Feature

Conservative voters support solar

Despite the culture war narrative, it appears that conservative voters overwhelmingly support the use of solar energy.

Conservative renewables advocacy group Energy Right recently surveyed 861 voters who identified themselves as conservative on the topic of energy affordability and solutions to stabilizing those prices, including solar PV.

In nearly every survey category, 50 percent of respondents or greater indicated that they would support solar development, especially when it benefited local agriculture, the economy, energy infrastructure and energy pricing. 58 percent said they supported increased solar development, 25 percent opposed it, and 17 percent were unsure.

This tracks with results from a similar poll conducted by First Solar where they polled 800 Republicans, Republican-leaning independents and Trump voters. A slight majority of right-leaning voters — 51 percent— surveyed said they favor the use of utility solar energy, with 30 percent opposing it and 19 percent declining to take a position.

The local public hearing in the Aqua Ohio rate cases ─ previously postponed due to severe weather ─ has been rescheduled for 5:30 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 9 at the New Albany Branch of the Columbus Metropolitan Library.

Aqua Ohio is a regulated water and sewer utility serving thousands of consumers in communities across Ohio, including residents of Franklin and Marion counties.

The utility is asking the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) to approve significant rate increases. Under Aqua’s proposal, some Franklin County consumers could see their monthly sewer bills increase by approximately $17 a month, or more than $200 per year – an increase of roughly 30% for certain consumers.

Additional details are available in Office of the Ohio Consumers’ Counsel (OCC) consumer alerts linked below.

In facing off against repression and standing firm against growing autocracy in one place or another, there’s a weird and powerful de facto alliance taking shape that’s worth learning more about: Boomers and Gen Z are at the frontlines.

With the caveat that any survey that is more self-selected than random, The Economist reported a scholarly effort by several researchers at the American University on protestors. They polled 7500 “people who signed up for the ‘Free America Walkout,’ a national protest that took place on January 20th.” Here’s what they found:

“…84 percent of respondents were female, three-quarters were college-educated, and that the media age was 71. Some 99 percent of these aging boomers, said they were supporting nonviolent civil disobedience, and 65 percent of them said they would be willing to take part themselves.”

This conservative journal notes that Republicans have absolutely noticed this phenomenon. They have a name for it: AWFULS, for affluent white female urban liberals.

Solar surpasses wind as largest renewable source

Solar and storage accounted for 72 percent of new electrical generating capacity on the U.S. grid for the first 10 months of 2025, according to a review of Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) data. Solar photovoltaics (PV) has held this position for 26 months in a row and has now edged out wind power as the largest source of renewable energy capacity on the U.S. grid.

Solar, wind, hydropower and biomass accounted for 87.2 percent of all new generating capacity while natural gas added 12.4 percent, with the remainder being oil and waste heat. Taken together, wind and solar constitute nearly one-fourth (23.79 percent) of the United States' total available installed utility-scale generating capacity. More than 25 percent of U.S. solar capacity is in the form of small-scale (rooftop) systems that are not reflected in FERC's data.

In recent weeks, public attention has turned again to a familiar but deeply consequential phrase: “federal immunity.” The term has resurfaced after ICE murdered two protestors in Minneapolis followed by Stephen Miller suggesting ICE officers are effectively untouchable by the courts.

For many Americans – particularly those who have experienced or witnessed government abuse – those words confirmed what the legal system has long signaled: accountability often stops where immunity begins.​ But the theoretical debate over immunity, that shields state actors from civil liability even when they break the law, has recently taken a tragic, human form.

Renee Good and Alex Pretti were shot and killed by ICE agents on a snowy street in Minneapolis not far from where George Floyd was murdered. As their families seek answers, they are met with the cold reality of a legal system that shields federal agents from the very laws they are sworn to uphold as long as they claim, “I feared for my safety.”  

Two Ohio State students were arrested on January 20 for protesting the presence of the Department of Homeland “Security” (DHS) on Ohio State’s campus. Good for them. Reporting suggests that DHS representatives exited early from a career fair, in response to the protest; if so, then these hero students have accomplished what Ohio State President Ted Carter refused to do: removing the regime’s unwelcome paramilitary force from our campus.

Imagine your ancestors’ burial sites being concreted over so to make way for a factory that builds killer flying robots. As surreal as this sounds, that is exactly what could happen as defense contractor Anduril, the Pentagon, and certain State of Ohio offices rush to build the Arsenal-1 factory.

Anduril’s autonomous drones may be flying over northern Pickaway County and southern Franklin County within a few short years. The defense contractor coveted the location for Arsenal-1 because it is adjacent to Rickenbacker International Airport, ten miles south of Columbus.

But the mad dash to build Arsenal-1 might not entirely be about defending freedom. It could be about slipping a fast one past our First Nations, who would demand the project be delayed or canceled altogether if Native American burials were discovered.

Minneapolis rap group Atmosphere are playing Columbus, 1-27-2026 with Kool Keith, Sage Francis, RA The Ruggedman, and Mr. Dibbs at Kemba Live. Kool Keith is performing with Ced Gee? Is this an UltraMagnetic MC’s concert? We know Atmosphere is rapper Slug and producer ANT. Atmosphere released an album called Jestures last year via their label Rhymesayers Ent. Atmosphere toured last year with Lupe Fiasco, Pharcyde, and Cypress Hill. Atmosphere is known for their live shows which showcases Slug’s penchant for humanity within humor, and an informed Hip Hop perspective.

Atmosphere’s production by ANT is either hard drums or ballads. Atmosphere are considered amongst the best underground live rap shows. Atmosphere are KRS and The Roots status live. Atmosphere are owners of a label called Rhymesayers. Rhymesayers releases music by MF Doom, Kurious, Black Starr, and Soul Position. Soul Position are Blueprint and RJD2 from Columbus, Ohio.

I’ve known Slug from Rhymesayers for decades. Is this interview about the UltraMagnetic MC’s? ICE invaded Minneapolis.  ICE killed Renee Good.

WES: What is it like in Minneapolis?

Google acquires clean energy developer

Alphabet, Google's parent company, announced last month it will acquire clean energy and data center infrastructure developer Intersect in a $4.75 billion deal expected to close in the first half of this year.

The portfolio Alphabet will acquire includes projects under construction in Texas and California.

The acquisition represents a new approach for Alphabet. In the past it had relied on utilities and independent energy developers to bring power generation online for its data center loads. Acquisition of Intersect indicates that Google plans to construct, own and manage its own clean energy power plants.

ERCOT's large load queue jumped almost 300 percent last year

And speaking of data centers, they are driving a rapid increase in the number and capacity of large load interconnection requests in the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (or ERCOT) region, according to a December report from the grid operator.

This article first appeared on Substack

I woke up shortly before 6 AM. I checked my blood pressure, took my meds, placed an order for a prescription in my pharmacy’s automatic phone system, checked my glucose (116), for which I only had to poke my finger three times this morning, and then I turned on my TV as the coffee was brewing.

I had my TV set on the multiview setting again, with the channels being MS Now, CNN, ESPN, and Fox News. Fox News had a headline about protesters surrounding ICE agents in Minneapolis. But the scene didn't show protesters surrounding ICE agents. It showed ICE in cars driving down a Minneapolis street with a few protesters throwing water bottles and snowballs at them. What stood out to me is how Fox described it, because what else was being shown on TV was ICE shooting tear gas at the protesters.