Ken Silverstein
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30-Year-Energy Transition & Geopolitics Columnist | @Forbes. Syndicated to 300+ papers via @InsideSources. MBA @Tulane | Cited by US Senate ⚡️🌍
Articles by Ken Silverstein
Why The U.S. Needs The Gulf States’ AI Minerals Bet
In Zambia, the UAE's International Resources Holding put more than $1.1 billion into a majority stake in the Mopani Copper Mines, reviving one of Africa's largest copper complexes; Qatar's sovereign fund put $500 million into Ivanhoe Mines this year. Each deal adds another non-Chinese source of metal the U.S. needs. MUFULIRA, ZAMBIA- JULY 6: An employee works at the copper smelter at Mopani Mines on July 6, 2016 in Mufulira, Zambia.
Why The U.S. Needs The Gulf States’ AI Minerals Bet
King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, is a multi-use financial hub, known for its global business offices and contemporary residences.
Why The U.S. Needs The Gulf States’ AI Minerals Bet Original
King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, is a multi-use financial hub, known for its global business offices and contemporary residences. It’s a key part of the government’s plan to transform Riyadh into a major regional and ultimately global financial center, reflecting the ambitions of Vision 2030...
Why The U.S. Needs The Gulf States’ AI Minerals Bet
King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, is a multi-use financial hub, known for its global business offices and contemporary residences.
The two-year waitlist to power modern life
Every morning, millions of Americans run through the same unconscious routine: Turn on the coffee maker, check the phone, adjust the air conditioner. Electricity is like air — invisible until it suddenly isn’t. Behind your walls sits a network of copper, steel and high-voltage wire that keeps modern life humming. kAm%92E ?6EH@C< :D ?@H CF??:?8 D9@CE @? E96 32D:4 A2CED :E ?665D] %96 C:D<i EC2?D7@C>6CD[ H9:49 2C6 E96 >6E2= 3@I6D @? FE:=:EJ A@=6D E92E DE6A 5@H?
Generating power and delivering it are only part of the challenge
Every morning, millions of Americans run through the same unconscious routine: turn on the coffee maker, check the phone, adjust the air conditioner. Electricity is like air — invisible until it suddenly isn’t. Behind your walls sits a network of copper, steel and high-voltage wire that keeps modern life humming. That network is now running short on the basic parts it needs.
Column: The two-year waitlist to power modern life
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... By Ken Silverstein InsideSources.com Every morning, millions of Americans run through the same unconscious routine: turn on the coffee maker, check the phone, adjust the air conditioner. Electricity is like air — invisible until it suddenly isn’t. Behind your walls sits a network of copper, steel and high-voltage wire that keeps modern life humming. That network is now running short on the basic parts it needs.
Column: The two-year waitlist to power modern life
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... By Ken Silverstein InsideSources.com Every morning, millions of Americans run through the same unconscious routine: turn on the coffee maker, check the phone, adjust the air conditioner. Electricity is like air — invisible until it suddenly isn’t. Behind your walls sits a network of copper, steel and high-voltage wire that keeps modern life humming. That network is now running short on the basic parts it needs.
Column: The two-year waitlist to power modern life Original
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... By Ken Silverstein InsideSources.com Every morning, millions of Americans run through the same unconscious routine: turn on the coffee maker, check the phone, adjust the air conditioner. Electricity is like air — invisible until it suddenly isn’t. Behind your walls sits a network of copper, steel and high-voltage wire that keeps modern life humming. That network is now running short on the basic parts it needs.
Column: The two-year waitlist to power modern life
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... By Ken Silverstein InsideSources.com Every morning, millions of Americans run through the same unconscious routine: turn on the coffee maker, check the phone, adjust the air conditioner. Electricity is like air — invisible until it suddenly isn’t. Behind your walls sits a network of copper, steel and high-voltage wire that keeps modern life humming. That network is now running short on the basic parts it needs.
Ken Silverstein: The two-year wait list to power modern life (Opinion)
Every morning, millions of Americans run through the same unconscious routine: turn on the coffee maker, check the phone, adjust the air conditioner. Electricity is like air — invisible until it suddenly isn’t. Behind your walls sits a network of copper, steel and high-voltage wire that keeps modern life humming. That network is now running short on the basic parts it needs.
Ken Silverstein: Two-year waitlist to power modern life (Opinion)
Every morning, millions of Americans run through the same unconscious routine: Turn on the coffee maker, check the phone, adjust the air conditioner. Electricity is like air — invisible until it suddenly isn’t. Behind your walls sits a network of copper, steel and high-voltage wire that keeps modern life humming. That network is now running short on the basic parts it needs.
