notes: here comes the sun

it’s not a doomburger, honest!

this was a really solid run at rallying the troops and driving a positive spin on the economic inertia behind renewable energy. i’ll be honest, it’s tough to read this as the trump administration is asserting control over venezuela’s oil reserves and aggressively paying companies to shut down wind projects that have solid funding and jobs behind them. that said, there’s no flaws in the economic logic of the argument that’s outlined here. the US as it prostrates itself to the petro cos is going to fall behind in many key metrics. the economic logic of renewable energy is, at this point, beyond unassailable. only morons, the 0wn3d or the truly disingenuous think that burning more fossil fuels is the right move. (and 2 / 3 of the previous list know the situation) as the US continues to fuck things up in the persian gulf, more folks will realize that they need to accelerate their country’s transition to maximal energy independence.

if you’ve been following energy developments with any conscious attention over the past 5-ish years, this book won’t be shocking to you. sure, the shape of the curve is a little surprising, but on balance, solar has gotten incredibly great and cheap. batter tech is ramping up at impressive rates as well. this book doesn’t really dig into batteries all that much but the cost and energy curves are comparable to solar and kind of shocking. (ha!)

there’s a fair amount to unpack in this from a policy engagement perspective and it’s struck me that we’ve been woefully under engaged as a populace in the PUCs. i’m not sure how to deal with left-wing NIMBY-ism and a lack of imagination here. but it’s there in spades. personally, i’m just waking up to the fact that there are a lot of retired folks with lots, and i mean lots, of time on their hands and they’re underutilized.

i bought this as the paperback re-issue and that seems about right from a personal value perspective. i would recommend this as a read to folks who are looking for a solid take on the status of renewable energy these days.

there’s plenty to be inspired about.