The conservative Washington Times, required reading for DC Republicans, has this piece, another indicator that GOP leaders are rethinking the role of renewables in meeting the burgeoning demands of AI. Could not have written it better myself.
The writer, John Szoka, is the CEO of the Conservative Energy Network and a former member of the North Carolina House of Representatives, where he served as chairman of the Energy and Public Utilities Committee.
In rural communities across the country, a consequential debate is underway over who gets to decide how farmland is used.
Increasingly, local restrictions on solar development, including county-level bans and permitting roadblocks, are limiting farmers’ ability to make decisions about their own land, even when those decisions could improve their financial stability and support local economic growth.
At its core, the question is simple: If American farmers, who feed and fuel our nation, can’t decide how to use their own land, then what does ownership really mean?
Fervo Energy said on Monday it was targeting a valuation of up to $6.5 billion in its initial public offering in the United States, as it looks to tap renewed investor interest in the energy sector amid the rapid growth in AI data centers.
The Houston-based energy developer also said it seeks to raise up to $1.3 billion in the IPO by offering 55.6 million shares priced between $21 and $24 apiece.
Beyond booming demand from AI data centers, the growth of electric vehicles and domestic manufacturing in the U.S. is driving up electricity consumption, underscoring the need for reliable power.
Fervo Energy develops advanced geothermal systems that generate round-the-clock, carbon-free electricity, offering a dependable alternative to weather-reliant solar and wind power.
The company uses enhanced geothermal systems, or EGS technology, to address the scalability limits of traditional geothermal energy – which relies on rare conditions such as volcanic activity – and deploys subsurface monitoring tools including AI-enhanced fiber optic sensing.
Really great video, a firehose of information, but the message is overwhelmingly about China extending its lead on the rest of the world in clean energy, while the US spins its wheels in endless wars on behalf of oil baron oligarchs.
Oh, this is just beautiful. The administration has decided to halt every wind-farm project in the United States on the grounds of … wait for it … national security. From Financial Times (via Reuters):
Approvals for about 165 onshore wind projects on private lands are being held up by the Pentagon, FT said, citing the American Clean Power Association and people close to the matter. The affected projects include wind farms that were awaiting final sign-off, others in the middle of negotiations and some that typically would not require oversight by the Pentagon, the FT said.
Since August 2025, wind developers have faced a mix of setbacks, including a lack of expected communication from the Pentagon, canceled meetings with no chance to reschedule, and being told that applications are no longer being processed, FT reported, citing people with knowledge of the situation. Letters sent to developers in early April said the Pentagon was reviewing its processes for evaluating the impact of energy projects on national security, according to the newspaper.
Apparently it’s hard to make the dead whales and/or shredded eagles into threats to national security, so the latest excuse is that wind farms cause “radar interference.” There’s more truth to this one than we’re used to getting from the administration. But as the NYT report makes clear, the problems are easily handled.
New York Times: Wind turbines create two problems for radar on ships and for ground-based systems looking for aircraft. The steel support towers can reflect electromagnetic waves, making it more difficult for radar to pick up nearby objects, while the rotating blades can create a “blade flash” on a radar screen, appearing to be another object where there is none.
Pentagon officials in recent weeks have blocked reviews of 150 onshore wind farms, citing issues of national defense and radar interference. President Trump has called wind farms ugly and expensive, and has vowed not to allow them to be built.
But researchers who study radar interference say the problem is manageable, by using new technologies and by adjusting where companies build wind turbines.
Hao Ling, a professor emeritus of engineering at the University of Texas at Austin, participated in government studies looking at radar interference from wind farms in 2013 and 2022. “There will be some interference,” Dr. Ling, an expert in radar signal processing, said. “That’s the nature of the physics. But it’s a solvable situation.”
As Michigan farmers prepare for planting season, higher prices for fertilizer and diesel — both sparked by the war with Iran — are making a stressful planting season for Michigan farmers, some of whom are already barely holding on financially.
Farm diesel prices have jumped from an average of $2.94 a gallon last summer to $4.57 currently, with most of the increase occurring in the two months since the US attacked Iran and the closing of the Strait of Hormuz, through which a quarter of the world’s oil supply normally travels.
