The BNEF PV new build estimate for 2025 is now just 655GW(DC) after downward revisions for the China market, with a small decline expected in 2026 as China, Brazil, Europe contract. There is just a lot of solar in the major markets now, and negative feedback is kicking in.

The UK got 54.7% of its electricity generation from renewables in the third quarter of 2025. Though because nuclear and hydro generation was down year-on-year, gas generation was up. assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6941a0...

Vegan cream cheese has got really good.

This is possibly the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me.

World Scientific Publishing has a deal on my book for Kindle - $20 or £20 - until the end of February 2026. (Or, as usual, ask your local library for it!)

You can put solar panels up anywhere and in any way, but maybe you shouldn't.

This is a good detailed story. At one point, direct resistance electric heating protected the early vine shoots from frost... I remain skeptical that grapevines in Germany really need protection from the sun. Also the last bit is basically "winegrowing is way harder than PV", which, yeah.

At last, a chance to repost my favourite ever font-related controversy with alt-text, now that Calibri is back in the news.

If you see this, repost with your model of positive masculinity.

On maternity leave I have played Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and yes. So fun. So beautiful. Even though running / riding around pretty countryside, often in the pouring rain, on miscellaneous errands is a big part of my real life. So is cooking. In BOTW you don't have to do laundry and you can FLY.

Pedant point but as a former (failed, student) physicist I hate the word "electrons" being used for "electricity". While electrons are complicated (are they a wave? A particle? Beta radiation?) they're definitely not a substance you pour into a wire.

As of today, there are more electric cars than diesel cars in Norway.

"[LNG]Imports for China this year are estimated at around 64.6 million tons, down from 78.27 million in 2024" Reuters (today). Here is what that looks like for China compared to what was predicted by BloombergNEF in the middle of last year. So they forecasting mid 80s and it is actual mid 60s.

Wait why is that actually an excellent idea from all angles.

Last day of the discount code for my book, which is also a decent Christmas present for someone who hopes to get into renewables as a job. (Or just ask your library for the book if you're curious).

It has been raining for two days straight here. After struggling with multiple broken umbrellas, I have little faith in the durability of foldable solar panels in regular use.

I respect @polder-pv.bsky.social a lot for their data work in the Netherlands (you would think! The Dutch! Would have good official data! But it is not so!) So this means a lot to me. Follow them!

Guilty. I have a sturdy road bike with a crossbar for every day, a step-through bike with a child seat on the back waiting for Child 2 to get big enough, and a cheap step-through bike I ride when lending my main bike to guests...

Whole thread worth reading.

Ethiopia last year banned the import of new gasoline-powered cars. Nepal reduced import duties on EVs so much that they are now cheaper than cars with internal combustion engines. Brazil raised tariffs on car imports to compel Chinese automakers to set up plants inside Brazil. Etc

Spicy perspective, worth following @roselund.bsky.social on US solar trade policy. (I'm staying out of it.)

Blowing my husband's mind with an old-fashioned solution to the problem "need to create a physical document, do not own a printer". (We usually print at the office, but parental leave...)

Not an energy post, but FT has a very funny "page not found" message: answers to why the page wasn't found based on economic concepts. And you don't need a subscription to read it. www.ft.com/content/1095...

China has made cheap, clean energy available in huge quantities. The world should take the win econ.st/4oqFszB Photo: Eyevine

Reminder that 1) we need to cut fossil fuel emissions immediately and sharply and 2) even if fossil emissions were eliminated immediately, food system emissions could still prevent the world from keeping warming below 1.5-2C. So big changes to food production and consumption are also necessary.

Hmm, I have run a year's 15-minute solar production and house consumption through a very simple dispatch model to calculate whether we should buy a battery and if so, what size. (Only a year's data, because we have only had the electric car for a year).

The problem is that it's very hard to make money from a hype bubble bursting (short selling is limited in scope), so the incentives are all in the direction of keeping it going. (It's a good article whether you agree with the central premise or not).

This is a phenomenal long read. The sort of article it's incredibly difficult to get permission and resources to write nowadays.

This is the Marktecke in Olten, where one can buy unpackaged lentils, olive oil etc if you bring your own container. I love this shop and if I bought Halloween treats here I would be the worst parent ever, even worse than the time I made flapjacks for summer camp.

