Wrote for @heatmap.news with @narayansub.bsky.social about a largely forgotten effort at American energy industrial policy—the Energy Security Act of 1980—and the lessons it holds for new efforts today: heatmap.news/ideas/energy...
Yes!
The Quad must move beyond fragmented supply chain coordination and articulate a shared vision for energy cooperation, Larry W. Schwartz and Narayan Subramanian argue.
In addition to the AI Action Plan, a few new AI-related EOs out this evening. The most interesting for energy nerds is the Data Center Infrastructure EO.
www.whitehouse.gov/presidential...
Trying to reduce dependence on Chinese supply chains and bolster U.S. and allied manufacturing makes total sense. But the bill will do the opposite by undercutting U.S. energy supply and manufacturing with a web of unworkable red tape.
The Senate text on energy removes the stackability provision in the 45X manufacturing credit (i.e. a manufacturer could get the credit for every segment of a value chain) discouraging vertical integration - the thing that PRC firms benefit most from: www.utilitydive.com/news/china-v...
Check out this really clear piece from @narayansub.bsky.social on a part of our industrial strategy that really was working. And that the current admin is walking away from. Which will make us poorer and will just entrench the global leadership of China. Shame.
foreignpolicy.com/2025/06/05/e...
Latest w/ @milomcbride.bsky.social: “The U.S. is at a strategic crossroads on whether it can compete in the global EV market, innovate next-gen batteries, and secure mineral supply chains. The first step is recognizing that all three imperatives are intertwined.”
foreignpolicy.com/2025/06/05/e...
Why even bother with long-run economic change & industrial policy if you don't get the chance to see it through?
Biden went all in on economic change, giving other progressives confidence to back things like industrial policy. But after the Democrats loss many are questioning whether it's worth it?
The House bill is anything but a recipe for energy dominance, security, or affordability. Everything you need to know here:
#EnergySky: Any and all DOE probationary employees, here’s your memo of reinstatement. Hope you come back and work for the department. Your voice, knowledge, and ethic are incredibly important to the ongoing effort to transition our country’s energy system: www.energy.gov/hc/office-ch...
Nice shoutout from @robinsonmeyer.bsky.social of the Hanford 2GW solar + storage project part of DOE’s Cleanup to Clean Energy initiative. Wonk alert: this project uses Atomic Energy Act leasing authorities !
Yup, and organizations like the Environmental Law Institute continue to train govt officials from other countries on the success of Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act programs and how they can be replicated.
And agency officials should be aware that assessing or ensuring “compliance” with an EO alone does not constitute sufficient cause to cancel awards that have already been granted—nor does retroactively applying new criteria or pretextually searching for alternative justifications. 6/6
All to say, awardees should stand firm if any federal agency tries to outright cancel an award or slow down disbursements without clear legal justification. 5/x
3. The Fifth Amendment Due Process Clause gives an awardee the right to challenge an award cancellation that was arbitrary/lacked proper notice + deprived the awardee of a vested property interest. 4/x
2. The Fifth Amendment Takings Clause can entitle an awardee to “just compensation” where a federal agency retroactively cancels an award without sufficient cause and the awardee has vested financial interests (e.g. project costs/lost investments). 3/x
1. The Tucker Act allows awardees to file suit in the Court of Federal Claims for monetary damages when a federal agency breaches an “express or implied contract with the United States.” 2/x
While the confusion persists on the federal funding “pause” and rumors of widespread grant award cancellations, it’s worth flagging potential statutory and constitutional claims awardees can bring:
1/x
For decades, the US government has painstakingly kept American science #1 globally—and every facet of American life has improved because of it. The internet? Flu shot? Ozempic? All grew out of federally-funded research. Now all that's being dismantled. 1/ www.technologyreview.com/2025/02/21/1...
Today we @nzpolicylab.bsky.social are launching our geopolitical brief on Brazil's opportunities in the energy transition.
Brazil has the potential to be a great power in the new energy order. But to do that, it will need a focused industrial policy.
www.netzeropolicylab.com/brazil-new-w...
Everyone seems to be framing Trump's freeze on federal grants as a Constitutional fight over powers of the purse & whether presidents can disregard Congressional appropriations. It is that. But also at stake is the fundamental validity of government contracts! I see much less discussion on this... 🧵
Cannot emphasize this more. Please give this thread a read. The same story is playing out with DOE-funded projects—tens of billions of dollars of awarded *contracts* tied up as a result of the “pause.” This will have ripple effects across the economy and companies/NGOs/states should make it known.
Brought to you by the IRA's clean energy tax credits.
If you’re in the US and you’d like to know what projects and vital services federal grants currently fund in your state, you can search here: www.usaspending.gov
And you can find the contact information for your elected representatives here: www.usa.gov/elected-offi...
They need to hear from you.
Hot tip: if you do a google search and hit a 404 page when clicking on a Whitehouse.gov link, just add "biden" to the front of the URL: "bidenwhitehouse.gov/XXX"
“Germany should support EU protection of viable European industrial sectors facing an onslaught as a result of China’s active industrial policies. At the same time, it should allow cheap imports in areas where Europe has little to no manufacturing.” IEA’s tech perspectives report Ch6 is good on this
Imagine the results in four years if the new admin simply just continued the implementation of BIL, IRA, and CHIPS….would be legacy-defining for any president.
Great read from @amyturner.bsky.social if you’re looking for more analysis on what the practical impact of the day 1 energy EOs will be:
Should be safe considering the national energy emergency declaration explicitly calls out geothermal.