Good morning,

The climate news cycle is full of contradictions—just as the energy transition makes groundbreaking strides, we’re reminded of the environmental challenges still lurking. AI’s skyrocketing energy demand is being met with innovative solutions, Texas continues to smash renewable energy records, and even gas turbine manufacturers seem to be hedging their bets against fossil fuels.

But it’s not all good news. As always, we’re here to break it all down and explore the best ways forward.

WHAT’S HAPPENING

Curated finds from around the web

Valentine’s Day might have already passed, but it turns out that there’s a new Power Couple in town. RMI’s recent report on AI load growth estimates that co-locating data centers with new renewables near existing generation could accommodate 50 GW of new AI load, 88% provided by clean energy. 33 GW of that new load could cost <$100 / MWh to build (according to Jigar Shah, the standard price for new build energy these days, fossil-fuel or not); the remaining could be satisfied for <$200 / MWh. 

Permitting clean tech projects is not a sexy topic. (Okay, we actually do think it’s a sexy topic, but that’s beyond the point.) But with California Governor Newsom and local leaders in L.A. waiving certain permitting requirements for rebuilds after the L.A. Wildfires and with the U.S. presidential administration scrapping NEPA (the National Environmental Permitting Act, the governing legislation for permitting major infrastructure projects in the U.S. based on their impacts to the environment), it’s starting to get some major attention. Here are some suggestions for how we could do it better. Here’s also some evidence that waiving permitting requirements has helped build active transportation projects more quickly and cost-effectively.  

Even gas turbine manufacturers aren’t betting on natural gas. Political tailwinds in the U.S. have increased the number of new natural gas projects in the pipeline, but gas turbine OEMs (manufacturers) aren’t making commensurate investments in manufacturing capacity to keep up with demand. Instead, they’re telling customers that new orders won’t be fulfilled until 2029, and project developers should give them up to eight years notice (eight???) for new projects. The reason? OEMS don’t think the demand is permanent, so they don’t want to make costly investments in new facilities as renewable energy adoption curves continue to sore. 

Texas wins the renewables record game, again. Last newsletter, we reported on how Texas had the most solar installations last year, with total capacity rising above even California. It turns out that the first week of March was another nationally record-breaking month for clean energy in Texas, with the ERCOT power grid (Texas’ grid operator) setting records for wind and solar production and battery discharge. Interestingly, Texas’ batteries provided almost as much power as the state’s nuclear power plants (4,833 MW versus 5,000 MW, respectively) and 10% of the grid’s electricity demand.

Normally, we report on good news, but we’re taking a break from climate optimism for a moment to tell you not to drink the rain. Some of you are old enough to remember when acid rain was an issue, with pollution from power plants and cars so toxic it turned even the rain into something that destroyed natural and built environments alike. Now, our rain has microplastics, mostly coming from plastic waste on freeways scattered by cars and kicked up into the air. Maybe this is our sign to replace plastics, not expand freeways, drive cars and trucks less, and build denser, higher quality places to live?  

Okay, we’re back to climate optimism now. Our final curated read from this week is about how scientists have figured out how to make artificial leaves that produce something we can use to make cheaper, cleaner fuels, chemicals and plastics. Plants already use sunlight and carbon dioxide to make their own food. In this new process, artificial leaves take in water and carbon dioxide and produce hydrocarbons (ethlyene and ethane) that could be used to fuel cars or generate electricity. It’s still in the trial phase, but scale-ups could show commercially viable sources of fuel. 

QUOTE

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