Brendan Pierpont
@brendan.bsky.social
📤 4732
📥 1621
📝 1561
Energy and climate nerd. Electricity
@energyinnovation.bsky.social
. Views are my own.
He’s basically daring the world to tax extreme wealth and create a universal basic income so the productivity gains from AI go to everyone… right?
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about 7 hours ago
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John Kostyack
about 17 hours ago
Hold your wallets, everyone, OpenAI is talking about taxpayer backing so it can continue its data center building craze without having to show profitability.
www.wsj.com/video/openai...
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OpenAI Wants Federal Backstop for New Investments
Sarah Friar, the CFO of OpenAI, says the company wants a federal guarantee to make it easier to finance massive investments in AI chips for data centers. Friar spoke at WSJ’s Tech Live event in Califo...
https://www.wsj.com/video/openai-wants-federal-backstop-for-new-investments/4F6C864C-7332-448B-A9B4-66C321E60FE7
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Great run down of Tuesday's election results.
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about 17 hours ago
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Is the capital markets money spigot drying up or something?
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about 20 hours ago
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Tom Moore
about 2 months ago
Delighted that USA Today published my opinion piece today on
@americanprogress.bsky.social
's plan to undo Citizens United through state corporation laws.
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Americans want dark money out of politics. We don't have to wait for Supreme Court. | Opinion
Corporations are not born; they are built. And the Supreme Court has always held that the power to build them belongs to states alone.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2025/09/17/supreme-court-citizens-united-campaign-finance-politics/86116869007/
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Jan Rosenow
2 days ago
Critics of renewables often point to land use as a reason not to do wind & solar. Land use IS a real issue for all energy assets incl renewables unless onsite. But what critics conveniently forget is huge land impact of fossil fuels. Aerial view of fracking sites in Texas. 👇
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Emily Pontecorvo
2 days ago
In a key race for energy policy, Democrats just won 2 seats on Georgia’s utility commission — changing the dynamic for first time in nearly 20 years. Here’s a quick hit on what it all means.
heatmap.news/politics/ali...
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Democrats Win 2 Key Energy Races in Georgia
A “seismic change” comes for the state’s Public Service Commission.
https://heatmap.news/politics/alicia-johnson-peter-hubbard-georgia-public-service-commission-results
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Good work today America.
2 days ago
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Jesse D. Jenkins
3 days ago
Cost estimates for new gas power plants just keep rising!
www.utilitydive.com/news/gas-pow...
🔌💡
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Tyler Norris
3 days ago
I have a
@nytimes.com
op-ed today on managing power demand growth. Central point: load growth is an opportunity to *offset* upward rate pressure (and avoid gas overbuild), if we plan the system to make fuller use of infrastructure we’ve already paid for. 🔌💡
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/04/o...
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“Maybe truly understanding the world requires participating in it.” A really really good long read.
www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
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The Case That A.I. Is Thinking
ChatGPT does not have an inner life. Yet it seems to know what it’s talking about.
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/11/10/the-case-that-ai-is-thinking
3 days ago
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Data centers are a unique kind of electricity user, and a better understanding of how they use electricity can help policymakers and regulators integrate these loads onto the system with lower costs and emissions. From my colleague Eric Gimon:
energyinnovation.org/report/dodgi...
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Dodging The Firm Fixation For Data Centers And The Grid • Energy Innovation
We can meet data center electricity demand and build a more affordable, cleaner grid by utilizing clean energy and flexible solutions instead of relying on fossil fuels.
https://energyinnovation.org/report/dodging-the-firm-fixation-for-data-centers-and-the-grid/
4 days ago
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Great resource from RMI on electricity affordability policy solutions:
affordability-toolkit.rmi.org
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RMI Electricity Affordability Toolkit
This resource lists more than two dozen of those tools to help legislators, staff, and advocates identify and advance effective electricity affordability solutions. It provides a curated set of action...
https://affordability-toolkit.rmi.org/
7 days ago
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jael holzman
10 days ago
huge: new york’s largest battery project has been canceled. would’ve stored enough energy to power more than half a million homes. why’d it die? a protest movement in NYC against battery storage, backed by curtis sliwa & national GOP politicians. my latest for
@heatmap.news
#greensky
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New York’s Largest Battery Project Has Been Canceled
Fullmark Energy quietly shuttered Swiftsure, a planned 650-megawatt energy storage system on Staten Island.
https://heatmap.news/sparks/swiftsure-fullmark-canceled?draft=1
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lisa martine jenkins
14 days ago
Late night filing from Chris Wright that could greatly expand federal authority over interconnection -- and fast track the process for flexible large loads. By me for
@latitudemedia.bsky.social
⤵️
www.latitudemedia.com/news/wright-...
