Harris Berton
@harrisberton.bsky.social
Climate dad, Canadian energy policy nerd. I post about energy technologies and how we can use them to stop climate change. Views my own. #energysky
Pinned
Harris Berton
@harrisberton.bsky.social
· Jul 19
I've mostly stopped posting anything interesting on here given the "tight ship" (read: idea suppression) culture.
It's a shame, X is awful but I've found this platform even worse in other ways. Less junk to sift through but the interesting conversations take a back seat to opinion policing.
It's a shame, X is awful but I've found this platform even worse in other ways. Less junk to sift through but the interesting conversations take a back seat to opinion policing.
Of course the fossil fuel sector has slowed the transition, but climate advocacy has also failed by any measure. Digging into old strategies won't work. Time for a rethink.
#energysky #climatesky
#energysky #climatesky
There will be more detail on the failures in part II. In essence it's about exaggerating the science, over-reaching on the solutions, and feeding polarization. Niaru gave a perfect example of blaming "the fossil fuel sector", when it's all of us who buy from them. BTW, I love your and Glen's work!
July 29, 2025 at 1:01 PM
Of course the fossil fuel sector has slowed the transition, but climate advocacy has also failed by any measure. Digging into old strategies won't work. Time for a rethink.
#energysky #climatesky
#energysky #climatesky
Reposted by Harris Berton
No. The climate community needs to stop blaming other people for its own failures.
July 29, 2025 at 10:19 AM
No. The climate community needs to stop blaming other people for its own failures.
Reposted by Harris Berton
This is the best heat pump explainer video I've ever seen!
Great work Drew Tozer!
If you like it, bookmark it and share when you see an opportunity!
#2wayac #heatpump #HVAC
bit.ly/BestHPexplai...
Great work Drew Tozer!
If you like it, bookmark it and share when you see an opportunity!
#2wayac #heatpump #HVAC
bit.ly/BestHPexplai...
Heat Pumps, Explained (And Why Everyone’s Switching)
What's a Heat Pump? | Simple Animated Explainer 👉 Wondering how a heat pump works? In this short, animated video, we break down the basics of heat pumps--and explain why so many homeowners are switching. In this video, you’ll learn: What a heat pump is How heat pumps work in both summer and winter How heat pumps get heat from cold air How they compare to furnaces and air conditioners Why they're better for home comfort Thinking about installing a heat pump? Visit https://www.foundryheatpumps.ca to get more information. Or buy a copy of Drew Tozer's Amazon #1 Best Seller, Feel-Good Homes: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/1781339163/ #heatpumps #howheatpumpswork #energyefficienthomes #sustainableheating #greenerhomes #hvacexplainer #airsourceheatpump #homecomfort #cleanenergy #netzero #electrification #decarbonization
bit.ly
July 21, 2025 at 5:57 PM
This is the best heat pump explainer video I've ever seen!
Great work Drew Tozer!
If you like it, bookmark it and share when you see an opportunity!
#2wayac #heatpump #HVAC
bit.ly/BestHPexplai...
Great work Drew Tozer!
If you like it, bookmark it and share when you see an opportunity!
#2wayac #heatpump #HVAC
bit.ly/BestHPexplai...
I've mostly stopped posting anything interesting on here given the "tight ship" (read: idea suppression) culture.
It's a shame, X is awful but I've found this platform even worse in other ways. Less junk to sift through but the interesting conversations take a back seat to opinion policing.
It's a shame, X is awful but I've found this platform even worse in other ways. Less junk to sift through but the interesting conversations take a back seat to opinion policing.
July 19, 2025 at 11:01 AM
I've mostly stopped posting anything interesting on here given the "tight ship" (read: idea suppression) culture.
It's a shame, X is awful but I've found this platform even worse in other ways. Less junk to sift through but the interesting conversations take a back seat to opinion policing.
It's a shame, X is awful but I've found this platform even worse in other ways. Less junk to sift through but the interesting conversations take a back seat to opinion policing.
Reposted by Harris Berton
Vertical configuration helps keep the panels clean. Since 2022, the owners have not cleaned the panels, aided by frequent rainfall and soil that is not dry. Vertical production profiles produce at times when the hourly price of electricity is highest. #AgPV 🔌💡 www.pv-magazine.com/2025/07/11/a...
July 12, 2025 at 11:49 AM
Vertical configuration helps keep the panels clean. Since 2022, the owners have not cleaned the panels, aided by frequent rainfall and soil that is not dry. Vertical production profiles produce at times when the hourly price of electricity is highest. #AgPV 🔌💡 www.pv-magazine.com/2025/07/11/a...
