Shift Key with Robinson Meyer

The United States and Iran have agreed to a ceasefire in Iran, and energy markets responded with jubilation — at least initially. Every major Wall Street index surged on Wednesday, and U.S. oil prices fell.But the actual situation on the ground is far more ambiguous, huge questions remain about the truce, and the Strait of Hormuz is as closed today as it has been since the beginning of the war.On this episode of Shift Key, Rob is joined by Rory Johnston, a longtime oil analyst, repeat Shift Key guest, and the author of the Commodity Context newsletter. We talk about why Iran gains from extending the ceasefire, where the pressure in the global energy system is building up, and what could happen next. We also talk about why the Midwest has the cheapest gasoline in the world right now.Shift Key is hosted by Robinson Meyer, the founding executive editor of Heatmap News.You can find a full transcript of the episode here.Mentioned:Why the Real Oil Crisis Hasn’t Started YetIran’s planned toll for the Strait of Hormuz is a $2.33 per ton carbon taxChina Is the Big Winner of the Iran CeasefireRory’s previous appearance on Shift Key: Why Trump’s Oil Imperialism Might Be a Tough Sell for Actual Oil Companies--This episode of Shift Key is sponsored by ...Lunar Energy is building the technology to turn homes into active participants in the power system. Learn more about Lunar’s vision of the future at lunarenergy.com.Music for Shift Key is by Adam Kromelow. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How do utilities decide what they want — and need — to build? It’s one of the most important problems driving the data center and clean energy conversations right now. But it’s hard to get a sense of what constraints and ideas actually drive utility decisionmaking from the inside.Alice Yake is the vice president of GRIDS at Breakthrough Energy, and the former senior vice president of system strategy and chief planning officer at Xcel Energy in Colorado. On this episode of Shift Key, she walks us through a half century of the grid’s biggest decisions — what constraints utilities and planners thought they faced, what choices they made, and what it means for the future. She also discusses Breakthrough’s work to build an open-source grid planning tool and how it couldShift Key is hosted by Robinson Meyer, the founding executive editor of Heatmap News.You can find a full transcript of the episode here.Mentioned:California Burning, by Katherine BluntJesse’s paper on uncertainty-aware grid planning in the real worldJames Bonbright’s landmark work on public utility rates--This episode of Shift Key is sponsored by ...Lunar Energy is building the technology to turn homes into active participants in the power system. Learn more about Lunar’s vision of the future at lunarenergy.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Electricity prices rose faster than overall inflation last year. Yet at the local level, it’s been difficult to know why. Is it data centers? Renewables? Aging infrastructure? Or something else more mysterious? Everyone in the political system — including senior Trump officials — wants to blame their favorite energy bugbear. But if we actually want to fix the problem, getting the real answer matters.Now, Heatmap and MIT’s Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research are teaming up to answer this critical question. On this episode of Shift Key, Rob announces the launch of the Electricity Price Hub, a new public data platform that provides monthly, utility-level estimates of residential electricity rates and bills across the United States going back to 2021, broken down by generation, transmission, and distribution costs.Joining Rob to discuss the tool are Brian Deese, an MIT Institute Innovation Fellow and the former director of the White House National Economic Council under President Biden, and Lauren Sidner, a senior advisor at MIT's Center for Energy and Environmental Policy who previously served as a senior advisor to U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry.Shift Key is hosted by Robinson Meyer, the founding executive editor of Heatmap News.You can find a full transcript of the episode here.Mentioned:What Americans Really Pay For Electricity, by Brian Deese and Robinson MeyerFactors Influencing Recent Trends in Retail Electricity Prices in the United StatesRob’s piece on power prices from last year: How Electricity Got to Be So Expensive--This episode of Shift Key is sponsored by …Heatmap Pro brings all of our research, reporting, and insights down to the local level. The software platform tracks all local opposition to clean energy and data centers, forecasts community sentiment, and guides data-driven engagement campaigns. today to see the premier intelligence platform for project permitting and community engagement. Book a demo today to see the premier intelligence platform for project permitting and community engagement.Music for Shift Key is by Adam Kromelow. