Santa Fe Community College's EnergySmart Academy is offering CLASSES FREE TO NEW MEXICO residents (travel and childcare may also be covered).
1. Hands-on Upskills - Residential HEAT PUMP WATER HEATER RETROFIT Installation. Designed for trade professionals with current experience in HVACR, Mech. Systems, and Plumbing for residential homes. Joss (505) 478-1007.
2. Hybrid Upskills - COLD CLIMATE AIR SOURCE HEAT PUMPS. 8-hr hands-on, 8-hrs online. Background in HVACR. David Best (505) 428-1049; david.best1@sfcc.edu
3. HOME ENERGY AUDITOR Program. Designed for students with technical aptitude who are looking for a new or additional career. Requires some construction experience, high school diploma or the equivalent. Consists of 3 industry certifications from the Building Performance Institute. Some students may qualify for ESA's NM HEAT Pre-Apprenticeship program. Contact David Best (See #2 above)
SFCC is having difficulty attracting folks for these classes. Could this be a reflection of the anticipated effects of threatened tariffs and the likely repeal of the IRA and other Federal clean energy and electrification programs? Is this happening in other states too?
Southwest Energy Efficiency Project is hiring a new UTILITY PROGRAM DIRECTOR! We need an experienced energy and/or climate policy expert to lead its work to develop and advocate for policies and programs that reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the Southwest. APPLY HERE: https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/4247341810/
We’ve got a few positions open (closest to my heart/team is a Senior Mechanical Engineer) at Modern Hydrogen, a clean hydrogen startup near Seattle, WA. Check out our page, or reach out on LinkedIn https://modernhydrogen.com/company/careers/
Hello. I am a residential PV project manager with about a decade of experience who was "liberated" from his previous position a week after the tariffs were announced back in April. Any leads on places hiring for remote work would be greatly appreciated
I'd like to know more about what's going on in Colorado with the Prosumer Co-op model. Possible future pod? I know Bill Althouse is working with Colorado State University to develop an energy co-op based on agricultural co-op legal structures, and taking advantage of new state laws that allow prosumers to claim full value of their contribution to the grid. I'd love to know how it works, and when it will be available, and to whom. Thanks! Love the pod!!
I'm still interested to hear if anyone has experience with small (like residential scale) wind turbines... Is there any product that's worth a serious look, that has a remotely similar levelized cost per kWh over its expected life when compared to home PV? (I asked about this once before and nobody replied, but maybe somebody knows something...)
Solar scales down to residential size because there are no moving parts. Worst case scenario, a couple power electronics need to be replaced over 20-30 years. Wind turbines are small engines that require oil changes and mechanical maintenance on a regular basis. That op EX is more than the average homeowner is going to want to deal with, and keeps resi wind turbine relatively bespoke. Small scale bespoke technologies are hard to scale up production enough to achieve cost reductions
Makes sense. But still, it's not like nobody has home diesel generators (which have similar maintenance requirements). And I've found some stuff advertised for small turbines with shockingly low initial cost of the equipment (for instance: https://tesup.com/row/products/tesup-vertical-wind-turbines-for-homes ), which seems like it at least _could_ be plausibly worthwhile even if you have to spend a thousand bucks a year for a tune-up. If I could make that work, between that and my existing PV and battery, I would basically never need the grid (because in my location, the winter season when the PV produces less is very windy). But I have no idea whether it's basically just vaporware... Basically I'd like to know if there are any turbines out there that aren't going to fall to pieces in a few years, and see how the discounted cash-flow model, inclusive of maintenance, works out as a LCOE.
The DoE used to have a page about this, mainly aimed at rural customers in the north, like in the Dakotas and Montana. (The Trump administration seems to have taken down the page. Last time I asked about this I posted a link to the archive.org vesrion of it.) They did seem to think that depending on circumstances, doing 10-20 kW of wind could be economical.
I have looked into this as well and not gotten very far. I was intrigued by some of the small turbines marketed towards sail boats. I live in the forest and it seems the trees that block much of the sun also make the wind less than ideal for turbines.
I have a great location for both; during the summer we produce way more energy than we need, pretty consistently. Winter's tougher, though. I could probably get by if I doubled my panels, but we also have a great wind resource, from roughly mid-September through mid-March. (Like, if you post political signs in the fall, or for an early primary, you have to make sure they're zip-tied to a tree or a traffic sign post, otherwise they will blow away within a few days.)
The other downside to small turbines is that wind speed scales exponentially with height. And once you have a really tall pole, you have room for much bigger blades.
Request: Can the bzzz subscribe break be cut from the pod version distributed via subscriber's channels? It breaks the flow, which I wouldn't mind, except I'm already paying. Thanks for considering this!
