At the Cleantech for Europe conférence and Francesco Starace, former CEO of Enel, is me but more stylish and Italian. Very impressed with him. Very clear on opportunity to get clean European energy into transport and heat

Finland has Europe's cleanest and cheapest electricity. So what do they do? They pair it with the cheapest and cleanest storage. Smart Suomi.

Some incredibly positive signals here from the Netherlands. Read the full thread. My favourite priorities: Grid congestion, industrial electrification, offshore wind, home insulation and district heating, keeping gas fields closed. Great combination.

Send Kennedy is on the @cleaninguppod.bsky.social tomorrow and he is one of the best at explaining global gas markets, how they work and putting it into useful context. Strong recommend. youtu.be/TkuVhhsRqMo?...

If you need a colourful quote to round out this story I am happy to provide one @nkurmayer.bsky.social !

What a treat to listen to @jigarshahdc.bsky.social and the good folks from Constructive at lunch today. And how fortunate to sit next to Brussels' Mr. Geothermal @changesanjeev.bsky.social while we discussed the opportunities and challenges of geothermal.

Big news. Especially given the possibility and increasing probability of a new NATO 'minus the United States'

I just put together the first draft of the Electrification Ladder. To be launched Dec. 9th at www.watts-next.eu #EnergySky

Even if you don‘t read German, the chart will do it for you. Rise of the electrostate.

Germany wants to undermine the EU's 2035 clean car mandate and allow "highly efficient combustion engine cars" after that. What, you may ask, is a "highly efficient combustion engine car"? "A highly efficient combustion engine car is a combustion engine car that is highly efficient," per the govt.

The EV share of new car sales in 🇩🇰 Denmark was 73.7% in November. Of private individuals buying a new car, 91% opted for an EV.

Transport and energy researchers, for years: "Please for the love of all that is holy, do NOT incentivize plug-in hybrids" The German government: "How about we incentivize plug-in hybrids again?"

really went dark for the sequel

The EC has just published a more detailed proposal regarding the ETS2 changes it intends to do h/t to @annahbrt.bsky.social. On the frontloading the proposal is just ridiculous with "up to €6bn expected to be frontload in years 2026-2027". Let me explain why: climate.ec.europa.eu/news-other-r...

A Fraunhofer Institute study on the real-world performance of heat pumps shows that they only work in houses built after 1825. heatpumpswatch.org/efficiency-k...

NEW | A single carbon removal project at a biomass power station In the UK could cost £30 BILLION in government subsidies. This would cost more than the UK government plans on spending for carbon capture programmes over 25 years. https://loom.ly/XibxT4k

2.4 GW in 2024 is the Dunkelziffer (unofficial number, but closer to reality). Now at the end of 2025, that may well be 4?

Do you have a source for that 8 GW? Since a typical #Balkonkraftwerk has 800 W, that would require 10 million units. Current estimates are at about 3 - 4 million units in Germany. Sure, some units have up to 2000W panels but 8 GW total is still overestimated balkon.solar/news/2025/11...

Germany has about 8GW of balcony solar. That's more than Ireland's entire generating capacity.

Wow. 1% of US houses are heated with a groundsource, or geothermal, heat pump. That's far more than I would have thought. From the January 2025 geothermal report here: www.constructive.org/liftoff

Very good interview and important fact-checking.

According to Oxford professor of energy Jan Rosenow, rapid electrification of Europe's industry, not rolling back the EU's Green Deal, will save European industry.

"In today’s Brussels, appeals to heritage and identity land more softly than calls for food system innovation." www.politico.eu/article/vegg...

CO₂ des voitures 25 maires de grandes villes européennes demandent à la Commission de sauvegarder la cible 2035 Dont les maires de Paris et de Bordeaux, et les présidents des métropoles de Lyon et de Grenoble. eurocities.eu/latest/mayor...

People (good people) get very confused about fabric and its potential (it only has one lever) and promote "fabric first" not understanding that heat input has two levers. I wrote this to help people: www.linkedin.com/posts/nathan...

