The Energy Centrist: Blog by Geoscientist Jason Eleson: Review

      This is an interesting blog by a senior geologist specializing in CCS and decarbonization. I have attended one of Jason’s excellent webinars on CCS geology, engineering, and economics. One thing that makes the blog interesting is that he will take an energy topic, current event, policy, or controversial subject, and try to analyze it and see it from three perspectives: left, right, and center. The blog is very informative and makes a good attempt to see the subjects from each perspective.

     The post on grid-scale batteries is great and digs pretty deep, giving up-to-date, realistic information about the advantages and limitations of batteries, covering costs, safety, environmental impacts, and geopolitics. Eleson gives a format to each post that acts as a comprehensive standard for evaluating the merits of a technology from a wide variety of perspectives. This includes standard headings such as Nutshell, Overview, Arguments For, Centrist Arguments, Arguments Against, Notable Quotables, Watt We Don’t Know, Our Take, Points to Ponder, What Happens Next, and Dig Deeper. It’s really a great way to organize these topics, which often have lots of pros and cons.

     The Energy Centrist is a blog by a smart guy with nuanced and evolved views of the subject matter. It seems to me to be a very good way to organize arguments and set up debates about the subjects. This is a well-thought-out energy analysis with limited bias that deserves more of our attention. I believe that such an approach will help us solve our energy problems rather than endlessly debate them based on partisanship.

     The blog is hosted on Substack for free, with donations accepted. We really need more perspectives and blogs like this. It sure beats all the heavily biased perspectives that are out there.

     Subjects covered so far in the Energy Centrist blog include batteries, natural gas powering data centers, the GHG reporting rollback, the ‘Endangerment Finding’ rollback, Atlantic hurricanes, wind power in the Trump era, small modular nuclear reactors, the attempted revival of coal power, and Chris Wright’s attempt to rewire the DOE.

     In his post about the greenhouse gas reporting rollback. Eleson warns that it is probably not a good idea. I mean, it is hard for scientists to support things like making data unavailable since it is data that supports conclusions. The idea of no longer tracking emissions, no longer collecting data on them, cannot be seen as a good move by most scientists, simply due to the fact that it decreases our knowledge about what is going on:

“Lee Zeldin has made many large, permanent structural changes during his short time at the EPA, but this one could come back to haunt him. Just as loss of wind and solar jobs will be felt by communities that had IRA-backed funding disappear (with little prospect of comparable replacement industries or jobs), so too it may be the proposed GHGRP repeal. Ironically, some of the biggest protests may come from oil and gas companies that are seeking to showcase and quantify their recent GHG reductions from things like efficiency improvements, displacing coal with natural gas as the powerplant fuel of choice and being leaders in the CCS movement. If Mr. Zeldin wants to do repeal GHGRP requirements, we believe he should be more transparent about his motives. It seems as if his primary motivation stems from a lack of concern or belief in climate change, or the negative impacts associated with it. If so, he should lead with that and keep the cost savings as a secondary goal. Other reforms he has undertaken could genuinely improve the growth prospects for many industries in the US…this does not appear to be one of them.”

This blog is highly recommended!

 

   

 

References:

 

Backup Plan or Blind Spot? The Battery Bet Revolutionizing Power: Can advanced batteries make renewable energy dependable—and affordable—for all? The Energy Centrist. Jason Eleson. September 28, 2025. Backup Plan or Blind Spot? The Battery Bet Revolutionizing Power

Turbines, Tech, and Trade-Offs: The electrifying debate over the role of natural gas in powering tomorrow's data centers. The Energy Centrist. Jason Eleson. September 21, 2025. Turbines, Tech, and Trade-Offs - The Energy Centrist

GHG Reporting Rollback: EPA'S $2.4 Billion Emission Omission: Weighing regulatory relief against the cost of losing America’s carbon compass. The Energy Centrist. Jason Eleson. September 13, 2025. GHG Reporting Rollback: EPA'S $2.4 Billion Emission Omission