Bill Weil

In the past 12 months, African countries have ramped up their solar panel imports from 🇨🇳

If fully installed, they would be able to generate electricity equivalent to 5% or more of the the current total power generation in 16 African countries☀️

https://loom.ly/IBLOSSw

Back in February one of the oil industry analytics firms that always gets top billing by the media said this:

"Rystad expects China’s LNG imports to reach more than 83 Mt in 2025 – greater than the previous record-high in 2021"

So, in February they predicted record LNG imports for China

The first evidence of a take-off in solar in Africa | Ember There has been a major pick-up in solar panel imports into Africa over the last 12 months - a shift that is likely to impact almost every country on the continent.

And it's not just Pakistan, the solar boom is happening across Africa. Markets are not gradual once they tip, they move in peaks and cliffs: ember-energy.org/latest-insig...

Try not to be distracted by the noise, this is the biggest news. The tide is turning, question is only whether quickly enough.

The great new IEA AI report very usefully confirms 3 things all of us always suspected...

Each year, #renewable power exceeds its previous capacity, with highest addition recorded in 2024 at 585 GW. But the world still falls short of the 11.2 TW target of #3xRenewables 2030. Read IRENA report-available in 3 languages-to see data from all regions: bit.ly/43wt1eh

More Gas Plants Withdraw From Texas Energy Fund: Grid Roundup #48 TEF troubles continue; SB 819 has more opposition than any energy bill in recent memory; another anti-energy bill (SB 715) in committee tomorrow; ERCOT to prioritize residential DR; and more

Texas Energy Fund troubles continue as another, 1,100 megawatts withdraws; SB 819 has more opposition than any energy bill in recent memory; another anti-energy bill (SB 715) in committee tomorrow; ERCOT to prioritize residential DR; and more
www.douglewin.com/p/massive-g...

Another four gas plants were withdrawn from the Texas Energy Fund. If you want the Texas economy to grow & to avoid rolling outages, you need renewables & storage. This comes the day after the Senate heard a bill to severely restrict solar + wind power, and the Texas economy.

YouTube video by Sky News Who has given what to Ukraine - and will they get their cash back? | Analysis

📽️ How much have the US and others given in aid to Ukraine? Who's been the most generous? How does it all compare with previous conflicts?
And what's with Donald Trump's money-for-minerals deal?
All the answers in my primer, this time with bonus extra charts 🤓 www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0B4...

Pakistan's solar boom Pakistan's massive solar boom is creating a bottom-up energy revolution that could become the blueprint for developing nations worldwide.

Today on Volts: Pakistan, a country with ~45GW total installed electrical capacity, has imported a whopping 30GW worth of solar panels since 2020. I talk with two in-country experts about the seismic changes underway, how to keep them going, & what other developing nations can learn from them.

One of the most promising clean energy trends over the last year has been the growth of solar in Republican states in the South.

- AR added 943 MW of capacity (99% vs. 2023).
- MS added 794 MW of capacity (647% vs. 2023).
- LA added 726 MW of capacity (230% vs. 2023).

cleanview.co/annual-repor...

YouTube video by Climate Town How Oil Propaganda Sneaks Into TV Shows | Climate Town

Worth watching: How oil propaganda sneaks into TV shows: youtu.be/wBC_bug5DIQ?...

Thank you @climatetown.bsky.social

The emperor now officially has no clothes. State backstop insurance programs are mostly functionally bankrupt. This observation is undebatable, the hard question is: how are wealthy, "civilized" societies going address this in a fair and affordable way?

New overview of @IEA
outlooks vs reality from my friend @ChristianOnRE
e.o. Nuclear consistently overestimated and solar underestimated.

The supplement gives you an excel with the data to make your own graphs.

Global electric vehicle sales up 25% in record 2024 Global sales of fully electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles rose by a quarter last year to over 17 million cars, helped by a fourth consecutive month of record sales in December as China continued to grow and Europe stabilised, data showed on Tuesday.

Global electric vehicle sales up 25% in record 2024

- UK overtook Germany as Europe's biggest battery-electric market in 2024

HT @carbonbrief.org
www.reuters.com/business/aut...

China’s emissions from fossil fuels and cement, million tonnes of CO2, rolling 12-month totals.

NEW – Analysis: Record surge of clean energy in 2024 halts China’s CO2 rise | @laurimyllyvirta.bsky.social

Read here: https://buff.ly/4hvRRyG

Heat pumps keep widening their lead on gas furnaces 2024 heat pump sales through November show the clean-heat transition is speeding up in the U.S.

2024 heat pump sales through November show the clean-heat transition is speeding up in the U.S., Alison F. Takemura reports:

European Electricity Review 2025 | Ember The EU’s electricity transition continued at pace in 2024, as solar overtook coal for the first time and gas declined for the fifth year in a row.

Renewables accounted for nearly half (47%) of EU power generation 2024. Fossil power declined again, despite increases in electricity demand and EU power exports.

More interesting energy insights can be found in 'The EU power sector in 2024' by @ember-energy.org

This can't be repeated often enough: batteries are getting cheaper incredibly fast.

This not only means that our cars can drive on electricity.

But also that solar and wind become "firm" sources of power, and we can use our electricity grid much better.
www.iea.org/reports/batt...

Thanks, Eric - great list of folks! 🙏

Key advantage of electrification: cuts inefficient losses to waste heat very significantly - we do not need to replace all 100 units of fossil energy input. #Electrifyeverything (transport, industry, buildings) plus shifting to clean energy reduces the target to more like 50 units (or less!).

A common perception is that clean energy is replacing fossil fuels in developed economies where power demand is not growing fast or even at all, but cannot scale up fast enough to cover demand growth in rapidly developing countries.

Can you guess which five countries provide a counter-example?

EV sales are up significantly across the board in the US last year (except one notable company...). Ignore the noise about slowing demand, this is an unstoppable transition to a superior product.

[Episode #239] – Making Sense of Chaos | The Energy Transition Show Why have most economic models consistently underestimated the actual speed of the energy transition?

In Ep. 239, mathematician Doyne Farmer of Oxford University explains why conventional economic modeling has failed to anticipate the actual speed of the energy transition, and why using “complexity economics” can give us a much more accurate picture of it.
xenetwork.org/ets/episodes...

Life advice: always listen to @allisonclements.bsky.social. Also, plan for, but don't panic about AI load growth hype.

The IRA will deliver a fourfold return on taxpayer investment, says ACP The Inflation Reduction Act could generate $2.7 trillion in U.S. economic benefits from 2025 to 2035, says a report commissioned by the American Clean Power Association.

New report finds: "The Inflation Reduction Act could deliver over $2.7 trillion in net benefits from 2025 to 2035, against $656 billion in costs."

[Non-climate related] Take a skim through the rather amazing responses to this post.

The horrifically poor electricity service in Puerto Rico is even more maddening when you think about the significant solar energy potential on the island. Grid defection to PV will only continue to increase.

USDA awards US$4.37 billion for rural electric cooperatives for renewables, BESS and transmission upgrades The USDA has announced US$4.37 billion in clean energy investments through the Empowering Rural America (New ERA) programme.

USDA awards US$4.37 billion for rural electric cooperatives for renewables, BESS and transmission upgrades #energysky -- via Energy Storage News: www.energy-storage.n...

🔌💡A friendly reminder! An enormous amount of clean energy projects — 2.6 TWs’ worth, or an amount roughly double the size of the existing US grid’s capacity — remain stuck in utility interconnection queues. Interconnection queue regulatory reform needs to remain a top priority heading into 2025!