Reader David Toke
@davidtoke.bsky.social
Reader in Energy Politics at University of Aberdeen. Author of book 'Energy Revolutions - Profiteering versus Democracy' published by Pluto Press https://www.plutobooks.com/9780745349268/energy-r/ free blog: https://substack.com/@davidtoke .. more
Reader in Energy Politics at University of Aberdeen. Author of book 'Energy Revolutions - Profiteering versus Democracy' published by Pluto Press https://www.plutobooks.com/9780745349268/energy-r/ free blog: https://substack.com/@davidtoke
Energy
23%
Political science
18%
Wind farm that started 'Scotland's green energy revolution' gets suped up
Scotland’s first commercial wind farm is to deliver five times more energy following a number of upgrades.
www.heraldscotland.com
‘Scotland's 'first' wind farm Hagshaw Hill to deliver 5X more power’ www.heraldscotland.com/news/2560818... See also ‘Repowering could boost onshore wind to over a third of UK electricity supply’ davidtoke.substack.com/p/repowering...
‘ScottishPower Renewables repowers Hagshaw' Hill’ renews.biz/105163/scott...
See also: ‘Repowering could boost onshore wind to over a third of UK electricity supply’ davidtoke.substack.com/p/repowering...
See also: ‘Repowering could boost onshore wind to over a third of UK electricity supply’ davidtoke.substack.com/p/repowering...
UK solar capacity hits 20 GW
Major milestone for UK solar deployment as 15 CfD-backed projects switch on during the first three quarters of 2025. Further utility-scale deployment is expected, but much will depend on the outcomes ...
www.pv-magazine.com
UK Solar PV capacity goes above 20 GW www.pv-magazine.com/2025/11/05/u...
See also ‘So how much of UK electricity could solar pv provide? A lot more than people usually think...........https://davidtoke.substack.com/p/so-how-much-of-uk-electricity-could
See also ‘So how much of UK electricity could solar pv provide? A lot more than people usually think...........https://davidtoke.substack.com/p/so-how-much-of-uk-electricity-could
Japanese utility uses Sharp PV-linked home batteries for grid balancing
Japanese utility Tohoku Electric Power is using Sharp’s residential batteries and AI-powered energy management systems to balance grid demand and optimize household solar energy use. Customers in the ...
www.pv-magazine.com
‘Japanese utility uses Sharp PV-linked home batteries for grid balancing’ www.pv-magazine.com/2025/11/04/j...
See also ‘How economists get it wrong about the value of home solar pv and batteries’ davidtoke.substack.com/p/how-econom...
See also ‘How economists get it wrong about the value of home solar pv and batteries’ davidtoke.substack.com/p/how-econom...
Renewables and batteries force electricity price reduction in Australia
reneweconomy.com.au/prices-fall-...
See also: ‘So why are UK electricity bills so high? - it's got nothing to do with the amount of wind and and solar generation’ davidtoke.substack.com/p/so-why-are...
reneweconomy.com.au/prices-fall-...
See also: ‘So why are UK electricity bills so high? - it's got nothing to do with the amount of wind and and solar generation’ davidtoke.substack.com/p/so-why-are...
rubbish. There's no taxpayers money involved at all and this figure assumes that renewables bring down gas prices by 60 per cent to start with!
So why are UK electricity bills so high?
- it's got nothing to do with the amount of wind and and solar generation
davidtoke.substack.com
So why are UK electricity bills so high?
- it's got nothing to do with the amount of wind and and solar generation
davidtoke.substack.com/p/so-why-are...
- it's got nothing to do with the amount of wind and and solar generation
davidtoke.substack.com/p/so-why-are...
renews.biz
Renewable industry says there’s not enough budgeted to fund new projects renews.biz/103871/renew...
See also ‘There's easily enough renewable energy to meet Labour's clean energy target.. davidtoke.substack.com/p/theres-eas...
See also ‘There's easily enough renewable energy to meet Labour's clean energy target.. davidtoke.substack.com/p/theres-eas...
the UK does not have a scheme like this. Australia has a lot more solar PV than the UK
"Solar nation:" Home battery scheme reaches 2 gigawatt hours in just four months - One Step Off The Grid
Chris Bowen says a "remarkable" 100,000 home batteries installed since start of federal rebate scheme, making a total of 2 GWh of capacity.
onestepoffthegrid.com.au
‘“Solar nation:” (Australia) Home battery scheme reaches 2 gigawatt hours in just four months’ onestepoffthegrid.com.au/solar-nation...
