Jennifer Hiller

Exclusive | A Nuclear-Power Startup Says It Can Rouse the Slow-Moving Industry Alva Energy has the support of former Intel chief Pat Gelsinger, whose venture firm led its recent $33 million fundraising round.

A nuclear-power developer thinks it can add 10 gigawatts by squeezing more out of existing plants.
Backers include former Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger and Isabelle Boemeke aka Isodope. Free link:
www.wsj.com/business/ene...

Siemens Energy to Spend $1 Billion to Boost Manufacturing of Electrical-Grid Equipment Investments include restarting manufacturing of gas turbines, the monster machines needed to supply reliable power for the AI-data-center boom.

Siemens Energy will spend $1 billion to boost U.S. manufacturing for grid and power generation equipment.
That includes restarting gas-turbine manufacturing in North Carolina. The CEO is also cautious about what gas turbine demand looks like in the 2030s.
Free link: www.wsj.com/business/ene...

Can the U.S. build big nuclear reactors again? The Trump administration is betting $80 billion on the idea, which could mean eight AP1000 reactors across four sites.
My latest, free link:https://www.wsj.com/business/energy-oil/can-the-u-s-make-big-nuclear-reactors-1ab24db9?

AI Data Centers Are Banging on Crypto’s Door Developers desperately need access to electricity—and bitcoin miners are in a prime position to assist.

Big tech needs access to the grid for AI data centers. In many cases, crypto got there first. Free link:
www.wsj.com/business/ene...

Rick Perry’s Nuclear Ambitions Begin With Gas Power Fermi, a buzzy startup that recently went public, is positioned to benefit from the AI data-center boom and a potential nuclear-power renaissance.

Rick Perry's $17 billion startup Fermi has started building a huge data center and power campus in Amarillo.

It aims for four big nuclear reactors. But first, it will build gas power.

Free link to my latest: www.wsj.com/business/ene...

AI Data Centers, Desperate for Electricity, Are Building Their Own Power Plants Utilities are pushing to increase supply, but meeting the surge in demand won’t be easy or fast. Tech companies aren’t waiting around.

AI data centers need a lot of electricity. The grid is backlogged. Some are building their own power plants-‘grab yourself a couple of turbines...’
Latest article, link past the paywall:
www.wsj.com/business/ene...

Nuclear Power Giant’s Stock Surges on 20-Year Deal With Meta The tech giant will buy the power generation of an Illinois nuclear plant under a deal with Constellation Energy.

Facebook parent Meta Platforms and Constellation Energy have a nuclear deal. Meta will buy the output of an Illinois reactor for 20 years, which will help cover relicensing costs, maintenance and operations. It's a PPA, so power stays on the grid. Free link:
www.wsj.com/business/ene...

The Price of Remission When I was diagnosed with cancer, I set out to understand why a single pill of Revlimid cost the same as a new iPhone. I’ve covered high drug prices as a reporter for years. What I discovered shocked ...

New from @davidarmstrongx.bsky.social:

When I was diagnosed with cancer, I set out to understand why a single pill of Revlimid cost the same as a new iPhone. I’ve covered high drug prices as a reporter for years. What I discovered shocked even me.

Exclusive | A Big Coal Plant Was Just Imploded to Make Way for an AI Data Center The country’s largest natural-gas power plant is planned east of Pittsburgh.

A big, decommissioned coal plant was just imploded to make way for (of course) big data centers and what would be the country’s largest natural gas-fired power plant. My latest, free link:
www.wsj.com/business/ene...

The U.S. Economy Depends More Than Ever on Rich People The highest-earning 10% of Americans account for almost 50% of all consumer spending.

Interesting read from Rachel Louise Ensign. “All this means that economic growth is unusually reliant on rich Americans continuing to shell out.” Free link:

www.wsj.com/economy/cons...

Trump Paralyzes the U.S. Wind Power Industry The president, who despises wind turbines, has paused federal permits and leasing for such projects, putting company plans in limbo.

Work continues at projects that have already started construction on land or offshore, but Trump has created confusion about what’s next for wind power. (Free link)

www.wsj.com/business/ene...

How Tariffs Could Shock America’s Power System Transformers used in power grids are especially vulnerable to trade disruptions.

On tariffs risk from Jinjoo Lee: "As surging power demand from places such as data centers is set to strain the system, transformers, the nuts and bolts of the power system, look particularly vulnerable." Free link:
www.wsj.com/economy/trad...

Constellation Energy Agrees to Buy Calpine for $16.4 Billion The merger combines two of the country’s largest power generators as demand for electricity surges.

Constellation is buying Calpine, a matchup to create a massive power generator at a time when the tech industry has an insatiable appetite for power. In the cash-stock-debt deal, Calpine investors will hang onto shares in Constellation for at least 18 months. Free link:
www.wsj.com/business/dea...

Green-Energy Firms’ Pitch to Trump: You’re Going to Need a Lot of Power Instead of touting projects as “clean and affordable,” renewables firms are highlighting their projects’ ability to meet energy needs.

