jo melville
@jmelville.science
climate tech (electrochemistry, industrial decarb, synthetic fuels, carbon removal, deep biogeochemistry, solar radiation management)
formerly: ARPA-E, Georgetown, MIT (PhD), UC Berkeley (BSc)
ask me anything: https://jmelville.science/ask/
πΊπΈβπΈπ¬
formerly: ARPA-E, Georgetown, MIT (PhD), UC Berkeley (BSc)
ask me anything: https://jmelville.science/ask/
πΊπΈβπΈπ¬
Pinned
jo melville
@jmelville.science
Β· Feb 19
out on a first date. she asked me "are you artistic?" but i misheard and replied "i've never been diagnosed"
192/ wheat for sheep
February 12, 2026 at 9:34 AM
192/ wheat for sheep
191/ ππ―ποΈ
![[video of beeswax]
HunyBee-q6f. 2 wk ago
Cute. Real cute you guys. Yeah that's my fucking house.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:4gfg7lhcz32br6n6u5f3vbao/bafkreighziyanxalgq2aclg4tiiixizk6tojr4cum2kvyakh2z2lwiuj5y@jpeg)
February 12, 2026 at 9:34 AM
191/ ππ―ποΈ
188/ they want you to leave your leftover cooked rice in the fridge for a day or two
February 12, 2026 at 6:27 AM
188/ they want you to leave your leftover cooked rice in the fridge for a day or two
even if you're burning fossil diesel, I'd love to see it reframed in terms of the renewable generation capacity enabled for every marginal unit of fossil backup used.
e.g. for every 1 MWh this diesel generator produces, it provides backup optionality for 100 (?) MWh of solar + wind on the grid
e.g. for every 1 MWh this diesel generator produces, it provides backup optionality for 100 (?) MWh of solar + wind on the grid
February 12, 2026 at 2:55 AM
even if you're burning fossil diesel, I'd love to see it reframed in terms of the renewable generation capacity enabled for every marginal unit of fossil backup used.
e.g. for every 1 MWh this diesel generator produces, it provides backup optionality for 100 (?) MWh of solar + wind on the grid
e.g. for every 1 MWh this diesel generator produces, it provides backup optionality for 100 (?) MWh of solar + wind on the grid
the nice thing about backup fuels is the low capacity factor privileges low CAPEX (drop-in dual fuels or reuse of surplus hardware) over high fuel OPEX β a rare bright spot for synfuels!
February 12, 2026 at 2:42 AM
the nice thing about backup fuels is the low capacity factor privileges low CAPEX (drop-in dual fuels or reuse of surplus hardware) over high fuel OPEX β a rare bright spot for synfuels!
Reposted by jo melville
Only six months late but I really enjoyed this preso from @dylanjmcconnell.bsky.social touching on one of my favourite niche energy topics: diesel! Pipeline gas has real challenges meeting seasonal peaking needs - big tanks of liquid fuel are a great complement
www.ceem.unsw.edu.au/sites/defaul...
www.ceem.unsw.edu.au/sites/defaul...
February 12, 2026 at 2:27 AM
Only six months late but I really enjoyed this preso from @dylanjmcconnell.bsky.social touching on one of my favourite niche energy topics: diesel! Pipeline gas has real challenges meeting seasonal peaking needs - big tanks of liquid fuel are a great complement
www.ceem.unsw.edu.au/sites/defaul...
www.ceem.unsw.edu.au/sites/defaul...
pain is your body's way of saying "ouch!"
February 11, 2026 at 4:39 PM
pain is your body's way of saying "ouch!"
Reposted by jo melville
hi Juliane, I sent you an email! please feel free to use my materials for your course (with attribution)
February 9, 2026 at 8:36 AM
hi Juliane, I sent you an email! please feel free to use my materials for your course (with attribution)
Reposted by jo melville
The Methane spike in the early 2020βs has been explained in two new studies. A combination of weakened atmospheric removal and increased emissions from warming wetlands, rivers, lakes, and agricultural land are to blame.
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...Β
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
#methane
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...Β
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
#methane
Why methane surged in the atmosphere during the early 2020s
The atmospheric methane (CH4) growth rate surged after 2019, peaking at 16.2 parts per billion per year (ppb yearβ1) in 2020 before declining to 8.6 ppb yearβ1 in 2023. Using multiple atmospheric inve...
www.science.org
February 6, 2026 at 11:24 AM
The Methane spike in the early 2020βs has been explained in two new studies. A combination of weakened atmospheric removal and increased emissions from warming wetlands, rivers, lakes, and agricultural land are to blame.