We absolutely would but Substack doesn't allow this without splitting the episode comments section into two separate streams (one for paid and one for unpaid). We believe that a singular, inclusive comments section provides the most value for everyone, so for now we're leaving the subscribe break in the paid stream. We've put this issue on Substack's radar multiple times, we're hoping they have a resolution soon. We do recognize that it's annoying and we're sorry about it!
Wow, I really did not think that Substack was related to the pod feed. I don't even know how to get from the pod to the comment section. But now that I know about that ... watch out!
There's a nice feature in NPR that came out today (yesterday?) about green social housing as a solution to many problems at once: lack of affordable housing, reducing emissions, reducing climate-related displacement, and building livable, transit-oriented urban spaces. Thought folks here may find it interesting! https://www.npr.org/2025/06/15/nx-s1-5400642/affordable-housing-environment-vienna-climate-change
Yeah, Vienna's model of social housing is great, and YIMBYs in America are big fans. Asm. Alex Lee's social housing bill was partly modeled on it, and CA YIMBY sponsored the effort. (And we got it through the legislature, only for Gavin Newsom to veto it.)
Important to note, though, that in order for the model to work, you really need to scale back regulations that tie government's hands where the private sector is free. The way we currently build "affordable housing" is banana-pants insane, leading to units that cost more-than-double what private sector units cost to build.
Are new solar systems capable of coordinating devices to coordinate the usage of energy to coordinate usage with times when solar is being generated? I have 4 batteries to charge, plus a spa behaving somewhat like a battery.
I don't want all of my electrical usage happening at the same time, each one thinking it is optimizing usage, but consuming more than I am producing during noon-3PM, perhaps, while sending energy back to the grid after the battery is fully charged.
I am upgrading my 20+ year old solar system while electrifying my house.
1. Harvest SANCO2 heat pump with thermal battery. Time shifts automatically, but not under my control.
2. Copper Charlie stove with battery. Automatically shifts charging, but may not be under my control
3. Solar batteries. New batteries will be used more than current batteries. Time shifting available, but not yet installed. I don't yet know the flexibility of the system. Charges when there is available power, but may not look at entire house load.
4. Car charger. I can manually set time, but may wish to coordinate usage with other devices. Currently 110V, 15A, but could be changed to 220V.
5. Spa heater. Current 220V resistance heating. May replace it with heat pump. Can set to fixed time, but it would be good to coordinate usage
6. Heat pump dryer, not yet purchased. Can choose times to run. Probably don't want it to shut off automatically.
6. Harvest A/C heat pump, provides cooling and extra heat when needed. Less subject to time shifting. This has less flexibility of usage. It turns on when needed, though pre-cooling could shift some usage
I was excited to hear Page Crahan talk on Volts about how Tapestry is using AI to help grid experts. Her description of AI explainability with the human in the loop resonated with my own work in human-autonomy teaming. Does anyone know of any other companies that value clean energy, use AI, and could use some help with human-AI integration?
Trump has pulled out a few tricks to try to keep coal plants open. I wonder if keeping the coal plants open for longer may actually lead to a better climate outcome in the long run. The current trend is to replace coal with gas plants. If the coal plants continue to run, they will eventually have to be replaced. As solar, wind, and batteries continue to fall in price, the future default response would be to transition directly to renewables. Ergo, natural gas will not be the transition fuel for the next 25 to 30 years.
That's unlikely simply because of accredited capacity issues. Given the current marginal ELCC approach favored across the industry the amount of wind/solar/storage you'd need to replace a 1gw coal plants worth of accredited capacity is going to be mind bogglingly expensive, especially as additional wind/solar deployment drives those capacity values further down.
I would hope that a discussion of transmission issues would include an in-depth discussion of the role of BPA in contributing to the glacially slow pace and backlog of getting green power projects connected to the grid in Washington and Oregon. One related resource:
You might have a look at grid United lead by Michael Skelly in transmission. They are doing great work connecting grids (including ercot to neighboring grids).
Regarding utility billing systems - they aren't just an obstacle to CCA efficiency and effectiveness. I worked with PG&E several years ago on its real-time pricing pilot as well as similar proceedings for other California utilities, and the NEM and monthly charge rulemakings (on behalf of small business interests). The billing system modernization programs were and obstacle to both the pace of implementation and just the types of changes that could be made.
California's rates are arguably the most complex in the nation. (Maybe more than all of the others put together!) But it continues to surprise me how limiting utility accounting and billing systems (even the "modernized" ones) can be for implementing what seem like no-brainer rate designs and cost-control measures.
