tyler fitch

More to come from us on this!

NOVEC's 2025 large load request to PJM: www.pjm.com/-/media/DotC...
NERC's LTRA here: www.nerc.com/globalassets...

Thinking through data center connection in this way changes the implications of NERC's graph -- rather than telling us where resource adequacy risks are rising, it might tell us instead where data centers connections are more likely to be delayed.

To me, the natural unchallenged assumption? Whether we should treat data-center load ramping as fixed in timing & magnitude, and how certain it is. We've already seen (e.g., NOVEC), load forecasts get pushed back because of lack of transmission capacity.

This gets us closer to a "Agree on Decisions" framework than a "Predict then Act" one -- and doesn't necessarily require that everyone agrees on what's coming next.

We've started to use Decisionmaking Under Deep Uncertainty (DMDU) to inform how we plan under rapidly-changing, unprecedented & highly uncertain conditions. One early insight: re-evaluate load-bearing assumptions in times of change.

I skimmed through the NERC Long-term Reliability Assessment that came out last week. Lots to dig into in there -- but I think we can all agree that grid conditions are getting tight amidst forecasts of a data-center-driven demand boom in the short term.

rooting for the patriots (lawful evil) in the super bowl because then UNC (neutral good?) would be the 6th school to produce both a super bowl QB and a president

Governor Mikie Sherrill Issues Six Executive Orders on Day One TRENTON – Governor Mikie Sherrill today hit the ground running on her first day in office – taking historic executive action to lower costs, protect our kids, and make Trenton more accountable and…

Sherill's EOs here: www.nj.gov/governor/new...
Minding the Regulatory Gap here: rmi.org/insight/mind...

This BPU study (and the call to oversight of tx buildout) caught my eye. This is a step in the right direction -- we need public transparency and oversight (and agencies that have the capacity to apply it!) as we kick off a data-center-powered boom in infrastructure building.

I've been reviewing NJ Gov Mikie Sherrill's day-one executive orders with some interest this morning--they're a fascinating snapshot at how we're defining the problems we're facing and what options are on the table for doing something about it.

Lessons: 1) Having an investor-owned utility with a shoulder at the wheel can get a lot done; 2) the anti-wind vibe might be weaker than it looks; 3) let's see what else we can do with the industrial capacity (the ship! the workers!) that Dominion has built with VA ratepayers' $$

Canary inbox: Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) is nearing completion off of Virginia Beach. That's 2.6 GW--the biggest offshore wind project in the country-- in the Southeast, projected to be online in the next 6 months. we likely have the tax credit sunset to thank for it!

k-pop demon hunters: perfect film, i am revived

Iowa AG Leads Letter Questioning Legality of Net-Zero Carbon Emissions Standard The letter was sent to David Kennedy, CEO of the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), a group that recently released its Financial Institutions Net-Zero standard.

dead-ender behavior. I know I'm like a decade too late on this, but if we can't develop societal anti-bodies to these performances...we're cooked. decorahnews.com/news/15338/i...

how were nerds transmuting their niche interests into aura before black sabbath? was there an aleister crowley society or something?

Feels like market maturity didn't come a moment too soon for storage, which has become a serious player on some of our grids only in the last few years

blog.gridstatus.io/caiso-batter...

From semafor: As the dust is settling on OBBB, storage is (roughly) full-steam ahead

www.semafor.com/article/07/2...

Durham, NC’s catbirds reaching just unrealistic levels of cuteness and delight rn

closely related to the EU’s right to be forgotten, right?

To me, it means we're probably underestimating data center loads' impact on reliability. And, beyond thinking more about data center flexibility, we should be thinking about how to make our power systems better share their reserves

What the data center boom means for grids | Wood Mackenzie In this first article of a two-part series, we discuss the increasing electricity demand due to the growth of data centers, particularly driven by artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud computing.

I hadn't seen this stated anywhere until I came across
@woodmac.com 's article today! Check it here: www.woodmac.com/news/opinion...

Another shoe yet to drop: Data center load could really change the reliability dynamics for our systems, and AFAIK the big utilities (Southern/Duke) in the Southeast haven't re-run their reliability analyses with their shiny AI loads

this may be the most excited i’ve been to see a bluesky post to date! tylerfitchclimate@gmail.com or tyler.fitch@rmi.org if email feels right

that does seem more likely, for sure, even if IMV less likely to be in the public interest

would the state consider buying the assets at a discount and winding them down? the litigation would be insane but that seems like the most likely path to me

this is making me wonder what regulators and state policymakers might do if they started seeing evidence of a real death spiral in the rate cases. i think there’d be a lot of warning signs before we get to actual failure to pay

BREAKING: Deadlifted 3x5 at 225 on my birthday :)

Why Virtual Power Plants are a climate solution for our divided times Virtual Power Plants use the combined energy from rooftop solar and home battery systems to cut costs and emissions, creating bipartisan appeal.

Delighted to have some of our thinking about Virtual Power Plants show up in Newsweek today: newsweek.com/why-virtual-.... We're sitting on a sleeping giant of power grid resources in our cars, thermostats, and water heaters--let's tap in.

yall are having a great conversation about what causes costs on a future energy system. when should and shouldn't that be 1:1 with how families pay to use it?

Image of the Financial Times editorial, titled "The west's shameful silence on Gaza." An image depicts children with empty pots looking for food.

Grateful to the FT for posting this. It shines an honest and unkind light on the rest of us.