Jeff St John

Global giant Tata Steel is using a heat battery to curb emissions Tata Steel and startup Kraftblock say they’ve successfully deployed a thermal-energy storage system that harnesses waste heat at the Jamshedpur steel mill…

This major steelmaker is using a novel heat battery at its plant in India to curb emissions from its dirty, energy-intensive operations.

Ohio corruption trial traces tactics to prop up nuclear and coal… Former FirstEnergy execs Chuck Jones and Mike Dowling face state criminal charges connected to HB 6 bailout maneuvers, for which Ohioans are still paying…

Ohioans are still feeling the effects of a massive utility bailout scandal. But now, two former FirstEnergy executives may finally be held criminally accountable.

Politicians wake up to the data center dilemma Data centers and their immense power demand are driving discussions from the White House down to county governments — and are sure to shape this year's…

From the State of the Union to your town hall, here’s how data centers are shaping the political conversation — and could drive this year’s midterm elections.

AI: Does not compute Building fossil-fuel infrastructure to power data centers is a poor bet. Renewables are by far the cheaper, faster choice.

Data center developers are betting of fossil fuels to prop up their massive power demand. Smarter, cheaper, cleaner, less-risky options exist, saying Amory Lovins and Justin Locke.
www.canarymedia.com/articles/dat...

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Balcony solar is taking state legislatures by storm In more than half of U.S. states, Republican and Democratic lawmakers have introduced legislation that would boost adoption of DIY solar systems.

Balcony solar is taking off across the country. Here’s which states are considering bills to allow for the plug-in clean energy solution.

Quaise looks to advance ‘superhot’ geothermal power plant in Oregon The Houston firm aims to raise $200 million to develop a next-generation geothermal plant in Oregon as the technology gains momentum with investors.

Quaise’s deep-drilling Oregon geothermal project is heating up.

More states look to virtual power plants to fight rising electric… A dozen state legislatures are pushing measures to launch or expand programs that rely on customers’ thermostats, batteries, and EVs to relieve the grid.

Tap networks of distributed resources, save money, repeat. vist.ly/4tjss h/t @jeffstjohn.bsky.social‬ @canarymedia.com

California’s heat pump push faces a big hurdle: high electric bills The state has one of the boldest heat pump strategies in the U.S. But it also has some of the highest power prices, making electrification a tough sell to…

There are plenty of reasons to get a heat pump. In California, a lower monthly utility bill isn’t one of them.

From @calmatters.org:

AI: Does not compute Building fossil-fuel infrastructure to power data centers is a poor bet. Renewables are by far the cheaper, faster choice.

Data center developers are turning to gas power. Renewables and batteries are by far the cheaper, faster choice, write Amory Lovins and Justin Locke.

Virginia to utilities: Do more with the existing power grid Amid rising energy costs, the state just passed a first-of-a-kind bill that would force utilities to quantify and examine ways to reduce waste on the grid.

Roughly half the electric grid goes unused about 99% of the time. Virginia wants to change that.

How states are trying to keep AI data centers off your power bill “Large load tariffs” are spreading fast as states scramble to protect consumers and the climate from the AI boom. Some approaches have more promise than…

Can “large load tariffs” shield the rest of us from paying for AI's energy needs? Many state plans still push cost risk onto utility customers, experts warn. But those that push data centers to secure their own clean energy resources are the safest bet:
www.canarymedia.com/articles/dat...
#energysky

More states look to virtual power plants to fight rising electric… A dozen state legislatures are pushing measures to launch or expand programs that rely on customers’ thermostats, batteries, and EVs to relieve the grid.

Can virtual power plants curb rising utility bills? A dozen state legislatures are pushing measures to expand programs that pay customers to let their smart thermostats, batteries, and EVs relieve grid pressures—and save money for everyone else:
www.canarymedia.com/articles/vir...
#energysky

Thanks Kevin!

How Oregon is building back smarter after wildfire After a destructive fire, residents faced the task of rebuilding. Thanks to state incentives, the new homes are more energy efficient and resilient to…

Building back after wildfires is a costly and time-pressured task — but we don't have to forego climate and energy-smart building to get it done. Thanks to @julietgrable.bsky.social for in-depth reporting on how Oregon did it after the 2020 Labor Day fires:
www.canarymedia.com/articles/ene...

Can a big battery help Boston save billions on the power grid? Maybe. Grid operators don’t readily let batteries stand in for costly transmission upgrades, but this massive Massachusetts project could spur them to reconsider.

