First Power From Germany’s Largest Offshore Wind Farm Using 15 MW Turbines Project generated and delivered its first kilowatt-hour of electricity as it started the commissioning process for its turbines.

... In essence that #sandBattery is a heating station that can continuously provide 2 MW of renewable heat for 10 days straight when the wind doesn't blow and the sun doesn't shine.

California is now at a point where solar power displaces fossil gas as #1 electricity source. Both account for 40 TWh per year, with solar increasing and gas declining. Also, batteries provide 5 GW during summer evening peak hours, compared to just 1 GW in 2022. www.utilitydive.com/news/natural...

When wind power is abundant and spot prices are negative (which occurs in Finland about 700 hours per year, including winter) this #sandBattery takes excess electricity off the grid, stores 250 megawatt-hours (MWh) heat in hot sand, and afterwards feed 2 megawatts (MW) into the #districtHeating grid

Today on Volts: I've had more requests to cover this than almost any other topic in the pod's history, so now, at long last, balcony solar! We dig into how "plug-in solar" took off in Europe & how it's making its way to the US, starting in Utah. Backyard DIY types rejoice!

Revenue, track record and market advantage might be relevant indicators in any other industry. In the nuclear business, it's all about how many pro-nuclear friends you have in high places in government.

It would be fair to specify in the title of the article that the said problem with Car Batteries does NOT relate to battery-powered electric vehicles. It's about recycling of lead acid batteries: meaning starter batteries for internal combustion vehicles. EVs use lithium batteries, not lead-acid.

China's wind and solar capacity additions rebounded in October after the predictable slump over the summer. 14 GW solar and 9 GW wind was added to the grid, after an average of 9 GW solar and 3 GW wind per month in the past three months.

250MWh ‘Sand Battery’ to start construction in Finland, for both heating and ancillary services www.energy-storage.news/250mwh-sand-...

Mit der Sand-Heizung durch den Winter tenor.bethmannbank.de/nachhaltigke...

My latest for @rollingstone.com Trump’s Vendetta Against Wind is Gutting Jobs and Raising Prices. But in Baltimore, I met blue collar workers who are fighting back, preparing for the “Green Workforce of the Future,” and defending offshore wind. Read: www.rollingstone.com/politics/pol...

Das Defizitverfahren bestätigt: Finnland hat die schwächste Regierung ihrer Geschichte. Höchste Zeit auch für eine Klimaklage. www.tagesschau.de/ausland/euro...

Finally, wind power capacity in Germany is growing at an increased pace in the first half of 2025, with 67% more additions than last year's equivalent period. But the record year is still 2017. www.tagesschau.de/wissen/klima...

I'm really glad renewable technology development doesn't depend on the COP negotiations. Petrostates, fossil fuel companies, and their lackeys can sabotage diplomacy, but it's becoming increasingly transparent what they do is simply evil, while we will ditch fossil fuels anyway.

Exactly 80 years ago the #NurembergTrials started. Back then, POTUS was not a corrupt narcissist despot so USA rejected proposals by Stalin and other allies to summarily execute Nazi #warCriminals after show trials, and instead demanded evidence based fair trials and #RuleOfLaw

#DistrictHeating can be Local Cooperative, as in rural Steyerberg, 🇩🇪 Germany: -28 km network -450 buildings -14.000 m2 #SolarThermal -17.000 m3 #HeatStorage tank -5x air source #heatPumps total 1090 kW -2x 900kW heat pumps -950 kW biomass boiler -cost 30 M€ www.energiezukunft.eu/buergerenerg...

Mit "technologieoffen" ist nicht wirklich technogieoffen gemeint, sondern: Wir wollen keinen #Klimaschutz machen.

German reforms to limit power prices for industry and boost gas-fired generation risk hampering the growth in renewable energy the country needs, energy expert Claudia Kemfert told Montel’s Plugged In podcast this week. montelnews.com/news/9220dce...

Circa $5.7 T of that $7 T number from the IMF rare not subsidies but estimates of untaxed externalities related to FF consumption. The only way they, + $1.3 trillion in consumer price subsidies, would become a “fiscal pool” that could be repurposed is if all the 🌎’s govt’s imposed huge taxes on FFs.

Instead of visiting yet another Christmas market, I came to #Flossenbürg concentration camp. The Nazis sent 100.000 people here after 1938 for forced labour in granite mining and nearby Messerschmitt factory. 30.000 people were murdered before the US army liberated the camp in April 1945.

The German railway company Deutsche Bahn needs to remind American military personnel stationed in Germany that they also need to respect local law and purchase a ticket before riding the train.

'Nuclear “cheap, clean, and secure” promise breaking down. SMRs largely theoretical, only advanced U.S. project cancelled over high costs. Renewables/storage now dominate energy economics, faster build times, flexibility, lower prices.' oilprice.com/Alternative-...

And of course there’s the extra sea-level rise, by half a meter or more. bsky.app/profile/rahm...

We spent a year investigating billionaires for @washingtonpost.com. We found: the wealthiest 100 Americans gave $1.1 billion to influence the 2024 elections — 140x more than they did in 2000. And almost all of that giving boosted Republicans. washingtonpost.com/politics/int...

