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Joshua D. Rhodes

@joshdr83.bsky.social
5K followers 390 following 170 posts

Energy | Research Scientist @utaustin.bsky.social & @columbiauniversity.bsky.social | CTO @ideasmithsLLC | Electric Commissioner @austintexasgov | husband | dad | views my own

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Joshua D. Rhodes @joshdr83.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
I sat back down with @MichaelEWebber on the @txenergyandpowr podcast to talk about all things Texas energy, including AI, transmission, politics, and what current events in the Middle East mean for Texas and the rest of the world.
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Joshua D. Rhodes @joshdr83.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Had a great time yesterday reconnecting with the @SFASU math professors that taught me (if I did my math right ;) about 80% of my undergraduate math degree + the first B I ever got -- I'll never forget Dr. Stovall! #AxeEm!
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Joshua D. Rhodes @joshdr83.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Props to @ERCOT_ISO for keeping the momentum on the Batch process going! Starting to see the sifting of base load (gets full interconnection) vs. studied load (will get staggered interconnection). blockspace.media/insight/the...
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Joshua D. Rhodes @joshdr83.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
Hey everyone -- I've been a bit out of touch this week as my family was caught up in one of the worst wildfires this year, the Bald Range Fire: www.cbc.ca/player/play... We are all ok and out of harm's way after being evacuated at 2:30am a week ago.
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Joshua D. Rhodes @joshdr83.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
Hey y'all -- check out our latest @ideasmithsLLC report on the impact of the 765kV STEP transmission lines in @ERCOT_ISO! This report was sponsored by @CenterPoint and the full version can be found here: www.centerpointenergy.com/en-us/Docum...
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Joshua D. Rhodes @joshdr83.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
Hey y'all! Checkout the latest episode of the @txenergyandpowr podcast where I talk to @SierraClub @TexasSierraClub @cyrustx about what it means to be an environmental group in Texas. tl;dr -- it means a lot of working together on the things that we agree on, which are often > the things we don't.
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Joshua D. Rhodes @joshdr83.bsky.social · 20/05/2026
Check out the latest episode of the pod where I chat with Eric Goff about a lot of things ERCOT, including how the region compares to others in dealing with load growth.
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Joshua D. Rhodes @joshdr83.bsky.social · 13/05/2026
It's not easy being green. Check out the latest episode where I talk with Austin Energy on the challenges they face in today's market. "We're not going to win this race in the clean energy transition if we're not honest about the challenges that we have ahead of us in executing on it."
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Joshua D. Rhodes @joshdr83.bsky.social · 18/03/2026
Texas produces a lot of light sweet crude, but Gulf Coast refineries were built for heavier imports. In a conflict tied to Middle East oil flows, that mismatch helps explain why Texas fuel prices remain exposed to global disruption.
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Joshua D. Rhodes @joshdr83.bsky.social · 11/03/2026
Data Centers: Opportunity or Threat? In the latest episode, I talk with Michael Webber about electricity demand growth, data centers, and why Texas energy problems are more about peak than energy. We also solve the three-body problem (jk!) and talk about life and learning in the age of AI.
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Joshua D. Rhodes @joshdr83.bsky.social · 10/03/2026
The U.S. grid isn’t one electricity market. Regions like ERCOT, PJM, and CAISO all run different systems with different rules for pricing & reliability. Max Kanter explains how GridStatus data can act as a ground source of truth, allowing different constituencies to have conversations about energy
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Joshua D. Rhodes @joshdr83.bsky.social · 05/03/2026
Electricity doesn’t have one price. It has 70,000+ nodes. Max Kanter explains nodal pricing, and why GridStatus mapped 20,000+ nodes with 5-minute updates. Texas congestion and “market outcomes” look different at the node.
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Joshua D. Rhodes @joshdr83.bsky.social · 18/02/2026
New episode of the pod is live! I spoke with Andrew Reimers, ERCOT’s Independent Market Monitor, about what makes the IMM role distinct in Texas. We cover ERCOT’s isolation, independent oversight, and how that context shapes debates over reserves, DRRS, RUC, and NPRR 1309 vs 1310.