Reposted by Harris Berton
Winning the AI race won’t hinge on whether hyperscale data centers have uninterrupted power to train foundational models between 6-9am during polar vortexes
July 7, 2025 at 8:43 PM
Winning the AI race won’t hinge on whether hyperscale data centers have uninterrupted power to train foundational models between 6-9am during polar vortexes
June 24, 2025 at 11:54 AM
Suggesting specific failures in DAC facilities discredits the need for DAC is like discrediting solar power because solar thermal and concentrating solar were found to be cost-ineffective.
🔌💡
🔌💡
Oooof. Those direct air capture machines built by Climeworks in Iceland, to pull carbon dioxide out of the air? Turns out ... they have generated more CO2 than they have captured.
Climeworks’ capture fails to cover its own emissions
The carbon capture company Climeworks only captures a fraction of the CO2 it promises its machines can capture. The company is failing to carbon offset the emissions resulting from its operations – wh...
heimildin.is
May 19, 2025 at 10:30 AM
Suggesting specific failures in DAC facilities discredits the need for DAC is like discrediting solar power because solar thermal and concentrating solar were found to be cost-ineffective.
🔌💡
🔌💡
Counterpoint: Techno-optimism alone will fix climate change 😂
Absurdity of both points aside, I think it's important to recognize the very high cost of non-technology solutions that are referenced by this statement.
While reducing consumption can help, we can't pretend it's free or painless.
🔌💡
Absurdity of both points aside, I think it's important to recognize the very high cost of non-technology solutions that are referenced by this statement.
While reducing consumption can help, we can't pretend it's free or painless.
🔌💡
May 13, 2025 at 10:00 AM
Counterpoint: Techno-optimism alone will fix climate change 😂
Absurdity of both points aside, I think it's important to recognize the very high cost of non-technology solutions that are referenced by this statement.
While reducing consumption can help, we can't pretend it's free or painless.
🔌💡
Absurdity of both points aside, I think it's important to recognize the very high cost of non-technology solutions that are referenced by this statement.
While reducing consumption can help, we can't pretend it's free or painless.
🔌💡
🚨🚨🚨
The numbers are in! We have #SMR costs estimates back by a regulatory approval!
300MW FOAK is ~$20/W 😳
Total cost: $20.9B/1200MW, or 17.4/W but includes FOAK.
So last 900MW are $15/W.
Hard to see how it can beat AP1000 at these costs...
🔌💡
www.theglobeandmail.com/business/art...
The numbers are in! We have #SMR costs estimates back by a regulatory approval!
300MW FOAK is ~$20/W 😳
Total cost: $20.9B/1200MW, or 17.4/W but includes FOAK.
So last 900MW are $15/W.
Hard to see how it can beat AP1000 at these costs...
🔌💡
www.theglobeandmail.com/business/art...
Ontario’s Darlington SMR project to cost nearly $21-billion
The price is far greater than independent observers deem necessary to spark widespread adoption
www.theglobeandmail.com
May 8, 2025 at 4:31 PM
🚨🚨🚨
The numbers are in! We have #SMR costs estimates back by a regulatory approval!
300MW FOAK is ~$20/W 😳
Total cost: $20.9B/1200MW, or 17.4/W but includes FOAK.
So last 900MW are $15/W.
Hard to see how it can beat AP1000 at these costs...
🔌💡
www.theglobeandmail.com/business/art...
The numbers are in! We have #SMR costs estimates back by a regulatory approval!
300MW FOAK is ~$20/W 😳
Total cost: $20.9B/1200MW, or 17.4/W but includes FOAK.
So last 900MW are $15/W.
Hard to see how it can beat AP1000 at these costs...
🔌💡
www.theglobeandmail.com/business/art...
Reposted by Harris Berton
There are lots of things that warrant discussion & debate about AI, but "it uses too much energy" is a short-sighted critique that will appear silly in retrospect.
What's the carbon footprint of using ChatGPT?
Very small compared to most of the other stuff you do.
www.sustainabilitybynumbers.com
May 6, 2025 at 7:18 PM
There are lots of things that warrant discussion & debate about AI, but "it uses too much energy" is a short-sighted critique that will appear silly in retrospect.
More brilliant insight on the marginal cost of installing heat pumps from Shreyas, and why hybrids can look very attractive to contractors.
🔌💡 #heatpumps
🔌💡 #heatpumps
I was recently looking through the ducted product line chart of Lennox, a large HVAC equipment manufacturer.
What stood out to me?
There's 17 furnaces, but only 5 heat pump air handlers.
8 one-way ACs, but only 5 heat pumps. 🧵
What stood out to me?
There's 17 furnaces, but only 5 heat pump air handlers.
8 one-way ACs, but only 5 heat pumps. 🧵
May 6, 2025 at 10:30 AM
More brilliant insight on the marginal cost of installing heat pumps from Shreyas, and why hybrids can look very attractive to contractors.
🔌💡 #heatpumps
🔌💡 #heatpumps
Reposted by Harris Berton
To coordinate all comms between SPAN cloud systems & the hardware they install. If not, would make it hard for utility to switch aggregators/intermediaries if they (or regulators) decided some other firm could do that at better value.
The financial incentive for aggregaotr is get big slice o value
The financial incentive for aggregaotr is get big slice o value
May 4, 2025 at 2:35 PM
To coordinate all comms between SPAN cloud systems & the hardware they install. If not, would make it hard for utility to switch aggregators/intermediaries if they (or regulators) decided some other firm could do that at better value.
The financial incentive for aggregaotr is get big slice o value
The financial incentive for aggregaotr is get big slice o value
Love to see this. Was too expensive to add 200A service so it drove the decision to use a more advanced, load-reactive EV charger.
We really don't need 200A upgrades for electrification folks!
🔌💡
We really don't need 200A upgrades for electrification folks!
🔌💡
Instead, I’m going to peruse a charger that auto-adjusts to available load, which compiles with code for even a 100A service but will charge at whatever spare capacity is available (up to 60A).
There are a few options in this space. A made-in-Canada one is evdutystore.elmec.ca/products/sma...
There are a few options in this space. A made-in-Canada one is evdutystore.elmec.ca/products/sma...
EVduty Smart Current Sensor
The EVduty current sensor installed on the main circuit breaker of an electrical panel will read current consumption in real time and send the data to one or more smart EVduty charging stations connec...
evdutystore.elmec.ca
May 3, 2025 at 8:11 PM
Love to see this. Was too expensive to add 200A service so it drove the decision to use a more advanced, load-reactive EV charger.
We really don't need 200A upgrades for electrification folks!
🔌💡
We really don't need 200A upgrades for electrification folks!
🔌💡
Reposted by Harris Berton
120v low-peak-power electric appliances have a bright future.
There still room for innovation in this space, imo.
There still room for innovation in this space, imo.
I don't think we'll ever get to the point where home electrification feels quick and easy. The best path to making cases like this easier are 120V appliances (in this case, a 120V heat pump dryer).
The number of technicians and steps involved, and cost, were both significant barriers. Hopefully we can soon get to a policy environment where we make it easier for US households to transition off fossil fuels.
May 3, 2025 at 7:57 PM
120v low-peak-power electric appliances have a bright future.
There still room for innovation in this space, imo.
There still room for innovation in this space, imo.
I don't think we'll ever get to the point where home electrification feels quick and easy. The best path to making cases like this easier are 120V appliances (in this case, a 120V heat pump dryer).
The number of technicians and steps involved, and cost, were both significant barriers. Hopefully we can soon get to a policy environment where we make it easier for US households to transition off fossil fuels.
May 3, 2025 at 6:25 PM
I don't think we'll ever get to the point where home electrification feels quick and easy. The best path to making cases like this easier are 120V appliances (in this case, a 120V heat pump dryer).
I went to my engineering professor's office hours in grad school to learn what reactive power meant.
By the end, he said "I dunno Harris...it's just magic..." 🤣
From a policy perspective (which was the angle I was learning engineering from) we settled on it as an aspect of "power quality."
🔌💡
By the end, he said "I dunno Harris...it's just magic..." 🤣
From a policy perspective (which was the angle I was learning engineering from) we settled on it as an aspect of "power quality."
🔌💡
(* or supply/consume reactive power to change real power injection & voltage, but nobody understands reactive power...)
May 1, 2025 at 11:24 AM
I went to my engineering professor's office hours in grad school to learn what reactive power meant.
By the end, he said "I dunno Harris...it's just magic..." 🤣
From a policy perspective (which was the angle I was learning engineering from) we settled on it as an aspect of "power quality."
🔌💡
By the end, he said "I dunno Harris...it's just magic..." 🤣
From a policy perspective (which was the angle I was learning engineering from) we settled on it as an aspect of "power quality."
🔌💡
Reposted by Harris Berton
Uncontroversial?
• High % renewables bring new grid stability risks.
• Those risks seem manageable, but necessary policies/tech/regs are still in flux.
• The 🇪🇸/🇵🇹 event was almost certainly multifactorial. Untangling will take time, but…
• Early data does imply VRE instability as one contributor.
• High % renewables bring new grid stability risks.
• Those risks seem manageable, but necessary policies/tech/regs are still in flux.
• The 🇪🇸/🇵🇹 event was almost certainly multifactorial. Untangling will take time, but…
• Early data does imply VRE instability as one contributor.
May 1, 2025 at 4:06 AM
Uncontroversial?
• High % renewables bring new grid stability risks.
• Those risks seem manageable, but necessary policies/tech/regs are still in flux.
• The 🇪🇸/🇵🇹 event was almost certainly multifactorial. Untangling will take time, but…
• Early data does imply VRE instability as one contributor.
• High % renewables bring new grid stability risks.
• Those risks seem manageable, but necessary policies/tech/regs are still in flux.
