Brendan Pierpont
@brendan.bsky.social
Energy and climate nerd. Electricity @energyinnovation.bsky.social. Views are my own.
Has anyone done the math on whether this approach stores more energy per cubic meter of concrete than EnergyVault’s idea of lifting that cubic meter to the top of a tower?
Wild. They are figuring out how to store electricity in ... concrete.
Concrete “battery” developed at MIT now packs 10 times the power
New concrete and carbon black supercapacitors with optimized electrolytes have 10 times the energy storage of previous designs and can be incorporated into a wide range of architectural forms.
news.mit.edu
November 9, 2025 at 11:27 PM
Has anyone done the math on whether this approach stores more energy per cubic meter of concrete than EnergyVault’s idea of lifting that cubic meter to the top of a tower?
One reason taking the train is awesome is that it gets you off the highway and out of the airport and takes you through small town centers and landscapes (both natural and man made) that you wouldn’t otherwise see.
November 8, 2025 at 6:07 PM
One reason taking the train is awesome is that it gets you off the highway and out of the airport and takes you through small town centers and landscapes (both natural and man made) that you wouldn’t otherwise see.
Want to know how to reduce power prices in PJM? Let clean energy projects connect to the grid. Great report from Gridlab and Aurora Energy Research 👇
gridlab.org/portfolio-it...
gridlab.org/portfolio-it...
gridlab.org
November 7, 2025 at 9:55 PM
Want to know how to reduce power prices in PJM? Let clean energy projects connect to the grid. Great report from Gridlab and Aurora Energy Research 👇
gridlab.org/portfolio-it...
gridlab.org/portfolio-it...
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?
Tesla shareholders have approved a pay package that could make CEO Elon Musk, already the world’s richest person, the world’s first trillionaire. https://cnn.it/43KZnkA
November 7, 2025 at 4:52 AM
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?
Reposted by Brendan Pierpont
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...
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...
www.wsj.com
November 6, 2025 at 6:23 PM
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...
Great run down of Tuesday's election results.
November 6, 2025 at 6:33 PM
Great run down of Tuesday's election results.
Is the capital markets money spigot drying up or something?
BREAKING: OpenAI is requesting US government support to help guarantee financing for the massive investments in AI chips and data centers it needs for expansion, per Bloomberg.
November 6, 2025 at 3:51 PM
Is the capital markets money spigot drying up or something?
Reposted by Brendan Pierpont
Delighted that USA Today published my opinion piece today on @americanprogress.bsky.social's plan to undo Citizens United through state corporation laws.
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.
www.usatoday.com
September 17, 2025 at 11:28 AM
Delighted that USA Today published my opinion piece today on @americanprogress.bsky.social's plan to undo Citizens United through state corporation laws.
Reposted by Brendan Pierpont
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. 👇
But what critics conveniently forget is huge land impact of fossil fuels. Aerial view of fracking sites in Texas. 👇
November 5, 2025 at 6:57 AM
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. 👇
But what critics conveniently forget is huge land impact of fossil fuels. Aerial view of fracking sites in Texas. 👇
Reposted by Brendan Pierpont
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...
Democrats Win 2 Key Energy Races in Georgia
A “seismic change” comes for the state’s Public Service Commission.
heatmap.news
November 5, 2025 at 3:16 AM
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...
Good work today America.
November 5, 2025 at 5:26 AM
Good work today America.
Reposted by Brendan Pierpont
Cost estimates for new gas power plants just keep rising! www.utilitydive.com/news/gas-pow... 🔌💡
November 4, 2025 at 6:26 PM
Cost estimates for new gas power plants just keep rising! www.utilitydive.com/news/gas-pow... 🔌💡
Reposted by Brendan Pierpont
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...
November 4, 2025 at 2:04 PM
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...
“Maybe truly understanding the world requires participating in it.”
A really really good long read.
www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
A really really good long read.
www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
The Case That A.I. Is Thinking
ChatGPT does not have an inner life. Yet it seems to know what it’s talking about.
www.newyorker.com
November 4, 2025 at 4:42 AM
“Maybe truly understanding the world requires participating in it.”
A really really good long read.
www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
A really really good long read.
www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
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...
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.
energyinnovation.org
November 3, 2025 at 4:22 PM
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...
Great resource from RMI on electricity affordability policy solutions: affordability-toolkit.rmi.org
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...
affordability-toolkit.rmi.org
October 31, 2025 at 5:35 PM
Great resource from RMI on electricity affordability policy solutions: affordability-toolkit.rmi.org
Reposted by Brendan Pierpont
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
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
New York’s Largest Battery Project Has Been Canceled
Fullmark Energy quietly shuttered Swiftsure, a planned 650-megawatt energy storage system on Staten Island.
heatmap.news
October 28, 2025 at 12:58 PM
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
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
Reposted by Brendan Pierpont
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
www.latitudemedia.com/news/wright-... #energysky
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.
www.latitudemedia.com
October 24, 2025 at 3:35 AM
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
www.latitudemedia.com/news/wright-... #energysky
Reposted by Brendan Pierpont
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:
to consider an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on large load interconnection. THREAD with some key highlights:
October 24, 2025 at 1:53 AM
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:
to consider an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on large load interconnection. THREAD with some key highlights:
Reposted by Brendan Pierpont
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.”
October 23, 2025 at 1:30 PM
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.”
Reposted by Brendan Pierpont
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. 🧵
The results may surprise you. 🧵
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…
www.sciencedirect.com
October 19, 2025 at 9:29 PM
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. 🧵
The results may surprise you. 🧵
Reposted by Brendan Pierpont
Something unusual just happened in Oregon: A utility asked for a rate *decrease*
In his latest article for Latitude Media, @alexckaufman.bsky.social reports that Idaho Power has requested a nearly 1% rate cut in Oregon after retiring a 522 MW coal plant and eliminating related regulatory liabilities.
www.latitudemedia.com/news/after-c...
www.latitudemedia.com/news/after-c...
After closing coal plants, Idaho Power is the rare utility cutting rates
The utility asked regulators to lower electricity rates in Oregon, even as its peers raise them — and Trump pushes coal as the solution.
www.latitudemedia.com
October 20, 2025 at 5:57 PM
Something unusual just happened in Oregon: A utility asked for a rate *decrease*
Jenny Chase’s annual solar opinions thread is here! 👇
1. To opinions! Solar is the cheapest source of bulk electricity in many countries, and the quickest to deploy, and now you couldn't stop it being built if you wanted to. The limits to PV build in most places are grid access, permitting, and sometimes installation labour.
October 20, 2025 at 4:37 PM
Jenny Chase’s annual solar opinions thread is here! 👇
Reposted by Brendan Pierpont
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...
share.google/rniuYqTcGHfo...
'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.
share.google
October 17, 2025 at 4:54 PM
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...
share.google/rniuYqTcGHfo...