Kristi E. Swartz

Atlanta

Investigative Reporter at Floodlight

Award-winning energy journalist Past: @eenewsupdates @ajc @pbpost Marathoner; ATLien; SoFl 🏡owner; Terp; Live 🎶 fan; 🏖 bum; Dad 😇🚴🏼‍♂️& Mom 😇🪨

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Articles

Snob Zoning, NIMBYism, Class Bias

Sep 5, 2024 | myemail-api.constantcontact.com | Rebecca Solnit |Parker Molloy |Michael Franco |Kristi E. Swartz

Learn more: richardkahlenberg.org Blind spots. In EXCLUDED: How Snob Zoning, NIMBYism, and Class Bias Build the Walls We Don't See, RICHARD KAHLENBERG points out not only how restrictive zoning laws negatively influence all sorts of things in this country, but also that such laws are more likely or more restrictive in communities that are otherwise more liberal and progressive. He also testified on the side of doing away with race-based affirmative action in higher education.
GOP gets 85% of the benefit of climate law. Some still hate it.

Aug 20, 2024 | thecurrentga.org | Kristi E. Swartz |Mary Landers

Ajulo Othow started solar and storage company EnerWealth Solutions seven years ago to get small solar projects on farmland and other places in rural communities in the Southeast where money is tight and the phrase “green economy” is rarely spoken. In just the last year, Othow said the amount of solar her company has developed went from 2 megawatts of power to 25 — an increase of 1,150% because of the Inflation Reduction Act, the massive climate and economic development law enacted in 2022.
Will bitcoin and data centers risk US climate goals?

Mar 28, 2024 | floodlightnews.org | Pam Radtke |Kristi E. Swartz |Pam was part

Published in Canary Media, Energy News Network, Louisiana IlluminatorThe United States is facing a new energy crisis — one that could make the climate crisis even worse.
‘What corruption gets you’: How utility companies bought support in the Black south

Mar 28, 2024 | floodlightnews.org | Mario Ariza |Kristi E. Swartz |Adam Mahoney

Published in the Guardian, Capital B, GristFormer Florida state Rep. Joe Gibbons sat in the library of the Faith Community Church in Greensboro, North Carolina, trying to convince its pastor to quit promoting rooftop solar. With a lobbyist's charm, Gibbons told the Rev. Nelson Johnson that rooftop solar, which allows customers to generate their own renewable electricity, was bad for people of color.
Fraud and corruption on rise at US utilities, threatening energy transition

Mar 28, 2024 | floodlightnews.org | Mario Ariza |Kristi E. Swartz

Published in Mother Jones and the Ohio Capital JournalOn Feb. 12, Ohio Attorney General David Yost accused two power company executives of attempting to “hijack” state electricity policy for their own corrupt ends by bribing an energy regulator with over $4.3 million. The executives are accused of trying to bilk $1.2 billion from electricity customers on behalf of their former employer, FirstEnergy.
Why is US energy demand soaring - putting climate goals at risk?

Mar 21, 2024 | theguardian.com | Pam Radtke |Kristi E. Swartz

What’s happening with US energy? Demand for power is soaring, creating a new energy crisis for the United States – one that could make the climate crisis even worse.
Data centers, bitcoin and EVs send utilities scrambling for more power

Mar 19, 2024 | canarymedia.com | Kristi E. Swartz |Pam Radtke

scrolledValue "> { $refs.headermenu.style.paddingTop = `${$refs.headerinner.offsetHeight}px`; }" @scroll.window="() => { $refs.headermenu.style.paddingTop = `${$refs.headerinner.offsetHeight}px`; }">U.S. energy use has been flat, but bitcoin, data centers and EVs are fueling a spike and threatening climate goals. By Kristi Swartz, Pam Radtke, Floodlight 19 March 2024Employees service a computer in a blockchain facility in Dickens County, Texas.
Fraud and corruption on rise at U.S. utilities, threatening energy transition

Mar 11, 2024 | jacksonville.com | Mario Ariza |Kristi E. Swartz

By Mario Alejandro Ariza and Kristi E. SwartzFloodlightOn Feb. 12, Ohio Attorney General David Yost accused two power company executives of attempting to “hijack” state electricity policy for their own corrupt ends by bribing an energy regulator with over $4.3 million. The executives are accused of trying to bilk $1.2 billion from electricity customers on behalf of their former employer, FirstEnergy.
Utility fraud and corruption are threatening the clean energy transition

Mar 1, 2024 | motherjones.com | Mario Ariza |Kristi E. Swartz

This story was reported by Floodlight, a nonprofit newsroom that investigates the powerful interests stalling climate action. At a press conference last month, flanked by sheriffs and attorneys, Ohio Attorney General David Yost announced the indictments of two utility executives who allegedly tried to “hijack” state electricity policy for their own corrupt ends by paying $4.3 million in bribes to Sam Randazzo, then chair of the state Public Utilities Commission.
How power companies co-opted civil rights leaders into advocacy

Jan 12, 2024 | energynews.us | Mario Ariza |Kristi E. Swartz |Adam Mahoney

This article by Floodlight and Capital B is published here as part of the global journalism collaboration Covering Climate Now. Former Florida state Rep. Joe Gibbons sat in the library of the Faith Community Church in Greensboro, North Carolina, trying to convince its pastor to quit promoting rooftop solar. With a lobbyist’s charm, Gibbons told the Rev. Nelson Johnson that rooftop solar, which allows customers to generate their own renewable electricity, was bad for people of color.