Policy & Market Development @CleanCapital_. Energy nerd. Political junkie. Making American energy cleaner, faster. @SEIA & @Energy_Leaders alum. Views = my own.
SCOOP: Energy Sec Chris Wright and Republican lawmakers convened for dinner with Alex Epstein this week to discuss permitting reform. Epstein, who was influential in pushing Rs to cut solar/wind tax credits in OBBB, insists he wants to see bipartisan deal. More in ME w/@zcolman
NEW DATA: America's Energy Storage Revolution™️continues.
📈10 GWh new capacity in 2026 Q1, marking largest Q1 on record
☀️ Texas, Arizona and California led deployment
📅 Over 610 GWh now expected by 2030
Out today: My @AmericanAffrs essay trying to reset the often-fever-pitched conversation about data centers & energy, with concrete ideas for how growth can be accelerated and legacy consumers can be protected -->
BURGUM: When the sun goes down, solar produces zero electricity
HUFFMAN: I want to enter into the record this amazing new technology that apparently the secretary is unaware of -- it's a battery
NEW: Former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty has been named SEIA's incoming President and CEO.
As Governor, Pawlenty oversaw a $50 billion biennial budget, led more than 20 state agencies and departments, and championed some of the nation’s most forward-looking renewable energy initiatives. He brings a proven track record of executive leadership, deep public policy expertise, and a clear understanding of the energy challenges facing the United States.
Pawlenty will assume the role on June 15. Read more: https://t.co/GQQxm0xOal
Load growth is an opportunity for DG—and a reason to rethink grid expansion.
Great op-ed by @JigarShahDC on why the fastest way to expand the grid is via the distribution system, where front-of-meter storage can target constrained substations and feeders.
https://t.co/WNBF9I3Atk
There is behavior that's so self-evidently deranged that merely seeing it should lead to fury and disgust. I'm concerned, however, that some evangelicals are so influenced by Trump that they won't unite with their Catholic brothers and sisters in response to Trump's blasphemy and intolerable attacks on the pope, but will instead turn against them.
Just this one subsidy to a foreign company to kill wind projects purely out of spite by Trump costs TWICE as much as the loan guarantees to the dreaded Solyndra.
Solyndra was a rightwing talking point about waste for YEARS. And that loan program - which always assumed that some projects would fail - not only made up for those losses, but ended up being profitable for taxpayers.
But doubt we hear a word about this latest boondoggle from the same people who were horrified by the supposed waste and told us government shouldn't choose winners and losers.
Makes you wonder!
"Opponents of wind and solar power sought to portray the grid collapse as proof that power systems more dependent on renewables were inherently more unstable. ENTSO-E rejected that assertion."
No one should be gloating about anyone dying. The fact that the President of the United States would do so is yet another depressing sign of the moral decay in American society and the erosion of basic decency.
83% of all voters agree that solar energy should be used in the United States to strengthen and increase the nation’s energy supply.
China is rapidly scaling their solar as energy demands continue to increase. We need to do the same.
They know clean energy tax credits are phasing out and their subsidy talking point goes away.
They're terrified that solar + batteries will keep winning in the marketplace.
And of course they still cling to & obfuscate 100+ yr-old hidden fossil fuel subsidies in the tax code.
@ryan_sw@elonmusk No one expects solar to serve as the main resource during multi-day winter reliability events, and its winter ELCC appropriately reflects that. The grid doesn’t need to be planned by requiring any single resource to perform in all conditions.
Solar is now the dominant source of new U.S. power capacity and is on track to surpass coal in total installed capacity before the end of 2026.
70 GW of new solar capacity is scheduled to come online in 2026–2027 → a 49% increase in operating solar capacity from the end of 2025.
Being angry that wind power is 'only' providing 5% of New England's power is like being upset that your restaurant can't get enough produce from your backyard garden. We haven't planted enough, yet.