The only lasting way out of the fossil dependency is shifting electricity generation to renewables and nuclear. And electrifying the economy as rapidly as possible. We will present our electrification strategy before the summer. Electrifying Europe means making Europe more independent.

Like not preparing for the possibility of gravity when you step off a bridge.

Ryan Goodman@rgoodlaw.bsky.social · 5mo ago

"Top Trump officials acknowledged to lawmakers during recent classified briefings that they did not plan for the possibility of Iran closing the strait in response to strikes." www.cnn.com/2026/03/12/p...

There's a certain category of commentator who wants to advocate for ignoring climate change who thinks "but what about the eventual heat death of the universe" is some kind of argumentative trump card and it's embarrassing every time. This is next level, though.

In 2025, more than 10,000 STEM PhDs quit or were fired from federal jobs. That's 14% of the federal STEM PhD workforce, and 17% of STEM PhDs at 14 critical agencies. A huge loss of expertise and institutional memory, representing more than 106,000 person-years of experience.

Colette Delawalla, PhD@cdelawalla.bsky.social · 6mo ago

Wow. This is devastating. www.science.org/content/arti...

Back in DC for the week just in time for the most snow we've had in a decade. Since the National Guard is still here loitering around metro stations looking bored, seems to me the least they could do is get some shovels in hand and help dig out.

Great story by @mariagallucci.bsky.social on how Trump forcing all Department of Interior reviews of clean energy projects to get personal approval from DOI Secretary Doug Burgum has stifled 22GW of development in the midst of an energy crisis: www.canarymedia.com/articles/cle... #energysky

22GW of renewables thwarted or in limbo under Trump ‘blockade’

An Interior Department memo is hampering wind and solar on public lands. It’s one of many federal actions slowing the build-out of cheap, clean energy.

canarymedia.com

Going to be hard to provide real assurances while the administration is trying to illegally cancel hundreds of obligated contracts, literally rob a bank to claw back disbursed funds from the financial agent for the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, and is defending those attempts in multiple courts.

Carl Quintanilla@carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 7mo ago

FT: “.. The executives meeting are expected to press the president on providing strong legal and financial guarantees before they agree to commit ..” @financialtimes.com #OOTT www.ft.com/content/84e0...

National security concerns raised by the Pentagon during the leasing and planning of offshore wind projects south of New England were also fully mitigated, because that’s part of what the much maligned NEPA process does: Balances legitimate competing uses for America’s public lands and waters.

Clare Fieseler, PhD@fieseler.bsky.social · 8mo ago

3 of the 5 wind farms just halted are in New England 🔍 There were "no major military issues that came to the fore in New England,” Bill White told me in August. He represented Mass. on a federally-led task force siting offshore wind farm areas. Here's the public record of the task force. 👇 🧵

10. In other words, in 2012 new production benefited domestic producers AND consumers. But today, new production only benefits producers. That's a fundamentally different policy and political environment. And note also that domestic consumption is basically flat for the last 20 yrs.

This is incredible (good news too): “After a 40% fall in 2024 in battery equipment costs, it’s clear we’re on track for another major fall in 2025…The economics for batteries are unrecognizable, & the industry is only just getting to grips with this new paradigm” www.pv-magazine.com/2025/12/12/b...

Batteries now cheap enough to make dispatchable solar economically feasible

Energy think tank Ember says utility-scale battery costs have fallen to $65/MWh outside China and the United States, enabling solar power to be delivered when needed.

pv-magazine.com

In March, I was on an "Abundance" panel where I said that if Congressional Republicans repealed IRA credits for building clean energy at a time of skyrocketing demand, they were going to own the blame for rising energy bills. I think some people thought I was engaging in motivated reasoning. Welp!

We won’t have all the data for awhile yet but I’m predicting the 30C Alternative Fuel Refueling Credit is going to do way more to expand EV charging nationwide than any other program. (And could have done even more if not for arbitrary geographic restrictions imposed by Congress.)

