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Joshua D. Rhodes @joshdr83.bsky.social · 20d

The large load queue in ERCOT continues to be... large...

www.ercot.com/files/docs/2...

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Joshua D. Rhodes @joshdr83.bsky.social · Aug 26

In the desert?

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Joshua D. Rhodes @joshdr83.bsky.social · Aug 22

“My family has a lot of heritage in this land, but my kids don’t want to ranch, so other ways of earning income from the land are important to keeping it in the family.”– George Riggs, Former Pecos County Commissioner

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Joshua D. Rhodes @joshdr83.bsky.social · Aug 22

“The truth is that the sheep that graze on the grass that grows under the solar panels are more agriculturally productive than the dryland cotton I used to run on it!” - Allen Gully (farms over 3,000 acres on the edge of San Angelo)

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Joshua D. Rhodes @joshdr83.bsky.social · Aug 22

“[Because of the better roads that the wind farm put in place, I can] make it clear across the ranch in just a few minutes along the same path that used to take me twenty.” - Former Republican Texas State Representative John E. Davis

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Joshua D. Rhodes @joshdr83.bsky.social · Aug 22

“It’s great to see these types of projects coming to our region...For smaller, rural schools, the added revenue can make a significant difference – especially for funding enrichment and construction projects.”- Michael Davis, Former Superintendent for Cushing ISD

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Joshua D. Rhodes @joshdr83.bsky.social · Aug 22

“Wind energy sales produce a passive income that does not materially interfere with the AG operations or other uses of the property. In times of drought, electric power sales continue to create rainfall-independent financial stability... – Michael Manning, Bar T-Black Angus Ranch

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Joshua D. Rhodes @joshdr83.bsky.social · Aug 22

“The cows love wind turbines, they walk around them all day and follow the shadows that they cast. We now have good roads on our land that make it easier to take care of our cattle. I wish we had more of them on our land…”– Louis Brooks Jr., Louis Brooks Ranch, LTD.

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Joshua D. Rhodes @joshdr83.bsky.social · Aug 22

“Wind has been a Godsend – it allows flexibility in budgeting by providing a constant source of revenues that you know will be there when you need them.” — Don Allred, Former Oldham County Judge.

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Joshua D. Rhodes @joshdr83.bsky.social · Aug 22

What do real landowners and local officials think about wind and solar projects? We asked them in our last report that focused on Texas:

txrenewables.net

See below for what they said.

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Joshua D. Rhodes @joshdr83.bsky.social · Aug 19

“We’re in an energy crunch,” said Joshua Rhodes, an electricity expert and research scientist at the University of Texas at Austin. “We should be doubling down on everything we can build right now. Making things more expensive is antithetical to that.”

www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Texas Shows How Trump’s Anti-Green Moves Threaten a Red Economy

The state faces an energy crunch, but Trump’s budget bill will hurt renewable power — Texas’ fastest growing electricity source.

www.bloomberg.com

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Joshua D. Rhodes @joshdr83.bsky.social · Aug 1

It's AI vs. Al for cheap power

“Ultimately, this is about energy,” said Matt Meenan, VP of external affairs for the Aluminum Association.

“I think we’re going to have a hard time becoming fully self-sufficient for primary Al in the U.S.”

www.canarymedia.com/articles/cle...

US aluminum producers need cheap, clean power. That may be tough to…

Century Aluminum and Emirates Global Aluminium want to build the nation’s first smelters in decades, but must compete with data centers for a limited…

www.canarymedia.com

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Joshua D. Rhodes @joshdr83.bsky.social · Jul 30

It is Texas! #knowthyaudience

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Joshua D. Rhodes @joshdr83.bsky.social · Jul 30

On why the cheapest form of energy does well in Texas:

“[Texas] set up its markets to be cut-throat,” says Joshua Rhodes, a research scientist at [UT Austin]

By contrast, in many other parts of the US, there is no competition at all, says Rhodes.

www.telegraph.co.uk/gift/80aac07...

Why Texas’s ‘cut-throat’ approach to net zero is paying off

Trump’s anti-green agenda has put him on an unlikely collision course with supporters in the state

www.telegraph.co.uk

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Reposted by Joshua D. Rhodes

crupshaw.bsky.social @crupshaw.bsky.social · Jun 30

Oh hey, IdeaSmiths CTO @joshdr83.bsky.social did this analysis!

The short version: voting to attack wind and solar is a vote to raise electricity prices and escalate chances of outages and shortfalls.

Senator Sheldon Whitehouse @whitehouse.senate.gov · Jun 30

Another study backs my argument last night that Cruz and Cornyn are voting to raise electricity prices for Texans with their attack on clean energy.

PRESS RELEASE: Renewables and Storage Will Save Texans $115 Billion Over the Next 15 Years - Texas Energy Buyers Alliance

Austin, Texas (February 10, 2025) — A Texas Energy Buyers Alliance (TEBA) report released today shows that if the Texas Legislature passes laws that slow or

txenergybuyers.com

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Joshua D. Rhodes @joshdr83.bsky.social · Jun 18

Engineer mountain was just calling out to me!

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Reposted by Joshua D. Rhodes

Claire Hao @clairehao.bsky.social · Jun 3

It’s official: Texas bills targeting solar and wind power are dead.

Here's a recap of the arguments that worked, as the renewable energy industry tries the same appeals to lobby against Trump's "big, beautiful bill." www.houstonchronicle.com/business/ene...

Renewable energy survived Texas attacks. Its future now depends on Trump.

Texas bills targeting solar and wind power are dead, so the state’s flourishing renewable energy industry remains alive and well — for now.

www.houstonchronicle.com

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Reposted by Joshua D. Rhodes

First Solar, Inc. @firstsolar.com · Jun 3

Investing in US technology and US supply chains delivers benefits that reach far and wide.

"I'm a husband, father, and softball coach, and welding puts food on the table, smoked ribs on the grill." – Lee Evans, Welder, Grenzebach, Newnan, GA.

Learn more: bit.ly/43vszfW

#AmericasSolarCompany

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Joshua D. Rhodes @joshdr83.bsky.social · Jun 2

Happy Texas Sine Die to those who celebrate!

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Joshua D. Rhodes @joshdr83.bsky.social · May 27

You know what comes after A for Abundance? B for Billions of dollars of local taxes and landowner payments $50B to be approximate.

static1.squarespace.com/static/652f1...

static1.squarespace.com

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Joshua D. Rhodes @joshdr83.bsky.social · May 27

Oh man, that would be awesome

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Joshua D. Rhodes @joshdr83.bsky.social · May 27

It’s suburban Rs vs. urban Ds + rural Rs. Most of the bad stuff didn’t actually make it though, just made a bunch of splashy headlines.

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Joshua D. Rhodes @joshdr83.bsky.social · May 27

Need to read book, did they talk to a Texan? @costasamaras.com

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Joshua D. Rhodes @joshdr83.bsky.social · May 27

Connect and manage + b/c of no state income tax that gets redistributed, most local coffers are filled by higher property taxes. This means tax revenues from renewables stay local, which can help with local support.

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Joshua D. Rhodes @joshdr83.bsky.social · May 26

Thanks!

Joshua in print, Josh over beers ;)