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Jumulo Jimbus @jumulojimbus.bsky.social · 16/02/2026
Since @joshdr83.bsky.social doesn't post here all the time. Texas setting new grid records. 78% of energy needs this morning were supplied by renewables.
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Joshua D. Rhodes @joshdr83.bsky.social · 18/09/2025
The large load queue in ERCOT continues to be... large... www.ercot.com/files/docs/2...
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Joshua D. Rhodes @joshdr83.bsky.social · 22/08/2025
What do real landowners and local officials think about wind and solar projects? We asked them in our last report that focused on Texas: txrenewables.net See below for what they said.
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Joshua D. Rhodes @joshdr83.bsky.social · 19/08/2025
“We’re in an energy crunch,” said Joshua Rhodes, an electricity expert and research scientist at the University of Texas at Austin. “We should be doubling down on everything we can build right now. Making things more expensive is antithetical to that.” www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
bloomberg.com
Texas Shows How Trump’s Anti-Green Moves Threaten a Red Economy
The state faces an energy crunch, but Trump’s budget bill will hurt renewable power — Texas’ fastest growing electricity source.
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Joshua D. Rhodes @joshdr83.bsky.social · 01/08/2025
It's AI vs. Al for cheap power “Ultimately, this is about energy,” said Matt Meenan, VP of external affairs for the Aluminum Association. “I think we’re going to have a hard time becoming fully self-sufficient for primary Al in the U.S.” www.canarymedia.com/articles/cle...
canarymedia.com
US aluminum producers need cheap, clean power. That may be tough to…
Century Aluminum and Emirates Global Aluminium want to build the nation’s first smelters in decades, but must compete with data centers for a limited…
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Joshua D. Rhodes @joshdr83.bsky.social · 30/07/2025
On why the cheapest form of energy does well in Texas: “[Texas] set up its markets to be cut-throat,” says Joshua Rhodes, a research scientist at [UT Austin] By contrast, in many other parts of the US, there is no competition at all, says Rhodes. www.telegraph.co.uk/gift/80aac07...
telegraph.co.uk
Why Texas’s ‘cut-throat’ approach to net zero is paying off
Trump’s anti-green agenda has put him on an unlikely collision course with supporters in the state
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crupshaw.bsky.social @crupshaw.bsky.social · 30/06/2025
Oh hey, IdeaSmiths CTO @joshdr83.bsky.social did this analysis! The short version: voting to attack wind and solar is a vote to raise electricity prices and escalate chances of outages and shortfalls.
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Joshua D. Rhodes @joshdr83.bsky.social · 18/06/2025
Engineer mountain was just calling out to me!
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Claire Hao @clairehao.bsky.social · 03/06/2025
It’s official: Texas bills targeting solar and wind power are dead. Here's a recap of the arguments that worked, as the renewable energy industry tries the same appeals to lobby against Trump's "big, beautiful bill." www.houstonchronicle.com/business/ene...
houstonchronicle.com
Renewable energy survived Texas attacks. Its future now depends on Trump.
Texas bills targeting solar and wind power are dead, so the state’s flourishing renewable energy industry remains alive and well — for now.
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First Solar, Inc. @firstsolar.com · 03/06/2025
Investing in US technology and US supply chains delivers benefits that reach far and wide. "I'm a husband, father, and softball coach, and welding puts food on the table, smoked ribs on the grill." – Lee Evans, Welder, Grenzebach, Newnan, GA. Learn more: bit.ly/43vszfW #AmericasSolarCompany
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Joshua D. Rhodes @joshdr83.bsky.social · 02/06/2025
Happy Texas Sine Die to those who celebrate!
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Joshua D. Rhodes @joshdr83.bsky.social · 13/05/2025
“The same sun that heats up buildings, that drives air conditioning, that drives peak (electricity) demand in Texas, is the same sun that's producing electricity for solar panels,” said Joshua Rhodes www.houstonchronicle.com/business/ene...
houstonchronicle.com
How will the ERCOT grid hold up during this week's Texas heat wave?
