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Right now, the FAA is taking public comments for SpaceX’s environmental review of the upcoming Starship Orbital launch. While I generally support space exploration and hope SpaceX succeeds, it’s important to consider the environmental impacts of space activities and find ways to reasonably minimize the environmental impacts.

The Use of Methane For Rockets Is Mostly Defensible

From an environmental perspective, a rocket should be powered by hydrogen. Burning hydrogen combines hydrogen with oxygen from the atmosphere, producing only water vapor in the exhaust. The water vapor harmlessly diffuses in the atmosphere, and doesn’t contribute to climate change or any other environmental harms. Hydrogen rockets are also a proven technology that took the United States to the moon, so it’s entirely possible to use hydrogen for space launches.

But hydrogen does have some serious drawbacks.

Being a small molecule, it’s very difficult and expensive to make sure a rocket doesn’t simply leak its fuel out. Every weld must be absolutely perfect. Every seam must be carefully sealed. All joints and fittings from tanks to engines must have perfect seals. All of that need for perfection means a lot more work, expense, and even danger.

The second problem with hydrogen is that it makes metal more brittle. This again drives up the cost of safely building a hydrogen rocket. Other problems include the low energy density compared to other fuels, temperature control, expense, and complexity of the systems needed to handle it properly. It’s also not easy to produce on Mars, so it wouldn’t be suitable for a Mars colony.

Methane (the purest form of “natural” gas) is the next best thing. It does produce carbon dioxide when it’s burned, but that’s basically all it produces (other than water vapor, like any combustion reaction). Unlike RP-1 or other rocket fuels, it does contribute some to greenhouse gases, but doesn’t spew out other pollutants.

Given the costs of hydrogen and the fact that methane is only a little worse, going with methane was the obvious choice, even if not perfect for the environment.

All The Methane Has To Come From Somewhere, Though

While assessing environmental impacts, the FAA didn’t factor one thing in: the source of the natural gas that would feed SpaceX’s Starbase.

The obvious thing they’ll need natural gas for is the rockets. For those unfamiliar, natural gas is mostly methane, and while it’s good enough for things like furnaces and power plants, the gas that’s normally in pipes just isn’t pure enough for use in rockets. So SpaceX needs a facility to take natural gas in, purify it, and then cool it down until it changes to a liquid state. Then, it’ll be ready to pump into a rocket’s tank and use for launches.

But they didn’t mention the source of all this natural gas in the report. Theoretically, they could truck the natural gas in using tanker trailers, but that would be expensive, cumbersome, and would take a LOT of trucks. The other, more reasonable, option would be to reactivate a natural gas pipeline that runs through the Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge. The pipeline, which was abandoned in 2016, is currently holding fiberoptic cables for a local educational institution.

So, SpaceX may still be able to use the pipeline, or it may have to build a new one.

The other thing that hasn’t been considered in the report is that the gas has to get put in the pipeline from somewhere, and the areas near Brownsville just don’t produce enough gas to feed the needs of  SpaceX at Starbase, so more gas will be needed from at least 80 miles away. That means more wells, more pipelines, and more environmental impact that isn’t currently being considered.

SpaceX Is Also Building a 250-Megawatt Gas Power Plant

Getting methane for rockets would probably be something the nearby wells could supply, with minimal gas needs from elsewhere in the state, and that would be reasonable. But, add the needed fuel for a 250-megawatt power plant that runs on natural gas, and you end up in the situation described above. There just isn’t enough local gas to power the rockets plus a big power plant.

According to TechCrunch and ESG Hound (both linked above), the power plant will be needed to power a desalination plant to provide for Starbase’s water needs, as well as to provide for the base’s other electrical needs.

Desalination makes sense, given the limited water supplies in the area and the abundance of salt water, but the equipment to do that isn’t picky about where its electrons come from. Whether it comes from natural gas, or comes from wind and solar, as long as the power keeps coming in, they’ll be able to produce the needed water.

So, Why Isn’t SpaceX Using Renewables?

Given that the company is already planning on piping in gas, and getting more gas is relatively cheap, it’s probably the cheapest solution overall.