A good example is having higher monthly charges for residential customers with high-amperage, 3-phase service lines and low monthly charges for residents in multi-family buildings served by a single service line. NOPE! The accounting systems don't break out the costs and the billing systems don't know which customers have what kind of service. But fixing this would be a big step towards more equitable electric rates.
There are examples from every aspect of utility operations and policy where the IT systems constrain good ideas for years if not practically forever.
I'd highly recommend an episode on capacity accreditation and its implications for renewables deployment. It's super super boring but also one of those things that's absolutely vital for advocates to understand.
Questions: Brief topic for "What's happening now" podcast episodes--what happened to all the -clean-energy-delaying bills that were in process in the Texas legislature? I heard most of them failed. If so, and if I'm right that the legislature doesn't week again until 2027, I figure two more years of more renewables on the Texas grid will make it even less likely that they'll pass in 2027.
From my reductionist perspective, three bad bills died, one good bill passed. I'm not sure if good bill has been signed, but that might not matter.
Check today's episode of Renewable Rides for a few more details. They spend the first ten minutes on TX. Ep 90: Spotlight on Texas Energy Policy and Unpacking the Impact of the Big Beautiful Bill on Distributed Generation June 17, 2025
(VECKTA is in the business of DERs in C&I applications)
--- CLIMATE JOBS & OPPORTUNITIES ---
4 open positions at Center for Energy and Environment: https://www.mncee.org/work-with-us
* Customer Engagement Supervisor
* Energy Advisor
* Engineering Manager
* Energy Auditor
Questions are welcome, and I can try to connect you with the right folks per posting.
Santa Fe Community College's EnergySmart Academy is offering CLASSES FREE TO NEW MEXICO residents (travel and childcare may also be covered).
1. Hands-on Upskills - Residential HEAT PUMP WATER HEATER RETROFIT Installation. Designed for trade professionals with current experience in HVACR, Mech. Systems, and Plumbing for residential homes. Joss (505) 478-1007.
2. Hybrid Upskills - COLD CLIMATE AIR SOURCE HEAT PUMPS. 8-hr hands-on, 8-hrs online. Background in HVACR. David Best (505) 428-1049; david.best1@sfcc.edu
3. HOME ENERGY AUDITOR Program. Designed for students with technical aptitude who are looking for a new or additional career. Requires some construction experience, high school diploma or the equivalent. Consists of 3 industry certifications from the Building Performance Institute. Some students may qualify for ESA's NM HEAT Pre-Apprenticeship program. Contact David Best (See #2 above)
SFCC is having difficulty attracting folks for these classes. Could this be a reflection of the anticipated effects of threatened tariffs and the likely repeal of the IRA and other Federal clean energy and electrification programs? Is this happening in other states too?
Southwest Energy Efficiency Project is hiring a new UTILITY PROGRAM DIRECTOR! We need an experienced energy and/or climate policy expert to lead its work to develop and advocate for policies and programs that reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the Southwest. APPLY HERE: https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/4247341810/
The link says they are no longer taking applications
Sorry about that. I took it from June 13 facebook post.
We’ve got a few positions open (closest to my heart/team is a Senior Mechanical Engineer) at Modern Hydrogen, a clean hydrogen startup near Seattle, WA. Check out our page, or reach out on LinkedIn https://modernhydrogen.com/company/careers/
Hello. I am a residential PV project manager with about a decade of experience who was "liberated" from his previous position a week after the tariffs were announced back in April. Any leads on places hiring for remote work would be greatly appreciated
Move to Minnesota and keep checking this job board --usually 1-2 solar jobs at least... https://www.cleanenergyresourceteams.org/job-board
I wouldn't move that far from the ocean, but I would sleep in and work remotely on central time
Hear, hear!
--- QUESTIONS ---
I'd like to know more about what's going on in Colorado with the Prosumer Co-op model. Possible future pod? I know Bill Althouse is working with Colorado State University to develop an energy co-op based on agricultural co-op legal structures, and taking advantage of new state laws that allow prosumers to claim full value of their contribution to the grid. I'd love to know how it works, and when it will be available, and to whom. Thanks! Love the pod!!
I'm still interested to hear if anyone has experience with small (like residential scale) wind turbines... Is there any product that's worth a serious look, that has a remotely similar levelized cost per kWh over its expected life when compared to home PV? (I asked about this once before and nobody replied, but maybe somebody knows something...)