TODAY: Tune in at 5:30 p.m. CT to hear @slashklc.bsky.social, Susty Vibes's @dzennypha.bsky.social, Creo's Kobi Weinberg, and mHUB's Elizabeth Andrews discuss global lessons in urban climate resilience and Chicago's potential as a climate refuge. 📺⤵️ brnw.ch/21wXgh1

Built to Last: Creating Climate Resilient Communities

In the lead-up to COP30, Kristina Costa, Jennifer Uchendu, Kobi Weinberg, and Elizabeth Andrews discuss global lessons in urban climate resilience and Chicago's potential as a climate refuge.

brnw.ch

It’s almost as though these competitively awarded grants in a highly oversubscribed program were selected on the basis of merit and need, not politics or ideology. But that was in the olden times of (checks watch) less than a year ago.

Maxine Joselow@maxinejoselow.bsky.social · 10mo ago

Before catastrophic floods swept through the Alaska Native village of Kipnuk on Sunday, the EPA canceled a $20 million grant intended to protect the community from extreme flooding. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/14/c...

Programmatic review provides a faster permitting process, so this change will result in unnecessary delays for bringing new generation online. In the Biden admin, responsibly expanding programmatic reviews was among many unsung reforms that brought federal permit times down by ~25% from 2022-2024.

Another day, another packet of evidence that the energy policy of this administration is a world-historic self-own that will leave the U.S. poorer and less competitive in a rapidly changing global economy.

Canary Media Inc.@canarymedia.com · 10mo ago

Investors are the world are pouring more money into renewable energy than ever — even as they pull back on spending in the U.S.

🚗⚡ EVs win everywhere A new study shows that in every US county, electric vehicles now emit less greenhouse gas than petrol cars, no matter how you drive them. 🔗 pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/... #SciComm #EVs #ClimateAction 🧪

Greenhouse Gas Reductions Driven by Vehicle Electrification across Powertrains, Classes, Locations, and Use Patterns

We assess the cradle-to-grave greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of current (2025) light-duty vehicles (LDV) across powertrains, vehicle classes, and locations. We create driver archetypes (commuters, occasional long-distance travelers, contractors), simulate different use patterns (drive cycles, utility factors, cargo loads) and characterize GHG emissions using an attributional approach. Driven by grid decarbonization and improved electric vehicle efficiency, we are first to report electric vehicles have lower GHG emissions than gasoline vehicles in every county across the contiguous United States. On average, a 300-mile range battery electric vehicle (BEV) has emissions which are 31–36% lower than a 50-mile range plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV), 63–65% lower than a hybrid electric vehicle (HEV), and 71–73% lower than an internal combustion engine vehicle (ICEV). Downsizing also reduces emissions, with a compact ICEV having 34% lower emissions than an ICEV pickup. We present the first evaluation of LDV emissions while hauling cargo, showing that carrying 2500 lbs. in a pickup increases BEV emissions by 13% (134 to 152 g CO2e/mile) compared to 22% (486 to 592 g CO2e/mile) for an ICEV. Emissions maps and vehicle powertrain/class matrices highlight the interplay between vehicle classes, powertrains, locations, and use patterns, and provide insights for consumers, manufacturers, and policymakers.

pubs.acs.org

Their antipathy appears limited to the technologies that pose a near-term threat to an unnecessary gas expansion. Existing hydro has mostly already been uprated. SMR, conventional nuke, new hydro, marine kinetic energy sources will all take years to develop. Wind, solar, storage — not so much.

Justin Gerdes@justingerdes.bsky.social · 11mo ago

This announcement today from DOE affirms something that came up time and again at the POET/UMERC marine energy conference I attended last week. At least so far, Trump's antipathy for renewables has not been directed at hydropower and marine energy: www.energy.gov/eere/article... 🔌💡

Solar executives warn that Trump attack on renewables will lead to power crunch that spikes electricity prices — via @cnbc.com www.cnbc.com/2025/08/24/s...

Solar executives warn that Trump attack on renewables will lead to power crunch that spikes electricity prices

Renewable power executives say difficulty getting permits, rising costs due to tariffs and the end of key tax credits are making it tough to plan.

cnbc.com

Wow: “If you grow an acre of corn, it will produce 900 gallons of ethanol, which will get you about 25,000 miles for a Ford F-150...which is, not bad I guess. But let’s say we put solar on that same acre. It will produce enough electricity every year to drive my Lightning 550,000 miles.”

Forty Acres and a Sense of Hope

Sunshine on a Cloudy Week

substack.com

Highlighting synchronous compensators is good; unfortunately Bloomberg is again repeating the fallacy that the precipitating event of the Spain blackout was solar failing. Thermal generators went down first, and then Spain’s grid regs (which can also be revised!) took solar offline as a precaution.

