Kevin O'Rourke

SVP, Development & Public Affairs | Working with philanthropy to accelerate 🇺🇸 wind, solar, storage deployment

[Kevin O'Rourke @krorourke]

MISO's board approved 18 new transmission lines today, enabling 53,000 MW of new, low-cost renewable energy projects.

A big milestone, as it's the single largest transmission expansion enabling clean energy in 🇺🇸 history.

But much more still needed.

[Kevin O'Rourke @krorourke]

@starstrickenSF Will share w/my wife, thanks for posting.

https://t.co/LCxyp5oQib

[Kevin O'Rourke @krorourke]

Major leap forward for patient outcomes.

It was a team effort getting it across the finish line, as all endeavors are, but my wife (Zeena Salman, who is wisely off X) was at the center of it as the clinical lead.

Very proud of her.

[Samuel Hume @DrSamuelBHume]

One of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen: a standing ovation for the full Daraxonrasib results

I feel inspired and energised, to put it mildly — we have a targeted therapy for pancreatic cancer now, and nothing is undruggable anymore

[Kevin O'Rourke @krorourke]

Major leap forward for patient outcomes.

It was a team effort getting it across the finish line, as all endeavors are, but my wife (Zeena Salman, who is wisely off X) was at the center of it as the clinical lead.

Very proud of her.

[Neil Stone @DrNeilStone]

I've never been at a medical conference where the results have been greeted with a standing ovation

Tremendous breakthrough in pancreatic cancer treatment

Through science

Hard work, rigorous research, clinical trials.

Science

Not the quack pseudoscience of social media

[State Armor @StateArmor]

🚨 @kevinolearytv: China doesn’t want America building the compute power needed to win the AI race.

“Who would want us to stop building our electrical grid?… There’s only one. It’s China.”

He says his team traced coordinated anti-data center messaging back to socialist groups tied to Neville Roy Singham and argues they may be acting as CCP proxies.

[Joshua D. Rhodes @joshdr83]

The ERCOT generator interconnection* queue has over 175 GW of energy storage in it.

*not all the in queue gets built (but still wow)

[Macro Grid Initiative @TheMacroGrid]

📸: @ACORE's @krorourke at the Association of Defense Communities Installation Innovation Forum

Kevin spoke on a panel about why transmission policy matters to communities that live around and support U.S. military bases, focusing his remarks on state commission engagement.

[Bryce Johanneck @BryceJohanneck]

Adding wires to the grid adds more electrons

Making the existing wires on the grid bigger adds more electrons

Adding Generators or Storage adds energy but it does not add more electrons

[Kevin O'Rourke @krorourke]

@Vidor1 I don't think we'd want to, even if we could. AI has significant medical and national security uses (among many other useful applications) that America needs to effectively compete in.

[Kevin O'Rourke @krorourke]

A failure to efficiently plan high-voltage regional & interregional transmission has led to expensive reliability and network upgrades that are hurting consumers right now and will likely slow the growth of AI.

Best time to "plant this tree" was 7-10 yrs ago. 2nd best is today.

[Steven Rattner @SteveRattner]

An important chart from @washingtonpost on energy costs – generation has become cheaper, but the cost of delivering energy to consumers across the grid has more than doubled.

[Kevin O'Rourke @krorourke]

ACORE's annual Grid Forum is happening in DC this week; it's not too late to grab tickets. Hear:
- latest from Congress on permitting reform
- FERC
- opportunities on upgrading the existing grid
- necessity of building more interregional lines.
Register: https://t.co/dgGHJ35kb5

[Robinson Meyer @robinsonmeyer]

👀 Utah’s governor quote tweets Heatmap reporting and you should too

[Kevin O'Rourke @krorourke]

@markyzaguirre Agree. Strategic competition with China requires getting every low-cost electron online as fast as possible.

[Kevin O'Rourke @krorourke]

“Connect and manage” interconnection policy and reasonable property use restrictions are working out relatively well for Texas.

No truly “free” power markets exist but the Lone Star state is freer than most. 🇺🇸

[Joshua D. Rhodes @joshdr83]

Wild to see the growth of wind, solar, and storage in ERCOT over the past 20 years!

[Kevin O'Rourke @krorourke]

@MacFarlaneNews Second only to FERC Chair Philips, who quoted the “great philosopher, Sean Carter” on the use of grid enhancing technologies to save consumers money on their power bills…

https://t.co/3VpA6hjo3x

[Macro Grid Initiative @TheMacroGrid]

Jay-Z + Grid-Enhancing Technologies (GETs)!

Quoting @sc, "if it doesn't make dollars, it doesn't make sense...As regulators, we need to make it make sense to reap the benefits to our consumers, to our businesses." -@wlpFERC

Implementing GETs will reduce congestion & save 💰💰💰

[TheHistoryOfTheAmericans @TheHistoryOfTh2]

In the middle of Ken Burns’ “Baseball,” George Will explains American democracy in terms largely forgotten by partisans and journalists today. Please watch and spread around!

[Joshua D. Rhodes @joshdr83]

A 350 mile 2.1 GW underground HVDC line in railroad rights of way got its last needed approval.

With a 10' corridor, the project ... is eligible for the Army Corps’ Nationwide Permit program, which has a 6 to 9 month permit review process, Rajan said.

https://t.co/z5qT2DW7Ba

[John Lee @koreanforeigner]

People need to understand why many South Koreans view what happened in Georgia as a betrayal.

In the past, South Korea hedged between the U.S. and China (U.S. for security, China for economy). But at a certain point, Seoul stopped hedging, and it chose a side. It chose the U.S.

[Kevin O'Rourke @krorourke]

“Today, solar is the cheapest, the fastest, the simplest and the most secure source of energy that you can install,” said Marco Arcelli, chief executive of ACWA Power, the company driving the Saudi grid overhaul.”

https://t.co/qBrvG1zERo

[Joshua D. Rhodes @joshdr83]

The ERCOT interconnection queue is still showing a strong preference for solar + storage

[Rep. Don Bacon 🇺🇸✈️🏍️⭐️🎖️ @RepDonBacon]

Whatever one thinks about wind energy, this was a mistake to halt this project. It was $6B project & 80% complete, w/ thousands of jobs at stake. It was also going to lower energy costs for two states. Businesses and workers deserve predictability. https://t.co/KYsgWQfIFt