Published

2 years ago

December 11, 2023

Alice Rush

Weather Guard Lightning Tech

Big Moves in Renewables: Amazon, Adani, and IPS Drive Growth

Allen, Joel, and Phil discuss Amazon building a major new wind farm in Brazil to power its data centers and operations. Plus India’s Adani Green Energy has secured financing for an enormous 17 GW hybrid solar and wind facility. This project aims to leverage Adani’s investments in turbine and solar manufacturing. And IPS has acquired Wind Solutions in North Carolina to expand its wind turbine service capabilities.

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Allen Hall: I’m Allen Hall, president of Weather Guard Lightning Tech, and I’m here with the founder and CEO of Intelstor, Phil Totaro, and the chief commercial officer of Weather Guard, Joel Saxum, and this is your News Flash. News Flash is brought to you by our friends at Intelstor. If you need actionable information about renewable projects or technologies, check out Intelstor at intelstor.com.

Amazon is spurring clean energy growth in Brazil with its first major wind farm in the country. The tech giant announced a 50 megawatt project that will generate over 250 gigawatt hours of renewable power annually. The 92 million dollar wind farm will help supply Amazon’s data centers and operations in the region.

This is really interesting because Amazon, when they put these new data centers in, no matter where they are in the world, they’re trying to create renewable energy to power them, and that can be pretty complicated at times.

Philip Totaro: It can, but it’s interesting because Brazil’s a market where, even though they have recently very low PPAs if they’re guaranteeing the power offtake themselves, then it’s less of a consideration for them to have to go into, these competitive auctions and tenders for power offtake.

It’s your CapEx is pretty cheap, there’s plenty of turbine supply down there, as, as long as you want it, Vestas. But there, there’s plenty of opportunity for them to be able to do this. And obviously co locating your power generation with your load center slash data center is going to be a good move.

Brazil’s a market where you’ve got exceptionally high. Capacity factors for most of the capacity that’s installed there. So it’s it’s something that I think makes sense for me.

Joel Saxum: Yeah. It’s an interesting market down there too. Cause in Brazil, we know that the average wind turbine installed about three megawatts.

So the majority of their fleet is pretty new. And you’re seeing a lot of growth down there, right? A lot of ISPs, a lot of we have, we talk with our friends with Arthwind there about all the things that they do and the parts of the market that they know, and they’re seeing growth in the Brazilian market.

Amazon’s going down there, they’re going to install a 50 megawatt project. While it makes sense for them, the resources to maintain that project from an operations and maintenance position are starting to mature in the country as well.

Allen Hall: India’s renewable energy ambitions are charging ahead with Adani Green Energy securing over 1. 3 billion dollars in financing for a massive clean power complex. The funds will back the initial development of Adani’s planned 17 gigawatt. Hybrid wind and solar park is one of the largest project finance deals ever in Asia. And as we’re discussing COP 28, one of those items is what India is doing in terms of getting to renewable energy.

Wow, Joel, this is amazing. 17 gigawatts is a Big project.

Joel Saxum: Yeah when I saw that I had to reread it. 17 gigawatts. It’s wait a second 17 megawatt. No, that’s not that big a wind… Wait a second 17 gigawatts, right? The biggest wind farm Yeah, the biggest wind farm in the United States for scale right now is about 1 gigawatt just under 1 gigawatt there is some in the pipeline that are like 3 gigawatts and whatnot, but to go from the largest pipeline Like hybrid solar plant and renewable solar plant at three gigawatts.

You’re talking almost a six times increase in size for this one project. Fantastic undertaking by Adani, but as Phil can share with us, Adani’s making moves.

Philip Totaro: Absolutely. This one project alone gives them the opportunity to really leverage what they’ve been trying to establish in terms of their wind turbine manufacturing capacity with their new 5. 2 megawatt turbine that’s now been certified. They’ve also got some solar panel and cell manufacturing capacity that they have implemented in India as well that they’re looking to expand upon both for the domestic market as well as regional exports into Sri Lanka and some other countries.

But they have even bigger ambitions beyond this. They actually also announced recently in conjunction with COP28 that they’re putting, they’re going to commit 22 billion dollars to expand their portfolio, and in particular the portfolio of projects in India. For a 17 gigawatt project 22 billion dollars is gonna cover most, but not all of that.

And it looks like they’re now, with this 1. 38 billion that they’ve raised in debt financing, they’re starting to get other partners involved that are going to be necessary for them to. To be able to grow and expand this pipeline.

Allen Hall: Integrated Power Services, a provider of power equipment and management systems, is bolstering its wind offerings with the acquisition of North Carolina based Wind Solutions.

Wind Solutions specializes in wind turbine upgrades and components like yaw systems. Its customer base spans wind farm owner, operators, and utilities across North America. Phil, this is interesting because these two companies are complementary to one another, but they’re right next door. One in North Carolina, one in South Carolina.

