricity. State regulators in 2018 approved a settlement to close down the plant, but more recently, some experts have been questioning whether it should remain open."

July 21, 2022

Washington Post:  "In the United States, about 16,000 air conditioning units are installed daily on average. Researchers from CLASP and Harvard University predicted that if over the remaining decade, all houses installing central air conditioners bought a subsidized heat pump instead, consumers would save approximately $27 billion on heating and cooling bills, while decreasing greenhouse gas emissions by 49 million tons of carbon dioxide by 2032."