Phoebe Skok
@phoebeskok.bsky.social
Freelance energy journalist and science writer • Master's in Climate Science and Policy from @scrippsocean.bsky.social
Pitch me energy stories at phoebe.skok@pv-magazine.com and others at phoebe.skok@gmail.com
Pitch me energy stories at phoebe.skok@pv-magazine.com and others at phoebe.skok@gmail.com
Pinned
Phoebe Skok
@phoebeskok.bsky.social
· May 22
Climate comms/PR folks + other clean energy people - I want to talk to you!
I’m a freelance energy journalist covering solar, storage, and the grid, and I'm looking for new story leads & sources. Shoot me a message here or at phoebe.skok@pv-magazine.com with your thoughts.
More specifics below ⬇️
I’m a freelance energy journalist covering solar, storage, and the grid, and I'm looking for new story leads & sources. Shoot me a message here or at phoebe.skok@pv-magazine.com with your thoughts.
More specifics below ⬇️
Philippe Grandcolas, directeur adjoint scientifique de CNRS Ecologie & Environnement, explique comment on pourrait créer des ponts entre scientifiques et journalistes et pourquoi on a besoin d’un changement culturel pour réduire la crise de biodiversité.
« Il faut un changement culturel profond face à la crise de la biodiversité » - Philippe Grandcolas - Reporters d'Espoirs
Philippe Grandcolas nous livre sa vision sur la manière dont nous pourrions créer des ponts entre scientifiques et journalistes, le rôle ...
reportersdespoirs.org
December 1, 2025 at 11:01 AM
Philippe Grandcolas, directeur adjoint scientifique de CNRS Ecologie & Environnement, explique comment on pourrait créer des ponts entre scientifiques et journalistes et pourquoi on a besoin d’un changement culturel pour réduire la crise de biodiversité.
A recent study out of Montreal's Concordia University found that photovoltaic pavements can slash urban emissions by 98% when used to electrify urban food delivery and mobility; the panels also free up rooftops.
Solar sidewalks slash urban emissions 98%, study finds
A Concordia model reveals how photovoltaic pavements can electrify urban food delivery and mobility, slashing emissions by 98% while freeing rooftops for agriculture.
pv-magazine-usa.com
November 28, 2025 at 7:16 PM
A recent study out of Montreal's Concordia University found that photovoltaic pavements can slash urban emissions by 98% when used to electrify urban food delivery and mobility; the panels also free up rooftops.
Hello comms folks,
Trying to improve the gender balance in my reporting - I'm looking for female/nonbinary/trans solar and energy storage experts (markets, policy, tech) to serve as sources for future stories.
Drop me a line at phoebe.skok@pv-magazine.com or on LinkedIn if you have any recs!
Trying to improve the gender balance in my reporting - I'm looking for female/nonbinary/trans solar and energy storage experts (markets, policy, tech) to serve as sources for future stories.
Drop me a line at phoebe.skok@pv-magazine.com or on LinkedIn if you have any recs!
November 25, 2025 at 12:53 PM
Hello comms folks,
Trying to improve the gender balance in my reporting - I'm looking for female/nonbinary/trans solar and energy storage experts (markets, policy, tech) to serve as sources for future stories.
Drop me a line at phoebe.skok@pv-magazine.com or on LinkedIn if you have any recs!
Trying to improve the gender balance in my reporting - I'm looking for female/nonbinary/trans solar and energy storage experts (markets, policy, tech) to serve as sources for future stories.
Drop me a line at phoebe.skok@pv-magazine.com or on LinkedIn if you have any recs!
System design has long been a critical point of differentiation for many solar installers. By now, many solar experts agree that the era of cookie cutter solar has come to a close.
Question is: Did it ever start?
Question is: Did it ever start?
The era of cookie cutter solar has come to a close. Did it ever start?
Once shorthand for fast, uniform installs, “cookie-cutter solar” is giving way to site-specific, storage-integrated systems.
pv-magazine-usa.com
November 21, 2025 at 12:07 AM
System design has long been a critical point of differentiation for many solar installers. By now, many solar experts agree that the era of cookie cutter solar has come to a close.
Question is: Did it ever start?
Question is: Did it ever start?
Energy storage is increasingly dictating data center site selection as regulatory pressure, not technology limits, drives the next wave of storage deployment across US data center hubs.
Why energy storage is increasingly dictating data center site selection - Energy Storage
Regulatory pressure, not technology limits, is driving the next wave of storage deployment across US data center hubs.
www.ess-news.com
November 18, 2025 at 8:26 PM
Energy storage is increasingly dictating data center site selection as regulatory pressure, not technology limits, drives the next wave of storage deployment across US data center hubs.
