zcolman.bsky.social
Zack Colman
@zcolman.bsky.social
5K followers 870 following 150 posts
POLITICO climate & energy reporter SIGNAL: zcolman.75
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zcolman.bsky.social
Zack Colman @zcolman.bsky.social · 16h
Big ups to @catherineaallen.bsky.social who helped with the analysis and the many colleagues who had a hand creating the great graphics in this story
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zcolman.bsky.social
Zack Colman @zcolman.bsky.social · 16h
Anyway I’m on vacation so truly don’t @ me, just read the story
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zcolman.bsky.social
Zack Colman @zcolman.bsky.social · 16h
Trump & his Cabinet say wind & solar are making electricity more expensive.

Federal data say the opposite.

Our analysis showed states w/ > avg wind/solar generation & > avg acceleration of wind/solar since ‘21 were likelier to have < avg power prices.

www.politico.com/news/2025/10...
The government’s own data rebuts Trump’s claims about wind and solar prices
The Trump administration has targeted renewable energy for driving up electricity prices, but POLITICO’s analysis shows states that are growing their wind and solar power typically have lower power co...
www.politico.com
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Reposted by Zack Colman
politico.com
Politico @politico.com · 20h
Green power is sometimes the cheapest power — despite what Trump says.

The Trump administration has targeted renewable energy for driving up electricity prices, but our analysis shows states that are growing their wind and solar power typically have lower power costs.
Green power is sometimes the cheapest power — despite what Trump says
The Trump administration has targeted renewable energy for driving up electricity prices, but POLITICO’s analysis shows states that are growing their wind and solar power typically have lower power co...
www.politico.com
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Reposted by Zack Colman
bkingdc.bsky.social
Bob King @bkingdc.bsky.social · 8d
Scoop by @zcolman.bsky.social for @politico.com: A Trump administration plan to boost civilian nuclear power would harvest the plutonium "pits" manufactured for nuclear weapons — raising concerns about the impact to U.S. defenses:

www.politico.com/news/2025/09...
Trump’s nuclear power push stirs worries about US weapons stockpile
The scramble to build new reactors to supply power to AI data centers may include plutonium from the nation’s nuclear deterrent.
www.politico.com
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zcolman.bsky.social
Zack Colman @zcolman.bsky.social · 8d
The upshot of this story: As Trump pursues a sincere desire to revive the nuclear industry, his promises to nuclear power developers are running into conflict with national security concerns.

Lots of previously unreported docs & communications put that on display in the story.
zcolman.bsky.social
Zack Colman @zcolman.bsky.social · 8d
Oklo said Wright is not playing favorites, noting he has broadly promoted a next generation nuclear power technologies.

DOE said Wright divested and resigned from anything that would appear to create a conflict of interest before he took the DOE role.
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zcolman.bsky.social
Zack Colman @zcolman.bsky.social · 8d
One company that stands to benefit is Oklo, one of the most prominent of new wave nuclear power companies.

It is the most public about its desires to use plutonium as a bridge fuel.

Energy Sec. Chris Wright sat on its board until he took over the department.
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zcolman.bsky.social
Zack Colman @zcolman.bsky.social · 8d
The Trump admin has considered diverting plutonium that supports the nation's nuclear weapons arsenal to energy companies, raising national security concerns within the government.

I've got exclusive details here:

www.politico.com/news/2025/09...
Trump’s nuclear power push stirs worries about US weapons stockpile
The scramble to build new reactors to supply power to AI data centers may include plutonium from the nation’s nuclear deterrent.
www.politico.com
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zcolman.bsky.social
Zack Colman @zcolman.bsky.social · 9d
Now free to read:

www.politico.com/news/2025/09...
Energy Dept. adds ‘climate change’ and ‘emissions’ to banned words list
It is the latest in a series of Trump administration efforts to dispute, silence or downplay climate change.
www.politico.com
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zcolman.bsky.social
Zack Colman @zcolman.bsky.social · 9d
Now on the Energy Dept’s banned words list: “Climate change,” “green” and “emissions.”

subscriber.politicopro.com/article/2025...
POLITICO Pro: Energy Dept. adds ‘climate change’ and ‘emissions’ to banned words list
It is the latest in a series of Trump administration efforts to dispute, silence or downplay climate change.
subscriber.politicopro.com
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zcolman.bsky.social
Zack Colman @zcolman.bsky.social · 12d
Trump admin is planning to expand its use of emergency orders requiring coal, oil and gas power plants to run past their retirement dates.

Details here:

subscriber.politicopro.com/article/2025...
POLITICO Pro: Trump Energy Department eyes new must-run orders for power plants
The White House is concerned the retirement of any power plant able to produce round-the-clock “baseload” power would harm President Donald Trump’s economic goals.
subscriber.politicopro.com
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Reposted by Zack Colman
joannalewis.bsky.social
Joanna Lewis @joannalewis.bsky.social · 13d
China NDC for 2035
-Net economy wide GHG emissions by 7-10% from peak levels
Increase share of non-fossil fuels in total energy consumption to over 30%
-Expand installed capacity of wind and solar power to over 6x the 2020 levels, striving to bring the total to 3600 GW
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zcolman.bsky.social
Zack Colman @zcolman.bsky.social · 13d
Energy Sec. Chris Wright said Trump admin will "probably" provide credit support to $44B Alaska LNG project that has struggled to attract private investors.

subscriber.politicopro.com/article/2025...
POLITICO Pro: Wright: DOE likely to offer Alaska LNG credit support
The Trump administration is exploring ways to bring the Alaska project to fruition given its struggles to attract funding
subscriber.politicopro.com
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zcolman.bsky.social
Zack Colman @zcolman.bsky.social · 15d
Trump's election and rapid-fire dismantling of environmental rules stunned the climate movement into inaction.

