Why the World Needs Yet Another Methane Satellite - Heatmap News
Carbon Mapper’s ultra-precise Tanager-1 is headed to space.| Heatmap News
There’s a famous saying in management circles: Culture eats strategy for breakfast. In a warming world marked by populist politics, the climate equivalent might be: Culture eats climate policy for breakfast. As air conditioning becomes the latest front in the culture wars, climate hawks would be wise to avoid the culture war trap being set. Instead we should meet the world where it is with a simple, culturally relevant, and popular approach that keeps people cool on a warming planet — a h...| Heatmap News
Crux is expanding again. Until earlier this year, the clean energy finance startup was a digital marketplace exclusively for buying and selling tax credits unlocked by the Inflation Reduction Act. But in March, as Republicans in Congress briefly threatened to eliminate tax credit transferability, the company moved into debt financing, a market Crux CEO Alfred Johnson told me later on is more than seven times bigger. Now, in its quest to become a one-stop shop for efficient project financing, ...| Heatmap News
Current conditions: In the Pacific, Tropical Storm Kiko has strengthened into a hurricane on its way toward Hawaii • Unusually cool air in the Upper Midwest and Appalachians could drop temperatures to as much as 20 degrees Fahrenheit below average • Nearly one million people are displaced in Pakistan’s most populous state as Punjab suffers the biggest flood in its history. THE TOP FIVE 1. Trump’s plan to kill green bank gets court approval The Trump administration’s plan to kill a $...| Heatmap News
How did life first form on Earth? What does entropy have to do with the origins of mammalian life — or the creation of the modern economy? And what chemical process do people, insects, Volkswagens, and coal power plants all share? On this week’s episode of Shift Key, Rob chats with Peter Brannen, the author of a new history of the planet, The Story of CO2 Is the Story of Everything. The book weaves together a single narrative from the Big Bang to the Permian explosion to the oil-devouring...| Heatmap News
Carbon Mapper’s ultra-precise Tanager-1 is headed to space.| Heatmap News
Is the “turbine crisis” coming to an end? Or at least the end of the beginning? One of the few bright spots for renewables this year has been that their main competitor for energy generation, natural gas, has been in a manufacturing crunch. An inability (or unwillingness) to ramp up production of turbines, the core component of a gas-fired power plant, to meet rising energy demand is cited regularly byindustry executives andfinanciers to explain why renewables are the best solution to qui...| Heatmap News
A federal appeals court on Tuesday cleared the way for the Trump administration to kill former President Biden’s $20 billion green bank program, which would have provided low-cost loans for solar installations, building efficiency upgrades, and other local efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The three-judge panel overturned a lower court’s injunction temporarily requiring the Environmental Protection Agency to resume payments, and ruled that most of the plaintiffs’ claims were c...| Heatmap News
Current conditions: Atlantic hurricane season enters its peak window and a zone west of Africa is under close monitoring for high risk tropical storm development this week • A polar air mass came down from Canada and dropped temperatures 15 degrees below historical averages in the Great Plains and the Northeastern U.S. • Croatia braces for floods as up to 11 inches of rain falls on the Balkans. THE TOP FIVE 1. Transportation Department Joins the War on Wind Add the Department of Transport...| Heatmap News
Toyota is helping to build Mazdas. At least, its aging car batteries are. Cooperation between rivals is nothing new in the car world. Toyota and Subaru have teamed up to build small sports cars and electric vehicles that are, underneath the skin and the logos, essentially the same. GM and Hyundai have signed a memo of understanding to share new vehicles and clean energy tech, while Honda has used GM’s Ultium platform as the basis of its Prologue EV. In Japan, Toyota and Mazda now say they w...| Heatmap News
During the August recess, while members of Congress were back home facing their constituents, climate and environmental groups went on the offensive, sending a blitz of ads targeting vulnerable Republicans in their districts. The message was specific, straightforward, and had nothing to do with the warming planet. “Check your electric bill lately? Rep. Mark Amodei just voted for it to go up,” declared a billboard in Reno, Nevada, sponsored by the advocacy group Climate Power. “They prom...| Heatmap News
