Alexander C. Kaufman

we are so back

The Trump administration's push for nuclear power The Department of Energy has loaned billions of dollars to companies that own reactors.

I was on NPR this morning talking about the Trump administration's push for more nuclear energy.

Thanks to @the1a.org's Jenn White for asking sharp questions and curating such nuanced viewpoints from listeners who called in.

You can listen to the show here:

the1a.org/segments/the...

Secretary Wright tweeted that the US Navy escorted an oil tanker through the Strait of Hormuz, a headline that got blasted out across all the wire services.

And then he promptly deleted the tweet.

Global Wind Installations Hit Record High as Momentum Shifts to Asia On oil’s dip, Arizona renewables, and space mirrors

TODAY in Heatmap AM:

↘️ Oil falls back to $90 a barrel
🌬️ Global wind installations had record 2025, up 38%
🚀 Startup asks FCC to approve launching solar mirrors into space

Get plugged in on all that and more from @alexckaufman.bsky.social:

heatmap.news/am/global-wi...

Chile's outgoing leftist government is rushing out the country's latest hydrogen energy strategy before the new right-wing president takes power.

www.hydrogeninsight.com/policy/chile...

Coal power 'last resort' if Middle East gas supply difficult: Minister - Focus Taiwan Minister of Economic Affairs Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) said on Thursday that coal-fired power generation could be used as a "last resort" if natural gas supply becomes difficult amid the ongoing conflict i...

Interesting to see this public consideration of restarting coal power there are issues with gas supply

focustaiwan.tw/business/202...

Trump’s Renewables Permitting Thaw Is Also a Legal Strategy The administration has begun shuffling projects forward as court challenges against the freeze heat up.

Scoop: I’ve learned the solar permitting thaw is real, according to documents I can exclusively report.

Contrary to what MAGAworld and beltway pundits want you to think,

It’s probably a maneuver for Trump to avoid losing in federal court.

Via @heatmap.news

#greensky #energysky #climatesky

Bill Gates’ TerraPower Gets Nuclear Regulators’ Green Light On lithium demand, coal, and compressed air energy storage

NEW in Heatmap AM:

✅ NRC approves fourth-generation nuclear reactor for construction
📈 Lithium demand to hit 13 M tonnes by 2050
🇨🇳 China commissions world’s largest compressed air storage plant

Study up on the latest climate news from @alexckaufman.bsky.social:

heatmap.news/am/terrapowe...

Clean Energy Stocks Aren’t Yet Seeing a Boost From the Iran War On Qatari aluminum, floating offshore wind, and Taiwanese nuclear

In today’s Heatmap AM:

🇶🇦 Qatari aluminum smelter shuts down due to Iran War
🧪 A solar manufacturer spills 300 gallons of chemicals
⚡ A Quebec company claims it can stop lightning

Catch up on all the latest stories with @alexckaufman.bsky.social:

heatmap.news/am/iran-clea...

This Offshore Wind Turbine Will House a Data Center Underwater Norway is getting an offshore floating wind turbine that will house a data center in its hull.

This Offshore Wind Turbine Will House a Data Center Underwater > Startup Aikido plans to launch a prototype in the North Sea - @alexckaufman.bsky.social @spectrum.ieee.org

spectrum.ieee.org/data-center-...

Independent Journalism Atlas A comprehensive directory of independent journalists and creators, mapping the new landscape of independent journalism worldwide.

Want an easy way to find energy and climate newsletters like @sammyroth.bsky.social's Climate-Colored Goggles, @volts.wtf, @alexckaufman.bsky.social's Field Notes, my own @quittingcarbon.bsky.social - or ones on any other topic? Search the Independent Journalism Atlas: journalismatlas.com 🔌💡

Oil and Gas Prices Surge as Trump Warns of Prolonged War in Iran On BlackRock’s AES buy, Chinese solar, and Canadian uranium

Heatmap AM’s top stories:

👆 Oil and gas prices surge as war in Iran has no end in sight
💰 BlackRock buys utility heavyweight AES
☀️ China’s solar generation, up 40% from last year, overtakes its wind sector

Peruse the top news from @alexckaufman.bsky.social:

heatmap.news/am/trump-ira...

