by Jeff Ihnen | Feb 23, 2026 | Energy Rant
A year or two ago, around the time Hertz flooded the market with its fleet of electric vehicles, I heard from EV industry enthusiasts that the electric vehicle revolution was going through some chop, and that no transformation grows straight up. Correct. Usually,...
by Jeff Ihnen | Feb 16, 2026 | Energy Rant
Everyone Wants to Rule the World (With AI) Everyone wants artificial intelligence to solve a big problem. Nations see it as the next arms race. CEOs see it as free labor. Vendors see it as a feature they can bolt onto anything with a circuit board. But somewhere...
by Jeff Ihnen | Feb 10, 2026 | Energy Rant
R Value Costs, Climate Specificity, and Why Business Outcomes Matter In this week’s unusual Rant, I am stepping back to take a hard look at standard energy-efficiency upgrades and tips that circulate endlessly across the internet, conference slides, and...
by Jeff Ihnen | Feb 3, 2026 | Energy Rant
Comfort, Customer Satisfaction, and the Things Energy Metrics Miss This week’s post was inspired by the Midwest Energy Solutions conference in Chicago, though not by anything that happened on floors five through seven, where the conference activities were neatly...
by Stan Nabozny | Jan 30, 2026 | The Decarbonized Cold Chain
How operators can brace for a year of regulatory squeeze, technological upheaval, and grid weirdness It’s January — operators actually running freezers and blast tunnels are staring down refrigerant phase-outs, grid volatility, and a regulatory environment that’s...
by Jeff Ihnen | Jan 27, 2026 | Energy Rant
Last week, I mentioned I planned to write about toothpaste, only to be overtaken by more urgent headlines around data center moratoriums, power shortages, grid unreliability, and soaring electricity prices. This week I’m circling back to toothpaste, not because...
by Jeff Ihnen | Jan 20, 2026 | Energy Rant
I was planning to write about toothpaste this week. Instead, data centers hijacked my inbox—and the headlines. Opposition to data centers is accelerating fast enough that one of my six-pack predictions came true almost immediately: they’re becoming as politically...
by Jake Millette | Jan 14, 2026 | The Big Why
Utility commissions often guide state policy through energy efficiency plans. In recent years, many have approved plans that focus on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and promoting electrification. However, by focusing on these necessary goals, the plans can create...
by Jeff Ihnen | Jan 13, 2026 | Energy Rant
Models are useful tools. They simplify complex systems, quantify trade-offs, and provide decision-makers with concrete arguments to support their decisions. But models also share a weakness: they assume cooperation from reality. In energy, electrification, and climate...
by Michaels Energy | Jan 13, 2026 | News
January 2026 – South Dakota State University recently featured Michaels Energy and CEO Jeff Ihnen in its Fall 2025 issue of Impulse magazine, highlighting the company’s national impact on utility energy efficiency, continued growth as a multi-time Inc. 5000 honoree,...
