Blog
Analysis of British electricity generation, carbon intensity, and the energy transition — plus selected guest posts from energy experts.
Guest posts on MyGridGB are shared with the prior permission of their authors and are reproduced here for educational and informational purposes. The views expressed in guest posts are those of the original authors and do not necessarily represent the opinions or positions of MyGridGB or Dr Andrew Crossland.
Clean Power 2030 - My thoughts
National Energy System Operator released the Clean Power 2030 plan today (link below). I've had a brief look this morning and modelled the pathways in my Digita
How to Maximize Solar Power Efficiency in Small Residential Homes (2024 Guide)
Guest Post from Donaldson Bright Want to harness the sun's power but worried about your compact space? Don't let a small roof hold you back! I've helped countle
Decoupling - reducing energy bills by £3bn
Since September 2022, I have been campaigning to stop gas controlling the price of all of our electricity bills. Retrospective analysis shows that this would ha
Three Energy Predictions for the UK in 2023
GUEST BLOG BY LOGAN BLACK https://www.linkedin.com/in/logangblack/ In 2022, there were many significant developments in the UK energy sector. These included: po
Electric Car Myths Debunked
Guest Blog: Emma Rix, Creative Bloom Rocks As with a lot of things in life, the electric car industry has a few myths floating around. From how green they are t
What's Green and Invisible? Natural Gas (apparently)
GUEST BLOG BY LOGAN BLACK https://www.linkedin.com/in/logangblack/ The Invisible Man Why are people saying natural gas is green? There's been a movement to reba
CfD AR4 - What Does this mean
GUEST BLOG BY LOGAN BLACK https://www.linkedin.com/in/logangblack/ The results of Contract for Difference (CfD) Allocation Round (AR) 4 were announced on 07 Jul
UK Energy Security Strategy
The UK Energy Security Strategy was released today, so we gathered the views of energy professionals to get their views. The headlines are as follows (courtesy
New UK Energy Strategy
GUEST BLOG BY LOGAN BLACK https://www.linkedin.com/in/logangblack/ Number 10 and BEIS are making rumbling noises about launching a new UK energy strategy. This
The Policy Failures that Caused the 2022 Energy Price Crisis
The 2022 energy price crisis is leaving thousands of British homes with a stark choice: heating or eating. It's wrong, unfair and, for reasons outlined in this
Guest Blog: Oakwood pt 2
My mission I have always had a passion to live as environmentally sustainable as possible without being a full-on tree hugger. So, buying a thermally efficient
UK Government Releases Energy White Paper: Powering Our Net-Zero Future
The following Guest Post was written by Allen Shuford who works with Selectra Group, which is a company that offers advice on consumer energy . He is developing
Solarcentury bought by Statkraft: what it means, and what I will do next in my campaigning on the climate crisis etc
The sale was completed on 1st November, and the following is a composite Q&A of media questions that I hope will explain what the sale means and what I will do
A tale of severe and growing social inequality in the Highlands, and two suggestions to help fix it
Ruined buildings on the unused Kilundine estate, which the Morvern Community Woodlands group hopes to buy and revive AS a new migrant to the Highlands I have ma
A history of the solar century so far: a tale of disruption, denial, and existential threat.
An account of the oil and gas industry’s response to climate risk and the emergence of low-cost solar since that late 1990s as seen by a bit-part player in the
Record donation of £920,000 from Solarcentury launches a new era at SolarAid
Some of the team at Solarcentury, and SolarAid’s new chair for a new phase, Mirjana Skrba. Followers of this website could be forgiven for being fed up with bei
The Bunloit Wildland project: full Q & A of an interview with The Scotsman on mission and progress to date
Interview for this an article on 5th July: 1. Why Bunloit Estate? What attracted to you this particular parcel of land and how does it fit in to your rewilding
Covid-19 has accelerated the stranding of fossil-fuel-economy assets. What does that mean for our world?
My latest Big Picture update for the team at Solarcentury, built around the latest report from Carbon Tracker, “Decline and Fall” , published 4th June.
Sir John Houghton, a co-chair of the IPCC scientific group and hero of the climate struggle, has died of COVID-19
I witnessed Sir John Houghton co-chair the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Scientific Working Group between 1988 and 2002. He was a man I admired en
Imagine facing this pandemic in the dark. Let’s spare as many as we can in rural Zambia and Malawi that fate.
In isolation, there is so much time for thinking. One of the silver linings to the COVID-19 clouds is that many people seem to be translating their thinking tim
Climate crisis + Covid crisis = ? ….some early thoughts for companies able to help lead the green new deal
My presentation at Solarcentury’s annual review meeting this afternoon. Bottom line: we and our like will be even more needed, and have so very much to offer.
A search for hope on the climate front lines in 2020: an idea for a new campaigning people-power company
My presentation at Cambridge University on 5th March. In it I describe an idea for a new people-power company to help lead the charge to a zero-carbon world by
Financing solar for a zero carbon world: panel discussions at two international conferences.
Solar finance and investment, London, 5th February 2020 Making solar bankable, Amsterdam 7th February 2020 What follows are the 8 points I would most like to ma
Opinion piece - UK Coal
The closure of Wales' last coal plant now halves to 4 (in a single year) the number of remaining UK coal power stations being kept on standby as a price-hedge i
Why the UK government finally gave up on fracking. And why American shale drilling will crash.
After years of dogged support for fracked shale gas and oil, at the expense of clean energy, the Conservatives finally gave in today. This is a significant vict
The quest for zero net carbon: globally and in the UK ….an eclectic tour (Business Green Summit presentation)
The global context of Solarcentury’s work: my presentation at the company’s quarterly review Oct. 22
This is a summary in pictures and charts of selected major developments during the last three months in the global issues relevant to the company’s mission, cul
What it’s all about tomorrow: triggering a survival reflex in society in the face of climate chaos
This is one of the most heart-rending scenes I have witnessed in 3 decades of campaigning (13 sec video)
Where indeed is the government? I find it agonising to imagine being in the minds of these kids. How awfully my generation has let them down. I and many of my c
On the eve of the schoolchildrens’ strike for climate, a 2 minute video from parents all over the world
I am proud to “represent the UK” in this group, and I encourage everyone to accept the schoolchildrens’ invitation to join them on the streets tomorrow. We at S
Global heating and the climate chaos that results from it: a summary slideshow to mark the global schoolchildrens’ strike
A slideshow-summary for-the-busy prepared for the team at Solarcentury, as a backgrounder for our support for the youth strike event on 20th September and the E
How liberal democracy can die ….on our watch: A pictures-and-charts summary for-the-busy
The UK enters the most important week in the history of its ancient democracy at a time when trends in social attitudes and tech capabilities bode ill for the f
This is why we talk of extinction – A slideshow precis/analysis for-the-busy of the latest UN IPCC report
UN scientists this week reviewed the impacts of observed and predicted global heating on land, plus adaptation and mitigation response options. This is a vital
A groundbreaking report out today shows huge capital-efficiency advantage of solar and wind over oil
In it, BNP Paribas introduces the concept of Energy Return on Capital Invested. Conclusion: “The economics of oil for gasoline and diesel vehicles versus wind-
Solarcentury donates >$0.5 million to SolarAid from 2018-19 profits: an appeal to other companies to join us
Picture: Solarcentury CEO Frans van den Heuvel presents SolarAid representatives with a cake with which to celebrate the donation at the company’s recent quarte
The global context of Solarcentury’s work: my presentation to the company’s quarterly review
For years now I have given the closing presentation at Solarcentury’s all-team quarterly reviews. My topic is always the global context of our work: an effort t
Q2 2019: A chronology in pictures & charts of developments in climate, energy, tech & the future of civilisation
One person’s collated precis-for-the-busy of the last three months in the related dramas of climate change, energy transition, big tech and the future of civili
Progress on the provision of affordable and clean energy for all by 2030 (SDG7) and how to catch up
A global progress report on the four sub-targets of SDG7, the extent to which the international community is behind the pace, and how this can be fixed, with em
An updated history of SolarAid in pictures and charts, to mark the sale of our 2 millionth solar lighting product
The successes, failures, opportunities, challenges and learnings of a social enterprise endeavouring to catalyse solar lighting markets among the poorest of the
The survival-investment gap and the Berlin Wall: a thought for Solarcentury’s 21st birthday (+ our history updated)
As concern spreads in the world about the implications should humankind fail to cut carbon emissions, realisation that the threat of global heating is existenti
Letter to the Times by business leaders supportive of Extinction Rebellion ….of which I am proud to be one
Sir, The multi million-pound costs that the Extinction Rebellion protests have imposed on business are regrettable, as is the inconvenience to Londoners. But fu
If we transitioned away from fossil fuels could we fuel the energy needs of the global economy 100% with renewables?
A short introduction to a historic report, published 12th April 2019 by LUT University and Energy Watch, that models the global energy system on an hourly basis
Q1 2019: A chronology in pictures & charts of developments in climate, energy, tech & the future of civilisation
One person’s collated precis-for-the-busy of the last three months in the related dramas of climate change, energy transition, big tech and the future of civili
“Cleantech start-ups pitch for cash amid surging enthusiasm for green investing”: Business Green
Peter Holder: “Amid the gloom, it is all too easy to miss the genuinely exciting and impressive work underway to drive low-carbon growth across the UK economy.
Investment on the global energy transition: a report from the front lines as of March 28th 2019
A global energy transition is underway: a system change driven by exponential growth in clean-energy technologies. But there is an investment gap. Much will dep
Thoughts of hope for the students on strike today – and one person’s apology for his generation’s failure
The schoolchildren on strike from school today in more than 100 countries are staging a global protest essentially about the failure of my generation to deal wi
The writing on the wall: a trillion dollar fund built on oil & gas exploration has just pulled out of oil & gas exploration
The Norwegian government has just mandated its sovereign wealth fund, the biggest such wealth fund, to divest from pure oil and gas explorers. This is a signifi
China’s vision for climate action and related issues pertinent to common security
This presentation is the basis for points made on a panel discussion and Q&A at a climate solutions discussion organised by the New York Times and The Conduit C
Effect of fracking on climate: Letter to The Times from UK academics and environmentalists
Sir Recently Ineos and Cuadrilla, which both have significant interests in the hydraulic fracturing of shale gas, have demanded that the “traffic light” system
Regulating fracking: response from Dr Jeremy Leggett and Prof David Smythe to geoscientists supportive of fracking
The UK fracking industry claimed last week that it is being strangled at birth by unreasonably severe rules on earthquake monitoring during fracking. It has enl
A report from the front lines of the global energy transition as of 21 Feb 2019
https://collegerama.tudelft.nl/Mediasite/Showcase/delft-energy-initiative/Presentation/c32833964516476b94e514430bf92fd41d
The children, the climate and the oil companies: a short video blog presentation
What needs to happen to deliver the striking schoolchildren the deliverance they are pleading for in the face of the climate threat? How far are the big oil com
What to do about the recent worrying news on insect decline: a short video by Jeremy Leggett
A quick background to the terrifying evidence that has emerged of late, a look at the main problems (industrial agriculture and pesticide use compounded by clim
“We need to put jobs and poverty at the centre of climate action”: Philip Smith and Jeremy Leggett
To have a realistic chance of avoiding catastrophic climate change, we need to see greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions peaking by 2020 and heading into reverse (UNEP
The Great Global Energy Transition: A report from the front lines as of 31st January 2019
If we look at the total system change going on in energy out of context, the picture could be rosy. But in climate-change context, the transition is not going f
Westminster Energy Forum – Next steps for the renewable energy industry in the UK: The case of solar
How is solar faring globally? The answer is a success story redolent with potential to inspire progress on wider fronts of the battle for a livable future. How
A chronology in pictures and charts of selected developments in climate, energy, tech & the future of civilisation
One person’s collated precis-for-the-busy of the last three months in the related dramas of climate change, energy transition, big tech and the future of civili
The FT Editorial Board has a problem with those who pretend to solve climate change. Who might they be?
