SMRs Explained: Real-World Economics, Fuel Bottlenecks, and the Race to Scale
A primer on SMRs, as in small nuclear reactors, the new bright idea for how to satisfy insatiable AI energy demand.
Read more...Category Archives: Energy markets
US (So Far) Fails to Capture Third Venezuela Tanker. What Does the US Do to Restore Its Manhood? Allow Privateers via Letters of Marque?
The US campaign against Venezuela takes a new turn as a Chinese tanker so far has successfully run away from the US Navy.
Read more...“The Truth Behind Trump’s Aggressive Venezuela Strategy”
An explanation of why US belligerence against Venezuela is not about exploiting its oil. So what is it about?
Read more...U.S. Seizes Oil Tanker Off Venezuelan Coast
Some updates on the US capture of an oil tanker that had just departed from Venezuela.
Read more...The U.S. Is Betting the Economy on ‘Scaling’ AI: Where Is the Intelligence When One Needs It?
A detailed discussion of how AI data-center investment boom is soking a societally and financially costly bubble
Read more...The Cloud’s Not Fluffy, It’s a Hot, Loud, Energy-Voracious Factory
A more detailed look at why to resist massive pressures for data center buildout and question claims of inevitability.
Read more...Car Industry Woes Intensify as US Consumers Refuse to Eat the Dog Food, China Suffers from Overcapacity
The car industry is in a world of hurt, and that has significant economic and societal implications.
Read more...TurkStream Is in Washington and Brussels’ Crosshairs, But Math to Replace the Russian Gas Doesn’t Add Up
The latest stop on the natural gas magical mystery tour: Greece, with its imports of American LNG, is declared a “gas hub” that’s going to save Ukraine this winter—and make up for southeastern Europe’s lost TurkStream supply in the future.
Read more...AI Hyperscalers Crash the Grid as Big Tech Becomes a Power Trader
Enron’s success in gaming power prices suggests that there’s reason to worry about AI hyperscalers aselectricity traders
Read more...Tom Ferguson and Nick French: Red Tech’s Political Power, Its War on Labor and the Environment
An in-depth talk between political scientist Tom Ferguson and Jacobin’s Nick French about recent big shifts, above all the rise of red tech.
Read more...The Trans-Caspian Pipeline Is Resurrected as the U.S. Plots a Return to Central Asia
The Turkish Trojan Horse pressures Russia and Iran on new fronts, but China holds dominant position.
Read more...Russia’s Choices as It Brings Ukraine to the Brink with Electricity War, Takes Pokrovsk
Even with Russia’s domination undeniable as its electricity attacks turn off power all over Ukraine, Russia still has complex choices to make.
Read more...Data Centers Spark Bipartisan Fury As Energy Costs Soar
Voters are waking up to the fact that their soaring electricity costs represent a big subsidy to data centers. What happens next?
Read more...Trump 2.0’s Eurasian Balancing Act Has Failed
Yet more case examples of Trump arrogance and aggression producing failure.
Read more...The Rising Carbon Footprint of Electricity in the United States
On the policy of increasing electricity generation without decarbonization, as in increased reliance on gas.
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