ERCOT will soon roll out its real-time co-optimization with batteries (RTC+B) program, which could open up new value streams for batteries. But the rollout hinges on something deceptively simple: telemetry.
Telemetry could impact ERCOT’s rollout of real-time co-optimization with batteries - Energy Storage
Projects that fail to upgrade their data infrastructure risk underperformance, delays, and lost trust with the network operator.
www.ess-news.com
November 13, 2025 at 4:31 PM
ERCOT will soon roll out its real-time co-optimization with batteries (RTC+B) program, which could open up new value streams for batteries. But the rollout hinges on something deceptively simple: telemetry.
Unpacking the intricacies of real estate transactions and residential solar are both tricky. Slap the two fields together, and you'll likely find yourself dazed, confused, and trapped between a maze of misconceptions and a wall of red tape.
How rooftop solar can complicate residential real estate transactions
Many homeowners assume leased or loaned solar systems will boost their home’s value, but outstanding loans often drag down equity instead.
pv-magazine-usa.com
November 10, 2025 at 7:16 PM
Unpacking the intricacies of real estate transactions and residential solar are both tricky. Slap the two fields together, and you'll likely find yourself dazed, confused, and trapped between a maze of misconceptions and a wall of red tape.
The “Kelley Blue Book” for energy assets could improve circularity in the solar sector. Seattle-based urban mining startup Buckstop uses a proprietary, AI-powered appraisal model to instantly value end-of-life solar panels.
pv-magazine-usa.com/2025/10/15/t...
pv-magazine-usa.com/2025/10/15/t...
The “Kelley Blue Book” for energy assets could improve circularity in the solar sector
Seattle-based urban mining startup Buckstop uses an AI-powered appraisal model to instantly value end-of-life solar panels.
pv-magazine-usa.com
November 8, 2025 at 6:41 PM
The “Kelley Blue Book” for energy assets could improve circularity in the solar sector. Seattle-based urban mining startup Buckstop uses a proprietary, AI-powered appraisal model to instantly value end-of-life solar panels.
pv-magazine-usa.com/2025/10/15/t...
pv-magazine-usa.com/2025/10/15/t...
On one hand, it’s (relatively) easy to announce a battery gigafactory. On the other, it’s much harder to build one, especially without experienced operating teams.
More over at pv magazine USA:
More over at pv magazine USA:
It’s easy to announce a battery gigafactory. It’s much harder to build one
America’s battery factory buildout hinges on experienced operating teams.
pv-magazine-usa.com
October 8, 2025 at 7:04 PM
On one hand, it’s (relatively) easy to announce a battery gigafactory. On the other, it’s much harder to build one, especially without experienced operating teams.
More over at pv magazine USA:
More over at pv magazine USA:
Energy savings performance contracts (ESPCs) have long enabled schools, hospitals and other public facilities to purchase efficiency upgrades without requiring new taxpayer money and staying budget neutral. Increasingly, they’re also being used for onsite solar.
Performance contracts could be public solar’s silent financiers
Energy savings performance contracts are helping schools, hospitals, and municipalities adopt solar without upfront costs.
pv-magazine-usa.com
October 6, 2025 at 3:21 PM
Energy savings performance contracts (ESPCs) have long enabled schools, hospitals and other public facilities to purchase efficiency upgrades without requiring new taxpayer money and staying budget neutral. Increasingly, they’re also being used for onsite solar.
Bid cost recovery is becoming an increasingly important settlement mechanism for energy storage systems in the CAISO.
Here's more about how BCR works:
Here's more about how BCR works:
Making sense of CAISO’s bid cost recovery mechanism and what it means for batteries - Energy Storage
As California batteries increasingly depend on bid cost recovery to smooth out market deviations, the make-whole mechanism is being reshaped to balance flexibility and fairness.
www.ess-news.com
October 2, 2025 at 6:27 PM
Bid cost recovery is becoming an increasingly important settlement mechanism for energy storage systems in the CAISO.
Here's more about how BCR works:
Here's more about how BCR works:
Tucked away in California’s Central Valley lies Fresno County, one of the nation’s top agricultural producers. Solar is reshaping the landscape, but what happens to the rural farming communities next door?
Solar is reshaping California’s Central Valley. What happens to the rural farming communities next door?