• The 🇪🇸/🇵🇹 event was almost certainly multifactorial. Untangling will take time, but…
• Early data does imply VRE instability as one contributor.
Reposted by Harris Berton
I spent a lot of happy hours in DC arguing that the idea that industry was "hard to decarbonize" was driven in part by folks misreading the modeling. A 🧵 1/8
May 1, 2025 at 2:12 AM
I spent a lot of happy hours in DC arguing that the idea that industry was "hard to decarbonize" was driven in part by folks misreading the modeling. A 🧵 1/8
Reposted by Harris Berton
Byron nuclear plant in Illinois to undergo $355 million uprate. 6 low pressure turbines will be replaced by two with higher pressure, to increase the power generation by 80 megawatts.
$4.4 / watt. The lowest hanging fruit of clean firm power!
🔌💡 www.shawlocal.com/sauk-valley/...
$4.4 / watt. The lowest hanging fruit of clean firm power!
🔌💡 www.shawlocal.com/sauk-valley/...
Byron’s 40-year-old nuclear plant to undergo $355M project to increase power output
Constellation Energy, owner of the Byron Nuclear Power Station, plans to invest about $355 million in a lengthy project that will increase the site's power output and extend the life of the facility a...
www.shawlocal.com
April 21, 2025 at 9:02 PM
Byron nuclear plant in Illinois to undergo $355 million uprate. 6 low pressure turbines will be replaced by two with higher pressure, to increase the power generation by 80 megawatts.
$4.4 / watt. The lowest hanging fruit of clean firm power!
🔌💡 www.shawlocal.com/sauk-valley/...
$4.4 / watt. The lowest hanging fruit of clean firm power!
🔌💡 www.shawlocal.com/sauk-valley/...
Great post on LinkedIn from @shreyassudhakar.com
Anyone thinking through how to lower the cost of heat pumps needs to keep the business model in mind.
This is not an equipment cost problem, and opportunities to leverage this structure like midstream programs exist.
#heatpumps 🔌💡
Anyone thinking through how to lower the cost of heat pumps needs to keep the business model in mind.
This is not an equipment cost problem, and opportunities to leverage this structure like midstream programs exist.
#heatpumps 🔌💡
April 21, 2025 at 3:09 PM
Great post on LinkedIn from @shreyassudhakar.com
Anyone thinking through how to lower the cost of heat pumps needs to keep the business model in mind.
This is not an equipment cost problem, and opportunities to leverage this structure like midstream programs exist.
#heatpumps 🔌💡
Anyone thinking through how to lower the cost of heat pumps needs to keep the business model in mind.
This is not an equipment cost problem, and opportunities to leverage this structure like midstream programs exist.
#heatpumps 🔌💡
Drove through rural southwestern Ontario this morning. Drove by this wind farm with all the blades turned into the wind so they're motionless, despite all the surrounding ones going full tilt.
Sure enough, IESO grid is overloaded with wind, cool to see curtailment in practice.
🔌💡
Sure enough, IESO grid is overloaded with wind, cool to see curtailment in practice.
🔌💡
April 18, 2025 at 3:57 PM
Drove through rural southwestern Ontario this morning. Drove by this wind farm with all the blades turned into the wind so they're motionless, despite all the surrounding ones going full tilt.
Sure enough, IESO grid is overloaded with wind, cool to see curtailment in practice.
🔌💡
Sure enough, IESO grid is overloaded with wind, cool to see curtailment in practice.
🔌💡
🤦♂️ PSA: any existing hydroelectric capacity (or any generating capacity in general) is already spoken for.
Even if you are talking new capacity, the number of cheap potential hydro sites is very low, and they are also spoken for.
www.bnnbloomberg.ca/business/tec...
Even if you are talking new capacity, the number of cheap potential hydro sites is very low, and they are also spoken for.
www.bnnbloomberg.ca/business/tec...
Canada has answer to energy needs in AI race, ex-Google CEO says
Canada’s abundant hydroelectricity offers the best way to power booming artificial intelligence servers and win the global AI race — if the country is able to cooperate with the US amid a trade war wi...
www.bnnbloomberg.ca
April 12, 2025 at 9:32 PM
🤦♂️ PSA: any existing hydroelectric capacity (or any generating capacity in general) is already spoken for.
Even if you are talking new capacity, the number of cheap potential hydro sites is very low, and they are also spoken for.
www.bnnbloomberg.ca/business/tec...
Even if you are talking new capacity, the number of cheap potential hydro sites is very low, and they are also spoken for.
www.bnnbloomberg.ca/business/tec...
Reposted by Harris Berton
Precisely nobody on Bluesky cares but WTI is back below $60. Jeez louise.
April 10, 2025 at 6:02 PM
Precisely nobody on Bluesky cares but WTI is back below $60. Jeez louise.