If next-generation geothermal power is to achieve liftoff and scale in the United States, we’ll need a whole lot more geothermal hardware, and we’ll need to harden that hardware for higher-temperature conditions. That’s an opportunity for new manufacturing, and the United States should seize it.

So the question becomes: what does "modeling the grid properly" look like? Because I'm not aware of any studies that show no role for clean firm if we care about getting close to a zero-carbon grid. Like I say in this article, the optimal system almost certainly features a diverse resource mix.

There's an important battle going on behind the scenes that will change how big companies buy clean energy and report their emissions. @wilsonar.bsky.social & @energykillian.bsky.social explain what's at stake and why these changes are important on @volts.wtf www.volts.wtf/p/the-escala... 🔌💡

You love to see it:)

it’s pretty wild that the nation’s first climate law is headed towards a chainsaw and the only people talking about it here are wonks

Looks like transferability of tax credits is maintained. Foreign Entity of Concern language is substantively different from House bill, but still applied throughout. Critical question: is this workable for industry to comply with? Safe harbor language clarified (good). Stay tuned...

What does the future of enhanced geothermal power generation look like? Fervo offered an update to partners and investors at its #capeconnect event today, showcasing progress on its 100MW Cape Station project in UT. I tagged along and I learned a lot. Some highlights based on my notes follow… 🔌💡

The advanced geothermal company Fervo says it drilled a 15,700 foot well and reached temperatures of 500°F (260°C) in just 16 days of drilling. That’s a big improvement from last year, when it drilled an 8000 ft well and reached 370°F temps in 41 days. www.linkedin.com/posts/timlat...

“We know a number of entomologists. One of our very good friends now does not have the emotional courage to hang up a sheet to collect moths at night. It is too devastating to see how few there are.” Just deeply, deeply alarming www.theguardian.com/environment/...

I am happy to announce that the final piece of my doctoral work on next-generation geothermal technologies has been accepted for publication as a research article in 𝘑𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘦, with an open-access manuscript available at doi.org/10.5281/zeno...

PJM gets a lot more (still deserved) attention on the subject, but Bonneville Power Authority has been absolutely abysmal at connecting clean power in Oregon and Washington. Just ONE project has gotten approved in the last decade, and advertised wait time is 15 years!

Everyone says enhanced geothermal is the next fracking. That's only a little "bit" true. The shale fracking boom was a product of its unique market structure. Enhanced geothermal is very different. Latest from me and @buddyyakov.bsky.social at CPE—here's what a geothermal boom *really* requires:

Some big Fervo Energy news today. We’re excited to welcome Shell as a new customer at Project Cape. And announce that we are upsizing the project by 100 MW to 500 MW, using the same number of planned wells, due to productivity breakthroughs we have achieved. www.houstonchronicle.com/business/ene...

WoodMac releases it's latest US wind market report. www.woodmac.com/press-releas... Here's the good, bad and ugly... (mini 🧵) 🔌💡

And like half of the private foreign aid is just Bill Gates. For all the criticism of Effective Altruism, private philanthropy really does suck at allocating resources where they're needed most (total US charitable giving is $550bn/yr)

Next-generation geothermal energy has a number of advantages in meeting growing US electricity demand from data centers. Our recent analysis shows it could economically meet up to 64% of this expected electricity demand growth by the early 2030s. Learn more: rhg.com/research/geo...

Thanks a million to @ricoconnell.bsky.social @wilsonar.bsky.social and Julia Matevosyan for joining @sarabaldwin.bsky.social and me for a discussion on grid reliability in the clean energy transition today!! Check out the conversation here

Come hear @michelle-solomon.bsky.social @ricoconnell.bsky.social @sarabaldwin.bsky.social @wilsonar.bsky.social and Julia Matevosyan talk about grid reliability in a clean energy grid this Wednesday! energyinnovation.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

Great victory for communities, clean air, and climate action in WA State: Superior Court judge rules that I 2066 is unconstitutional. Decision leaves in place energy efficiency and gas appliance standards that made WA a national leader. www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...

Haven't seen any posts about it, but this CEQA categorical exclusion for geothermal exploration in California seems like a big deal! legiscan.com/CA/text/AB52... 🔌💡

Hey #EnergySky if you use public US energy data for any kind of analysis, we'd love to learn more about your data needs, tooling, and frustrations. Short (<10min) survey up here. @costasamaras.com @catiehausman.bsky.social @gschivley.bsky.social @jessedjenkins.com forms.gle/VWbVNnKX9UvL...

24/7 clean procurement catalyses learning for long-duration energy storage and clean dispatchable power - new op-ed in @latitudemedia.bsky.social! 🔌💡 www.latitudemedia.com/news/how-24-...

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Reminder: the first MES Speaker Series event of 2025 is happening today at 1PM ET! Register via the link below to join us for a discussion of advanced technologies and they could play in future energy systems.

Great episode of @volts.wtf, featuring a shoutout of collaborative research between Fervo Energy and Andlinger Center researchers @jessedjenkins.com and @wilsonar.bsky.social on the potential value-add from operating enhanced geothermal systems flexibly! www.volts.wtf/p/catching-u...

