Stephen Lacey

Bike man meme. Riding the bike: we need energy dominance and affordability! Putting a stick through the spikes: OBBB, permitting restrictions, red tape, cancelling a transmission line On the ground, hurt: but, but, but blackouts are coming

I got to be a guest host on the Open Curcuit podcast with @stephenlacey.bsky.social & @cleangridview.bsky.social this week, & here’s how we talked about the One Big Beautiful Bill & what it does to raise costs, raise emissions, & reduce reliability. 🔌💡 Listen: www.latitudemedia.com/news/open-ci...

What we learned from the ethanol disaster Michael Grunwald on the hidden emissions of biofuels, the failure of feel-good farming, and how ag tech can learn from energy.

I talked to the great Open Circuit crew (@stephenlacey.bsky.social @jigarshahdc.bsky.social & Katherine Hamilton) about what energy people should know about food, and what food people can learn from the energy revolution.

www.latitudemedia.com/news/open-ci...

Musk Rages as Trump Tax Bill Slashes Electric Vehicle Credits Elon Musk slammed the US Senate’s latest version of President Donald Trump’s multi-trillion dollar tax bill Saturday, warning that the cuts to electric vehicle and other clean energy credits would be “incredibly destructive” to the country.

Elon Musk slammed the Senate’s latest version of President Donald Trump’s tax bill Saturday, raging online that the cuts to electric vehicle and other clean energy credits would be “incredibly destructive” to the US.

NABTU gets it.

“Equivalent of canceling 1000 keystone XLs”

"Biggest job killing Bill in the history of the country"

NOTE TO SELF: Next time google “what does this political party believe” before giving them $277 million

Well we have the new text from Senate Budget, and we did indeed see the high water mark in the Finance text.

The latest text is much worse: back to placed in service by and of 2027, same onerous and draconian FEOC requirements, NEW excise on tax on wind and solar.

Pain, resilience, and bargain hunting for climate tech investors Investment is down, but smart money is finding opportunities.

Listen to the episode: bit.ly/45LBJXa

The winners? Companies that save customers money vs. asking for green premiums. Also, startups with a tactical exit strategy. As @jigarshahdc.bsky.social put it: "You should know exactly who's going to buy you."

Three forces are reshaping investment flows:

🎯 Tariffs worry investors MORE than IRA repeal (41% ranked it #1 concern)

💰 The "missing middle" gap is growing, just as more companies hit it.

📈 Acquisitions doubled in H1 2025, mostly at undisclosed (bargain) prices

Climate tech capital is fleeing America. Sightline's Kim Zou joined @open-circuit.bsky.social from London Climate Week. For the first time, US investors are flocking to what's been a sleepy European conference. The reason? "Definitely pullback in the U.S." A thread on what's driving change 🧵

Fascinating exchange on latest Open Circuit episode in reply to @stephenlacey.bsky.social prompt on data center flex, btwn Arushi Sharma Frank & @jigarshahdc.bsky.social @cleangridview.bsky.social: 🔌💡 www.latitudemedia.com/news/open-ci...

It's been fascinating to watch the discourse about the Spain blackout over the past month. So much of it predictable, but I'm glad all the people who think mostly about fossil fuels are having to reluctantly learn nerdy things about electricity and grids. It's clear where the future lies.

"World’s largest hydrogen taxi operator hurls accusations at supply giants as it quits H2 in Paris"

"Hype, the world’s largest hydrogen taxi operator, is to cease operating its fleet of hydrogen taxis in the Paris area, on the back of surging H2 prices"

www.hydrogeninsight.com/transport/a-...

The abundance agenda meets scarcity politics Republicans dismantle the IRA while America faces its biggest infrastructure challenge in decades.

I got to talk to @stephenlacey.bsky.social, @cleangridview.bsky.social, and @jigarshahdc.bsky.social on Open Circuit, about the reconciliation bill, abundance, and the future of energy and climate innovation. www.latitudemedia.com/news/open-ci...