#energysky
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Wright directs FERC to fast track large load interconnection
In a notice of proposed rulemaking, the Energy Secretary endorsed accelerating interconnection for flexible loads like data centers.
https://www.latitudemedia.com/news/wright-directs-ferc-to-fast-track-large-load-interconnection/
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Miles Farmer
14 days ago
Major development!: Department of Energy directs
@ferc.gov
to consider an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on large load interconnection. THREAD with some key highlights:
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Carl Quintanilla
15 days ago
ROSENBERG: “.. the AI spending boom has taken over everything, and when we strip out all the direct and indirect spending related to this theme, there has been absolutely no growth in the economy so far this year.”
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Kevin J. Kircher
19 days ago
1. Rising electricity bills are becoming a hotbutton issue, but pundits and politicians often talk about them in ways that are misleading or flat-out wrong. A new paper from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory examines actual data on retail electricity prices. The results may surprise you. 🧵
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Factors influencing recent trends in retail electricity prices in the United States
This study analyzes the primary drivers of recent state-level trends in U.S. retail electricity prices. We summarize pricing trends, explore descripti…
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1040619025000612
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Alexander C. Kaufman
18 days ago
Something unusual just happened in Oregon: A utility asked for a rate *decrease*
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Jenny Chase’s annual solar opinions thread is here! 👇
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18 days ago
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Jesse D. Jenkins
21 days ago
Rondo Energy begins commercial operations of the world's largest industrial heat battery — 100 MWh — capable of converting low-cost electricity from wind & solar into heat at >1000°C and supply constant heating needs for industrial processes. 🔌💡
share.google/rniuYqTcGHfo...
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'World’s largest' industrial heat battery is online and solar-powered
Rondo Energy launches the world's largest industrial heat battery in California, delivering 24/7 steam and heat powered by renewables.
https://share.google/rniuYqTcGHfoShOGs
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If you like good maps, check this out:
aerowhere.com
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AeroWhere Flight Tracks
Interactive visualization of historic aircraft flight tracks from ADS-B data. Explore flight patterns, filter by time and altitude, and export data for analysis.
https://aerowhere.com/
24 days ago
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This is a good article and interesting topic and question. Fundamentally there are a few things to consider:
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24 days ago
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Something about the way many AI technologists talk about what they're building makes me worry that they have little to no grounding in the systems, pedagogies, approaches, experiences that lead to critical and empathic human intelligence, even as they attempt to replicate it with machines.
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25 days ago
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Under-appreciated dynamic: - Over 1/3 of US nat gas production is associated gas from oil wells - Demand and price outlook for oil looks like it won't support a lot of new wells (eg link) - Add rising gas demand and exports and we're in for some gas price volatility.
www.spglobal.com/commodity-in...
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https://www.spglobal.com/commodity-insights/en/news-research/latest-news/crude-oil/100725-oil-prices-to-decline-as-global-oversupply-builds-through-2026-us-eia
25 days ago
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Michael McLean
29 days ago
Legislation filed in Illinois would commission a study to evaluate the creation of the 'Energy Reliability Corporation of Illinois', a new independent system operator for our electricity grid. Good riddance PJM and MISO! 🔌💡
www.ilga.gov/documents/le...
