Tag: energy

“Is climate change to blame” for the California fires? “The answer, simply, is yes.”

January 19, 2025

My amazing colleague, Erica Smithwick answers the question, “Is climate change to blame” for the California fires? “The answer, simply, is yes.” 2024 is officially the hottest year on record, the tenth of the ten hottest ever-recorded years. Snowpack is reduced, droughts are longer and deeper, and everything on the ground is drier and therefore … More “Is climate change to blame” for the California fires? “The answer, simply, is yes.”

7.7.77: A prescient note on climate change to Jimmy Carter

January 1, 2025

The day before my first birthday–July 7, 1977–a climate memo was prepared for Pres. Jimmy Carter. It was titled “Release of Fossil CO2 and the Possibility of a Catastrophic Climate Change.” It recognized the pending impact from warming caused by the amplification of the greenhouse effect from exponential fossil fuel combustion. Carter saw it. I … More 7.7.77: A prescient note on climate change to Jimmy Carter

Early lessons from the Centre County solar power purchase agreement

December 26, 2024

I want the lessons of the Centre County solar power purchase agreement (SPPA) working group (WG) to be as accessible as possible. As readers know, 10 of central Pennsylvania’s local governments are finalizing the largest-by-member SPPA in the Commonwealth and maybe the country. This entry is my first deliberate crack at it. Here, I will use the World … More Early lessons from the Centre County solar power purchase agreement

Do natural gas & nuclear get to jump the line?

December 10, 2024

If we want to decarbonize our communities, one of our best pathways is to decarbonize the electricity generation sector. But who gets to plug in and in what order? That’s why we have grid operators who regulate which sources of power–solar farms, wind farms, natural gas power plants, nuclear power plants, battery facilities, hydropower plants–get … More Do natural gas & nuclear get to jump the line?

A major step for solar power in Pennsylvania’s local governments

November 18, 2024

Tomorrow night, the State College Area School District will be the first of Centre County’s local governments to vote on whether we enter into a 15-year solar power purchase agreement (SPPA). As the project’s instigator, a member of the working group over its five years, and its first and last Chair, I am excited to … More A major step for solar power in Pennsylvania’s local governments

An inspiration — or a cautionary tale? Definitely an inspiration.

October 24, 2024

Today, Spotlight PA ran an excellent story on how “local governments can struggle to work together in Pennsylvania even when they have a common and seemingly mundane goal like saving money on electric bills.” I’ve written about this project here pretty extensively. In the next month, ten local governments will vote to adopt affordable, carbon-free, Pennsylvania-supplied … More An inspiration — or a cautionary tale? Definitely an inspiration.

A power purchase agreement or something else?

October 20, 2024

As readers of this blog know, ten of Centre County’s local governments will soon vote to adopt affordable, carbon-free, Pennsylvania-supplied solar power. Brought together in 2019 as a special working group, we set our sights on two primary goals: being more responsible as fiduciaries with our energy dollars and playing a positive role in reducing greenhouse … More A power purchase agreement or something else?

Do hard things like advance solar. Don’t do pointless things like argue with dining room tables.

October 3, 2024

In the next two months, ten (maybe eleven) of Centre County’s local governments will vote to adopt affordable, carbon-free, Pennsylvania-supplied solar power at a truly ambitious scale. With the power purchase agreement in its final steps, our citizens and taxpayers will be able to celebrate how a coalition of committed public servants put together a … More Do hard things like advance solar. Don’t do pointless things like argue with dining room tables.

The real, but hidden, social benefits of a solar power purchase agreement.

September 30, 2024

As readers know from recent posts, I have been working on an intergovernmental solar power purchase agreement (PPA). It is close to the finish line. Our citizens and taxpayers will be able to celebrate how a coalition of committed public servants assembled a triple win on fiscal responsibility, voter and youth demands for action on … More The real, but hidden, social benefits of a solar power purchase agreement.