Renewable energy was a punching bag during President-elect Trump's campaign, and developers have been in a scramble post-election. #energysky

New year, new story, free link:

www.wsj.com/business/ene...

Insurance and Taxes Now Cost More Than Mortgages for Many Homeowners These ballooning expenses are rewriting the math of homeownership.

For an increasing number of homeowners, taxes and insurance make up more than half of the monthly mortgage payment. (Raises hand in Texas). Free link:
www.wsj.com/economy/hous...

Exclusive | Biden Administration Agrees to Record $15 Billion Loan to PG&E The Energy Department loan would finance the California utility’s efforts to upgrade the power grid and reduce emissions.

The Energy Department’s Loan Programs Office will make a $15 billion loan--its biggest yet--to PG&E for grid work. Story by Scott Patterson and Katherine Blunt, with link past the paywall: www.wsj.com/us-news/clim...

Musk’s politics hadn’t seeped into Tesla. Then he axed its eco car of the future. The Tesla CEO was once an outspoken voice on climate change. But Musk now argues many risks are overstated, a stance that could influence Trump and help his businesses.

Interesting story from the Washington Post on Elon Musk's shift in attitude on climate change. Gift link: wapo.st/3ONQkHA

“Have Yourself A Merriam Little Christmas”

Merriam, a career-oriented lexicographer from the city, returns to her small town for the holidays and meets Webster, a ruggedly handsome librarian, who shows her the true DEFINITION of Christmas.

Hit us up @hallmarkchannel.bsky.social @netflix.com 🙏

Trump’s Energy Secretary Pick Preaches the Benefits of Climate Change Fracking CEO Chris Wright points to positive changes produced by global warming, in contrast with what some oil giants say.

Catchup read if you missed it yesterday - profile of Energy Secretary pick Chris Wright, by @benmorenne.bsky.social
www.wsj.com/politics/pol...

In the Desert With an EV Entrepreneur Who Insists Trump Will Be Good for Business JB Straubel brims with optimism for the electric-vehicle market he helped create and his plans for again disrupting another industry: mining.

JB Straubel of Redwood Materials is an EV/battery optimist. “It feels a bit like we are inventing the next generation of refineries-so to speak.” By Tim Higgins, free link: www.wsj.com/business/aut...

It’s a goofy little art installation in the middle of nowhere on the way to Big Bend.

Somewhere south of Marathon. Yes, there we forced family photos as well.

‘Wicked’ Review: A Movie Musical of Old-Fashioned Magic Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande star in director Jon M. Chu’s lavishly entertaining adaptation of the Broadway hit set in the land of Oz.

For the weekend, the WSJ 'Wicked' review. (FWIW my crew of moms and girls loved it). Link past the paywall:
www.wsj.com/arts-culture...

Trump’s Oil and Gas Donors Don’t Really Want to ‘Drill, Baby, Drill’ Fossil-fuel tycoons helped return Donald Trump to the presidency. Now, they are seeking to lock use of their products for years to come.

Shale tycoons don’t want to drill baby drill and grow production. They do want the LNG export ban lifted on day one of the new Trump administration. Free link, Story by Benoit Morenne and Collin Eaton: www.wsj.com/business/ene...

I thought so too

Your Junk Is Needed for the New Electric Era In remote Quebec, mining giant Glencore is turning America’s electronic trash back into treasure.

Glencore turns to scrap metal and wants your junk for the energy transition. Free link, story by Ryan Dezember: www.wsj.com/finance/comm...

Biden inks billion-dollar climate deals to foil Trump rollbacks The administration is accelerating the approval of large loans for clean technologies that the president-elect attacked on the campaign trail.

The DOE is racing to close $25 billion in pending loans to businesses building major clean energy projects across the country. My talented colleagues on one of Biden’s last chances to cement his climate legacy before Trump takes office next year.
www.eenews.net/articles/bid...

Trump’s Choice for Energy Secretary Is a Fracking Booster and Climate Skeptic Chris Wright’s nomination elevates a pugnacious branch of the oil-and-gas industry that mostly hasn’t pledged to build out low-carbon energy businesses, unlike giants Exxon and Chevron.

Shale is ascendant. Trump’s choice for energy secretary, Chris Wright, says there’s no energy transition or climate crisis, and fossil fuels can improve global energy poverty. Story from Benoit Morenne and Collin Eaton: (free link) www.wsj.com/business/ene...

A Powerful AI Breakthrough Is About to Transform the World The technology driving ChatGPT is capable of so much more. What’s coming next will make talking bots look like mere distractions.

What’s next in AI? Column from Christopher Mims on what’s after chatbots, and I am most interested in the laundry folding. (link past the paywall): www.wsj.com/tech/ai/a-po...

Exclusive: Trump's transition team aims to kill Biden EV tax credit President-elect Donald Trump's transition team is planning to kill the $7,500 consumer tax credit for electric-vehicle purchases as part of broader tax-reform legislation, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

NEW

Trump's transition team is planning to kill the $7,500 consumer tax credit for electric-vehicle purchases.

Ending the credit could have grave implications for an already stalling EV transition.

Tesla - by far the nation's largest EV seller - has told Trump’s transition it supports ending it.