See also: ‘How economists get it wrong about the value of home solar pv and batteries’ davidtoke.substack.com/p/how-econom...
See also: ‘How economists get it wrong about the value of home solar pv and batteries’ davidtoke.substack.com/p/how-econom...
Energy storage could cut Brazil’s electricity system costs 16% in 2029
Storage is essential to expand renewables penetration and ensure grid flexibility, according to a study by consultants PSR. Regulatory and tax barriers still limit the sector, however, and new revenue...
www.pv-magazine.com
‘Energy storage could cut Brazil’s electricity system costs 16% in 2029’ www.pv-magazine.com/2025/10/22/e...
See also ‘How falling battery prices and renewables will slash electricity bills’ davidtoke.substack.com/p/how-cheape...
See also ‘How falling battery prices and renewables will slash electricity bills’ davidtoke.substack.com/p/how-cheape...
https://scmp.com/economy/china-…
China is beating the hell out of the West when it comes to exports of solar pv, batteries and electric vehicles www.scmp.com/economy/chin...
See also ‘Some data on how Trump is helping China by opposing green energy’ davidtoke.substack.com/p/how-trump-...
See also ‘Some data on how Trump is helping China by opposing green energy’ davidtoke.substack.com/p/how-trump-...
Reader David Toke
@davidtoke.bsky.social
· Oct 11
Tuition fees set to be lowered at universities with poor teaching
Labour is considering bringing the cap below £9,000 a year on campuses where standards aren’t met
www.thetimes.com
self-defeating proposal by Government to lower fees for universities judged to have lower teaching quality. Lower fees will mean fewer staff which will reduce staff-student ratios and reduce student contact time for teaching www.thetimes.com/uk/education...
Reader David Toke
@davidtoke.bsky.social
· Oct 11
Campaigners warn of ‘dangerous experiment’ as nuclear plans face backlash
Climate Camp Cymru supports Llynfi Valley protest against small modular reactors – campaigners urge Pembrokeshire to stay alert ENVIRONMENTAL activists from across Wales – including several from Pembr...
pembrokeshire-herald.com
Campaigners argue against proposed ‘small modular reactor’. pembrokeshire-herald.com/124146/campa... But how feasible are SMRs? See ‘Why small modular reactors do not exist - history gives the answer’ davidtoke.substack.com/p/why-small-...
Reader David Toke
@davidtoke.bsky.social
· Oct 11
Base Power hauls in $1B for mass deployment of huge home batteries
It’s a standout fundraise for the current cleantech market. The Texas startup will use the money to beef up manufacturing and install batteries even…
www.canarymedia.com
Base Power hauls in $1B for mass deployment of huge home batteries www.canarymedia.com/articles/bat...
See also ‘How economists get it wrong about the value of home solar pv and batteries’ davidtoke.substack.com/p/how-econom...
See also ‘How economists get it wrong about the value of home solar pv and batteries’ davidtoke.substack.com/p/how-econom...
The German electricity network operator reports increasing network reliability as renewables increase their share of generation www.bundesnetzagentur.de/SharedDocs/P...
See also ‘Renewables based systems are reducing blackouts in UK and USA!’ davidtoke.substack.com/p/renewables...
See also ‘Renewables based systems are reducing blackouts in UK and USA!’ davidtoke.substack.com/p/renewables...
EVs reach record 98.3 pct share of new car sales in Norway, surge across Europe
The sale of electric vehicles (EVs) took off in September across Europe, led as always by Norway, but also with strong showings in key markets such as the UK, Denmark and Spain.
thedriven.io
‘EVs reach record 98.3 pct share of new car sales in Norway, surge across Europe’ thedriven.io/2025/10/09/e...
See also how increasing EV use will reduce overall energy consumption in ‘How small increases in renewables produce big cuts in carbon emissions’ davidtoke.substack.com/p/how-small-...
See also how increasing EV use will reduce overall energy consumption in ‘How small increases in renewables produce big cuts in carbon emissions’ davidtoke.substack.com/p/how-small-...
Germany wraps up solar-plus-storage tender with average price of €0.0531/kWh
Germany has concluded a new renewables tender for innovative projects, securing 485 MW of capacity at final prices ranging from €0.0479 ($0.0557)/kWh to €0.0559/kWh
pv-magazine.com
Germany awards just under 500 MW of solar plus storage projects at little more than 5 eurocents per kwh pv-magazine.com/2025/10/08/g...
See also ‘How falling battery prices and renewables will slash electricity bills’
davidtoke.substack.com/p/how-cheape...