“The depressing reality about climate change is that we could solve the problem, at manageable cost, but are failing to do so.” So the Financial Times Editorial
Jeremy Leggett interviewed on solar and Solarcentury by Solarcentury – the full 17 minute interview
Why the UN Secretary-General is right to say that it is “immoral and suicidal” not to accelerate emissions reductions
Some may think that the UN chief is exaggerating the threat of climate change, and that David Attenborough is overly alarmist in warning that the collapse of ci
Why I have finally quit Facebook. A chronology of unfulfilled hope for democracy in pictures and charts.
The original powerpoint, which includes source urls as notes, can be downloaded from the usual folder .
SolarAid: A history in pictures and charts on the day we help launch an upgraded best-of-class solar light
The world is behind the required pace to reach UN Sustainable Development Goal 7: clean and affordable energy for all by 2030. SolarAid has been trying to help
God, Man, Tech and Climate: Hans Joachim Schellnhuber paints a picture for the Club of Rome
The Club of Rome, an organisation of experts on the state of the planet long concerned about that state, is celebrating its 50 th anniversary with a conference.
History of oil and gas production from US shale, and UK hopes to copy it, in pictures and charts
With fracking restarting in the UK after a 7 year abeyance, it is time to update my August 2018 presentation suggesting that this is a very bad idea. To underst
BBC Radio airs an unprecedented critique of the UK government’s undermining of renewables
A personal view of the File on 4 programme : I found it powerful and accurate, in particular because it used a wide range of interviewees across the full span o
A change of format on FutureToday
The daily chronology of selected news developments has been running for 6 months now. Most of the interest on the site has been in the slideshow blogs, which se
Fracking allowed once again in UK after 7 year abeyance following failure of last minute injunction
So the BBC reports . Image: from BBC website
Senior Tory MP protests lack of police investigation into breakages of law by 3 pro-Brexit campaigns
Damian Collins : “What is our law worth if the police won’t act?” Plus it is “absurd” that the UK has not reacted to claims of Russian interference in the refer
Businesses and organisations withdraw en masse from Saudi showcase summit, citing Khashoggi case
The Guardian reports that they include NYT, FT, CNN, CNBC, Bloomberg, World Bank, Branson, & even Uber – despite having the Saudi sovereign wealth fund as an in
Google to shut down Google+ after failing to disclose massive user data leak
This was on the scale of the one that landed Zuckerberg in Congress. According to a memo leaked to the WSJ , the reason for the cover up was the risk of the CEO
Saudi government hit squad murdered dissident Jamal Khashoggi in Turkey, strong evidence suggests
The Guardian reports that Turkey has audio and video recordings. There is a trend of increasing state-induced abductions and murders, including by the US (with
“Dirty capital: London’s financial flows are polluted by laundered money”: Economist headline
The Economist reports that the National Crime Agency believes international money rinsed through British banks each year is “many hundreds of billions of pounds
Hurricane Michael: Category 4 storm hits Florida for the 1st time ever, flattening whole neighbourhoods
This time wind is the problem: up to 155 mph , 5 mph less than Category 5. Governor Rick Scott, climate-change denier, describes the devastation as “unimaginabl
Coal has risen from ashes of 2013, as price has risen, to be top earning Australian export
The FT reports that Glencore, BHP Billiton and Anglo American are among those cashing in. And the Australian government says that acting on the IPCC report woul
Carbon Tracker satellite analysis shows 40% of Chinese coal fleet is cash-flow negative in 2018
This is due to to high fuel costs (capacity weighted average of $85/t). 95% of the coal fleet will be cash-flow negative by 2040, due to carbon pricing & air po
This week’s UN warning of climate chaos: is the total world rewrite they say we need doable?
The UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has issued a landmark report warning that global warming must be kept to 1.5˚C. This would entail a zero carb
Huge reduction in meat-eating “essential” if the world is to avoid climate breakdown
So concludes the most comprehensive survey of the food system yet : 90% less beef consumption in western world, 5x more beans & pulses. Images: screenshot of BB
CEO says Shell will not “go soft” on oil & gas, and vast reforestation will be needed for 1.5˚C target
Van Buerden insists that gas has a key role to play in a 1.5˚C world. “You can have an endless discussion about semantics. Is it a transition role, a destinatio
Dutch appeals court upholds landmark climate change ruling: government must accelerate emissions cuts
Court backs citizens case that the crisis demands cuts of at least 25% by 2020 from 1990 levels, not the 17% cut the government targets. The Guardian reports th
Landmark UN scientists’ report confirms ruinous contrast between 1.5˚C & 2˚C global warming
The IPCC concludes that for 1.5˚C limit, emissions must be cut from 2010 levels by 45% by 2030, and to net zero by 2050 (by 20% and 2075 for 2˚C). A baby born t
With world debt well above 2008 levels, world economy is at risk of another financial crash: IMF
Median government debt-GDP ratio stands at 52%, up from 36% before the 2008 crisis. The Guardian reports that “Like many institutions the IMF has warned that ri
2018 Q3: A chronology in pictures & charts of developments in climate, energy, tech & the future of civilisation
One person’s collated precis-for-the-busy of the second three months of 2018 in the related dramas of climate change, energy transition, big tech and the future
$1.45 tn of labelled green bonds and climate-aligned bonds leaves “headroom for huge growth” into 2020s
So the Climate Bonds Initiative reports in its annual state of market report . Some other key findings: – USA, China and France are top three countries for labe
Denmark to set world’s tightest national ban on new petrol and diesel cars: from 2030
PM Lars Lokke Rasmussen says: “It is a big ambition that will be hard to achieve. But that’s exactly why we need to try.” National goal is to be fossil-free by
“We don’t discuss the question anymore of, ‘Is there climate change’,”: Munich Re in the WSJ
WSJ : “Changing risk probabilities may make some areas uninsurable altogether, or at least so risky the cost would be prohibitively expensive for insurance buye
Beijing axes coal and steel production curbs as Trump’s trade war impacts economy
China’s economy is decelerating, prompting Beijing to pare back environmental policies to boost GDP, analysts profess. The FT reports that: “Last year, steel pr
Tim Berners-Lee launches a radical plan to decentralise the World Wide Web, so that users own their data
In an exclusive interview for Fast Company : “We are not talking to Facebook and Google about whether or not to introduce a complete change where all their busi
Big energy firms ask for billions from UK taxpayer to build mini nuclear reactors …to be ready mid 2030s
This in a paper by the Expert Finance Working Group on Small Reactors obtained under the Freedom Of Information Act. The Guardian reports that: “while the repor
China sets renewable energy target of 35% by 2030 amid concerns about new coal-plant construction
The SCMP reports that the previous goal was “non fossil fuel” to make up 20% of energy by 2030. But satellite photos suggest a disastrous 250 GW of new coal bei
New California law compels two huge pension funds to disclose climate-related financial risk
The FT reports that Calpers ($360bn in assets), and Calstrs ($228bn ) must now report publicly on climate risk to their public market portfolio. Beginning in 20
UK coal revival as gas prices surge, reversing gains in clean power drive, and threatening emissions rise
The wholesale price of gas for supply in the winter of 2018-19 is up 50% since June, contributing to an increase in household fuel bills. The FT reports that “i
UK Labour would target zero carbon by 2050, with 7x increase in offshore wind & 3x solar by 2030: global leadership
The Guardian reports the leader’s speech : 85% renewable-plus-nuclear by 2030, up from 50% today …including onshore wind, creating 400,000 new jobs in a “green
“Relatively few” companies are disclosing climate risk, & v. few in financial filings, as TCFD recommends
513 organisations now support the TCFD recommendations, 457 of them with a collective market cap of $7.9 trillion. But few are yet acting to report financial ri
As much as 5% of gas produced in Argentina’s Vaca Muerta shale drilling is leaking to the atmosphere
So investigator Jorge Talliant finds, as reported by the FT . “There is a history of abuse as no one is controlling the sector ….there is no credible environmen
How the ultra-rich could save the world, if they wanted to, in 22 pictures and charts
Recent compilations of wealth show staggering record inequality, and miniscule engagement by the rich in socially-responsible investment. This presentation expl
“We definitely have the power to shut down power grids”: RUSI analyst on UK cyber war capabilities
This of existing capabilities, on the eve of a new UK cyber war unit being set up, with >2,000 staff and a budget of hundreds of millions. FT: ” Analysts said t
OECD warns global economic growth has peaked, cuts projections and blames trade tensions
OECD interim economic outlook : Current US-China trade spat and resulting uncertainties are a “significant source of downside risk to global investment, jobs an
Danske Bank scandal was only possible because UK allows Kremlin to move dark money with impunity
Oliver Bullough in The Guardian: If cash flowing west in other Baltic state banks were in proportion to the $200bn uncovered in Danske’s Estonian branch 2008-15
UBS finds that only 39% of world’s High Net Worth Individuals have >1% of their assets invested ethically
UBS : Americans are worst at 12%. British second worst at 20%. Chinese are at 60%. HNWIs defined as those with $1m (£760,000) in investable assets. Nick Tucker,
Two directors quit UK fracking firm as Tory MPs tell of a rebellion in their ranks re no planning for fracking
Third Energy had been due to frack in Yorkshire, subject to government checks on its financial health. Meanwhile around 20 Tory MPs plan to vote against fast-tr
Evacuation warnings in place for 1.7 million and 800,000 without power in the Carolinas
BBC : Florence has been downgraded from a hurricane to a tropical storm …but eight months of rain are expected to fall in 3 days. A reminder : Hurricanes Harvey
“Sub-national actors” pile pressure on national governments at California climate summit
Climate Home News reports that one of the architects of the Paris Agreement, European Climate Foundation CEO Laurence Tubiana said the evidence that many cities
Ten years after the Lehman collapse, the world debt burden has ballooned $27 trillion to nearly $250 trillion
So Bloomberg reports . Entering 2000 it was $84 tn. Total global wealth at the end of 2017 summed to $280 trillion . Debt is growing 3 times faster than wealth.
