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David Roberts@volts.wtf |
9219 followers 160 following 252 posts
I run a newsletter/podcast called Volts about clean energy & politics. Subscribe & join the community at volts.wtf!
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David Roberts
@volts.wtf
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Today on Volts: you've probably heard some of the hype around "solid-state" batteries. What are they? What are their advantages, in terms of energy density & safety? When will they come to market? I get into all of it with a SSB CEO.
www.volts.wtf/p/whats-up-w...
0 replies 2 reposts 26 likes
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David Roberts
@volts.wtf
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These are LFP batteries -- no fire risk. No idea where hazmat would come from but these are entirely contained & modular & need only an electricity connection. I have no idea on earth why you think more batteries would make the grid *less* reliable.
3 replies 0 reposts 4 likes
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David Roberts
@volts.wtf
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Today on Volts: A new startup, Base Power, is effectively giving its Texas customers oversized home batteries for the cost of installation. Homeowners get reliable backup power; Base uses the extra storage capacity to trade in the market. Intriguing!
www.volts.wtf/p/a-clever-n...
2 replies 5 reposts 25 likes
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Greg Sargent
@gregsargent.bsky.social
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New pod: Under Project 2025, an army of Trump loyalists would deeply corrupt information gathering by the government and turn it into little more than pro-Trump propaganda.
We dig deep into this with @volts.wtf, who is highly illuminating on the dangers here:
newrepublic.com/article/1832...
4 replies 36 reposts 95 likes
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David Roberts
@volts.wtf
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Today on Volts: the IRA contains substantial, easily accessible direct-pay tax credits for climate-friendly infrastructure upgrades at public schools -- but most public schools don't know about them. I talk with some folks trying to spread the word.
2 replies 20 reposts 36 likes
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David Roberts
@volts.wtf
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Today on Volts: more heat pumps! I talk with the founder of Harvest about the advantages of coupling a heat pump with a giant thermal battery (a big water tank) so that electricity consumption can be time-shifted, lowering costs & emissions.
www.volts.wtf/p/heat-pumps...
1 replies 4 reposts 30 likes
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David Roberts
@volts.wtf
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Today on Volts: Have you heard about Kathy Hochul's catastrophically stupid decision to suspend NYC congestion pricing? Well it's even stupider than you've heard. I dig in to the details & ramifications with state senator Liz Krueger & transpo wonk Justin Balik.
www.volts.wtf/p/new-yorks-...
4 replies 16 reposts 43 likes
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David Roberts
@volts.wtf
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Today on Volts: I talk with someone who is building electric aircraft, both a small plane & an EVTOL. This is one of my all-time favorite conversations, absolutely packed with interesting details & hope. www.volts.wtf/p/whats-up-w...
2 replies 4 reposts 22 likes
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David Roberts
@volts.wtf
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Bizarre.
0 replies 0 reposts 3 likes
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David Roberts
@volts.wtf
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Today on Volts: Last week I interviewed Washington's governor, Jay Inslee, on stage at a live event in Seattle. We talked about Washington's fantastic climate policy, what remains to be done in the state, and the new threat to his greatest accomplishment. www.volts.wtf/p/washington...
0 replies 4 reposts 22 likes
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David Roberts
@volts.wtf
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Today on Volts: Brett Christophers stirred up a lot of controversy & discussion with his book The Price Is Wrong, which argues that renewables aren't profitable enough to scale with private money. He & I go deep on the details. Extremely deep.
1 replies 6 reposts 19 likes
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David Roberts
@volts.wtf
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Today on Volts: I talk with an AI scholar & practitioner about the ways that machine learning & AI can help the fight against climate change. What exactly can AI do to reduce emissions? What *can't* it do? And what about all those data centers?
1 replies 8 reposts 24 likes
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Aaron Rupar
@atrupar.bsky.social
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New in PN: @volts.wtf sounds off on the 2024 campaign
"We have this lying, abusive, obviously nutbag figure, and we can’t acknowledge to ourselves what’s happening. The political commentariat is trying so hard to process this into a normal thing that they’re familiar with."
11 replies 40 reposts 169 likes
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Aaron Rupar
@atrupar.bsky.social
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"These are awful people who like imposing cruelty on out groups and blaming them for all their problems. You can process that into a political 'position,' but really these are just shitty people, even if you can't say that out loud." -- @volts.wtf
10 replies 74 reposts 312 likes
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David Roberts
@volts.wtf
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Today on Volts: a half-billion people in Africa lack access to electricity, and that number is growing, not shrinking. Today I talk with someone trying to work out a business model that can unlock rapid growth in minigrids for bottom-up electrification.
0 replies 3 reposts 26 likes
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David Roberts
@volts.wtf
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Today on Volts: a mailbag episode for paid subscribers, in which I discuss e-bikes, fossil fuel subsidies, the follies of environmental funders, utility regulatory structures, and more. www.volts.wtf/p/mailbag-ep...
