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John Kostyack @kostyack.bsky.social · 5h

A key part of the story is pipeline damage from freezing temps. www.urbint.com/blog/freezin...

Where Gas Pipelines Are Most at Risk for Damage from Freezing Weather

Urbint analyzed high daily temperature information for 210 U.S. cities for the last five years to find where sustained freezing occurs most frequently.

www.urbint.com

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John Kostyack @kostyack.bsky.social · 5h

Would love to see more analysis of how this behind-the-meter strategy works in light of the gas industry's long track record of outages and its vulnerability to extreme weather events. Gas is arguably more vulnerable than any other power source. www.utilitydive.com/news/gas-pow...

Gas plants ‘disproportionately vulnerable to failure,’ warns Union of Concerned Scientists report

Extreme temperatures threaten gas plants and electric reliability, particularly in regions where grid operators use simple methods to account for resource contributions, according to UCS.

www.utilitydive.com

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John Kostyack @kostyack.bsky.social · 5h

More evidence that Wall Street is all-in on this fossil-fueled data center boom: pipeline company Williams’ shares are up ~28% in the past year as it invests billions in powering data centers with behind the meter natural gas.

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John Kostyack @kostyack.bsky.social · 5h

Tech companies want "speed to power" for data centers far more than clean power. Some in the gas industry believe they can win this race w behind-the-meter natural gas produced with single-cycle turbines - which generate nearly double the GHG pollution than combined-cycle. Via @zeitlin.bsky.social

Data Centers Have Solved Their Speed-to-Power Problem — With Natural Gas

“Old economy” companies like Caterpillar and Williams are cashing in by selling smaller, less-efficient turbines to impatient developers.

heatmap.news

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John Kostyack @kostyack.bsky.social · 15h

Link to the article:

Here Are Some Of The Biggest Winners Of This Year’s AI Infrastructure Boom

These founders, CEOs and investors—from OpenAI, Oracle, Nvidia, AMD and others—keep getting richer while critics condemn their “circular deals.”

www.forbes.com

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John Kostyack @kostyack.bsky.social · 15h

Customers for AI products may be dubious, and communities & ratepayers feeling the burdens of data centers may be unhappy, but these folks think the boom is just great. @pheebini.bsky.social: 20 billionaires tied to the AI and data center boom have added >$450B to their fortunes since January 1.

Since January 1, these billionaires have gotten $460B richer due to AI and data centers.

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Reposted by John Kostyack

David Wallace-Wells @dwallacewells.bsky.social · 1d

ICE has been pulling guns on civilians, spraying tear gas in the face of protestors who film them, shooting priests with pepper spray and pellets—and, increasingly it seems, targeting journalists and others trying to document their activities. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/08/o...

Opinion | ‘ICE Goes Masked for a Single Reason’

www.nytimes.com

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John Kostyack @kostyack.bsky.social · 1d

OpenAI explains to its deal partners that there's a stock market bump anytime it does a deal, so let's monetize it together. Matt is "impressed when tech people with this ability to move markets get any tech work done." Has he looked at Chat GPT-5? Maybe the game is really all about moving markets.

Matt Levine @matt-levine.bsky.social · 3d

You already have that affinity because you were a Money Stuff fan with your dad. www.bloomberg.com/opinion/news...

OpenAI Is Good at Deals

OpenAI/AMD, Antifraud Co., M&A scoops, World Cup tickets, Gary Gensler’s cell phone and Citadel Insecurities.

www.bloomberg.com

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John Kostyack @kostyack.bsky.social · 1d

Is this what Fox News means when it says Antifa has taken over Portland?

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John Kostyack @kostyack.bsky.social · 1d

For all those who consider it your civic duty to monitor and protest rising authoritarianism, here's Apple teaming up with the Trump administration to undermine you.

Kelsey Atherton @atherton.bsky.social · 1d

'By applying protections meant for vulnerable groups to shield government actors, Apple has created — within its own ecosystem — a new kind of protected class: state power itself."

migrantinsider.com/p/scoop-appl...

SCOOP: Apple Quietly Made ICE Agents a Protected Class

Internal emails show tech giant used anti-hate-speech rules meant for minorities to block an app documenting immigration enforcement.

migrantinsider.com

Reposted by John Kostyack

Scott Horton @robertscotthorton.bsky.social · 1d

The consensus of macroeconomists globally is that the techbros and Trump are driving the markets towards a Crédit Mobilier-type meltdown in which they will profit massively, but the financial system will be devastated. www.ft.com/content/fe47...

IMF and BoE warn AI boom risks ‘abrupt’ stock market correction

Kristalina Georgieva and UK financial stability watchdog say valuations are closing in on dotcom bubble levels

www.ft.com

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John Kostyack @kostyack.bsky.social · 1d

Not surprising that the only expressions of concern are coming from financial regulators outside the US.

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John Kostyack @kostyack.bsky.social · 1d

Recall that Stargate is one of the marquee data center projects of the tech industry, rolled out with much fanfare by Trump, Altman, Ellison and those brilliant financiers of WeWork, Softbank.

Ed Zitron @edzitron.com · 1d

The craziest thing I’m chasing down: I don’t believe that stargate abilene has even close to enough power, nor is it possible for them to build it before the year 2027. They have a 200mw substation and an unfinished 350mw gas turbine plant.

They need 1GW+ and it’s still in the design phase!

