iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

John Farrell @johnffarrell.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Rising electricity demand is driving up prices. Faster solar #interconnection = more affordable power, sooner. States that cut red tape now help their residents save before the final #solartaxcredit deadline. #GridUnlocked gridunlocked.org

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John Farrell @johnffarrell.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

For-profit utilities cost more, clearly shown in this state-issued analysis of privatizing Santee Cooper in S.C. So when investor-owned utilities claim that it's expensive to switch to public power, they're lying.

Infographic shows $5.3 billion NPV costs of Santee Cooper privatization with breakdown.

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John Farrell @johnffarrell.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

I love hearing these stories of using AI agents to get through the barriers that companies have erected to prevent us from getting help: www.nytimes.com/2026/09/22/t.... (until websites block the agents)

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John Farrell @johnffarrell.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

There is literally no better way to make sure Americans seek out and watch the Kimmel-Talarico interview. It's helpful when the authoritarian in charge is this dumb.

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John Farrell @johnffarrell.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

Interesting, the editors updated the subtitle to change "hampered" to "undercut." By where's the actor? The GOP and Trump pushed all of these choices. His promises to restore fiscal order were clearly unfounded, and his actions have been entirely the opposite.

A headline and subtitle of a NY Times article about the U.S. debt and the role of GOP policies in causing it to rise sharply.

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John Farrell @johnffarrell.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

"Hampered"? Gotta love the editors at the NY Times who make it seems like the debt "happened" to Trump rather than it being almost entirely due to wars of choice and his party's tax cuts.

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John Farrell @johnffarrell.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

It's a great idea to be able to discipline ICE agents when they cross the line, but why not just use an off-the-shelf shock collar?

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John Farrell @johnffarrell.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

Couldn't happen to a more deserving set of vulture capitalists...

A man in a suit speaking at a conference with blue background.

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John Farrell @johnffarrell.bsky.social · 21/05/2026

Calvin Butler, Exelon's CEO, only used half his $300K personal jet allowance last year. Like other utility CEOs, he knows what it's like to cut back. vist.ly/553fv

A satirical cartoon image of a person on a private jet labeled 'CEO Express', with humorous text overlay. The mood is humorous and critical.

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John Farrell @johnffarrell.bsky.social · 19/05/2026

These are two sides to the same story. h/t to EPI for the research

Informative graphic depicting the burden of utility profits on ratepayers. Features a bold upward arrow with text.

A social media post featuring a table listing the top utility companies contributing to Section 527 political organizations. The tone is informative and slightly skeptical.

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John Farrell @johnffarrell.bsky.social · 11/05/2026

Trump vanity projects like the ballroom and reflecting pool will cost hundreds of millions (even billions) of dollars, but Obama once wore a tan suit and Biden was old.

Time Magazine article about the ballooning costs for Trump's White House ballroom

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John Farrell @johnffarrell.bsky.social · 30/04/2026

Their editorial board has a hard-on for rich people right now.

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John Farrell @johnffarrell.bsky.social · 27/04/2026

The CES targets utilities, not independent producers. Here's the statutory language of who that includes: www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/202...

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John Farrell @johnffarrell.bsky.social · 23/04/2026

It turns out that *state-level* Democrats do know how to bring a knife to a knife fight.

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John Farrell @johnffarrell.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

Shout out from Comm. Sullivan to ILSR, Cooperative Energy Futures, and allies for illustrating how he hoped that battery benefits would materialize. h/t Will Kenworthy @votesolar.bsky.social

Chart showing the use case and prioritization for batteries within Capacity*Connect and behind the meter programs

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John Farrell @johnffarrell.bsky.social · 24/03/2026

A reminder that while it's no longer shocking, it's still extraordinary and anti-democratic for a U.S. president to regularly call his political opposition "thugs"

A screen shot from a NY Times story about the swearing in ceremony for the new DHS secretary quoting Trump describing Democrats as thugs.

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John Farrell @johnffarrell.bsky.social · 09/03/2026

Worth noting that a Colorado Xcel customer with a $100 monthly bill pays about $142 extra per year just to cover Xcel Energy's excessive regulator-set profit margin: ilsr.org/energy/utili...

Screenshot of ILSR's interactive feature allowing you to input your state and monthly electric bill to find out how much of a premium you pay to your investor-owned utility

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John Farrell @johnffarrell.bsky.social · 04/03/2026

Solar is freedom. You can interfere with 20% of global oil supply with just a few drones in the Strait of Hormuz. Conversely, it would take 12 Greenlands in space to block 20% of of the world's solar energy.

