Octavi Semonin
@octavi.co
Startup barista at http://powerhouse.co
Attempting a patriotic pitch for photovoltaics... fightingentropy.blog/why-solar-is...
Why solar is right for America 🇺🇸 – Fighting Entropy
fightingentropy.blog
May 8, 2025 at 10:44 AM
Attempting a patriotic pitch for photovoltaics... fightingentropy.blog/why-solar-is...
Everyone wants to debate the cause of the blackouts in Spain and Portugal, but isn't it surprising how quickly they got back up? From zero watts to basically normal in less than 24 hours is not what I was expecting.
April 30, 2025 at 12:04 AM
Everyone wants to debate the cause of the blackouts in Spain and Portugal, but isn't it surprising how quickly they got back up? From zero watts to basically normal in less than 24 hours is not what I was expecting.
Powerhouse Innovation is hiring a full-time, paid AI & Product Development Intern to build database automation features, analytics tools, and visualizations to maximize the impact of our unparalleled data and superior network. www.powerhouse.fund/ai-intern/
Powerhouse AI Intern | Powerhouse
Powerhouse Innovation is hiring a full-time, paid AI & Product Development Intern to build database automation features, analytics tools, and visualizations to maximize the impact of our unparalleled ...
www.powerhouse.fund
February 27, 2025 at 3:01 PM
Powerhouse Innovation is hiring a full-time, paid AI & Product Development Intern to build database automation features, analytics tools, and visualizations to maximize the impact of our unparalleled data and superior network. www.powerhouse.fund/ai-intern/
So far this administration has really accomplished nothing, other than create a lot of noise. Much like last time.
February 2, 2025 at 5:55 PM
So far this administration has really accomplished nothing, other than create a lot of noise. Much like last time.
Instead of a subsidy for EVs and “energy efficient appliances” could you just do a subsidy on electricity? www.cbc.ca/news/politic...
Carney says he'll scrap the carbon tax, introduce green incentive program if he becomes leader | CBC News
Liberal leadership candidate Mark Carney says he will abandon his party's consumer carbon tax and replace the policy with an incentive program that rewards Canadians for making green choices.
www.cbc.ca
January 31, 2025 at 8:27 PM
Instead of a subsidy for EVs and “energy efficient appliances” could you just do a subsidy on electricity? www.cbc.ca/news/politic...
Great read from Ben Thompson on DeepSeek. This final paragraph could also apply to a bunch of climate technologies… stratechery.com/2025/deepsee...
January 28, 2025 at 1:06 AM
Great read from Ben Thompson on DeepSeek. This final paragraph could also apply to a bunch of climate technologies… stratechery.com/2025/deepsee...
Our team did a water color painting session so I painted a heat pump. 🔌 💡
January 26, 2025 at 4:39 PM
Our team did a water color painting session so I painted a heat pump. 🔌 💡
It’d be funny if Stargate can’t turn on because Trump blocked the wind and solar projects.
The Trump administration is freezing authorizations for wind and solar projects on federal lands and water, underscoring the sharp Washington policy pivot to favor fossil fuels over renewables
Trump Freezes Renewable Projects on Federal Lands and Waters
The Trump administration is freezing authorizations for wind and solar projects on federal lands and water, underscoring the sharp Washington policy pivot to favor fossil fuels over renewables.
www.bloomberg.com
January 26, 2025 at 2:07 PM
It’d be funny if Stargate can’t turn on because Trump blocked the wind and solar projects.
Reposted by Octavi Semonin
January 24, 2025 at 12:21 PM
Reposted by Octavi Semonin
Fair point, for scale, NREL says about 4% of utility-scale renewable energy capacity is currently on federal land (wind/solar/geothermal). www.nrel.gov/analysis/ren...
Doesn't include proposed projects though. There is a lot of solar potential on federal lands, fwiw.
bsky.app/profile/rose...
Doesn't include proposed projects though. There is a lot of solar potential on federal lands, fwiw.
bsky.app/profile/rose...
Before you freak out about this, it's a good idea to ask just how much #solar is being developed on US federal land vs. private land.
In my experience, the large majority is on private land. But would love to see some robust numbers around this.
In my experience, the large majority is on private land. But would love to see some robust numbers around this.
New Interior memo orders a 60-day pause on new approvals for all renewable energy development on federal land—not just wind, this one also affects solar. www.doi.gov/document-lib...
(Very similar to an early Biden DOI memo ordering a 60-day freeze on new fossil fuel authorizations on public lands.)
