Jesse D. Jenkins

Jesse D. Jenkins

@jessedjenkins.com

Macro-energy systems engineering, optimization & policy. Associate professor at Princeton University. Leads the ZERO Lab. Co-hosts SHIFT KEY podcast. Time100 Next & TIME100 Climate honoree. More at linkedin.com/in/jessedjenkins & zero.lab.princeton.edu

30.6K followers2.6K following4K posts

Pinned

Jesse D. Jenkins
@jessedjenkins.com

I recently co-founded Firma Power w/Scott Burger & Brent Alderfer, a new venture assembling portfolios of clean resources to deliver firm, load-enabling power to hyperscale data centers and other large loads. World-class analytics is our edge, and we want YOU to join the team. 🔌💡

Jesse D. Jenkins reposted

David Roberts
@volts.wtf

Today on Volts: how can we get data centers hooked up without screwing over the grid or other ratepayers? Two of my favorite thinkers, @astridatkinson.bsky.social & @jessedjenkins.com, lay out a new model whereby data centers bring some of their own generation & utilities offer flexible connection.

volts.wtfFor data centers, a little flexibility goes a long wayWhy developers are scrambling for off-grid jet engines, and how we could fix our broken grid interconnection process instead.
Jesse D. Jenkins
@jessedjenkins.com

Finally! Bravo.

Miriam Wasser@miriamwasser.bsky.social

After 10 years of controversy, lawsuits, and even a ballot referendum, the New England Clean Energy Connect is up and running 🔌 With a capacity of 1,200 megawatts, the new line can satisfy 20% of Massachusetts' electricity needs. www.wbur.org/news/2026/01... @wbur.org #energysky

wbur.orgA decade in the making, clean energy power line for Mass. is up and runningA major new transmission line that can bring renewable electricity from Quebec to Massachusetts is finally, after a whole lot of controversy and delay, starting to deliver power.

Jesse D. Jenkins reposted

Stephen Jarvis
@stephenjarvis.bsky.social

Replying to @stephenjarvis.bsky.social

I'm a big fan of the @rff.org Resources Radio podcast - lots of great interviews with researchers talking about their work so the archive is a real gold mine. We ended up discussing this excellent episode with @catiehausman.bsky.social going through her work on electricity transmission.

resources.orgPower Flows: Understanding the Barriers to Electricity Transmission, with Catherine HausmanCatherine Hausman discusses the benefits of building new electricity transmission lines, the costs of not building new transmission, and why more transmission is not being built in the United States.

Jesse D. Jenkins reposted

Stephen Jarvis
@stephenjarvis.bsky.social

Replying to @stephenjarvis.bsky.social

Hedging and energy trading is always a tricky topic for students that haven't encountered this stuff before. I found this trio of videos gives some useful insights into oil trading that's pretty accessible and worked well. p1: tinyurl.com/3csz73a8 p2: tinyurl.com/2kwbed2x p3: tinyurl.com/3heytjkx

youtube.comWhat is Hedging? | Oil and Commodities TradingYouTube video by International Business House

Jesse D. Jenkins reposted

Stephen Jarvis
@stephenjarvis.bsky.social

Replying to @stephenjarvis.bsky.social

Understanding the clean energy transition requires a firm grasp of the fossil fuel markets that still dominate the sector today. @planetmoney.bsky.social has some excellent energy reporting, including this piece on gasoline that features both @severinborenstein.bsky.social and Ryan Kellogg.

npr.orgBreaking down the price of gasoline : Planet MoneyHigh gas prices have fueled speculation and investigations — is anyone raising prices and keeping prices high for profit? To find out, we break down the price of gas, piece by piece, to show you how w...

Jesse D. Jenkins reposted

Stephen Jarvis
@stephenjarvis.bsky.social

Replying to @stephenjarvis.bsky.social

For a class full of social science students, getting some grounding in how the physics and engineering of the grid interacts with the economics is key. The summer school series that @jessedjenkins.com and @robinsonmeyer.bsky.social put out on their excellent Shift Key podcast was perfect for this.

heatmap.newsShift Key Summer School: What Is a Watt?Jesse teaches Rob the basics of energy, power, and what it all has to do with the grid.

Jesse D. Jenkins reposted

Stephen Jarvis
@stephenjarvis.bsky.social

Finished teaching a new course on energy markets and the clean energy transition last month. Was a blast and have lots of thoughts for next year. One takeaway is the value of going beyond academic journals/textbooks and incorporating media articles, podcasts, and video. Here's a few we covered... 🧵

Jesse D. Jenkins reposted

Heatmap News
@heatmap.news

This week on SHIFT KEY: Trump wants U.S. drillers to have Venezuela's oil. But what's really keeping them from getting it? And do they even want it? @robinsonmeyer.bsky.social checks in with @roryjohnston.bsky.social on all of the above and more: heatmap.news/podcast/shif...

heatmap.newsWhy Trump’s Oil Imperialism Might Be a Tough Sell for Actual Oil CompaniesRob talks about the removal of Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro with Commodity Context’s Rory Johnston.
Jesse D. Jenkins
@jessedjenkins.com

I finally read the op ed. Matt Yglesias is right. (98% right at least, which is an A+ for a NYT op ed). Don't @ me. It's the holidays and I don't have the appetite. But Matty's position is pragmatic, substantively sound, and the only way we have a chance of making progress on climate in this moment.