That’s a huge difference for farmers with equipment that can suck a half-gallon of diesel or more per acre, a typical acre of corn getting between three and five passes over the course of a growing season. The math for Delmotte, who farms 1,200 acres: an additional $6,000 to $10,000 in fuel costs.
Between 20% and 30% of the world’s fertilizer also travels through the Strait of Hormuz. With that supply stalled for now, fertilizer prices have jumped as much as 49%.
Between fuel and fertilizer price hikes, the average farmer could pay $22,000 more this season, according to Michigan Ag Today. Prices of both diesel and fertilizer have continued to rise since that estimate was made in early April.
Michigan listen up🚨 I've been screaming this from a mountain top. The solar geoengineering happening 28/29 days a month in Michigan BLOCKING OUR SUN, destroying physical & mental health IS TO COOL THE DATA CENTERS & LOWER THEIR COSTS while our bills go up & our health goes down pic.twitter.com/LjQylihQ2L
When Conspiracy theories start having babies, you get this shit.
This area of Michigan is generically referred to as “Ypsi-Tucky”, and maybe you can see why. The data center that is being referred to here is actually one that is arguably doing the right thing insofar as power and water – purchasing 1.4 gigawatts of battery storage as well as additional clean energy to provide power, and includes a closed loop cooling system, minimizing water demands on the local area.
DTE Energy will supply power using existing resources augmented by new battery storage financed entirely by the project. The utility stated that no costs will be passed on to existing customers and projected the deal would save ratepayers $300 million annually.
Even as more communities rise up against the proliferation of massive, energy- and water-sucking data centers, some big players in housing are betting consumers would be willing to put mini data centers right on the walls of their homes.
Span is a California-based startup that originally launched with “smart” electrical panels designed to help homeowners save money on their electricity bills. Now, with the help of Nvidia, it has come up with something new — small, fractional data centers, or “nodes,” called XFRA units, that can be put on the side of residential homes and small commercial businesses.
The idea is to take advantage of unused electrical capacity on local grids, which the Span smart panels can pinpoint. The rapid growth of artificial intelligence has strained power grids nationwide and, in some cases, resulted in higher electricity bills for homeowners.
A network of these nodes, communicating with each other across the country, is the equivalent of a small to mid-sized traditional data center, which could either augment an existing center or negate the need to build a new one, Span says. Hyperscalers and AI cloud providers just tap into the network as they would a traditional data center.
The Trump administration has brought US onshore wind development to a halt citing national security concerns, representing a major escalation in the president’s crusade against renewable energy.
Approvals for about 165 onshore wind projects on private lands are being stalled by the Department of Defense, including wind farms which were awaiting final sign-off, others in the middle of negotiations and some that typically would not require oversight by the department, according to the American Clean Power Association (ACP) and people close to the matter.
Wind farms require routine approval from the defence department to ensure they do not interfere with radar systems. This typically involves the level of risk being assessed and the developer paying an agreed sum for the army to update its radar filter system so it can locate the windmill.
Some projects can be deemed not to pose a risk due to their distance from army facilities and flight paths. Normally these assessments can take as little as a few days to complete. Since August 2025, developers have faced a mix of setbacks, including not receiving expected communications from DoD, having meetings to discuss the status of their projects cancelled without the opportunity to reschedule, and being informed that the department has stopped processing their applications, according to people with knowledge of the situation.
The secret is now out as Ford races toward building its first model, a new truck it says will be nearly as fast as a Mustang, travel around 300 miles on a single charge and feature in-car technology to compete with Tesla and China. It’s aiming for a 2027 launch and a price tag of around $30,000, the cost of a Toyota Camry.
Getting there means tearing up a century of manufacturing practices in a notoriously hidebound industry. At stake for Ford is securing a future beyond the gas-guzzling pickups and SUVs that have long defined its bottom line.
The project had been kept quiet from its 2022 start, led by veterans from Tesla and Apple who worked on designs out of a California office. Ford eventually brought in some of its own employees to help execute the vision. The process was filled with misunderstandings and distrust as the techie outsiders worked to win over the risk-averse industry veterans.
To build these new EVs, the company must use fewer people and simpler parts, and dismantle decades of engineering inertia. Chief Executive Jim Farley is calling it Ford’s new “Model T moment.” Rival automakers say overcoming China on EVs can’t be done, given their advantages: extensive government backing, low-cost labor and a massive head start.