See also ‘How falling battery prices and renewables will slash electricity bills’
davidtoke.substack.com/p/how-cheape...
‘Overvoltage key factor in Iberian blackout’ - a law (changed after the blackout) actually prevented renewables from contrbuting to voltage control renews.biz/103454/overv...
See also ‘Renewables based systems are reducing blackouts in UK and USA!’ davidtoke.substack.com/p/renewables...
See also ‘Renewables based systems are reducing blackouts in UK and USA!’ davidtoke.substack.com/p/renewables...
A ‘Golden Age’ of nuclear? | New Civil Engineer
The reason is simple. Nuclear costs are huge and rising and significant delays are the norm. The result is that nuclear power faces the same fundamental
www.newcivilengineer.com
‘The US and UK governments’ attack on the integrity of their own nuclear safety regulators makes no sense....' www.newcivilengineer.com/opinion/a-go...
See also ‘Why small modular reactors do not exist - history gives the answer’ davidtoke.substack.com/p/why-small-...
See also ‘Why small modular reactors do not exist - history gives the answer’ davidtoke.substack.com/p/why-small-...
Turning to the sun: Solar rise in Central Europe | Ember
ember-energy.org
Hungary is the surprise leader in terms of proportion of electricity coming from solar PV. ember-energy.org/latest-insig...
See also Which 'country' is leading the world in solar PV and battery power - and why’ - California would be tops if it were a country! davidtoke.substack.com/p/who-is-lea...
See also Which 'country' is leading the world in solar PV and battery power - and why’ - California would be tops if it were a country! davidtoke.substack.com/p/who-is-lea...
Twe public reaction would come if anyone tried to do this!
Newspaper headlines: 'Tory 'ICE' force would deport 150,000 a year' and 'Tony of Arabia'
The Tory party's immigration plans and former PM Tony Blair's possible role in Gaza make Sunday's papers.
www.bbc.co.uk
If this really were to happen, which I doubt, London would become a war zone for years www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
How wind power cuts UK wholesale electricity prices by a quarter
A new analysis by the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU) has calculated that in 2024 UK wholesale electricity prices would have been over 30 per cent higher if there had been no wind power ge...
davidtoke.substack.com
'How wind power cuts UK wholesale electricity prices by a quarter' davidtoke.substack.com/p/how-wind-p...
UK Power Networks helping SHIELD vulnerable customers from Fuel Poverty
Customers struggling with energy bills could soon benefit from low-cost heating, thanks to an award-winning UK Power Networks innovation that re-uses heat from mini data centres.
www.ukpowernetworks.co.uk
UK Power networks to use heat from data centres to heat homes and replace gas boilers www.ukpowernetworks.co.uk/news/uk-powe... See also: 'How data centres will cut carbon emissions, not increase them' davidtoke.substack.com/p/how-data-c...
Reposted by David Toke
Beyond the Grid - How Solar Home Systems Could Revolutionise Africa's Electrification
YouTube video by Christian Breyer
youtu.be
Podcast on Beyond the Grid - How Solar Home Systems Could Revolutionise Africa's Electrification youtu.be/yYKaUI8ZbSA for this paper from 2017 doi.org/10.3390/en10...
@lut.fi
@lut.fi
Reposted by David Toke
Reader David Toke
@davidtoke.bsky.social
· Sep 17
‘Privatisation premium’: billions from UK energy bills paid to shareholders
Analysis reveals £416 of average bill of £1,719 taken as pre-tax profits by the major energy industries last year, rather than being reinvested
www.theguardian.com
‘Privatisation premium’: billions from UK energy bills paid to shareholders’ www.theguardian.com/politics/202...?
See also: ‘Why have UK energy prices been so high? Privatisation and liberalisation is largely to blame’ davidtoke.substack.com/p/why-have-u...
See also: ‘Why have UK energy prices been so high? Privatisation and liberalisation is largely to blame’ davidtoke.substack.com/p/why-have-u...
Reader David Toke
@davidtoke.bsky.social
· Sep 17
IEA says more oil and gas investment may be needed
The International Energy Agency said in a report that its analysis of 15,000 oil and gas fields showed that output was declining more rapidly than in the past, which has "implications for markets and ...
www.tbsnews.net
IEA says that ‘more oil and gas investment may be needed’ www.tbsnews.net/world/iea-sa...
Just how green is the IEA? See also ‘How the IEA is still grossly biased against renewables’ davidtoke.substack.com/p/how-the-ie...
Just how green is the IEA? See also ‘How the IEA is still grossly biased against renewables’ davidtoke.substack.com/p/how-the-ie...