Michael C. Strand

If CA wants to get serious about making electric bills affordable, there are some actually legit bills this year that would do that. AB 825, SB 254, SB 332, AB 1167 and SB 24. AB 942, however, would do nothing for affordability, and is designed to simply undermine confidence in distributed generation policies - below we discuss what this means for multifamily renters, who are often forgotten as a major section of the population who are starting to have access to the benefits of solar. https://lnkd.in/gf8U5NQ5

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In a strategic shift blending legacy energy with future tech needs, Wyoming has opened its first new coal mine in decades with a twist: rare earth elements (REEs) are now part of the equation. Operated by Ramaco Resources, the Brook Mine near Sheridan is pioneering a dual-use model—producing both coal and rare earths vital for smartphones, EVs, wind turbines, and military gear. “This isn’t your grandfather’s coal mine,” said Ramaco CEO Randall Atkins. “We’re bridging coal’s carbon potential with the green tech economy.” The site positions Wyoming not just as a coal state, but as a key player in America’s quest for critical mineral independence. The mine holds promise for neodymium, praseodymium, and dysprosium—essential rare earths that could ease U.S. reliance on Chinese imports. While awaiting regulatory approval for full-scale extraction, the project is already being hailed as a national security asset and a boost to Wyoming’s waning energy sector. Governor Mark Gordon called it a “win for innovation and national interest.” Yet environmental groups warn of potential ecological risks, urging strict oversight for sustainable extraction. With rare earth demand climbing, Wyoming’s gamble could redefine its economic legacy—and America’s energy future. Swifteradio.com #swifteradio #walltowall #diasporaradio #ImmigrantRadio #africansindiaspora #nigeriansindiaspora #DiasporaImmigrant

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Put City Hall on the Clock: 60 Days Means 60 Days Anyone who has tried to build broadband or other linear infrastructure knows the truth: local permitting is broken. As Broadband Breakfast recently reported (link below), a coalition of industry groups has urged the Federal Communications Commission and Brendan Carr to adopt a 60-day “shot clock” for local permits and rights-of-way (ROW). If a permitting authority fails to act within 60 days, the permit should be deemed granted and construction should be allowed to proceed. Groups advocating for this include USTelecom | The Broadband Association, CTIA, INCOMPAS, and others representing competitive carriers and infrastructure builders. I sit on the Executive Committee of INCOMPAS, and we’ve been actively pushing for these changes because the current system takes far too long and adds unnecessary cost. It also acts as a barrier to entry, entrenching incumbent providers (translation: more years of crappy cable and internet service). ROW is ROW - including crossings. This rule must apply not only to municipal streets, but also to permits required from state agencies, federal agencies, and quasi-governmental entities, including: Railroads and light rail Canals and waterways Gas pipelines Electrical transmission and distribution lines These entities will push back hard because the permitting system has become a profitable racket. Unsurprisingly, technocrats also see permitting authority as a tool to control the networks, and the information moving across them. A shot clock only works if it has teeth: Automatic approval after 60 days Monetary penalties for missed deadlines Attorney fees if litigation is required Permitting agencies should also be limited to charging fees that cover their actual, direct costs of review and inspection and not using permitting as a profit center or a substitute tax. Building underground utilities is not risk-free. It never has been. But we do it because it’s necessary and important work. If you want a perfectly safe job, update spreadsheets about spreadsheets, attend meetings about meetings, or manage the permitting queue from home in sweatpants. If you want a sense of accomplishment, work on a directional boring crew. Real safety matters. Manufactured safety - the kind used to justify armies of flaggers, redundant inspectors, inflated hourly rates, excessive restoration requirements, or open-ended delays - does not. “Safety” should not be a revenue strategy or a way to backfill decades of neglected infrastructure under the guise of public protection. If a project meets established engineering and safety standards, agencies and infrastructure owners should not be allowed to invent bespoke requirements whose primary purpose is delay, leverage, or fee extraction. Safety protects people. Permitting games protects budgets. https://lnkd.in/gyRrVMPk