But, really, south Texas has great solar resources.

Image provided by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). Public Domain.

Sure, it’s not as red hot as it is in El Paso, but Brownsville still has better quality sunlight for solar power production than most of the country. There’s not much in the way of excuse to not build a big solar power plant with storage to supply the desalination plant’s needs, as well as other needs at Starbase. You probably couldn’t build a plant that big right next to Starbase, but you could find some vacant land in the region to supply enough power.

Brownsville only has 223 sunny days per year, which could make an issue, but there’s no reason to not go further away in Texas for power. El Paso and other parts of far west Texas, as close as Big Bend, have over 300 sunny days per year.

Getting the power from the vacant land to Starbase, whether from nearby or farther away, is an issue, but so is the issue of building pipelines. If you can build pipelines, then you can build power lines. Plus, power lines don’t leak and cause other environmental harms the way that gas lines do.

The cost of doing 250 megawatts of solar is probably higher than 250 megawatts of gas, but it doesn’t make sense to be trying to save the species with Tesla and then turn around and burn natural gas for SpaceX’s space colonization efforts.

 

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This $900 million solar farm in Texas is going 100% to data centers

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This 0 million solar farm in Texas is going 100% to data centers

Enbridge is going big on solar again in Texas, and Meta is snapping up all the solar power it can get.

Last month, Electrek reported that the Canadian oil and gas pipeline giant just launched its first solar farm in Texas. Now it’s given the green light to Clear Fork, a 600 megawatt (MW) utility-scale solar farm already under construction near San Antonio. The project is expected to come online in summer 2027.

Once it’s up and running, every bit of Clear Fork’s electricity will go to Meta Platforms under a long-term contract. Meta will use the solar power to help run its energy-hungry data centers entirely on clean energy.

The solar farm project’s cost is around $900 million. Enbridge says it expects Clear Fork to boost the company’s cash flow and earnings starting in 2027.

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Enbridge EVP Matthew Akman said the project reflects “growing demand for renewable power across North America from blue-chip companies involved in technology and data center operations.”

Meta’s head of global energy, Urvi Parekh, added that the company is “thrilled to partner with Enbridge to bring new renewable energy to Texas and help support our operations with 100% clean energy.”

Meta’s first multi-gigawatt data center, Prometheus, is expected to come online in 2026.

Clear Fork is part of a growing trend: tech giants like Meta, Amazon, and Google are racing to lock down renewable energy contracts as they expand their fleets of AI-ready data centers, which use massive amounts of electricity.


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Isuzu’s first electric pickup is impressive, but it’s not cheap

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Isuzu's first electric pickup is impressive, but it's not cheap

A fully electric Japanese electric pickup truck? It’s not a Toyota or Honda, but Isuzu’s new electric pickup packs a punch. The D-MAX EV can tow over 7,770 lbs (3,500 kg), plow through nearly 24″ (600 mm) of water, and it even has a dedicated Terrain Mode for extreme off-roading. However, it comes at a cost.

Meet Isuzu’s first electric pickup: The D-MAX EV

After announcing that it had begun building left-hand drive D-MAX EV models at the end of April, Isuzu said that it would start shipping them to Europe in the third quarter.

By the end of the year, Isuzu will begin production of right-hand drive models for the UK. Sales will follow in early 2026.

Isuzu announced prices this week, boasting the D-MAX EV features the same “no compromise durability” of the current diesel version.

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The D-MAX EV pickup features a full-time 4WD system, a towing capacity of up to 3.5 tons (7,700 lbs), and an added Terrain Mode, which Isuzu says is designed for “extreme off-road capability.” With 210 mm (8.3″) of ground clearance, Isuzu’s electric pickup can wade through up to 600 mm (24″) of water.

Powered by a 66.9 kWh battery, Isuzu’s electric pickup offers a WLTP range of 163 miles. With charging speeds of up to 50 kW, the D-MAX EV can recharge from 20% to 80% in about an hour.

The electric version is nearly identical to the current diesel-powered D-Max, both inside and out, but prices will be significantly higher.

