Alex Betts

what a thread, what a success

38. Ordinary people have no idea how much progress we’ve made. Tell people at parties that UK carbon emissions in 2023 were at their lowest level since 1879, for example. Most developed economies are now reducing carbon emissions without lowering quality of life.

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...

Looking forward to being with 4 good people in one room tomorrow evening!

A svelte lounge lizard would be ok for some, I suppose

Liebreich: The Pragmatic Climate Reset - Part I | BloombergNEF As the tide on clean energy turns, Michael Liebreich makes a strong case for a pragmatic climate reset.

And by way of reminder - here is Part I, why the narratives of failure of the transition are all wrong. about.bnef.com/insights/cle...

Liebreich: The Pragmatic Climate Reset – Part II: A Provocation | BloombergNEF As the debate on transition deepens, Michael Liebreich details how a pragmatic climate and energy reset might unfold.

It's here folks. Part II of the Pragmatic Climate Reset. Prepare to be provoked! about.bnef.com/insights/cle...

The market says work from home

Day Two of Reform conference, and we're getting the good stuff. At the Heartland Institute's fringe "Is Climate Realism Inevitable", we've learned that electric cars are part of a Marxist plot to control humanity, and heard calls for the abolition of the BBC.

In a world of Matts, be a Derek.

Screenshot: Secretary Chris Wright & @Secretary Wright X.com Even if you wrapped the entire planet in a solar panel, you would only be producing 20% of global energy. One of the biggest mistakes politicians can make is equating the ELECTRICITY with ENERGY! Readers added context Earth gets ~1.5M TWh/day of solar energy-over 3,000x global energy use (~165K TWh/year). Covering just 1% of land with panels could-theoretically-power the planet. Electricity is energy, and electrification replaces fossil use in transport, heat, and industry. iea.org/reports/global... axionpower.com/knowledge/powe... ourworldindata.org/energy-mix esbnetworks.ie/docs/default-s... nrel.gov/gis/solar-reso... Do you find this helpful? 8:54 AM • 9/2/25 • 1.1M Views Rate it

Screenshot of community notes on a tweet by the secretary of energy: • Currently rated helpful 7h • View details • Shown on X • 3,600+ views @ Directly addresses the post's claim • Easy to understand The entire world's electricity needs would be met by a solar farm covering just 1-2% of the Sahara Desert - roughly size of Portugal. https://www.axionpower.com/knowledge/power-world- with-solar/ https://cesolar.com/solar-energy-how-a-small-patch-of-the-sahara-desert-could-power-the-world/ https://www.pmcarchitects.com/sustainability-information-blog-content/heres-how-much-of-the-world-would-need-to-be-covered-in-solar-panels-to-power-earth • You rated this note as Helpful. • Currently rated helpful 7h • View details • Shown on X • 302.6K+ views @ Directly addresses the post's claim • Cites high-quality sources ... Earth gets ~1.5M TWh/day of solar energy-over 3,000x global energy use (~165K TWh/year). Covering just 1% of land with panels could-theoretically-power the planet. Electricity is energy, and electrification replaces fossil use in transport, heat, and industry. https://www.iea.org/reports/global-energy-review-2025 https://www.axionpower.com/knowledge/power-world- with-solar/ https://ourworldindata.org/energy-mix https://www.esbnetworks.ie/docs/default- source/publications/electrification-of-heat-and-transport-strategy.pdf https://www.nrel.gov/gis/solar-resource-maps

In September 2025, the official account of the Secretary of Energy has public Community Notes on a tweet with a verifiable falsehood. A transparent, honest, & accountable official — & White House - would retract the false claim & run a correction, showing respect for the truth & the American people.

If you're looking for a tipping point to conclude "OK, the U.S. is now authoritarian," this seems like it.

I thought we do - reconsidering dinner on Friday now!!

Looking forward to seeing you in your new gear!

American climate journalist Alec Luhn missing on Norwegian glacier A search is underway for award-winning climate journalist Alec Luhn, a Wisconsin native, who is missing on a Norwegian glacier.

I’m sharing this hoping that someone hiking the same route in Norway might see this. Let’s find @alecluhn.bsky.social!

Agreed. Politicians easily forget they serve the people and not the other way round.

Maybe we should move into geo-politics/economics offering one word answers or bingo cards to all the important questions?

China

Patriotism helped us build a better Britain. Entitlement will destroy it Self-interested voices are damaging a national unity that was strongest in the aftermath of the war

Patriotism helped us build a better Britain. Entitlement will destroy it

www.thetimes.com/article/a923...

Lack of alternatives forcing the poorest into barely affordable car ownership By being reliant on owning a car, the UK’s poorest households are spending a disproportionate share of their income on getting about, new research from the Institute for Public Policy Research has fou...

I save a lot of money by not having a car, but I'm physically able (& brave enough!) to cycle, & live I near a train station. But not everyone can do this

Buses need to be better, and roads safer for cycling, so more people can choose car-free lives if they want

airqualitynews.com/cars-freight...

4.6 Billion Years On, the Sun Is Having a Moment In the past two years, without much notice, solar power has begun to truly transform the world’s energy system.

Globally, roughly a third more power is being generated from the sun this spring than last. If this exponential rate of growth can continue, we will soon live in a very different world, @billmckibben.bsky.social‬ writes.

a flag with a white star on it is flying in the wind ALT: a flag with a white star on it is flying in the wind

Such a terrible day. Heartbreaking. But I’ve never been more proud to be a Minnesotan.

Today, hundreds of thousands of people across this state showed up, mourned, marched, and showed the world what decency looks like.

What happened in Spain? The comprehensive post mortem regarding the blackout on the Iberian peninsula, impacting Spain and Portugal, will take months. The media coverage has largely moved on, particularly considering the spe...

I wrote a short piece on lessons learned (so far, given what we know) from Spain on that other site.

#EnergySky

www.linkedin.com/pulse/what-h...

These two charts expose Nigel Farage’s immigration myths The migration debate is based on blatant, provable falsehoods.

Journalists & politicians justify this endless persecution of migrants on the basis of public opinion. Anti-immigration politicians keep winning elections, they say, while migration is constantly ranked a top issue among voters

It turns out, public is wildly misinformed
@writesbright.bsky.social

Short thread (hopefully in plain English) on the nuclear deterrence dynamics in the India-Pakistan relationship and where this goes if escalation continues. <1>

YouTube video by Cleaning Up Podcast Trump vs. The Transition, The Pope’s Legacy & The High Price of UK Electricity — Ep205

We're so back!

Season 15 of @cleaninguppod.bsky.social kicks off with @worthingtonbry.bsky.social and me sharing thoughts on Trump vs. The Transition, The Pope’s Legacy & The High Price of UK Electricity. Listen, watch, comment, share...

www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWOQ...

Vatican to announce its choice of a new Pope in a Signal group chat.

It is time for the Supreme Court to make it 100% clear the Trump Administration is in outright defiance of the Courts and we are thus in a Constitutional Crisis. This is Exhibit A. Then it is up to the American people what to do next...