RIP Norm(s) in American Energy, Carbon Removals, and Cheers

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“It’ll be between a scalpel and a sledgehammer,” said Speaker Mike Johnson, describing how Republicans might gut clean energy in the Inflation Reduction Act. After last night’s vote, it looks more like a wrecking ball.

In this episode, we talk to Maeve Allsup of Latitude Media about the damage now unfolding in Washington. From the brain drain at the Department of Energy to chaos around clean energy tax credits, Maeve has been tracking the story from inside the industry.

We also dig into the turmoil in carbon removal. Climeworks, the biggest name in the sector, is laying off staff and scaling back its US expansion. Critics are calling it the “Theranos” of climate. Is it? We speak with Robert Höglund of CDR.fyi and Milkywire, who says this is just the next phase of the hype cycle—and points to a Carbon Gap paper that helps separate signal from noise.

Cuts to clean energy. Turmoil in tech. A moment of clarity—or collapse?

And a farewell to Norm.

01:26 Tribute to George Wendt 

02:14 Elon Musk at the Qatar Economic Forum 

04:53 Interview with Robert Höglund on Carbon Removals 

05:31 Challenges in the Carbon Removal Industry 

13:19 The Gartner Hype Cycle and Carbon Removal 1

7:08 Policy and Market Dynamics 

21:49 Global Perspectives on Carbon Removal 

28:59 Interview with Maeve Alsup on Washington Developments 

30:49 Clean Tech Investments and Uncertainties 

36:00 Geographical Distribution of IRA Investments 

37:02 Surprising Early Drafts and Nuclear Concerns 

38:19 Geothermal and Tax Credit Challenges 

40:23 Uncertainty in Clean Energy Projects 

45:01 Department of Energy and Staff Resignations 

52:43 Loan Programs Office Under Scrutiny

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