Uploaded July 2025 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Is the US about to enter a new era of energy inflation? Can technological progress outpace political regression? Are we witnessing the permanent end of America's climate ambitions?
This week on Cleaning Up, Michael Liebreich sits down with Ethan Zindler, former climate counselor to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, now head of countries and policy at BloombergNEF, to dissect the dramatic shifts in US energy policy.
Fresh from the passage of the "One Big Beautiful Bill," Zindler reveals how recent legislation in the US could set back clean energy development by years, potentially undermining investments in wind, solar and electric vehicles.
There are a couple of brighter spots too, with costs in some technologies falling so rapidly that they might escape the drag of the current administration, and other technologies — like advanced geothermal and nuclear — seeing an uptick in support.
Zindler brings the latest analysis from BloombergNEF to Cleaning Up to help unpack the One Big Beautiful Bill and what it means for the future of US energy policy.
Leadership Circle:
Cleaning Up is supported by the Leadership Circle, and its founding members: Actis, Alcazar Energy, Davidson Kempner, EcoPragma Capital, EDP of Portugal, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation, SDCL and Wärtsilä. For more information on the Leadership Circle, please visit https://www.cleaningup.live.
Links and more:
• Could Trump 2.0 Roll Back The IRA? Ep181: Ethan Zindler – youtube.com/watch?v=Sf5_r3V3Vs8
• The Future of Clean Tech Under Trump — Ep198: Jigar Shah youtube.com/watch?v=PCOaF-qQ_TU
• Elon Musk and Michael’s 2007 testimony to Senate Committee on Energy & Natural Resources: energy.senate.gov/hearings/2007/3/hearing-ECF571D9-2A3E-444F-A0F0-1C18EE28FFF3
Chapters:
00:00 - Coming Up
00:52 - Introduction
04:50 - The One Big Beautiful Bill
06:25 - Impact on Red States
10:00 - Technology Forecasts
11:30 - Tax Credits
14:50 - Deliberate Ambiguity?
18:48 - Wind
20:00 - A Solar Boom?
24:35 - Batteries, Geothermal, Nuclear
27:28 - Data Centres
32:54 - Energy Inflation
38:17 - EVs
41:23 - Tesla
46:35 - No One Wants US Cars
51:08 - Minerals & Mining
55:34 - Return to Normal
01:02:57 - The World Moves On
01:06:48 - Outro
Is the US about to enter a new era of energy inflation? Can technological progress outpace political regression? Are we witnessing the permanent end of America's climate ambitions?
This week on Cleaning Up, Michael Liebreich sits down with Ethan Zindler, former climate counselor to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, now head of countries and policy at BloombergNEF, to dissect the dramatic shifts in US energy policy.
Fresh from the passage of the "One Big Beautiful Bill," Zindler reveals how recent legislation in the US could set back clean energy development by years, potentially undermining investments in wind, solar and electric vehicles.
There are a couple of brighter spots too, with costs in some technologies falling so rapidly that they might escape the drag of the current administration, and other technologies — like advanced geothermal and nuclear — seeing an uptick in support.
Zindler brings the latest analysis from BloombergNEF to Cleaning Up to help unpack the One Big Beautiful Bill and what it means for the future of US energy policy.
Leadership Circle:
Cleaning Up is supported by the Leadership Circle, and its founding members: Actis, Alcazar Energy, Davidson Kempner, EcoPragma Capital, EDP of Portugal, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation, SDCL and Wärtsilä. For more information on the Leadership Circle, please visit https://www.cleaningup.live.
Links and more:
• Could Trump 2.0 Roll Back The IRA? Ep181: Ethan Zindler – youtube.com/watch?v=Sf5_r3V3Vs8
• The Future of Clean Tech Under Trump — Ep198: Jigar Shah youtube.com/watch?v=PCOaF-qQ_TU
• Elon Musk and Michael’s 2007 testimony to Senate Committee on Energy & Natural Resources: energy.senate.gov/hearings/2007/3/hearing-ECF571D9-2A3E-444F-A0F0-1C18EE28FFF3
Chapters:
00:00 - Coming Up
00:52 - Introduction
04:50 - The One Big Beautiful Bill
06:25 - Impact on Red States
10:00 - Technology Forecasts
11:30 - Tax Credits
14:50 - Deliberate Ambiguity?
18:48 - Wind
20:00 - A Solar Boom?
24:35 - Batteries, Geothermal, Nuclear
27:28 - Data Centres
32:54 - Energy Inflation
38:17 - EVs
41:23 - Tesla
46:35 - No One Wants US Cars
51:08 - Minerals & Mining
55:34 - Return to Normal
01:02:57 - The World Moves On
01:06:48 - Outro
