The Continuing Saga of How China Makes Electricity …
The news of renewable versus fossil plants is a continuing story and sometimes hard to keep straight. Some continue to focus on the downside, and some on the upside. Here is a good piece on the situation.
How to Meet Growing Electricity Demand is Not Just a Climate Choice … There is Also Cost
There is no question that electricity demand will continue to grow. Yes, part of it is because of data centers. But the economy and society in general are getting electrified, and that is a good thing if the generation added to the grid is clean. But if you don’t think that matters enough, take a look at this new Report that shows the major difference in cost to electricity users from the choice of gas generation versus clean generation.
TVA Goes Gas
As you likely know, TVA is a federal, yet very independent, entity. When I was in the White House, one of my projects was to try to make sure that the TVA Integrated Resource Plan included as much clean energy as possible. But it looks like my guidance two years ago didn’t carry the day, as there is an awfully large amount of fossil generation in the Plan that has finally emerged. See more here.
Heat Pump Tipping Point?
I have a suspicion that a lot of people that installed heat pumps thinking of winer heat are now happily remembering that they now also have air conditioning. Here is a good piece on how heat pumps continue to ramp up.
EuroCool vs. AmeriCool
The many European visitors in the U.S. for the World Cup have been surprised to find many things different from their home countries, but one of the biggest is the prevelance and use of air conditioning. And some wonder why Americans can’t stand a little heat now and then. I include 3 great articles on this here, here, and here.
The Extent of Media Coverage of Climate Change
If you are interested in how climate change is being covered by the media, here’s a Report for you covering the last 40 years. There is good news and bad news.
People in Flood Zones are Responding to the Message …
For some reason, I had thought that this was not happening, but statistics show otherwise. But I have seen other information showing that it needs to happen a lot more. See the piece here.
What the Oil Patch has on its To-Do List for 2026 …
It’s alway interesting to see what an industry’s goals, strategies, and plans are. In the case of the oil industry, one of the biggest is to try to stop the state-by-state litigation that is growing where the industry would be held responsible for climate change. See more here and here.
Home Storage Up … Home Solar Not So Much?
In addition them realizing that their heat pump is an air conditioner, it is nice to see that people who value having a back-up power source are turning to home batteries, and not just home generators. More here.
“Net Zero” Gets Deferred by Utilities
I have noted recently the disturbing trend where countries, states, companies, etc are not meeting the decarbonization goals they set for themselves. (See my recent essay “The Pledge Problem”) Here is a good article that is focused on how that is happening in the utility industry.
World Bank Pulls Back
Few Institutions have played a larger role in what kind of energy projects have been built around the world than the World Bank. It looked like they had turned the corner in terms of making climate change a high priority. But this recent announcement seems to say otherwise.
Notice the Word “Growth” in This Article About U.S. and Global Annual Emissions
According to a new Report, global carbon emissions from the energy sector rose 1.1% in 2025. The U.S. was responsible for about 36% of that increase with total emissions increase of 3.2% increase from 2024. Europe’s rose by 0.5% and China’s rose by 0.7%. Don’t miss the forest for the trees in those numbers, though. It is disappointing to see emissions rise at all at this point. See the Report here.
Is the Dance Between Data Centers and Utilities Getting More “Flexible”?
Hyperscalers are in a race to get their data centers built as fast as possible, as they run neck-in-neck with their competitors. Utilities are trying to figure out as quickly as they can how to handle the centers and their large electricity demand. Is making the data centers with flexible demand a point of convergence? See more here.
Are We Almost Out of Power?
A new Report indicates that the U.S. currently has only 3% excess generating capacity Things will obviously have to be built. It is also obvious that what kind of things get built is of crucial importance from a cost and emissions standpoint. More here.
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