Joshua D. Rhodes
@joshdr83.bsky.social
Energy | Research Scientist @utaustin.bsky.social & @columbiauniversity.bsky.social | CTO @ideasmithsLLC | Electric Commissioner @austintexasgov | husband | dad | views my own
September 18, 2025 at 7:00 PM
“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
August 22, 2025 at 5:35 PM
“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
“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)
August 22, 2025 at 5:35 PM
“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)
“[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
August 22, 2025 at 5:35 PM
“[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
“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
August 22, 2025 at 5:35 PM
“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
“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
August 22, 2025 at 5:35 PM
“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
“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.
August 22, 2025 at 5:35 PM
“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.
“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.
August 22, 2025 at 5:35 PM
“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.
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.
txrenewables.net
See below for what they said.
August 22, 2025 at 5:35 PM
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.
txrenewables.net
See below for what they said.
Engineer mountain was just calling out to me!
June 18, 2025 at 4:15 PM
Engineer mountain was just calling out to me!
With respect to the alternative of no renewables, we find that there would be ~577 million more tons of CO2 (through 2022).
static1.squarespace.com/static/652f1...
static1.squarespace.com/static/652f1...
May 26, 2025 at 5:01 PM
With respect to the alternative of no renewables, we find that there would be ~577 million more tons of CO2 (through 2022).
static1.squarespace.com/static/652f1...
static1.squarespace.com/static/652f1...
Super cool map showing electricity, data, and datacenter infrastructure from NREL has been updated:
www.nrel.gov/docs/gen/fy2...
www.nrel.gov/docs/gen/fy2...
May 2, 2025 at 7:41 PM
Super cool map showing electricity, data, and datacenter infrastructure from NREL has been updated:
www.nrel.gov/docs/gen/fy2...
www.nrel.gov/docs/gen/fy2...
Been out for a bit to welcome this new addition to our family, really excited to be a dad! He is doing great, just working on what sleep means now ;)
April 29, 2025 at 3:59 PM
Been out for a bit to welcome this new addition to our family, really excited to be a dad! He is doing great, just working on what sleep means now ;)
ICYMI: amazing and timely map by Billy Roberts at NREL showing electricity and data infrastructure across the US!
April 10, 2025 at 1:42 PM
ICYMI: amazing and timely map by Billy Roberts at NREL showing electricity and data infrastructure across the US!
Can you believe these wind turbines? 🤣
March 18, 2025 at 9:52 PM
Can you believe these wind turbines? 🤣
March 10, 2025 at 7:52 PM
Figure 1: Figure showing the percent net electricity imports (imports less exports) as a percentage of regional annual demand for regions that border Canada. Note that positive values denote imports.
data: www.eia.gov/electricity/...
data: www.eia.gov/electricity/...
March 4, 2025 at 4:56 PM
Figure 1: Figure showing the percent net electricity imports (imports less exports) as a percentage of regional annual demand for regions that border Canada. Note that positive values denote imports.
data: www.eia.gov/electricity/...
data: www.eia.gov/electricity/...
February 24, 2025 at 6:36 PM
I’m literally drinking tea right now
January 30, 2025 at 2:22 PM
I’m literally drinking tea right now
ERCOT fuel mix from 2006 to 2024 now available:
- Natural gas above its 19-year running average of 43% to 44% in 2024.
- Solar hitting 10% of total energy generated.
- Wind holding steady %-wise, but up in absolute terms.
- The ERCOT grid is now 42% clean energy!
- Natural gas above its 19-year running average of 43% to 44% in 2024.
- Solar hitting 10% of total energy generated.
- Wind holding steady %-wise, but up in absolute terms.
- The ERCOT grid is now 42% clean energy!
January 24, 2025 at 3:18 PM
ERCOT fuel mix from 2006 to 2024 now available:
- Natural gas above its 19-year running average of 43% to 44% in 2024.
- Solar hitting 10% of total energy generated.
- Wind holding steady %-wise, but up in absolute terms.
- The ERCOT grid is now 42% clean energy!
- Natural gas above its 19-year running average of 43% to 44% in 2024.
- Solar hitting 10% of total energy generated.
- Wind holding steady %-wise, but up in absolute terms.
- The ERCOT grid is now 42% clean energy!
Hey y'all! Check out our latest report on the impact of renewables & storage in TX!
tl;dr - The current & expected fleet of renewable & energy storage projects is expected to pay almost $50B in lifetime landowner payments & local taxes! 👇
static1.squarespace.com/static/652f1...
tl;dr - The current & expected fleet of renewable & energy storage projects is expected to pay almost $50B in lifetime landowner payments & local taxes! 👇
static1.squarespace.com/static/652f1...
January 24, 2025 at 3:11 AM
Hey y'all! Check out our latest report on the impact of renewables & storage in TX!
tl;dr - The current & expected fleet of renewable & energy storage projects is expected to pay almost $50B in lifetime landowner payments & local taxes! 👇
static1.squarespace.com/static/652f1...
tl;dr - The current & expected fleet of renewable & energy storage projects is expected to pay almost $50B in lifetime landowner payments & local taxes! 👇
static1.squarespace.com/static/652f1...
ERCOT demand looking like a fun roller coaster tomorrow*!
*things should be fine
*things should be fine
January 7, 2025 at 12:55 AM
ERCOT demand looking like a fun roller coaster tomorrow*!
*things should be fine
*things should be fine
ERCOT hit a new wind record yesterday! via @gridstatus.io
January 5, 2025 at 4:25 PM
ERCOT hit a new wind record yesterday! via @gridstatus.io