Screenshot of text, from BNEF's 2025 New Energy Outlook report, reading "Data-center power capacity was an estimated 81 gigawatts in 2024, consuming 371 terawatt-hours of electricity, or 1.4% of global final demand. We estimate their capacity will rapidly increase to 179GW by 2030 and 277GW by 2035. To power data centers, annual electricity demand increases by 2.5 times to 935TWh by the end of the decade and quadruples to 1,600TWh in 2035. Those figures mean about 3% of total power demand will feed data centers by 2030 and 4.5% in 2035. By mid-century they consume 8.7% of electricity."

Here's BloombergNEF's best guess on what increased data center activity means for global electricity consumption, from this year's New Energy Outlook, in the Economic Transition Scenario.

(Full report is paywalled: www.bnef.com/insights/361... )

Stop work order lifted, Empire Wind project resumes construction The stop work order has been lifted for the Empire Wind project, allowing construction activities to resume.

Equinor says the Trump administration has lifted the stop-work order for the Empire Wind offshore wind project - "allowing construction activities to resume" www.equinor.com/news/2025051... 🔌💡

I’m not saying the messaging is unimportant. It is very important. I just don’t see a lot of arguments about the clear policy contradictions that will resonate.

Shift Key Special Edition: The Fight Over the Inflation Reduction Act Has Arrived Rob and Jesse digest the Ways and Means budget bill live on air, alongside former Treasury advisor Luke Bassett.

Great analysis of the draft House reconciliation bill from @jessedjenkins.com and @robinsonmeyer.bsky.social on this week's Shift Key. The most depressing takeaway is that Republicans will crush stuff they claim to love -- nuclear and domestic manufacturing -- not just wind and solar. Pure lunacy.

How would that work, exactly?

I buy that.

I don't get how Dems still believe the "death of democracy" messaging will work, when it clearly failed in the election. Every WH action is antithetical to its policy priorities. It's the perfect chance to clearly explain the contradictions, and present genuine counter policies. What am I missing?

Fear and Loathing at the Department of Energy Podcast Episode · Open Circuit · 09/05/2025 · 53m

Huge congrats to @maeveallsup.bsky.social on her @latitudemedia.bsky.social Open Circuit debut, holding her own with @jigarshahdc.bsky.social, Katherine Hamilton, & @stephenlacey.bsky.social.

Smashed it.

#climatesky 🔌💡

Inside the political chess game of funding backup power for Puerto Rico Modernizing the island’s grid was key to Gov. González-Colón’s campaign. So why has she pulled her support of a key resilience program?

Some juicy details in this story from @maeveallsup.bsky.social about the politics of the DOE's rescinded support for solar/batteries in Puerto Rico. "Who could argue against backup power for hospitals, right?”

The most important insight? "Economics are driving that way more than the existence of the PTC or ITC in isolation." Policy chaos aside, market fundamentals are still the main driver -- and will continue.

There's a lot more volatility to come. Cembalest believes "The markets are still underpricing the risk" of the Trump Administration's trade policy.

On China's energy approach: "In absolute terms, they're just consuming more of everything. More renewables, more coal, more gas, more oil." China's 30 nuclear plants under construction could be the real game-changer for coal displacement.

On Europe's transition costs: "Europe is paying a price. Broadly speaking that its governments and people have been supportive of." While Europe gets 50% of electricity from clean sources, "deindustrialization" is occurring with energy prices 2-4x US levels.

On AI energy demand projections, Cembalest is skeptical: "I'm going to take the under... the cost of doing this is going to be so prohibitively high that it forces certain engineering efficiencies into AI energy consumption."

Transmission is "stuck in a rut." US capacity additions are declining when they need to be dramatically increasing. We're adding roughly 1,000 miles per year versus DOE targets of 5,000-9,000 miles annually by 2030/2035.

Equipment shortages are hitting everything. Cost of building gas plants has tripled; transformer deliveries stretched from weeks to years; PPA prices for renewables keep climbing. Grid equipment is experiencing fastest price growth among 47 items in the Producer Price Index.