Emissions have peaked in 27 of the C40 group of major cities, including London, New York, and Paris
So mayors announce at the Global Climate Action Summit in San Francisco. Emissions continue to fall. 66 cities expect to peak by 2020. Wired: “That’s a big deal
480 companies from 38 countries now base climate plans on SBTs: c. one eighth of global market capitalisation
SBT.org press release : That is nearly USD$10 trillion, comparable to the NASDAQ stock exchange. 17% of Fortune Global 500. 130 since January 2018. 50 since Tru
“Fossil fuels will peak in the 2020s as renewables supply all growth in energy demand”: Carbon Tracker
Analyst Kingsmill Bond estimates peak years for different growth rates of renewables & global energy demand, and warns of “trillions of dollars in stranded asse
UK’s Green New Deal Group calls for a “green jobs in every constituency” investment push
Ten years after the Lehman collapse, the group says that had its call at that time been heeded, the rise of populism could have been mitigated. Business Green r
Funds committed to divestment from fossil fuels now total more than $6 trillion (£4.6 trillion)
Almost 1,000 institutional investors have so pledged, led by insurers at $3tn. Oil majors now cite divestment as a material risk to their business. The Guardian
“Trump Administration Wants to Make It Easier to Release Methane Into Air”: New York Times
Oil & gas lobbyist group the Western Energy Alliance “praised the Trump administration for turning the oil companies’ requests into policy.” The New York Times
A new first for the US shale gas industry: some of its product is being sold with ‘responsible’ branding
The FT reports that Utility New Jersey Resources is to buy gas produced ‘responsibly’ from Southwestern Energy wells in W Virginia, at an undisclosed premium. “
Global wave of climate protests in dozens of countries as UN climate talks stumble on old issues
US blocks a Chinese bid to insert two-tier standards for rich and poor countries, leading to deadlock on guidelines for the national climate plans that underpin
A Green New Deal 2018: the imperative for new energy and new jobs in the UK, and globally
The tenth anniversary of the collapse of Lehman Brothers, and the onset of the financial crisis, is on 15th September. The Green New Deal group, a team of Briti
Google’s AI hate speech detector is easily fooled by a few typos or the insertion of words like “love”
Researchers at Aalto University in Finland find simple keyword filters & complex AIs are equally vulnerable to workarounds, in 7 systems used for hate-speech de
“The evidence of a slowdown in the US shale is unmistakable now” despite prices >$65 for months
So reports Ed Crooks on Twitter, referring to his FT article based on a gathering of the service industry in New York. Schlumberger CEO Paul Kibsgaard on the ra
Ørsted opens world’s largest offshore windfarm off Cumbria: “the shape of projects going forward”
Walney Extension , 659 MW, spans an area the size of 20,000 football pitches provides enough to power the equivalent of 590,000 homes. Matthew Wright, UK managi
“Why so little has changed since the financial crash”: Martin Wolf offers a clear view in the Financial Times
“So what happened after the global financial crisis ? Have politicians and policymakers tried to get us back to the past or go into a different future? The answ
If we made the $90 tn of infrastructure investment needed by 2030 Paris-congruent we would save $26 tn
>65 million additional (low-carbon) jobs by 2030, avoid 700,000 premature deaths, and other big benefits to the global economy … “if only governments stop stand
Booming stock markets mean the world’s 0.25 million super-rich now possess wealth of $31.5 trillion
This is almost double the GDP of the USA . UHNWIs (defined as those with >$30m assets) increased by 12.9% last year, to a record 255,810. So finds the Wealth-X
“The Super Rich of Silicon Valley Have a Doomsday Escape Plan”: dinner party talk has turned to action
“Seven Silicon Valley entrepreneurs have purchased bunkers from Rising S Co. and planted them in New Zealand in the past two years.” So Bloomberg reports, along
Facebook and Twitter testify as Congress mulls regulation, & DoJ vows action on anti-right “bias”
The FT reports : “Senator Mark Warner, the Democratic vice-chair of the committee, warned at the start of the session: “The era of the wild west in social media
UK government blocks oil drilling at Surrey Hills site, citing impact on woodland and water
A DEFRA spokesperson says : “The nation’s woods and forests are cherished natural assets and we want to ensure they are protected now and into the future.” Thou
Intra-NATO collaboration is vital in an era of cyber warfare: former NSA director Keith Alexander
Writing in the FT : “The west’s approach to cyber-security is not working”: individual companies cannot combat attacks by actors with state-level capabilities.”
“Shale Plays Will Not Cause the Next Financial Crisis”: Art Berman …the debt pile isn’t big enough
“I believe the opposite is more likely, that a developing financial crisis may crash oil prices and test the survival of shale plays.” You pay your money (or no
UK local government pension funds invest £9bn in fracking companies ….including Lancashire County
The FT reports on research compiled by Platform London, 350 and Friends of the Earth. Lancashire County Pension Fund have no comment. Dumfries and Galloway Coun
“The Next Financial Crisis Lurks Underground”: Bethany McLean, author of famous book on Enron
Writing in the New York Times : “These companies have survived because, despite the skeptics, plenty of people on Wall Street are willing to keep feeding them c
LinkedIn struggles to contain a “super-aggressive” effort by China to recruit spies in US using fake accounts
The targets are people with access to confidential information. German and British security agencies have reported similar Chinese campaigns, the FT reports . G
MPs publish a withering verdict on Facebook, Cam. Analytica, Russia …and infer Brexit vote may be illegal
After an 18 month deep dive, the DCMS select committee has a far-reaching list of recommendations . And big questions remain. So Carole Cadwalladr reports in th
Canadian Federal Court of Appeal quashes approval of $9.3-bn Trans Mountain oil pipeline expansion
The Vancouver Sun reports that Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer accuses Trudeau’s government of spending “taxpayer money to buy a pipeline (they) can’t even bu
Germany reaches 100,000 home battery systems …to add to its 1 million+ home solar PV systems
National trade group BSW Solar aims to make batteries “standard” in the energiewende, and to add the next 100,000 in the next 2 years . It is marvelous for me t
California’s legislators set landmark goal for 100% carbon-free electricity by 2045 …& 60% RE by 2030
Hawaii passed legislation in 2015 for 100% carbon-free electricity by 2045. Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Washington, D.C. are also considering the sa
Facebook targets 100% renewable electricity by end 2020, joining Ikea & Citigroup despite soaring demand
In 2017 the company used 2.46 TWh of electricity, up 34% from 2016 and more than enough for all the homes in Vermont. 51% came from renewable energy power purch
Trump accuses Google, Facebook & Twitter of favouring negative news stories about him
“Be careful”, he threatens . You “are treading on very, very troubled territory”. Insiders say the news appears negative because it mostly is, and that is his o
Driverless taxi debuts in Tokyo ahead of Olympics in ‘world first’ trial with fee paying passengers
ZMP, a developer of autonomous driving technology, and the taxi company Hinomaru Kotsu, are using Toyota vans on a 5km route. I suspect we can expect to see acc
There is now a recognisable global rightward shift on climate change: Robinson Meyer in The Atlantic
No industrialised country is on target with Paris commitments. “Moderate national leaders …are finding it far easier to talk about climate change than to actual
South African government cancels costly 9.6GW nuclear expansion plan, switching it to gas, wind, solar
The new plan calls for additional capacity of 8.1 GW gas, 8.1 GW wind, 5.6 GW solar, 2,500 MW from hydro and 1,000 MW from coal by 2030. The S African plans wou
AI can now make high-definition fake videos from just a simple sketch overlain on a trained template
Open source software created by graphics firm Nvidia and MIT. New Scientist fears it “could be used to warp our perception of the world.” Digital forensics expe
Trump says US is “working now on a military plan” based on a national-security need for coal revival
It is “indestructible”, whereas wind turbines and pipelines can be “blown up”. Leaked memo suggests reregulation, enforced purchase. The FT reports that this ar
Battery energy storage - the challenge of sustaining sustainable energy
Battery energy storage is promoted as a key technology in the decarbonisation of electrical power systems and in the provision of energy in contexts across the
University researchers demonstrate how easy hacking a robot is, taking over movement & speech
“A serious security problem is looming over robotics” Wired reports . Meanwhile developers are rushing to market without considering it. Researchers at Brown Un
Why the UK nuclear renaissance plan is doomed to failure, in 30 pictures and charts
The UK government’s nuclear power programme will come off the rails because nuclear energy has become uneconomic, the builder of the crucial first reactor faces
Continent-wide ban on halogen lightbulbs begins in Europe 1st Sept, slashing emissions & energy bills
LEDs consume five times less energy than halogen bulbs and their use will prevent >15m tonnes of carbon emissions a year, an amount equal to Portugal’s annual e
Arctic’s oldest and thickest sea ice, north of Greenland, breaks up for first time on record
Abnormal heat in the Arctic has been worrying scientists all year, and now winds have helped break up an area normally solid all summer, the Guardian reports. I
EU carbon price rise set to drive substantial switching from coal to gas for power 2019-2023
So Carbon Tracker concludes in its latest report, analysing the impact of the start-up from January 2019 of the Market Stability Reserve. “The EU carbon market
Bank of England warns that AI threatens lengthy and widespread unemployment in the UK
Andy Haldane, Chief Economist: more disruption than the first industrial revolution (coal and steam), second industrial revolution (chemical engineering and the
Renewables offset fossil & nuclear shortfalls in generation as heatwave limits water use of conventional power
Not the first time, Recharge reports . Heatwaves forced nuclear shutdowns or curtailments across Europe in 2003, 2006, and 2015. A microcosm of the future. What
“Big Trouble Brewing At The Bakken: Rapid Rise In Water Production Signals Red Flag Warning”
SRSrocco Report : “While oil production in the Bakken has reversed since it bottomed in 2016 and increased over the past few years, so has the amount of by-prod
Cornell Professor Anthony Ingraffea explains why frackers’ plans threaten America’s water supply
Current wells use 10 to 30 million gallons, he tells ThinkProgress . A million more wells are planned in the next 20 years. That means trillions of gallons. “Sh
Heatwaves are proving Mrs Thatcher was right on global warming 30 years ago: a former Tory leader in the Mail
“Margaret Thatcher, in whose government I served, is unique among prime ministers in having had a science degree”, writes Michael Howard. “Thirty years ago next
