This is Not Cool

Conservative thought leaders have taken a look at the realities of deploying new generation, vital for their AI initiatives, and recognized the imperative to deploy clean energy – solar at least.

Polling above shows broad support among Trump voters for solar – one wonders if the numbers would be even stronger if the poll was taken today in light of the ongoing war.

Conservative Energy Network:

The global race to lead in artificial intelligence is often framed as a battle over chips, algorithms, and computing power. But behind every data center and advanced processor sits something far more fundamental: electricity.

Artificial intelligence requires enormous amounts of electricity. Data centers that support AI applications must run continuously, consuming electricity at levels that rival small cities. As the United States invests in AI, advanced manufacturing, and the reshoring of critical industries, electricity demand is expected to grow at levels not seen in decades.

That reality has major implications for American energy policy. If the United States wants to remain the world’s leading economic and technological power, we must ensure that the energy system supporting that growth is reliable, affordable, and most importantly – abundant.

Conservative commentators on X are increasingly drawing attention to this. Unfortunately, while America is debating everything, China is building everything. Over the last decade, Beijing has rapidly expanded its electricity generation across virtually every resource category, from coal and nuclear to wind and solar. Their strategy is simple: build enough power to support industrial growth and technological leadership.

Fortunately, American voters appear to recognize what is at stake. A recent poll conducted by former Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway found that conservative voters overwhelmingly support expanding American energy production. The survey, conducted across key states including Indiana, Florida, Ohio, and Texas, found that 75 percent of Republican voters support solar energy, while more than 80 percent are concerned about the risk of rolling blackouts due to electricity shortages.

American Council on Renewable Energy:

We got to hear a deep dive from polling expert Kellyanne Conway about her recent survey that shows 83% of Americans think solar is essential to U.S. energy security. Conway explained a critical point in her polling strategy: When you give Americans objective data, they will share what matters most to them. She said that Americans are motivated by affordability, reliability, and security – whether that’s job security, energy security, or national security.

Continue reading “Conservatives Warm to Solar Power”

A Modest Proposal – Essay by Jonathan Swift:

A Modest Proposal is a 1729 satirical essay by Jonathan Swift that proposes the poor Irish sell their children as food for the rich to solve poverty, overpopulation, and economic hardship in Ireland. Written in the style of a serious economic tract, Swift uses shocking, logical-sounding arguments, including recipes and statistics, to highlight the brutal conditions and the callous indifference of the ruling class, ultimately criticizing the English government’s oppression of the Irish people. 

Key aspects of the essay:

Author: Jonathan Swift, an Anglo-Irish writer and clergyman, wrote the essay in 1729.

Satirical premise: Swift suggests that the children of the poor be fattened and sold as a delicacy to the wealthy, presenting this as a practical solution to Ireland’s problems. 

Genre: It is a work of Juvenalian satire, using harsh irony to condemn the social and political situation.

Purpose: To shock the reader into recognizing the severity of Irish poverty and the inhumanity of the policies that caused it, rather than to genuinely propose cannibalism. 

Tone: The essay maintains a serious, rational, and “modest” tone, which makes the horrific proposal even more disturbing and effective. 

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I’m sure Newt’s intention was satire, right?

Continue reading “Climate Denier War Hawk has Modest Proposal”

Weirdly, big winners in this war could be renewables, and, short term anyway, Coal.
Energy Secretary (and fracking millionaire) Chris Wright’s big grift for Liquified Natural gas (LNG), could be hobbled, even long term, given the sudden uncertainty in Persian Gulf stability.

AlJazeera:

QatarEnergy has suspended liquefied natural gas (LNG) production following a drone attack, straining the global LNG market.

On Monday, Iranian drones struck two sites, according to Qatar’s Ministry of Defence: a water tank at a power plant in Mesaieed Industrial City and an energy facility in Ras Laffan belonging to QatarEnergy, the world’s largest LNG producer.
Qatar’s LNG exports represent 20 percent of the global market. With fewer products reaching the market, LNG supply is down, causing prices to surge.

While 82 percent of QatarEnergy’s sales are to Asian countries, the halt puts increased pressure on other markets across the globe, too, particularly in Europe.