Electricity demand is expected to set an all-time May record this week, according to forecasts from the Electric Reliability Council of Texas.
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Joshua D. Rhodes @joshdr83.bsky.social · 13/05/2025
“The electricity grid is looking to grow with new loads, like AI and data centers…” “Building new [infrastructure] takes time and money. ->, “it would be good to continue to be efficient in places where we can, [Rhodes] said. www.marketplace.org/story/2025/0...
marketplace.org
Federal Energy Star label program, which helped curb electricity demand, said to be on chopping block
The Trump administration reportedly plans to cut the program, just as electricity demand is rising in the United States due to the rise in data centers and AI.
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Virginia Grassroots Coalition - Climate @vgcclimate.bsky.social · 12/05/2025
Sometimes it feels like it's just us, but it's not. While Virginia is holding on to the title of data center capital of the world, this industry has the ability and incentive to go where the power is, not just where the initial infrastructure was laid.
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Joshua D. Rhodes @joshdr83.bsky.social · 09/05/2025
“It's like expecting a trumpet to play a drum line — it's just not going to work. It's not the right tool. But if you put all the tools together, then you can get an orchestra,” Rhodes said. via @clairehao.bsky.social @houstonchronicle.com www.houstonchronicle.com/business/ene...
houstonchronicle.com
Texas GOP moves closer to killing the state's renewable energy boom
The bills would require nearly every solar and wind farm in the state to back up their electricity output with natural gas power plants or a fleet of batteries.
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Joshua D. Rhodes @joshdr83.bsky.social · 02/05/2025
Super cool map showing electricity, data, and datacenter infrastructure from NREL has been updated: www.nrel.gov/docs/gen/fy2...
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Joshua D. Rhodes @joshdr83.bsky.social · 29/04/2025
Been out for a bit to welcome this new addition to our family, really excited to be a dad! He is doing great, just working on what sleep means now ;)
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Joshua D. Rhodes @joshdr83.bsky.social · 10/04/2025
ICYMI: amazing and timely map by Billy Roberts at NREL showing electricity and data infrastructure across the US!
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Joshua D. Rhodes @joshdr83.bsky.social · 08/04/2025
lolz
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Joshua D. Rhodes @joshdr83.bsky.social · 26/03/2025
Rhodes: “And that can make a big difference for a rancher or a landholder to have that revenue. … A lot of landowners talked about wind and solar being like a drought-proof crop. It doesn’t have to rain to still get paid.” yaleclimateconnections.org/2025/03/Clea...
yaleclimateconnections.org
Clean energy is powering local economies in Texas » Yale Climate Connections
Wind, solar, and battery storage projects are generating billions in tax revenue for communities, a University of Texas study finds.
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Mission City Research @mcresearch.bsky.social · 20/03/2025
A huge jump in the ERCOT solar peak generation record today at 12:20 pm. New record = 26,321 MW Old record = 25,015 MW - set just 10 days ago. Note: Solar share of total generation was 56.3% when the record was set. Crazy! Source: www.gridstatus.io/records/erco... #energysky
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Joshua D. Rhodes @joshdr83.bsky.social · 18/03/2025
Can you believe these wind turbines? 🤣
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Joshua D. Rhodes @joshdr83.bsky.social · 14/03/2025
“AI is not going to wait for 2030 to come. It is going to be won or lost in the next few years,” Rhodes said. “And the things you can build today are wind, solar and storage.” www.houstonchronicle.com/business/ene...
houstonchronicle.com
Is wind energy really driving up electricity rates in Texas? What experts say
Trump officials slammed wind energy during CERAWeek comments in Houston this week, claiming it has driven up electricity costs for consumers.
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Joshua D. Rhodes @joshdr83.bsky.social · 10/03/2025
We just hit 25 GW of solar power output for the first time! ☀️☀️☀️ #yetanotherrecord
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Joshua D. Rhodes @joshdr83.bsky.social · 04/03/2025
Figure 1: Figure showing the percent net electricity imports (imports less exports) as a percentage of regional annual demand for regions that border Canada. Note that positive values denote imports. data: www.eia.gov/electricity/...