(Very similar to an early Biden DOI memo ordering a 60-day freeze on new fossil fuel authorizations on public lands.)
January 24, 2025 at 6:30 PM
Fair point, for scale, NREL says about 4% of utility-scale renewable energy capacity is currently on federal land (wind/solar/geothermal). www.nrel.gov/analysis/ren...
Doesn't include proposed projects though. There is a lot of solar potential on federal lands, fwiw.
bsky.app/profile/rose...
Doesn't include proposed projects though. There is a lot of solar potential on federal lands, fwiw.
bsky.app/profile/rose...
I don’t buy this “scale is my moat” thing, especially for research and development. As anyone who has worked in a lab knows: ideas are cheap, execution is everything. The real moat IMO is the physical automation that executes research or manufacturing. www.businessinsider.com/openai-starg...
What does OpenAI get from Stargate? A $500 billion chance to build a whole new moat
OpenAI is focusing on AI infrastructure with Stargate as rivals like China's DeepSeek close the gap on its AI models.
www.businessinsider.com
January 24, 2025 at 3:21 PM
I don’t buy this “scale is my moat” thing, especially for research and development. As anyone who has worked in a lab knows: ideas are cheap, execution is everything. The real moat IMO is the physical automation that executes research or manufacturing. www.businessinsider.com/openai-starg...
In a world of test time compute, does latency matter anymore? If calculating the response takes 15 seconds, then maybe you can just put the data center somewhere faraway but sunny.
A new completely open reasoning model out of China, Deepseek-R1, is now available. The benchmarks show it at parity with the likes of o1 and Sonnet
In some informal tests on non-code problems, it is really good, not o1-pro level but surprisingly capable (and incredibly small & fast!). Big advance.
In some informal tests on non-code problems, it is really good, not o1-pro level but surprisingly capable (and incredibly small & fast!). Big advance.
January 24, 2025 at 3:03 PM
In a world of test time compute, does latency matter anymore? If calculating the response takes 15 seconds, then maybe you can just put the data center somewhere faraway but sunny.
Probably a good time to re-up this evergreen post from @gregor.us. Presidents have lot less influence over energy than we tend to believe. www.coldeye.earth/p/energy-and...
Energy and the Presidents
Monday 6 March 2023
www.coldeye.earth
January 24, 2025 at 6:42 AM
Probably a good time to re-up this evergreen post from @gregor.us. Presidents have lot less influence over energy than we tend to believe. www.coldeye.earth/p/energy-and...
Buy an EV, heat pump, some solar panels, etc. You’ll be happier and they’ll be poorer.
Everyone keeps telling me to be angry but very few people seem to be telling people what to do with that anger
January 23, 2025 at 5:52 AM
Buy an EV, heat pump, some solar panels, etc. You’ll be happier and they’ll be poorer.
I love it when the LLM makes a mistake and then when I point it out, agrees, but then tries to gaslight me into thinking *I’m* the one who made the mistake.
January 23, 2025 at 4:24 AM
I love it when the LLM makes a mistake and then when I point it out, agrees, but then tries to gaslight me into thinking *I’m* the one who made the mistake.
If Trump puts tariffs on Canadian goods, Canada should retaliate by filling the Great Lakes with wind turbines.
January 22, 2025 at 12:44 AM
If Trump puts tariffs on Canadian goods, Canada should retaliate by filling the Great Lakes with wind turbines.
When the Chevron refinery in Richmond caught fire in 2012, about 15k people went to the hospital. That refinery moves 240k barrels of oil per day, or about 17 GW. The Vistra Moss landing battery project evacuated about 1200 people and moves 750 MW. 🔌💡 en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevron...
Chevron Richmond Refinery - Wikipedia
en.m.wikipedia.org
January 19, 2025 at 6:25 AM
When the Chevron refinery in Richmond caught fire in 2012, about 15k people went to the hospital. That refinery moves 240k barrels of oil per day, or about 17 GW. The Vistra Moss landing battery project evacuated about 1200 people and moves 750 MW. 🔌💡 en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevron...
This is a great example of a project that is not being stopped by NEPA but by “public opposition“. Permitting reform is much bigger than NEPA.
Solar developer withdraws Supreme Court case as public opposition halts project #energysky -- via pv magazine usa: pv-magazine-usa.com/...