Jesse D. Jenkins
@jessedjenkins.com

For more, see my thread in the other place here x.com/i/status/200... and here x.com/i/status/200...

x.comJesse D. Jenkins on X: "Okay. I finally read the op ed. @MattYglesias is right. (98% right at least, which is an A+ for a NYT op ed). Don't @ me. It's the holidays and I don't have the appetite. But Matty's position is pragmatic, substantively sound, and the only way we have a chance of making any" / XOkay. I finally read the op ed. @MattYglesias is right. (98% right at least, which is an A+ for a NYT op ed). Don't @ me. It's the holidays and I don't have the appetite. But Matty's position is pragmatic, substantively sound, and the only way we have a chance of making any

Jesse D. Jenkins reposted

Nick Mailloux, PhD
@nckmllx.bsky.social

New preprint up assessing the air quality and health benefits that could have been possible under the Inflation Reduction Act. Huge effort here with Erin Mayfield, Jamil Farbes, @jessedjenkins.com, Ryan Jones, Tracey Holloway, and @jonathanpatz.bsky.social.

zenodo.orgAir quality and health effects of U.S. energy transitionsTransitioning the U.S. energy system has the potential to improve public health by reducing ambient fine particulate matter (PM2.5) exposure. We develop an integrated modeling framework, coupling ener...

Jesse D. Jenkins reposted

Heatmap News
@heatmap.news

NEW SHIFT KEY: It's not every day we get to celebrate a successful first-of-its kind climate tech — but that's exactly what @robinsonmeyer.bsky.social and @jessedjenkins.com did this week with Eavor's Mark Fitzgerald. Listen (and rate and subscribe!) here: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/s...

podcasts.apple.comSay ‘Guten Tag!’ to This New Kind of Geothermal TechPodcast Episode · Shift Key with Robinson Meyer and Jesse Jenkins · 12/17/2025 · 44m
Jesse D. Jenkins
@jessedjenkins.com

It's not every day we get to welcome a totally new clean energy technology into commercial operation. Today on Shift Key, we talk with Eavor Technologies CEO Mark Fitzgerald about how the company brought online the first-ever closed-loop geothermal heat & power project this month in Germany! 🔌💡

Jesse D. Jenkins
@jessedjenkins.com

"PowerChina has launched its 2026 centralized equipment procurement program, issuing tenders covering ... 35 GW of wind turbines, 31 GW of solar modules and 31 GW of solar inverters for 2026 projects, with bids due by Dec. 24, 2025." 🔌💡

Jesse D. Jenkins
@jessedjenkins.com

US demands EU exempt its gas from methane emissions law until 2035, document shows share.google/cDYT3BTSwXw3... This is why the US should not have canned EPA methane reg, and why most big gas players supported the regs. Lower US methane leaks = more globally competitive product

share.googleUS demands EU exempt its gas from methane emissions law, document showsThe U.S. has demanded that the European Union exempt its oil and gas from obligations under the bloc's methane emissions law on fuel imports until 2035, a U.S. government document seen by Reuters show...
Jesse D. Jenkins
@jessedjenkins.com

Silicon anodes are coming to market! Huge improvement in energy density (400 Wh/kg!) and charge rates (10 min rapid charging) for Li-ion batteries, and an alternative to graphite, which is almost all sourced from China now. This is one area where US could regain leadership in battery tech. 🔗⤵️ 🔌🚗 🔌💡

Jesse D. Jenkins
@jessedjenkins.com

The US Department of Energy approved an $8.6 million grant that will allow the nation’s first utility-led geothermal heating and cooling network (in MA) to double in size. www.canarymedia.com/articles/uti... 🔌💡

canarymedia.comFirst utility-owned geothermal network to double in size with DOE…The $8.6 million grant for Eversource’s pioneering project in Framingham, Massachusetts, is a rare win for renewable energy under the Trump administration.
Jesse D. Jenkins
@jessedjenkins.com

New Jersey's legislature is considering clarifying E-bikes as motorized vehicles requiring license, registration and insurance. That is nuts and would deny a huge range of people an ideal and affordable mobility solution. A terrible idea. share.google/HGvRZ77w9SqE... 🔌💡

share.googleCritics oppose plan for new e-bike regulations in NJ • New Jersey MonitorBike enthusiasts oppose a bill that would do away with the state's three-tier system for classifying electric and motorized bikes.
Jesse D. Jenkins
@jessedjenkins.com

