Renewable energy and climate politics and policy. Assistant Professor at Tulane University. Joining Case Western Reserve University in July 2026. Author of Owning The Green Grid (MIT Press). More at joshuabasseches.com
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While the fossil fuel industry has gotten very cushy with the GOP and the renewable energy industry has tied its fate more to the Dems (generalizing, of course), the electric utility industry has long mastered coziness with both parties. (1/2)
Worth listening on clash between data centers and old fashioned grid governance. Some interesting suggested reforms:
www.texasenergyandpower.com/p/price-the-...
The sort of thing we don't need to worry about with renewables:
www.eenews.net/articles/tan...
Gas industry commissions report concluding we need more gas. 😲
www.utilitydive.com/news/electri...
State air regulators are doing the best they can to protect the air we breath. But the conversion of the EPA from "Environmental Protection Agency" to "Environmental Polluter Advocate" under Trump 2.0 is hamstringing their best efforts:
www.eenews.net/articles/sta...
Two weeks until Owning The Green Grid's release! Available for pre-order here: (2/2) @mitpress.bsky.social
mitpress.mit.edu/978026205358...
This illustrates why having utility parent companies operating across multiple states gives them an unfair advantage. Southern Co. doesn't like outcome of Georgia PSC elections, so it uses its influence to change rules of the game in neighboring Alabama:
insideclimatenews.org/news/0306202...
"We have built projects under both models, and our experience is clear: speed and competition are not mutually exclusive. In fact, they are complementary and necessary for meeting our country’s energy challenges."
www.utilitydive.com/news/speed-t...
I began researching this book more than 8 years ago, before data centers shifted so much of the public conversation around the electricity grid. Yet the book's broader lessons about the politics governing the grid apply today as ever. (1/2)
