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Solar and progress on better batteries is a more consequential and useful technological revolution than AI. Should be a huge story, but there's not enough mone

Solar and progress on better batteries is a more consequential and useful technological revolution than AI. Should be a huge story, but there's not enough money to be made via speculation so it's not.

toomuchtodo 4mo ago
Nailed it. Solar, wind, and batteries are going to be the predominant form of generation in a decade, but there is no speculative benefit, so it’ll happen silently.
- ajross 4mo ago
  To be fair (and, somewhat ironically, rationally detached libertarian) that's the way it's supposed to be. We don't develop and deploy technology to make a bunch of too-online nerds rich. We develop and deploy technology to make everyone's lives better by providing goods at lower expense and lower externalized cost.
  - toomuchtodo 4mo ago
    Indeed, but wouldn't it be great if all of this capital pouring into the AI bubble went into global electrification and clean energy instead? Ah well, we'll get there eventually. https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/installed-solar-pv-capacity https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/installed-solar-pv-capaci... https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/wind-generation https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/wind-generation https://ourworldindata.org/renewable-energy https://ourworldindata.org/renewable-energy https://ourworldindata.org/electricity-mix https://ourworldindata.org/electricity-mix https://electrek.co/2026/02/23/texas-is-about-to-overtake-california-in-battery-storage/ https://electrek.co/2026/02/23/texas-is-about-to-overtake-ca... https://ember-energy.org/latest-insights/battery-storage-is-now-cheap-enough-to-unleash-indias-full-solar-potential/ https://ember-energy.org/latest-insights/battery-storage-is-... https://www.cleanenergywire.org/news/germanys-solar-installations-drop-while-new-battery-storage-hits-record https://www.cleanenergywire.org/news/germanys-solar-installa...
feelamee 4mo ago
why is it? of course now this is true. But people investing money in the future of AI, a future where AI can produce an enormous amount of goods.
- mrhottakes 4mo ago
  When will AI start producing goods?
  - onionisafruit 4mo ago
    Claude, Gemini and Grok are all doing shifts at Little Debbie’s making Swiss Rolls
    - mrhottakes 4mo ago
      Finally, AI has become useful!
jampa 4mo ago
> there's not enough money to be made via speculation I mean, there is money to be made. CATL stock (the major producer of EV batteries with 50% market share, with billions of contracts for stationary batteries) rose 48.81% over the last 6 months, for example. But I agree that news about renewables goes unnoticed. I only see news about renewables because I actively seek out channels and websites that cover it. I wonder if it is because most companies in the industry are Chinese and don't focus on PR in the West as AI companies do.
tootie 4mo ago
AI is enough of an issue. As fast as we are adding renewable capacity, demand is also growing extremely fast. We're chasing a rapidly moving target. And we're stuck in an adverse political climate for the time being as well.

toomuchtodo 4mo ago

Nailed it. Solar, wind, and batteries are going to be the predominant form of generation in a decade, but there is no speculative benefit, so it’ll happen silently.

ajross 4mo ago
To be fair (and, somewhat ironically, rationally detached libertarian) that's the way it's supposed to be. We don't develop and deploy technology to make a bunch of too-online nerds rich. We develop and deploy technology to make everyone's lives better by providing goods at lower expense and lower externalized cost.
- toomuchtodo 4mo ago
  Indeed, but wouldn't it be great if all of this capital pouring into the AI bubble went into global electrification and clean energy instead? Ah well, we'll get there eventually. https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/installed-solar-pv-capacity https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/installed-solar-pv-capaci... https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/wind-generation https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/wind-generation https://ourworldindata.org/renewable-energy https://ourworldindata.org/renewable-energy https://ourworldindata.org/electricity-mix https://ourworldindata.org/electricity-mix https://electrek.co/2026/02/23/texas-is-about-to-overtake-california-in-battery-storage/ https://electrek.co/2026/02/23/texas-is-about-to-overtake-ca... https://ember-energy.org/latest-insights/battery-storage-is-now-cheap-enough-to-unleash-indias-full-solar-potential/ https://ember-energy.org/latest-insights/battery-storage-is-... https://www.cleanenergywire.org/news/germanys-solar-installations-drop-while-new-battery-storage-hits-record https://www.cleanenergywire.org/news/germanys-solar-installa...

feelamee 4mo ago

why is it? of course now this is true. But people investing money in the future of AI, a future where AI can produce an enormous amount of goods.

mrhottakes 4mo ago
When will AI start producing goods?
- onionisafruit 4mo ago
  Claude, Gemini and Grok are all doing shifts at Little Debbie’s making Swiss Rolls
  - mrhottakes 4mo ago
    Finally, AI has become useful!

jampa 4mo ago

> there's not enough money to be made via speculation I mean, there is money to be made. CATL stock (the major producer of EV batteries with 50% market share, with billions of contracts for stationary batteries) rose 48.81% over the last 6 months, for example. But I agree that news about renewables goes unnoticed. I only see news about renewables because I actively seek out channels and websites that cover it. I wonder if it is because most companies in the industry are Chinese and don't focus on PR in the West as AI companies do.

tootie 4mo ago

AI is enough of an issue. As fast as we are adding renewable capacity, demand is also growing extremely fast. We're chasing a rapidly moving target. And we're stuck in an adverse political climate for the time being as well.