Trump’s Department of Energy is planning to terminate awards for the two major Direct Air Capture Hubs funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law in Louisiana and Texas, Heatmap has learned. An internal agency project list shared with Heatmap names nearly $24 billion worth of grants with their status designated as “terminated,” including the Occidental Petroleum’s South Texas DAC Hub as well as Project Cypress, a joint venture between DAC startups Heirloom and Climeworks. Christoph G...| Heatmap News
Current conditions: King tides are raising ocean levels near Charleston, South Carolina, as much as eight feet above low water averages • A blizzard on Mount Everest has trapped hundreds of hikers and killed at least one • A depression that could form into Tropical Storm Jerry is strengthening in the Atlantic as it barrels northward with an unclear path. THE TOP FIVE 1. Global solar and wind generation overtake coal for the first time Solar and wind outpaced the growth of global electrici...| Heatmap News
Amidst the frenzied investment in fusion and the race to get a commercial reactor on the grid by the 2030s, one under-the-radar fusion company has been making money for years. That’s Shine Technologies, which has been operating in some form or another since 2005, making neutrons for materials testing and nuclear isotopes for medical imaging, all while working toward an eventual energy-generating reactor of its own. “I think we can moonshot ourselves to net energy,” Greg Piefer, founder ...| Heatmap News
California is in the trenches. The state has pioneered ambitious climate policy in the United States for more than two decades, and each time the legislature takes up the issue, the question is not whether to expand and refine its strategy, but how to do so in a politically and economically sustainable way. With cost of living on everyone’s minds — California has some of the highest energy costs in the country — affordability drove this year’s policy negotiations. After a bruising leg...| Heatmap News
On stronger uranium, Elon Musk’s big gamble, and Japan’s offshore headwinds| Heatmap News
Reading between the lines of Governor Kathy Hochul’s big nuclear announcement.| Heatmap News
At Heatmap House’s third session of the day, “Up Next in Climate Tech,” investors Tom Steyer and Dawn Lippert chart a path forward for the clean energy economy.| Heatmap News
All of the administration’s anti-wind actions in one place.| Heatmap News
The Senate Minority Leader addressed the crowd at New York Climate Week, talking about energy costs, extreme weather, and Trump’s “Big Ugly Bill.”| Heatmap News
Representatives Sean Casten and Mike Levin have a new package of legislation designed to lower electricity prices — in a way that just so happens to be “clean.”| Heatmap News
Russ Vought, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, has been waiting for this moment his whole adult life — or that’s what President Trump and the Republican Congressional leadership would like you to believe. As they put it, Vought is a fanatical budget cutter who, once unleashed, cannot be controlled. Who knows what he’ll cut if the Democrats continue to keep the government shut down? Substantial staffing cuts that go beyond the typical shutdown furloughs are “the risk...| Heatmap News
Data centers are being built in places that restrict renewable energy. There are significant implications for our future energy grid – but it’s unclear if this behavior will lead to tech companies eschewing renewables or finding novel ways to still meet their clean energy commitments. In the previous edition of The Fight, I began chronicling the data center boom and a nascent backlash to it by talking about Google and what would’ve been its second data center in southern Indianapolis, i...| Heatmap News
Current conditions: After walloping Bermuda with winds of up to 100 miles per hour, Hurricane Imelda is veering northeast away from the United States • While downgraded from a hurricane, Humberto is set to soak Ireland and the United Kingdom as Storm Amy in the coming days and bring winds of up to 90 miles per hour • Typhoon Matmo is strengthening as it hits the Philippines and barrels toward China. THE TOP FIVE 1. Energy Department kills West Coast hydrogen hubs The Department of Energy ...| Heatmap News
1. Ocean County, New Jersey – A Trump administration official said in a legal filing that the government is preparing to conduct a rulemaking that could restrict future offshore wind development and codify a view that could tie the hands of future presidential administrations. In a court filing last Friday, Matthew Giacona – Trump’s principal deputy director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management – laid out the federal government’s thoughts about re-doing the entire review process...| Heatmap News
This week I chatted with Courtney Brady, Midwest region deputy director for climate advocacy group Evergreen Action. Brady recently helped put together a report on rural support for renewables development, for which Evergreen Action partnered with the Private Property Rights Institute, a right-leaning advocacy group. Together, these two organizations conducted a series of interviews with self-identifying conservatives in Pennsylvania and Michigan focused on how and why GOP-leaning communities...| Heatmap News
A list of terminated grants obtained by Heatmap contains a number of grants that will cost jobs and revenue in Republican-led states.| Heatmap News
“Rapidly evolving trade policy” could weigh on demand, according to the company’s first-quarter earnings report.| Heatmap News
At a conference in New York, solar and wind developers warn of spiking electricity prices if IRA tax credits are cut.| Heatmap News
Current conditions: Hurricane Imelda hit Bermuda as a Category 2 storm • Storm Amy, the first named UK storm of the season, will bring heavy rains and wind to Scotland, England, and Wales on Friday • Sudan’s Ministry of Agriculture declared a state of emergency this week after the Nile River rose to record levels. THE TOP FIVE 1. About those Department of Energy grants … The Department of Energy said on Wednesday that it is terminating 321 grants supporting 223 projects, cutting a tot...| Heatmap News