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HB4116 104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
https://www.ilga.gov/documents/legislation/104/HB/10400HB4116.htm
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jael holzman
28 days ago
SCOOP: The Bureau of Land Management says the largest solar project in Nevada — the Esmeralda 7 mega-farm — has been canceled The news was quietly dropped via a sudden website update with no public word from any of the companies involved or a statement from the agency
@heatmap.news
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Esmeralda 7 Solar Project Has Been Canceled, BLM Says
It would have delivered a gargantuan 6.2 gigawatts of power.
https://heatmap.news/sparks/esmeralda-7-canceled-nevada-solar
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John Kostyack
29 days ago
Tech companies want "speed to power" for data centers far more than clean power. Some in the gas industry believe they can win this race w behind-the-meter natural gas produced with single-cycle turbines - which generate nearly double the GHG pollution than combined-cycle. Via
@zeitlin.bsky.social
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Data Centers Have Solved Their Speed-to-Power Problem — With Natural Gas
“Old economy” companies like Caterpillar and Williams are cashing in by selling smaller, less-efficient turbines to impatient developers.
https://heatmap.news/energy/natural-gas-data-centers-speed
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John Kostyack
29 days ago
Would love to see more analysis of how this behind-the-meter strategy works in light of the gas industry's long track record of outages and its vulnerability to extreme weather events. Gas is arguably more vulnerable than any other power source.
www.utilitydive.com/news/gas-pow...
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Gas plants ‘disproportionately vulnerable to failure,’ warns Union of Concerned Scientists report
Extreme temperatures threaten gas plants and electric reliability, particularly in regions where grid operators use simple methods to account for resource contributions, according to UCS.
https://www.utilitydive.com/news/gas-power-plants-reliability-winter-union-concerned-scientists/704031/
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Keaton Peters
about 1 month ago
Hey
#energysky
I’m a reporter writing about increasing electric
#utility
bills. Here to connect with people who have personal experience with their power being turned off for an upcoming story. Please reach out at
[email protected]
. I want to know how disconnection impacted you
#electricbill
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Brendan Pierpont
Courtney Vaughn
about 1 month ago
Streets are still closed off in front of the Portland ICE facility at 8:30pm. Protesters have gathered on a side street. Dance party in progress.
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So it’s infrastructure week again, huh?
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about 1 month ago
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Nathaniel William Horadam
about 1 month ago
It’s a good thing Texas installed so much reliable solar, wind, and battery capacity to shoulder the load in the event the state’s unreliable coal generation suffered a catastrophic failure. Because apparently it did. 🔌💡
ieefa.org/resources/ne...
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Newest big U.S. coal-plant offline until 2027
The newest major coal-fired power plant in the U.S. is expected to be offline until March 2027 after a major failure in April.
https://ieefa.org/resources/newest-big-us-coal-plant-offline-until-2027
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Emily Pontecorvo
about 1 month ago
Some additional info on the new list of axed DOE projects circulating. - All 7 H2 Hubs - All 13 IRA grants to convert at-risk auto plants to EV mfg - 11 of 15 grants to speed domestic clean energy mfg in former coal communities - 10 of 38 grants for battery materials
heatmap.news/politics/doe...
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Trump to Axe All 7 Hydrogen Hubs, Bucking Bipartisan Law
A new list of Department of Energy grants slated for termination will hit clean energy and oil majors alike, including Exxon and Chevron.
https://heatmap.news/politics/doe-grant-terminations-hydrogen-hubs
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So if OpenAI and Meta have apps that just publish AI-generated videos created by their models, and not third-party user content, do they become publishers and lose immunity for content-related liability (i.e. Sec. 230 immunity)?
about 1 month ago
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Jeff Young
about 1 month ago
"More than half the world's economies are already past the peak of fossil fuels," an
@ember-energy.org
researcher said. "There is no turning back now."
www.newsweek.com/world-nearin...
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World nearing 'crucial turning point' as clean energy outpaces power demand
Energy research group Ember said the global surge in clean energy more than met demand for electricity and led to the first fall in fossil fuel use this year.
https://www.newsweek.com/world-nearing-crucial-turning-point-clean-energy-outpaces-power-demand-2134980
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Brendan Pierpont
Zack Colman
about 1 month ago
Trump & his Cabinet say wind & solar are making electricity more expensive. Federal data say the opposite. Our analysis showed states w/ > avg wind/solar generation & > avg acceleration of wind/solar since ‘21 were likelier to have < avg power prices.
www.politico.com/news/2025/10...
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The government’s own data rebuts Trump’s claims about wind and solar prices
The Trump administration has targeted renewable energy for driving up electricity prices, but POLITICO’s analysis shows states that are growing their wind and solar power typically have lower power co...
