Check out the latest episode of the pod where I chat with Eric Goff about a lot of things ERCOT, including how the region compares to others in dealing with load growth.
Joshua D. Rhodes
@joshdr83.bsky.social
Energy | Research Scientist @utaustin.bsky.social & @columbiauniversity.bsky.social | CTO @ideasmithsLLC | Electric Commissioner @austintexasgov | husband | dad | views my own
It's not easy being green. Check out the latest episode where I talk with Austin Energy on the challenges they face in today's market. "We're not going to win this race in the clean energy transition if we're not honest about the challenges that we have ahead of us in executing on it."
Texas produces a lot of light sweet crude, but Gulf Coast refineries were built for heavier imports. In a conflict tied to Middle East oil flows, that mismatch helps explain why Texas fuel prices remain exposed to global disruption.
Data Centers: Opportunity or Threat? In the latest episode, I talk with Michael Webber about electricity demand growth, data centers, and why Texas energy problems are more about peak than energy. We also solve the three-body problem (jk!) and talk about life and learning in the age of AI.
The U.S. grid isn’t one electricity market. Regions like ERCOT, PJM, and CAISO all run different systems with different rules for pricing & reliability. Max Kanter explains how GridStatus data can act as a ground source of truth, allowing different constituencies to have conversations about energy
Electricity doesn’t have one price. It has 70,000+ nodes. Max Kanter explains nodal pricing, and why GridStatus mapped 20,000+ nodes with 5-minute updates. Texas congestion and “market outcomes” look different at the node.
New episode of the pod is live! I spoke with Andrew Reimers, ERCOT’s Independent Market Monitor, about what makes the IMM role distinct in Texas. We cover ERCOT’s isolation, independent oversight, and how that context shapes debates over reserves, DRRS, RUC, and NPRR 1309 vs 1310.
Since @joshdr83.bsky.social doesn't post here all the time. Texas setting new grid records. 78% of energy needs this morning were supplied by renewables.
What do real landowners and local officials think about wind and solar projects? We asked them in our last report that focused on Texas: txrenewables.net See below for what they said.
“We’re in an energy crunch,” said Joshua Rhodes, an electricity expert and research scientist at the University of Texas at Austin. “We should be doubling down on everything we can build right now. Making things more expensive is antithetical to that.” www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Texas Shows How Trump’s Anti-Green Moves Threaten a Red Economy
The state faces an energy crunch, but Trump’s budget bill will hurt renewable power — Texas’ fastest growing electricity source.
bloomberg.com
It's AI vs. Al for cheap power “Ultimately, this is about energy,” said Matt Meenan, VP of external affairs for the Aluminum Association. “I think we’re going to have a hard time becoming fully self-sufficient for primary Al in the U.S.” www.canarymedia.com/articles/cle...
US aluminum producers need cheap, clean power. That may be tough to…
Century Aluminum and Emirates Global Aluminium want to build the nation’s first smelters in decades, but must compete with data centers for a limited…
canarymedia.com
On why the cheapest form of energy does well in Texas: “[Texas] set up its markets to be cut-throat,” says Joshua Rhodes, a research scientist at [UT Austin] By contrast, in many other parts of the US, there is no competition at all, says Rhodes. www.telegraph.co.uk/gift/80aac07...
Why Texas’s ‘cut-throat’ approach to net zero is paying off
Trump’s anti-green agenda has put him on an unlikely collision course with supporters in the state
telegraph.co.uk
Oh hey, IdeaSmiths CTO @joshdr83.bsky.social did this analysis! The short version: voting to attack wind and solar is a vote to raise electricity prices and escalate chances of outages and shortfalls.
Senator Sheldon Whitehouse@whitehouse.senate.gov · last yr.Another study backs my argument last night that Cruz and Cornyn are voting to raise electricity prices for Texans with their attack on clean energy.