Climate tech funding has slowed in the face of federal government pushback — but it has certainly not stopped. As the administration has cranked up its hostilities against everything from electric vehicles to wind turbines, companies and investors are responding by getting strategic, forming new coalitions to map, fund, and shape progress in the absence of public support. Last month I covered the launch of the Climate Tech Atlas, an interdisciplinary effort that includes venture capitalists...| Heatmap News
The shutdown punishment has begun, and it’s aimed at New York City. Russ Vought, the director of the Office of Management and Budget announced Wednesday on X that “roughly $18 billion in New York City infrastructure projects have been put on hold to ensure funding is not flowing based on unconstitutional DEI principles.” That includes funding for the Second Avenue Subway extension and the Gateway Program, a proposed rail tunnel connecting New York City and New Jersey. While Vought did n...| Heatmap News
Current conditions: Tropical Storm Imelda is set to gain intensity this week and whip the southeastern U.S. with soaking rain and storm surge • Frigid night air is forecast across northern New England • Typhoon Bualoi is flooding broad swaths of Vietnam, Thailand, and Laos. THE TOP FIVE 1. EPA’s deregulatory agenda threatened by government shutdown The federal government is closed.Kent Nishimura/Getty Images The federal government shut down at 12:01 a.m. this morning after President Don...| Heatmap News
Rob debriefs with colleagues on the latest climate news.| Heatmap News
Most Americans say that rising electricity bills are having at least “a decent amount” of impact on their household finances, according to a new Heatmap Pro poll. The poll, which surveyed more than 3,700 registered voters last month, gives context to how electricity prices have come to dominate national headlines in recent months — and why they’ve become an urgent issue at the state and local level in a few key regions. On the 2024 campaign trail, President Donald Trump promised to cu...| Heatmap News
Current conditions: Tropical Storm Imelda is gaining wind intensity this week, bringing flooding rain and storm surge to the southeastern U.S. • Hurricane Humberto, now a Category 4 storm, is passing west of Bermuda, bringing marine hazards to the U.S. East Coast • Typhoon Bualoi is pummeling the Philippines and Vietnam, where it’s already killed a dozen people. THE TOP FIVE 1. Today’s the last day to claim the electric vehicle tax credit If you were planning to cash in on the $7,500 ...| Heatmap News
The company is vying to challenge Fervo for leadership in the next-generation geothermal market.| Heatmap News
Voters are mad at Trump over rising bills, but assigning blame is complicated.| Heatmap News
On disaster aid, rare-earth magnets, and China’s green steel| Heatmap News
The three letter acronym I heard the most during New York Climate Week wasn’t EPA, COP, NDC, or GHG. It was PJM. The country’s largest electricity market — the PJM Interconnection, which reaches into 13 states, including Pennsylvania, Ohio, Virginia, and Michigan — has become the poster child for data center growth, clogged interconnection queues, and political backlash to rising electricity prices. Nearly every conversation I have about PJM includes a preamble about how nerdy and imp...| Heatmap News
When the Trump administration ordered work on Orsted’s Revolution Wind offshore wind project to shut down in late August, it cited national security concerns as the reason for the delay. Within weeks, a federal judge had lifted the stop work order, allowing construction to proceed. What happened in between matters. In its rush to stop a wind project, the Trump administration exposed the first cracks in its anti-wind policy agenda — a loss that may embolden companies targeted by the crackd...| Heatmap News
Solar and wind companies cite the rise of artificial intelligence to make their business cases after the United States government slashed massive tax incentives for their projects. But the data centers supposed to power the AI boom are now facing the sort of swift wave of rejections from local governments across the country eerily similar to what renewables developers have been dealing with on the ground over the last decade. The only difference is, this land use techlash feels even more sudd...| Heatmap News
1. Pulaski County, Arkansas – The attorney general of Arkansas is reassuring residents that yes, they can still ban wind farms if they want to. As I chronicled earlier this month, the backlash to wind energy in this state is fierce, motivated by a convergence of environmental frustrations and conservative cultural splashback. It bears repeating: there really isn’t much renewable energy in operation here right now. The state passed legislation putting restrictions on wind development that ...| Heatmap News
On the need for geoengineering, Britain’s retreat, and Biden’s energy chief| Heatmap News
It all happened today at Heatmap House, part of New York Climate Week.| Heatmap News
At Heatmap House’s second session, speakers including Senator Brian Schatz of Hawaii looked overseas to spot the clean energy future.| Heatmap News
New rules governing how companies report their scope 2 emissions have pit tech giant against tech giant and scholars against each other.| Heatmap News
Why regional transmission organizations as we know them might not survive the data center boom.| 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
Surfing is becoming an endangered sport.| Heatmap News
A fifth of U.S. counties now restrict renewables development, according to exclusive data gathered by Heatmap Pro.| Heatmap News
Carbon Mapper’s ultra-precise Tanager-1 is headed to space.| 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
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
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
It’s not just what they say over the next few weeks — it’s when they say it.| 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
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
Heatmap News Privacy StatementLast updated: January 3, 2024Heatmap News, Inc. (“Heatmap News,” “we,” or “us”) strives for transparency and trust when it comes to protecting your privacy and we aim to clearly explain how we collect and process your information. It is important to us that you should e...| Heatmap News
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
Vermont is on the verge of becoming the first state to try it.| Heatmap News