A democratically organized nonprofit is giving a seat at the clean energy table to 36 communities in Western Fresno County.
pv-magazine-usa.com
September 30, 2025 at 3:12 PM
Tucked away in California’s Central Valley lies Fresno County, one of the nation’s top agricultural producers. Solar is reshaping the landscape, but what happens to the rural farming communities next door?
Batteries rely heavily on copper, to where the average lithium-ion battery is up to 15% copper by weight.
But what if those batteries didn’t need copper at all? That’s what Sakuu, a Silicon Valley manufacturing startup, is betting on.
Here's how the tech works:
But what if those batteries didn’t need copper at all? That’s what Sakuu, a Silicon Valley manufacturing startup, is betting on.
Here's how the tech works:
Polymer batteries could help protect the energy storage industry from copper tariffs
As tariffs push copper costs higher, one startup thinks additive manufacturing could free batteries from the metal altogether.
pv-magazine-usa.com
September 24, 2025 at 3:16 PM
Batteries rely heavily on copper, to where the average lithium-ion battery is up to 15% copper by weight.
But what if those batteries didn’t need copper at all? That’s what Sakuu, a Silicon Valley manufacturing startup, is betting on.
Here's how the tech works:
But what if those batteries didn’t need copper at all? That’s what Sakuu, a Silicon Valley manufacturing startup, is betting on.
Here's how the tech works:
While the AI-fueled rise in energy demand has stolen the media spotlight, another just-as-critical but less discussed piece of the data center puzzle is waiting in the wings for its time in the limelight: utility approval.
Batteries could change the answer:
Batteries could change the answer:
How batteries can change a data center application from a “no” to a “yes” - Energy Storage
Energy storage can be the final push a utility needs to accept a new large load application.
www.ess-news.com
September 15, 2025 at 10:26 PM
While the AI-fueled rise in energy demand has stolen the media spotlight, another just-as-critical but less discussed piece of the data center puzzle is waiting in the wings for its time in the limelight: utility approval.
Batteries could change the answer:
Batteries could change the answer:
As the AI revolution keeps on turning, it’s tempting for renewable energy companies to jump on the machine learning bandwagon. Still, what’s going to help companies scale isn’t advanced analytics, but something much less sexy: clean, normalized, site-level data.
Dirty data can break a clean energy portfolio’s return on investment
While AI can help renewable companies get ahead, it will only take them so far without quality, clean data.
pv-magazine-usa.com
September 10, 2025 at 3:22 PM
As the AI revolution keeps on turning, it’s tempting for renewable energy companies to jump on the machine learning bandwagon. Still, what’s going to help companies scale isn’t advanced analytics, but something much less sexy: clean, normalized, site-level data.
When I sat down with Raghu Belur of Enphase Energy a few weeks ago, he walked me through some of the most concrete ways that AI is transforming residential storage fleets.
Here's what he told me:
Here's what he told me:
AI is transforming residential storage fleets. What does that look like in practice? - Energy Storage
Predictive diagnostics and self-testing can help residential battery systems reduce downtime and cut service costs.
www.ess-news.com
September 8, 2025 at 11:16 AM
When I sat down with Raghu Belur of Enphase Energy a few weeks ago, he walked me through some of the most concrete ways that AI is transforming residential storage fleets.
Here's what he told me:
Here's what he told me:
If you're a solar developer, there's a good chance the thought of trying out a vertically integrated approach—where your company owns both the generation assets and the retail customer relationship—may have crossed your mind. It might not be so easy.
Vertical integration in solar? Harder than it looks
While owning customer relationships and generating assets is enticing, it’s not as straightforward as it might seem, according to Zoë Gamble of CleanChoice Energy.
pv-magazine-usa.com
September 4, 2025 at 4:17 PM
If you're a solar developer, there's a good chance the thought of trying out a vertically integrated approach—where your company owns both the generation assets and the retail customer relationship—may have crossed your mind. It might not be so easy.
The solar market's been historically dominated by residential and commercial installations—but what about the projects in between? The "messy middle" of 150 kW to five MW has been overlooked.
More for pv magazine USA:
More for pv magazine USA:
Cracking the solar financing code for the “unbankable” mid-sized project
Small businesses and nonprofits have been largely ignored by traditional solar financiers, as they often don’t fit the standardized loan models built for homeowners with strong FICO scores.
pv-magazine-usa.com
September 2, 2025 at 6:16 PM
The solar market's been historically dominated by residential and commercial installations—but what about the projects in between? The "messy middle" of 150 kW to five MW has been overlooked.
