Steve Fawkes
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drstevefawkess.bsky.social
Steve Fawkes
@drstevefawkess.bsky.social
Founder of epgroup.com Practitioner, author and speaker on energy efficiency, distributed energy & financing the energy transition. Blog at
onlyelevenpercent.com
Reposted by Steve Fawkes
Donald Trump says he wanted to take back the Panama Canal. It's a preposterous idea. But I have an even more preposterous Panama Canal-related idea I wanted to share with you. More here: edconway.substack.com/p/time-to-ta...
Time to talk about the Panama Canal
Apparently Donald Trump wants to bring it back under American control. Here's a crazier idea
edconway.substack.com
January 3, 2025 at 1:28 PM
Law 9. An exciting energy or energy efficiency discovery in a lab somewhere is not the same as a viable technology, which is not the same as a commercial product, which is not the same as a successful product that has meaningful impact in the world.
tinyurl.com/3yny5utr
Fawkes’s Laws Of Energy Efficiency | Only Eleven Percent
The end of the year always brings the pressure of whether or not to write something seasonal.  This year I thought I would do something different by formulating my Laws of Energy Efficiency.  Sir Isaa...
tinyurl.com
January 8, 2025 at 12:13 PM
My 1st read of 2025. Highly recommended novel that seems to shed light on the rise of Putin. Reads like it is written by an insider.
January 8, 2025 at 12:12 PM
Reposted by Steve Fawkes
Two weeks until the next cohort of the PHribbon Course starts on Thurs 16 January

Learn how to use PHribbon to perform detailed embodied and operational carbon calculations, with exercises to practice these and receive general feedback.

Find out more https://buff.ly/49lyLrU
January 2, 2025 at 10:00 AM
Reposted by Steve Fawkes
Is the UK’s electric vehicle target about to fall to pieces? And why might it all hinge on parking in East London?

I shouldn’t tell you – yet – because our report only goes online the new year. But, since it’s running in the papers, here’s a thread.
🧵🔌🚗
December 31, 2024 at 9:05 AM
Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers 18/20.
January 8, 2025 at 11:59 AM
Reposted by Steve Fawkes
I'm currently building a starter pack on a critical topic: the role of finance in driving climate resilience, mitigation, and a circular economy.

Investors, financial experts, development banks, researchers, innovators: who’s leading the charge in this space? Give me your top recommendations!
December 31, 2024 at 1:12 AM
Reposted by Steve Fawkes
Underreported: Elon just picked the head of NASA—a massive conflict-of-interest that will damage a government entity that he partners with, depends on, and in some cases competes with. The nominated NASA director is a high-school dropout billionaire who is pals with Musk. He has no business at NASA.
December 4, 2024 at 7:34 PM
Absolutely - don’t need to innovate innovate innovate - just deploy deploy deploy. And we will still innovate of course. Incremental innovation in small things more important than ‘gee whiz’ new technologies
The focus on new tech bugs me in many ways, we have everything we need now if we could only deploy well.

It's the Bill Gates vs @jigarshahdc.bsky.social debate - new tech vs deployment.

#deploydeploydeploy is the key. We're not doing well with mainstreaming heat pumps.
January 8, 2025 at 11:47 AM
Oh, seems interesting!
A few months ago I wrote a story called Carbon Removal's Existential Question, where I reported on a seeming divide over how to define what carbon removal is. Today's piece is a follow-up looking at a new company trying to unite the industry around a single standard. heatmap.news/climate/abso...
A Standardized Test for Carbon Removal
Absolute Climate wants to grade all carbon credits the exact same way.
heatmap.news
January 8, 2025 at 11:46 AM
Reposted by Steve Fawkes
Our penultimate podcast of 2024 is out tomorrow.

We'll be asking whether a combination of a light #retrofit and installing solar PV, a battery and a heat pump could be a route to getting measures that pay for themselves.

Howard Johns from One Zero will be my guest.

www.onezero.energy
Home | One Zero
www.onezero.energy
December 3, 2024 at 12:02 PM
Reposted by Steve Fawkes
Highest Performing Heat Pump in the UK is in an Uninsulated Home using Radiators

Latest heat pump episode on the BetaTalk Podcast is now out

Search: BetaTalk and start listening now
December 3, 2024 at 12:10 PM
Reposted by Steve Fawkes
"Bumblebee population increases 116 times over in 'remarkable' Scotland rewilding project."

Read that again: **116** times.

