Sign In or Create an Account.

By continuing, you agree to the Terms of Service and acknowledge our Privacy Policy

Politics

Doug Burgum Takes Over the Interior

On Cabinent confirmations, NYC’s congestion pricing, and Orsted

Doug Burgum Takes Over the Interior
Heatmap Illustration/Getty Images

Current conditions: Flowers are blooming in Moscow as parts of Russia experience unseasonally warm weather • The UK is being battered by yet another storm after Éowyn and Herminia brought back-to-back flooding events • An atmospheric river is expected to soak Northern California this weekend.

THE TOP FIVE

1. Burgum confirmed as Interior secretary

The Cabinet confirmations continue. Doug Burgum was confirmed yesterday as the new secretary of the Interior Department, where he will be in charge of executing President Trump’s plans to “drill, baby, drill.” He’ll also oversee the National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the Bureau of Land Management. One of his first priorities will be to carry out the president’s executive order pausing new offshore wind leasing and permitting. During his confirmation hearings, Burgum suggested that “clean coal” could help with decarbonization, backed up Trump’s disdain for wind power, and dodged questions seeking reassurance about his commitment to protecting federal lands. More than half of the Senate Democrats voted for Burgum’s confirmation.

2. NYC’s congestion pricing shows ‘undeniably positive results’

President Trump is reportedly considering ways to cancel New York City’s congestion pricing. The tolling program – the first in the nation – came into effect in early January and has produced “undeniably positive results,” according to Janno Lieber, CEO of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. It has prevented some 1 million vehicles from entering lower Manhattan, significantly reduced congestion and commuting times, and made bus services more efficient. Weekday ridership on some bus routes has increased by nearly 15%, and subway ridership has grown by 7.3%. “Better bus service, faster drive times, and safer streets are good for all New Yorkers,” Lieber said.

MTA

3. DOT moves to eliminate ‘climate change’ policies

The Department of Transportation this week moved to carry out some of President Trump’s executive orders aimed at eliminating all Biden-era policies that “reference or relate in any way” to climate change, “greenhouse gas” emissions (quotes are theirs), and environmental justice. A memorandum from Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy gave all administrations and agencies operating under DOT purview 10 days to produce a written report listing any policies relating to these climate issues and then another 10 days to terminate those policies. Duffy’s order also canceled a 2023 DOT policy that required all agencies to consider climate change adaptation and resilience in planning. The DOT employs 55,000 people across various bureaus including the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the Federal Aviation Administration, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, the Federal Railroad Administration, and many others.

4. Orsted ousts Mads Nipper as CEO

Mads Nipper is out as CEO of the world’s largest offshore wind developer. Orsted is replacing Nipper tomorrow with the company’s current deputy chief executive and chief commercial officer, Rasmus Errboe. The decision comes just 10 days after Orsted announced a $1.7 billion write-down in the U.S., which it blamed on challenging economic conditions like high interest rates and general uncertainty about the offshore wind industry. Nipper’s departure isn’t all that surprising – he held on after the company announced huge impairments from abandoning some U.S. projects in 2023. The latest write-downs were the “straw that broke the camel’s back,” one source told the Financial Times. In a statement, Errboe acknowledged the “headwinds” facing the industry, and said “offshore wind remains crucial for the green transition, and we’re deeply committed to pursuing our vision of a world that runs entirely on green energy.”

5. World invested $2 trillion in energy transition last year

More than $2 trillion was invested in the global energy transition last year, according to BloombergNEF’s annual energy Transition Investment Trends report. That’s 11% more than was spent in 2023, and a new record. But … investment growth seems to be slowing, and it still falls short of the $5.6 trillion that experts say will be needed each year between now and 2030 to have a shot at reaching net zero by 2050. The report contains lots of interesting statistics. For example:

  • Decarbonizing transportation received the largest amount of investment at $757 billion. Renewable energy came in second at $728 billion, followed by power grids at $390 billion.
  • Investment in “emerging tech” like carbon capture, hydrogen, nuclear, and clean shipping fell by 23%, while investment in “proven, commercially scalable” technologies grew by nearly 15% “despite hindrance from policy decisions, higher interest rates and expected slower consumer purchasing.”
  • About 60% of the total investment in the supply chain went to batteries.
  • Climate tech fundraising was down 40% year-over-year.

THE KICKER

“If Trump makes good on his threats to tariff oil imports from Canada and Mexico, then he will cost the American oil and gas industry tens of billions of dollars while causing gasoline prices to rise across much of the country.”