0 replies 1 reposts 6 likes
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Mike Hicks
@mulad.bsky.social
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Any podcast episode featuring @chrislhayes.bsky.social plus @volts.wtf is basically an automatic share. It's wild to be reminded that the US is producing more oil than ever, more than any other country in the world (nearly 2x as much as Saudi Arabia)
podcastindex.org/podcast/6770...
1 replies 8 reposts 45 likes
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David Roberts
@volts.wtf
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Today on Volts: making steel generates ~10% of global carbon emissions. Now a new startup, Boston Metal, promises steel with no combustion, no emissions, & no waste. The process, "molten oxide electrolysis," runs on clean electricity! Love it.
0 replies 10 reposts 41 likes
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David Roberts
@volts.wtf
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Today on Volts: I talk with transmission guru @robgramlichdc.bsky.social about the new transmission-planning rule from FERC, the recent transmission announcements from the Biden admin., and what still remains to be done by Congress. Lots of hot transmission action!
0 replies 1 reposts 16 likes
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Costa Samaras
@costasamaras.bsky.social
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Appreciate that @chrislhayes.bsky.social made climate impacts simple:
> more heat, hotter ocean
> hotter ocean, stronger hurricanes
> stronger hurricanes, worse impacts
Also appreciate him featuring @volts.wtf talking about Biden’s climate policies. We need an IRA2: www.volts.wtf/p/getting-re...
2 replies 3 reposts 23 likes
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David Roberts
@volts.wtf
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Today on Volts: heat pumps are great! But sometimes, let's be real, they can be a hassle to buy & install & their design is utilitarian at best. A new startup called Quilt is trying to sex them up a bit. I talk w/ CEO Paul Lambert.
1 replies 9 reposts 31 likes
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David Roberts
@volts.wtf
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But if you've already made capital investments into, say, a coke furnace, the ongoing fuel costs are incredibly cheap. The honest answer is probably "it depends."
0 replies 0 reposts 1 likes
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David Roberts
@volts.wtf
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Good eye & totally fair question. I think it comes down to what/how you measure. In idealized situations, if you're building a new facility & you have good wind/solar resources, the per-unit cost of RE heat is likely lower.
1 replies 0 reposts 2 likes
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David Roberts
@volts.wtf
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It's my favorite too.
1 replies 0 reposts 1 likes
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David Roberts
@volts.wtf
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Today on Volts: I talk to Lorenzo Kristov about his vision of a bottom-up energy system built around local distributed energy. Kristov is on my personal energy Mt. Rushmore -- few people have influenced my thinking more -- so I really treasured this one.
2 replies 8 reposts 39 likes
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Enna Kros
@goblinjail.bsky.social
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Screen capture of
A Happy Mother's Day thread from David Roberts aka Dr. Volts @volts.wtf
0 replies 5 reposts 30 likes
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Gavin Deichen
@gdeichen.bsky.social
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Super interesting; have you ever thought how weird it is that Climate Change is rarely mentioned at all in movies and on TV? David Roberts talks to Anna Jane Joyner who's organisation, Good Energy, is working to make climate a part of the cultural conversation.
0 replies 10 reposts 16 likes
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David Roberts
@volts.wtf
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Today on Volts: climate awareness & anxiety are rising, especially among young people, but climate change remains relatively invisible in TV & film. I talk with Anna Jane Joyner, who is tracking this -- and trying to change it.
2 replies 9 reposts 29 likes
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David Roberts
@volts.wtf
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Today on Volts: last week, EPA finalized new carbon pollution standards for power plants. (At last!) What's in them? How have they changed since the initial proposal? What effect will they have on the market? I dig in with a couple of scholars.
0 replies 3 reposts 14 likes
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David Roberts
@volts.wtf
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Today on Volts: a mailbag episode! I discuss Vox and its alum, peak oil demand, the Aptera, the difficulty of rapid social change, and more. Mailbag episodes are a perk for paid subscribers. Join us!
0 replies 0 reposts 7 likes
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David Roberts
@volts.wtf
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Today on Volts: clean energy OG Michael Liebreich joins me to discuss his recent essays on 5 reasons for pessimism about net-zero ... and 5 reasons for optimism. An excellent high-level overview of the state of the energy transition.
1 replies 5 reposts 23 likes
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David Roberts
@volts.wtf
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Today on Volts: ground-source (or "geothermal") heat pumps are incredibly efficient, but quite bulky & expensive. I talk with Joselyn Lai of Bedrock Energy about efforts to improve the hardware & software involved to make GHPs work everywhere, even in tight urban spaces.
2 replies 9 reposts 32 likes
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David Roberts
@volts.wtf
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Today on Volts: US electricity demand is on the rise again, after a 20-year plateau. Does that mean utilities need to build new gas plants? No! I discuss better alternatives with Michelle Solomon & Eric Gimon of @energyinnovation.bsky.social.
