Energy & Renewables

Explore clean energy solutions, solar policy, battery storage, and energy efficiency improvements. ROI-focused, regenerative energy systems.

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    Sun Going Down on Renewable Energy Tax Credits (30% ITC)

    Act Before the 30% ITC Sunset The 30% Investment Tax Credit (ITC) for solar energy was once set to shine until 2037. Under the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB), that daylight is fading fast. What began as a decade-long runway has become a short sprint — especially for homeowners and businesses trying to lock in the full benefit of America’s renewable energy tax credits.For homeowners, the cutoff is clear: systems must be installed and operational…

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    Elias’s Future Farm: Building a Sustainable Legacy for 100 Years and Beyond

    From Choices to Legacy: the Future Sustainable Farm Elias, the Ohio farmer we met in recent scenario planning case studies, faces choices that mirror the world’s energy dilemmas: drilling for oil and gas, planting corn for ethanol, building solar and wind farms, or adopting regenerative agriculture. Each path offers rewards and risks, but as Elias looks beyond contracts and crop cycles, his thinking shifts to the future sustainable farm and a carbon-negative future. He is…

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    The Farmer’s Choice: Shell-Inspired Scenarios for a Carbon-Negative Future (1/2)

    The Farmer’s Dilemma Elias, a farmer in eastern Ohio, stands at the edge of his fields with competing futures before him. Is there a carbon-negative future ahead? His corn stretches toward the horizon, but beneath the soil lie the Utica and Marcellus Shale formations, some of the richest fossil reserves in North America. He could lease to an oil company tomorrow and receive an upfront check larger than any harvest he has ever sold. Yet…

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    From Farm to Future: Four Scenarios for a Carbon-Negative World (2/2)

    Revisiting the Farmer’s Choice In Part 1 of this series, we introduced Elias, a farmer in eastern Ohio whose land sits at the crossroads of energy and agriculture. Beneath his soil lie the Utica and Marcellus Shale formations, tempting him with oil and gas leases. Above his fields stretch skies fit for solar panels and wind turbines. On the ground itself, his soil could be managed regeneratively to store carbon while producing food. (See Part…

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    Unsustainability as the Engine of Sustainability and Scenario Planning

    Sustainability and scenario planning Synergy. Sustainability and scenario planning may seem like two separate domains—one focused on resource stewardship and long-term resilience, the other on mapping uncertainties and preparing for multiple futures. Yet they are deeply intertwined. Anything that is not sustainable will eventually fail, and in that failure lies the seed of future scenarios. By integrating sustainability thinking with foresight methods, leaders can anticipate not only the risks of collapse but also the opportunities…

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    A Tale of Two Reports: Why the DOE’s Climate Assessment Demands a Reality Check

    A Working Group (of 5) Came out with a “Moderate” Report for the DOE A new DOE climate report has been released by the U.S. Department of Energy at the end of July 2025. Authored by five “independent” researchers, it concludes that the economic damages of climate change may be less than believed and that aggressive action could be more harmful than the problem itself. Essentially, the report says that often doing nothing is better…