Thread: Each week I run a simulation of Australia’s main electricity grid using rescaled generation data to show that it can get very close to 100% renewable electricity with 24GW/120GWh of storage (5 hrs at av demand) Results: Last week: 100.0% RE Last 246 weeks: 98.7% RE (1/5)

China's transition to BEV is simply amazing, even more so if you consider the size of their market. Big markets usually have it harder, but China is still among the fast countries to transition.

The transition away from petrol & diesel cars towards BEV & PHEV cars is accelerating in Australia. Sone nice charts and analysis for many countries via @leraffl.bsky.social

An amazing amount of residential batteries were installed in Australia in April (~2.5GWh). These batteries were heavily subsidised by the government & most were very large (> 40kWh). Given low VPP uptake rates, there's a risk that many will be underutilised. Here's an idea to avoid that:

Thread: Each week I run a simulation of Australia’s main electricity grid using rescaled generation data to show that it can get very close to 100% renewable electricity with 24GW/120GWh of storage (5 hrs at av demand) Results: Last week: 99.5% RE Last 245 weeks: 98.7% RE (1/5)

Impressive EV growth in Canberra. In April, 33% of newly registered vehicles were pure battery electric. Add plug-in hybrids and the total rises to ~44%. Every driver who switches from petrol/diesel to EV frees up more fuel for those who haven't, improving Aus fuel security. /1

Within a few years, the NEM will have 45GW/200GWh of storage, excluding anything from Snowy2.0. My weekly simultion assumes much less than this - 24GW/120GWh & reaches 98% renewable. By FY2040 the 2026 Draft ISP assumes 44GW/202GWh of storage excluding Snowy2.0 & is 96% renewable. /1

Australia Electricity Emissions April Update: Average NEM emission intensity over last 12 months: 526 kg CO2-e/MWh. Down 23% since 2020, down 38% since 2015 Sth Australia reductions leading the way thanks to its increase in wind & PV generation. Down 30% since 2020, 69% since 2015

Thread: Each week I run a simulation of Australia’s main electricity grid using rescaled generation data to show that it can get very close to 100% renewable electricity with 24GW/120GWh of storage (5 hrs at av demand) Results: Last week: 100.0% RE Last 244 weeks: 98.7% RE (1/5)

NEW: Falling fossil everywhere: For the first time in 2025, fossil electricity generation fell in EVERY OECD country, compared to its peak. Solar and wind are helping the power sector to transition away from fossil fuels #TAFF

From my reading of the CER data, the Cheaper home batteries program total at the end of March was 7.4 GWh. If it is now at 10 GWh, then that would imply 2.6 GWh of batteries installed in April! That's about twice the previous biggest month (Dec 2025 with 1.3 GWh installed)

Leading climate law experts have authored a new joint opinion on what recent developments in international law mean for Australian fossil fuel producers and company directors. Come join our launch event on 7 May at the State Library of NSW. open.substack.com/pub/tempests...

Very cool simulation of what various grids across America would look like if they were mostly composed of wind, solar & storage with gas as backup.

This is an interesting question. One possible answer is: climate change destroyed them. www.theclimatebrink.com/p/where-is-e...

Thread: Each week I run a simulation of Australia’s main electricity grid using rescaled generation data to show that it can get very close to 100% renewable electricity with 24GW/120GWh of storage (5 hrs at av demand) Results: Last week: 99.8% RE Last 243 weeks: 98.7% RE (1/5)

Very good piece by @readfearn.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/environment/...

NEW | Clean power met ALL the growth in global electricity demand in 2025 Solar generation alone met THREE QUARTERS of the demand rise and grew by 30%. Fossil generation stagnated (-0.2%). 🧵 A thread on changes in the global power system in 2025...

Renewable sources of electricity “virtually matched” coal in 2025 – they’re not niche anymore 2/10

huge news! I had the pleasure of working with Shane, and it is hard to find someone who approached politics with as much integrity and energy as Shane does. He'll leave big shoes to fill both within the ACT Greens, but also the ACT legislative assembly. www.canberratimes.com.au/story/922811...

📊 How much do governments spend, and what do they spend it on? In the chart, we see total government spending broken down by purpose, such as health, education, and defense, relative to the size of the economy (as measured by GDP). This is shown for a selection of OECD countries.

How is it that a low quality carbon offset (ACCU) is currently trading at 12x the price of a high quality offset (LGC)? Let's improve 2 key Australian climate policies with a simple policy change to allow 1-way fungibility between ACCUs and LGCs with a suitable conversion factor. /1

Thread: Each week I run a simulation of Australia’s main electricity grid using rescaled generation data to show that it can get very close to 100% renewable electricity with 24GW/120GWh of storage (5 hrs at av demand) Results: Last week: 100.0% RE Last 242 weeks: 98.7% RE (1/5)

Australia's NEM smashed its daily battery discharge record on Monday. 16 GWh, up from 13 GWh on Feb 10. For context, the original Hornsdale big battery was 129 MWh, so 16 GWh is equivalent to fully discharging Hornsdale 124 times! Possibly another 10 GWh discharged from pumped hydro. /1

A useful view of how data centre growth in NSW compares to future demand growth from electrification. The idea that crowding out connections, resources and cash with a desperate industry somehow "helps" the transition makes absolutely zero sense. media.licdn.com/dms/document...

