I run a newsletter/podcast called Volts about clean energy & politics. Subscribe & join the community at volts.wtf! (@volts.wtf on bsky, ahem.)
Seattle, WA
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Today on Volts: Home batteries are useful, but not everyone can afford a Powerwall, or wants to deal with an electrician. A company called @PilaEnergy is selling small (1.6kWh) batteries that can plug into a normal wall outlet and back up appliances or pair with rooftop solar. I talk with the CEO.
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Do small residential batteries make sense?
A conversation with Cole Ashman of Pila Energy.
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Today on Volts: I interview @fvmaisano, media relations guy for the natural gas (and, ok, offshore wind) industry, consummate insider, about how he keeps reporters happy, power dynamics in DC, fights over data centers and permitting, and much more.
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Tomorrow, I'm interviewing @KingsmillBond of @ember_energy about this report, which argues that the energy revolution & the information revolution are converging & mutually supporting, with enormous economic & geopolitical implications.
What should I ask him?
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Today on Volts: Verrus wants to build data centers that use very little water, run quietly, & rely on giant batteries rather than diesel or natgas generators, which can make them grid assets that help reduce power prices. It hasn't overcome local opposition. I talk with the CEO.
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David Roberts retweeted
Fantastic conversation about all the messiness, complexity, and urgency of decarbonization and climate politics (with @janeaflegal and @drvolts). volts.wtf/p/building-a-big-a…
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On Wednesday I'm talking with Pila Energy, a company that's making small DIY plug-and-play batteries for the home. In addition to backing up appliances in case of blackouts, they can also monitor appliance health & "mesh" together to do basic energy arbitrage.
Got any questions?
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David Roberts retweeted
This is definitely worth two hours of your time.
Main point synopsis IMO: there is no one in charge of planning the grid, and that's a problem.
Today on Volts: an epic conversation with @JaneAFlegal. We talk industrial policy, what IRA got right & wrong, the role of philanthropy, data centers & the grid, permitting reform, & so much more. Jane is one of the sharpest analysts out there, could listen to her talk forever.
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David Roberts retweeted
A really great one, predictably.
Today on Volts: an epic conversation with @JaneAFlegal. We talk industrial policy, what IRA got right & wrong, the role of philanthropy, data centers & the grid, permitting reform, & so much more. Jane is one of the sharpest analysts out there, could listen to her talk forever.
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David Roberts retweeted
Great ep! At the end, DR asks a good Q about the lack of an enviro coalition around sensible decarb. May I suggest the organized constituency most aligned w/ @JaneAFlegal's vision of building a 'grid for growth' - and oft ignored by enviros - is *unions*. See: @climatejobs.
Today on Volts: an epic conversation with @JaneAFlegal. We talk industrial policy, what IRA got right & wrong, the role of philanthropy, data centers & the grid, permitting reform, & so much more. Jane is one of the sharpest analysts out there, could listen to her talk forever.
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Here's what I think about when I think back on 9/11. The attack happened on the watch of a Republican president who had been warned, repeatedly & explicitly, that an attack was coming. He dismissed those warnings.
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Even when the public turned against the war & elected Obama (who actually killed bin Laden), the GOP was never held responsible in any enduring way. It was back to full strength within few years of Obama's election. It brushed the whole thing off, flushed it down the memory hole, & the press helped.
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