It’s official: Texas bills targeting solar and wind power are dead. Here's a recap of the arguments that worked, as the renewable energy industry tries the same appeals to lobby against Trump's "big, beautiful bill." www.houstonchronicle.com/business/ene...
Renewable energy survived Texas attacks. Its future now depends on Trump.
Texas bills targeting solar and wind power are dead, so the state’s flourishing renewable energy industry remains alive and well — for now.
houstonchronicle.com
Investing in US technology and US supply chains delivers benefits that reach far and wide. "I'm a husband, father, and softball coach, and welding puts food on the table, smoked ribs on the grill." – Lee Evans, Welder, Grenzebach, Newnan, GA. Learn more: bit.ly/43vszfW #AmericasSolarCompany
“The same sun that heats up buildings, that drives air conditioning, that drives peak (electricity) demand in Texas, is the same sun that's producing electricity for solar panels,” said Joshua Rhodes www.houstonchronicle.com/business/ene...
How will the ERCOT grid hold up during this week's Texas heat wave?
Electricity demand is expected to set an all-time May record this week, according to forecasts from the Electric Reliability Council of Texas.
houstonchronicle.com
“The electricity grid is looking to grow with new loads, like AI and data centers…” “Building new [infrastructure] takes time and money. ->, “it would be good to continue to be efficient in places where we can, [Rhodes] said. www.marketplace.org/story/2025/0...
Federal Energy Star label program, which helped curb electricity demand, said to be on chopping block
The Trump administration reportedly plans to cut the program, just as electricity demand is rising in the United States due to the rise in data centers and AI.
marketplace.org
Sometimes it feels like it's just us, but it's not. While Virginia is holding on to the title of data center capital of the world, this industry has the ability and incentive to go where the power is, not just where the initial infrastructure was laid.
Joshua D. Rhodes@joshdr83.bsky.social · last yr.Super cool map showing electricity, data, and datacenter infrastructure from NREL has been updated: www.nrel.gov/docs/gen/fy2...
“It's like expecting a trumpet to play a drum line — it's just not going to work. It's not the right tool. But if you put all the tools together, then you can get an orchestra,” Rhodes said. via @clairehao.bsky.social @houstonchronicle.com www.houstonchronicle.com/business/ene...
Texas GOP moves closer to killing the state's renewable energy boom
The bills would require nearly every solar and wind farm in the state to back up their electricity output with natural gas power plants or a fleet of batteries.
houstonchronicle.com
Super cool map showing electricity, data, and datacenter infrastructure from NREL has been updated: www.nrel.gov/docs/gen/fy2...
Been out for a bit to welcome this new addition to our family, really excited to be a dad! He is doing great, just working on what sleep means now ;)
ICYMI: amazing and timely map by Billy Roberts at NREL showing electricity and data infrastructure across the US!
Rhodes: “And that can make a big difference for a rancher or a landholder to have that revenue. … A lot of landowners talked about wind and solar being like a drought-proof crop. It doesn’t have to rain to still get paid.” yaleclimateconnections.org/2025/03/Clea...
Clean energy is powering local economies in Texas » Yale Climate Connections
Wind, solar, and battery storage projects are generating billions in tax revenue for communities, a University of Texas study finds.
yaleclimateconnections.org
A huge jump in the ERCOT solar peak generation record today at 12:20 pm. New record = 26,321 MW Old record = 25,015 MW - set just 10 days ago. Note: Solar share of total generation was 56.3% when the record was set. Crazy! Source: www.gridstatus.io/records/erco... #energysky
“AI is not going to wait for 2030 to come. It is going to be won or lost in the next few years,” Rhodes said. “And the things you can build today are wind, solar and storage.” www.houstonchronicle.com/business/ene...
Is wind energy really driving up electricity rates in Texas? What experts say
Trump officials slammed wind energy during CERAWeek comments in Houston this week, claiming it has driven up electricity costs for consumers.
houstonchronicle.com