UK government drops the question about fracking from their regular public-attitude survey on energy
The latest survey had only 16% in support. The first fracking for seven years is due to start in a few weeks. HMG says the question will be back in 2019. You ca
Solar in use for Unmanned Autonomous Vehicles “for all tactical, surveillance/inspection” missions
The US Navy’s Hybrid Tiger Group 2 UAV project integrates high efficiency solar cells, a hydrogen fuel cell, and AI. Some solar companies are now actively marke
Fracking wastewater volume rose 1,440% in 5 years, water use 770%, adding to tension in dry regions
So a Duke University study finds. Total produced water is now “more on a per day basis than Niagara Falls has going over it in an hour,” says Joel Mack , an att
China follows the US in building a fleet of autonomous, AI-powered submarines, ready 2020
Onboard AI systems will make decisions on course and depth. It is unclear, the Singularity Hub reports, whether they will have autonomous kill / no-kill decisio
“Why Facebook is losing the war on hate speech in Myanmar”: a bombshell Reuters investigation
Reuters uncovers more than a 1,000 posts attacking the Rohingya and other Muslims. Facebook has failed to fix a problem Zuckerberg promised to 4 months ago. The
The Race of Our Lives: A summary of Jeremy Grantham’s note to investors, in pictures and charts
A precis of the recently-updated 35 page classic note by the investment legend, aiming to be readable in minutes. Subject: climate change meets population meets
US elections remain “dangerously vulnerable” to cyber-attacks, experts continue to warn
A “rare error” reported by electoral officials in computers used in the April 2017 election in Georgia’s 6th Congressional District may have already cost the De
Google records your location even after you have used a privacy setting telling it not to
So an Associated Press investigation finds, in the case of many Google services on Android devices and iPhones. At a certain point, one’s patience with these te
More than 100 large wildfires burn in USA, with more expected today …and increasingly in future as world warms
1.6 million acres consumed in multiple states, Reuters reports , with 30,000 personnel fighting the blazes, the Mendocino Complex fire in California is the stat
Shell heading back to deepwater drilling, where breakeven costs are now as low as $30, they say
Brazil, the Gulf of Mexico and West of Shetland are among the most attractive, head of exploration & production Andy Brown tells the FT . He also mentions some
“The Race of Our Lives”: Jeremy Grantham updates his classic investor note on climate change in holistic context
We may win the race to decarbonise energy, he argues, but add in soil loss, plunging crop yields, etc – and it’s quite a different challenge. Some extracts from
“Why oil firms should worry more about climate change”: too-high oil price assumed, assets overvalued
So T he Economist argues, using a chart showing oil price based on assumptions of 8 European oil majors in a recent Bank Sarasin report, versus Paris-congruent
History of oil & gas production from shale in pictures & charts: why US shale will crash and UK will fail
With fracking about to recommence in the UK after 8 years, a review of progress and prospects is in order. To understand why this latest fiasco in British energ
China restarts coal plant construction after two-year freeze: 46.7 GW of new plants visible in satellite imagery
Coal Swarm analysis of Planet Labs imagery shows some are generating already, some soon to be. If all come online, Chinese coal consumption goes up 4%. Demand i
Solar PV on UK Homes: A new build requirement
In 2018, I have been running a petition on the UK Parliament website asking for a Parliamentary Debate that every new home in the UK should be installed with so
“Climate change: ‘Hothouse Earth’ risks even if CO2 emissions slashed”: BBC
International scientific team warns of coalescing amplifying feedbacks from melting methane hydrates and other sources of emissions risks runaway effect. Kather
Top journalists write graphically about their terror of climate meltdown, deep fears for their children
Jenny Chase of Bloomberg on Twitter: “I think lots of us working in the clean energy industry don’t want to express how afraid we are of climate change, because
Apple, Facebook, YouTube and Spotify ban racial-hate-stirrer Alex Jones of InfoWars – only Twitter doesn’t
A Facebook spokesperson says the ban is “for glorifying violence …& using dehumanising language to describe people who are transgender, Muslims and immigrants.”
“Our climate plans are in pieces as killer summer shreds records”: CNN review of heatwaves around world
The article reviews extreme events in the US and globally. The conclusion is that because of the picture emerging, “more and more Americans are starting to acce
First drone assassination attempt on a head of state ….It won’t be the last, says Wired
President Maduro of Venezuela survives blast from 2 drones each bearing 1 kg of explosive . “…he suspects used two DJI M600 drones , each loaded down with 1 kil
Air pollution linked to changes in structure of the heart of the sort seen in early stages of heart failure
University of London cardiologists find exposure to nitrogen dioxide and PM2.5 and PM10 particles linked to an increase in the size of ventricles. Image: viendo
SEC, under Trump-appointee chairman, drops investigation of ExxonMobil climate-risk reporting
Union of Concerned Scientists : “The Trump administration is the fossil fuel industry’s fairy godmother, so it’s no surprise.” Jay Clayton took over as chairman
Facebook uncovers disinformation campaign aiming to influence US midterm elections
32 pages and accounts on Facebook and Instagram removed for “co-ordinated inauthentic behaviour”. Intelligence experts blame the Kremlin. Mark Warner, top Democ
Report finding that fracking increases air pollution buried for 3 years by UK government, until…..
The Guardian reports that the Air Quality Expert Group (AQEG) report is eventually quietly published 3 days after Caudrilla gets clearance to frack in Yorkshire
World passes 1,000 GW of wind and solar, on a rising exponential curve, in the last days of June: BNEF
BNEF estimates the 2nd TW will arrive by mid-2023, costing 46% less than the c. $1.3 tn required for the first. 54% wind, 46% solar. “Total installed capacity h
Heatwave forces 3 Nordic reactors to be curbed, 1 to close, more expected, and EDF may shut 4 French reactors
Shut plant: Ringhals, Sweden. Reuters reports that the water is too warm for reactor cooling in the sea off Sweden and Finland, and the River Rhone is too warm
Facebook reveals growth slowing & revenues down post Cambridge Analytica: share price plummets
3m Europeans have quit (of 282m European users). Market cap $119bn down (19% – biggest ever one day drop). Zuckerberg fortune $17bn down. Brent Thill, an analys
Twitter stock plunges 20% after 1m quit following cull of fake and offensive accounts: 70m+ of 320m
The Guardian reminds us that >50,000 Russia-linked accounts posted automated material about the 2016 US election, reaching at least 677,000 Americans. “Twitter
Decline rate in the top US shale oilfields has steadily increased to half a million barrels per day now
SRSRocco Report latest : To keep production ahead of such decline, most companies are piling on debt even at current oil prices. Cash flow in top 10 Q1 2018? Mi
“Current fake news pales in comparison to the harm that could come from deepfakes”
Roula Khalaf in the FT : “Within 2 or 3 years we may be watching moving images and speeches without anyone being able to tell whether they are real or fabricati
BP heads into US shale oil and gas by buying BHP’s assets – up for sale nearly a year – for $10.5bn
Beating Shell and Chevron to the 4.5 billion barrels of oil-equivalent resources, BP CEO Bob Dudley calls it a “transformational acquisition.” On 29th June 2017
Amazon face recognition falsely identifies 28 members of Congress as past arrestees, ACLU finds
With a disproportionate number of people of colour. In face of calls to cease selling their Rekognition product, Amazon is resistant, defensive. The ACLU used a
EDF’s Flamanville cracked pipe latest: reactor now 7 years late and €7bn over budget
33 welds need repairing . Nuclear fuel now to be loaded Q4 2019, cost up €0.4bn to €10.9bn. How many unforeseen welds and detections of high carbon in steel are
Energy Minister Claire Perry finally gives Cuadrilla the go-ahead to start fracking in Lancashire
“Our world-class regulations will ensure that shale exploration will maintain robust environmental standards”, she says . Frack Free Lancashire and Frack-Free E
Renewables c.30% of UK electricity in 2017, set for c.50% by 2025 ….but could have been 100% by 2025
Newly published UK energy statistics show that renewable electricity generation increased by around 20% in just a single year so that 29.3% of electricity consu
BNEF NEO: “Every year a big surprise” …2018’s is wind & solar at nearly 50% of global electricity by 2050
“Wind, solar and batteries are set to become far more deeply entrenched in the generation mix of almost every country than anyone has so far thought possible”:
“Summer of extreme temperatures continues, to the beat of climate change”: CNN
Record heat waves on four continents. “The impacts of climate change are no longer subtle”, says Prof Michael Mann, the climate scientist who gave the world the
Nuclear power can’t compete with solar power: former IEA boss and nuclear advocate Nobuaki Tanaka
Nuclear is “ridiculously expensive”, “utterly uncompetitive”: $9bn now to build one reactor. So reports Asahi Shimbun . And around the world, right now, how man
Heavy industry turns to renewables, including aluminium smelters, cement plants & “green steel”
The FT reports that “corporate buyers of renewable power have been on the rise and emerged as one of the main drivers for new renewables projects, because long-
Tepco, long a mainstay of the nuclear industry, pivots to renewable energy, and seeks overseas partners
“We must gain competitive advantage in renewable energy”, says President Tomoaki Kobayakawa . The main focus will be offshore wind. Nikkei Asian Review coyly po
“Elected Leaders Are Making the World Less Democratic”: Bloomberg contrasts indices from 2012 and 2018
“Organizations that monitor the health of democracies are converging around a similar idea : On average, the world is becoming less democratic for the first tim
Both sides in an Indonesian election use fake social-media-account “factories” to whip up hatred
“Buzzer teams” with multiple fake Twitter, Instagram and Facebook accounts fan religious and racial divides . Indonesia ranks among the top five users of Twitte
Trump’s tiny election margin and Russia’s major hacking access lead The Economist to conclude…
… that it is “impossible” to say categorically that the GRU did not swing the 2016 election, as Paul Ryan and other GOP leaders do. “The margin of Mr Trump’s vi
Swarm of 30 independent drones programmed to self organise, including choice of direction
Most drone swarms are pre-programmed, Wired reports . The development team for this one is led by Gabor Vásárhelyi, director of the Robotic Lab in the Departmen
WhatsApp tiny anti-hate step: message forwarding limited to 20, and 5 in India after mob lynchings
The Guardian reports that In the last 2 months 20 people have been set on by mobs and murdered after being falsely accused of child abduction on the app. The pr
“How can Facebook stop climate misinformation when its ‘fact-checkers’ are deniers?”