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John Kostyack @kostyack.bsky.social · 1d

"The White House is offering 'concierge, white glove service' to oil, coal and other fossil fuel companies that are seeking to gain fast approval for their projects, according to an energy official, while simultaneously slowing down or blocking solar and wind projects."

White House offers ‘concierge’ service to fossil fuel firms, official says

Brittany Kelm, a senior policy adviser for the National Energy Dominance Council, detailed in a podcast how the council works to advance fossil fuel projects.

www.washingtonpost.com

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John Kostyack @kostyack.bsky.social · 1d

Using VPPs for grid reliability and ratepayer savings is a no-brainer. Who could possibly be responsible for persuading the Governor to veto this common-sense bill? Oh yes, VPPs cut into utility profits.

Jeff St John @jeffstjohn.bsky.social · 1d

California could save billions of dollars in grid and energy costs by tapping rooftop solar, batteries, EVs, and smart appliances as virtual power plants. Why did Governor Gavin Newsom veto three widely supported VPP bills meant to enable those savings?
www.canarymedia.com/articles/vir...
#energysky

Why did Newsom veto California’s virtual power plant bills?

Supporters say the bills would have helped ease the state’s energy affordability crisis while strengthening grid reliability.

www.canarymedia.com

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John Kostyack @kostyack.bsky.social · 1d

@amyaharder.bsky.social summarizes the latest DNV projections: AI power demand grows 10x over the next five years. By 2040, U.S. & Canadian data centers will account for 16% of electricity use, with 12% of that tied to AI applications. www.axios.com/newsletters/...

Axios Future of Energy

www.axios.com

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John Kostyack @kostyack.bsky.social · 1d

@jamellebouie.net: With federal troops invading Chicago, Portland and beyond, we need to (re)learn our antebellum history, when northern states lost much of their power to keep out the institution of slavery. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/08/o....

Opinion | The Second Trump Administration Is a Museum of America’s Worst Moments

www.nytimes.com

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John Kostyack @kostyack.bsky.social · 1d

Using "all of the above" framing to justify an energy policy is a really bad idea. These folks do a pretty good job of explaining why.

advait @advaitarun.bsky.social · 1d

Introducing Caravanserai, a mini-magazine for policy culture. Our first issue, about all-of-the-above energy policy, is out today!
caravanseraiforum.substack.com/p/all-of-the...

You can choose to look up—at all that is above.

Is "all-of-the-above" energy policy a smokescreen for fossil fuel lock-in? If not, why not?

caravanseraiforum.substack.com

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John Kostyack @kostyack.bsky.social · 1d

Research idea to get folks to move over here: track the ratio of "look at me" posts to ones with substantive information and insights. Can't imagine why learners would waste so much time sifting through the drek.

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John Kostyack @kostyack.bsky.social · 1d

The Trump administration is pushing "countries, financial institutions and businesses to roll back their climate change policies, using international forums ranging from the World Bank to stock market regulators." No concessions offered in return, just plain old-fashioned bullying.

US demands EU dismantle green regulations in threat to trade deal

Washington wants American companies to be exempted from rules such as having to draw up climate transition plans

www.ft.com

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John Kostyack @kostyack.bsky.social · 2d

Imagine going on $1T infrastructure spending spree, causing irreparable damage to the climate and water supplies, before you know if your product is profitable. Equity investors are now anxious, so here comes private credit & "creative partnerships" to meet the insatiable demand for cash infusions.

Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 2d

NVIDIA and OpenAi:

Concerns that their “increasingly complex and interconnected web of business transactions is artificially propping up the trillion-dollar AI boom.“

@bloomberg.com $NVDA 👀
www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...

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Reposted by John Kostyack

Matt Vespa @missionvespa.bsky.social · 3d

Still awaiting signature - commonsense legislation supported by over 90% of CA voters that will make sure utilities don't pass the costs of their lobbying and image polishing into energy bills.

@gavinnewsom.bsky.social: let’s save people money and sign #AB1167!

earthjustice.org/experts/matt...

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John Kostyack @kostyack.bsky.social · 2d

Education Sec'y McMahon is telling University of Virginia & other universities that they must commit to not "purposefully punish, belittle, and even spark violence against conservative ideas." UVA is now monitoring Truth Social to figure out what conservative means.

Why This Essay Could Cause the University of Virginia to Shut Down

How Linda McMahon’s latest “compact” would do deep and permanent harm to American higher education

newrepublic.com

Reposted by John Kostyack

Clare Fieseler, PhD @fieseler.bsky.social · 2d

Lots of people think Dems are forcing these dirty coal plants to “retire” with policies and regs.

It’s simply not true!

Coal plants are incredibly inefficient to run compared to gas and renewables. This New England plant didn’t “retire” — the company closed it because it was too expensive!

Canary Media Inc. @canarymedia.com · 2d

New England has said its final goodbye to coal power. Here’s how a transition to gas — and now renewables — helped shut its last plant down early.

New England’s final coal plant shuts down years ahead of schedule

Poor economics drove the aging New Hampshire plant offline three years early, even as the Trump administration pushes to revitalize coal.

www.canarymedia.com

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John Kostyack @kostyack.bsky.social · 2d

State regulators are charged with protecting ratepayers from the massive cost increases that utilities are incentivized the inflict on them. EEI calls them "partners," but a partnership is the last thing we need right now as electricity rates skyrocket.

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