–Heatmap’s Robinson Meyer on how Trump might be about to wreck U.S. oil refineries

Yellow

You’re out of free articles.

Subscribe today to experience Heatmap’s expert analysis 
of climate change, clean energy, and sustainability.
To continue reading
Create a free account or sign in to unlock more free articles.
or
Please enter an email address
By continuing, you agree to the Terms of Service and acknowledge our Privacy Policy
Adaptation

The ‘Buffer’ That Can Protect a Town from Wildfires

Paradise, California, is snatching up high-risk properties to create a defensive perimeter and prevent the town from burning again.

Homes as a wildfire buffer.
Heatmap Illustration/Getty Images

The 2018 Camp Fire was the deadliest wildfire in California’s history, wiping out 90% of the structures in the mountain town of Paradise and killing at least 85 people in a matter of hours. Investigations afterward found that Paradise’s town planners had ignored warnings of the fire risk to its residents and forgone common-sense preparations that would have saved lives. In the years since, the Camp Fire has consequently become a cautionary tale for similar communities in high-risk wildfire areas — places like Chinese Camp, a small historic landmark in the Sierra Nevada foothills that dramatically burned to the ground last week as part of the nearly 14,000-acre TCU September Lightning Complex.

More recently, Paradise has also become a model for how a town can rebuild wisely after a wildfire. At least some of that is due to the work of Dan Efseaff, the director of the Paradise Recreation and Park District, who has launched a program to identify and acquire some of the highest-risk, hardest-to-access properties in the Camp Fire burn scar. Though he has a limited total operating budget of around $5.5 million and relies heavily on the charity of local property owners (he’s currently in the process of applying for a $15 million grant with a $5 million match for the program) Efseaff has nevertheless managed to build the beginning of a defensible buffer of managed parkland around Paradise that could potentially buy the town time in the case of a future wildfire.

Keep reading...Show less
Spotlight

How the Tax Bill Is Empowering Anti-Renewables Activists

A war of attrition is now turning in opponents’ favor.

Massachusetts and solar panels.
Heatmap Illustration/Library of Congress, Getty Images

A solar developer’s defeat in Massachusetts last week reveals just how much stronger project opponents are on the battlefield after the de facto repeal of the Inflation Reduction Act.

Last week, solar developer PureSky pulled five projects under development around the western Massachusetts town of Shutesbury. PureSky’s facilities had been in the works for years and would together represent what the developer has claimed would be one of the state’s largest solar projects thus far. In a statement, the company laid blame on “broader policy and regulatory headwinds,” including the state’s existing renewables incentives not keeping pace with rising costs and “federal policy updates,” which PureSky said were “making it harder to finance projects like those proposed near Shutesbury.”

Keep reading...Show less
Yellow
Hotspots

The Midwest Is Becoming Even Tougher for Solar Projects

And more on the week’s most important conflicts around renewables.

The United States.
Heatmap Illustration/Getty Images

1. Wells County, Indiana – One of the nation’s most at-risk solar projects may now be prompting a full on moratorium.

  • Late last week, this county was teed up to potentially advance a new restrictive solar ordinance that would’ve cut off zoning access for large-scale facilities. That’s obviously bad for developers. But it would’ve still allowed solar facilities up to 50 acres and grandfathered in projects that had previously signed agreements with local officials.
  • However, solar opponents swamped the county Area Planning Commission meeting to decide on the ordinance, turning it into an over four-hour display in which many requested in public comments to outright ban solar projects entirely without a grandfathering clause.
  • It’s clear part of the opposition is inflamed over the EDF Paddlefish Solar project, which we ranked last year as one of the nation’s top imperiled renewables facilities in progress. The project has already resulted in a moratorium in another county, Huntington.
  • Although the Paddlefish project is not unique in its risks, it is what we view as a bellwether for the future of solar development in farming communities, as the Fort Wayne-adjacent county is a picturesque display of many areas across the United States. Pro-renewables advocates have sought to tamp down opposition with tactics such as a direct text messaging campaign, which I previously scooped last week.
  • Yet despite the counter-communications, momentum is heading in the other direction. At the meeting, officials ultimately decided to punt a decision to next month so they could edit their draft ordinance to assuage aggrieved residents.
  • Also worth noting: anyone could see from Heatmap Pro data that this county would be an incredibly difficult fight for a solar developer. Despite a slim majority of local support for renewable energy, the county has a nearly 100% opposition risk rating, due in no small part to its large agricultural workforce and MAGA leanings.

2. Clark County, Ohio – Another Ohio county has significantly restricted renewable energy development, this time with big political implications.

Keep reading...Show less
Yellow