Chris Hewett

‘Brummies united against racism’: poster campaign takes on the far right A message of neighbourly solidarity is thriving in Birmingham against a backdrop of racist intimidation

And another story in the spirit of making hope normal www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

‘It’s a question of humanity’: how a small Spanish town made headlines over its immigration stance Mayor explains why Villamalea unanimously backed call to regularise undocumented migrants – across party lines

Uplifting evidence that society is inherently humane, despite what we are being told by the far right. www.theguardian.com/world/2025/o...

Ever since I finished Question Time, Reform have massively been on the attack.

Including a rant from Richard Tice entirely designed to distract from Reform and Russia.

Everyone should know about Nathan Gill, the bribes from Russia and the link to Reform.

NEW DATA | For the first time ever, wind and solar produced more than 50% of the UK's electricity ☀️🍃🇬🇧

🏆 In September, wind and solar generation reached a share of 50.4%

Both wind and solar generation also reached new absolute output records for the month of September:
Wind: 7.7 TWh
Solar: 1.7 TWh

Hmm. With solar energy, the big explosions take place 93 million miles away

Starmer can help shape the future of the world at Cop30. He can’t let fear of Farage stop him | Michael Jacobs The battle inside No 10 about whether the PM should attend an absolutely crucial climate summit in Brazil is ludicrous. He must assert himself – and go, says economist Michael Jacobs

We’re told that Keir Starmer may not attend the critical Leaders’ Climate Summit in Brazil just before the start of COP30. This would be an appalling abdication of responsibility - handing victory to Donald Trump. Me in the Guardian: www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

A question for Times columnist Sebastian Payne:

What is this cheaper source of "energy" that you speak of?

The world's energy experts would like to know…

‘Just add water’: how to bring back ancient plants in a Norfolk ghost pond An expert team are resurrecting ice age ponds and finding rare species returning from a ‘perfect time capsule’

Some hopeful weekend reading.

“This is nature’s emergency recovery mechanism. We’ve buggered almost everything up but this will still bring them back.”

Trump has dragged the US to the abyss and Nigel Farage would do the same to Britain. Here’s how to stop him | Jonathan Freedland It’s not too late to puncture the Reform leader’s populist myth. His ‘make Britain great again’ act is out of step with the British people, says Guardian columnist Jonathan Freedland

'Farage's core claim is that he somehow speaks for the British people, that his views reflect the “commonsense” views of the silent majority. It’s not true. On issue after issue, including those that define him, he is out of step with most Britons.' Latest column www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Madhya Pradesh secures record-low price for solar-plus-storage power project Madhya Pradesh has achieved India's lowest price for solar power with battery storage through a clean energy auction, with CEIGALL India and ACME Solar winning tenders. This deal could potentially res...

Absolutely wild, record breaking numbers coming back on solar-plus-
storage tenders in India - equivalent to about 2p per kWh!

Just look at what happened with solar investment - it’s astonishing.

Solar has seen the most rapid investment growth, soaring from $142 billion in 2015 to a projected $441 billion this year.

Elon Musk openly called for violence on our streets yesterday.

I hope politicians from all parties come together to condemn his deeply dangerous and irresponsible rhetoric.

Britain must stand united against this clear attempt to undermine our democracy.

What's Nigel Farage's problem with solar panels?

Will farming under solar panels take off? Farming under solar panels is still in the early stages in India, but will it catch on?

#India #Agrivoltaics.
"Best decision I made. My income has tripled, and I sleep peacefully without the stress of climate or crop failure."
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Record sunshine powers Britain's grid to cleanest three months on record Analysis from Imperial College London and Drax suggests government's 2030 clean power mission could be within reach, as Britain's grid decarbonisation continues apace

The carbon intensity of the UK's grid has fallen by 75 per cent in the past decade. www.businessgreen.com/news/4518854...

