Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Alexander C. Kaufman @alexckaufman.bsky.social · 22h

Very cool to have a byline in the @newhampshirebulletin.com!

New Hampshire Bulletin @newhampshirebulletin.com · 22h

"As has been happening for years, the U.S. could continue to lose gigawatts of power as hydroelectric facilities shut down rather than absorb the high costs of relicensing — especially with cheaper competition from gas, wind, and solar." From @alexckaufman.bsky.social via @canarymedia.com

US hydropower is at a make-or-break moment • New Hampshire Bulletin

For nearly a century, the Kelley’s Falls Dam in Manchester, New Hampshire, generated as much as 2,400 megawatt-hours of electricity per year.

newhampshirebulletin.com

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Reposted by Alexander C. Kaufman

Heatmap News @heatmap.news · 22h

In this morning's Heatmap AM:

🔌 Big new renewables reports from @ember-energy.org and the IEA
⛏️ A new mining road in Alaska
🚗 And a possible, cheaper new Tesla

Here's @alexckaufman.bsky.social on all those stories and more:

Solar and Wind Overtake Coal for the First Time

On Trump’s metal nationalization spree, Tesla’s big pitch, and fusion’s challenges

heatmap.news

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Alexander C. Kaufman @alexckaufman.bsky.social · 1d

Big new feature in @technologyreview.com:

In August, I became the first journalist to visit what could be the first U.S. plant using a much greener, less water intensive process to produce lithium. It's on track to double U.S. lithium production overnight.

www.technologyreview.com/2025/10/07/1...

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Alexander C. Kaufman @alexckaufman.bsky.social · 1d

New feature up on @latitudemedia.bsky.social on how Poland's polarized politics are stymying potential for geothermal at a moment when the country needs all the clean, domestic power it can get.

www.latitudemedia.com/news/in-coal...

In coal-addicted Poland, partisan politics throttle geothermal’s growth

Could the fast-growing market for American LNG be a market for startups like Zanskar?

www.latitudemedia.com

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Alexander C. Kaufman @alexckaufman.bsky.social · 1d

My elder sister is the only person in my family who permanently left New York to build her life in Boston two decades ago, and I was really missing her this morning. If only we had high-speed rail!

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Reposted by Alexander C. Kaufman

Heatmap News @heatmap.news · 2d

“However far the pendulum swings one way, it’s likely that it’s going to swing just as far the other way.” - Colette Hirstius, president of Shell USA, on Trump's stop-work orders on offshore wind

Find more in this morning's Heatmap AM, by @alexckaufman.bsky.social

Big Oil Balks at Trump’s Offshore Wind Assault

On stronger uranium, Elon Musk’s big gamble, and Japan’s offshore headwinds

heatmap.news

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Reposted by Alexander C. Kaufman

Lyle Lewis @race2extinct.bsky.social · 3d

Shading ploughed-out sand is not “healing deserts.” True deserts and native grasslands are living systems, not empty wastelands. Solar belongs on rooftops, brownfields & already-degraded sites.
sustainabilitymag.com/articles/ren...

Renewables: Can Solar Energy Stop Desertification?

Research from China’s Qinghai province reveals solar farms in desert regions may revitalise fragile ecosystems while generating renewable energy

sustainabilitymag.com

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Alexander C. Kaufman @alexckaufman.bsky.social · 2d

Obviously Norway is blessed with vast hydro resources and LCOE is a flawed and insufficient metric for measuring the value of different energy sources but interesting to see how a LLWR compares to offshore wind or SMRs. Would be nice to see what a full system cost estimate looks like for these.

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Alexander C. Kaufman @alexckaufman.bsky.social · 3d

God bless the EIA

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Alexander C. Kaufman @alexckaufman.bsky.social · 4d

Between this and her leveraging gas and nuclear infrastructure to save some of New York’s offshore wind, Kathy Hochul seems to be managing Trump better than many blue state governors.

Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 4d

“.. Trump was blindsided by the decision to defund the police, not learning of the cuts until Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York called him on Sunday to protest the change ..”

@nytimes.com
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/03/n...

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Reposted by Alexander C. Kaufman

Heatmap News @heatmap.news · 4d

In this morning's AM briefing from @alexckaufman.bsky.social:

🫧 DOE kills West Coast hydrogen hubs
🚗 Tesla hits a sales record
🇬🇧 Tories propose scrapping landmark UK climate law

Find more on all these stories (and sign up to receive the newsletter yourself!) here:

Energy Department Kills West Coast Hydrogen Hubs

On Tesla’s record, Britain’s backtracking, and an Antarctic ice warning

heatmap.news

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Reposted by Alexander C. Kaufman

Heatmap News @heatmap.news · 6d

The government shut down at 12:01 a.m. this morning. Among the many consequences could be a slowdown in EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin's deregulatory efforts, reports @alexckaufman.bsky.social in this morning's Heatmap AM:

More on the shutdown, plus lithium and Pope news in the link below ⤵️:

Trump Takes a 5% Stake in Lithium Giant

On a potential deregulatory slowdown, community solar’s dimming, and Pope Leo on climate

heatmap.news

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Alexander C. Kaufman @alexckaufman.bsky.social · 5d

My latest feature in @canarymedia.com:

Canary Media Inc. @canarymedia.com · 6d

U.S. hydropower is at a make-or-break moment. @alexckaufman.bsky.social dives into the relicensing bureaucracy, high costs, and manufacturing atrophy that’s jeopardizing hundreds of facilities across the country.

