Renewable Friday: So Much Winning
I was on a timeout last Friday, but Global Warming wasn’t, so we have some catching up to do, on all of the winning that’s going on. For example, the US EV market is growing at 10%/yr, which would get us to 100% of the market by 2050, allowing for both poverty reduction and growth in mass transit, bikes, and so on. If a future Democratic administration were to emulate Norway, we could do it much sooner. So vote early and often, show up to protests, and the rest, even if you don’t like everything our coalition does.
The price of not voting is being governed by your inferiors.
Classical Athenian proverb
10 charts prove that clean energy is winning — even in the Trump era
Technologies that can power our lives and jobs while doing less harm to the global climate — wind, solar, batteries, etc. — are getting cheaper, more efficient, and more abundant. The pace of progress on price, scale, and performance has been so extraordinary that even the most optimistic forecasts about green tech in the past have turned out to be too pessimistic. Clean energy isn’t just powering our devices, tools, and luxuries — it’s growing the global economy, creating a whole suite of new jobs, and reshaping trade.
And despite what headlines may say, there’s no sign these trends will reverse. Political and economic turmoil may slow down clean energy, but the sector has built up so much momentum that it’s become nigh unstoppable.
We’ve unlocked a holy grail in clean energy. It’s only the beginning.
The tricky thing about generating electricity is that for the most part, you pretty much have to use it or lose it.
This fundamental fact has governed and constrained the development of the world’s largest machine: the $2 trillion US power grid. Massive generators send electrons along a continent-wide network of conductors, transformers, cables, and wires into millions of homes and businesses, delicately balancing supply and demand so that every light switch, computer, television, stove, and charging cable will turn on 99.95 percent of the time.
Making sure there are always enough generators spooled up to send electricity to every single power outlet in the country requires precise coordination. And while the amount of electricity actually used can swing drastically throughout the day and year, the grid is built to meet the brief periods of peak demand, like the hot summer days when air conditioning use can double average electricity consumption. Imagine building a 30-lane highway to make sure no driver ever has to tap their brakes. That’s effectively what those who design and run the grid have had to do.
But what if you could just hold onto electricity for a bit and save it for later? You wouldn’t have to overbuild the grid or spend so much effort keeping power generation in equilibrium with users. You could smooth over the drawbacks of intermittent power sources that don’t emit carbon dioxide, like wind and solar. You could have easy local backup power in emergencies when transmission lines are damaged. You may not even need a giant, centralized power grid at all.
That’s the promise of grid-scale energy storage. And while the US has actually been using a crude form of energy storage called pumped hydroelectric power storage for decades, the country is now experiencing a gargantuan surge in energy storage capacity, this time from a technology that most of us are carrying around in our pockets: lithium-ion batteries. Between 2021 and 2024, grid battery capacity increased fivefold. In 2024, the US installed 12.3 gigawatts of energy storage. This year, new grid battery installations are on track to almost double compared to last year. Battery storage capacity now exceeds pumped hydro capacity, totaling more than 26 gigawatts.
At some point every new EV will be able to feed electric power back to a home, a business, or the entire local grid.
x
Low-income communities are often the first to lose power and the last to get it back. In Chicago, power outages are 83% more frequent, and lights stay out 140% longer in poorer and minority communities compared to whiter, wealthier communities. @rockymtninst.bsky.social is helping to change this.
— Seneca Environmental (@senecaenviron.bsky.social) April 30, 2025 at 5:38 PM
[image or embed]
x
This recent study reports that the practical utility outcomes of solar adoption are the strongest and most robust predictors of willingness to adopt residential solar. AKA, money is the main driver for households’ decision to adopt solar PV.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti…
— Diren Kocakuşak, Ph.D. (@direnkocakusak.bsky.social) May 1, 2025 at 10:57 AM
[image or embed]
x
Global energy demand is rising, and wind power is essential. Aging turbines mean declining performance, costly downtime, and rising OPEX. The solution? Modernization.
Join #ABB experts May 28 at 9:30 a.m. ET to extend turbine life and boost efficiency 🔗 https://ecs.page.link/o2P8K
— ABB NEMA Motors US (@abbnemamotors.bsky.social) May 1, 2025 at 1:30 PM
[image or embed]
x
We are in a time and space where our larger offshore wind farms are starting to reach the end of their life,” explained Vattenfall’s director of innovation Thomas Hjort. “We need to figure out what we do with these machines once they’re done with their first life.