The Two-Year Waitlist to Power Modern Life
Every morning, millions of Americans run through the same unconscious routine: turn on the coffee maker, check the phone, adjust the air conditioner. Electricity is like air — invisible until it suddenly isn’t. Behind your walls sits a network of copper, steel and high-voltage wire that keeps modern life humming. That network is now running short on the basic parts it needs.
Forbes JAPAN 公式サイト（フォーブス ジャパン）
テキサス州アンダーソン郡で、160億ドル（約2兆4600億円）規模の発電所計画が許認可プロセスを進んでいる。この1件のプロジェクトだけで、米国のエネルギーがいま置かれている状況のほぼすべてが見えてくる。 今春、日米貿易協定の一環として発表されたこのプロジェクトは、ダラスとヒューストンの双方から約100マイルの距離にある西ヘインズビル・シェールに位置する。コムストック・リソーシズ（Comstock Resources）の幹部の1人は、この立地を「AI、データセンター、LNGのいずれにも完璧な場所」と表現した。筆頭株主にダラス・カウボーイズのオーナー、ジェリー・ジョーンズを持つコムストックは、ネクストエラ・エナジー（NextEra Energy）と提携している。ネクストエラは、データセンターと重工業への電力供給に充てる最大5.2ギガワットのガス火力発電能力を建設・運営する予定だ。ただし、今後の許認可と交渉を通過することが前提となる。...
A Hydrogen Retrofit That Cuts Ship Emissions Now, Not By 2050 Original
The vessel traversed from Singapore to Ghana using hydrogen and diesel. Newlight For 8,500 nautical miles, a 650-foot bulk carrier sailed from Singapore to Ghana burning a fuel blend no cargo ship had used commercially before. Roughly a quarter of what powered its 10-megawatt engine wasn’t diesel at all—it was hydrogen, metered in by a control system deciding in real time how much to inject and when.
A Hydrogen Retrofit That Cuts Ship Emissions Now, Not By 2050
The vessel traversed from Singapore to Ghana using hydrogen and diesel. For 8,500 nautical miles, a 650-foot bulk carrier sailed from Singapore to Ghana burning a fuel blend no cargo ship had used commercially before. Roughly a quarter of what powered its 10-megawatt engine wasn't diesel at all—it was hydrogen, metered in by a control system deciding in real time how much to inject and when.
A Hydrogen Retrofit That Cuts Ship Emissions Now, Not By 2050
The vessel traversed from Singapore to Ghana using hydrogen and diesel. For 8,500 nautical miles, a 650-foot bulk carrier sailed from Singapore to Ghana burning a fuel blend no cargo ship had used commercially before. Roughly a quarter of what powered its 10-megawatt engine wasn't diesel at all—it was hydrogen, metered in by a control system deciding in real time how much to inject and when.
A Hydrogen Retrofit That Cuts Ship Emissions Now, Not By 2050
The vessel traversed from Singapore to Ghana using hydrogen and diesel. For 8,500 nautical miles, a 650-foot bulk carrier sailed from Singapore to Ghana burning a fuel blend no cargo ship had used commercially before. Roughly a quarter of what powered its 10-megawatt engine wasn't diesel at all—it was hydrogen, metered in by a control system deciding in real time how much to inject and when.
Nepal's Flood Was A Warning The World Had Already Received
Rajendra Dawadi was in his classroom in Bidur, Nepal, on the morning of August 26 when a colleague rushed in with a warning: floodwater was tearing through the Trishuli Valley, ripping apart homes and bridges upstream. He didn't wait to confirm it. He rang the school bell, sent roughly 900 students toward high ground, and turned back a busload of children just before the old bridge it would have used collapsed. The three-story school was swept away within the hour.
Nepal's Flood Was A Warning The World Had Already Received
Rajendra Dawadi was in his classroom in Bidur, Nepal, on the morning of August 26 when a colleague rushed in with a warning: floodwater was tearing through the Trishuli Valley, ripping apart homes and bridges upstream. He didn't wait to confirm it. He rang the school bell, sent roughly 900 students toward high ground, and turned back a busload of children just before the old bridge it would have used collapsed. The three-story school was swept away within the hour.
