Justin Mikulka
@justinmikulka.bsky.social
Research, analysis and opinion on the ongoing energy transition. Writing about it at: https://powering-the-planet.ghost.io
Important points to remember these days. Solar and wind power use almost no water. Natural gas and coal power use HUGE amounts of water.
John Kostyack@kostyack.bsky.social · 3h agoData centers' water consumption is enormous & growing, thanks to the heavy reliance on gas-fired power. Most refuse to disclose this consumption. Asked why, Googe dodges, says it has "concentrated on powering data centers with renewable energy." Except it doesn't disclose its power sources either.
Feels like not enough people are aware of how fully cooked the internal combustion engine is. My mum's old diesel Honda currently costs £120 to fill up, on which it'll do just under 300 miles. My sister's EV costs £6 for a full charge which will take her 280 miles.
"the global LNG market has little hope of a speedy recovery." The only hope the LNG market had was a global supply glut that would get Asia hooked on cheap LNG. But Trump/Netanyahu killed that. Meanwhile LNG will always be more expensive than solar plus storage. No hope of that changing.
COMMENTARY: Middle East LNG industry remains hostage of Iran war: Bousso
While Middle Eastern oil exports have rebounded in recent weeks, Qatar's vast liquefied natural gas export facilities remain hobbled. Until a durable resolution of the US-Israeli war with Iran is reac...
reuters.com
“Mexico has a choice about where to direct public investment. Investing billions in uncommercial oil and gas fields risks large losses without meeting the government’s production targets, while investing in domestic renewable power, grids, and storage can cut imports, strengthen sovereignty..."
Pemex Needs Nearly $110 Billion to Hit Mexico's Output Targets | OilPrice.com
A new IISD report says Mexico's $160 billion oil and gas push would add little energy security and urges spending on renewables, grids and storage.
oilprice.com
"The head of Broadcom, which designs some of the components integral to the global data center buildout, also criticized whether businesses were wasting money on AI initiatives and questioned the longer-term economics of money-losing AI labs."
Beavis Asks: How Did They Know?
ALT: Beavis Asks: How Did They Know?
static.klipy.com
Carl Quintanilla@carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 8h agoBROADCOM CEO: ".. A lot of investors have no clue what they are investing in." They “set very extreme expectations only to find out that it’s almost like they are in a casino.” @bloomberg.com $AVGO www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
"Emerging Asia is losing its appetite for liquefied natural gas to generate power as geopolitical shocks, equipment shortages and cheaper renewables derail projects, disappointing industry hopes the region would drive the next wave of demand." LNG has a price problem because cheaper wins.
Emerging Asia's power-driven LNG demand at risk as renewables gain ground
Emerging Asia is losing its appetite for liquefied natural gas to generate power as geopolitical shocks, equipment shortages and cheaper renewables derail projects, disappointing industry hopes the ...
reuters.com
“raise concerns about whether large language models can ever be profitable.”
Jesse Felder@jessefelder.com · 2d ago‘The most likely long-term outcome of the AI boom will be massive capital destruction with market share going to Chinese models. That poses a risk for hyperscalers that have built data-center capacity on expectations of sustained demand from OpenAI and Anthropic.’ www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Billionaire families have spent $1.7 BILLION on the 2026 midterms so far — a 5,200% increase since the 2010 midterms. Citizens United is among the worst decisions in history. It corrupts our system every day. Big Money is the root of our dysfunction.
My god. A Virginia data center ran backup diesel generators full blast for 24 hours, creating a giant cloud of toxic smoke that choked its human neighbors. The government claimed there was nothing they could do.
Virginia Data Center Ran Diesel Generators for 24 Hours. Residents Fled Their Homes
Virginia data center diesel generators ran nearly 24 hours during a Code Red alert, leaving neighbors with no regulatory recourse under current state permits.
gadgetreview.com
So we are to believe that limiting record breaking US diesel exports of 1.9 million barrels per day will not help US consumers. But buying one tanker of 275,000 barrels of diesel from Putin somehow will help US consumers. Perhaps the media should look into that math and those lies.
Mark Chadbourn@chadbourn.bsky.social · 2d agoThe first Russian diesel cargo heading for the US left St Petersburg on September 22, two weeks *before* Trump announced the deal with Putin, Windward reports. The Greek-flagged tanker Minerva Zen carrying 275,000 barrels of diesel/gasoil is due at the US East Coast around 11–12 October.
A majority of Americans think the US should get a new president as they blame the President for record high U.S. diesel prices.
The Associated Press@apnews.com · 2d agoBREAKING: Trump says Ukraine should get a new president as he blames Zelenskyy for U.S. diesel prices.
The hippies are against AI! It's China paying protesters! Oh wait.... “It’d be a very dangerous time for us just to hand over everything to technology,” said Brig. Gen. Daniel Hibner, commander of the Army’s Joint Modernization Command. “It’s very much still a human endeavor.”
The U.S. Army’s Desert Tech Test Shows Long Road to AI Warfare
A desert trial exposed equipment limitations and institutional hurdles in the Army’s push to modernize and keep pace with an AI-savvy adversary.
wsj.com
More people are catching on to the fact that the energy world has changed and the implications are going to be pretty radical and most people still don't see it. Once world oil demand stops increasing, it is a new world. And we are much closer to that point than many realize.
Pembina Institute@pembina.org · 2d agoChina’s electric truck boom is cutting diesel demand fast. 🚛⚡ E-truck sales jumped nearly 80% in the first half of 2026, helping shield the country from oil price shocks while lowering costs — and emissions. This shift is reshaping global oil demand. #EVs #EnergyTransition #EnergySky
"People are sick of being told there is 'no money' by billionaires who are becoming trillionaires."