A flexible approach with “bring-your-own-capacity” could connect data centers faster and save hundreds of millions in system supply costs, says a report from Camus, encoord and Princeton | Utility Dive share.google/9HgK3R5h3KYh... 🔌💡

share.googleFlexible connections and BYOC could reduce data center burden: reportA flexible approach with “bring-your-own-capacity” could connect data centers faster and save hundreds of millions in system supply costs, says a report from Camus, encoord and Princeton University’s ...
Jesse D. Jenkins
@jessedjenkins.com

Closed loop (Eavor) and enhanced geothermal (Fervo) technologies, both of which are now operating commercially, can expand geothermal from a gigawatt-scale resource available in just a few places to a terawatt-scale resource available practically everywhere! #Upshift

Jesse D. Jenkins@jessedjenkins.com

The WSJ reports on the historic news yesterday that Eavor has begun operations of the first commercial-scale multilateral closed loop geotherm power project in the world! It's not every day that a new power tech has its "world's first" moment. Don't miss this www.wsj.com/articles/a-g... 🔌💡

wsj.comExclusive | A Geothermal Company Wants to Use New Technology to Heat an Old German TownA project in Bavaria is harnessing high temperatures from deep beneath the earth to provide a community with warmth in the winter and to power the local grid in the summer.
Jesse D. Jenkins
@jessedjenkins.com

The WSJ reports on the historic news yesterday that Eavor has begun operations of the first commercial-scale multilateral closed loop geotherm power project in the world! It's not every day that a new power tech has its "world's first" moment. Don't miss this www.wsj.com/articles/a-g... 🔌💡

wsj.comExclusive | A Geothermal Company Wants to Use New Technology to Heat an Old German TownA project in Bavaria is harnessing high temperatures from deep beneath the earth to provide a community with warmth in the winter and to power the local grid in the summer.
Jesse D. Jenkins
@jessedjenkins.com

A huge milestone in new energy technology: as of today, Eavor Technologies is producing clean power (and heat) with the first commercial, utility-scale multilateral closed-loop geothermal project in the world! Congratulations to the whole Eavor team. More details via the link below. 🔌 💡

Jesse D. Jenkins reposted

Heatmap News
@heatmap.news

New on SHIFT KEY: 2025 has been a wild and wacky year for climate policy. What did @robinsonmeyer.bsky.social and @jessedjenkins.com get right about what to expect — and what did they get wrong? Listen to the full episode here or wherever you get your podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/s...

podcasts.apple.comThe Biggest Lessons of a Not-So-Great Year for Climate PolicyPodcast Episode · Shift Key with Robinson Meyer and Jesse Jenkins · 12/03/2025 · 1h 1m
Jesse D. Jenkins
@jessedjenkins.com

This week on SHIFT KEY, it's 2025 Wrapped. How cold are our old hot takes? What did we get right and wrong on the biggest energy transition news stories of the year? Listen wherever you get your podcasts.

This post is unavailable.
Jesse D. Jenkins
@jessedjenkins.com

How do we connect data centers to the grid quickly and avoid driving up costs for other electricity consumers? The solution: a 2-part combo of flexible interconnection agreements & bring-your-own-capacity (BYOC) arrangements, according to a new report out today from Camus, my ZERO Lab, and encoord.

View full thread
Jesse D. Jenkins
@jessedjenkins.com

2. How BYOC contracts (where data centers bilaterally procure new capacity to serve their firm demand) can avoid cost impacts to other consumers — while both can accelerate time to power by years.

Jesse D. Jenkins
@jessedjenkins.com

This was a great, collaborative effort, and I think this report has something for just about everyone following the data center and energy story (or living it!). Note: this work was sponsored by Google

Jesse D. Jenkins
@jessedjenkins.com

How do we connect data centers to the grid quickly and avoid driving up costs for other electricity consumers? The solution: a 2-part combo of flexible interconnection agreements & bring-your-own-capacity (BYOC) arrangements, according to a new report out today from Camus, my ZERO Lab, and encoord.

Jesse D. Jenkins
@jessedjenkins.com

In this report www.camus.energy/flexible-dat... we use an ensemble of realistic grid models to show: 1. How "conditional firm" transmission service (where a portion of data center demand is flexible or can be served by on-site resources) can avoid costly, poorly used grid upgrades and;

camus.energyFlexible Data Centers: Research ReportResearch by Camus, encoord, & Princeton ZERO Lab shows that flexibility unlocks faster data center interconnections and helps internalize 100% of system costs.
Jesse D. Jenkins
@jessedjenkins.com

The first batteries rolled off the production line at Toyota’s new $14 billion battery plant in Liberty, North Carolina. The plant will produce batteries for hybrid, plug-in hybrid & electric models, which Toyota plans to make up 70% of its sales by 2030 electrek.co/2025/11/17/t... 🔌💡 🔌🚗

electrek.coToyota's 1,850-acre EV battery plant is live, but the company says this is just the startToyota’s $14 billion US battery plant is now up and running. The mega site spans 1,850 acres, or about 121...