Joe Romm gives examples on ThinkProgress of Zuckerberg confirming that deniers will be allowed to “fact check” for the platform. “This week, Zuckerberg made cle
Zuckerberg says Facebook will not ban Holocaust deniers and other extreme conspiracy theorists
Original interview: Holocaust deniers are “deeply offensive”, but “I don’t believe that our platform should take that down because I think there are things that
2,600 scientists, including 3 Google DeepMind co-founders, sign pledge not to develop killer AI robots
Among institutions signing the Future of Life Institute’s pledge , Solarcentury is the first British company to do so. And if you think it is unlikely that sola
Wildfires rage across the Arctic Circle – worst in Sweden, which calls for international help
There have been many fires before in Sweden, but never over such a wide area. EU nations asked for emergency assistance in firefighting. “EU officials said many
UK government proposes, on same day, no payments for solar electricity exports & no planning need for fracking
The 7-month-delayed UK government consultation on the end of the solar feed-in tariff at the end of March 2019 makes no proposal for a replacement, dashing indu
Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse predict large contraction of global solar installation rate in 2018
24% and 16% respectively , driven by the slow-down decreed in China. If correct, this would be the first time the global market had shrunk. This is turning into
Farnborough Air Show features a “smorgasbord” of new robotic technologies, on all scales
Rolls Royce featured a swarm of micro-robots designed to crawl through jet engines servicing them without necessarily detaching them from planes. Bloomberg : “I
US District Judge dismisses New York’s global warming suit against oil companies
Another setback for cities seeking legal redress. Judge rules global warming has to be tackled federally. New York says it will appeal. Wired reports Theodore B
Gas flaring dropped globally in 2017 for first time since 2013 ….but still very high, & up 7% in the US
The FT reports the vast scale of the problem, still: If the the gas burnt in flares were captured and used for power generation, it could supply 90% of Africa’s
Google fined £3.8bn by EU over “serious illegal behaviour” in Android antitrust violations
Margrethe Vestager, EU competition commissioner, says : Google used the Android mobile phone operating system “to cement its dominance as a search engine”, prev
Clean energy investment fell 3% in 2017, and expect another fall in 2018, says a worried IEA
World Energy Investment 2018 : All energy $1.8 trillion. Renewables down 7% to $298bn. Energy efficiency up 3% to $236 bn. = $534bn incl. big hydro. Fossil fuel
Facebook protected far-right activists even after rule breaches: Channel 4 investigation
A moderator tells an undercover reporter that the policy, called “shielded review” , is to keep certain pages up because “they have a lot of followers so they’r
Siemens boss urges need for retraining in a global car workforce facing one third cuts in a decade
Joe Kaeser is already spending €500m a year on retraining because “the fourth industrial revolution which will obviously affect manufacturing massively as it ac
How liberal democracy can die, in our lifetimes: a summary in 30 pictures and charts
The Trump Putin meeting would seem to be a good occasion to review the existential threat liberal democracy finds itself under in multiple countries today. I ha
Superhomes
In this blog, Jürgen Huber tells us about his "Superhomes" project which is an eco-home in London. For the last 6 years we live as a family of four in our conve
Oakwood Energy efficiency Project
In this blog, Alan Chapman talks us through an energy project on his home. His LinkedIn profile is here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alan-chapman-7314385a/ Fron
Iberdrola is using drones to spot faulty solar panels and wind turbine blades way ahead of engineers
Its €0.5m investment in drone maker Arborea Intellbird SL is one of a number targeting returns via O&M efficiency improvements, Bloomberg reports . The others i
On eve of Trump / Putin meeting, US DoJ indicts 12 Russian spies for interference in 2016 US election
The 11-count 29-page indictment “lays out Russia’s alleged efforts in the excruciating detail & specificity that has become the Mueller investigative team’s hal
People are easily identifiable in huge “anonymized” online datasets, multiple studies show
Perhaps the most worrying example cited : 1.5 m people almost all identifiable from behavioural patterns revealed by location data from mobile phones. “By analy
Ireland will be the first country to divest from all fossil fuels after all-party support in a Parliamentary vote
The €8bn national investment fund must sell all its >€350 milion investments in coal, oil, gas & peat “as soon as is practicable” , expected to mean within 5 ye
Ex-Cambridge Analytica staff launch venture using same techniques …and already have a client in an African state
Auspex International will be headed by Mark Turnbull, former head of CA’s political team …caught with CEO Nix admitting smears based on lies by C4 News. They wi
National Grid Future Energy Scenarios: Solar could be UK’s ‘dominant’ source of power by 2030
The “optimistic” “Community Renewables” scenario envisages 33 GW of solar and 9 GW of storage by 2030, and 66 GW of solar and 29 by 2050. It is worth perusing t
“American democracy’s built-in bias towards rural Republicans”: The Economist
“Its elections no longer convert the popular will into control of government” …. “a red vote is worth more than a blue one.” The most sobering passage in the ar
UK Information Commissioner fines Facebook the maximum possible over a data scandal ….£500,000
And starts a criminal prosecution against Cambridge Analytica parent SCL Elections, accusing it of failing properly to deal with a data request. Commissioner El
Whitehall plan to keep NI lights on in a hard Brexit: a flotilla of requisitioned barges plus diesel generators
Thousands of them, flown back from Afghanistan etc, according to the private government paper described in the FT . Including this one? Ofgem, the Climate Chang
“How to 3-D Print an Entire House in a Single Day” …costing only $4K: ideal for housing crises, development
A typical single-family home in the US takes an average of six and a half months to build. Not with Icon’s mega-size 3D printer, called Vulcan. The article on W
UK NIC urges HMG to grab the ‘golden opportunity’ to ditch nuclear and go with cheaper solar and wind
This in the UK’s first ever National Infrastructure Assessment : at least half UK power should be renewable by 2030, & can be at no extra cost. So now they have
Tesla takes big bet on China by announcing a factory in Shanghai, to double EV production
Tesla intends capacity will be 500,000 cars p.a., =1m vehicles p.a. including US. Most car plants are 200-300k p.a. China car sales: 28 million in 2017 (biggest
China’s Belt and Road difficulties proliferate across the world in face of local controversies
A US study suggests 234 of 1,674 Chinese-invested infrastructure projects (14%) announced in 66 countries have hit corruption and other troubles. According to t
“Electoral law has been broken – this is a fight for the soul of our democracy”: The Guardian
“The investigation into Vote Leave is just one of a number of ongoing inquiries into potential crimes.” This article is a passionate summary of a shocking state
Analysts fears an oil spike above $150 in wake of low investment since 2014 & record low discovery
Sanford Bernstein: “Investors who had egged on management teams to reign in capex and return cash will lament the underinvestment in the industry.” Proven reser
“Inside China’s Dystopian Dreams: A.I., Shame and Lots of Cameras”: New York Times
“China is reversing the commonly held vision of technology as a great democratizer, bringing people more freedom and connecting them to the world. In China, it
New UK solar and wind could be cheaper than existing gas plants within the 2020s: Climate Change Committee
Meanwhile, the Climate Change Committee’s Progress Report for 2018 concludes, government’s current plans for 100gCO2/kWh goal by 2030 are “not credible”. Power
“I was shocked it was so easy”: meet the professor who says facial recognition can tell if you’re gay
Paul Lewis on Prof Michal Kosinksi: “He is trikingly enthusiastic about some of the technologies he claims to be warning us about, talking excitedly about camer
“Survival of the Richest: The Wealthy Are Plotting To Leave Us Behind”: tech author Douglas Rushkoff
“How do I maintain authority over my security force after the (collapse) event?”: typical question from super-rich clients in Q&A about their “how to escape” vi
Amazon’s AI lets governments track all faces …there is “no way to use this and not harm citizens”
“As academics who have studied IT and privacy, including the social implications of face recognition and biometrics, we are calling on Amazon to get out of the
“How Digitalization Is Ushering in a New Solar Era”: GE on digital twins and smart dispatchability
Azeez Mohammed, president & CEO of Power Conversion: “Once the plant is digitalized, our goal is to achieve more than 99 percent plant availability throughout t
Shell CEO says firm carbon emissions targets are “superfluous”, and society should simply trust him
Ben van Beurden: “You have to believe us that setting an ambition, sticking my neck out, my personal reputation, the reputation of the company, is a big enough
“Red-hot planet: All-time heat records have been set all over the world during the past week”: Washington Post
Africa’s hottest temperature likely ever reliably recorded: 124.3˚F (51.3˚C) in Ouargla, Algeria. Northern Siberia: > 90˚F ….> 40˚F above normal. Los Angeles hi
Opportunity Despite: History and future of the UK solar PV market in pictures and charts
This slide show is for the 40th anniversary of the UK Solar Trade Association and is the basis for a keynote speech at the celebration thereof in City Hall, Lon
“It’s going to create a revolution”: how AI is transforming the UK’s National Health Service
For example, Microsoft’s InnerEye AI analyses images of tumours marked up by top consultants, so should perform like the best every time …and far faster. “Compu
SEC joins FBI, Justice Department & Federal Trade Commission in probing Facebook data breaches
Investigation, previously limited to Cambridge Analytica, now widens , including FB’s 2011 undertakings to the FTC on data control, and Zuckerberg testimony to
Facebook confesses to another false disclosure: it gave 61 companies access to user data blocked for most
Nike, Spotify, Snap, UPS and dating app Hinge among those given special rights to access . How many incremental revelations do there have to be before stakehold
2018 Q2: A chronology in pictures & charts of developments in climate, energy, tech & the future of civilisation
Things are moving so fast. Most of us are so busy. This slide show offers one person’s eclectic precis-for-the-busy of the first three months of 2018 in the rel
UK solar hits record weekly highs in heatwave …and tops gas as the biggest generator for an hour or so
21 – 28 June : 533 GWh from the UK’s 12.8 GW, >75GWh on five of the seven days, >8GW for eight consecutive days. The topping of gas has only occurred a few time
Yingli Green Energy, formerly the world number 1 solar PV manufacturer, is delisted from the NYSE
YGE shipped 2.9 GW in 2017, and is still in the top 10 manufacturers, despite years of financial problems. What a rollercoaster the solarcoaster truly is. See m
Facebook patents a system that can use your phone’s microphone to monitor TV habits …& ambient sound
An audio fingerprint embedded in TV shows or ads, inaudible to human ears, would trigger the phone to turn on the microphone and record. The recording could be
“Why Tech Worker Dissent Is Going Viral”: Wired headline – protest is “tearing through” tech giants
“Within a few days in late June, employees from Microsoft , Amazon, and Salesforce publicized petitions urging their CEOs to cancel or rethink lucrative contrac
California passes broadest digital privacy law of any US state, somewhat like GDPR, to enter force 2020
But even its supporters say it will need revising before then, having been completed hurriedly in the face of the changing politics of privacy. Californians wil
BP, expecting 140k EVs to grow to 12m by 2040, buys UK’s biggest electric car charger for £130m
The rebadged BP Chargemaster will add to the existing 6,500 charging points fast-charging on all 1,200 BP forecourts over the next year. Tufan Erginbilgic, the
UK democracy under threat, electoral regulator warns, calling on government for urgent reform
Recommendations include no spending by foreign organisations and individuals, transparency on who pays for online ads, ++ Sir John Holmes, chair of the Electora
Two federal judges rule against and for hearing of cities’ suits versus oil companies over climate costs
One throws out San Francisco and Oakland’s case, another rules cases of San Mateo and Marin Counties and the City of Imperial Beach can be heard in state court.