Isuzu D-Max EV specs and prices
Drive System Full-time 4×4
Battery Type Lithium-ion
Battery Capacity 66.9 kWh
WLTP driving range 163 miles
Max Output 130 kW (174 hp)
Max Torque 325 Nm
Max Speed Over 130 km/h (+80 mph)
Max Payload 1,000 kg (+2,200 lbs)
Max Towing Capacity 3.5t (+7,700 lbs)
Ground Clearance 210 mm
Wading Depth 600 mm
Starting Price (*Ex. VAT) £59,995 ($81,000)
Isuzu D-Max EV electric pickup prices and specs

Isuzu’s electric pickup will be priced from £59,995 ($81,000), not including VAT. The double cab variant starts at £60,995 ($82,500). In comparison, the diesel model starts at £36,755 ($50,000).

The EV pickup will launch in extended and double cab variants with two premium trims: the eDL40 and V-Cross. Pre-sales will begin later this year with the first UK arrivals scheduled for February 2026. Customer deliveries are set to follow in March.

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AI startups raised $104 billion in first half of year, but exits tell a different story

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AI startups raised 4 billion in first half of year, but exits tell a different story

In this photo illustration, Claude AI logo is seen on a smartphone and Anthropic logo on a pc screen. (Photo Illustration by Pavlo Gonchar/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Sopa Images | Lightrocket | Getty Images

OpenAI and Anthropic continue to lead a fundraising bonanza in artificial intelligence, raising historic rounds and stratospheric valuations.

But when it comes to finding AI exits for venture firms, the market looks a lot different.

AI startups raised $104.3 billion in the U.S. in the first half of this year, nearly matching the $104.4 billion total for 2024, according to PitchBook. Almost two-thirds of all U.S. venture funding went to AI, up from 49% last year, PitchBook said.

The biggest deals follow a familiar theme. OpenAI raised a record $40 billion in March in a round led by SoftBank. Meta poured $14.3 billion into Scale AI in June as part of a way to hire away CEO Alexandr Wang and a few other top staffers. OpenAI rival Anthropic raised $3.5 billion, while Safe Superintelligence, a nascent startup started by OpenAI co-founder Ilya Sutskever, raised $2 billion.

While Meta’s massive investment into Scale AI amounted to a lucrative exit of sorts for early investors, the overarching trend has been a lot more money going in than coming out.

In the first half, there were 281 VC-backed exits totaling $36 billion, according to PitchBook. That includes the roughly $700 million acquisition of EvolutionIQ, an AI platform for disability and injury claims management, by CCC Intelligent Solutions, and the public listing of Slide Insurance, which builds AI-powered insurance offerings for homeowners. Slide is valued at about $2.3 billion.

Read more CNBC reporting on AI

“The dominant exit trend right now is frequent but lower-value acquisitions and fewer IPOs with significantly higher value,” said Dimitri Zabelin, PitchBook’s senior research analyst for AI and cybersecurity.

CoreWeave’s IPO, which took place at the very end of the first quarter, was the exception on the infrastructure side. The stock shot up 340% in the second quarter, and the company is now valued at over $63 billion.

Zabelin said the pattern of more investments in applications with smaller deals has been in place for the past year.

“Vertical solutions tend to plug more easily into existing enterprise gaps,” Zabelin said.

The acquisitions wave is being driven, in part, by what Zabelin calls bolt-on deals where larger companies buy smaller startups to enhance their own future valuations, hoping to enhance their value ahead of a future sale or IPO.

“That also has to do with the current liquidity conditions in the macro environment,” Zabelin said.

Outside of AI, activity is slow. U.S. fintech funding dropped 42% in the first half of the year to $10.5 billion, according to Tracxn. Cloud software and crypto have also seen sharp pullbacks.

Zabelin said IPO activity could pick up if economic conditions improve and if interest rates come down. Investors clearly want opportunities to back promising AI companies, he said.

“The appetite for AI, specifically vertical applications, will continue to remain robust,” Zabelin said.

— CNBC’s Kevin Schmidt contributed to this report.

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Goldman Sachs' Stephan Feldgoise on M&A landscape: One of the highest $10B+ transaction years YTD

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