Solar developer withdraws Supreme Court case as public opposition halts project
Lightsource BP has abandoned plans for a 300 MW solar project in Ohio that was highly opposed by local residents.
pv-magazine-usa.com
January 13, 2025 at 6:48 AM
This is a great example of a project that is not being stopped by NEPA but by “public opposition“. Permitting reform is much bigger than NEPA.
Reposted by Octavi Semonin
This is a royal edict, whose aim is to banish reality.
A mandatory one-year moratorium preventing homeowners insurance cancellations and non-renewals in affected areas of Southern California has been issued by Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara.
Insurance commissioner protects insurance coverage for Southern California residents
A mandatory one-year moratorium preventing homeowners insurance cancellations and non-renewals in affected areas of Southern California has been issued by Insur
www.nbcnews.com
January 10, 2025 at 6:05 PM
This is a royal edict, whose aim is to banish reality.
I’m reluctant to give Hochul/New York much credit here after failures to handle congestion and housing particularly well…
Some good climate news: New York state is making fossil fuel polluters pay for the damages they've caused. The new law will collect $3 billion annually to protect communities from climate impacts.
www.nytimes.com/2024/12/26/n...
www.nytimes.com/2024/12/26/n...
Hochul Signs Law That Penalizes Companies for Greenhouse Gas Emissions
The measure will seek to raise funds to pay for some of the damage caused by extreme weather events, which are becoming more frequent because of the combustion of fossil fuels.
www.nytimes.com
December 27, 2024 at 4:00 PM
I’m reluctant to give Hochul/New York much credit here after failures to handle congestion and housing particularly well…
Late, but three thoughts on this:
1. We know people already developing projects like these. If you want to work with them, DM me.
2. It seems like Bluesky is way less enthusiastic about this than Twitter. Probably because @duncamp.bsky.social has negligible presence here, and…
1. We know people already developing projects like these. If you want to work with them, DM me.
2. It seems like Bluesky is way less enthusiastic about this than Twitter. Probably because @duncamp.bsky.social has negligible presence here, and…
Our paper on how +100MW data centers can avoid the natural gas powered future all too many developers are speeding towards, and primarily use renewables in cost effective ways offgridai.us
Thank you to coauthors @duncamp.bsky.social @hausfath.bsky.social @nanr.bsky.social @kylebaranko
Thank you to coauthors @duncamp.bsky.social @hausfath.bsky.social @nanr.bsky.social @kylebaranko
Fast, scalable, clean, and cheap enough
How off-grid solar microgrids can power the AI race
offgridai.us
December 24, 2024 at 10:30 PM
Late, but three thoughts on this:
1. We know people already developing projects like these. If you want to work with them, DM me.
2. It seems like Bluesky is way less enthusiastic about this than Twitter. Probably because @duncamp.bsky.social has negligible presence here, and…
1. We know people already developing projects like these. If you want to work with them, DM me.
2. It seems like Bluesky is way less enthusiastic about this than Twitter. Probably because @duncamp.bsky.social has negligible presence here, and…
I bought my first meme coin
December 22, 2024 at 3:48 AM
I bought my first meme coin
Earlier this year @berkeleylab.bsky.social published a study on why wind and solar projects fail. One of the top categories is “community opposition.” Does anyone know what that means in practice? 🔌💡 emp.lbl.gov/publications...
December 15, 2024 at 7:47 PM
Earlier this year @berkeleylab.bsky.social published a study on why wind and solar projects fail. One of the top categories is “community opposition.” Does anyone know what that means in practice? 🔌💡 emp.lbl.gov/publications...
Are “trainloads of batteries” the “truckloads of tape drives” of electricity transmission? Sure the latency is terrible but the bandwidth is still surprisingly good? coloradosun.com/2024/12/05/c...
Charge train-size batteries with clean energy, roll them to power Denver: SunTrain says it’s the “crazy" future
SunTrain wants to use Colorado to demonstrate its batteries-on-train-cars system for transmitting renewable energy.
coloradosun.com
December 11, 2024 at 12:42 PM
Are “trainloads of batteries” the “truckloads of tape drives” of electricity transmission? Sure the latency is terrible but the bandwidth is still surprisingly good? coloradosun.com/2024/12/05/c...
Along with all the talk about permitting reform I’d love to hear a bit more about interconnection reform. A lot more developers we talk to are worried about their queue position than their environmental permits…
December 10, 2024 at 4:02 PM
Along with all the talk about permitting reform I’d love to hear a bit more about interconnection reform. A lot more developers we talk to are worried about their queue position than their environmental permits…