Erdoğan narrowly wins Turkish election in “climate of fear” (Amnesty), assuming quasi-dictatorial powers
A pro-government television station accidentally aired election “results” 3 days before the polls ..showing the 53 % that Erdoğan “achieved”, and indeed always
“A 14th straight YouGov poll shows Britain wishes it had never voted to leave the EU”: Business Insider
The chart shows all those YouGov polls grouped into monthly averages. Opinion of Brexit has been negative, on average, for 9 straight months. The article also f
Only one new community energy group formed in the UK in 2017 as subsidies went to fossil fuels
So Community Energy England reports in its annual survey . Subsidies for FF are 30x higher than for renewables, including >£3bn in 2017 through the capacity mar
Employees and American Civil Liberties Union demand Amazon stop facilitating government surveillance
Employees write imploring Bezos to stop selling Rekognition AI facial recognition software to government agencies and police. The letter says: “Amazon Rekogniti
Methane leaks from the US oil and gas industry c.60% higher than government estimates, new study finds
A top-down study incorporating aerial data from nine major basins estimates 2.3% leakage well-to-power plant. The EPA suggested 1.4%. 2.7% makes gas worse than
“A single picture can be worth thousands of words. Here is what this one means to me, in less than 100.”
The people in this collage represent an international team that has been achieving amazing things on four continents of late, deploying and laying the ground fo
In a major boost for privacy rights, US Supreme Court rules police need warrant to track phone data
A 5:4 decision . Chief Justice Roberts notes that the facility would give police “near perfect surveillance, as if it had attached an ankle monitor to the phone
There is a growing “crisis of liberalism”, the Economist laments – but it can be fixed
The liberal elite has “over-reached” in philosophies, institutions, and self-enrichment, and this has spawned much of the rise of rightist populist voting. Refo
Trump’s separation of immigrant children from parents creates a storm of protest in Silicon Valley
But, argues Wired’s Emily Dreyfuss, protest is selective: there is as yet insufficient reflection on the role of technology in wider societal ills. As implicit
Battery cost-down will mean wind and PV at a combined 50% of global power by 2050: BNEF
New Energy Outlook 2018 : Analysts forecast LCOE of new PV down a further 71% by 2050 and onshore wind 58%, fueling 15x growth in PV by then and 6x in wind. Tho
As global solar capacity soars in 2017, new solar in the UK halves for a second year running
21 of the 28 EU markets showed growth, but this wasn’t enough to compensate for UK losses resulting from subsidy cuts in 2015 and 2016. James Watson, chief exec
Audi CEO Rupert Stadler, a VW board member since 2010, is arrested over diesel cheating scandal
VW’s board had asked Stadler to put it in writing that he knew nothing of the fraud. After raids at work and his home, police now think he did. It has taken thr
“Oil must face its future as a declining industry”: Legal & General Investment Management in the FT
Anton Eser, chief investment officer, and Nick Stansbury, fund manager and commodity specialist, suggest that rather than transition to renewables, oil companie
Interview: global energy transition, solar & Solarcentury role in it, China, Trump – & oil CEOs retirement worries
On 13th June, at Fund Forum International – the world’s largest asset-management conference – I gave a keynote lecture entitled “the huge opportunities and dire
Clean energy investment must be 50% higher for the 1.5˚C Paris global warming target than for 2˚C
The IASA-led study is the first to compare capital requirements of 1.5˚C & 2˚C. The sums envisaged here are in the same order of magnitude as the “clean trillio
HMG gives UK pension funds green light to dump fossil fuel investments if they see risk of stranding
Department of Work and Pensions says its new regulations, proposed today , “are intended to reassure trustees that they can (and indeed should) take account of
IBM AI holds its own against human debaters , including jokes and accusations opponents are lying
“Debater” had no foreknowledge of topics and assembled arguments in real time searching hundreds of millions of articles for evidence. A fascinating exercise. T
Police link dozens of murders and serious assaults to rumours spread on WhatsApp in India
With evidence of the platform being used to spead lies on an industrial scale in other countries, and 1.5 bn users globally, encrypted fake news now emerges as
Of the top 50 tech startups by value, 26 are Chinese and 16 are American, with none from Europe
Of the top 20, 11 are Chinese, 6 are American and 2 are Indian. As Sequoia Capital partner Michael Moritz puts it in the FT : “China is winning the global tech
UK tech leaders say scale of government’s visa cap removal is not enough to fix skills shortage
This comes at the same time as Brexit and the UK’s “hostile environment” immigration policy are scaring away overseas talent . Tugce Bulut, founder of the Stree
EU strikes deal on 32% renewable energy by 2030 target, including strong solar provisions
The deal includes an upward review clause by 2023 at the latest, no charges for solar prosumers and much easier connection to grid. On solar, Solar Power Europe
UK police face legal action over use of automated facial recognition cameras, if they don’t stop
Cases from Liberty and Big Brother Watch would be based on lack of regulation and “dangerously authoritarian” privacy violation. Image: Big Brother Watch
The opportunities and risks inherent in clean-energy revolution and fossil-fuel stranding
Keynote presentation to FundForum International, Berlin
Sea level rise due to Antarctic ice melt has tripled in the past five years, satellite measurements show
The international Ice Sheet Mass Balance Inter-comparison Exercise, using multiple satellites, shows most mass change is in West Antarctica . “The reason that W
Now AI can be used to track movements of people through a wall, and model what they are doing
WiFi reflections are unscrambled by machine learning. After 100 people train the AI, 83% of them can then be recognized by style of movement. The article offers
Anduril founder Palmer Luckey, also founder of Oculus, aims to develop a range of AI military tools
He is a funder of the alt-right and a Trump supporter. Investors include Peter Thiel, a Silicon Valley billionaire with the same credentials. Image: Wired
Impact4All column on government bailouts of Transmountain Pipeline, Wylfa nuclear plant and US coal
In recent weeks we have seen evidence on the one hand of the fast advance of renewable energy, and on the other the incredible resilience of the energy-incumben
US start up Anduril tests AI surveillance tech on Mexico border that acts as a virtual border wall
They use tower-mounted sensors to monitor anyone within 2 miles . Customs say they have helped in 55 arrests of unauthorized crossers. Images: Wired article, co
Microsoft begins to put data centres under the sea, seeking energy efficiency, beginning off Scotland
They can be installed much quicker than onland data centres …and will be renewable-powered , in this case by tidal, wind and solar. The company hopes to power f
Oil groups say backlash against plastics will not derail the industry’s big bet on petrochemicals
As Shell:’s downstream director John Abbott puts it : “even if all one-time use plastics were eliminated globally it would only reduce demand for chemicals by 3
Brussels changes rules to boost Paris-congruent financial products & disclose climate risk of others
c. €180bn p.a. of new investment will be needed until 2030 to hit EU share of Paris targets. Changes in the Commission’s proposals include green labels. Axa is
Pope Francis invites oil bosses to the Vatican and tells them that they must switch to clean energy
The Pope told leaders including from BP, Exxon Mobil, Statoil and Anglo-American: “There should be no room for opportunistic and cynical efforts to gain small p
2018 global solar demand to increase 11% to 105 GW despite China cuts, IHS Markit forecasts
According to IHS, we should expect “another wave of oversupply, low profitability and consolidation” then solar “even more competitive across new markets.” They
With bees scarce, a drone pollinates an apple orchard for the first time ….results yet to be seen
Dan Robitzski of Wired describes the project in New York State as follows: “like putting a bandage over a big, gruesome cut that we didn’t even clean first.” Hi
With bees scarce, a drone pollinates an apple orchard for the first time ….results yet to be seen
Dan Robitzski of Wired describes the project in New York State as follows: “like putting a bandage over a big, gruesome cut that we didn’t even clean first.” Hi
Google sets limits on its use of AI, but will work with the military in “many areas”, and self-police
No work on AI for weapons, CEO Sundar Pichai says . Nor surveillance technology “violating internationally accepted norms of human rights.” But he is effectivel
New Facebook revelation: data shared with four Chinese consumer-device makers, including Huawei
New questions arise. Has data gone to Chinese servers? Have back doors been created for Chinese hacking? And obviously, users were not told their data would be
AI can now manipulate people’s movements and speech in photorealistic fake videos
The development will be made public at a virtual reality conference in August in a paper that has just one sentence on ethical concerns. Futurism: “The research
Trump’s hopes to save America’s failing coal-fired power plants are “all about the base”: The Economist
“The plan would benefit a handful of firms the president favours at the expense of consumers” … c. $12bn worth of “cash for cronies”, as Nora Brownell, a former
“Utilities dispel all doubts about renewables’ ability to power planet”: Recharge on Eurelectric summit
Jerome Pecresse, head of GE Renewables: “We are inventing things that we did not even imagine three years ago …renewable baseload is coming fast.” Francesco Sta
People’s Liberation Army and corporate China “draw ever closer” as military budget rises: FT
10 years ago China spent $35 bn on defence. Now $230 bn . Silicon Valley started out on DoD largesse. Now tech firms tend to distance themselves. The article gi
In remarkable U-turn, UK government agrees to £5bn public stake in a Welsh nuclear power station
Total cost of Wylfa, to be shared with Hitachi and Japanese government according to the interim agreement made : £16bn. Price of power: £75-77 MWh …more than so
Investment in renewables in 2017 was less than it was in 2011 …it has essentially been flat since then
The $280bn invested is 3x the investment in fossil fuel generating capacity and more than 2x fossil-fuel and nuclear power capacity combined. ….But not enough.
The week of the white elephants: The UK, US, and Canadian governments all tried to bail out the energy incumbency
This short true-story-of-the-day, in pictures and charts, assesses the extent of the incomprehensibility.
Chinese government slams the brakes on domestic solar, and the global industry braces for the impact
Subsidy cuts and a 10 GW cap (vs 53 GW last year). Solar manufacturers’ stock prices plunge. Developers overseas anticipate lower prices, but… It will be diffic
4 companies in $30 billion sex technology industry now sell robots, one with AI “conversation”
A US survey suggests 49% of men would be open to sex with an “enhanced, hyper-realistic” doll, and the emergence of such is both inevitable and imminent, Futuri
Hungarian government tables new law that could jail lawyers and activists advising migrants of their rights
As Parliament debates it, Orban’s state-controlled media pump out scare stories about migration-linked crime and terrorism, and the “Soros network”. Having rece
REN21: Renewables growth in heating, cooling, and transport are well behind the electricity generation sector
Rana Adib, executive secretary of REN21: warns of “complacency” ….“we are coasting along as if we had all the time in the world. Sadly, we don’t.” The report co
Google reacts to internal and external pressure and drops Pentagon project for facial recognition AI
The tech giant will publish an ethical framework for use of AI later this week. Critics want and expect it to go far beyond military uses. More than 4,000 emplo
Trump orders emergency federal action to stem coal and nuclear plant shutdowns
Proposals in a leaked memo include forcing utilities to buy electricity from coal and nuclear operators for 2 years. This would be an unprecedented intervention
How Does Biogas Work Exactly?