Big batteries could save billions of dollar in U.S. transmission grid upgrades—if grid operators let them. Jupiter Power's massive 2.8gWh Trimount battery project near Boston could spur New England to rethink this "storage-as-transmission" concept:
www.canarymedia.com/articles/bat...
#energysky

I let Duke Energy control my thermostat. I don’t regret it. Throughout this freezing-cold winter, customers like me pitched in to save North Carolina’s grid, and we made a little money doing it.

Let us all embrace our inner Jimmy Carter ;-) :
www.canarymedia.com/articles/uti...
#energysky

Heron Power raises $140M to modernize electrical transformers Transformers are an old technology that’s in short supply. Tesla alum Drew Baglino thinks his startup can help meet rising demand with new solid-state…

Digital power conversion could transform how solar, batteries and data centers connect to the power grid. Tesla alum Drew Baglino says his startup Heron Power has customers ready to try its SST tech—and $140M to build a factory to supply them:
www.canarymedia.com/articles/cli...
#energysky

Rep. James Talarico On Confronting Christian Nationalism, And Strange Days In The Texas Legislature YouTube video by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

Hey, I'm watching the Colbert interview with James Talarico, Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Texas, which CBS declined to air on broadcast TV, likely due to Trump administration threats... wanna watch it too?
www.youtube.com/watch?v=oiTJ...

Why Xcel’s bid to reinvent the virtual power plant is so controversial Most VPPs rely on customers’ solar and batteries. Xcel says its utility-owned alternative can do a better job in Minnesota — but critics question the cost.

Minnesota utility Xcel Energy says it can build more effective virtual power plants by owning and controlling its own batteries. But solar groups, consumer advocates and state agencies think customer solar and batteries are a faster and cheaper path:
www.canarymedia.com/articles/vir...
#energysky

On Tuesday, the Minneapolis City Council will be voting on a resolution urging Congress to adopt the Abolish ICE Act and Melt ICE Act.

lims.minneapolismn.gov/Download/RCA...

Meet Aliya Rahman, Disabled U.S. Citizen Assaulted, Jailed & Traumatized by ICE in Minneapolis We speak with Aliya Rahman, a U.S. citizen who was violently dragged from her car by federal immigration officers in Minneapolis last month and detained at the Whipple Federal Building, which has beco...

“I was taken out of that place unconscious."

Every word of this 🔥

“The mask is off… for so long, many of us have been able to say that there is something deeply anti-democratic and racist at the heart of this MAGA project and of Trumpism.” - @maragay.bsky.social

The board will ignore this sort of Astroturfing when it confirms their own biases. When Republicans are in charge, it's not easy being Green.

#energysky

E&E News: Offshore wind project targeted by Trump will begin operating within weeks Revolution Wind in New England is nearing completion after overcoming Trump administration efforts to halt the project.

"Executives with Ørsted, the company behind Revolution Wind, said the $6.2 billion project would begin producing electricity 'in a matter of weeks.'" subscriber.politicopro.com/article/eene... via Ben Storrow 🔌💡

Washington Wants Data Centers to Bring Their Own Clean Energy #energysky -- via Heatmap News heatmap.news/plus/th...

Opinion | Another government sop to an ailing industry An executive order requiring the military to purchase coal puts politics over the free market.

"There is perhaps no greater sign of the coal industry’s decline than the Trump administration’s demand this week that the Pentagon purchase more energy generated by the fossil fuel," writes the @washingtonpost.com editorial board: wapo.st/4tyd2Xu 🔌💡

The Kids Aren’t Alright in Dilley A baby who needs medicine. A toddler whose detained mom may have breast cancer. A suicide attempt.

God damn the monsters who subject children and families to this torture.
www.thebulwark.com/p/kids-arent...

Offshore wind rocks. "Once fully operational, [Vineyard Wind] will deliver power at a price of $84.23 per [MWh] to the New England grid. That’s markedly less than spot wholesale prices during the storm, which spiked to over $870 per MWh on Jan. 25."

A new Ohio bill could be a de facto statewide ban on solar and wind The state is mulling a bill that calls for all new generation to be “affordable, reliable, and clean” — but its strained definitions would exclude…

I'm pretty sure the ALEC / TPPF folks tried this same "capacity factor" backdoor attack in Texas. But Texas lawmakers were too smart — and too aware of the vitality of solar and batteries for the state's energy reliability and affordability — to bite.
www.canarymedia.com/articles/cle...
#energysky