SMRs, Canada's Line 5 Pipeline, and the Energy War Winner
Energy Terminal Weekly Newsletter
January 24th 2023 | Issue #36 | Subscribe here
Happy Tuesday!
Welcome back everyone to ET weekly, Energy Terminal's weekly newsletter where we cover trends, opportunities, events and updates across the energy industry.
In this issue:
🥳 Small modular reactors!
❤️ Some good climate news
🌏 China's role in the energy transition
⭐ A 10-week fast track to energy careers
👷 Shutting down Canada's Line 5 pipeline
🚨 Energy News to Watch 🚨
Small Modular Reactors
NuScale Power's small modular nuclear reactors just got approved by the US. This is the first small modular reactor approved in the US, and the seventh ever nuclear reactor approved. Want to learn more? Check out this Canary Media article.
📣 Episode 21
You’ve seen the buzz about nuclear fusion, but when and how will it affect our energy systems, and what comes next? And what role will nuclear fission continue to play in decarbonization of our electricity grid?
Here to answer these questions and more is Rachel Slaybaugh, nuclear engineer and investor at early stage deep tech venture capital firm DCVC. Rachel earned a pHD in nuclear engineering and has worked across industry, academia, and finance. Her experience across the public and private sectors gives her a unique look into the state of nuclear energy and where it's heading.
Tune in for expert insight on how nuclear energy can enable our transition to a 100% clean grid and what we need to make that happen.
🕺 Emerging Leaders Program
Energy Terminal’s Emerging Leaders Program is designed to help college students fast-track their career growth in energy. The 10-week program will include weekly sessions with experts from the world's top companies across renewables, engineering, finance, venture capital, consulting, policy, and more. Check out our website for more info, and apply here!
📚 Reading List (1/23 - 1/30)
Anti-climate Family 🤝 Renewables, Europe's Energy Storage, and Perks of a Mild Winter. Check out this week’s handpicked reading list to learn more about these groundbreaking energy topics 🔥
🎙️Podcasts:
Energy Policy Now, China Plays Competitor, and Collaborator, in the Energy Transition
China is a necessary actor in the energy transition as they lead the world in energy consumption and the manufacture of clean energy technologies
However, China has tense relationships with many other key actors in the energy transition, and the degree of tension in such relationships affects global energy and the response to the climate crisis
Two of the largest factors affecting China’s advancements in the energy transition are their economic system and economic ambitions, which Scott Moore, the author of China’s Next Act, outlines in detail in this episode
Energy Tech Startups, Neal Dikeman
Neal Dikeman is a serial entrepreneur with 9+ startups and a partner at Energy Transition Ventures
Neal explains what venture capitalists are looking for, where the market is heading, and why “energy is life, and the rest is just details”
Entrepreneurship has huge benefits–and everyone should try it once
POLITICO Energy, Is Europe winning the energy war with Russia?
A combination of preparation and luck is helping Europe win the energy war with Russia
Preparation: a switch to global LNG from the US, and high prices that drove down gas consumption
Luck: Weather, a mild weather has meant less gas consumption for heating, and it has been windy and wet which has helped hydropower and wind energy production
Europe’s gas storage is still 81% full
West has implemented sanctions against oil, and there is a price cap on Russian oil
This is severely hurting Russia’s oil revenues
Russia is predicted to be losing 160 million euros per day
📰️ Articles:
BBC News, Why Michigan is trying to shut down Canada’s Enbridge Line 5 pipeline
Line 5 is an aging pipeline that crosses the Great Lakes, and it delivers energy to the US Midwest and Central Canada
Governor Gretcher Whitmer ordered Enbridge, a large pipeline firm, to halt operations in the Straits which would practically shut down Line 5, and her reasoning for this is that it provokes an “unreasonable risk” to the Great Lakes
Enbridge argues that the Great Lakes tunnel almost fully eliminates the chance of a spill, while others say that the risk of a catastrophic explosion isn’t negligible and could cause $2bn in damages and immense species lost
MIT Technology Review, A few pieces of good news on climate change (and a reality check)
Emissions are growing globally, but many countries have already reached peak emissions
US reached peak emissions in 2005, declined by 10% since
Russia, Japan, and EU have seen an emissions plateau
Global emissions are set to peak by 2025
Emissions and economic growth are no longer as closely related
Countries that have declined in emissions are still seeing economic growth
Reality check: in order to keep warming under 1.5 degrees Celsius we need to reach net zero globally by 2050
The Economist, Go to Texas to see the anti-green future of clean energy
A long-time ranching family decided to lease land for renewable energy production despite their initial negative reaction
Once anti-climate, the family now promotes wind and solar among Texas ranchers and is installing EV chargers in place of gas filling stations
Texas has 3x the renewables and storage capacity under construction than California, and that number is growing rapidly
And head here to check out previous reading lists !
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