Green groups are now re-emerging with contrasting visions for activism that will look different than the Resistance era.

My latest here:

www.politico.com/news/2025/09...
Shell-shocked green movement searches for how to counter Trump
Environmental groups that have watched President Donald Trump shred their climate victories are beset by internal divides, slumping fund-raising and a debate on how to fight back.
www.politico.com
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zcolman.bsky.social
Zack Colman @zcolman.bsky.social · 27d
DOE dissolved the Climate Working Group that wrote a report criticizing long-established climate science.

Department argued in court the move should shelve a lawsuit that the group violated federal law.

subscriber.politicopro.com/article/2025...
POLITICO Pro: DOE says it dissolved research group that wrote its controversial climate report
The department said the end of the Climate Working Group means environmental groups' complaint over alleged Federal Advisory Committee Act violations is no longer valid.
subscriber.politicopro.com
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zcolman.bsky.social
Zack Colman @zcolman.bsky.social · Aug 27
Former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski is personally reviewing FEMA contracts, where his virtual veto power is slowing routine decisions & operations, admin officials told @myahward.bsky.social and I.

www.politico.com/news/2025/08...
Lewandowski’s veto power over DHS contracts frustrates admin officials: ‘Corey is part of the problem’
His involvement has contributed to a bottleneck at the agency that has rankled members of the administration.
www.politico.com
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zcolman.bsky.social
Zack Colman @zcolman.bsky.social · Aug 22
It's a small drop in the bucket for the region's needs. Some project developers have secured other financing, but at higher interest rates than GGRF would have provided -- meaning they had to curtail plans, meaning they provide less for a region that needs a lot.
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zcolman.bsky.social
Zack Colman @zcolman.bsky.social · Aug 22
By one estimate, the hold on grants has shelved $256m of projects earmarked for Appalachia. Appalachian Community Capital was slated to get $500m from GGRF. It had received $64m of applications for Helene-stricken areas that figured to leverage 4x investment.
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zcolman.bsky.social
Zack Colman @zcolman.bsky.social · Aug 22
That's curtailed housing projects in places like western NC, which was already suffering from a housing affordability crisis even before Helene wiped thousands of homes off the map.
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zcolman.bsky.social
Zack Colman @zcolman.bsky.social · Aug 22
No one wants to say these projects are dead amid a legal battle over the grants -- a federal appellate ruling is due in days.

But the throttled cash has caused project developers to quietly walk away, or to significantly scale back plans.
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zcolman.bsky.social
Zack Colman @zcolman.bsky.social · Aug 22
Trump pledged to help Appalachia recover from Hurricane Helene.

But projects to build housing & lower utility bills there have been downsized & paused as his EPA withholds $20B of Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund grants.

Read more here: subscriber.politicopro.com/article/2025...
POLITICO Pro: How Trump's move to kill clean energy cash is stunting Helene recovery
EPA's termination of a key grant program has forced the scaling back of programs to address housing shortages and reduce energy bills in rural Appalachia.
subscriber.politicopro.com
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zcolman.bsky.social
Zack Colman @zcolman.bsky.social · Aug 8
To be sure: No one is defending using any supplies w/ forced labor. Qcells said it doesn't & is confident CBP will release their cells.

But it lays bare the vulnerability of sourcing key inputs from abroad -- and underscores the dearth of near-term options in the U.S.
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zcolman.bsky.social
Zack Colman @zcolman.bsky.social · Aug 8
Solar faces fresh headwinds as Trump ramps up enforcement of a trade law intended to keep goods made w/ Chinese forced labor out of the US.

It's already slowing some imports -- CBP is holding Qcells polysilicon cells at Port of Long Beach.

subscriber.politicopro.com/article/2025...
POLITICO Pro: Solar imports caught in Trump crackdown on Chinese forced labor
U.S. Customs and Border Protection data showed a sharp uptick in detentions of solar cells, modules and other electronics under a law intended to block goods linked to human rights abuses.
subscriber.politicopro.com
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zcolman.bsky.social
Zack Colman @zcolman.bsky.social · Aug 6
A Republican governor has joined the intraparty conflict over the Trump's wind & solar policies.

NV Gov Lombardo told Interior Sec Burgum his order has "frozen" solar projects on federal, state & private land -- and urged Burgum to soften restrictions.

subscriber.politicopro.com/article/2025...
POLITICO Pro: Interior’s restrictions have ‘frozen’ solar projects in Nevada, Republican governor tells Burgum
Gov. Joe Lombardo’s letter is one of the first public examples of Republican state leaders echoing Senate GOP moderates’ complaints about the Trump administration’s clampdown on clean power.
subscriber.politicopro.com
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