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Since Democrats swept to statewide victories in Georgia and New Jersey last year by campaigning against high power prices, “electricity affordability” has been the watchword for climate-concerned politicians everywhere. But what can states and cities actually do to bring down power prices?The Federation of American Scientists, through its new Center for Regulatory Ingenuity, has a new report out on Tuesday about how to make it happen — and speed up clean energy deployment at the same time. On this episode of Shift Key, Rob is joined by Arjun Krishnaswami, a senior advisor at FAS and the new report’s lead author. He was previously a senior policy advisor for clean energy infrastructure in the Biden White House; before that, he was a special advisor to the chief of staff at the U.S. Department of Energy.Shift Key is hosted by Robinson Meyer, the founding executive editor of Heatmap News.You can find a full transcript of the episode here.Mentioned:CELS Playbook: Clean Electricity for Local and State GovernmentsPreviously in Heatmap: How Electricity Got So ExpensivePreviously on Shift Key: A New Theory About Why Biden’s Big Climate Law Failed--This episode of Shift Key is sponsored by …Accelerate your clean energy career with Yale’s online certificate programs. Explore the 10-month Financing and Deploying Clean Energy program or the 5-month Clean and Equitable Energy Development program. Use referral code HeatMap26 and get your application in by the priority deadline for $500 off tuition to one of Yale’s online certificate programs in clean energy. Learn more at cbey.yale.edu/online-learning-opportunities.Music for Shift Key is by Adam Kromelow. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We are now nearly a month into the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran. The conflict has lasted much longer than some energy experts initially expected — and it has built up an unprecedented crisis that is set to cascade from Asia to the rest of the world.On this episode of Shift Key, Rob chats in Houston with Karim Fawaz, an oil and refineries expert and a director in the energy and natural resources group at S&P Global Energy.Rob and Karim discuss whether the world is already locked into an energy crisis — even if Trump ends the war now. They also talk about why jet fuel has been particularly hard hit and how this crisis could reshape the long-term trajectory of the energy industry — and even of climate change itself.This episode was recorded on the sidelines of CERAWeek by S&P Global, the big annual energy conference in Houston, Texas. Shift Key is hosted by Robinson Meyer, the founding executive editor of Heatmap News.You can find a full transcript of the episode here.Mentioned:Previously on Shift Key: Why the Iran War Is a Warning for Natural GasAlso on Heatmap: The Energy Supply Shock of the Iran War Changes Everything--This episode of Shift Key is sponsored by …Accelerate your clean energy career with Yale’s online certificate programs. Explore the 10-month Financing and Deploying Clean Energy program or the 5-month Clean and Equitable Energy Development program. Use referral code HeatMap26 and get your application in by the priority deadline for $500 off tuition to one of Yale’s online certificate programs in clean energy. Learn more at cbey.yale.edu/online-learning-opportunities.Music for Shift Key is by Adam Kromelow. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The new draft of China’s five year plan is here, and the news isn’t all good for climate advocates. Although China vows to expand its gigantic “clean energy bases” in the plan, it has actually walked back some of its biggest climate goals since 2021. The new plan also contains a mysterious — and politically convenient — change to one of its most important emissions estimates.On this episode of Shift Key, Rob is joined by Lauri Myllyvirta, the lead analyst and co-founder of the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air and one of the world’s top experts on Chinese emissions outside China. Rob and Lauri discuss whether China is creating a new kind of energy hegemony, what really drives the country’s energy strategy, and how the new war in Iran could affect its plans.Shift Key is hosted by Robinson Meyer, the founding executive editor of Heatmap News.You can find a full transcript of the episode here.Mentioned:Previously on Shift Key: Have China’s Emissions Already Peaked?China’s 15th Five-Year Plan — Implications for climate and energy transition, by Lauri Myllyvirta and Belinda SchäpeChina Can’t Decide If It Wants to Be the World’s First ‘Electrostate’--This episode of Shift Key is sponsored by …Accelerate your clean energy career with Yale’s online certificate programs. Explore the 10-month Financing and Deploying Clean Energy program or the 5-month Clean and Equitable Energy Development program. Use referral code HeatMap26 and get your application in by the priority deadline for $500 off tuition to one of Yale’s online certificate programs in clean energy. Learn more at cbey.yale.edu/online-learning-opportunities.Music for Shift Key is by Adam Kromelow. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Last week saw what is likely the biggest U.S. electric vehicle launch of the year: the Rivian R2, which will go on sale this spring. It’s absurdly well-timed, given surging gasoline prices. But can it carve out enough of a niche to compete?On this episode of Shift Key, Rob is joined by Jesse Jenkins in his new role as occasional guest cohost. Rob and Jesse discuss the Rivian R2, what the Strait of Hormuz closure could mean for global energy markets, and why the power grid is failing the data center test.Shift Key is hosted by Robinson Meyer, the founding executive editor of Heatmap News.You can find a full transcript of the episode here.Mentioned:Rivian’s Make-or-Break EV Now Has a Price, Range, and Release DatePreviously on Shift Key: Why the Iran War Is a Warning for Natural GasJesse’s report with Camus and Encord: Flexible Data Centers: A Faster, More Affordable Path to Power--This episode of Shift Key is sponsored by …Accelerate your clean energy career with Yale’s online certificate programs. Explore the 10-month Financing and Deploying Clean Energy program or the 5-month Clean and Equitable Energy Development program. Use referral code HeatMap26 and get your application in by the priority deadline for $500 off tuition to one of Yale’s online certificate programs in clean energy. Learn more at cbey.yale.edu/online-learning-opportunities.Music for Shift Key is by Adam Kromelow. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When President Joe Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act into law in 2022, Democrats imagined he was setting a new policy feedback loop in motion. Voters would see how the law was changing their communities — investing in new factories and solar farms — and then rally to protect it from Republicans.That didn’t happen. Last summer, Republicans in Congress repealed many of the law’s best climate policies. So what broke down?On this episode of Shift Key, Rob is joined by Alexander Gazmararian, a political science professor at the University of Michigan and the co-author of a new paper about why the IRA had limited political returns. Rob and Alex discuss whether voters noticed the climate law, the trade-off between taking credit for policies and de-polarizing them, and why politicians’ credibility matters so much when designing economic policy.Shift Key is hosted by Robinson Meyer, the founding executive editor of Heatmap News.You can find a full transcript of the episode here.Mentioned:The new paper: Why Biden-era clean energy investment policies had limited political returnsRob’s original article about the ‘Green Spiral’From Heatmap: Does More Renewable Energy Lead to More Political Support? Not in Texas.From Heatmap: Inside Form Energy’s Big Google Data Center Deal--This episode of Shift Key is sponsored by …Accelerate your clean energy career with Yale’s online certificate programs. Explore the 10-month Financing and Deploying Clean Energy program or the 5-month Clean and Equitable Energy Development program. Use referral code HeatMap26 and get your application in by the priority deadline for $500 off tuition to one of Yale’s online certificate programs in clean energy. Learn more at cbey.yale.edu/online-learning-opportunities.Music for Shift Key is by Adam Kromelow. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We’re watching a new global energy crisis unfold in the wake of America and Israel’s campaign in Iran — and it could rapidly spiral into other industries and commodities. At the same time, there’s been legitimately promising news on iron-air batteries, suggesting the cheap and long-term energy storage technology might be ready for take-off.Rob is joined by Heatmap staff writers Matthew Zeitlin and Katie Brigham, as well as Heatmap’s deputy editor Jillian Goodman, to discuss the busy news week. They discuss whether we’re looking at two different (but linked) energy crises, gauge how insulated the U.S. economy actually is, and share which energy news stories have gotten lost in the shuffle.Shift Key is hosted by Robinson Meyer, the founding executive editor of Heatmap News.You can find a full transcript of the episode here.Mentioned:From Heatmap: Oil Is Surging. Clean Energy Stocks Are Down Anyway.From Heatmap: War With Iran Isn’t Just an Oil StoryFrom Heatmap: Inside Form Energy’s Big Google Data Center DealBlackRock and other infrastructure investors are buying AES for $10.7 billionThe fate of New York’s climate law is in doubtLuckin Coffee to buy Blue Bottle Coffee--This episode of Shift Key is sponsored by …Accelerate your clean energy career with Yale’s online certificate programs. Explore the 10-month Financing and Deploying Clean Energy program or the 5-month Clean and Equitable Energy Development program. Use referral code HeatMap26 and get your application in by the priority deadline for $500 off tuition to one of Yale’s online certificate programs in clean energy. Learn more at cbey.yale.edu/online-learning-opportunities.Music for Shift Key is by Adam Kromelow. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The United States and Israel have launched a devastating new war on Iran. What has happened so far, when could it end, and what could it mean for oil, gas, and the global energy shift?Rob is joined by Gregory Brew, an analyst with the Eurasia Group’s energy, climate, and resources team focused on the geopolitics of oil and gas. He serves as the group’s country analyst for Iran. He’s also an historian of modern Iran, oil, and U.S. foreign policy, and the author of two books about the subject.Shift Key is hosted by Robinson Meyer, the founding executive editor of Heatmap News.You can find a full transcript of the episode here.Mentioned:From Heatmap: War With Iran Isn’t Just an Oil StoryFrom Heatmap: How Trump’s War Could Destabilize the Global Energy Market--This episode of Shift Key is sponsored by …Accelerate your clean energy career with Yale’s online certificate programs. Explore the 10-month Financing and Deploying Clean Energy program or the 5-month Clean and Equitable Energy Development program. Use referral code HeatMap26 and get your application in by the priority deadline for $500 off tuition to one of Yale’s online certificate programs in clean energy. Learn more at cbey.yale.edu/online-learning-opportunities.Music for Shift Key is by Adam Kromelow. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As electricity affordability has risen in the public consciousness, so too has it gone up the priority list for climate groups — although many of their proposals are merely repackaged talking points from past political cycles. But are there risks of talking about affordability so much, and could it distract us from the real issues with the power system?Rob is joined by Jane Flegal, a senior fellow at the Searchlight Institute and the States Forum. Flegal was the former senior director for industrial emissions at the White House Office of Domestic Climate Policy, and she has worked on climate policy at Stripe. She was recently executive director of the Blue Horizons Foundation.Shift Key is hosted by Robinson Meyer, the founding executive editor of Heatmap News.You can find a full transcript of the episode here.Mentioned:Cheap and Abundant Electricity Is Good, by Jane FlegalFrom Heatmap: Will Virtual Power Plants Ever Really Be a Thing?Previously on Shift Key: How California Broke Its Electricity Bills and How Texas Could Destroy Its Electricity Market--This episode of Shift Key is sponsored by …Accelerate your clean energy career with Yale’s online certificate programs. Explore the 10-month Financing and Deploying Clean Energy program or the 5-month Clean and Equitable Energy Development program. Use referral code HeatMap26 and get your application in by the priority deadline for $500 off tuition to one of Yale’s online certificate programs in clean energy. Learn more at cbey.yale.edu/online-learning-opportunities.Music for Shift Key is by Adam Kromelow. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Just a handful of tech companies plan to spend nearly $700 billion combined this year investing in artificial intelligence — and much of that money will go to data centers and the energy used to keep them on. How is this boom transforming the American energy system, and what does it mean for clean energy?On this episode of Shift Key, Rob is joined by Peter Freed, a founding partner at the Near Horizon Group and the former director of energy strategy at Meta from 2014 to 2024. They discuss why data center developers opt for certain energy sources over others, why AI is driving an unprecedented off-grid natural gas boom, and why batteries now pair especially well with gas. Yikes!This conversation was originally recorded for a webinar hosted by Heatmap Pro. Shift Key is hosted by Robinson Meyer, the founding executive editor of Heatmap News.You can find a full transcript of the episode here.Mentioned:Breaking Down the Doomsday AI Memo That Spooked Markets​Inside Form Energy’s Big Google Data Center DealThe New York Times on AI’s polling problemsPreviously on Shift Key: What’s Really Holding Back New Data Centers--This episode of Shift Key is sponsored by …Heatmap Pro brings all of our research, reporting, and insights down to the local level. The software platform tracks all local opposition to clean energy and data centers, forecasts community sentiment, and guides data-driven engagement campaigns. today to see the premier intelligence platform for project permitting and community engagement. Book a demo today to see the premier intelligence platform for project permitting and community engagement.Music for Shift Key is by Adam Kromelow. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Supreme Court just struck down President Trump’s most ambitious tariff plan. What does that ruling mean for clean energy? For the data center boom? For America’s industrial policy?On this emergency episode of Shift Key, Rob is joined by Jonas Nahm, a professor of economic and industrial policy at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, D.C. They discuss the ruling, the other authorities that Trump could now use to raise trade levies, and what (if anything) the change could mean for electric vehicles, solar panels, and more.Shift Key is hosted by Robinson Meyer, the founding executive editor of Heatmap News.You can find a full transcript of the episode here.Mentioned:From Heatmap: Clean Energy Looks to (Mostly) Come Out Ahead After the Supreme Court’s Tariff Ruling--This episode of Shift Key is sponsored by ...Accelerate your clean energy career with Yale’s online certificate programs. Explore the 10-month Financing and Deploying Clean Energy program or the 5-month Clean and Equitable Energy Development program. Use referral code HeatMap26 and get your application in by the priority deadline for $500 off tuition to one of Yale’s online certificate programs in clean energy. Learn more at cbey.yale.edu/online-learning-opportunities.Music for Shift Key is by Adam Kromelow. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

President Donald Trump has essentially killed all fuel economy rules on cars and trucks in the United States. By the end of the year, automakers will face virtually no limits on how many huge gas guzzlers they can sell to the public — or what those purchases will do to domestic oil prices. But is the thinking driving this change up to date?Rob is joined by Kenneth Gillingham, a professor of environmental and energy economics at Yale. They chat about how the economics profession changed its mind about fuel efficiency rules for cars and trucks — and then recently changed its mind again. They also debrief about what the Trump rollback gets right and wrong in its key economic assumptions and how that might affect its reception.Then Rob chats with Hannah Hess, an associate director from the Rhodium Group about new Clean Investment Monitor data that shows the U.S. clean energy economy was a “tale of two industries” in Q4 2025.Shift Key is hosted by Robinson Meyer, the founding executive editor of Heatmap News.You can find a full transcript of the episode here.Mentioned:From Heatmap: Trump’s One Big Beautiful Blow to the EV Supply ChainClean Investment Monitor’s U.S. Q4 2025 Update--This episode of Shift Key is sponsored by ...Accelerate your clean energy career with Yale’s online certificate programs. Explore the 10-month Financing and Deploying Clean Energy program or the 5-month Clean and Equitable Energy Development program. Use referral code HeatMap26 and get your application in by the priority deadline for $500 off tuition to one of Yale’s online certificate programs in clean energy. Learn more at cbey.yale.edu/online-learning-opportunities.Music for Shift Key is by Adam Kromelow. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.