More for pv magazine USA:
More for pv magazine USA:
Reposted by Phoebe Skok
an appropriate response to your product killing a child after months of psychological manipulation and torture is to take the product off the market before it kills again and the fact that this isn’t universally accepted right now is incredibly frightening
August 27, 2025 at 1:39 AM
an appropriate response to your product killing a child after months of psychological manipulation and torture is to take the product off the market before it kills again and the fact that this isn’t universally accepted right now is incredibly frightening
Reposted by Phoebe Skok
we are so, SO far beyond the point of this being a question. we cannot be a decade behind these incredible dangerous politics like the opposition party currently is
I’m sorry but the “should scientists be activists” train left the station for the last time when we started spending billions to build concentration camps. I feel like you guys are engaging with the science stuff as though the camps thing is like, happening on a different TV show
August 23, 2025 at 5:21 PM
we are so, SO far beyond the point of this being a question. we cannot be a decade behind these incredible dangerous politics like the opposition party currently is
The solar PPA changed the decarbonization game, but it only took us part of the way.
Enter the Energy-as-a-Service model.
Enter the Energy-as-a-Service model.
The solar PPA’s lesser-known sibling is coming for commercial decarbonization
Beyond rooftop solar, flexible service agreements are helping commercial and industrial sites tackle electrification, thermal upgrades and efficiency without fighting for capital budgets.
pv-magazine-usa.com
August 19, 2025 at 7:01 PM
The solar PPA changed the decarbonization game, but it only took us part of the way.
Enter the Energy-as-a-Service model.
Enter the Energy-as-a-Service model.
91% of new grid-scale storage capacity came from just five states in Q1—but for the first time in a while, that list didn’t look quite as expected.
Here's the breakdown:
Here's the breakdown:
Storage growth spreads as California and Texas lose market share
U.S. energy storage hit new highs in Q1 2025, but developers are navigating tariffs, price spikes, and OBBB uncertainty heading into the second half.
pv-magazine-usa.com
August 13, 2025 at 7:02 PM
91% of new grid-scale storage capacity came from just five states in Q1—but for the first time in a while, that list didn’t look quite as expected.
Here's the breakdown:
Here's the breakdown:
With FEOC restrictions tightening, developers need to get strategic with procurement.
One approach? Blending imported and domestic components to thread the needle between tax credit eligibility, regulatory risk, and rising tariffs.
www.ess-news.com/2025/08/01/h...
One approach? Blending imported and domestic components to thread the needle between tax credit eligibility, regulatory risk, and rising tariffs.
www.ess-news.com/2025/08/01/h...
August 11, 2025 at 7:01 PM
With FEOC restrictions tightening, developers need to get strategic with procurement.
One approach? Blending imported and domestic components to thread the needle between tax credit eligibility, regulatory risk, and rising tariffs.
www.ess-news.com/2025/08/01/h...
One approach? Blending imported and domestic components to thread the needle between tax credit eligibility, regulatory risk, and rising tariffs.
www.ess-news.com/2025/08/01/h...
Battery storage operators in Texas and California are facing a new reality: the old playbook of “charge low, discharge high” is not working.
Here's how earning revenue in ERCOT and CAISO’s storage markets has fundamentally shifted under rapid capacity growth:
Here's how earning revenue in ERCOT and CAISO’s storage markets has fundamentally shifted under rapid capacity growth:
Gaining the competitive edge for battery storage in CAISO and ERCOT regions
A new GridBeyond report finds that succeeding in saturated markets requires software-led agility and real-time decision-making.
pv-magazine-usa.com
August 6, 2025 at 7:02 PM
Battery storage operators in Texas and California are facing a new reality: the old playbook of “charge low, discharge high” is not working.
Here's how earning revenue in ERCOT and CAISO’s storage markets has fundamentally shifted under rapid capacity growth:
Here's how earning revenue in ERCOT and CAISO’s storage markets has fundamentally shifted under rapid capacity growth:
What if we could get more copper out of the mines we already have? Endolith's AI-powered #biotech platform uses custom microbial communities to increase mineral recovery rates from low-grade ores.
Here's how it works:
Here's how it works:
Microbes could save U.S. solar from copper price shocks
A Colorado start-up uses specialized microbes and cloud-based optimization to recover copper from low-grade ores.
pv-magazine-usa.com
July 30, 2025 at 5:26 PM
What if we could get more copper out of the mines we already have? Endolith's AI-powered #biotech platform uses custom microbial communities to increase mineral recovery rates from low-grade ores.
Here's how it works:
Here's how it works: