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In a drill, baby, drill administration that has already shut down wind energy expansion and put the solar industry in limbo by pausing funding and threatening Inflation Reduction Act incentives, one clean energy source has received support from President Donald Trump. In his bid to unleash American energy dominance, geothermal energy (harnessing underground heat as a renewable resource) got a shout-out in a January 20th executive order. Its the rare clean energy option that hasnt been singled out for criticism. And one state is poised to be the center of that boom. Texass wildcatting entrepreneurs, embrace of light regulations, and, of course, drilling experience have set the stage for a world-leading boom in geothermal energy production. Not only does the Lone Star State boast a significant number of operators and a labor force that knows how to drillat the peak of the recent shale oil boom, more than 20,000 wells a year were being dugbut all this activity means a good portion of the states underground landscape has already been mapped, making it that much easier to locate good spots for geothermal wells. Geothermal energy production has traditionally included a handful of power plants, built where water heated from the earth bubbles toward the surface, or building ground source systems, which takes advantage of the temperature difference between the underground and surface to heat or cool specific structures and even whole neighborhoods. Newer techniques seek to drill 3 miles deep and hit whats called hot rocks, which can be 300 degrees Fahrenheit or more. Operators then pump water down to get turned into steam, which is returned to the surface to power a turbine and generate electricity. The International Energy Agency estimates geothermal has more global generating potential than wind, and nearly as much as solar. Fervo Energys Cape Station geothermal plant in Utah [Photo: courtesy Fervo Energy] Traditional geothermal power has been concentrated in areas west of the Rocky Mountains, where steam power remains closer to the surface. Hot rock technology puts more areas in play, and with more advances in drilling, potentially creates a national power source. The regions currently in focus include Louisiana, Arkansas, North Dakota, and Texas, not coincidentally areas of existing oil drilling. Three demonstration projects this year will set the stage for a series of large-scale geothermal wells that will operate like small power plants, including a 3-megawatt energy storage system being developed for the San Miguel Electric Cooperative in Christine, Texas, by startup Sage Geosystems. Ken Wisian, a geophysicist and geologist at the University of Texas at Austin, believes the state could be producing 10% of its power from geothermal within a decade. Up until about four years ago, the geothermal industry in the U.S. had been flatlining, says Wisian, with little capital investment and no real research, especially compared to the oil and gas industry. At that point, traditional fossil fuel drilling was years ahead of geothermal. But then, drilling firms and startups started applying oil and gas drilling techniques to geothermal, and figured out its much more economically viable, in many more places, than originally assumed. Early leaders, such as Jamie Beard, who gave a TED Talk on geothermal potential, helped instigate a $165 million Department of Energy study to transfer oil and gas tech to geothermal. And the Biden administration helped accelerate the industry, approving projects utilizing public lands and including incentives for geothermal in the Inflation Reduction Act. Why now? The answer is Trump and drill, baby, drill, said Beard, who now leads Project InnerSpace, a private foundation that supports geothermal projects. Everything weve been building for the past five-plus years has prepared us and this ecosystem for this breakout moment. Its go time. As this small niche in energy productioncurrently just 0.4% of total U.S. generationexpands, Texas has the plurality of startups, university expertise, and multinational oil and gas firms looking to acquire startups and fund promising new drilling technology that they can adopt for their own uses. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, for instance, has invested in startups that it also hopes become future buyers of its turbines. Add in a proliferation of engineering talent, and theres a reason most of the industrys startups call Houston or Austin home. A map of hot rock prevalence in the state of Texas [Image: the Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation] Startups based in the state have also pushed forward new technology and new methods of drilling. Houston-based Quaise Energy, which has raised $105 million, has developed a high-tech drilling bit that utilizes electromagnetic waves to effectively melt rock. Exceed Geo Energy, based in Austin, recently signed a contract with the Austin Energy utility to develop a 5-megawatt test well. At a time when federal and state lawmakers around the country are lobbying for streamlined well permitting and more money for research, these startups could be poised to lead the nascent industry. “Houstons deep ties to the energy sectorespecially in drilling, completions, and geosciencesalign closely with what it takes to bring enhanced geothermal to market, said Chelsea Anderson, strategic communications specialist at Houston-based Fervo Energy, which is working on a 400-megawatt project in Utah. Beyond technical talent, Houston offers a deep bench of professionals with energy sector experience, from supply chain specialists to legal and finance experts, who understand how to scale an energy business. With roughly half of our employees based here, being part of this ecosystem has been invaluable in growing our company.” Jane Stricker, executive director of the nonprofit Houston Energy Transition Initiative, noted, Houston has always been an entrepreneurial community of businesses, and I think there has always been an opportunity for folks to come and grow businesses in Houston. I think it has a lot to do with the talent and workforce that is there. The Texas Geothermal Energy Alliance (TxGEA), an industry group that has worked closely with the state legislature, has shepherded through a series of bills with broad bipartisan support that, among other things, cleared up geothermal ownership and regulation, and allowed firms to adopt orphan oil and gas wells for geothermal, setting the stage for more commercialization and development. The group sees these laws as a set of model legislation that can be adopted nationwide. TxGEAs chairman and founder, Barry Smitherman, says that with large-scale projects soon to be connected to the grid, and advances in drill bit technology (which makes it easy to dig deeper and expand the areas where geothermal is financially feasible) constantly leapfrogging each other, geothermal will quickly become cheaper and more widely available. It helps that these wells, 9 to 12 inches in diameter, dont take up as much space as sprawling wind and solar farms, and can be drilled closer to power users, requiring less permitting and transmission infrastructure. Ive been a geothermal researcher for 30 years, said Wisian, the UT-Austin geologist. This is the most exciting time in the sector by at least an order of magnitude. People smell the money and are starting to pile in. And it doesnt stop at utility-scale electricity generation. Wisian ran a pilot project in West Texas and discovered that in areas where it may not get hot enough to generate power, geothermal heat can still be used profitably to warm greenhouses or run air-conditioning for a neighborhood. Three U.S. military bases in Texas are testing geothermal energy systems for resiliency. And, of course, there are always data centers, ravenous energy consumers that will explode energy demand in the years to come. Fervo has a contract providing geothermal power for a Google data center in Nevada. Texans also see geothermal as a solid backup, dispatchable power that can be stored for emergencies. After the power failures and fatalities of Winter Storm Uri in 2021, Texas authorities have sought out better storage and backup power options (the Texas Geothermal Alliance formed shortly after the storm). Wisian believes storing heat in wells offers a much more sustainable model than mining, building, and shipping in massive lithium batteries. His grand vision would be digging a well next to every wind turbine in West Texas and creating a sea of spinning blades and deep tunnels, generating and storing power to help the booming state continue to grow (energy usage here is expected to double by 2030). Its a big vision, sure, but that seems like the Texas energy model.
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E-Commerce
Throughout Harvard Square, there are many bookshop brimming with the latest literary fiction and intellectual memoirs, patronized by scholarly types. But in January, a new bookshop popped up in the neighborhood that is nothing like the others. Lovestruck Books is a romance bookstore. It’s Instagrammable entrance is adorned with pink and purple flowers. There’s a coffee shop that transforms into a wine bar for evening events. Besides an enormous selection of romance novels, you can also purchase sex toys and tote bags emblazoned with I read smut. We want to toe the lie a little bit with being provocative and edgy, says Rachel Kanter, the store’s founder. But the most important thing is that everything is done in a way that feels safe and welcoming. Her plan seems to be working. The store has been packed since launch and Kanter has blown through all of her sales targets. Customers don’t just visit the store to discover new books; they come to gather with one another. On a recent Tuesday, I sat on a plush velvet sofa in the corner of the store with a cup of tea. Next to me, a woman was tearfully confiding to an older friend about her divorce. When they left, two women sat down and pondered whether Mark Zuckerberg’s newfound embrace of masculine energy would break up his marriage. Rachel Kanter [Photo: Reagan Byrne/Lovestruck] The Ripped Bodice in Ventura, California, was the first romance bookstore to open in the United States back in 2016. It was so successful that it went on to open another location in Brooklyn, and has paved the way for dozens more to open. There are now 30 romance bookstores around the country, including A Novel Romance in Louisville, Kentucky, and Blush Bookstore in Wichita, Kansas. Most of these bookstores are founded by women, and they’ve become safe spaces for their predominantly female and queer customers to gather and create community. This is abundantly clear on Valentine’s Day. While the holiday is purportedly about celebrating romance, these bookstores are choosing to focus on friendship. Lovestruck is hosting a conversation with best-selling novelist Ashley Poston about female friendships. Sweeter Than Fiction, a bookstore in downtown Charleston, South Carolina, has organized an outing for customers who love sports romance novels to attend a hockey game. [Photo: Sweeter Than Fiction] Romance goes mainstream Callie Lamb opened Sweeter than Fiction in Charleston last October. On opening day, a line of