The baby (now 12 weeks) is the least trouble of my family, but sometimes he gets angry that he was offered milk when it wasn't wanted. Then he remains angry until he gets hungry, which makes him angrier. Then he is too angry to eat. This state of impasse takes some time and screaming to resolve.

Saudi Arabia has had big solar targets for a while (technically solar thermal and PV, but we always expected the solar thermal to end up being PV). The build slowed down in 2022 when PV prices ticked up, and has now kicked off again 'cos PV panels got cheap.

A thread from 2021 in which I explained our solar build forecasts and why we have a buffer. Our actual forecast is much higher now, but many of the problems are the same.

This is a cool research project and all knowledge is worth having. But as it says, land is plentiful there, so the benefits for the crops would have to be meaningful for it to make sense on a larger scale. (It's currently a research project subsidising kale giveaways...)

Time for 2025 updates to my annual “opinions about solar” thread. If you like these, you might like the second edition of my book, Solar Power Finance Without The Jargon. A 30% discount code WSQ0437 is valid on publisher website until end of November 2025. www.worldscientific.com/worldscibook...

BNEF estimates that silver use in PV averages 8.96mg/W in 2025, compared with 11.2mg/W in 2024. This aligns directionally with The Silver Institute's estimate of PV silver demand being 195.7 million ounces in 2025 vs 197.6 in 2024. www.bnef.com/insights/37529

Good morning! The sun is shining, I have only one child to look after, and I fear nothing except climate change, physical and mental deterioration, social situations, and paperwork in German.

It has been three weeks of Swiss school holidays, I have a 7-year-old child and a new baby (hence parental leave) and I admit I saw @mliebreich.bsky.social 's email "My Favourite Slide" and thought immediately of a different sort of slide. open.substack.com/pub/mliebrei...

In honour of spooky month, share a 4 word horror story that only someone in your profession would understand: Project has no PPA.

Still on maternity leave. Baby fat? Yes, baby very fat.

This article is just bollocks, isn't it? There are lots of good reasons not to eat many Doritos, but the carbon footprint of the corn going into them isn't one of them, because eating almost anything else would be worse. www.theguardian.com/environment/...

... I mean, that's still not very much money per year. But Zurich is a prime example of a modern city where it makes sense for rich people to take public transport - for most journeys, just massively more convenient. (This is somewhat true for the rest of Switzerland).

On Sunday, #Zürich residents voted 52.8% in favor of increasing parking fees for cars according to weight. The owner of a BMW X2 (Diesel), which weighs 1,675 kilograms, will now pay equivalent of €717 Euros per year to park on a public street. (Before, about €321.) Direct democracy!

Get a heat pump, get a job installing insulation or selling EVs, go to local council meetings in support of bike lanes or solar parks or dense housing near public transport. Run for political office, or at least vote. Recommend flight-free holiday destinations to others. (Delete as applicable).

NEW STARTER PACK! This time I’m hoping to encourage and support global urbanists from OUTSIDE North America here on Bluesky, so hopefully this will help! Who’ve I missed? Just joined? Let me know! I’ll keep updating, so please keep checking & sharing this pack! And let’s try using #GlobalUrbanists.

Going to work on an update to my annual solar opinions thread over the next few weeks, when the baby isn't complaining to management. Any particular topics you'd like me to comment on? No promises, but I'll consider questions.

The best book I have read on maternity leave so far is Adrian Tchaikovsky's 'Service Model'. It's funny at first, and then cold fingers start to play down your spine. The AI does not hate you. The AI just has pre-set priorities completely inappropriate to the situation. Which is lethal.

Seeds that have been buried in mud for a thousand years can still grow?!

"The line between optimism and delusion is fine one"😂... we should have used that as a subtitle for our latest report;)... bsky.app/profile/clea...

It's important to celebrate even quite small reasons for climate optimism, because otherwise you will succumb to despair, and that will help nobody. Sure, the line between optimism and delusion is a fine one, but you have to get out of bed in the morning and sometimes for that you need delusion.

I love the local public swimming pool, in Roggwil. Sadly as the days get cooler it is more and more like a private swimming pool, and it closes for the season on Saturday.