This Week in Cleantech is a new-ish weekly podcast covering the most impactful stories in cleantech and climate in 15 minutes or less.
This week’s episode features Camila Domonoske from NPR, who wrote about how under a second Trump administration, an “all-of-the-above” energy policy is likely to return, meaning support for oil, gas, and renewable energy sources together.
This week’s “Cleantecher of the Week,” is Kevin Minton, Vice President of Spruce Power, who represented the company on a mission to a small village in Kenya. Over the course of three days, they installed two solar arrays, inverters, and batteries to power facilities, including a schoolhouse, a dispensary, and a small hospital room. These systems also supported laptops for children to learn and televisions for instructional videos. Congratulations, Kevin!
1. The Israeli Investigator Who Delivered Dirt on Exxon’s Enemies — The Wall Street Journal
Eitan Arusy, a former Israeli intelligence officer, gained fame for uncovering a terror-financing operation and using non-public information in litigation and geopolitical disputes. Now, Arusy is under investigation for his role in a network of Israeli investigators involved in illegal hacking and leaking private documents, including emails and private calendars, to discredit critics of Exxon Mobil.
One case happened in 2016, when Exxon faced a public campaign accusing the company of knowing about climate change for decades, but hiding it from the public. Arusy obtained a private memo describing a meeting between environmentalists aiming to, “establish in the public’s mind that Exxon is a corrupt institution.” When this memo was leaked to the media, Exxon argued this was evidence that environmentalists were behind a scheme to start investigations into the oil company.
2. Does talking about climate ‘tipping points’ inspire action — or defeat? — Grist
It is a popular concept that as we heat up the planet, we risk hitting certain irreversible thresholds called “tipping points”, past which natural systems enter a self-reinforcing warming cycle. This would mean climate change spiraling out of control even if we completely stopped burning fossil fuels.
A new paper in Nature Climate Change argues that this thinking is both imprecise and can leave people feeling defeated instead of motivated to act. Other scientists argue that the tipping point threat is well established, but it’s not clear how close we are to triggering them.
The tipping point concept is often connected to the Paris goal of limiting warming to 1.5°C, but there’s no consensus that this is a hard threshold. If we hit the 1.5°C mark and no tipping point is set off, scientists could lose credibility at a time when we are facing the dangers of climate change.
3. What 4 Years of Delay Means to an Offshore Wind Project — Heatmap News
Despite Trump’s win, climate advocates want to see clean energy projects continue advancing at a state and local level, but some projects may rely on continued federal support. Trump’s threats to offshore wind have cast doubt on plans to convert New York City’s Ravenswood power plant, a major polluter, into a clean energy hub. The project relies on a 1,400 MW offshore wind farm, which is now paused due to regulatory uncertainty from Trump’s threats, but has plans to come back in 4 years.
Ravenswood was set to replace its generators with offshore wind, battery storage, and renewable power, promising cleaner air and local jobs. But without the wind farm, the timeline for those benefits remains unclear.
Watch the full episode on YouTube
4. Chinese Carmakers Are Taking Mexico by Storm While Eyeing U.S. — The New York Times
In Mexico City, Chinese EV company BYD has a makeshift dealership selling EVs for about $18,000 — $10,000 less than the cheapest EV available to Americans. Chinese carmakers face U.S. tariffs that double the cost of imported vehicles and they are not manufacturing enough vehicles in Mexico to export across the border. However, BYD might use Mexico as an on-ramp into the States in the near future.
Right now, BYD’s vehicles exported from Mexico would have a hard time registering in the U.S. because they have yet to meet American safety standards. Plus, Trump has threatened 25% tariffs on all Mexican products, including cars. At some point, U.S. car buyers may question why they cannot purchase inexpensive EVs available across the border.
5. Under Trump, an ‘all of the above’ energy policy is poised for a comeback — NPR
Under a second Trump administration, an “all-of-the-above” energy policy is likely to return, meaning support for oil, gas, and renewable energy sources together. While Trump’s rhetoric focuses on expanding domestic fossil fuel production—”drill, baby, drill”—Republicans are framing renewables as tools for energy security and job creation rather than climate solutions.
Renewable energy—now cheaper than fossil fuels—may continue to grow under a rebranded, non-“green” narrative that resonates with Republican priorities.