customers snaked around the block. I exceeded my three month sales target on day one of being open, she says. Even now, I can’t keep books in stock. Lamb had spent her career as a buyer for large retailers like Belk and Dollar Tree, but during the pandemic, she decided it was time to strike out on her own. In 2023, she came up with the idea of opening a romance bookstore. She found a prime location on King Street, Charleston’s shopping district, and poured her savings into transforming it into an aesthetically pleasing venue, with a plant wall, pink bookcases, and marble topped tables to display books. Romance, as a genre, exploded during the pandemic. This coincided with the rise of TikTok. Book lovers took to the platform to promote their favorite titles, driving sales. Today, romance is both a top-selling and fast-growing genre in fiction. In 2023, romance novels sold 39 million copies, more than double the number from 2020. Publishers are now flooding the market with even more titles across many sub-genres, including LGBTQ+ romance, paranormal romance, and romantasy (a blending of romance and fantasy). Romance is a huge category, but most bookstores have a small section devoted to it, Lamb says. There’s a clear demand for a store that specializes in romance. One reason that some bookstores don’t have more romance books is that the genre has has been stigmatized for decades. This taboo goes back centuries, scholars say, as the male-dominated literary establishment dismissed these books because they were primarily written by and for women. But while previous generations of women felt the need to hide their Harlequin romances, today’s readers are reading romances unapologetically. Indeed, some women want to reclaim the word smut as a form of female empowerment, since romance novels have done a great deal to center women’s desires, sexuality, and experiences. There is a tendency to dismiss things that are geared towards women, Kanter says. Romance is a powerful way for women to reclaim something that belongs to them. [Photo: Reagan Byrne/Lovestruck] A Feminine Energy While there’s are some men who feel comfortable admitting they read love stories, the vast majority of romance readersand romance bookstore customersare women. So it makes sense that romance bookstores are unapologetically feminine. The interior design tends to be saturated in shades of pink, red, and purple. They sell jewelry, throw cushions, and candles. Flowers are often part of the decor. /p> For many of these romance bookstores, part of the business model is hosting events and talks. In just one month in business, Lovestruck has already hosted more than 3,400 people at in-store events. The talks tackle a wide range of topics, from discussions with best-selling authors to learning how to play mahjong to unpacking steamy love scenes in LGBTQ+ love stories. The community in Harvard Square has come in out droves to support us, Kanter says. It’s clear they were hungry for this kind of gathering space. For many people, romance bookstores have become a place to escape from current politics, which have increasingly restricted women’s rights as well as the LGBTQ+ community. Indeed, Lamb points out that part of the reason that romance took off during the pandemic is because readers wanted an escape from the harsh realities of life. By definition, you get a happily ever after, she says. Kanter concurs. Her store and events are deliberately designed to be fun and lighthearted. But at the same time, creating a place where women and queer folks can find joy in one another’s presence also feels like an act of resistance in this political climate. Our customers are choosing to put their dollars towards supporting a woman-owned business that celebrates the female experience, Kanter says.
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E-Commerce
This jacket grows on trees. Vollebak, a London-based experimental clothing lab, has released a prototype garment made out of timber panels overlaid on a fabric interior. The long-sleeve hooded men’s Wooden Jacket is a feat of fashion design, turning a stiff material into pliable and stylish outerwear. Once it becomes available, the jacket will sell for $3,295. For now, there’s a waiting list “while we grow them,” Vollebak says. [Photo: Sun Lee/Vollebak] The jacket is par for the course for Vollebak, which experiments with sustainable materials to make its unlikely apparel. The company has also designed an antiviral jacket made from copper, a decomposable hoodie made from pomegranate peels, and a sweater made from natural fibers grown in a petri dish and assembled by a 3D knitting machine. Of course wood pulp can be used to make fibers like viscose and lyocell, which can be turned into fabric for clothing. What makes Vollebak’s jacket unique is that its not made with plant fibers extracted from wood. Rather, it’s made of the wood itself. The key to the Wooden Jacket’s functionality requires close inspection. While it appears to have a solid wood pattern with natural grain, closeups of the prototype fabric show the textured pattern is actually a pliable grid of tiny squares that give the garment flexibility. The prototype design also features two front patch pockets and zippers. [Photo: Sun Lee/Vollebak] On its website, Vollebak says it designed the Wooden Jacket just to prove it could, noting that “turning a tree into a jacket is an absurdly difficult technical challenge. . . . It forces us to tackle, then solve, technical challenges that would otherwise remain completely theoretical.
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E-Commerce
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