Solar scales down to residential size because there are no moving parts. Worst case scenario, a couple power electronics need to be replaced over 20-30 years. Wind turbines are small engines that require oil changes and mechanical maintenance on a regular basis. That op EX is more than the average homeowner is going to want to deal with, and keeps resi wind turbine relatively bespoke. Small scale bespoke technologies are hard to scale up production enough to achieve cost reductions
Makes sense. But still, it's not like nobody has home diesel generators (which have similar maintenance requirements). And I've found some stuff advertised for small turbines with shockingly low initial cost of the equipment (for instance: https://tesup.com/row/products/tesup-vertical-wind-turbines-for-homes ), which seems like it at least _could_ be plausibly worthwhile even if you have to spend a thousand bucks a year for a tune-up. If I could make that work, between that and my existing PV and battery, I would basically never need the grid (because in my location, the winter season when the PV produces less is very windy). But I have no idea whether it's basically just vaporware... Basically I'd like to know if there are any turbines out there that aren't going to fall to pieces in a few years, and see how the discounted cash-flow model, inclusive of maintenance, works out as a LCOE.
The DoE used to have a page about this, mainly aimed at rural customers in the north, like in the Dakotas and Montana. (The Trump administration seems to have taken down the page. Last time I asked about this I posted a link to the archive.org vesrion of it.) They did seem to think that depending on circumstances, doing 10-20 kW of wind could be economical.
I have looked into this as well and not gotten very far. I was intrigued by some of the small turbines marketed towards sail boats. I live in the forest and it seems the trees that block much of the sun also make the wind less than ideal for turbines.
I have a great location for both; during the summer we produce way more energy than we need, pretty consistently. Winter's tougher, though. I could probably get by if I doubled my panels, but we also have a great wind resource, from roughly mid-September through mid-March. (Like, if you post political signs in the fall, or for an early primary, you have to make sure they're zip-tied to a tree or a traffic sign post, otherwise they will blow away within a few days.)
The other downside to small turbines is that wind speed scales exponentially with height. And once you have a really tall pole, you have room for much bigger blades.
Request: Can the bzzz subscribe break be cut from the pod version distributed via subscriber's channels? It breaks the flow, which I wouldn't mind, except I'm already paying. Thanks for considering this!
We absolutely would but Substack doesn't allow this without splitting the episode comments section into two separate streams (one for paid and one for unpaid). We believe that a singular, inclusive comments section provides the most value for everyone, so for now we're leaving the subscribe break in the paid stream. We've put this issue on Substack's radar multiple times, we're hoping they have a resolution soon. We do recognize that it's annoying and we're sorry about it!
Wow, I really did not think that Substack was related to the pod feed. I don't even know how to get from the pod to the comment section. But now that I know about that ... watch out!
--- EVERYTHING ELSE ---
New MN Legislation that requires data centers in the state to pay into LMI weatherization funds: https://www.startribune.com/what-new-rules-for-data-centers-mean-for-the-environment-and-the-industrys-future-in-minnesota/601366344
MN's approach is unique in part because:
* MN's state policy is written as a legislative statute, now law, rather than a voluntary option for data centers;
* MN's weatherization support is an annual commitment for data centers, rather than a one-time buy-in; and
* MN's is a broad requirement for all data centers, rather than a legal settlement for participating parties only.
So it seems more likely to meaningfully help to address state and federal weatherization funding gaps going forward.
There's a nice feature in NPR that came out today (yesterday?) about green social housing as a solution to many problems at once: lack of affordable housing, reducing emissions, reducing climate-related displacement, and building livable, transit-oriented urban spaces. Thought folks here may find it interesting! https://www.npr.org/2025/06/15/nx-s1-5400642/affordable-housing-environment-vienna-climate-change
Yeah, Vienna's model of social housing is great, and YIMBYs in America are big fans. Asm. Alex Lee's social housing bill was partly modeled on it, and CA YIMBY sponsored the effort. (And we got it through the legislature, only for Gavin Newsom to veto it.)
Important to note, though, that in order for the model to work, you really need to scale back regulations that tie government's hands where the private sector is free. The way we currently build "affordable housing" is banana-pants insane, leading to units that cost more-than-double what private sector units cost to build.
https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2020/04/09/affordable-housing-can-cost-1-million-per-apartment-in-california-coronavirus-could-make-it-worse/
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/23/opinion/los-angeles-homelessness-affordable-housing.html
https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2025/06/06/these-publicly-funded-homes-poor-cost-12-million-each-develop/
(This is a major theme of "the Abundance Agenda", of course.)
Are new solar systems capable of coordinating devices to coordinate the usage of energy to coordinate usage with times when solar is being generated? I have 4 batteries to charge, plus a spa behaving somewhat like a battery.
I don't want all of my electrical usage happening at the same time, each one thinking it is optimizing usage, but consuming more than I am producing during noon-3PM, perhaps, while sending energy back to the grid after the battery is fully charged.