An ABC News image of the Strait of Hormuz

An AI generated image of 12 Greenlands in space shanding the Earth from the Sun

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John Farrell @johnffarrell.bsky.social · 18/02/2026

Here's a four-image summary of the stunning level of corruption documented by @nationalreview.bsky.social in Trump's use of the presidency to profit from crypto

Infographic titled “THE EXCHANGE: PARDONS & MICROCHIPS” showing a quid pro quo diagram between a blurred man labeled “THE FELON. Changpeng Zhao (Binance) provides tech infrastructure & cash.” on the left and “THE PAYOFF.” on the right, which lists “1. Presidential Pardon for Zhao. 2. UAE Access to Restricted ‘Stargate’ AI Chips.” A large arrow labeled “QUID PRO QUO.” connects input to output, with cash icons near the felon, an illustrated NASA rocket and a pardon document on the output side, and a note along the bottom reading “Policy Reversal: UAE also granted ownership slice of TikTok.”

Infographic titled “CORRUPTION IN PERSPECTIVE” showing a tall red vertical bar labeled “$2.5 BILLION+” representing Trump-linked UAE investment compared to a much smaller left segment labeled “~$27 MILLION” for “BIDEN FAMILY (Alleged Influence Peddling),” with “TRUMP ENTERPRISE (Direct UAE Investment)” under the large bar and a quoted caption on the right stating, “You’d have to add two digits to the sum of Biden abuses… to get near what Trump has raked in just from the UAE,” and a source line at the bottom citing “NATIONAL REVIEW (Conservative Editorial Board).”

Infographic titled “THE BUY-IN: $500 MILLION IN 4 DAYS” showing a timeline from January 16, 2025 labeled “THE DEAL SIGNED” to January 20, 2025 labeled “THE INAUGURATION,” with a bracket noting “4 DAYS BEFORE OATH OF OFFICE,” a callout box describing “SOURCE: Sheikh Tahnoon (UAE Spy Chief). ENTITY: Aryam Investment 1 (Shell Co). AMOUNT: $500,000,000 for 49% Stake,” an illustrated robed man with blurred face on the right, and a highlighted quote at the bottom saying, “The UAE began pouring what is now publicly known to be at least $2.5 billion into the Trump crypto enterprise.”

Infographic titled “THE VEHICLE: A LICENSE TO PRINT MONEY” with subheading “ESTABLISHED AUTUMN 2024,” featuring a black‑and‑white cutout of Donald Trump at a presidential podium on the left (face blurred) connected by a red arrow to a block of text at the bottom describing a ruse where a firm called “WORLD LIBERTY FINANCIAL” is ostensibly run by his sons Eric and Zach while Trump is listed as “Chief Crypto Advocate,” and a quote noting that a crypto business is an ideal way to disguise political payoffs as financial transactions, alongside a cluster of suited men on the right with faces blurred and two of them circled in red.

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John Farrell @johnffarrell.bsky.social · 13/02/2026

When Trump says he's "searched the depth of the legal arguments" is that like when he stared into the sun during an eclipse?

Donald Trump on a balcony next to Melania Trump, with Donald squinting up at the sun

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John Farrell @johnffarrell.bsky.social · 13/02/2026

Love these valentines to my utility, from Energy Equity Project! vist.ly/4rhu8

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John Farrell @johnffarrell.bsky.social · 01/02/2026

How it started. How it's going. The only way Trump and the GOP can fend off the coming electoral landslide defeat is to cheat.

Post about Liam Ramos, Minnesota 5-year-old detailed by ICE along with his legal resident father, with a photo of Liam in his bunny hat and backpack.

AP headline describing upset win of Texas Democrat by 14 points in an election yesterday in a district Trump carried by 17 points in 2024

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John Farrell @johnffarrell.bsky.social · 27/01/2026

We Minnesotans call this a good start, but only a start. #ICEout

Atlantic article saying Greg Bovino is out at Border Patrol

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John Farrell @johnffarrell.bsky.social · 25/01/2026

Senators: Object to everything until Kristi Noem is impeached. Object to everything until Greg Bovino is fired. Your inaction normalizes ICE behavior. You are complicit!