In effect, a smaller supply of gas will need to meet the same global demand. As a result, gas prices have already started soaring: Benchmark Dutch and British wholesale gas prices soared by almost 50 percent, while benchmark Asian LNG prices jumped almost 39 percent, on Monday after the QatarEnergy announcement.

“Not good if Qatar stays offline for long, of course,” said Ziemba. The only silver lining for Europe: “At least the worst of the winter in Europe may be behind,” Ziemba pointed out.

E&E News:

On the eve of the Iran war, Energy Secretary Chris Wright traveled to Texas to celebrate the expansion of a liquefied natural gas terminal.

Gas will likely be “the fastest-growing energy source probably through the rest of my life,” Wright told a crowd gathered at Cheniere’s Corpus Christi plant. 

Two weeks later, that outlook has become significantly more complicated. The U.S.-Israel war in Iran has resulted in shutting down the world’s largest LNG facility, in Qatar, and effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, stranding about a fifth of global gas supplies. Escalating attacks by Iran on tankers and cargo vessels on Thursday have dimmed hopes of reopening the shipping route and led analysts to question the future growth of gas.

Continue reading “War Could Upend Fossil Fuel Agenda”

In 2019, I was recording the public comments at the Isabella County, Michigan Planning Commission meeting, held to consider permitting a large wind farm in the area.
I was lucky enough to capture the simple, but heartfelt and obviously pained words of a local farmer, John Fabian, who explained the very personal experience that made him want to support the project, and host a turbine.
It brought the house down.
The project was approved, and is now in successful service, producing clean electricity at about 4 cents/Kwh.

From Jeff Berardelli, Chief Meteorologist at WFLA in Tampa.

Continue reading “Upper Great Lakes Brace for Historic Blizzard”

Warpnews:

Russia has systematically bombed Ukraine’s energy infrastructure since the start of the invasion. Before the winter of 2025–2026, half of the country’s energy infrastructure lay in ruins. Total damage to the energy sector is estimated to exceed 56 billion dollars.

Ukraine’s response is to replace the large, centralized power plants with decentralized renewable energy sources. Wind and solar installations spread across the landscape are harder to hit and easier to repair. A coal power plant is a single large target that one missile can take out. Doing equivalent damage to a wind farm requires around 40 missiles, according to Jeff Oatham at DTEK, Ukraine’s largest energy company. Attacking decentralized solar installations is not economically rational either, as it would require a large number of strikes with limited impact on the overall energy system, according to Ukrainian energy expert Olena Kondratiuk.

Since the full-scale invasion, Ukraine has added over three gigawatts of new renewable energy capacity. The country’s grid operators plan to nearly double renewable energy production over the next four years.

Continue reading “Ukraine Show Value of Resilient Clean Energy in War Zone”

Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont on Facebook:

Revolution Wind is officially sending power to the CT grid.

The Trump administration tried to stop this project twice, but we fought back and won to keep it going. Why does this matter?

By diversifying our energy supply with local offshore wind, we’re delivering power at $0.09/kWh which is a big difference from the regional average of $0.30/kWh.

I also want to send a huge thanks to the CT Building Trades workers who helped make this project a reality. Let’s keep moving forward!

WTNH New Haven:

Revolution Wind was one of five major East Coast offshore wind projects the Trump administration halted construction on days before Christmas, citing national security concerns. Developers and states sued, and federal judges allowed all five to resume construction, essentially concluding that the government did not show that the national security risk was so imminent that construction must halt.

The Biden administration sought to ramp up offshore wind as a climate change solution.

But President Donald Trump, who often talks about his hatred of wind power, has said his goal is to not let any “windmills” be built. He has signed a spate of executive orders aimed at boosting oil, gas and coal. 

White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers said Friday night that Trump “reversed course on Joe Biden’s costly green energy agenda that gave preferential treatment to intermittent, unreliable energy sources and instead is aggressively unleashing reliable and affordable energy sources to lower energy bills, improve our grid stability and protect our national security.” Rogers added in a statement to AP that the administration “looks forward to ultimate victory on this issue.”

Continue reading “Offshore Wind Overcomes Trump Barriers – Sending Cheap Power to New England”