BladeoftheSun@bladeofthes.bsky.social · 2d agoProtests that started in Spain and then spread to France and Brazil have now started in Belgium. People are sick of being told there is 'no money' by billionaires who are becoming trillionaires.
Show your math. "The agency’s proposal, which is part of a series of actions the Trump EPA is taking on Biden-era oil and natural gas regulations, is estimated to save $45 billion." Some reporters should ask for a detailed cost breakout of this fantasy number.
Administrator Zeldin Announces EPA is Days Away from Unveiling Next Oil & Gas Proposal | US EPA
U.S. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin announced that in the coming days the Trump EPA will be proposing the next part of the agency’s comprehensive reconsideration of the Biden Administration's 2024 oil a...
epa.gov
If I built an AI lab and it went rogue and deleted all student loan information, I'm betting they'd suddenly figure out how to prosecute me.
kate conger@kateconger.com · 3d agoAnthropic is the latest lab to report 'rogue' agent activity, which sources said included applying for visas with the State Department www.nytimes.com/2026/10/09/t...
I am in Cap Haitien interviewing people deported from the United States. I have been doing this kind of work for almost a decade and it literally does not get more dire than this. People have lost everything they built in the U.S. and are terrified and have no place to go or way to live.
"gas continues to receive public finance not because it consistently represents the most economically efficient option, but because institutional incentives, legacy investment models, outdated analysis & geopolitical interests have been slower to change than the economics of the energy transition."
Most bubbles end after the "confusion over the revenue figures" becomes obvious for what it is. "The confusion over the revenue figure 'largely reflects differences in how OpenAI and Anthropic calculate comparable revenue,' Bloomberg Intelligence analysts Mandeep Singh and William Tong wrote.
OpenAI Expects $70 Billion in Annualized Revenue by End of 2026
OpenAI is expecting to reach or exceed $70 billion in annualized revenue by the end of the year, according to people familiar with the matter, driven largely by growth in its enterprise business.
bloomberg.com
"Southeast Asia's reliance on imported gas is threatening to stall its data center boom, as turmoil in the Middle East squeezes the fuel supplies underpinning the region's digital economy." If you base your economy on expensive imported LNG you will not be competitive in the future. Your choice.
Southeast Asia's data boom faces energy squeeze
Southeast Asia's reliance on imported gas is threatening to stall its data center boom, as turmoil in the Middle East squeezes the fuel supplies underpinning the region's digital economy.
thestar.com.my
From 2019: "When it comes to the long-term economics of power generation, it isn’t a fair fight. There is no clear way natural gas can compete with renewables on an economic basis in the coming decades." And now in 2026....
4-hour storage cheaper than gas peakers across global markets: WoodMac
In North America, data centers are boosting the long-term investment case for energy storage and renewables as gas turbine backlogs and rising fuel volatility drive up peaking costs, according to a Th...
utilitydive.com
A little cruel to throw in this quote about how refineries are making record profits on diesel while farmers can't afford to buy diesel to "make hay." “They make hay while the sun shines"
Looks like solar and batteries are working to replace diesel around the world and it's a very good thing. "In June, Nova Sociedade installed solar panels to power water pumps that fill storage tanks and provide clean water to all 36 families in the village." A good read.
Solar power helps Amazon communities ditch diesel and prepare for El Niño drought
Off-grid solar power is spreading across Brazil’s Amazon, helping remote communities prepare for severe drought while replacing costly, polluting diesel generators.
apnews.com
Justin Mikulka@justinmikulka.bsky.social · 6mo agoAny diesel experts out there? I've been looking into how battery prices are cutting into diesel generator use. I haven't seen anything recent on the cost breakdowns and with rising diesel prices, this could be another structural change in the works. One recent example.
How long until one of the soulless AI brainiacs notes that they can design a bot to listen to the wind for us do we don't have to?
the beggars out of here getter@milesklee.bsky.social · 4d agoart lives
More evidence of the Exxon algae fuel scam. Made for great looking commercials though!!
CAAD_Coalition@caadcoalition.bsky.social · 4d agoExxon’s own scientist called its algae biofuel target “completely impossible to achieve.” The company promoted it anyway. New disclosures add to the evidence in Massachusetts’ climate deception case against ExxonMobil. via @insideclimatenews.org buff.ly/9eITfQi
"When he looked at the footage later on a bigger screen, he found another lit flare in the video, in addition to the first three. One shot — four flares. This despite the fact that New Mexico has banned nearly all flaring since 2022. " When you hear they have "banned" flaring, don't believe it.
‘It’s a Beautiful River in the Middle of a Hellscape’
As climate change dries New Mexico, the Pecos faces a growing threat as it runs through the Permian Basin oilfield.
capitalandmain.com
"Dangerous provisions would hand Trump broad powers to block future presidents from acting on climate change and restoring the Clean Air Act" Seems bad.
John Kostyack@kostyack.bsky.social · 4d agoThe Senate will take up permitting reform in early November, so it's time to grapple w what Dem negotiators gave up to streamline permitting for clean energy. @jeremysymons.bsky.social finds that the provisions won by the fossil & tech lobbies would cause lasting damage to our climate & clean air.
Fun fact: Norway burns none of that gas itself. There's no operating gas power plant, and very few Norwegians have gas furnaces (and oil ones are fully banned!). It's all for export to the rest of us who haven't figured out yet that there's a better, cheaper way to live.
Reuters@reuters.com · 4d agoEquinor makes gas discovery in North Sea reut.rs/4hKMu06