Current conditions: New Orleans is expecting light rain with temperatures climbing near 90 degrees Fahrenheit as the city marks the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina • Torrential rains could dump anywhere from 8 to 12 inches on the Mississippi Valley and the Ozarks • Japan is sweltering in temperatures as high as 104 degrees. THE TOP FIVE 1. EPA plans to gut the Clean Water Act The Environmental Protection Agency is preparing to propose a new Clean Water Act rule that would eliminate ...| Heatmap News
The Trump administration has quietly opened the door to strictly enforcing a migratory bird protection law in a way that could cast a legal cloud over wind farms across the country. As I’ve chronicled for Heatmap, the Interior Department over the past month expanded its ongoing investigation of the wind industry’s wildlife impacts to go after turbines for killing imperiled bald and golden eagles, sending voluminous records requests to developers. We’ve discussed here how avian conservat...| Heatmap News
1. Santa Fe County, New Mexico – County commissioners approved the controversial AES Rancho Viejo solar project after months of local debate, which was rendered more intense by battery fire concerns. Opposition to the nearly 100-megawatt solar project in the Santa Fe area was entirely predictable, per Heatmap Pro data, which shows overwhelming support for renewable energy in theory, yet an above average chance of NIMBYism arising. That genuine NIMBY quotient appears resilient, prompting eve...| Heatmap News
This week’s conversation is with Pamela Goodwin, an environmental lawyer with Saul Ewing LLP. I reached out to her to chat about permitting because, well, when is that not on all of our minds these days. I was curious, though, whether Trump’s reforms to National Environmental Policy Act regulations and recent court rulings on the law’s implementation would help renewables in any way, given how much attention has been paid to “permitting reform” over the years. To my surprise, there ...| Heatmap News
For U.S. consumers, going solar is usually a major undertaking, involving tens of thousands of dollars, months of logistics, a slew of financing options, and ever-changing incentives. But in Germany, upwards of a million customers — homeowners and renters alike — are simply plugging in small, affordable solar arrays to standard power outlets. These small systems are, by law, 800 watts or less, a fraction of the size of a typical rooftop solar system in the U.S. Often called “balcony sol...| Heatmap News
Current conditions: Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas brace for up to a foot of rain • Tropical Storm Juliette, still located well west of Mexico, is moving northward and bringing rain to parts of Southern California • Heat and dryness are raising the risk of wildfire in South Africa. THE TOP FIVE 1. Trump to ax logging protections from 44 million acres of national forest The Trump administration has started the process to roll back logging protections from more than 44 million acres of nati...| Heatmap News
Here at Heatmap, we write a lot about decarbonization — that is, the process of transitioning the global economy away from fossil fuels and toward long-term sustainable technologies for generating energy. What we don’t usually write about is what those technologies actually do. Sure, solar panels convert energy from the sun into electricity — but how, exactly? Why do wind turbines have to be that tall? What’s the difference between carbon capture, carbon offsets, and carbon removal, a...| Heatmap News
Solar power is already the backbone of the energy transition. But while the basic technology has been around for decades, in more recent years, installations have proceeded at a record pace. In the United States, solar capacity has grown at an average annual rate of 28% over the past decade. Over a longer timeline, the growth is even more extraordinary — from an stalled capacity base of under 1 gigawatt with virtually no utility-scale solar in 2010, to over 60 gigawatts of utility-scale sol...| Heatmap News
Was Don Quixote a NIMBY? Miguel de Cervantes’ hero admittedly wasn’t tilting at turbines in 1605, but for some of his contemporary readers in 17th-century Spain, windmills for grinding wheat into flour were viewed as a “dangerous new technology,” author Simon Winchester writes in his forthcoming book, The Breath of the Gods: The History and Future of the Wind. One interpretation of Cervantes’ novel might be that Quixote was “actually doing battle with progress.” Nearly four and ...| Heatmap News
Batteries are the silent workhorses of our technological lives, powering our phones, computers, tablets, and remotes. But their impact goes far beyond our daily screentime — they’re also transforming the electricity grid itself. Grid-scale batteries store excess renewable energy and release it as needed, compensating for the fact that solar and wind resources aren’t always available on demand. The price of the most ubiquitous battery technology — lithium-ion — has fallen remarkably ...| Heatmap News