How Does Biogas Work Exactly? Biogas is classified as a biofuel that is produced from the fermentation of plant-based carbohydrates. To understand how biogas wo
Teens are abandoning Facebook in dramatic numbers, a Pew Research Center poll finds
71% of US 13-17 year olds used FB in 2015, 51% today. Analyst Paul Verna: this demographic shift is a “greater existential threat” than privacy concerns.` Which
Zuckerberg and his board suffer a barrage from investors and protestors at Facebook’s annual meeting
“You Broke Democracy”, a plane-towed banner reads. Investors warn of “corporate dictatorship.” But there is no sign of investors voting with their capital. They
UK homes vulnerable to a “staggering” level of corporate surveillance, a Which? survey finds
Many smart appliances send data to their manufacturers, and third-parties like advertisers, with scant regard for permissions or security. According to the arti
Protestors opposing oil drilling off Brazil and French Guiana make their point in Total’s AGM
Four Greenpeace activists abseil from the ceiling just as Total CEO Patrick Pouyanné begins his presentation. Pouyanné, in an admirable display of French élan,
French nuclear regulator fears “epidemic” safety-culture collapse at Flamanville: disaster looms for EDF
Almost 150 more weld failures (beyond those discovered earlier, as reviewed in the article) mean the nuclear plant scheduled online in 2012 at a cost of €3.5bn
Europe’s largest asset manager Amundi sees a “tipping point” in climate-risk aware investing
Frederic Samama, co-head of institutional clients, says : “Until recently, that question was not on their radar screen. It’s changing, and super fast.” Bloomber
“World’s Biggest AI Startup Raises $1.2 Billion in Mere Months”: Bloomberg on Sense Time Group
China “is ramping up spending on surveillance as it cracks down hard on restive parts of the country, including Xinjiang.” Sense Time Group is a front runner in
China is using modern tech to age-old repression to turn Xinjiang “into a police state like no other”: The Economist
In this far-western province, Beijing “is committing some of the most extensive, and neglected, human-rights violations in the world” against Muslim Uighurs. Th
Q&A with Solarcentury founder Jeremy Leggett on the 20th birthday of the company: “proud, grateful and lucky”.
Q: Solarcentury turns 20 this month. As the company founder, how does that make you feel? A: Proud, grateful, and lucky. It is an absolute rarity for a solar co
“Global warming is making tropical cyclones stronger”, renowned climatologists conclude
“Especially storms of previously unobserved strength.” So Stefan Rahmstorf, Kerry Emanuel, Mike Mann and Jim Kossin write , drawing on their own work and synthe
IEA publishes a new monitoring tool showing only 4 of 38 energy sectors are on track with Paris targets
They are solar, lighting, data centres and networks, and EVs. Particularly problematic is that energy efficiency improvements have slowed. IEA on its Tracking C
In a single day, the electric car boom is given a billion-dollar boost in 3 US states
New Jersey, New York and California invest a collective $1.2 bn in charging stations and other EV support. This the same day as Canada bails our a struggling an
Canadian government bails out a stranded Kinder Morgan oil pipeline system for $4.5 bn
They hope to sell the Trans Mountain pipeline later. Analysts doubt they can. Protestors label PM Trudeau a climate criminal . The pipeline, from Alberta to Bri
AI increases risk of nuclear war because of risk of hacking of military communications in time of crisis
So argues a report by the RAND Corporation , based on expert workshops that it convened. “Mutually Assured Destruction” policy requires rapid response, and mili
Solarcentury: a history on our 20th birthday, 26th May 2018, in pictures and charts
Scotland sets toughest greenhouse-gas target in the world: a binding cut of 90% by 2050
Up from 80%, with a new interim target for 2020 of a 56% compared with the existing goal of 42%. NGOs wanted net zero by 2050. Competition in setting Paris targ
FBI says Russians hacked hundreds of thousands of home and office routers in more than 50 countries
The warning follows a court order that allows the FBI to seize a website that the hackers planned to use to give instructions to routers. i suppose we ignore th
In 2017, the global economy grew $3.9tn …& global debt grew $21tn to $237tn: the implosion “is approaching”
A clear warning from Steve StAngelo in SRSrocco Report: this mountain of debt will crash the global economy: “Unfortunately, when the massive amount of debt fin
From 2000 – 2017 US GDP grew $10 trillion to $19.7tn …while US all-sector debt grew from $27.2tn to $68.6tn
A clear warning from Steve StAngelo in SRSrocco Report : this mountain of debt will cause a crash …it is not a question of if, but when. Debt began to soar in 1
Hitting 1.5˚C Paris target will save the world $30 trillion in climate-related damages this century
So estimates a Stanford University economic study published in Nature . The cost of action to hit the target would be $0.5 tn globally. Marshall Burke, alead re
Tech: nirvana or nightmare? State-of-play report: An analysis of recent years in pictures and charts
Tech: nirvana or nightmare? State-of-play report: An analysis of recent years in pictures and charts
Carbon Tracker on oil companies’ climate business-risk assessments: “a large gap remains”
CTI’s latest concludes: ”A 2°C pathway means that some companies will lose, but current scenario analyses see everyone winning.” “Some examples of companies con
Twitter bots altered the outcomes of both the Trump and Brexit elections by targeting margins
A US National Bureau of Economic Research study suggests they added fully 3.2% to the Trump vote and a crucial 1.76% to pro Leave. The evidence that democracy i
“How Lousy Shale Economics Will Pull Down The U.S. Economy”: SRSrocco Report
The general inability of companies to make a profit from fracking means the industry must keep borrowing new debt to pay back existing debt: “…the very definiti
Climate change on track to cause “major insect wipeout” with “far-reaching disruption to life on Earth”
So an international group of scientists warn , after the most comprehensive study yet: of the geographic ranges of 31,000 insect species. Climate change would m
“There are no roadblocks on the way to a 100% renewable future”
This is the conclusion of an international group of scientists systematically working through the counter-arguments of a pro-nuclear group. They come from the K
UK green investment falls to lowest in a decade and government moves to make fracking easy
Investment fell 56% in 2017 . Meanwhile government is to consult on dropping planning permission for seismic work and fracking in shale. Mary Creagh, a member o
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Hungarian government repression forces Soros Open Society Foundations to retreat to Berlin
The hate campaign now leads to “Stop Soros” legislation that requires NGOs to have a government licence in order to represent refugees, the foundations report .
Fly-sized robots can now be powered by a laser and tiny solar photovoltaic cell: a new first in robotics
University of Washington researcher Sawyer Fuller frees the mini-robot of power wires by using a laser to power a solar cell. Currently the laser has to be less
Water shortages likely to be the key environmental challenge of the century, Nasa warns
NASA’s two Grace satellites (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment) tracked trends in freshwater from 2002 to 2016: a first-of-its-kind mission. Results show
“Nissan’s Following Tesla Into Solar Power and Home Batteries” …is mass solar V2G in the offing?
Wired magazine reports a US perspective on a new development in the UK. Gareth Dunsmore, electric vehicle director for Nissan Europe says of the company’s new v
Collapsing Venezuelan oil exports push oil price to $78, highest level since the big price drop in 2014
With Iranian exports soon to be hit by Trump sanctions, some analysts predict $100 oil again . Energy stock prices are surging . Now a big test begins for the o
Repsol will end pursuit of oil and gas growth and chase energy transition instead
The Spanish oil company “is the first among its peers” to do this, Bloomberg reports . Production will be limited to around current levels: around 700,000 to 75
Rolls-Royce to go ‘fully electric’ by 2040, calculating UK and France will not be alone in banning ICE sales
The company aims for its first EV within 10 years, but will phase out its existing engines over several decades, CEO Torsten Müller-Otvos tells the FT . “Electr
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UK on track to phase-out coal by 2025 without the need for any new large gas plants: WWF report
Offshore wind will provide most of the growth from 2017 to 2025, the report suggests , but HMG could and should also use onshore wind and solar, and accelerate
Facebook mislead UK Parliament over Russian interference in Brexit vote, MPs say
CTO Mark Schroepfer told MPs on the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee that targeted ads had not been used by Russian agencies, but new evidence releas
“You'll be able to buy a Boston Dynamics SpotMini soon, please don't teach it to kill”
Victor Tangermann for Futurism : an ‘accessibility aid for the impaired’ sells a lot better, than a ‘walking death machine, with a machine gun mounted on its ba
The $100bn Softbank – Saudi Vision Fund is placing huge bets in those it favours across the tech world
With $64 bn raised by all VC funds in 2016 by contrast, the implications of this pool of capital include supercharging a relatively small number of companies: a
“From Drone Swarms to Tree Batteries, New Tech Is Revolutionizing Ecology and Conservation” ….but
A Singularity University article posits revolutionising of ecological research , with no discussion of net upsides / downsides from new tech. Image: from articl
A perspective on California’s solar roof mandate on BBC World TV News: “That’s good news for you, isn’t it”
http://www.jeremyleggett.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/solarpanels-3.mp4
“Terrorists Are Still Recruiting on Facebook, Despite Zuckerberg’s Reassurances”: Bloomberg
At least a dozen U.S.-designated terror groups use Facebook, Bloomberg discovers , and when banned soon reappear with slight modifications. JL: Yet again, Faceb
“Facebook’s dual-class share structure is akin to a dictatorship”: Calstrs portfolio manager in the FT
Aeisha Mastagni: “Who is it that holds Mr Zuckerberg to account ?” One share should equal one vote. “Facebook, it is time to act like an adult.” Image: from the
Uber reveals plans for electric flying taxi-service to be launched by 2023 – with no vehicles yet built
Electric vertical take-off and landing (Evtol) technology can provide transit at same price as current car rides, Uber claims , …if enough (thousands) are built
Russia is only 12th in the global economic league table, and not likely to move up soon
Financial Times : “In many areas, the country is so far from Mr Putin’s 2024 goals that his plans appear to be not just ambitious but outright utopian.”
“Google’s AI fest offers an ominous glimpse of the robot future”: Richard Waters in the FT
Among Waters’s concerns : “Isn’t a computer voice that can trick you into engaging in conversation destined to become the political robocall from hell?” Social
A perspective on California’s solar roof mandate on BBC World TV News: “That’s good news for you, isn’t it”
https://defactodesign.com/jl/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/solarpanels-3.mp4
The Green Energy Revolution Is Happening Faster Than You Think: my first column for Impact4All
In the first of a series of exclusive columns, Jeremy Leggett, CEO of Solarcentury, the UK’s largest solar energy company and board member at Impact4All, discus
The Green Energy Revolution Is Happening Faster Than You Think: my first column for Impact4All
In the first of a series of exclusive columns, Jeremy Leggett, CEO of Solarcentury, the UK’s largest solar energy company and board member at Impact4All, discus
Are Britain’s coal free days a completely good thing?
