The Trump administration has dealt another blow to renewable energy. Last week, the Bureau of Land Management sent back to the drawing board the country’s biggest proposed solar project, known as the Esmerelda Seven in Nevada. But even though President Donald Trump’s administration was behind the move, not all Republicans are taking it lightly, especially as energy demand is set to surge to feed the global AI boom. POLITICO Energy host Josh Siegel speaks with POLITICO reporter James Bikales about why BLM changed course on this project, how industry is responding given Trump’s icy relationship with renewables, and what it means politically going forward.

Josh Siegel is an energy reporter for POLITICO and the host of POLITICO Energy. 

⁠James Bikales ⁠is a reporter for POLITICO.  

Nirmal Mulaikal is the co-host and producer of POLITICO Energy.  

Alex Keeney is a senior audio producer at POLITICO.  

Ben Lefebvre is the deputy energy editor at POLITICO. 

Matt Daily is the energy editor for POLITICO. 

For more news on energy and the environment, subscribe to Power Switch, our free evening newsletter: https://www.politico.com/power-switch 

And for even deeper coverage and analysis, read our Morning Energy newsletter by subscribing to POLITICO Pro: https://subscriber.politicopro.com/newsletter-archive/morning-energy 

Our theme music is by Pran Bandi. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices