iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Brian Tarroja

Technology Connections @techconnectify.bsky.social · 22/03/2025

If we speak of political realities as if they are immovable *they will remain immovable* and I think it's high time that we start speaking of possibilities more than impediments.

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Reposted by Brian Tarroja

Jason Burwen @jburwen.bsky.social · 21/03/2025

As a reminder why this all matters--the 2020s is when storage was supposed to scale up to provide RA otherwsie providedby thermal gen. In CAISO, ERCOT, ISONE interconnection queues, storage topping all other resources, with WECC close to the same. #EnergySky

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Reposted by Brian Tarroja

Jason Burwen @jburwen.bsky.social · 20/03/2025

The 3 major headwinds to #EnergyStorage deployment in the US -- trade/supply chain, interconnection/permitting, & system planning -- are blowing harder than ever. In the 10 years I've been at it, it's the most challenging policy landscape I've ever had to navigate www.linkedin.com/posts/jburwe... 🔌💡

linkedin.com

Can U.S. energy storage deployments keep up the post-IRA pace? These 3… | Jason Burwen

Ever since the 2024 election, I've been meaning to revisit my 2022 article outlining 3 key factors determining the pace of U.S. #EnergyStorage deployments…

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Reposted by Brian Tarroja

John R. Platt @johnrplatt.bsky.social · 19/03/2025

"Just because you don’t understand why or how federal funds are being spent doesn’t mean they’re waste or fraud — especially if you’re too lazy or ideologically focused to ask questions about the nature of the spending in the first place." therevelator.org/doge-cuts-fe...

therevelator.org

How DOGE Cuts Threatens Science That Could Save the Planet • The Revelator

Politicians have mocked and cut federally funded research for decades, but funding basic science has a history of lifesaving discoveries.

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Reposted by Brian Tarroja

Tony Cervo @tcervo.bsky.social · 18/03/2025

I think it's more than that. They want all regulatory agencies, plus any agency that provides benefits to ordinary people, to fail. That way, there will (in their minds) be less pushback when they eliminate them completely. Total elimination is the goal.

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Brian Tarroja @briantarrojaphd.bsky.social · 18/03/2025

1/ Been holding back re: research since everything is on fire, but that's not changing anytime soon so might as well post: We plan decarbonized electricity systems to minimize monetary cost. How different would they look if we minimized life cycle GHG instead? iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1...

iopscience.iop.org

Evaluating the effectiveness of cost-minimal planning of decarbonized electricity systems in reducing life cycle greenhouse gas emissions - IOPscienceSearch

Evaluating the effectiveness of cost-minimal planning of decarbonized electricity systems in reducing life cycle greenhouse gas emissions, Tarroja, Brian, Mulvaney, Dustin, Peer, Rebecca, Grubert, Emily

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Brian Tarroja @briantarrojaphd.bsky.social · 18/03/2025

🧵The goal of withdrawing govt. agencies from being able to provide critical services that benefit people is distinctly different from the goal having these agencies be more efficient in how they operate. It's maddening how the former is being marketed as the latter. 1/

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Emily Grubert @gruberte.bsky.social · 17/03/2025

Hi, US coal has largely declined because the plants have well outlived their design life. Not because of climate policy, largely not because of other policy either. It’s old tech and the plants cost a lot to keep running.

bloomberg.com

Trump Says He’s Authorizing Administration to Produce Coal Power

US President Donald Trump said he would look to counter China’s economic advantage from coal-based electricity by authorizing his administration to ramp up production of energy from the fossil fuel.

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Reposted by Brian Tarroja

David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 16/03/2025

People might think that whatever destruction is done to science in the US, we can undo in 4 years with a Democratic president and Congress. The problem is that many areas require specialized knowledge and skills built up over years, and once that's lost, it's hard to get back.

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Brian Tarroja @briantarrojaphd.bsky.social · 15/03/2025

Our dams provide multiple critical functions & need expertise that can deal with that complexity - which will be even more important as climate variability increases. Yet another example that the admin either doesn't understand what they're cutting or likely that they do & they don't care.

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Max Berger @maxberger.bsky.social · 15/03/2025

these guys are kind of an object lesson in how the ruling class has ideological commitments that come before profit: namely, maintaining their position atop an economic system which provides the ability to produce profit, and the racial and gender hierarchy they approve of. wild to see in practice!

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David Atkins @davidoatkins.bsky.social · 15/03/2025

Trump and Musk are basically trying to deskill America: 1) kill all white-collar jobs and replace them with AI 2) kill universities 3) use tariffs to turn the U.S. into an economic island manufacturing, oil and ag hub 4) empty the cities 5) push men into manual labor & women back into the kitchen

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Reposted by Brian Tarroja

James McLeod @jamespmcleod.ca · 14/03/2025

All of this is true. I also think Americans who voted for the concept of "American greatness" are unprepared for the downstream impacts of dismantling most of the institutions of American prestige and soft power, while also burning alliances and geopolitical trust.

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Josh Marshall @joshtpm.bsky.social · 13/03/2025

The irony is that between DOGE and Trumps tariffs they’re endangering the anchor of a lot of American prosperity, which is centuries of political stability and rule of law which makes a place people want to put capital. None of these dweebs grasp that.

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Reposted by Brian Tarroja

John Walke @johndwalke.bsky.social · 12/03/2025

Since Trump's inauguration, his EPA had announced no major step to address water or air pollution. That changed today. Trump's EPA BOASTED it plans the biggest rollback of safeguards for health, land, water & air quality in US history. To INCREASE harmful pollution to water, air, to your community.

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Brian Tarroja @briantarrojaphd.bsky.social · 07/03/2025

Update: was able to bike to eat lunch. Slowly starting to increase the distance I can e-bike. Still a long way from recovering enough to ride my regular bike though! Also it looks weird when I roll up on my e-bike then get out my cane to walk. E-biking is easier on my foot than walking though!

A screenshot of the app Strava showing statistics for a 6.32 mile electric bike ride

A picture of shrimp ramen and a bike helmet in a restaurant.

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Reposted by Brian Tarroja

John Skiles Skinner @skiles.blue · 04/03/2025

Imagine DOGE opens your mail and finds your household electric bill. To eliminate this cost, they burn your house down without warning. Then they total up the bills that, as a homeless person, you will never again pay. On its website, DOGE boasts about the money it has saved you.

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Brian Tarroja @briantarrojaphd.bsky.social · 04/03/2025

Weather forecasts aren't just for helping you figure out what clothes to wear. They're critically important for early warning against extreme events that can damage people & infrastructure and for helping communities prepare for them. Gutting NWS capability directly puts lives at risk.

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Reposted by Brian Tarroja

Dan Hon @danhon.com · 02/03/2025

"Only I can fix this," says person as they stand amongst things they broke.

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Daniel Swain @weatherwest.bsky.social · 05/02/2025

I want to be clear: the private sector, as it presently exists, *cannot* quickly spin up to fill any void left by substantial dismantling of #NOAA. Full stop. If that were to happen, people would die in extreme weather events who would not have otherwise, & economy would suffer.

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Reposted by Brian Tarroja

Kim Wood @drkimwood.bsky.social · 22/02/2025

Your weather app gets its info because of NOAA. Your mail arrives at your home because of USPS. Your plane navigates the skies because of the FAA. Your food is safer -- and we get alerts when it isn't -- because of USDA. You hear about earthquakes *worldwide* because of USGS.

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Reposted by Brian Tarroja

Michael Wara @michaelwara.bsky.social · 19/02/2025

Worth reading in full regarding the consequences of recent actions of the new administration for the coming wildfire season. Wildfire season does not wait for politics or litigation to play itself out. Nature doesn't care. We need to be ready.

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Brian Tarroja @briantarrojaphd.bsky.social · 19/02/2025

Maybe its the medication I've been given by my rheumatologist (+physical therapy), but I went from being unsure about riding a bike ever again to riding my pedal-assist e-bike for an errand in ~3 weeks. I still walk with a cane & getting on/off the bike is hard, but once I'm on it I can ride a bit.

A screenshot of the app Strava showing the statistics of an electric bike ride taken for an errand.

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Brian Tarroja @briantarrojaphd.bsky.social · 19/02/2025

I got salmonella in the summer after my senior year of high school, was sick for 10 weeks and hospitalized twice. Since then I've personally been picky about food safety and food being cooked...so naturally this is making my anxiety about food-related sickness go even higher.

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Reposted by Brian Tarroja

Allison Good @allisonwgood.bsky.social · 07/02/2025

Pretty much the entire energy industry, in the US and globally, relies on EIA data

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Reposted by Brian Tarroja

Emily Grubert @gruberte.bsky.social · 08/02/2025

I have consistently taught my (pretty international!) students that one reason I use US examples all the time is because we have unusually fantastic data through EIA. EIA staff are some of the most responsive in the biz. This is very stupid.

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Brian Tarroja @briantarrojaphd.bsky.social · 05/02/2025

If you want a break from the news: we recently published a paper that estimates how much meeting short-distance, low-occupancy trips with e-bikes instead of BEVs can reduce stress on the electric grid from unmanaged BEV charging: 🚲🔌⚡ In short: it helps a bit. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

sciencedirect.com

Estimating the electricity system benefits of scaling up E-bike usage in California

The replacement of short-distance, low-occupancy automobile trips with electric bicycles (e-bikes) can reduce energy consumption and emissions related…

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Reposted by Brian Tarroja

Michael @fleerultra.bsky.social · 05/02/2025

if the president can say “i don’t like the department of energy,” and within a week it’s closed, then the constitution means nothing, and the president’s entire claim to power is the loyalty of the military. either he is constrained by the constitution or he’s a dictator, there isn’t a middle ground

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Reposted by Brian Tarroja

Jesse D. Jenkins @jessedjenkins.com · 05/02/2025

Agency after agency is being ransacked by 20-something Muskovites at DOGE. Trump Admin threatens to lay off 1/4 to 1/2 of employees at the National Science Foundation. Cutting staff at the $10b/year grantmaking agency would “gut the intellectual center of U.S. leadership in science and technology."

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Brian Tarroja @briantarrojaphd.bsky.social · 04/02/2025

Amidst the craziness, a small bit of joy here: I managed to ride my pedal-assist e-bike around the block. 🚲 With my 15-months and counting mobility issues, I wasn't sure I was ever going to be able to ride a bike again. Still a very long way to go, but rolling for even a couple minutes was euphoric

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Brian Tarroja @briantarrojaphd.bsky.social · 04/02/2025

Had some cool research published in the past couple of weeks but...just haven't felt like posting about it given that we're (in the U.S.) in the midst of a whole-of-government breakdown that's going to hurt a lot of people in the short- and long-term. Take care of yourselves and each other.

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Reposted by Brian Tarroja

Emily Grubert @gruberte.bsky.social · 30/01/2025

In research there are always hidden values and hidden norms. What we optimize for, what we design for, shows who we are — and letting our bright lines flop around with a regime change is pretty scary.

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Reposted by Brian Tarroja

Mary Annaïse Heglar @maryannaise.bsky.social · 29/01/2025

My good friend, Rhiana Gunn Wright used to say that politics is how you distribute power and how you distribute pain. We are now governed by people who are laser focused on meting out pain.

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Reposted by Brian Tarroja

Chris Kluwe @chriswarcraft.bsky.social · 30/01/2025

Every safety regulation was written in blood, frequently with a body count higher than one, and it’s not political to put the blame on people who want to “move fast and break things” when they start breaking human lives.

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Gwen Snyder is uncivil @gwensnyder.bsky.social · 29/01/2025

The government in our lives we don't see? That is the government at its most effective (sometimes for good, sometimes for ill). When the positive aspects stop, all of a sudden people notice. You know how mad people get when a traffic light gets stuck on red?

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Reposted by Brian Tarroja

jae holzman @jael.bsky.social · 28/01/2025

now is as good a time as ever to embody the empathy you ask of others in the world

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Brian Tarroja @briantarrojaphd.bsky.social · 08/01/2025

When wildfires occur, there will be a lot of climate change takes. But personally atm I'm more worried about friends/relatives & people being affected and making sure they are ok. I'll save any takes I have for after the direct threat is gone. Had one relative evacuate so far, others standing by.

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Reposted by Brian Tarroja

Justin Gerdes @justingerdes.bsky.social · 07/01/2025

The U.S. has made measurable progress toward assembling enough batteries and solar panels to fulfill its own needs but true self-sufficiency remains far away, reports Julian Spector: www.canarymedia.com/articles/cle...

canarymedia.com

The US clean energy manufacturing revolution is real

The country has made major gains in solar panel and battery cell manufacturing over the last four years, but self-sufficiency remains far away.

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Reposted by Brian Tarroja

Emily Grubert @gruberte.bsky.social · 07/01/2025

New paper up today, with @ghgpolicy.org and @wilsonar.bsky.social -- the proposed rules for the 45V hydrogen subsidy carried major risks of paying a huge premium to lock in fossil methane-based h2. We shared this analysis with Treasury & are very glad to see the final rules mitigate the worst risks.

iopscience.iop.org

Greenhouse gas offsets distort the effect of clean energy tax credits in the United States - IOPscienceSearch

Greenhouse gas offsets distort the effect of clean energy tax credits in the United States, Emily Grubert, Wilson Ricks, Danny Cullenward

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Brian Tarroja @briantarrojaphd.bsky.social · 03/01/2025

My only personal resolution for this year is the same as it was last year: get back to being able to walk normally. Didn't quite get there in 2024, but the last 2 months of the year did show marked improvement in starting to walk functional distances. Still a long way to go, however!

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Brian Tarroja @briantarrojaphd.bsky.social · 15/12/2024

@elephanteating.bsky.social was one of the OGs of energytwitter back in the day and he's here now. If you've put together starter packs for clean energy stuff - he's a good one to include in them! @costasamaras.com @destenie.bsky.social @tnorris.bsky.social @dave.bzky.team

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Tim Latimer @timlatimer.bsky.social · 12/12/2024

A lot of people still don’t realize that dramatic cost reductions in geothermal is something happening *right now*, not theoretically in the future. Here is a look at the cost numbers published by NREL every year for Deep Enhanced Geothermal. A 50% improvement in 2024 with a lot more to come.

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Celeste Ng @pronounced-ing.bsky.social · 01/12/2024

“Positive social change results mostly from connecting more deeply to the people around you than rising above them, from coordinated rather than solo action… Our largest problems won’t be solved by heroes. They’ll be solved, if they are, by movements, coalitions, civil society.”

lithub.com

Rebecca Solnit: When the Hero is the Problem

For an embodiment of the word singlehanded you might turn to the heroine of the recent movie Woman at War. It’s about an Icelandic eco-saboteur who blows up rural power lines and hides in scenic sp…

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