A place where there’s essentially no wind turbines at the moment. But yet, a lot of the technology in wind is coming out of those, Atlantic States.

Philip Totaro: It’s again, like we’ve talked about on, the Uptime podcast and on Newsflash before, there are companies that are making it a point to either kind of vertically integrate or partner with other companies that might have seemed outside the normal scope for IPS to partner with an independent service provider and refurb company.

Is I think important for IPS because they’re seeing a growing demand and this is an area of business where, they want to be able to provide refurbishment services on their coupling, slip rings, et cetera, everything that IPS supplies. So I think it’s a good move strategically and it’s probably not the last one that either IPS could make, or you could also see other supply chain companies potentially getting kind of formal partnerships or other M& A deals established with independent service provider companies.

Joel Saxum: Another thing that they’re taking advantage of here that and not having to fight with the Midwest, because you think normally, hey, when company going to be the Midwest wind factory somewhere along there in the supply chain corridor, basically, they’re not fighting for workforce, right? South Carolina, North Carolina, that whole area that workforce is not dedicated to, the wind industry, or we’re trying to grab technicians are trying to do this.

They have their own workforce. They have their own people, their own educational system and stuff over there. That’s actually a good move on their part as well.

Big Moves in Renewables: Amazon, Adani, and IPS Drive Growth

Renewable Energy

Dumbing Down America

Published

7 hours ago

March 2, 2026

Alice Rush

There is only one way for Republicans to remain in power, and that is to make more MAGA idiots.

Education is kryptonite to ignorance.

Dumbing Down America

Renewable Energy

What Obama Did Better than Trump, But Let’s Talk about Environmental Progress

Published

8 hours ago

March 2, 2026

Alice Rush

The answer to the question at left fully would take me a several days. But for the sake of brevity, let’s focus on the environment.

To facilitate North America’s coming together to clean up its electricity grid, President Obama announced the partnership that the U.S. made with Canada and Mexico. The goal: 50% clean energy by 2025, facilitated by transmitting large amounts of power between the three countries as required to maximize the penetration of renewable energy.

For those who may not have noticed Obama’s other accomplishments regarding the environment, I offer the following, from PleaseCutTheCrap.com.

Now, how much of this is this still in place, after Trump’s have taken a wrecking ball to environmental responsibility to further enrich his billionaire donors? Little if any, I’m sure.

Addressed the Environment While Dealing with Energy Needs

Doubled federal spending on clean energy research. http://bit.ly/iN0sCE

Pushed through a tax credit to help people buy plug-in hybrid cars. http://bit.ly/j8UP5Y

Created a program to develop renewable energy projects on the waters of our Outer Continental Shelf that will produce electricity from wind, wave, and ocean currents. http://1.usa.gov/fgfRWq

Reengaged in the climate change and greenhouse gas emissions agreements talks, and proposed one himself. He also addressed the U.N. Climate Change Conference, officially reversing the Bush era stance that climate change was a “hoax.” http://bit.ly/dX6Vj3 http://bit.ly/fE2PxK http://nyti.ms/hfeqvv

Fully supported the initial phase of the creation of a legally-binding treaty to reduce mercury emissions worldwide. http://bit.ly/eJ6QOO

Required states to provide incentives to utilities to reduce their energy consumption. http://bit.ly/lBhk7P

Under Obama, our dependence on foreign oil has dropped to its lowest rate since 1985, and continues to drop. http://1.usa.gov/1p6kTUy

Meanwhile, oil consumption is way down because of reduced driving and higher mileage standards. http://ti.me/1z4HFG8

Improved siting, review and permitting stations for power plants, in an attempt to seriously improve the nation’s electric grid. http://1.usa.gov/1l8zNqn

Reengaged in a number of treaties and agreements designed to protect the Antarctic. http://bit.ly/fzQUFO

Created tax write-offs for purchases of hybrid and electric vehicles. http://bit.ly/glCukV

Established a quadrennial review of our energy infrastructure, to encourage a modernization of the grid, and to encourage the transition away from fossil fuel use. http://1.usa.gov/1nx2oMo

Mandated that federal government fleet purchases be for fuel-efficient American vehicles, and encouraged that federal agencies support experimental, fuel-efficient vehicles. http://1.usa.gov/hmUSbk http://1.usa.gov/fLWq5c http://bit.ly/h5KZqy

Encouraged BP to pay $20 billion to establish Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund, to reduce the need for taxpayer funds to be used for compensation and clean up. http://wapo.st/ds2BxT (Note: it took 20 years to get $1.3 billion for the Exxon Valdez spill. )

Oversaw and pushed through an amendment to the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 authorizing advances from Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. http://1.usa.gov/yTRYVo

Actively tried to amend the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 to eliminate the liability limits for those companies responsible for large oil spills. http://nyti.ms/bxjDi3

Became the first President to simply say “Climate Change is a fact,” and set up the first federal government protocols for dealing with the impacts of climate change. http://1.usa.gov/1b7V67B