Could the answer to our energy demand conundrums lie beneath our feet? And no, I’m not talking about oil, coal, or natural gas. I’m referring to the fundamental stuff of energy itself: heat. Geothermal power is having something of a moment as a non-carbon-emitting source of electricity that everyone seems to like — including climate activists, the oil and gas industry, technology companies, and even the Trump White House and Republican-controlled Congress. Geothermal energy has been in ...| Heatmap News
At the heart of the climate crisis lies a harsh physical reality: Once carbon dioxide enters the atmosphere, it can stay there for hundreds or even thousands of years. Although some carbon does cycle in and out of the air via plants, soils, and the ocean, we are emitting far more than these systems can handle, meaning that most of it is just piling up. Burning fossil fuels is like continuously stuffing feathers into a duvet blanketing the Earth. But there may be ways to begin plucking them ou...| Heatmap News
Current conditions: A large dust storm blew over the Phoenix area, causing damage and airport delays • Typhoon Kajiki made landfall in central Vietnam, leaving at least four dead in flooding as heavy rains deluged Laos and parts of Thailand • Florida faces increased risk of flooding as tropical thunderstorms gather over the Gulf of Mexico. THE TOP FIVE 1. FEMA suspends dozens of staffers who signed letter criticizing Trump The Federal Emergency Management Agency suspended nearly 40 employ...| Heatmap News
Shift Key is off for Labor Day, so we’re running this classic episode. The power grid is straining as new data centers, factories, and electric vehicles come online. For the first time in 15 years, American electricity demand is rising again. The easiest option is to meet that new demand with new supply — new power plants. But in many parts of the country, it can take years to hook up new wind, solar, and batteries to the grid. The reason why is a clogged and broken system called the inte...| Heatmap News
Current conditions: In the Atlantic, Tropical Storm Fernand is heading northward toward Bermuda • In the Pacific, Tropic Storm Juliette is active about 520 miles southwest of Baja California, with winds of up to 65 miles per hour • Temperatures are surging past 100 degrees Fahrenheit in South Korea. THE TOP FIVE 1. U.S. renewables investment plunges by 36% this year Renewable investments dim in the U.S.Brandon Bell/Getty Images In the United States, investments in renewable energy fell by...| Heatmap News
The Methane Risk Map combines satellite and geologic data to visualize chemical exposure from natural gas plumes.| Heatmap News
Let’s do some congressional math.| Heatmap News
For those keeping score, that’s three more than wanted to preserve them last year.| Heatmap News
It’s not early phase-out. These 3 changes could overhaul the law’s clean electricity supports.| Heatmap News
A Perfect Storm Is Coming for Natural Gas| Heatmap News
The Ways and Means Committee released its proposed budget language, and it’s not pretty for clean energy.| Heatmap News
Rob and Jesse dig into the implications of the House budget bill.| Heatmap News
Research from the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis calls blue hydrogen’s carbon math into question.| Heatmap News
The department creates a seemingly impossible new permitting criteria for renewable energy.| Heatmap News
From the Inflation Reduction Act to the Trump mega-law, here are 20 years of changes in one easy-to-read cheat sheet.| Heatmap News
The widely circulating document lists more than 68 activities newly subject to upper-level review.| Heatmap News
What we know and don’t know.| Heatmap News
A new letter sent Friday asks for reams of documentation on developers’ compliance with the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act.| Heatmap News
Inside episode 23 of Shift Key.| Heatmap News
The Environmental Protection Agency just unveiled its argument against regulating greenhouse emissions from power plants.| Heatmap News
Since July 4, the federal government has escalated its assault on wind development to previously unimaginable heights.| Heatmap News
On Puerto Rico’s water crisis, LNG’s tax scam, a nuclear safety scandal| Heatmap News
On NRC drama, Big Tech’s thirst, and Uplight’s for-sale sign| Heatmap News
A conversation with Harvard Law School’s Jody Freeman about life after the endangerment finding.| Heatmap News
On betrayed regulatory promises, copper ‘anxiety,’ and Mercedes’ stalled EV plans| Heatmap News
Mining companies have asked for federal support — but this isn’t what most of them had in mind.| Heatmap News
Oregon’s Cram Fire was a warning — the Pacific Northwest is ready to ignite.| Heatmap News
On clean energy projects, forest fires, and Vineyard Wind| Heatmap News
On an Interior Department memo, unstoppable wind and solar, and a lawsuit| Heatmap News
On House drama, the good and bad of solar, and earnings season| Heatmap News
It took a lot of scrutiny and a lot of patience, but the city council is finally making progress against natural gas infrastructure.| Heatmap News
On Fervo’s megadeal tease, steel’s coal gamble, and Norway’s CO2 milestone| Heatmap News