In 2017, Britain’s reduction in coal use was commended around the world. Over the year, just 6.3% of UK electricity was produced from its coal power stations wh
Retired BP executive, one the UK’s most eminent geologists, suggests The Carbon War is over
Dr Bryan Lovell is these days a Senior Research Fellow in Earth Sciences at the University of Cambridge. In the April 2018 issue of Petroleum Review, published
2018 Q1: An eclectic chronology in pictures and charts of developments in climate, energy, tech and the future of civilisation
Things are moving so fast. Most of us are so busy. This slide show offers one person’s precis-for-the-busy of the first three months of 2018 in the related dram
History and future of the global energy transition – full 30 minute presentation at Making Solar Bankable 2018
Keynote presentation delivered in Amsterdam 15the February 2018. See the longer version of this powerpoint , “History and future of the global energy transition
A good news story at SolarAid / The Test
Brave Mhonie has worked for SolarAid in Malawi for 10 years, through good times and bad, working his way up to be national director of our non-profit retail bra
The oil industry and the global energy transition: existential threats and world-improving opportunities
On February 21st shareholder activist group Follow This partnered with Principles for Responsible Investment and Share Action to hold a seminar for investors in
History and future of the global energy transition – an update
One minute video of extracts from talk at Solarplaza on 15th February (thanks to FMO Development Bank). See also extended version of powerpoint .
The history and future of the global energy transition 2016 – 2017 in pictures and charts
This presentation, to accompany the publication of the updated edition of The Winning of The Carbon War, is downloadable in 3 parts: As pdfs: Part 1 / Part 2 /
The current crop of oil and gas company investments and acquisitions in clean energy: a quick Q & A
Picture: BP advertising, 2000. Q: Are they actually committed to diversifying beyond oil and gas this time, or is this just a fresh round of greenwash? A: All t
Lloyd’s of London divests from coal 25 years after first being advised to. What financial damage to their business has the delay entailed?
In a report entitled “Climate Change and The Insurance Industry”, the world’s largest insurance market was advised as follows in February 1993: “It would behove
My hopes for the great global energy transition, and thoughts on the UK state of play: Interview for Impact4All
Q: How do you feel about the developments at the One Planet Summit in Paris? Was it enough? It wasn’t enough to hit the ultimate Paris Agreement targets, but en
Rogue US can’t derail Bonn agenda as leaders keep the faith
The US was a marginal presence at a COP23 summit that kept the wind in the sails of global climate action, writes Jeremy Leggett in Recharge Magazine. Busy exec
Explaining Solarcentury’s move this week, and a presentation on solar civilisation and the emerging threats to democracy
Photo: Solarcentury CEO Frans van den Heuvel Solarcentury entered a long-term strategic partnership with Germany’s number one solar park builder, Capital Stage,
The conundrum deepens – big solar deployment rises yet faster, small solar falls still further: chapter 4 of The Test
Paramount Pictures, West London, 16 th August 2017 A private screening of Al Gore’s film, An Inconvenient Sequel . We are ten years on from the release of his o
Tracking the demise of the fossil fuel industries: 21 September 2017
Presentation to the Springtij sustainability festival, Netherlands Tracking the demise of the fossil fuel industries – Jeremy Leggett
A view under the bonnet: chapter 3 of The Test.
Photo: Charlottesville, Virginia, 12th August 2017 – New players on the stage, probably unbothered about passing The Test Cambridge, UK, 31st July 2017 I land a
Appropriate Civilization versus New Despotism – my paper for international business schools, in Chinese
You can read more here. .
Corruption, subsidies, the mad math of kerosene, and the ups and downs on SolarAid’s front lines in Malawi, Uganda, and Zambia: Chapter 2 of The Test
Picture: Team Malawi, Lilongwe, 22nd July 18 th July 2017, Johannesburg Mandela Day. South Africans are celebrating the life of the father of their unified nati
The Test: Chapter 1 of my latest serialised free-download book now available
Two extracts from the first chapter of my new book set out its premise. Like the previous book, it will be a live serialised linear narrative, telling a vital s
SolarAid’s SunnyMoney wins Prince of Wales’s Business In The Community / Unilever Global Development Award: a personal note to all stakeholders
I and my colleagues at SolarAid and SunnyMoney are deeply grateful to all the many and varied stakeholders who made this award possible, most of whom have the d
Trump’s attempt to pull the USA out of the Paris Agreement: a personal reaction from Solaraid
I was barely listening as he delivered his speech . I had heard most of his mantras already. I also knew that he would be unable to complete a US pullout, legal
FT and BBC articles agreed on something very important yesterday
Coverage in the FT and BBC yesterday recounted how the SM100 solar light – developed by my team at SolarAid with Chinese solar giant Yingli, and designed by coo
An opinion on the problem of Mexico’s oil and Trump’s wall
Op-ed by Jeremy Leggett for Energiahoy , slightly edited from the Spanish: What do you do if you are running out of oil, and your neighbour’s President, who has
Record breaking renewables: 30th April 2017
Sunday 30th April 2017 is seeing record amounts of low carbon generation in Great Britain. At 1030 am, 74% of electricity supplied was from low carbon sources.
Guest Blog: Are there advantages of UK onshore natural gas? Part 2
This is a guest post by Nick Grealy. Nick Grealy has been the natural gas industry for 24 years and found the first 16 really, really, boring. He sees a role fo
Appropriate Civilization versus New Despotism, month 3, 21st March – 20th April 2017
As ever, I hope that a precis of one individual’s experience and interpretation of emerging history will be helpful to the many without the hours I have availab
A day without coal
By Dr Andrew Crossland and Dr Grant Wilson 21st April 2017 looks like the first day ever with no coal generation in the UK. Here are some fast facts to explain
Guest Blog: Are there advantages of UK onshore natural gas? Part 1
This is a guest post by Nick Grealy. Nick Grealy has been the natural gas industry for 24 years and found the first 16 really, really, boring. He sees a role fo
A record breaking week
It has been a pretty amazing week for British electricity. At lunchtime on Sunday 9 th April, a record 8GW of solar power was powering British homes. On Friday,
Where do British imports come from?
In this blog, I assess how we import electricity to Great Britain and evaluate whether this is a low carbon thing to do. I conclude that to reduce carbon emissi
2017 versus 2016
I have just released a new page on the MyGridGB website which tries to chart how electricity generation is changing year on year. It can be found here . These c
Appropriate Civilization versus New Despotism, month 2, 20th February – 20th March 2017: Tech-for-good and Truth take a pounding
This month evidence of the potential use of AI and robotics for social benefit continued to lag portentous developments. On the one hand, the prospects for impr
Appropriate Civilization versus New Despotism, month 2, 20th February – 20th March 2017: Climate action holds ground and energy transition accelerates
Action around the world on climate and air pollution continued to offer cautious grounds for hope this month. The IEA reported that carbon dioxide emissions hav
How can renewables help to create a better civilization? Statement by Dr Jeremy Leggett, Executive Chair of SolarAid, to the Start Up Energy Transition Tech Festival, Berlin, 20th March 2017
I speak today about the wider context of all the wonderful innovation and creative disruption we are hearing about from around the world today. My message is ab
A brief history of British Electricity Generation
British electricity supply is constantly evolving as the availability of new technology and new directives affect the power stations which are constructed. Chan
The business case is clear: renewables companies must openly resist the new despotism
Picture: Google employees protest against Trump immigration policies. Blog: A slightly extended version of my latest column for Recharge : By building on the ex
February 2017 in review
In this blog, I compare the electricity generation in February 2017 to the same period last year. For readers concerned about carbon emissions, there is good ne
Britain's existing nuclear power stations
In this articles I focus on nuclear power - something which rarely features in my blogs, but which is a big component of the MyGridGB manifesto. Nuclear power i
A windy lesson
British news is dominated by the devastation caused Storm Doris over the past 24 hours. No doubt somewhere in the papers will be photos of a wind turbine which
Appropriate Civilization versus New Despotism: State of Play on 20th February 2017, one month into the Trump presidency
Suddenly believers in the possibility of a better civilization, one rooted in increasing human co-operation and harmony, find ourselves in a world where demagog
Rising carbon emissions
January 2017 saw a rise in carbon emissions from the same period in 2016. The total amount of carbon rose by 17%. Adjusted for the higher demand in 2017, emissi
Guest Blog: Opportunities for teaching sustainable energy in post-compulsory education.
The following is a guest blog by Pamela Dugdale, a MyGridGB follower on Twitter. Followers are encouraged to submit guest blogs using mygridapp@gmail.com By Pam
The MyGridGB manifesto explained
The MyGridGB Manifesto proposes one way that Britain can meet its present electricity demands using low carbon electricity. I first proposed it in July 2016 and
Guest Blog: Teaching energy
The following is a guest blog by Pamela Dugdale, a MyGridGB follower on Twitter. Followers are encouraged to submit guest blogs using mygridapp@gmail.com By Pam
January 2016 vs January 2017: Has our electricity mix actually changed?
January 2017 represents the first chance to provide year on year comparison of electricity generation. When preparing the data for this blog, I didn't expect to
What can Tidal Power Contribute?
The UK is committed to carbon reduction in all sectors of the economy be that electricity, heating, transport, agriculture or industry. The £1.3bn, 320MW tidal
Are imports really low-carbon?
Earlier this month, I reported how Britain has recently become a net exporter of electricity to France and has increased imports from Holland. Since writing tha
G20 climate risk report is a wake-up call for fossil-fuel investors
My latest for Recharge : It is rare for a report to hold the potential to change the world, but one study published last month may do just that. The Recommendat
Has electricity become the primary consumer of gas?
In this blog, we mostly look at electricity but our energy supply also supports heating and transport. I was browsing through UK Government statistics produced
Peak demand doesn't cause peak carbon emissions
In this blog, I look how demand fluctuates on a daily and weekly basis and the impact that that has on our carbon emissions. A simple conclusion can be drawn: r
For 3 months, Britain was a net exporter of electricity to France
On the MyGridGB live dashboard , the import of electricity from various interconnectors are shown. Interconnectors link Great Britain to her neighbours (namely
What is replacing coal?
Coal generation has dropped from providing 30% of our electricity at the beginning of 2015, to providing less than 7% in the last 6 months of 2016. Furthermore,
Returning to work part 1
Demand falls over Christmas and New Year as many of us are on leave but it quickly returns when we go back to work. In the chart below, I show our electricity u
2016 in Review
2016 was a momentous year for our electricity supply: the signing and ratification of the Paris climate agreement, the announced closure of all coal power stati
The carbon value of energy efficiency
Electricity is changing in the way it is being generated and also in how it is being used. At the end of 2015, I switched my house from incandescent/halogen lig
The return to gas
Christmas Day 2016 created headlines due to high amounts of low carbon generation and low demand (read more here and here ). Since then, the use of fossil fuels
Where did electricity come from on Christmas Day?
On Christmas Day, this piece looked at how National Grid used gas stations and energy storage to turn all of our turkey ovens. Today, I focus on where our elect
Cooking turkeys with record amounts of wind
On Christmas, the normal rules of providing electricity are a little different. Every day there is a peak demand for electricity which is met by switching on po
A new clean energy milestone?
It was reported in the Guardian newspaper that the UK hit a "clean energy milestone" after low carbon power "accounted for 50% of electricity generation in the
Quarterly Electricity Use
Coal power stations have been operating more often Oct-Nov
The electricity story so far in 2016
As reported by Blue and Green Tomorrow . Growing up, I became used to the noise of coal trains rumbling through our town. My Grandad used to drive some of them.