I am upgrading my 20+ year old solar system while electrifying my house.
1. Harvest SANCO2 heat pump with thermal battery. Time shifts automatically, but not under my control.
2. Copper Charlie stove with battery. Automatically shifts charging, but may not be under my control
3. Solar batteries. New batteries will be used more than current batteries. Time shifting available, but not yet installed. I don't yet know the flexibility of the system. Charges when there is available power, but may not look at entire house load.
4. Car charger. I can manually set time, but may wish to coordinate usage with other devices. Currently 110V, 15A, but could be changed to 220V.
5. Spa heater. Current 220V resistance heating. May replace it with heat pump. Can set to fixed time, but it would be good to coordinate usage
6. Heat pump dryer, not yet purchased. Can choose times to run. Probably don't want it to shut off automatically.
6. Harvest A/C heat pump, provides cooling and extra heat when needed. Less subject to time shifting. This has less flexibility of usage. It turns on when needed, though pre-cooling could shift some usage
--- SHARE WORK, ASK FOR HELP, FIND COLLABORATORS ---
I was excited to hear Page Crahan talk on Volts about how Tapestry is using AI to help grid experts. Her description of AI explainability with the human in the loop resonated with my own work in human-autonomy teaming. Does anyone know of any other companies that value clean energy, use AI, and could use some help with human-AI integration?
--- CLIMATE EVENTS & MEETUPS ---
Learn about Advanced GeoThermal in the Pacific Northwest during PNW Climate Week on July 17! Details at https://lu.ma/agjob24u
Dear Dave: What are your thoughts on Season 2 of Andor?
Trump has pulled out a few tricks to try to keep coal plants open. I wonder if keeping the coal plants open for longer may actually lead to a better climate outcome in the long run. The current trend is to replace coal with gas plants. If the coal plants continue to run, they will eventually have to be replaced. As solar, wind, and batteries continue to fall in price, the future default response would be to transition directly to renewables. Ergo, natural gas will not be the transition fuel for the next 25 to 30 years.
That's unlikely simply because of accredited capacity issues. Given the current marginal ELCC approach favored across the industry the amount of wind/solar/storage you'd need to replace a 1gw coal plants worth of accredited capacity is going to be mind bogglingly expensive, especially as additional wind/solar deployment drives those capacity values further down.
Fair point.
I would hope that a discussion of transmission issues would include an in-depth discussion of the role of BPA in contributing to the glacially slow pace and backlog of getting green power projects connected to the grid in Washington and Oregon. One related resource:
https://www.opb.org/article/2025/05/12/oregon-washington-green-energy-bonneville/
You might have a look at grid United lead by Michael Skelly in transmission. They are doing great work connecting grids (including ercot to neighboring grids).
Regarding utility billing systems - they aren't just an obstacle to CCA efficiency and effectiveness. I worked with PG&E several years ago on its real-time pricing pilot as well as similar proceedings for other California utilities, and the NEM and monthly charge rulemakings (on behalf of small business interests). The billing system modernization programs were and obstacle to both the pace of implementation and just the types of changes that could be made.
California's rates are arguably the most complex in the nation. (Maybe more than all of the others put together!) But it continues to surprise me how limiting utility accounting and billing systems (even the "modernized" ones) can be for implementing what seem like no-brainer rate designs and cost-control measures.
A good example is having higher monthly charges for residential customers with high-amperage, 3-phase service lines and low monthly charges for residents in multi-family buildings served by a single service line. NOPE! The accounting systems don't break out the costs and the billing systems don't know which customers have what kind of service. But fixing this would be a big step towards more equitable electric rates.
There are examples from every aspect of utility operations and policy where the IT systems constrain good ideas for years if not practically forever.
I'd highly recommend an episode on capacity accreditation and its implications for renewables deployment. It's super super boring but also one of those things that's absolutely vital for advocates to understand.
Questions: Brief topic for "What's happening now" podcast episodes--what happened to all the -clean-energy-delaying bills that were in process in the Texas legislature? I heard most of them failed. If so, and if I'm right that the legislature doesn't week again until 2027, I figure two more years of more renewables on the Texas grid will make it even less likely that they'll pass in 2027.
From my reductionist perspective, three bad bills died, one good bill passed. I'm not sure if good bill has been signed, but that might not matter.
Check today's episode of Renewable Rides for a few more details. They spend the first ten minutes on TX. Ep 90: Spotlight on Texas Energy Policy and Unpacking the Impact of the Big Beautiful Bill on Distributed Generation June 17, 2025
(VECKTA is in the business of DERs in C&I applications)