Mike Munsell

hell yeah, my college just got institutional access to @heatmap.news (and my syllabi for my next US state/local energy policy class is going to be lit.)

Esmeralda 7 Solar Project Has Been Canceled, BLM Says It would have delivered a gargantuan 6.2 gigawatts of power.

SCOOP: The Bureau of Land Management says the largest solar project in Nevada — the Esmeralda 7 mega-farm — has been canceled

The news was quietly dropped via a sudden website update with no public word from any of the companies involved or a statement from the agency

@heatmap.news

China Is Deciding Not to Decide on a New Green Future The country’s underwhelming new climate pledge is more than just bad news for the world — it reveals a serious governing mistake.

What do China's new climate pledges show us about the future? The putative electrostate elected to punt -- it isn't ready to commit to a non-coal future. Xi's government is unambitious, and seems to be falling into the very middle income trap that it says it fears.

heatmap.news/ideas/china-...

After Replacing Its CEO, Generate Capital Lays Off Staff “We grew quickly and made some mistakes,” Generate executive Jonah Goldman told Heatmap.

This just in:

10 out of 13 grants awarded for domestic Heat Pump manufacturing (the IRA’s Heat Pump Defense Production Act Program) are also listed. 🔌⚡

Awards for Gradient, Mitsubishi, and York International appear to be safe.

Trump to Axe All 7 Hydrogen Hubs, Bucking Bipartisan Law A new list of Department of Energy grants slated for termination will hit clean energy and oil majors alike, including Exxon and Chevron.

Some additional info on the new list of axed DOE projects circulating.
- All 7 H2 Hubs
- All 13 IRA grants to convert at-risk auto plants to EV mfg
- 11 of 15 grants to speed domestic clean energy mfg in former coal communities
- 10 of 38 grants for battery materials
heatmap.news/politics/doe...

Trump to Cancel Direct Air Capture Hubs in Texas, Louisiana A new list of grant cancellations obtained by Heatmap includes Climeworks and Heirloom projects funded by 2021 infrastructure law.

Trump’s DOE Moves to Cancel Direct Air Capture Hubs in Texas, Louisiana

A new list of grant cancellations obtained by Heatmap includes Climeworks and Heirloom projects funded by 2021 infrastructure

Breaking news from @emilypont.bsky.social via @heatmap.news

California’s Big Climate and Energy Package, Explained The state quietly refreshed its cap and trade program, revamped how it funds wildfire cleanup, and reorganized its grid governance — plus offered some relief on gas prices.

California passed a huge climate package last month, w/ a big effort to weave in affordability. It's wonky but important stuff, and I broke it all down for you:
- Cap & invest extension / rebrand
- transmission accelerator
- permission to join a Western RTO!
more here heatmap.news/energy/calif...

With all this talk about electricity price increases, I wonder if utilities will bring back Reddy Kilowatt to make the rate increases an easier pill to swallow (that's one way he was used in the first half of the 20th century)

Via @heatmap.news
heatmap.news/culture/redd...
(published last year)

The Department of Energy’s Latest Cuts Will Hit Red States, Too A list of terminated grants obtained by Heatmap contains a number of grants that will cost jobs and revenue in Republican-led states.

Other news outlets are repeating the Trump administration's narrative that DOE cancelled grants in blue states. Well, that's not really true. Here's my analysis of the list:
heatmap.news/politics/doe...

More Than Half of Americans Are Already Feeling Squeezed by Power Prices More than a quarter say they’re being hit hard, according to a Heatmap Pro poll.

new @heatmap.news exclusive data shows more than a quarter of americans say they’re currently experiencing rapid electricity price increases that are having “a lot” of impact on their personal finances

Democrats Bid to Become the Party of Cheap Energy: Exclusive 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.”

Want to instead prioritize energy consumers and cheap energy? Here's how: heatmap.news/politics/ene...

Heatmap graphic shows a truck in China hauling a wind turbine tower with two wind turbines and mountains in the background.

This week on SHIFT KEY: A stack of electricity techs — solar, batteries, EVs etc. — seem to be displacing fossil fuels across China & the developing world. Is this the start of the "Electrotech Revolution"? Rob & I discuss the evidence with @kingsmillbond.bsky.social heatmap.news/podcast/shif... 🔌💡

Drawdown® Explorer We know what we need to do: stop climate change as quickly as possible. Now, with the Drawdown Explorer, we know how to do it.

Many people feel overwhelmed with the number of potential climate solutions, and are not quite sure what to focus on.

@projectdrawdown.bsky.social has always been at helping people navigate the minefield.

Their new explorer is really cool, and helps to make things clearer: drawdown.org/explorer

vive la Revolution (Wind)

Exclusive: Climate Tech Leaders Form New Coalition to Map Out the Future of Decarbonization Elemental Impact, Breakthrough Energy, Speed & Scale, Stanford, Energy Innovation, and McKinsey are all partnering to form the “Climate Tech Atlas.”

NEW: the Climate Tech Atlas, a comprehensive effort to map out the opportunities and innovation imperatives most critical to the energy transition, launched today! core collaborators include Breakthrough Energy, McKinsey, @stanforddoerr.bsky.social and others heatmap.news/climate-tech...

Vermont lawmakers plan to consider 'balcony solar' next session - VTDigger A new legislative campaign aims to make it easier to export Germany’s successful portable solar installations to the U.S.

Vermont may join Utah as a balcony solar state! Sun Day on a roll!
vtdigger.org/2025/09/17/v...

This AI for Geothermal Startup Just Announced Its Biggest Find Yet Zanskar’s second geothermal discovery is its first on untapped ground.

Geothermal upstart @zanskargeothermal.bsky.social just announced its biggest finding yet

By @kbrigham.bsky.social via @heatmap.news

heatmap.news/climate-tech...

Why Mining Is the Dirty Underbelly of the Clean Energy Transition Thea Riofrancos, a professor of political science at Providence College, discusses her new book, Extraction, and the global consequences of our growing need for lithium.

I learned a lot reading @triofrancos.bsky.social new book on lithium mining, both a great intro to the economics and history as well as a frank reckoning with the contradictions of an energy transition reliant on mining. heatmap.news/energy/thea-...

looking to talk to folks who are fighting data centers in different parts of the country for a story or two. gimme a holler at jael@heatmap.news

The EPA’s Backdoor Move to Hobble the Carbon Capture Industry Why killing a government climate database could essentially gut a tax credit

@robinsonmeyer.bsky.social reports on the EPA’s backdoor move to hobble the carbon capture industry heatmap.news/energy/epa-g...

More signs of a potential populist backlash to the data-center buildout, as Americans come to grips with the jobs AI may take away — and the utility bills it will inflate.

@lorak.bsky.social @zeitlin.bsky.social
heatmap.news/politics/dat...

Email heading "Energy Secretary Chris Wrong"

okay @robinsonmeyer.bsky.social won the email subject line game today, this is 🤌 (good excuse to plug the very good @heatmap.news newsletter too!)

More Bad News for Tesla U.S. EV sales have been way up — just not for the domestic champion, which sank to its worst-ever market share in August.

the great ev sale rush is on to get ahead of the 30d tax credit expiration, and tesla's market share is falling heatmap.news/electric-veh...

Trumponomics Is Starting to Have Some Ugly Effects The energy sector — including oil and gas — and manufacturing took some heavy hits in the latest jobs report.

Trumponomics Is Starting to Have Some Ugly Effects

The energy sector — including oil and gas — and manufacturing took some heavy hits in the latest jobs report, writes @robinsonmeyer.bsky.social via @heatmap.news

heatmap.news/economy/jobs...

Trump’s War Against Wind Energy: A Timeline All of the administration’s anti-wind actions in one place.

I made a timeline of everything the Trump admin has done to kill offshore wind. Pretty much everything on the list was requested by anti-offshore wind groups in a memo to the Trump transition team in January, as reported by @jael.bsky.social.
heatmap.news/politics/tru...

The Country’s Biggest Grid Has a Plan to Manage Data Centers’ Power Use. Everyone Hates It. Why Microsoft, Talen Energy, the Data Center Coalition, and everyone else who objected to PJM’s proposal kinda has a point.

Everyone loves data center flexibility right? it's a win-win-win for getting data centers on the grid faster without expensive new infrastructure upgrades, right? Well PJM put out a flexibility proposal and...everyone hates it

heatmap.news/energy/data-...

Heat Pumps Are Good Politics Climate policy strategist Justin Guay has a populist pitch for our warming world.

What if, and hear me out, we decided to scold a little less and push abundance a little more?

What if, in a hotter world, we stood for something cool?

My latest on @heatmap.news calling for heat pump populism for the sweaty masses

heatmap.news/ideas/heat-p...

Crux Is Expanding Into Tax and Preferred Equity Deals In a Heatmap exclusive interview, CEO Alfred Johnson discusses the clean energy financing marketplace’s latest big move.

EXCLUSIVE: Clean energy finance startup Crux is expanding into the tax and preferred equity markets, CEO Alfred Johnson tells Heatmap.

Full scoop below from @kbrigham.bsky.social ⬇️

The Messaging War Over Energy Costs Is Just Beginning The new climate politics are all about affordability.

🚨 Longread alert for your long weekend:

I wrote about why the climate movement is suddenly hyper-focused on electric bills, how we got here, and the oncoming messaging war over affordable energy, with insight from many smart people. I hope you give it a read.
heatmap.news/politics/ele...