The CEO of Cleveland Cliffs is just the latest U.S. voice to affirm the dirtiest fossil fuel’s unexpectedly bright future.| Heatmap News
Thirteen miles isn’t very far: roughly the length of Manhattan or the distance you run in a half marathon. On a freeway, it takes less than 15 minutes to drive. Multiply 13 by 10, though, and it becomes 130 miles — more than the width of the state of Connecticut. Move the U.S. border 130 miles north, and Whistler Blackcomb becomes an American ski resort; move it south, and Tijuana is the new Los Angeles. If you started walking, it would take you 35 straight hours to cover the distance; if...| Heatmap News
To say that concrete poses a decarbonization challenge would be an understatement. Cement production alone is responsible for somewhere between 5 and 10% of global CO2 emissions [0], roughly two to four times more than aviation, a fact that even the construction industry is finally coming to grips with. And yet the real problem with decarbonizing concrete isn’t the scale of its emissions, it’s the scale of concrete itself. There is simply a preposterous amount of the stuff. Contemplating ...| Heatmap News
As unpredictable as world events have been recently, very few people would’ve put money on the humble Toyota Prius getting a stunning makeover for 2023. Somehow, that’s exactly what happened. Now the all-new, fifth-generation Prius hybrid boasts sleek, almost sports-car-like looks to go with its impressive 57 miles per gallon. The Prius will need every advantage it can muster. Its sales have been down for years, and hybrid cars also feel almost anachronistic compared to the new crop of hi...| Heatmap News
Putin’s war of aggression has unleashed an emissions-reduction program that is threatening the financial foundation of his regime.| Heatmap News
A new “foreign entities of concern” proposal might be just as unworkable as the House version.| Heatmap News
A new subsidy for metallurgical coal won’t help Trump’s energy dominance agenda, but it would help India and China.| Heatmap News
As bad as previous drafts of the reconciliation bill have been, this one is worse.| Heatmap News
A loophole created by the House Ways and Means text disappeared in the final bill.| Heatmap News
While hurricanes often dominate summer worries, climate change is supercharging the risks from your typical unnamed rainstorm.| Heatmap News
The House budget bill may have kept the 45Q tax credit, but nixing transferability makes it decidedly less useful.| Heatmap News
Regardless of who’s eligible for what and when, strict “foreign entity of concern” provisions could make clean energy incentives impossible to take advantage of.| Heatmap News
Excise tax is out, foreign sourcing rules are in.| Heatmap News
On a new report from the Energy Institute, high-stakes legislating, and accelerating nuclear development| Heatmap News
In a Heatmap exclusive, XGS Energy is announcing a new $13 million funding round.| Heatmap News
Wind and solar are out. Clean, firm power is in.| Heatmap News
A new report from the Clean Air Task Force casts shade on “levelized cost of energy.”| Heatmap News
Meta’s deal with Constellation is a full circle moment for an Illinois nuclear plant.| Heatmap News
Or, why developers may be loading up on solar panels and transformers.| Heatmap News
Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s decision in the case of Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v. Eagle County, Colorado enlists the nation’s highest court in the campaign to reform federal environmental enforcement.| Heatmap News
It’s not just what they say over the next few weeks — it’s when they say it.| Heatmap News
House Republicans have bet that nothing bad will happen to America’s economic position or energy supply. The evidence suggests that’s a big risk.| Heatmap News
The House passed its version of the budget bill early Thursday morning, with even deeper cuts to clean energy added overnight.| Heatmap News
It takes a credible threat to bend the budget.| Heatmap News
Rob and Jesse dig into the implications of the House budget bill.| Heatmap News
Tax credit transferability is a wonky concept, but it’s been a superpower for clean energy developers.| Heatmap News
Surfing is becoming an endangered sport.| Heatmap News
Spinning turbines have it, but solar panels don’t.| Heatmap News
More than 2,500 employees have applied for a buyout program. The departures, if approved, could gut the agency’s in-house bank and manufacturing office.| Heatmap News
And that’s on top of the constitutional questions.| Heatmap News
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Even if the technology works, the economics might not.| Heatmap News
The president isn’t trying to cut emissions as fast possible. He’s doing something else.| Heatmap News
A guide to the year’s biggest environmental fight — and some of the most important changes that could result.| Heatmap News
We chatted about U.S. Wind’s project off the coast of Ocean City, oil jobs, and the future of the IRA.| Heatmap News
Vermont is on the verge of becoming the first state to try it.| Heatmap News
