Renewable Energy
Blog
California’s Bad Energy Policy Is the Real Threat to the AI Boom
In early 2026, data centers consumed roughly 1,000 megawatts of electricity, about 2% of California ISO’s peak load. The California Energy Commission projects that figure will reach 4,500 megawatts, or 9% of peak demand, by 2040. That projection sits on top of overall peak demand the CEC expects to rise between 42 and ...
Anthony Velasquez
June 30, 2026
Blog
Environmentalists Vs. Renewable Energy
Virginia-based power firm AES has plans to build a 40-acre battery facility in the Coyote Valley hard up against a conservation area not far off U.S. 101. The valley is “a key wildlife corridor,” says the Sierra Club, that features “open space, trees, and agricultural fields.” The project would be sited on ...
Kerry Jackson
June 15, 2026
Blog
California’s Counterproductive Approach to Reducing GHG Emissions
California’s Counterproductive Approach to Reducing GHG Emissions by Wayne Winegarden | August 19, 2025 The state of California, along with a host of other cities and municipalities, is suing American energy companies. The lawsuit alleges that these private U.S. companies misled the public about greenhouse gases’ impact on the climate ...
Wayne H Winegarden
August 19, 2025
Blog
The Spanish Power Outage Flu – Is California Next?
Energy journalist Robert Bryce assures us it is not. “California has already seen blackouts due to the weakening of its grid,” Bryce told PRI, “And no, it’s not too soon to speculate.” On the last Monday in April, “one of the worst” blackouts to ever hit Europe, the Associated Press reports, began ...
Kerry Jackson
May 12, 2025
Blog
Food fight: Organic-waste rules are latest recycling failure
Food fight: Organic-waste rules are latest recycling failure By D. Dowd Muska | February 14, 2025 Draconian climate policies are wholly unwelcome in Washington, D.C., under the new Republican administration, so expect the greenest state and local governments to fight back in 2025. One area likely to draw significant interest: food ...
D. Dowd Muska
February 14, 2025
Blog
Moss Landing Fire Shows Renewable Energy Exacts a Price, Too
“Our true goal is to guarantee safety for the community,” Assemblymember Dawn Addis said a week after the Moss Landing lithium-ion battery storage facility in Monterey County caught fire – and not for the first time – on Jan. 16. So alarmed was Addis that she introduced a bill that ...
Kerry Jackson
January 29, 2025
Commentary
Why can’t California be more like Europe – and Puerto Rico?
While rational energy policies are being followed elsewhere, even in regions that had loudly and proudly gone “green,” California can’t kick its net-zero obsession. Or maybe the right word is “won’t,” because the state refuses to deviate from its reckless plans. Read the op-ed here:
Kerry Jackson
January 16, 2025
Blog
Market innovations can make our cities energy independent
Market innovations can make our cities energy independent By Edward Ring | November 15, 2024 A revolution in urban planning is well under way, driven by advances in wastewater recycling and runoff harvesting, along with waste-to-energy technologies and indoor agriculture. But perhaps the biggest and most unheralded breakthrough is the ...
Edward Ring
November 15, 2024
California
Todd Myers – Time to Think Small on the Environment
Our podcast guest this week is Todd Myers, director of the Washington Policy Center’s Center for the Environment. With more than two decades in environmental policy, Todd’s experience includes work on a range of environmental issues, including climate policy, forest health, old-growth forests, and salmon recovery. Todd’s new book is ...
Pacific Research Institute
April 22, 2024
Blog
CAPITAL IDEAS–California’s Green Energy Transition: Is the State Getting Ahead of Itself?
No state is rushing toward a zero-carbon power grid faster than California. By 2045, every watt of electricity used in this state has to be produced by a source that emits no carbon dioxide. Sacramento is convinced it will happen because it has said so. Reality is likely to have ...
Kerry Jackson
March 17, 2023
California’s Bad Energy Policy Is the Real Threat to the AI Boom
In early 2026, data centers consumed roughly 1,000 megawatts of electricity, about 2% of California ISO’s peak load. The California Energy Commission projects that figure will reach 4,500 megawatts, or 9% of peak demand, by 2040. That projection sits on top of overall peak demand the CEC expects to rise between 42 and ...
Environmentalists Vs. Renewable Energy
Virginia-based power firm AES has plans to build a 40-acre battery facility in the Coyote Valley hard up against a conservation area not far off U.S. 101. The valley is “a key wildlife corridor,” says the Sierra Club, that features “open space, trees, and agricultural fields.” The project would be sited on ...
California’s Counterproductive Approach to Reducing GHG Emissions
California’s Counterproductive Approach to Reducing GHG Emissions by Wayne Winegarden | August 19, 2025 The state of California, along with a host of other cities and municipalities, is suing American energy companies. The lawsuit alleges that these private U.S. companies misled the public about greenhouse gases’ impact on the climate ...
The Spanish Power Outage Flu – Is California Next?
Energy journalist Robert Bryce assures us it is not. “California has already seen blackouts due to the weakening of its grid,” Bryce told PRI, “And no, it’s not too soon to speculate.” On the last Monday in April, “one of the worst” blackouts to ever hit Europe, the Associated Press reports, began ...
Food fight: Organic-waste rules are latest recycling failure
Food fight: Organic-waste rules are latest recycling failure By D. Dowd Muska | February 14, 2025 Draconian climate policies are wholly unwelcome in Washington, D.C., under the new Republican administration, so expect the greenest state and local governments to fight back in 2025. One area likely to draw significant interest: food ...
Moss Landing Fire Shows Renewable Energy Exacts a Price, Too
“Our true goal is to guarantee safety for the community,” Assemblymember Dawn Addis said a week after the Moss Landing lithium-ion battery storage facility in Monterey County caught fire – and not for the first time – on Jan. 16. So alarmed was Addis that she introduced a bill that ...
Why can’t California be more like Europe – and Puerto Rico?
While rational energy policies are being followed elsewhere, even in regions that had loudly and proudly gone “green,” California can’t kick its net-zero obsession. Or maybe the right word is “won’t,” because the state refuses to deviate from its reckless plans. Read the op-ed here:
Market innovations can make our cities energy independent
Market innovations can make our cities energy independent By Edward Ring | November 15, 2024 A revolution in urban planning is well under way, driven by advances in wastewater recycling and runoff harvesting, along with waste-to-energy technologies and indoor agriculture. But perhaps the biggest and most unheralded breakthrough is the ...
Todd Myers – Time to Think Small on the Environment
Our podcast guest this week is Todd Myers, director of the Washington Policy Center’s Center for the Environment. With more than two decades in environmental policy, Todd’s experience includes work on a range of environmental issues, including climate policy, forest health, old-growth forests, and salmon recovery. Todd’s new book is ...
CAPITAL IDEAS–California’s Green Energy Transition: Is the State Getting Ahead of Itself?
No state is rushing toward a zero-carbon power grid faster than California. By 2045, every watt of electricity used in this state has to be produced by a source that emits no carbon dioxide. Sacramento is convinced it will happen because it has said so. Reality is likely to have ...