Thread: Each week I run a simulation of Australia’s main electricity grid using rescaled generation data to show that it can get very close to 100% renewable electricity with 24GW/120GWh of storage (5 hrs at av demand) Results: Last week: 99.7% RE Last 241 weeks: 98.7% RE (1/5)

Eh? Anyone else being subjected to excessive advertising for critical minerals?

I have been working on this one for a while. It is a "Working Paper" because the available data is enough to get started, but insufficient to call it finished. But this is clear: claims by various politicians and press outlets that renewables cause grid instability are rubbish. 1/n 🔌💡

Australia Electricity Emissions Update: Average NEM emission intensity over last 12 months: 510 kg CO2-e/MWh. Down 25% since 2020, down 40% since 2015 Sth Australia reductions leading the way thanks to its increase in wind & PV generation. Down 28% since 2020, 68% since 2015.

Thread: Each week I run a simulation of Australia’s main electricity grid using rescaled generation data to show that it can get very close to 100% renewable electricity with 24GW/120GWh of storage (5 hrs at av demand) Results: Last week: 100.0% RE Last 240 weeks: 98.7% RE (1/5)

A few graphs to illustrate how much Australia can readily reduce petrol & diesel consumption via electrification. First up, road transport dominates liquid fuel consumption, most of this can be readily electrified. /1

The Coalition and the stupid climate wars is why we’re here. news.thenewdaily.com.au/c/1KfkMuqyvk...

Social movement scholar here to comment on No King again. a 🧵: These protests are important b/c: 1.) as sustained image events, protests offer evidence of continued disapproval of the direction the country is going and disavowal of the country's leadership.

Thread: Each week I run a simulation of Australia’s main electricity grid using rescaled generation data to show that it can get very close to 100% renewable electricity with 24GW/120GWh of storage (5 hrs at av demand) Results: Last week: 98.0% RE Last 239 weeks: 98.7% RE (1/5)

Beating a 90 year temperature record by 0.28°C is impressive. Beating it by 2.8°C is scary.

What stands out perhaps most here is how much oil demand electric two- and three-wheelers have avoided. Most talk in developed countries is about passenger cars, but the transition to electric among these smaller vehicles in developing countries has been huge. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Thread: Each week I run a simulation of Australia’s main electricity grid using rescaled generation data to show that it can get very close to 100% renewable electricity with 24GW/120GWh of storage (5 hrs at av demand) Results: Last week: 98.1% RE Last 238 weeks: 98.7% RE (1/5)

My first report as a member of the Climate Council - the Whiplash Summer of 2025-26. From heat and fire to rain and floods, supercharged by climate pollution. @climatecouncil.org.au #whiplashsummer www.climatecouncil.org.au/resources/br...

Google ramping up its drops to friendly journalists (this absurd performance of 'anonymous leaks' has to end btw) to try and pressure the government to weaken taxation of big tech, threatening not to build its huge, energy-sucking data centres in the country if its forced to pay its fair share

Australia's pesticide regulator is doing the best it can. Environment groups say it is not enough. In the wake of the decision to pull second-generation rat poisons from supermarket shelves, I took a look at how we ended up here for @thepointau.bsky.social.

The NACC report is astonishing for just how many non-sequiturs, excuses and naive assumptions can be packed into 455 pages. The deputy commissioner who authored it is not a judge, unlike Catherine Holmes. And it shows. www.crikey.com.au/2026/03/13/n...

Lots of people under-estimate the amount of batteries soon to come online on Australia's NEM. Within a few years the NEM will have 15GW/40GWh of utility battery storage. Plus a similar amount of residential batteries. 40GWh is sufficient to completely flatten these demand profiles /1

Thread: Each week I run a simulation of Australia’s main electricity grid using rescaled generation data to show that it can get very close to 100% renewable electricity with 24GW/120GWh of storage (5 hrs at av demand) Results: Last week: 99.6% RE Last 237 weeks: 98.7% RE (1/5)

Too early to tell if the current soaring fossil fuel prices will lead to higher electricity prices in Australia. But if they do, let's remember that the one place in Australia's NEM that managed to avoid massive electricity prices rises was the ACT, thanks to its 100% renewable target /1

A Clear Air column banging on about some today/tomorrow issues. www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Thread: Each week I run a simulation of Australia’s main electricity grid using rescaled generation data to show that it can get very close to 100% renewable electricity with 24GW/120GWh of storage (5 hrs at av demand) Results: Last week: 100% RE Last 236 weeks: 98.7% RE (1/5)

Australia Electricity Emissions Update: Average NEM emission intensity over last 12 months: 513 kg CO2-e/MWh. Down 25% since 2020, down 38% since 2015 Sth Australia reductions leading the way thanks to its increase in wind & solar generation. Down 28% since 2020, 67% since 2015)

Thread: Each week I run a simulation of Australia’s main electricity grid using rescaled generation data to show that it can get very close to 100% renewable electricity with 24GW/120GWh of storage (5 hrs at av demand) Results: Last week: 100.0% RE Last 235 weeks: 98.7% RE (1/5)

The year is 2026 - climate impacts are reaping damage across our country. The South Australian government meanwhile is striking new 200PJ off take agreements with the gas industry.