In other Ed Miliband news… the Boiler Upgrade Scheme (heat pump subsidy) is going up from £7,500 to £9,000 for homes in rural areas that rely on oil or LPG.
Given the spike in heating oil prices, and how good an option heat pumps are in rural areas, this is a good idea
Great piece which rightly points out that the main proponents of 'drill baby drill' are outright climate change deniers, a position that looks more deranged every single year.
www.thetimes.com/uk/scotland/...
What is the opposite of nominative determinism?
I'm biased, but I think this is the apex example of how our discourse has become detached from reality.
The reality has moved rapidly in one direction (dramatic fall in solar and battery costs; climate change seeming worse than expected). The discourse has moved in the exact opposite direction
www.carbonbrief.org/factcheck-ni...
Fossil fuels suffer from this little thing known as intermittency. You have to build a whole back-up energy system for when the little boats get stuck. Not many people know this.
over on Twitter an economist I used to think was halfway sensible is still utterly obsessed with the idea that decisions on North Sea licences are the number one issue with regard to this energy crisis, and I honestly don't get how people become this deranged.
The Economist arguing for export controls - never thought I'd see that!
Sobering report from the team at @e3g.bsky.social explaining how it's not just about the Strait of Hormuz. Chokepoints are inherent to fossil fuel markets and as a result no importer is safe. www.businessgreen.com/news-analysi...
Incredible how far public debate in Europe and the US is behind the emerging reality of the global energy transition in every aspect. This is Indonesia's transition to electric vehicles. Indonesia has a GDP per capita less than a third of the UK and a quarter of the US.
Hilarious how for years serious people have said that you can't rely on renewables because they are prone to disruptions in supply www.ft.com/content/19f1...
What does it mean when we say the North Sea is a mature basin?
This by @frankiemayo.bsky.social illustrates it well. The major spoils have already been tapped, additional discoveries are smaller and more technically complex (expensive).
You can't argue with geology.
That's right and maxing out the basin for 14 years got the Tories only 36 days worth of gas. Mad how obsessed the media is with such trivial amounts - ignoring the solutions which actually exist
www.theguardian.com/business/202...
horrible
Truly remarkable political antennae from Kemi Badenoch to call for windfall taxes to be cut just as oil and gas companies line up to enjoy a windfall for the ages. www.businessgreen.com/news/4527688...
It is absolutely stupid that a major focus of policy response to the Iran War is on the planned 1p rise in fuel duty in September (watching Trevor Phillips interview Bridget Phillipson). Of no help now to anyone to abandon it. Shows how trivial our political debate has become.
There are l many bad North Sea takes at the moment. The one that slips through the net is the sensible sounding
‘We won’t affect global prices but we would be more secure’
Uk energy security is all about price! We didn’t face actual shortages in 2022 or now we just had to pay more to get it
It's different to other forms of commerce because of climate change.
14 years of maxing out the North Sea didn't yield very much either
www.theguardian.com/business/202...
It's a pretty good rule of thumb, disturbed only by the West Midlands
When someone tells you they'll base the country's future energy security off of North Sea gas, they're not being honest with you.
14 years & a policy of 'maxing out' the basin produced only 36 days worth of gas to date
www.theguardian.com/business/202...
Conscious decoupling ✨
Lot of debate about splitting the gas and renewables market for electricity (decoupling). This is a distraction from what we need to actually do. www.common-wealth.org/publications...
1/5🧵
In the middle of an oil and gas crisis, it's been a remarkable day for clean power in Great Britain.
–Fossil fuel reached a new record low share in our generation mix, just 2.2%
–Wind power set a new record high, 23.88 GW
Not just gov - all of us
Duck curve is OUT
Boa constrictor digesting an elephant curve is IN
This is where the debate should be, rather than on the distraction of North Sea drilling. What can government do to move faster on clean tech and green buildings? Can it afford to be more ambitious and demand new homes are passivhaus and zero bill? How quickly can it bring down fossil fuel reliance?
that overhead storage is a finite resource