— Shawnfeb@bsky.social (@shawnfeb24.bsky.social) May 1, 2025 at 9:30 AM
www.positive.news/society/the-…
[image or embed]
Pakistan suffers from the worst air pollution in the world, now that China has cleaned up its cars and industries. The government of Pakistan is clueless about the problem, but companies and consumers have stepped up in a big way.
x
Welcome to capitalism, Mr President
Us consumers buy foreign solar cells, driving up demand and prices domestically
Trump imposes crushing tariffs on solar cells
Exporters look for other consumers worldwide, dropping prices as supply outstrips demand
Pakistan modernizeswww.cnn.com/2025/05/01/c…
— Disorderly Borderline 🇨🇦 (@disorderlybrdrline.bsky.social) May 1, 2025 at 10:32 AM
[image or embed]
x
Solar cells made from moon dust could power future space missions
— News for Democrats (@newsfordemocrats.bsky.social) May 1, 2025 at 10:49 AM
Researchers build solar panels from Moon dust, cutting weight and cost while boosting radiation resistance and energy efficiency.
Joseph Shavit
Updated Apr 3, 2025 1:33 PM PDT
www.thebrighterside.news/post/solar-c…
[image or embed]
Almost half of Singapore is now green space.
x
AI-controlled robot does the job of 4 people installing thousands of panels at Australian solar project, cutting 25% off the project delivery time
AI powering a faster energy transition, all made in China
But no, let’s talk 20th century tariffs
reneweconomy.com.au/chinese-robo…
— Assaad Razzouk (@assaadrazzouk.bsky.social) April 24, 2025 at 5:20 PM
[image or embed]
x
Hugely important for Canada too. The BC Climate Solutions Council has heard lots about shortages of workers to install heat pumps, especially in rural communities. It can’t only be BC. Not only is this one govts can fix, if they don’t building decarobnization will be unnecessarily stymied.
— Kathryn Harrison (@profkharrison.bsky.social) May 1, 2025 at 5:56 PM
[image or embed]
x
Its here! The Blue Ribbon Commission on Climate Action and Fire-Safe Recovery, with has released its initial recommendations.
The Commission’s 6 initial recommendations seek to guide LA County’s recovery — check these out and give your feedback below 🗣️
labrcommission.org/blue-ribbon-…
— Lindsey P. Horvath (@lindseyphorvath.bsky.social) May 1, 2025 at 5:07 PM
[image or embed]
x
NASA astronauts Colonel Anne McClain and Major Nichole Ayers leave the International Space Station for almost 6 hours to to move an antenna and prepare the station for new solar panels. #news #abc #space #exploration #spacecraft
— Aussie News (@aussienews.bsky.social) May 1, 2025 at 5:00 PM
[image or embed]
x
The seven youth bringing this case are 🎉 celebrating 🎉 the ruling and seeking a swift and final resolution that vindicates their constitutional rights and meets the pressing urgency of the climate crisis. ⌛
Support this case 👉 bit.ly/3YVvGuE
#GenClimateAction #Mathur 🌲
— Ecojustice (@ecojusticecanada.bsky.social) May 1, 2025 at 5:33 PM
[image or embed]
#NoNewNukes
China has a prototype thorium molten salt reactor in operation, and has refueled it while in operation. This is nowhere near a production reactor. We have as yet no idea of what such a system would cost, but we do know of major technical issues with molten salt reactors and proliferation concerns.
India is also building MSR prototypes.
Both countries have vast thorium resources.
Denial and Obstruction
Don’t pay any attention to those who claim the recent outages in Spain and Portugal were caused by “too much renewable energy”. We know what actually happened.
This was an unforeseen phenomenon, that now we can foresee and engineer around.
x
REN (Red Eletrica Nacional) [PT][…] the outage was caused by “extreme temperature variations in the interior of Spain, there were anomalous oscillations in the very high voltage lines (400KV), a phenomenon known as ‘induced atmospheric vibration’.” #climateoutage #globalwarming
— Karen Melchior (@karmel80.bsky.social) April 29, 2025 at 2:21 AM
x
Senate overturns EPA rule on seven highly toxic air pollutants – The Washington Post
…The EPA rule dictates that once a facility emits any of the seven toxic air pollutants at unsafe levels, it must always maintain strict pollution controls, even if its emissions later drop to safe levels.…
— Ned Hamson (@nedhamson.bsky.social) May 1, 2025 at 4:52 PM
[image or embed]
x
On the last day to sign bills, Gov. Patrick Morrisey used his pen to authorize a bill meant to incentivize the location of data centers in West Virginia and encourage the use of coal-fired power plants to energize them.
www.newsandsentinel.com/news/busines…
— Steven Allen Adams (@stevenadamswv.bsky.social) May 1, 2025 at 6:10 AM
[image or embed]
Trump lurvs him some coal and black lung.
x
Every worker deserves to stay safe on the job — and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) is integral to keeping them safe. Without NIOSH, we’ll see more needless injuries and deaths on the job. @AFLCIO #MayDay aflcio.org/press/releas…
— Randi Weingarten (@rweingarten.bsky.social) May 1, 2025 at 6:28 PM
[image or embed]