Nepal's Flood Was A Warning The World Had Already Received
Rajendra Dawadi was in his classroom in Bidur, Nepal, on the morning of August 26 when a colleague rushed in with a warning: floodwater was tearing through the Trishuli Valley, ripping apart homes and bridges upstream. He didn't wait to confirm it. He rang the school bell, sent roughly 900 students toward high ground, and turned back a busload of children just before the old bridge it would have used collapsed. The three-story school was swept away within the hour.
Nepal's Flood Was A Warning The World Had Already Received
Ken Silverstein, Senior Contributor Sun 6 September 2026 at 1:00 pm UTC 7 min read Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. TRISHULI, NEPAL - AUGUST 27: Rescue workers and Nepal police search through mud and debris following devastating flash flood on August 27, 2026 in Trishuli Dam, Nepal.
Nepal's Flood Was A Warning The World Had Already Received Original
TRISHULI, NEPAL - AUGUST 27: Rescue workers and Nepal police search through mud and debris following devastating flash flood on August 27, 2026 in Trishuli Dam, Nepal. (Photo by Ritesh Shukla/Getty Images) Getty Images Rajendra Dawadi was in his classroom in Bidur, Nepal, on the morning of August 26 when a colleague rushed in with a warning: floodwater was tearing through the Trishuli Valley, ripping apart homes and bridges upstream. He didn’t wait to confirm it.
Nepal's Flood Was A Warning The World Had Already Received
Rajendra Dawadi was in his classroom in Bidur, Nepal, on the morning of August 26 when a colleague rushed in with a warning: floodwater was tearing through the Trishuli Valley, ripping apart homes and bridges upstream. He didn't wait to confirm it. He rang the school bell, sent roughly 900 students toward high ground, and turned back a busload of children just before the old bridge it would have used collapsed. The three-story school was swept away within the hour.
The Interconnect Queue Trap: Why Long-Term LNG Contracts Threaten Utility Expansion
For utility executives, the explosive surge in hyperscale AI data centers presents a dual crisis of queue capacity and fuel deliverability. While headline-grabbing projects—such as the $16 billion NextEra-Comstock gas generation hub in Texas—demonstrate how tech capital is bypassing standard interconnect timelines, the underlying structural risk for utility planners lies in fuel priority.
米国が深海底鉱物を「勝手開発」する動き サプライチェーン脱中国の一環、国際法無視 | Forbes JAPAN 公式サイト（フォーブス ジャパン）
ザ・メタルズ・カンパニーが深海底からサンプル採取した鉱物団塊。2021年6月8日撮影（Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images） ザ・メタルズ・カンパニーが深海底からサンプル採取した鉱物団塊。2021年6月8日撮影（Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images） 米海洋大気局（NOAA）は8月下旬、連邦機関として30年以上ぶりとなる手続きをひっそりと進めた。米企業による太平洋の海底区域からの電池用金属の採掘などに関する申請について審査を進めることと、それよりも広大な別の太平洋海底区域の探査に関する申請について、正式な環境影響評価（環境アセスメント）に入ることを公表した。 NOAAは8月19日、カナダの深海探査・採掘企業The Metals Company（ザ・メタルズ・カンパニー＝TMC）の米国法人TMC...
America's Gas Boom Has Two Buyers, One Pipeline Original
YOKOHAMA, JAPAN - 2026/04/06: A tanker truck of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) is seen at Tokyo Gas Negishi LNG Base.
America's Gas Boom Has Two Buyers, One Pipeline
YOKOHAMA, JAPAN - 2026/04/06: A tanker truck of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) is seen at Tokyo Gas Negishi LNG Base. In the context of the ongoing US-Iran war (which began with US-Israeli strikes on Iran in late February 2026), (Photo by Stanislav Kogiku/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images) A $16 billion power plant is working its way through the permitting process in Anderson County, Texas—and this one project already tells you almost everything about the moment American energy is in.
America's Gas Boom Has Two Buyers, One Pipeline
YOKOHAMA, JAPAN - 2026/04/06: A tanker truck of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) is seen at Tokyo Gas Negishi LNG Base. In the context of the ongoing US-Iran war (which began with US-Israeli strikes on Iran in late February 2026), (Photo by Stanislav Kogiku/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images) A $16 billion power plant is working its way through the permitting process in Anderson County, Texas—and this one project already tells you almost everything about the moment American energy is in.
La apuesta unilateral de EE. UU. por los minerales del fondo marino, rechazada por la comunidad internacional
Esta semana, la Administración Nacional Oceánica y Atmosférica de Estados Unidos (NOAA) hizo algo que ninguna agencia federal había hecho en más de tres décadas: publicó en el Registro Federal la solicitud formal de una empresa estadounidense para extraer minerales de batería del fondo del océano Pacífico, y para explorar una segunda franja de lecho marino casi el doble de grande que Virginia Occidental.
Seabed Mining, Grid Storage, and the Critical Mineral Bottleneck
Tue, Aug 25 Electric utility executives planning long-term battery energy storage system (BESS) deployments face a persistent supply chain vulnerability: extreme market concentration in battery-grade nickel, cobalt, and manganese refining. A major regulatory development at NOAA last week highlights how far Washington is willing to go to bypass those bottlenecks.
America's Unilateral Bid For Deep Ocean Minerals—Met With Contempt Original
San Diego, CaliforniaJune , 2021Gerard Barron, Chairman and CEO of The Metals Company, hopes that his company will be able to mine the seafloor for nickel, cobalt, manganese in the Pacific Ocean.
America's Unilateral Bid For Deep Ocean Minerals—Met With Contempt
San Diego, CaliforniaJune , 2021Gerard Barron, Chairman and CEO of The Metals Company, hopes that his company will be able to mine the seafloor for nickel, cobalt, manganese in the Pacific Ocean.
COLUMN: Red states are winning the green economy
Across the American Heartland, a different industrial revolution is quietly reshaping the landscape. Down rural highways, heavy haulers roll past grain silos toward rising gigafactories, battery hubs and advanced nuclear sites. In towns long defined by legacy manufacturing, the modern workforce is building next-generation clean power and tech facilities — yet the officials in those statehouses remain overwhelmingly conservative. Call it the Heartland Energy Paradox.
Capital Catalysts: How Exelon’s 2c2i Model Bridges the Clean Tech Commercialization Gap
Thu, Aug 20 As the energy sector accelerates its transition, one of the primary hurdles for early-stage clean-tech companies remains the gap between initial concept validation and adoption for commercial utility. While corporate venture capital arm deployments have grown, the Exelon Foundation’s Climate Change Investment Initiative (2c2i) demonstrates how foundation-led equity bets can achieve remarkable multiplier effects.
Commentary: Here's why red states are winning the green economy
Across the American Heartland, a different industrial revolution is quietly reshaping the landscape. Down rural highways, heavy haulers roll past grain silos toward rising gigafactories, battery hubs and advanced nuclear sites. In towns long defined by legacy manufacturing, the modern workforce is building next-generation clean power and tech facilities — yet the officials in those statehouses remain overwhelmingly conservative. Call it the Heartland Energy Paradox.
Exelon’s Climate Bet: How $300K Checks Are Unlocking Half A Billion
MERCURY NEWS PHOTO BY JOANNE HOYOUNG LEE—AUGUST 9, 2002 —Boxes of obsolete motherboards, computers, printers, and other misc etrash wait to be processed into the high powered shredder at the HP Recycling Center in Roseville, CA. S(Photo by MediaNews Group/The Mercury News via Getty Images) Ask Alexander Olesen why he founded Buckstop, and he replies: Why does a retired EV charger, still packed with several thousand dollars of recoverable metal, get valued by lenders and insurers at zero?
Exelon’s Climate Bet: How $300K Checks Are Unlocking Half A Billion Original
MERCURY NEWS PHOTO BY JOANNE HOYOUNG LEE—AUGUST 9, 2002 —Boxes of obsolete motherboards, computers, printers, and other misc etrash wait to be processed into the high powered shredder at the HP Recycling Center in Roseville, CA.
Exelon’s Climate Bet: How $300K Checks Are Unlocking Half A Billion
The math is stark: more than 80% of electronics still end up in a landfill, by Olesen's estimate, and he puts the carbon footprint of recycled metal at roughly 97% lower than virgin material. Reuse, though, carries a stigma other industries have shed. "If you look at any other sector, the auto sector—it's like 97% of cars have multiple owners," Olesen said. "In energy, when these things come offline, they're built to be lost.
Opinion: Why red states are winning the green economy
Across the American Heartland, a different industrial revolution is quietly reshaping the landscape. Down rural highways, heavy haulers roll past grain silos toward rising gigafactories, battery hubs and advanced nuclear sites. In towns long defined by legacy manufacturing, the modern workforce is building next-generation clean power and tech facilities — yet the officials in those statehouses remain overwhelmingly conservative. Call it the Heartland Energy Paradox.