UPDATE: The Army Corps of Engineers is now claiming in a statement to me that it has lifted its pause on permitting activity for renewables projects. cc @heatmap.news

It's a bummer that this is necessary, but the federal data archiving collaboration we're part of has created an independent mirror of the EJScreen tool here: #EnergySky screening-tools.com/climate-econ...

The MES Speaker Series is back! Join us at 1pm ET next Thursday, February 13th for a panel discussion on our latest topic, "The Role of Advanced Technologies in a Future Energy System." Register for the event at umich.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

Attention #energysky, the Macro-Energy Systems research community now has an official Bluesky account! Follow for MES community news, events, and other relevant opportunities.

Legal experts: can this work? I assume it can throw projects into chaos at the very least, but is there a chance it stands up to legal review?

This goes in the Hall of Fame alongside the "prevent Yellowstone from erupting by turning it into a power plant" paper

Huge thanks to all the public servants who worked tirelessly throughout the last four years to advance critical clean energy & competitiveness policies. Thanks to your work, the USA is enjoying a manufacturing renaissance & clean energy boom. Queue *Real American Heroes* theme music... 🇺🇸🦅 🙏

🚨job alert🚨 Would you, or someone you know, like to channel something into thinking rigorously about how safe and electrified housing for everyone might also save the grid? I'm hiring a postdoc! 1-2 years, remote ok, $75k/year. Focus: model scenarios on deep building efficiency & grid impacts

Researchers at Princeton confirmed that the emissions consequences of abandoning additionality (or any of the other "three pillar" protections) in CA are too big to ignore. You make hydrogen about 2x as polluting as today's fossil hydrogen. iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1...

Emily Grubert (@gruberte.bsky.social), Wilson Ricks (@wilsonar.bsky.social), and I wrote a short piece on the role of methane offsets in the final § 45V hydrogen production tax credit rules. tl;dr safeguards in the new rules will avoid the worst-case outcomes, but offsetting remains open for new H2

The 'Three Pillars' green hydrogen debate got most of the media attention, but as our now published paper shows, 45V's handling of methane inputs and 'offsetting' also had the potential to break the credit. Glad to see Treasury got this one mostly right in the end.

New paper up today, with @ghgpolicy.org and @wilsonar.bsky.social -- the proposed rules for the 45V hydrogen subsidy carried major risks of paying a huge premium to lock in fossil methane-based h2. We shared this analysis with Treasury & are very glad to see the final rules mitigate the worst risks.

"Taken as a whole, the final regulations impose substantial safeguards that prevent most conventional fossil hydrogen production from relying on methane offsets to earn the valuable Section 45V tax credit." Authors: @ghgpolicy.org @wilsonar.bsky.social @gruberte.bsky.social

Baby's First Citation in the Federal Register :)

I really wish we saw more emphasis on installing 120V outlets everywhere (at rental properties, public garages, workplace parking lots etc). If you were confident you could slow charge wherever you park, it would be fine for maybe 80-90% of days, with DC rapid chargers filling in the rest of time.

1/ Treasury has released the final 45V clean hydrogen tax credit regulations. Here's what you need to know about the key provisions and requirements:

At long last, the US Treasury Dept has finalized rules for the clean hydrogen tax credit (45V). home.treasury.gov/news/press-r... In general, the rules are based on a strong set of environmental safeguards to ensure "clean" hydrogen is truly clean & provide the certainty industry needs to build. 🔌💡

Happy 45V Day everyone! The final hydrogen PTC rules are here, and they still include requirements for hourly matching, deliverability, and incrementality of clean power for electrolysis (with a few disappointing but relatively minor additional "flexibilities") 🔌💡

Today's weird energy history: The ship Thomas H. Lawson, launched in 1902, was the largest pure sailing vessel ever built and was used to haul oil and coal up the US East Coast. It sank 5 years later and caused the first ever major marine oil spill. 🔌💡 en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_...

Meta isn't "agnostic" about its energy sources, in the same way Saudi Arabia isn't "agnostic" about human rights abuses for workers. Deciding to rely on fossil fuels to power your business model isn't neutral level-headedness - it's an active choice to cause harm, for the purposes of profit.

Do Not Pin Your Hopes for Guilt-Free Hamburgers on Seaweed newrepublic.com/article/1874... via @newrepublic.com

The other "enhanced" geothermal

Batteries are reshaping ERCOT’s ancillary services procurement Battery generation capacity has made up 50%+ of awards for reg up and responsive reserves since 2022. In these, coal and gas regularly account for <20% of capacity. #energysky 🔌💡

For those interested, the full PDF of my doctoral dissertation "Hot Rocks and H2: Modeling the Role of Emerging Technologies in the Electricity Sector" is now available on Princeton's website: arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/d...

How does the New York Cap and Invest law relate to the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative? Will New York power plants have to obtain credits from both? Can they use a NYCI credit in RGGI or vice versa? 🔌💡