Kiesling Likes Government Electricity Planning

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- April 16, 2025

“Kiesling intellectually resides in the government sandbox, where dilute, intermittent, fragile, government-dependent wind and solar is coordinated by ISO/RTO planners. Add (subsidized) storage, then whatever is left on the supply side can be equilibrated on the demand side with ‘smart meters’ (another government play) in your home or business.”

She fancies herself a classical liberal, a free-market type fully conversant with the arguments against central economic planning (Mises, Hayek, Lavoie). But when it gets to government planning of the electricity market, her specialty, the veneer comes off. It is ‘market processes’ within the rigged, governmental market. Welcome to the woman of system, technocrat Lynne Kiesling.

Consider this exhibit:

Kiesling intellectually resides in the government sandbox, where dilute, intermittent, fragile, government-dependent wind and solar are coordinated by ISO/RTO planners. Add storage (another government play), and then whatever happens on the supply side can be equilibrated on the demand side with ‘smart meters’ (another government play) in your home or business.…

Solar Alert! Rooftop Decay, Facility Decommissioning

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- April 15, 2025

“This is where the next frontier of solar energy lies—not in installing the next 100GW—it’s rescuing the first 100GW.” – Cesar Barbosa (below)

And you thought that owning a Tesla was ecological …. Imagine that solar roof that now needs attention with the installer AWOL. The solar industry is about to become the least popular in the U.S. with hundreds of thousands of disappointed customers.

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Cesar Barbosa is busy in a hot new field–solar decommissioning. And repowering too if the tax credit is still there.

“As the founder of NuLife Power Services,” he states, “I’m proud to lead a nationally recognized company specializing in Repowering, Removal & Reinstallation, and Decommissioning for aging solar assets across North America.”

For me, it’s not just about revitalizing solar systems—it’s about building a strong workforce through solid leadership and investing in people who are driven to make a lasting impact in renewable energy.

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Gas-fired Electricity for New Data Centers: Fischer Makes A Case

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- April 10, 2025

Black & Veatch executive Phil Fischer wrote this piece late last year making a case for natural gas for power generation, whether for the entire data center or for backup. In a free market, natural gas combined cycle, cogeneration, and peaking turbines have proven to be technologies of choice. With wind, solar, and battery subsidies on the chopping block, a new era for gas-fired electrical generation could be ahead.

“Companies developing data centers are in a new era in which the scope of project planning must expand far beyond the data center itself and into the supporting physical infrastructure – power generation, water delivery and water treatment,” Phil Fisher begins. “Delays in this physical infrastructure have led to new ideas that open the window for options that previously had not been on the table.”…