US citizens should actively expose and document the unfolding crimes of ICE in their neighborhoods. Even years later this is valuable data in preventing fascist attacks in future The #NaziCrimesAtlas app in Germany specifies locations and details of Nazi raids against Jews 87 years ago. #NieWieder

Centralised energy systems gives exceptional powers to political leaders. In many countries it is politicians who decide who gets energy and who doesn't. When autocrats lie that "Windmills don't work... What does work is natural gas, oil, nuclear, and other things" It means they fear losing power

It's always hard to pick a worst day politically, but today the president called for the death of members of the opposition party, and the administration decided that people were being too hard on the swastika

More than 25% of downtown is parking, so City Council is proposing a commercial parking tax to help internalize the associated externalities—things like poor walkability and antisocial behavior. They vote next week. Please send them a quick note here urging their support!

If those 2 billion parking spots in the USA were used to host PV panels rather than cars, they would have total capacity of roughly 2 TWp and supply on average half of national electricity demand.

If nuclear power is competitive, why is the most slam-dunk project in the US getting an ultra-cheap federal loan to cover most of its cost? @opinion.bloomberg.com www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...

Never would have thought that Trump would address one of the hard-to-decarbonise sectors (mobility) by abruptly limiting supply of flights. Being evil and stupid at the same time could have positive outcomes.

🌻 #Steckersolar Webinare! Wie geht #BalkonSolar? Was bringt die neue Norm? Spare ich damit Geld? Ja Welche Rechte habe ich als #Mieter? Was muß politisch getan werden, damit es einfacher wird? 📅 Do., 20.11. 🕖 19:00 📅 Do., 4.12. 🕖 19:00 ℹ️ & Anmeldung: balkon.solar/news/2025/11...

Centralised energy systems gives exceptional powers to political leaders. In many countries it is politicians who decide who gets energy and who doesn't. When autocrats lie that "Windmills don't work... What does work is natural gas, oil, nuclear, and other things" It means they fear losing power

Russian oil company Lukoil owns the Teboil fuel station network in Finland. For years local franchise operators and customers were happy to do business with the Russian oil giant, partly financing the Russian war machine. Cheap gasoline is a powerful cure against patriotism. yle.fi/a/74-20194952

On a more positive note, German utilities rolled out variable #TimeOfUse grid tariffs to incentivise grid access and optimisation of flexible loads, required by #§14aEnWG For largest DisCos the tariffs are: High: 6 - 16 ct/kWh. Mid: 3 -10 ct/kWh Low: as low as 0,3 ct/kWh www.zfk.de/politik/rech...

High temperature #HeatPumps can achieve superior COP with hybrid compression/absorption cycle, especially if the temperature differences (delta-T or "Spreizung") at the heat source and heat sink are high (10K - 40K). COP curve of AGO Caldora compared to conventional ammonia compression heat pump:

In any case, the Flyvbjerg unbiasing factor of +120% should be comprehensively applied to cost estimates beforehand, to ensure taxpayers know how they will eventually need to pay over the decades of budget overruns. www.enr.com/articles/557...

The lower electricity tariff for industry in Germany will cost us taxpayers €3 billion in 2027-2029. 50% of savings must be used on efficiency investments. Our money will reward chemical and steel industries, especially those that delayed efficiency measures until now. www.zfk.de/politik/deut...

Remember when we were told that all weather dependent renewables require an equivalent amount of dispatchable (fossil) power generation to keep the grid stable?

All solar PV plants can flex output down in milliseconds. As PV curtailment is becoming more widespread, solar can also flex up, providing ancillary services to balance the grid. Overcapacity is no problem. Even cars often use less than 10% of their rated power. www.pv-magazine.com/2025/11/17/g...

I am on my knees begging climate people and energy people and housing people to just this once pass the puck to where they are skating to, not where they are at. This is the fight, here. The whole game is physical infrastructure. It is car-enforcing land use all the way down.

Superb take on geothermal. Especially good: no coy question in the title. Just a convincing explainer of "Why the Time Has Finally Come for Geothermal Energy" by one Rivka Galchen in @newyorker.com www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...

Solar mamas and sisters play a key role in promoting rural electricity access. "Real men" love to build huge power plants that fail to reach the most vulnerable. Case Tanzania: eepafrica.org/portfolio/14... Case Myanmar: www.niras.com/media/qszk5y...

Saksassa modulaarisia pienydinvoimaloita kannattaa varsinkin fossiililobby ja konservatiivioikeisto. Näin voi väittää olevansa ilmaston puolella vaikka oikeasti halutaan jatkoaikaa maakaasulle. Poliittinen tahtotila ja tekniikan tosiseikat kun eivät vastaa toisiaan. www.ingenieur.de/technik/fach...

Uns liegt die neue #Steckersolar Norm DIN VDE V 0126-95 VDE V 0126-95:2025-12 “Steckersolargeräte für Netzparallelbetrieb” noch nicht vor. Sie ist bestellt und wird nächste Woche in gedruckter Form eintreffen. Wir haben, aber das was wir wissen mal zusammen gefasst: balkon.solar/news/2025/11...

Es gibt keine einsatzfähigen Small Medium Reactors, Herr Söder! Nicht in Bayern, nicht in Kanada. www.ingenieur.de/technik/fach... infosec.exchange/@masek/11555... #SMR #Söder #Kernkraft #Bayern #Reaktor #Atomkraft

The German government will waste public funds, disincentivise renewables rollout and facilitate higher emissions with three measures: -subsidised industrial power tariff -tax cuts for air travel -subsidised gas power plants www.spiegel.de/politik/deut...

Helsinki energy utility (Helen) uses ratepayers money to advertise for nuclear heating, claiming that customers will benefit from cheap district heating. Cost estimate for one reactor is 1 to 5 billion euros and budget overruns are a certainty in nuclear projects. Cheap? www.hs.fi/mainos/helen...