Nigel Farage uses private company to pay less tax on GB News earnings Exclusive: Reform leader’s use of personal services firm is a practice criticised across the political spectrum

“Farage claimed last year to have “bought a house” in his constituency but the property is actually owned in the name of his partner, meaning he legally avoided higher-rate stamp duty on the purchase of an additional home – given he already owns other properties”

www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Energy users ‘could save £5bn a year’ if gas plants are removed from market Former energy tsar suggests the ‘radical step’ as one of the few options the government has for cutting bills

Moving gas plants - which set the price of electricity- out of the market and into a nationally controlled reserve, would take £5bn off the UK’s energy bills

“Renewable energy is cheaper than gas but we’re not reaping all of the benefits clean power brings”

www.theguardian.com/business/202...

A day of shame for the UK. A political party proposes mass deportations and the response from other political parties is not to condemn this as going further than even Mosley or the National Front.

Africa Could Be on the Verge of a Solar Surge, Study Shows “South Africa and Egypt are currently the only countries (in Africa) with installed solar capacity measured in gigawatts, rather than megawatts,” writes global energy think tank Ember in a new report....

Imports of solar panels to Africa rose by 60% over 12 months to June 2024

If installed, Sierra Leone imported enough solar to generate 60% of 2023 supply

PV imports to Algeria up 33x; to Zambia, Botswana & Sudan over 6-fold; tripled to DRC, Angola, Ethiopia

www.theenergymix.com/africa-could...

Don’t let Donald Trump undermine your faith in the climate fight | Gina McCarthy The president’s fossil-fuel obsession can’t stop global progress, writes the former Environmental Protection Agency head

Gina McCarthy has done more than almost anyone to build the renewable revolution in this country--and she's undaunted
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

‘People just lie’: How Riverford’s Guy Singh-Watson became the most brutally honest farmer in Britain The organic veg pioneer talks to the Guardian about being unemployable, his unconventional father and his recent autism diagnosis

Not many farmers would tell you that we need to eat less meat; that wealthy landowners shouldn’t moan about inheritance tax but should “pay the whole fucking lot”; & that Reform UK are “a load of rich rightwing toffs” 😂

But Devon farmer Guy Singh-Watson does:

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Loadshifting – can we make better use of Scottish green electricity? News that the Scottish Government has given the go ahead for the Berwick Bank Wind Farm to be developed in the North Sea

News that the Scottish Government has given the go ahead for the Berwick Bank Wind Farm to be developed in the North Sea | Charlie McCarthy

Via @bylines.scot

Lucy Connolly says she was political prisoner over Southport post She gives her first newspaper interview after being released from prison.

what the fuck is this headline from the BBC, I feel like I'm losing my mind www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

New tech scales way faster than old.

Solar went from 100 → 1,000 TWh in 8 years, then doubled again to 2,000 TWh by 2024—in just 3 more years. For each of the last three years, solar was the biggest source of new electricity globally. Nothing else has scaled this fast.

Record momentum for UK battery storage!

Planning approvals hitting new highs amid a surge in apps for renewables.

100+ battery storage filings April-June 2025: 8.4 GW—double last year. Year to June: 30 GW across ~400 schemes. UK needs 23-27 GW by 2030 (from 6 GW now)—if delivered, we're there.

China's July 2025 solar production was ~50% higher than its July 2024 solar output!

China's solar generated 839 TWh in 2024 and will likely exceed 1,200 TWh in 2025.

China's solar will generate in 2025 an amount of electricity equal to about 27% of USA's electricity demand. #energysky

Battery projects are not stopping solar or wind being built in the UK, but will enable them to be utilised to the full and not curtailed. GWs of batteries will also be co-located with solar. Output from cheap renewables is displacing existing expensive gas power output.

NEW ANALYSIS: Record solar growth keeps China's CO2 falling in H1 2025, extending a decline since Mar 2024

☀️212GW added in H1 alone (US only has 178GW, in total)
⚡Power CO2 down 3%
🏗️Steel/cement falling too
🏭Coal-chemicals only sector to rise

www.carbonbrief.org/...
1/8

UK solar power output is breaking records this year, and has now exceeded the total generated in 2024 🌞

www.ft.com/content/9e49...

Solar has never been cheaper, cleaner, or more popular. Across rooftops, fields, and industrial sites, it’s quietly reshaping the UK’s energy mix.

Lots of great clips from @chrishewett.bsky.social in this episode, but the biodiversity snippet is one I really like.