House and Senate Staff Discuss Plans for Clean Energy and Climate Innovation

Last week, the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (CCES) held a webinar where staff from the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources and House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology came together to discuss “Clean Energy and Climate Innovation: Opportunities for Bipartisan Progress.” Senate staff spoke to specific bills that aim to address clean energy innovation—including nuclear energy legislation—and also referenced a comprehensive energy package that is being finalized and released shortly. (ASME will report on the comprehensive energy package once it has been released.)

Key House and Senate staff leading efforts to advance relevant legislation in their respective Chambers who presented during the webinar include:

• Spencer Nelson Majority Professional Staff Member U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources  
• Luke Bassett Minority Professional Staff Member U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
• Adam Rosenberg Majority Staff Director, Energy Subcommittee U.S. House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology
• Hillary O'Brien Minority Professional Staff Member U.S. House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology

Mr. Nelson discussed different legislative initiatives underway in the Senate on nuclear energy production and innovation, touching on:

• S. 905, the Nuclear Energy Leadership Act, which would support small reactors that don’t use water as coolants;
• S. 2368, the Nuclear Energy Renewal Act, which would update all nuclear research R&D programs; and
• S. 1602, the Better Energy Storage Technology Act, which is focused on next-generation, long-duration energy storage technology, among other bills.

Mr. Bassett spoke about bills that specifically address renewable energy, as well as a bill that address how the Department of Energy (DOE) functions, and would update how the agency works to invest in developing new technology, including S. 2668, the Technology Transitions Act, which would elevate the role of technology transfer to the Secretary-level, as well as ARPA-E Reauthorization. The House staff too spoke about ARPA-E Reauthorization.