Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Eric Williams @williamsforoppd.bsky.social · 4h

if you see this quote with the energy u bring to blue sky #EV #RipIt

Eric Williams @williamsforoppd.bsky.social · 15h

There are FAR more acres currently available and producing biofuels than will be “needed” for applications than can not be replaced by cleaner, more efficient energy systems.

Eric Williams @williamsforoppd.bsky.social · 15h

Unfortunately, the current administration is working to stop that. This is preventing inexpensive new energy from coming online when we have rapidly growing demand.

bsky.app/profile/jael...

jael holzman @jael.bsky.social · 1d

SCOOP: The Bureau of Land Management says the largest solar project in Nevada — the Esmeralda 7 mega-farm — has been canceled

The news was quietly dropped via a sudden website update with no public word from any of the companies involved or a statement from the agency

@heatmap.news

Esmeralda 7 Solar Project Has Been Canceled, BLM Says

It would have delivered a gargantuan 6.2 gigawatts of power.

heatmap.news

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Eric Williams @williamsforoppd.bsky.social · 1d

For more on this subject @mikegrunwald.bsky.social wrote an excellent book about the overlap between land, food, and energy.

www.simonandschuster.com/books/We-Are...

We Are Eating the Earth

From the author of New York Times bestseller The New New Deal, a groundbreaking piece of reportage from the trenches of the next climate war: the f...

www.simonandschuster.com

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Eric Williams @williamsforoppd.bsky.social · 1d

Talking about 300x more miles per acre on Solar + EV than ethanol + ICE… is my love language.

Calculations vary slightly, but the conclusion is the same: solar is better on all measurable metrics than corn ethanol. No matter how “prime” the farmland is.

Kevin J. CREATURE @kevinjkircher.com · 1d

Over 40% of corn grown in Indiana is used to make ethanol that cars burn. One acre of corn yields about 16,500 vehicle-miles per year of ethanol, which sounds high until you realize that one acre of solar yields about 2,700,000 vehicle-miles per year: 16,000% more driving for a given plot of land.

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Eric Williams @williamsforoppd.bsky.social · 4d

Actions have consequences.

FAFO

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Eric Williams @williamsforoppd.bsky.social · 8d

Well that’s not ominous at all…

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Eric Williams @williamsforoppd.bsky.social · 22d

generalstrikeus.com

The General Strike

The General strike -the people united shall never be stopped. If we strike together we can make true real change. Sign the strike card today.

generalstrikeus.com

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Reposted by Eric Williams

Jigar Shah @jigarshahdc.bsky.social · Sep 10

"We are, quite suddenly, living in a world-changing moment"

380 GW of solar deployed in the first half of the year. No other technology can deliver speed to market or anchor the load growth coming the next few years.

The US can add 100GW of rooftop solar+ storage in record time.

Global solar installations surge 64% in first half of 2025 | Ember

ember-energy.org

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Eric Williams @williamsforoppd.bsky.social · Sep 3

No problem,

"If you like your furnace, you can keep it"

That branding has an excellent track record.
/s

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Eric Williams @williamsforoppd.bsky.social · Aug 30

In action: the ridiculously higher “field to wheels” number for SolarEV compared to ethanol in ICE. Ethanol being a net LOSS compared to just using petroleum directly.

Every step of the clean electricity process is dramatically more efficient than the hydrocarbon process.

bsky.app/profile/will...

Eric Williams @williamsforoppd.bsky.social · Jul 29

Additional reminder that for a given land area needed to drive

1 mile in an ICE vehicle fueled by ethanol

you can drive

*_300_* miles in an EV powered by solar

For more, check any of the great recent podcasts where @mikegrunwald.bsky.social has discussed his book "We Are Eating the Earth."

Simon Mahan @simonmahan.bsky.social · Jul 29

Roughly 30–40% of U.S. corn production — about 30 million acres — is dedicated to ethanol. That same land area could support around 5,000 gigawatts of solar capacity, which is 3–4 times the total nameplate capacity of the entire U.S. electric grid. We don't have a land problem.

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Eric Williams @williamsforoppd.bsky.social · Aug 27

An exciting time at OPPD as AMI meter deployment is about to begin. Great to have something as helpful and critical to the clean energy transition on the on cover of our local paper.

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Eric Williams @williamsforoppd.bsky.social · Aug 23

#DumbestTimeline

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Eric Williams @williamsforoppd.bsky.social · Aug 21

Oh yah, it's gonna be great!

But I'm also going out of my way to NOT watch any trailers because modern studio marketing believes that MASSIVE visual spoilers are appropriate. I strongly disagree. I want to see... the things we all know from the book... in the theater, and not before.

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Eric Williams @williamsforoppd.bsky.social · Aug 21

A Beautifully Foolish Beandeavor

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Eric Williams @williamsforoppd.bsky.social · Aug 21

🫘
🧶
🫘
🧶
🫘

Eric Williams @williamsforoppd.bsky.social · Aug 8

👋

Eric Williams @williamsforoppd.bsky.social · Aug 6

Having younger, more dynamic leaders supporting positions aligned with a younger electorate is critical. It's also important to show respect for young people and their views, even if you don't understand or agree with them.

"Gen Z won't vote for policy I like. They're stupid."

Coldest take ever.

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Eric Williams @williamsforoppd.bsky.social · Aug 6

Any thought given to the consequences of publicly saying such broad yet also shallow things as,

"young people are stupid"

while complaining that they won't support your political positions?

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Reposted by Eric Williams

Michael Grunwald @mikegrunwald.bsky.social · Aug 6

The Trump Administration just issued a new order trying to kill solar and wind because they allegedly use too much land. But somehow this new fervor for "capacity density" won't apply to ethanol, which uses 100X as much land as solar per unit of energy.

www.eenews.net/articles/ano...

Another Burgum order coldcocks solar and wind

The Friday order by the Interior secretary on the “capacity density” of solar and wind projects is the latest in a series of restrictive moves by the Trump

www.eenews.net

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Eric Williams @williamsforoppd.bsky.social · Aug 5

I need to learn more about that history.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear...

Past projects looks to be somewhat different/smaller than what is discussed for the future. The challenges of leaving the well seems like it will make very large items/projects difficult. Time will tell.

Nuclear power in space - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

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Eric Williams @williamsforoppd.bsky.social · Aug 5

Ship use is plenty niche, rare, expensive. Start there, no need to blast extremely expensive radioactive things into space before they've been tested in a stable environment ;)

Remote military installations on land are near the top of the list for likely installations if I'm making predictions.

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Eric Williams @williamsforoppd.bsky.social · Aug 4

Happened faster than I expected. Got an out of state, political-consultant-driven text this afternoon. My first contribution to @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social was right afterward.

I'll be encouraging others to contribute $9 to signal being tired of fundraising as the primary outreach we receive.

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Eric Williams @williamsforoppd.bsky.social · Aug 4

Getting your ego bruised because you got a form letter from a show/host who you can't even be bothered to remember.

Demanding respect, and giving none.

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Eric Williams @williamsforoppd.bsky.social · Aug 4

Perhaps the most insane part...

Terry Gross is *NOT* from All Things Considered. Like... ridiculously famously from @nprfreshair.bsky.social

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