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John Farrell @johnffarrell.bsky.social · 25/01/2026

One week after ICE murdered Renee Good, on a single day, eight items passed through the U.S. Senate with unanimous consent. If your senator is begging a Republican to do the right thing, maybe ask why they're letting ordinary business proceed in this extraordinary time. h/t @senategabe.bsky.social

Header from the Congressional Record of the Senate, 1/15/26

An excerpt of the Congressional record from Jan 15, 2026, showing an item passing by unanimous consent in the Senate

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John Farrell @johnffarrell.bsky.social · 23/01/2026

An abnormal number of people parking at the MSP airport today…promising for the #ICEout protest!

Line of cars waiting to park at MSP airport

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John Farrell @johnffarrell.bsky.social · 13/01/2026

"I don't want anything for myself"

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John Farrell @johnffarrell.bsky.social · 10/01/2026

Anti-ICE protest in Minneapolis today

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John Farrell @johnffarrell.bsky.social · 08/01/2026

Utilities treat our political process and their customers like cash machines. A story in two parts (in #Ohio). The affordability crisis is a #monopoly problem. #HB6

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John Farrell @johnffarrell.bsky.social · 06/01/2026

Faster, cheaper, and yet higher wages. We need an all-out effort to make rooftop #solar as inexpensive in the U.S. as it is in Australia! h/t to Saul Griffith via the @volts.wtf podcast

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John Farrell @johnffarrell.bsky.social · 06/01/2026

Happy fifth anniversary to the worst assault on American democracy since the Civil War (before Trump's 2nd term, at least).

A collage of newspaper headlines decrying the Capitol assault on Jan 6, 2021

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John Farrell @johnffarrell.bsky.social · 05/01/2026

Terrific, in-depth coverage of how U.S. utility companies systematically overcharge customers to pad their profits, and the failure of the regulatory system to stop them - h/t @nickbowlin.bsky.social for @harpers.bsky.social

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John Farrell @johnffarrell.bsky.social · 23/12/2025

Can’t wait to see the navy’s new fat and slow battleship fleet.

Screenshot of NYT headline about Trump class battleship

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John Farrell @johnffarrell.bsky.social · 19/12/2025

Pretty good summary of the issues with Xcel Energy's plan to own batteries on customer property across their Minnesota service territory #batteries #utility #distributed

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John Farrell @johnffarrell.bsky.social · 18/12/2025

Love this data viz of community #solar development in the U.S. Watch the incredible growth of this community-centered, bill-reducing approach to electricity production!

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John Farrell @johnffarrell.bsky.social · 17/12/2025

Don't miss the campaign in New York to take over the utility that erroneously billed tens of thousands of customers!

Screenshot of a news article titled “How to Fight Rising Utility Bills? Take Over the Company, Activists Say,” with a subheading about a grass-roots coalition urging New York State to use eminent domain to buy out Central Hudson Gas & Electric and replace it with a public authority

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John Farrell @johnffarrell.bsky.social · 17/12/2025

Curious, I asked Perplexity to try it. The first one was better than Gemini's, but it oddly left out a 1991 winner. Asking it "what happened to 1991?" it said that this version was now complete:

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John Farrell @johnffarrell.bsky.social · 05/12/2025

A sweeping investigation from ILSR reveals how Amazon is fleecing school and city budgets when independent suppliers could offer better deals: vist.ly/4hdfx

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John Farrell @johnffarrell.bsky.social · 04/12/2025

Great question. Follow the money...

Screenshot of Inside Climate News headline - Why Are Rates Rising Faster at Investor-Owned Utilities Than at Public Utilities?

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John Farrell @johnffarrell.bsky.social · 03/12/2025

"Local #solar is a cornerstone of Austin's clean energy future" says publicly owned utility serving Austin, Texas. We need a lot more utilities, public and private, seeing the light!

Dad and daughter holding a solar panel in front of a house (credit: Austin Energy)

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John Farrell @johnffarrell.bsky.social · 02/12/2025

Community solar on the march! Legislation advances with wide majorities in Ohio! h/t Ryan Kennedy @PVmagazine.

Screenshot of PV Magazine story about Ohio bill for community solar

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John Farrell @johnffarrell.bsky.social · 18/11/2025

2) Pay utilities for performance (and not just capital expenditure)

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John Farrell @johnffarrell.bsky.social · 18/11/2025

1) Cut runaway utility profit rates

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