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...Β
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
#methane
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...Β
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
#methane
this would not do anything to stop PV deployment, bc (1) most silver is still used for jewelry, investments, etc and (2) non-silver metallization alternatives exist (mostly Cu)
in the short term this would in fact be a direct wealth transfer to PV companies bc of their silver prepurchase agreements
in the short term this would in fact be a direct wealth transfer to PV companies bc of their silver prepurchase agreements
February 8, 2026 at 8:11 PM
this would not do anything to stop PV deployment, bc (1) most silver is still used for jewelry, investments, etc and (2) non-silver metallization alternatives exist (mostly Cu)
in the short term this would in fact be a direct wealth transfer to PV companies bc of their silver prepurchase agreements
in the short term this would in fact be a direct wealth transfer to PV companies bc of their silver prepurchase agreements
hard to rule out completely, but the vast majority of wind potential energy is from differential solar heating of the Earthβs atmosphere
arxiv.org/abs/2010.00982
arxiv.org/abs/2010.00982
Physical limits of wind energy within the atmosphere and its use as renewable energy: From the theoretical basis to practical implications
How much wind energy does the atmosphere generate, and how much of it can at best be used as renewable energy? This review aims to give first-order estimates and sensitivities to answer these question...
arxiv.org
February 8, 2026 at 8:04 PM
hard to rule out completely, but the vast majority of wind potential energy is from differential solar heating of the Earthβs atmosphere
arxiv.org/abs/2010.00982
arxiv.org/abs/2010.00982
hey Kevin! DM me your email and I'll send you the full 3000-word essay I wrote building up this diagram from scratch (:
February 8, 2026 at 8:01 PM
hey Kevin! DM me your email and I'll send you the full 3000-word essay I wrote building up this diagram from scratch (:
i have always found it underdiscussed that almost ~20% of all global silver production is used in solar photovoltaic metallization layers β a figure that's up ~4x in the past decade even as the relative silver loading per panel has *dropped* ~3x in the same period!
#energysky
#energysky
February 8, 2026 at 1:52 PM
i have always found it underdiscussed that almost ~20% of all global silver production is used in solar photovoltaic metallization layers β a figure that's up ~4x in the past decade even as the relative silver loading per panel has *dropped* ~3x in the same period!
#energysky
#energysky
selection bias. how do you choose which past outputs to include?
February 8, 2026 at 3:20 AM
selection bias. how do you choose which past outputs to include?
Reposted by jo melville
MethaneSAT has released its first analysis of methane emissions from oil and gas basins globally, in the year before the satellite lost contact. @mckennapr.bsky.social and I dug into the findings for @insideclimatenews.org
insideclimatenews.org/news/0602202...
insideclimatenews.org/news/0602202...
MethaneSAT Releases First Global Assessment of Oil and Gas Climate Pollution - Inside Climate News
Nearly a year after the Environmental Defense Fund lost contact with an $88 million satellite, data from the spacecraft reveal higher-than-expected methane emissions from the oil and gas industry.
insideclimatenews.org
February 6, 2026 at 4:51 PM
MethaneSAT has released its first analysis of methane emissions from oil and gas basins globally, in the year before the satellite lost contact. @mckennapr.bsky.social and I dug into the findings for @insideclimatenews.org
insideclimatenews.org/news/0602202...
insideclimatenews.org/news/0602202...
credit card points are a wealth transfer from people who have poor credit or pay in cash/debit to people with good credit, intermediated by businesses setting prices to account for the interchange fees that subsidize rewards programs
www.bitsaboutmoney.com/archive/anat...
www.bitsaboutmoney.com/archive/anat...
February 5, 2026 at 4:48 PM
credit card points are a wealth transfer from people who have poor credit or pay in cash/debit to people with good credit, intermediated by businesses setting prices to account for the interchange fees that subsidize rewards programs
www.bitsaboutmoney.com/archive/anat...
www.bitsaboutmoney.com/archive/anat...
my favorite game designer is graphposting, we are so back
February 4, 2026 at 10:51 AM
my favorite game designer is graphposting, we are so back
maybe I'm misunderstanding the question but isn't that just ANOVA
February 4, 2026 at 8:10 AM
maybe I'm misunderstanding the question but isn't that just ANOVA
good shout, I have had a similar thought and it should be easy technically. will add in the next update
February 4, 2026 at 8:01 AM
good shout, I have had a similar thought and it should be easy technically. will add in the next update
to paraphrase a certain philosopher:
Scientists have analyzed our energy system in various ways. The point, however, is to change it.
Scientists have analyzed our energy system in various ways. The point, however, is to change it.
February 2, 2026 at 3:33 PM
to paraphrase a certain philosopher:
Scientists have analyzed our energy system in various ways. The point, however, is to change it.
Scientists have analyzed our energy system in various ways. The point, however, is to change it.
seven different countries represented in the weekly high score leaderboard for EnerGIS and not a single american...
jmelville.science/energis/lead...
jmelville.science/energis/lead...
February 2, 2026 at 10:22 AM
seven different countries represented in the weekly high score leaderboard for EnerGIS and not a single american...
jmelville.science/energis/lead...
jmelville.science/energis/lead...