Update:

Nothing quite like waking up to a war you have been warned about your entire life.

Trump Makes Headway on Plan to Build 10 New Large Reactors On the solar siege, New York’s climate law, and radioactive data center

In Friday’s Heatmap AM:

☢️ Energy Department in talks on 10 new large reactors
🌤️ Trump admin starts reviewing new solar projects
👎 Support for data centers is deep underwater

Finish out your workweek with the top stories from @alexckaufman.bsky.social:

heatmap.news/am/trump-nuc...

Solar and Nuclear Both Must Live. Energy Technology Fanaticism Needs to Die. Why Solar Optimism and Solarmaxxing Are Not the Same Thing

¿Por que no los dos? www.breakthroughjournal.org/p/solar-and-...

Coining a new phrase this morning: Reactor realism.

Reactor realists recognize the need to build more of the large-scale reactors we actually know how to construct and operate while simultaneously developing of next-gen tech.

It's about re-learning to ride a bike before attempting to unicycle.

The speed with which American voters are turning against data centers is breathtaking.

One comparison might be what happened to nuclear after the doublewhammy of "The China Syndrome" debuting days before Three Mile Island, except there's no equivalent in terms of Hollywood or industrial accidents.

Scoop: Energy Department Meeting With Utilities, Developers on Trump’s Nuclear Plans The public-private project aims to help realize the president’s goal of building 10 new reactors by 2030.

Great @robinsonmeyer.bsky.social scoop on the efforts the Trump administration is going to help Westinghouse sell 10 more AP1000s.

heatmap.news/energy/trump...

a big bet on a fusion company that's *not* gunning for a commercial reactor anytime soon, but is already making money today by producing medical isotopes

Remind me next time you come over to show you my collection of his newspaper dispatches from his time in New York.

Shine Technologies Raises Nearly a Quarter of a Billion Dollars for Commercial Fusion That doesn’t mean it plans to produce electricity anytime soon.

Scoop in @heatmap.news: Shine Technologies, the fusion company that's producing medical isotopes and plans to get into spent nuclear recycling, just raised $240 million.

63% of the funding came from Patrick Soon-Shiong, the biotech billionaire who owns the LA Times. heatmap.news/climate-tech...

The European Union has launched the world’s first emissions-based tariff—the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism.🌍

Joe Hezir spoke with @alexckaufman.bsky.social for @canarymedia.com about CBAM and the future of a low-carbon economy.

www.canarymedia.com/articles/emi...

The Energy Department is financing the uprating of the two older reactors at Southern Company's Plant Vogtle.

Outside may be interminable winter. But inside Château Kaufman the pre-war radiators are creating the conditions to sprout dragonfruit seeds.

Blizzard Blackout Hits More Than Half a Million Homes On geoengineering, Boston Metal’s setback, and French fusion

In today’s Heatmap AM:

❄️ Half a million in U.S. lost power in blizzard
👨‍⚖️ Supreme Court to hear Exxon Mobil case vs. Boulder
🌎 NRDC starts geoengineering research project

Read all the top stories from @alexckaufman.bsky.social:

heatmap.news/am/blizzard-...

Mississippi's governor on the data center backlash:

"I understand individuals who would rather not have any industrial project in their backyard... I do not understand the impulse to prevent our country from advancing technologically—except as civilizational suicide."

Green steelmaker Boston Metal to cut jobs following equipment failure The startup’s critical metals business missed a key milestone due to an incident at its Brazil plant, leading it to lose financing and lay off 71 U.S.…

Via @mariagallucci.bsky.social: www.canarymedia.com/articles/gre...

Boston Metal suffered "unforeseen critical equipment failure." No injured workers, no environmental damage. But now the green-steel startup had financing conditioned on hitting certain operational milestones that are now impossible, so it has to lay off nearly one-quarter of its global workforce.

Scooplet in this morning's Heatmap AM:

The California bill to lift the 50-year moratorium on new nuclear reactors has some new supporters since its introduction on Friday.