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/10/07/green-electricity-costs-cheap-trump-00594123
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The Atlantic
about 1 month ago
Isaac Stanley-Becker traveled to Portland and spent time at the demonstration that Donald Trump wants to crush. What he found is an atmosphere that is more like a carnival than combat:
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Portland’s ‘War Zone’ Is Like Burning Man for the Terminally Online
There’s more absurdity than menace on the city’s streets—at least for now.
https://bit.ly/3IFY6UJ
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The Oregonian
about 1 month ago
An 84-year-old said she sustained a concussion and was hit with a projectile after she and her husband, a Vietnam vet, were knocked down by federal officers.
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Federal agents knock down elderly couple during Portland protest
An 84-year-old said she sustained a concussion and was hit with a projectile after she and her husband, a Vietnam vet, were knocked down by federal officers.
https://www.oregonlive.com/politics/2025/10/federal-agents-knock-down-elderly-couple-during-portland-protest.html
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For one, 11/12 of our city commissioners are new this year and were not in office when most of the policies and taxes mentioned in the article were enacted, and many of the policies mentioned were enacted by city or region-wide ballot initiative.
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about 1 month ago
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Geoff Brumfiel
about 1 month ago
Well gang, it's happened: OpenAI has built a platform filled exclusively with fake, AI content. I've been playing with it for a few days, and I think it's safe to say we're basically kissing reality goodbye. Here's the story:
www.npr.org/2025/10/03/n...
And some thoughts 🧵
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southpaw
about 1 month ago
Looming over what would otherwise be a beautiful stretch of pacific coastline, this facility represents about 1.5% of the US’s refining capacity.
www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/n...
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Large fire erupts at Los Angeles County refinery
The Los Angeles County Fire Department said the original report came from the intersection of Aviation and Rosecrans.
https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/news/large-fire-erupts-at-los-angeles-county-refinery/
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The $15 billion IPO of Rick Perry-Backed Fermi is wild. Brand new company, no revenue, has spent about $5 million in its lifetime, has one site, no equipment orders placed, no data center tenant lined up. $15 billion for an idea and an initial agreement to use a site.
www.sec.gov/Archives/edg...
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Filed Pursuant to Rule 424(b)(4)Registration No. 333-290089
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/2071778/000121390025094424/ea0252333-11.htm
about 1 month ago
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Stephen Stapczynski
about 1 month ago
GAS TURBINE SHORTAGE 🚨⚡ Orders for turbines for natural gas power plants are vastly outpacing supply, threatening the world’s ability to keep pace with rising electricity demand 🧵 Thread on how we got here and what it means for power-hungry nations
www.bloomberg.com/features/202...
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Canary Media Inc.
about 1 month ago
Legacy air-conditioning giant Carrier has a simple solution to ACs stressing the grid: Pair them with a battery that charges up when power demand is low. Here’s how it’s testing the concept.
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Carrier wants to pair batteries with air conditioners to help the grid
Utilities are struggling to meet demand as AI data centers surge. Equipping air conditioners with batteries could be an easy and hugely scalable way to…
https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/batteries/carrier-air-conditioning-help-grid
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Who wants to pick winners when you can pick losers?
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/29/c...
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‘Mine, Baby, Mine’: Trump Officials Offer $625 Million to Rescue Coal
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/29/climate/trump-coal-revival.html
about 1 month ago
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Stephen Pimpare
about 1 month ago
"SNAP Changes Will Upend State Budgets"
www.georgetownpoverty.org/issues/snap-...
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In Coal-Powered West Virginia, Sky-High Energy Costs Strain Residents:
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/29/b...
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In Coal-Powered West Virginia, Sky-High Energy Costs Strain Residents
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/29/business/west-virginia-electricity-prices-coal.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare
about 1 month ago
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Sean Casten
about 1 month ago
"Over the past 15 years, electricity rates in [West Virginia] have risen almost twice as fast as the national average." Coal ain't cheap.
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/29/b...
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In Coal-Powered West Virginia, Sky-High Energy Costs Strain Residents
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/29/business/west-virginia-electricity-prices-coal.html?smid=nytcore-android-share
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Jigar Shah
about 1 month ago
Want to reduce electricity bills 20% by 2030? Release the data! We have over 37GW of batteries, water heaters, etc that can participate in demand flexibilty. But without data access they can't bid into the PJM/MISO capacity auction to bring down costs.
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