Initiated Criminal and Civil inquiries into the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. http://nyti.ms/bVuB7a

Asserted federal legal supremacy to bar Texas from authorizing new refinery permits on its own.http://bit.ly/ww8eMd

Set up new, stricter standards limiting power plant emissions. http://1.usa.gov/1mML2M3

Strengthened the Endangered Species Act. http://bit.ly/hscjsH

Strengthened protection for wildlife, and expanded enforcement of laws against wildlife trafficking. http://1.usa.gov/1fce1Ai

Obama EPA improved boiler safety standards to improve air quality, and save 6500 lives per year. http://bit.ly/jYH7nt

Through the EPA, attemped to take steps to severely limit the use of antibiotics in livestock feed, to increase their efficacy in humans. http://bit.ly/fBuWd2

Through new EPA regulations, he created a pretext for closing the dirtiest power plants in the country, by limiting emissions of mercury and other toxic gasses. http://bit.ly/rQCIgA

Increased funding for National Parks and Forests by 10% http://bit.ly/fbJPjY

Announced greatly improved commercial fuel efficiency standards. http://1.usa.gov/oQiC1K

Announced a huge increase in average fuel economy standards from 27.5mpg in 2010 to 35.5mpg starting in 2016 and 54.5 starting in 2025 http://1.usa.gov/qtghsW

Facilitated investment in industrial energy efficiency to create jobs and strengthen US manufacturing while saving businesses $100 billion over a decade. http://1.usa.gov/WsIgbx

Set up the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council to oversee Gulf Coast restoration efforts after the 2010 BP oil spill. The money to fund the restoration efforts comes from fines against BP. http://1.usa.gov/Rxjb29

Engaged in the most comprehensive plan to combat climate change in a generation. http://bit.ly/13lXhET

Ordered energy plants to prepare to produce at least 15% of all energy through renewable resources like wind and solar, by 2021. http://reut.rs/fV155p

Oversaw the creation of an initiative that converts old factories and manufacturing centers into new clean technology centers. http://bit.ly/mjnq2R

Guided a 418% increase in solar power capacity between 2010 and 2014. http://bit.ly/1rHkWJC

As of May 2015, 74% of new electrical capacity was provided by solar and wind power. http://bit.ly/1T5r0LC

Bypassed Congress and ordered EPA to begin regulating and measuring carbon emissions. http://bit.ly/froaP5

Oversaw a tripling in the use of wind power to generate electricity. The US now leads the world in increased wind power capacity. http://www.worldwatch.org/node/5448

Ordered the federal government to incorporate climate resilience and climate science into all international development in which the United States engages. http://1.usa.gov/YV1EpW

Fast-tracked regulations to allow states to enact fuel efficiency standards that exceeded federal standards. http://nyti.ms/e8e94x

Fast-tracked increased fuel economy standards for vehicles beginning with the 2011 model year. It was the first time such standards had been increased in more than a decade. http://politi.co/hiaPKM

Oversaw establishment of an Energy Partnership for the Americas, to create more markets for American-made biofuels and green energy technologies. http://bit.ly/lZp73y

Obama EPA reversed a Bush-era decision to allow the largest mountaintop removal project in US history. http://bit.ly/lP3yEL

Ordered the Department of Energy to implement more aggressive efficiency standards for common household appliances. http://1.usa.gov/g3MTbu

Obama EPA ruled that excess CO2 is a pollutant. http://bit.ly/iQTSNN

Closed a deal with China to limit carbon emissions to slow down climate change. http://nyti.ms/1xzyS8K

Blocked all oil and gas drilling in Bristol Bay, Alaska, one of the most pristine environments in North America http://lat.ms/13xUVFD

Signed an Executive Order to improve environmental efforts in the Arctic region and to combat climate change by better coordinating the efforts of the 23 federal agencies operating in the area. http://usat.ly/ZEzLzE

Vetoed a bill to fast track construction of the parallel Keystone XL pipeline. http://nbcnews.to/1DVDFo7

Expanded clean water regulations to more stringently protect all of the nation’s waterways, even when states fail in their duty. http://bit.ly/1RdQpTc

Signed an Executive Order committing the federal government to lead the way in building a sustainable economy. It’s his fifth doing just that. http://1.usa.gov/1EzO2ne

Banned the use of antibiotics in food served in US Government-run cafeterias and ordered agencies to only use antibiotic-free meat. http://bit.ly/1G1vUxi http://bit.ly/1KHkl4N

Developed new rules to address climate change and to create a significant boost to clean energy. http://bit.ly/1UnQcuR

Negotiated and signed a virtually Republican-Proof global agreement on climate change, with 190 countries signing on. http://bit.ly/1RkjVG8

Became one of 196 countries that signed onto a UN Framework on Climate Change. http://unfccc.int/2860.php

Ordered a moratorium on new coal leasing on federal land, and they will examine the whole leasing process. http://wapo.st/23Q6en8