US hydropower is at a make-or-break moment

Gigawatts of clean energy are at stake as aging hydropower plants approach deadlines for relicensing — a yearslong, often extremely expensive process.

www.canarymedia.com

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Alexander C. Kaufman @alexckaufman.bsky.social · 8d

My latest scoop for @heatmap.news

Heatmap News @heatmap.news · 8d

NEW from @alexckaufman.bsky.social: Geothermal startup XGS Energy has now completed four months of field tests, and the results are “almost too good,” says CEO Josh Prueher.

More below ⬇️

XGS Energy’s Closed-Loop Geothermal System Aces Its Field Test

The company is vying to challenge Fervo for leadership in the next-generation geothermal market.

heatmap.news

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Reposted by Alexander C. Kaufman

jael holzman @jael.bsky.social · 11d

Scoop: Trump lost the legal battle over halting the offshore Revolution Wind project after Orsted, its developer, brought reams of evidence to court alleging the government was lying about military security concerns.

It’s a sign truth can empower companies Trump targets.

Via @heatmap.news

How Trump’s Case Against Revolution Wind Fell Apart

The administration argued in the name of national defense — but Orsted had receipts.

heatmap.news

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Alexander C. Kaufman @alexckaufman.bsky.social · 11d

With its first phase of its debut Russian-made nuclear plant coming online next year, Turkey is already thinking about new financing models for its next project.

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Reposted by Alexander C. Kaufman

Clare Fieseler, PhD @fieseler.bsky.social · 12d

Trump: “We don’t do wind because wind is a disaster. It’s a very expensive joke, frankly.”

Trump may not like jokes. But if the popularity of this video is any indication, Europeans are having a laugh at him. Americans will laugh, too, as long as comedians are free to make the jokes.

My latest 👇

Can climate comedy still work? This offshore wind ad suggests it can.

The satirical video starring Samuel L. Jackson pokes fun at offshore wind disinformation right as the Trump administration is targeting both comedy and…

www.canarymedia.com

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Reposted by Alexander C. Kaufman

Heatmap News @heatmap.news · 13d

The White House Office of Management and Budget directed federal agencies to prepare to reduce personnel during a potential government shutdown.

More in this morning’s climate briefing from @alexckaufman.bsky.social.

White House Orders Agencies to Prepare for Mass Firings in a Government Shutdown

On the need for geoengineering, Britain’s retreat, and Biden’s energy chief

heatmap.news

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Reposted by Alexander C. Kaufman

Climate Jobs National Resource Center @cjnrc.org · 13d

Big news for workers in New England covered in today's @heatmap.news morning newsletter from @alexckaufman.bsky.social.

Exclusive: New England unions sign historic offshore wind agreement

Rhode Island’s biggest labor federation has brokered a deal for union workers to carry out the construction on the SouthCoast Wind project, a 2.4-gigawatt offshore turbine array — and won what the Rhode Island AFL-CIO called the first agreement in the nation guaranteeing organized labor handles all the operations and maintenance of the facility. On a panel I moderated for the Climate Jobs National Resource Center on Tuesday evening, Rhode Island’s AFL-CIO president, Patrick Crowley, told me the “labor peace agreement” will help the union organize more workers in the offshore-wind industry. “The labor movement is in this to win, and we’re not ready to give up the fight yet,” he told me. “If developers want to have a winning strategy, they have to partner with organized labor, because we’re going to make sure that, come hell or high water, we get these things built.”

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Alexander C. Kaufman @alexckaufman.bsky.social · 14d

My latest exclusive for @heatmap.news:

Heatmap News @heatmap.news · 14d

Meet the startup bringing gallium refining to the U.S.

“It’s in all the radars. It's in all the missiles. It’s in all the planes," CEO John Busbee tells @alexckaufman.bsky.social.

The Startup Trying to Wrest Gallium Production Away From China

Xerion is using molten salt to refine the key battery mineral domestically and efficiently.

heatmap.news

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Reposted by Alexander C. Kaufman

Philip Gourevitch @pgourevitch.bsky.social · 17d

More than a million NY state households are at least two months behind on payments, owing utilities close to $2 billion. And record numbers of households had their electricity or gas shut off this spring, including more than 61,000 in May…

New York Focus @nysfocus.bsky.social · 18d

Electric bills in New York are at a new high — and they’re only set to keep climbing.

Here’s why:
nysfocus.com/2025/09/18/n...

Why Your Energy Bills Are Going Up — Again

Electric bills in New York haven't been this high for a decade, and they're about to rise even more. Here's why.

nysfocus.com

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Alexander C. Kaufman @alexckaufman.bsky.social · 19d

often the algorithm extracts from you, sometimes the algorithm nourishes

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Alexander C. Kaufman @alexckaufman.bsky.social · 19d

too many Climate Week events, everyone needs to cool it

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Reposted by Alexander C. Kaufman

Latitude Media @latitudemedia.bsky.social · 19d

In an exclusive by @alexckaufman.bsky.social, Deep Isolation has struck a deal with Navarro Research & Engineering to license its patented deep borehole nuclear waste disposal tech
— potentially bringing in hundreds of thousands in annual revenue. www.latitudemedia.com/news/nuclear...

Nuclear waste startup Deep Isolation inks a deal with a major federal contractor

Exclusive: The waste disposal company will license its borehole technology to Navarro Research and Engineering.

www.latitudemedia.com

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Alexander C. Kaufman @alexckaufman.bsky.social · 22d

I'm sitting in a cafe working and watched three parents with babies in strollers negotiate opening the door for themselves to enter or exit. But one woman just showed up with a shih tzu in a dog stroller and got some woman to get up from her meal to get the door for her.

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