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Joey Politano🏳️‍🌈 @josephpolitano.bsky.social · 03/03/2025
Another sentiment check on our neighbors to the North torontosun.com/news/provinc...
“Ontario will cut off U.S. electricity exports 'with a smile on my face,' Ford says
"They rely on our energy, they need to feel the pain," Premier Doug Ford said Monday on cutting Ontario electricity exports to U.S.”
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Joshua D. Rhodes @joshdr83.bsky.social · 03/03/2025
ICYMI: Texas issues its first deep geo-pressured, geothermal well. #drillbabydrill www.rigzone.com/news/rrc_ann...
rigzone.com
RRC Announces 'Significant Milestone in Texas' Energy Sector'
The Railroad Commission of Texas said it has issued its first permit for a deep geo-pressured, geothermal well to Sage Geosystems in Atascosa County.
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Joshua D. Rhodes @joshdr83.bsky.social · 24/02/2025
ERCOT got 99 problems and figuring out fact from fiction is one www.ercot.com/calendar/022...
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Mission City Research @mcresearch.bsky.social · 24/01/2025
Great read from @joshdr83.bsky.social
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Ric O'Connell @ricoconnell.bsky.social · 24/01/2025
#EnergySky - Over the past decade, ERCOT has managed to both GROW its electricity generation by 36% and CLEAN it up, nearly doubling its share of carbon free energy from 23% to 42%! This is the way - load growth and clean growth. If Texas can do it, so can the rest of the US.
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Joshua D. Rhodes @joshdr83.bsky.social · 24/01/2025
ERCOT fuel mix from 2006 to 2024 now available: - Natural gas above its 19-year running average of 43% to 44% in 2024. - Solar hitting 10% of total energy generated. - Wind holding steady %-wise, but up in absolute terms. - The ERCOT grid is now 42% clean energy!
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John Hanger @jrfhanger.bsky.social · 23/01/2025
Huge Benefits! TX wind, solar & battery plants (current & expected) will pay: $29.5 billion to landowners $20.2 billion in local taxes 75% of TX counties get taxes. @joshdr83.bsky.social authored a great report documenting benefits. static1.squarespace.com/static/652f1... #energysky #greensky
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Joshua D. Rhodes @joshdr83.bsky.social · 24/01/2025
Hey y'all! Check out our latest report on the impact of renewables & storage in TX! tl;dr - The current & expected fleet of renewable & energy storage projects is expected to pay almost $50B in lifetime landowner payments & local taxes! 👇 static1.squarespace.com/static/652f1...
Splash page from the front of the report showing wind turbines, energy storage devices, and solar panels.
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Joshua D. Rhodes @joshdr83.bsky.social · 19/01/2025
youtu.be/Fkq74CsHKV8?...
youtu.be
When It Snows in Texas | King of the Hill
YouTube video by King of the Hill
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Joshua D. Rhodes @joshdr83.bsky.social · 18/01/2025
Excited to be joining @volts.wtf & Julian Spector along w/ @douglewin.bsky.social, & Dr. Emily Beagle @ the LBJ School @utaustin.bsky.social to talk energy @ the Canary Media x Volts at UT-Austin event on January 28! See free registration link👇🏼 if you can make it! www.eventbrite.com/e/canary-med...
eventbrite.com
Canary Media x Volts at UT-Austin
Join Canary Media and David Roberts for an afternoon of expert insights at the LBJ School on January 28.
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John Hanger @jrfhanger.bsky.social · 17/01/2025
High Speed Charging Stations spread across the USA. Installation of new charging stations in Q4 2024 (766) were nearly 100% higher than in Q4 2022 (386). More EV stations encourage EV sales, which encourage more EV stations. Wonderful! #energysky www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
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Joshua D. Rhodes @joshdr83.bsky.social · 07/01/2025
ERCOT demand looking like a fun roller coaster tomorrow*! *things should be fine
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