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The Senate’s draft of the One Big Beautiful Act may soften some of the House bill’s worst elements—but it still puts the future of community solar and distributed energy at serious risk. This version would stall billions in private investment, disrupt financing pathways, and limit America's ability to meet rising energy demand with affordable, reliable, local solutions. At a time when we need to accelerate clean energy deployment, this bill moves us in the wrong direction. Read CCSA’s full statement: https://lnkd.in/gYu_ru8Y

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Solar plus storage costs are plunging with remarkable speed, which is why they are enjoying explosive growth in many countries including China and India. https://lnkd.in/gfz9DUNP More than nine in 10 renewable power projects commissioned in 2024 were less expensive than their fossil fuel equivalent. Solar was 41% cheaper on average and land wind 53% cheaper. That allowed China to cut emissions during the first half of 2025, with a nearly 23% rise in clean energy generation as higher volumes of wind and solar reduced the output from fossil fuels. India set a new record for solar and wind in first six months of 2025. Even in Trump's USA, wind plus solar outproduced coal in May 2025, and also outproduced nuclear for the first time: https://lnkd.in/g_-Mq-CJ

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The Supreme Court rejected claims that the FCC doesn't have authority to operate the Universal Service Fund. That means status quo for now, but the funding mechanism is clearly broken and Congress needs to move forward with the bills pending in the House and Senate to spread funding to more than telecom providers.

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A notable FCC filing this past week from the president of the Advanced Television Systems Committee, Inc. Madeleine Noland told the FCC that the ATSC 3.0 standard does not require broadcasters to encrypt signals or use any specific DRM system. The distinction between what is allowed and what is required matters as regulators weigh consumer impact during the ATSC 1.0 to 3.0 transition. See more NextGen TV coverage from Antenna Land. https://lnkd.in/e8vXacjZ #NEXTGENTV #BroadcastPolicy #FCC

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A new House proposal would divert BEAD funds into LEOS and FWA hands for equipment and to "buy down" the service cost for the first year. Representative Taylor of Ohio says this will be a stopgap measure while fiber networks are built. But there are two problems with this approach. First, if these technologies are providing 100x20 service to an area, why would anyone build fiber? This will result in these areas NEVER getting fiber and falling behind in the future. Plus, would these technologies commit to serving 100% of the locations in an area (a BEAD requirement)? Second, if a majority of locations take the FWA or LEOS service, they may be unwilling to change over to fiber once it is available. This means the business case for fiber in Rural areas gets worse, not better. A stopgap, in this case, means a future of Internet haves and have nots in Rural America, which is what we have today. Let's focus on getting fiber out to everyone where it makes economic sense and not force folks to take a lesser service just because it is cheap and fast. https://lnkd.in/gez4kjbe

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Latest connections reform updates from NESO's webinar this afternoon, key points from my POV: ⚡Advancement: for projects which requested advancement from Phase 2 to Phase 1, 240GW applied and only 3GW(!) was successful. The only technologies that had any room in Phase 1 was solar at distribution and a 3-4 zones for onshore wind. Other than that, Phase 1 largely full hence not much opps for advancement. General requests for an earlier connection dates are still being addressed in the coming months as TOs/DNOs go through their engineering and offers processes. 📅 Non-firm / firm split: re-iteration that Gate 2, Phase 2 notifications relate to the firm / enduring-non-firm connection date of the project. A project can still connect in Phase 1 if it has an interim/temporary non-firm connection but TBC on if this is possible or what this date could be - again TO/DNO dependent as with advancement. ❓ Capacity re-allocation: highlighting that there is a capacity re-allocation process in the CNDM (see section 7) - Gate 2 offer terminations will mean this capacity becomes available in a future Gate 2 window, more detail on that incoming 👇 ⏭️ Coming up next: - NESO will publish more detail what capacities are left available in which zones, what substitutions were made & re-balancing in the next few days - hopefully some v. welcome transparency - With a lot hinging on TOs/DNOs now, joint webinar with NESO and TOs/DNOs coming in the new year - Queue management guidance to also be revised shortly to reflect an exceptions process for projects not being able to meet M5-M8 due to the delayed roll out of G2tWQ

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