Energy Changemakers

02/23/2026

Utility-scale solar alone will make up more than half of new power added to grid this year, according to the report. That’s followed by energy storage at 28% and wind at 14%. Natural gas — being strongly pushed by the Trump administration — comes in at only 6.3%.

If the Trump administration is at war with renewable energy, it appears to be losing, based on recent federal data.

02/09/2026

Distributed energy gives communities and households a path to energy ownership and value creation. Yet, realizing that energy wealth often remains theoretical, constrained by a lack of practical mechanisms to unlock it.

A novel energy model being developed in Ithaca, New York, could change that.

The Ithaca Common Council this week approved its revised Local Distributed Energy Resource (DER) Plan, a strategy to make the city into an independent energy ecosystem that offers dividend-paying DER ownership shares to local residents.

The plan comes as Ithaca also forms a community choice aggregation (CCA), a model used by about 1,500 U.S. communities that allows local governments to buy energy on residents’ behalf.” What distinguishes Ithaca’s approach is its focus on incentivizing local power and heat to reduce how much energy the city must purchase elsewhere

The Ithaca DER plan, approved last week by the city council, offers a way for the New York city to decarbonize independently from the grid.

02/04/2026

Despite incredible demand for new data centers, many proposed projects aren’t being built. Siting issues, community opposition, and difficulty procuring equipment and power all play into the problem. What's the solution?

Holt Bradshaw, principal consultant at Siemens PTI, describes strategies data centers are pursuing to achieve "speed to power," which has become one of the i...

01/23/2026

Energy has become an all-consuming concern for data center developers and operators. As power availability becomes increasingly scarce and grid dynamics become more volatile, energy planning has emerged as a high-stakes discipline. Mistakes aren’t just expensive; they can delay or even derail data center projects.

Elisa Wood of Energy Changemakers talks to Holt Bradshaw, principal consultant at Siemens PTI, about the energy market uncertainties faced by data centers, i...

10/03/2025

Utility corruption costs ratepayers money, but its damage may run even deeper, undercutting energy innovation and prosumerism, says Dick Munson, environmental activist and author.

In a new Energy Changemakers Podcast, Munson details instances of bribery, dark money and regulatory capture that have rocked the utility world in recent years. He draws from his recent book Power Corrupts: Cleaning Up America’s Biggest Industry,

Activist and author Dick Munson says utility corruption impedes energy innovation. He explains how in the Energy Changemakers Podcast.

09/09/2025

This is a story about how federal tax incentives and innovative thinking are helping some of those struggling to pay their electric bills – and at no cost to other utility ratepayers. The approach uses community solar, but not in the usual way. https://energychangemakers.com/synthetic-community-solar/

08/28/2025

Energy economist Skip Laitner explains why policymakers need to let go of 1970s thinking and focus on energy productivity.

International energy economist Skip Laitner discusses the consequences of the US government's failure to focus on energy productivity.

08/14/2025

Fortune reports that younger generations are flocking to the Midwest seeking homes that cost 30% less than in New York City or Los Angeles. If urban sustainability planner Hillary Brown is correct, this is only the beginning.

An even bigger migration will occur as climate change hits the coasts harder, says Brown, former director of the Urban Sustainability Program at City College of New York.

As climate migration drives up population in America's heartland, small towns will need more clean distributed energy resources (DERs).

07/08/2025

Trump's "Big Beautiful Bill" unleashed energy trends that its crafters likely didn't anticipate. The bill will raise electricity rates, making off-grid power and microgrids more attractive to consumers and businesses.

06/18/2025

Clean energy fares better, but not by much in the Senate Finance Committee version of Trump's "Big Beautiful Bill" released earlier this week.
https://energychangemakers.com/big-beautiful-bill-clean-energy/