Why red states are winning the green economy Original
Across the American Heartland, a different industrial revolution is quietly reshaping the landscape. Down rural highways, heavy haulers roll past grain silos toward rising gigafactories, battery hubs and advanced nuclear sites. In towns long defined by legacy manufacturing, the modern workforce is building next-generation clean power and tech facilities — yet the officials in those statehouses remain overwhelmingly conservative. Ken Silverstein Call it the Heartland Energy Paradox.
Why red states are winning the green economy | Column
Some red states, including Texas, have embraced green energy such as wind turbines despite the political rhetoric. ©LM Otero Across the American Heartland, a different industrial revolution is quietly reshaping the landscape. Down rural highways, heavy haulers roll past grain silos toward rising gigafactories, battery hubs and advanced nuclear sites.
Why red states are winning the green economy
Across the American Heartland, a different industrial revolution is quietly reshaping the landscape. Down rural highways, heavy haulers roll past grain silos toward rising gigafactories, battery hubs and advanced nuclear sites. kAmx? E@H?D =@?8 567:?65 3J =6824J >2?F724EFC:?8[ E96 >@56C? H@C<7@C46 :D 3F:=5:?8 ?6IE\86?6C2E:@? 4=62? A@H6C 2?5 E649 724:=:E:6D — J6E E96 @77:4:2=D :? E9@D6 DE2E69@FD6D C6>2:?
Ken Silverstein: Why some red states are going green on energy (Opinion)
Across the American Heartland, a different industrial revolution is quietly reshaping the landscape. Down rural highways, heavy haulers roll past grain silos toward rising gigafactories, battery hubs and advanced nuclear sites. In towns long defined by legacy manufacturing, the modern workforce is building next-generation clean power and tech facilities — yet the officials in those statehouses remain overwhelmingly conservative. Call it the Heartland Energy Paradox.
Why Red States Are Winning the Green Economy
Across the American Heartland, a different industrial revolution is quietly reshaping the landscape. Down rural highways, heavy haulers roll past grain silos toward rising gigafactories, battery hubs and advanced nuclear sites. In towns long defined by legacy manufacturing, the modern workforce is building next-generation clean power and tech facilities — yet the officials in those statehouses remain overwhelmingly conservative. Call it the Heartland Energy Paradox.
Tariff Reality Check: How Incoming Solar Rules Impact Utility Power Costs and Offtake Planning
For utility executives, power purchasers, and grid planners, the administration's December 4 tariff enforcement presents an immediate operational headache: balancing aggressive capacity additions against sudden capital expenditure increases. The upcoming policy introduces a 15% tax on raw materials alongside a 38-cent-per-watt price floor on imported panels.
The Solar Dilemma: Build Local Or Buy Cheap From Overseas? Original
BROOKSHIRE, TEXAS - APRIL 25: Elin Energy, a Turkish manufacturer of solar photovoltaic panels, officially opened its first U.S. factory in Brookshire, Texas in April 2024. (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images) Houston Chronicle via Getty Images On August 7, the Trump administration put new tariffs on the raw materials that go into solar panels and set a price floor: imported panels can't sell for less than 38 cents a watt, plus a 15% tax on top, starting December 4.
The Solar Dilemma: Build Local Or Buy Cheap From Overseas?
BROOKSHIRE, TEXAS - APRIL 25: Elin Energy, a Turkish manufacturer of solar photovoltaic panels, officially opened its first U.S. factory in Brookshire, Texas in April 2024. (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images) On August 7, the Trump administration put new tariffs on the raw materials that go into solar panels and set a price floor: imported panels can't sell for less than 38 cents a watt, plus a 15% tax on top, starting December 4.
Why Battery Storage in Emerging Grids Is About Dollars, Not Decarbonization
Utility professionals understand that grid storage isn't just about integrating renewables—it's about frequency control, capacity firming, and avoiding catastrophic fuel costs during asset failure. Yet, much of the public commentary around international microgrid and battery energy storage system (BESS) deployments misses this operational reality, framing these installations as costly carbon-cutting exercises.
How A Battery System In Malawi Solves More Than Blackouts
On a cloudy afternoon in Lilongwe, the sun disappears behind a bank of clouds, and with it goes a fifth of the country's electricity supply. That is what solar power does when nothing backs it up. For much of the past four years, the African nation of Malawi had nothing standing behind it. In January 2022, Tropical Storm Ana tore through the Kapichira Dam, ripping roughly 129 megawatts of hydropower off the national grid in a single stroke.
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