Bloomberg News@bloomberg.com · 12mo ago

The fix for solar power blackouts is already here — so why are so few countries investing in it? @akshatrathi.bsky.social‬ explains bloom.bg/3V9Ox2L

Earlier today, Bloomberg published what appears to be updated 'commence construction' guidance for wind and solar projects seeking to claim tax credits under the GOP megabill. BLUF: We should take no comfort that it "could have been worse" and there is very little to celebrate. 🧵:

Literally lighting taxpayer dollars on fire, in pursuit of ignorance.

Virginia Gewin@virginiagewin.bsky.social · 12mo ago

“The destruction of the satellites — which will be abandoned and allowed to eventually burn up in a fiery descent into Earth’s atmosphere — marks the latest step by the Trump administration to scale back federal climate science.”

"It hasn’t attracted much attention, but a document filed by the Trump administration last week admits to something important: The Trump administration believes that it is going to make gasoline more expensive for Americans." — @robinsonmeyer.bsky.social heatmap.news/politics/tru...

Donald Trump’s Backdoor Gasoline Tax

Overturning the basis for America’s tailpipe emissions rules could actually raise prices at the pump — according to the Trump administration itself.

heatmap.news

~17,000 Tribal homes in the U.S. still do not have electricity, including many in the Southwest. Off-grid solar and storage is by far the most cost-effective way to electrify these homes. Just needlessly, recklessly, pointlessly cruel to deny Tribal families access to power and refrigeration.

Karin Rives@karinrives.bsky.social · 12mo ago

The Hopi Tribe in Arizona has to tell 650 households that the electricity they were getting through the $7 billion Solar for All program was canceled. "It feels like we stepped back 100 years," Hopi Chairman Tim Nuvangyaoma said of the government's broken promise. tinyurl.com/ym959wcu

Sixth IRS commissioner in seven months unwilling to face jail time when directed to share confidential taxpayer data. Never thought I’d say this, but kudos to Billy Long. Political appointees violating federal law at other agencies should probably take a good look in the mirror.

Jacob Bogage@jacobbogage.bsky.social · 12mo ago

🚨 WaPo EXCLUSIVE Hours before Trump removed Billy Long as IRS commissioner, his agency clashed with the White House over sharing immigrants’ tax data.

Renewables saving the day during record heat is THE story of the summer.

Doug Lewin@douglewin.bsky.social · 12mo ago

Heat index in Houston is 111. Air conditioning demand is high. Gas & coal plant outages are up sharply. But prices in Texas are the lowest in the country ($20/MWh). Why? Texas' nation leading solar resources are generating >30% of the power needed on peak. #txlege #txenergy

@ramez.bsky.social: "Wow. 12 GWs of natural gas plants have unplanned outages in Texas right now, more than twice the amount the grid is supposed to be able to handle. Batteries keeping the lights on as we speak."

Felix Hamer • electricfelix@electricfelix.eurosky.social · 12mo ago

@douglewin.bsky.social: "And batteries reached their 2nd highlest output ever in Texas as the sun set. Prices remained 98% below the cap. ERCOT, in its own words, "assumes a total planned and unplanned thermal outage amount of 5,195 MW" in August. It's >12,000 right now. #txlege #txenergy"

Yesterday Real World: Boston cast member / acting NASA head Sean Duffy said he wants to build a nuclear plant... on the moon. Vogtle cost $30B without having to escape Earth's gravity. Average cost of a resi system that can bring your grandma's power bill to zero = $15-$25k Make it make sense.

Maxine Joselow@maxinejoselow.bsky.social · last yr.

Scoop: EPA is preparing to cancel $7 billion in grants intended to help low- and moderate-income families install solar panels www.nytimes.com/2025/08/05/c...

The remarkable work EPA regulations have achieved over 50 years to improve air quality and public health in the U.S. being steadily undone by climate-fueled wildfire disasters both here and in Canada.

Catie Hausman@catiehausman.bsky.social · last yr.

Argument mostly resolved by this super interesting and depressing figure: doi.org/10.31223/X57... Clearly we're in a new normal. Open question - do we know yet whether the new normal is more like 2020/21 or more like 2023? I suspect the latter, since Canada is so darn big & it keeps burning. /end