A (great) movie that takes place where you're from

🚨 SCOOP: Toyota and Aston Martin secretly lobbied a Conservative cabinet minister to weaken Britain’s climate policy. We only know this because Democracy for Sale won a two-year legal fight to force the government to hand over the documents. democracyforsale.substack.com/p/victory-we...

I'm going to set up a new page here for The Sentinel. Does anyone have a list of accounts to follow on European defence, please?

📣 European mayors are sending a clear message to Brussels: maintain the 2035 CO₂ targets for cars and vans. 🏙️ 25 mayors of cities & regions have sent a letter to the @ec.europa.eu stating that keeping the 2035 target is a public-health imperative. 🔗 Read more 👉 eurocities.eu/latest/mayor...

We at the Electrification Alliance wrote a thing about how to boost the use of clean European energy in our buildings, transport and industry.

Canada 🤝 EU

Capacity mechanisms in Europe are here to stay (to my regret) – and their role in electricity market design will only grow. Yet, unlike short-term power markets, they remain poorly coordinated across borders. This is a problem for security of supply.

We need a lot more electricians and heat pump installers.

Want to talk bo!!ocks about renewable gases? There's a Sec Gen role going to represent Gas DSOs. mavence.com/jobs/secreta...

Stellantis chair wants every European to pay more for their electricity. (EVs are batteries on wheels, they charge on renewables that might otherwise be curtailed thereby lowering overall system costs.)

Can't remember the last time I saw a movie with an intermission and an epilogue but The Brutalist was very good.

We're three weeks shy of the 5th anniversary of my hydrogen ladder being published. Back then, there wasn't a lot of clarity where H2 might fit and the ladder was designed to direct efforts to feedstocks, ammonia, etc. There is no excuse for this waste today.

Ukraine to import gas from Greece, Zelensky says

“The rise in high-fronted SUVs poses a clear and growing threat to public safety, especially for children,” states the report. “With no benefit to society, it’s time for lawmakers at all levels to act.” Via @carltonreid.com in @forbes.com. Cap SUV/truck hood heights. And ban unsafe designs.

VAT on heat pumps in Belgium down to 6% from January in Belgium. I was torn between trying to rush and get one in before Xmas or wait until January so that makes the decision easy. La TVA sur les pompes à chaleur passera à 6% dès janvier - RTBF Actus share.google/EnDruuaENAnw...

Definitely worth your attention. Great writing!

I went to visit my old colleagues at @energycities.bsky.social today and they pointed out that my high vis vest suits my job perfectly.

Thoughtful piece (in Flemish) from @rbae.bsky.social on the impact of electricity market complexity on citizens and the energy transition. I doubt most people even understand their bills - so motivating their actions via bills is an uphill battle. www.tijd.be/opinie/algem...

In today's example of 'small bits of wonderful' we have the 'European Union Agency for the Space Programme' whose newsletter is called 'Watch This Space'. Nicely done.

The Financial Times has a "Special Report" on "The Electrification of Everything." 6 of the 7 stories they display in this section of the site are negative. That is a comical level of bias for this topic.

October marked the 10th straight month of decline in Canadian travellers to the US. Air travel dropped nearly 24%, while car travel fell more than 30% compared to the same period last year, data from Canada's statistics office shows. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Right then! Pending proof reading, the #CrossChannelRail Final Report is ready 😀 17000 words, 82 pages, loads of maps, diagrams and photos, and all the TYPES OF TRAIN (8), STATIONS (63), & OPERATORS (7) assessed Launch Monday - Bruxelles & online crossborderrail.trainsforeurope.eu/projects/cro...

A small nuance about the benefits of being an e-bikes dad. It's not about being faster (although that is nice), it's the reliability. My commute time never varies by more than +/- 2 minutes. My kids are never stuck waiting because of traffic and I can plan my day far more accurately.

Heat pumps are the alter of my temple of electrification. Very cool work here by @chrisbaraniuk.com !

The city of Lyon continues to impress. Just a continual string of projects showing what is possible.