1 replies 7 reposts 24 likes
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Greg Sargent
@gregsargent.bsky.social
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Another thing @volts.wtf and I discuss on this pod is the idea of fossil fuel *militance,* which is different from mere climate change denial. It's the through line connecting Trump's bizarre hatred of wind power, fearmongering about EVs making us vulnerable to China, etc:
7 replies 19 reposts 93 likes
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Greg Sargent
@gregsargent.bsky.social
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We don't talk about this enough, but if Trump wins, he will do everything possible to repeal Biden's climate policies.
On the pod, @volts.wtf volts is incredibly informative on how disastrous this would be. He also explains a concept called "petro-masculinity":
newrepublic.com/article/1808...
15 replies 112 reposts 322 likes
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Ian Carrillo
@iansociologo.bsky.social
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Really great episode. @gregsargent.bsky.social & @volts.wtf talk about climate policies. They stress a key point: it's imperative to do climate politics, to persuade people, & show that their lives will improve or worsen depending on politicians' climate policies.
open.spotify.com/episode/1io0...
0 replies 8 reposts 11 likes
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David Roberts
@volts.wtf
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Today on Volts: You may have heard that IRA made clean-energy tax credits "transferable." That one wonky change has unlocked billions in new investment. I talk with Alfred Johnson of Crux Climate about how transferability works & why it matters.
0 replies 4 reposts 20 likes
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David Roberts
@volts.wtf
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Today on Volts: China! I sit down with longtime China expert @laurimyllyvirta.bsky.social to discuss the country's decarbonization efforts, its recent coal binge, & the growing political influence of the cleantech sector. This one is incredibly illuminating!
0 replies 1 reposts 14 likes
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David Roberts
@volts.wtf
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Today on Volts: Fashion! If you're like me, you probably don't think about it much, but the sector has high (& rapidly rising) carbon emissions. I talk with Maxine Bédat of the New Standard Institute about where those emissions come from & how to reduce them.
0 replies 9 reposts 18 likes
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Jamie Baker Roskie
@whenisayj.bsky.social
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"state-level land use reform encouraging compact development can avoid an annual US pollution of 70 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2033... This is actually equivalent to half the country adopting California's ambitious commitment to 100% zero-emission passenger vehicles by 2035."
0 replies 7 reposts 24 likes
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Tinman contra la caste
@bcmfietser.bsky.social
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Just listened to this! Highly recommend. Can’t wait to read the report.
0 replies 4 reposts 8 likes
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David Roberts
@volts.wtf
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Today on Volts: urbanists like to claim that urban land use is a major climate policy tool. But how much can smarter land use really do for emissions? What's the scale here? I discuss it with the authors of a recent @RockyMtnInst report on the subject.
2 replies 6 reposts 23 likes
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Jeremy Wallace
@jeremywallace.bsky.social
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Another one for the name as destiny folks out there: Heather House of RMI works on urban land use....
0 replies 3 reposts 7 likes
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Costa Samaras
@costasamaras.bsky.social
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Jahi is a brilliant leader and the country is lucky to have him in public service. The Inflation Reduction Act invests $27 billion in communities, which will improve people’s lives. Is $27 billion a lot? EPA’s annual budget is $10.1 billion, so yeah.
1 replies 5 reposts 28 likes
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David Roberts
@volts.wtf
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An innocent, jailed by tyrants based on absurd accusations involving cat food. Looks to @darthbluesky.bsky.social for justice.
6 replies 14 reposts 213 likes
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Dava Stewart
@davastewart.bsky.social
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I listened to this today and it's great. I've always been curious about how heavy industry could approach decarbonization, and this answered lots of questions.
0 replies 4 reposts 18 likes
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David Roberts
@volts.wtf
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Today on Volts: Jahi Wise led the team at EPA that designed the $27 billion GHG Reduction Fund. I talk with him about the banks & community orgs charged with handing out the money, the types of projects they will fund, & what he hopes they will accomplish.
0 replies 7 reposts 19 likes
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David Roberts
@volts.wtf
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Today on Volts: we're getting DER-pilled with Duncan Campbell of Scale Microgrids! We discuss why circumstances are right for a huge flood of distributed-energy deployment -- and how to make DERs work for rather than against the grid.
2 replies 9 reposts 26 likes
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David Roberts
@volts.wtf
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Today on Volts: the March mailbag episode! I discuss trade wars with China, why Dune 2 was good, how podcasting has changed my journalism, and more. (Accessible only to my beloved paid subscribers.)
0 replies 0 reposts 3 likes
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Ben Lever
@simbera.bsky.social
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I recently listened to this @volts.wtf podcast on "reconductoring" - hanging new, better wires on existing transmission towers to boost capacity.
I'm wondering if this is applicable in Australia, and might reduce the fights we're having over new transmission? www.volts.wtf/p/one-easy-w...
0 replies 4 reposts 12 likes