Energy thinking-and-doing @RockyMtnInst. @CarletonCollege and @ERGBerkeley alum.
Dec 16, 2020 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
With questionable rhyming and judgment for the third year in a row, wishing folks happy holidays in a challenging year.
🎶🎵🎵 🧵
You know COVID and Cancels⁽¹⁾⁽²⁾ and Coal Plants Retired⁽³⁾
Lockdowns and Zoom Bombs and Record Wildfires
But do you recall
The least famous trend of them all?
Today my colleagues and I at @RockyMtnInst released a new report that lays out modern principles and recommendations for grid #resilience in an era of transformational technology change and growing security risks. rmi.org/reimagining-gr… 1/8
Two trends motivated this research. First, the increasing likelihood and impact of catastrophic risks to grid security from climate change, other natural disasters, and malicious attacks. Each has the potential to cause a wide-scale, months-long outage. 2/8
May 14, 2020 • 11 tweets • 4 min read
Our team at @RockyMtnInst is pleased to release a report in partnership with @HolyCrossEnergy on opportunities to improve the resilience of the grid using clean energy in the face of increasing fire risks, in part driven by climate change. rmi.org/insight/workin… 1/
Some background: in July 2018 a wildfire came within minutes of taking down all transmission paths to the Upper Roaring Fork Valley in CO, potentially leaving Aspen and other communities in the dark for weeks. Disaster was averted by dousing this tower with minutes to spare. 2/
Dec 16, 2019 • 37 tweets • 9 min read
Happy Holidays #energytwitter! Reading children's Christmas books to my toddler has put me in that mood again. With apologies in advance for the questionable meter and rhyming, please enjoy "How The Grinch Stole Clean Energy... And Then Gave It Back" [Thread]
A long time ago (and, in places, still now),
A grumpy old Grinch hadn't figured out how
To meet all the Whos’ clean power desires,
Instead of just lighting old carbon on fire.
So this is a tale of the Grinch's transition,
And the power to change once he stopped to listen...
Dec 20, 2018 • 16 tweets • 10 min read
Reflecting on truly amazing year in the US electricity industry on a long plane ride across the country, I thought I might share some thoughts in the form of a seasonal poem (h/t @DanFinnFoley@greentechmedia for the inspiration)...
Twas a busy December, and all through the grid
Transformers were quietly buzzing amid
The transition affecting the industry whole
And spreading quite fast through each wire and pole
May 21, 2018 • 9 tweets • 4 min read
Today, @RockyMtnInst released a new study on the economics of "clean energy portfolios" versus new gas plants. We find that gas loses, and it's a $350 billion and 10 GT CO2 prize for customers, investors, and the planet. Read on for more: 1/ rmi.org/insights/repor…
First, the situation: about half of the thermal capacity on the US grid is likely to retire by 2030. That represents a ~480 GW investment need for new capacity to replace it - and the default choice is new gas-fired capacity, which would cost ~$500B through 2030. 2/
