This Week in Cleantech is a weekly podcast covering the most impactful stories in clean energy and climate in 15 minutes or less, featuring Paul Gerke of Factor This and Tigercomm’s Mike Casey.
This week’s episode features special guest Alex Kaufman, who published his debut piece in The Atlantic about how Trump’s administration is fast-tracking domestic mining projects, pushing executive orders, and green-lighting new rare earth and mineral ventures to reduce reliance on foreign sources like China.
This week’s “Cleantecher of the Week” is Meredith Connolly, who shared a story from her first road trip in an electric vehicle. Charging her car cost just $22, but the station was in front of a Target… So she ended up spending more inside the store than she did on charging. Her point: businesses should want EV chargers, because they bring in more customers. Thanks for sharing the anecdote, and congrats, Meredith!
This Week in Cleantech is starting a new segment to bring more readers and listeners into the show. Here’s how you can participate:
Watts Your Take?
The segment, “Watts Your Take,” will be a 30-second slot reserved in each podcast for a listener, where they can share what they think was the most important story in cleantech in that given week. All you have to do is send us a video, and we’ll review the content for inclusion. Start it off with your name and what you do or where you work, and let us know what’s on your mind!
This story makes a case for nuclear in the way of the Iberian Power shortage. Some say the blackouts could have been partially caused by an oversupply of renewables. This article argues that the intermittency of renewables doesn’t stabilize the grid, and that nuclear power is the solution, especially with modern society becoming increasingly dependent on stable power. However, many of these arguments need a closer look.
Republican lawmakers want to propose a $250 annual fee for electric vehicle drivers who don’t pay the gas tax for the Highway Trust Fund, which covers the costs of road repairs nationwide. But the average gas car driver pays about $73 per year in federal gas taxes, and the EV fee is triple that. The proposal also includes a $100 annual fee for hybrid vehicles.
India wants to break its reliance on Chinese solar technology by scaling up domestic manufacturing of solar panels, electric vehicle batteries, and wind power equipment. The Indian government is offering subsidies and protectionist policies, like restricting imports for renewable projects.
Although India is still largely dependent on coal, it nearly doubled wind and solar capacity in five years and targets 500GW of non-fossil energy by 2030. However, like other countries, most of India’s solar components come from China since it’s cheaper.
United Airlines has joined forces with Heirloom, a direct air capture startup, and Twelve, a fledgling company working to mimic photosynthesis to produce sustainable aviation fuel that can cut lifecycle pollution by 90%. United can purchase up to 500,000 tons of carbon dioxide via Heirloom, equivalent to offsetting pollution from a Boeing flying 33 million miles. United also invested in JetZero, a startup developing blended-wing aircraft that could cut fuel use by up to 50% per passenger mile compared with traditional planes
Trump’s administration is fast-tracking domestic mining projects, pushing executive orders, and green-lighting new rare earth and mineral ventures to reduce reliance on foreign sources like China. However, the administration is simultaneously cutting clean energy policies, which are the main source of domestic demand for these minerals.
Experts warn that reducing demand for cleantech will undercut the very mineral markets the administration is trying to build, with EVs alone expected to drive 80% of battery mineral demand.
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