Harriet Weber

Tesla's energy storage and charging business isn't looking so hot...

Maybe you've heard of virtual power plants before. Maybe you saw how outbound Gov. Newsom signed some VPP-friendly bills recently. Here's what's happening ⚡

VPPs are typically used when energy demand is extremely high. "However, as they mature into a more established asset for grid operators, we will likely see capacities continue to increase across California and the country," he said.

Maybe you've heard of virtual power plants before. Maybe you saw how outbound Gov. Newsom signed some VPP-friendly bills recently. Here's what's happening ⚡

Many VPP efforts to date are demonstrations or otherwise limited in scope, yet total capacity in California is already close to *multiple gigawatts.*

Did gas vehicle sales just dip below 50% for the first time? In the first half of 2026, Nikkei Asia reports that sales of new gas-only models fell 10% year over year worldwide, to 20.25 million (citing Mobility Global). The report seems to exclude even plug-less hybrids such as Priuses — which,

Here's what IEA and Harvard reports have to say about electric car sales in the near future👇

Did gas vehicle sales just dip below 50% for the first time? In the first half of 2026, Nikkei Asia reports that sales of new gas-only models fell 10% year over year worldwide, to 20.25 million (citing Mobility Global). The report seems to exclude even plug-less hybrids such as Priuses — which,

Experts don't see the fuel crisis igniting a refinery boom tomorrow, especially not in the U.S. Why? Long-term demand for gas & diesel *isn't* really growing. But forecasts *do* show oil sticking around past 2050 (see also: shrinking U.S. EV forecasts)

My story here www.investors.com/news/gas-pri...

Don't drive a supersized diesel pickup? You still won't dodge the gnarliest diesel prices the U.S. has ever seen.

Electric-vehicle sales in Europe were already soaring. Worth watching what happens for EV trucking. I'm also curious about the fate of diesel-burning data centers.

Don't drive a supersized diesel pickup? You still won't dodge the gnarliest diesel prices the U.S. has ever seen.

Golf Oil's Tom Kloza expects trucking and shipping firms to "pass along [price] increases to consumers." That points to costlier groceries and snacks, high-priced home goods, soaring heating bills, and caps on purchases of motor oil as refiners focus on diesel and gas.

Don't drive a supersized diesel pickup? You still won't dodge the gnarliest diesel prices the U.S. has ever seen.

Finally a look behind the curtain at Google's data center push in Arkansas — and the special rate it got from a local power company that's charging residents more — in accidentally disclosed documents: bsky.app/profile/matt...

In 2015, Google paid outside engineers and designers to prototype a living Tamagotchi-like game. It starred real(!) micro-animals you'd feed and observe via a digital microscope. No AI. In 2017, I profiled it — one of Google's last-ditch attempts to leapfrog the iPhone with Lego-like upgrades. 🧪

Data center rules are cropping up around the U.S. and some mandate research into environmental and humanitarian impact. But governors aren't really locking in big changes or key research. Here's what they're doing 🧪

There's some fear among supporters that the pauses seen to date will vanish after the elections. But there are also more than a dozen candidates across the U.S. who've said they'll support bans on data-center tax breaks

Data center rules are cropping up around the U.S. and some mandate research into environmental and humanitarian impact. But governors aren't really locking in big changes or key research. Here's what they're doing 🧪

Another option is to buy more time — like HB 1189 in North Carolina. It "would impose a two-year statewide moratorium on permits for data centers of 100 MW or more, while the state studies grid, ratepayer, tax and environmental impacts," said Arnab Pal, @deployaction.bsky.social

Data center rules are cropping up around the U.S. and some mandate research into environmental and humanitarian impact. But governors aren't really locking in big changes or key research. Here's what they're doing 🧪

"While moratoriums may direct regulators & government departments to conduct studies of data centers' energy, water, & community impacts, it's unclear how these studies will translate to new regulations & how they will impact how data centers are developed" -Rachel Mural, Harvard Kennedy School

How much energy does solar produce? 🧪

Here's the deal with the pre-review study Tesla funded on turbine carnage. This is my first piece on the Data Centers Breaking Things beat. TLDR; AI training is wearing out, even breaking, a critical source of energy for AI training www.investors.com/news/turbine...

Posting my blue sky on bluesky