Why are we STILL having to argue the case for rewilding??
www.scotsman.com/hays-way/bum...
Bumblebee population increases 116 times over in 'remarkable' Scotland project
‘The sound of traffic and a uniform sea of barley have been replaced by the most beautiful meadows, full of wildflowers, young saplings and the buzz of bees’
www.scotsman.com
November 29, 2024 at 7:19 AM
I still can't find the wine¿?
‘grape yields under solar panels 20-60% higher…highest increase, 60%, Chardonnay grapes, Marselan (30%) Grenache blanc (20%)…2nd trial yield increase >30%…attributed to moderating temperatures, increasing humidity, reducing irrigation needs by 20-70%…protects against frost, mortality reduced 25-50%’
Agrivoltaics can increase grape yield by up to 60%
French agrivoltaics company Sun'Agri says that two of its facilities increased grape yields by 20% to 60% in 2024, compared to areas without solar panels. The PV modules helped regulate temperature fl...
www.pv-magazine.com
January 8, 2025 at 11:44 AM
Reposted by Steve Fawkes
Cheaper solar is changing how we think about placement of panels. 10 years ago you would place as much panels as you could optimally place facing the sun. Now it's about optimising time of usage and self-consumption, even if they deliver less electrons overall. h/t @commercialsolarguy.bsky.social 1/
Screen-printed colored glass BIPV modules with sequins-like effect
Swiss retailer Lehner Versand generates 24.5% of its building energy needs thanks to a renovation project that added 109 kW capacity of solar PV to its facade. The PV array has a sequins-like effect, ...
www.pv-magazine.com
November 28, 2024 at 12:36 PM
Reposted by Steve Fawkes
A future conversation...

"Dad, how could people want things to be so bad?"

"Well son, we used the internet mostly for porn and screaming our feelings. When it came time to look up things like "fascism" and "tariffs" I'm afraid it was a bridge too far for most."
November 28, 2024 at 2:59 AM
Reposted by Steve Fawkes
Large-scale car-sharing service using Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) technology to be launched in Utrecht.
500 Renault electric cars with V2G technology.
We Drive Solar to provide and operate bidirectional charging stations.
MyWheels car-sharing platform to operate the fleet.
www.wedrivesolar.nl/actueel
Actueel
In response to the massive growth of renewable energy in the Netherlands, Renault Group, We Drive Solar, MyWheels and the City of Utrecht have joined forces to launch Europe's first large-scale...
www.wedrivesolar.nl
November 27, 2024 at 9:54 PM
Reposted by Steve Fawkes
The continuing evolution of solar. A French building supply chain has a video from last week teaching carpenters/roofers/etc how to install PV panels. Any mildly handy person can do this (but get an electrician for your connections to the breaker panel). youtu.be/jE0vK5qDn0w?...
Démonstration du système EASY ROOF INTEGRATION de chez Edilians - Les Démos d'Estelle
YouTube video by POINT.P
youtu.be
November 27, 2024 at 8:37 PM
Reposted by Steve Fawkes
We've had electric trains for over 140 years. They need power in the rails, or from overhead power lines. Until now.
Imogen Bhogal presents, the battery electric train:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=sART...
Onboard the UK's First Battery Electric Train!
YouTube video by Everything Electric Show
www.youtube.com
November 27, 2024 at 6:26 PM
Thank you for sharing!
The Tariff Act of 1930 was designed for protectionist trade. It imposed high tariffs on over 20,000 imported goods which led to retaliatory tariffs from other countries.

Why am I telling you this?

In case you're ever asked "what were the key contributors to the Great Depression?"

The mo' you know
January 8, 2025 at 11:39 AM
She did the right thing!
January 8, 2025 at 11:36 AM
Great example of integrated, systems based planning & action. PS we really enjoyed our short visit to Leuven last summer.
January 8, 2025 at 11:35 AM
Reposted by Steve Fawkes
Sad story in The Times about 88 year old farmer, John Kemp-Welch, who works 5,000 acres of difficult hill farming land in Scotland.
Fortunately, he somehow found time to be Chair of the London Stock Exchange, a stockbroker for 30 years and on the board of HSBC.
November 25, 2024 at 9:54 PM
Reposted by Steve Fawkes
Ecovoltaics: “prairie restoration activities can occur underneath solar panels…pollinators were observed using the site as much as dedicated conservation land…native habitats were recorded to decrease PV module temperatures, this was not found to increase electricity production’
New research finds utility-scale solar parks foster biodiversity
A series of longitudinal studies of three solar-pollinator sites in Minnesota have demonstrated evidence of native prairie growing under solar panels, providing both soil benefits and habitat for wild...
www.pv-magazine.com
November 25, 2024 at 12:04 PM