Mark Bannister
@mark-banni.bsky.social
Low carbon birding, sound recording: Barton claypits & other places; Green Party and Land access rights activist; printmaker; Ex-aerodynamicist.
“Hope is risky; you can lose, and you often do, but the records show that if you try, sometimes you win.”
“Hope is risky; you can lose, and you often do, but the records show that if you try, sometimes you win.”
Using BTO pipeline for cricket ID on my local patch - I can’t hear them anymore. Thinks my electric assist bike is a pipistrelle to 93% probability. Lesson: only record when stopped!
August 14, 2025 at 1:10 PM
Using BTO pipeline for cricket ID on my local patch - I can’t hear them anymore. Thinks my electric assist bike is a pipistrelle to 93% probability. Lesson: only record when stopped!
Where does Britain end up…drops off bottom of graph
August 2, 2025 at 8:21 AM
Where does Britain end up…drops off bottom of graph
No, I’ve never thought that. There are plenty of capable scientific research units that would love to produce such a study if it were true. We have to follow the science even when it is not what we would wish.
July 12, 2025 at 7:35 AM
No, I’ve never thought that. There are plenty of capable scientific research units that would love to produce such a study if it were true. We have to follow the science even when it is not what we would wish.
Show me the studies that say we can replace 220GW of grid-connected renewables with local generation by 2035. I hazard a guess it does not exist. We risk being the generation that had the solutions but did not do so because solar/pylons/wind offended our views over the countryside.
July 12, 2025 at 7:10 AM
Show me the studies that say we can replace 220GW of grid-connected renewables with local generation by 2035. I hazard a guess it does not exist. We risk being the generation that had the solutions but did not do so because solar/pylons/wind offended our views over the countryside.
…on with it, or else limiting climate change to even +2deg will be gone, and that will be the legacy of our generation. It will be on our heads. Let’s not do that.
July 12, 2025 at 6:10 AM
…on with it, or else limiting climate change to even +2deg will be gone, and that will be the legacy of our generation. It will be on our heads. Let’s not do that.
Community energy is definitely a good idea, but even double the achievable target of 5.6GW by 2030 is an order of magnitude smaller than what is required (100GW solar + 80GW offshore wind + 53GW onshore wind) in order to decarbonise…we just need to get..
communityenergyengland.org/news/communi....
communityenergyengland.org/news/communi....
Community Energy 2030 Vision & State of the Sector 2020 Report Launched | Community Energy England
By 2030, community energy should be powering the equivalent of 2.2 million homes (the population of West Yorkshire) by contributing 5,270 MW to the energy system, supporting 8,700 jobs, saving 2.5 ...
communityenergyengland.org
July 12, 2025 at 6:10 AM
Community energy is definitely a good idea, but even double the achievable target of 5.6GW by 2030 is an order of magnitude smaller than what is required (100GW solar + 80GW offshore wind + 53GW onshore wind) in order to decarbonise…we just need to get..
communityenergyengland.org/news/communi....
communityenergyengland.org/news/communi....
ps Got my numbers wrong, big solar farm takes at c4 years, so 2029 for operation, but we likely pass +1.5 deg in next 2 years, so they are solutions to stop +2deg.
July 12, 2025 at 5:32 AM
ps Got my numbers wrong, big solar farm takes at c4 years, so 2029 for operation, but we likely pass +1.5 deg in next 2 years, so they are solutions to stop +2deg.
…I like thinking outside the box, but we have run out of time for big system changes. We have the technology now if we just get in with deploying it. A solar farm in planning today will likely start generating by 2033. Too late to limit us to +1.5 deg. Perhaps just in time to help keep us to +2deg.
July 11, 2025 at 10:39 PM
…I like thinking outside the box, but we have run out of time for big system changes. We have the technology now if we just get in with deploying it. A solar farm in planning today will likely start generating by 2033. Too late to limit us to +1.5 deg. Perhaps just in time to help keep us to +2deg.
From what I can see, Germany’s Energiewende still foresees the need for a national grid to allow solar in south and wind in north to be distributed? Some places are just windier and others sunnier….
eg
www.cleanenergywire.org/news/preview...
eg
www.cleanenergywire.org/news/preview...
July 11, 2025 at 10:39 PM
From what I can see, Germany’s Energiewende still foresees the need for a national grid to allow solar in south and wind in north to be distributed? Some places are just windier and others sunnier….
eg
www.cleanenergywire.org/news/preview...
eg
www.cleanenergywire.org/news/preview...
.. Also, what do you propose we do with the 80GW of offshore wind power that Green Party policy calls for by 2035 (enough to replace 80 gas fired power stations) if it is not distributed around the U.K. by the national grid?
July 11, 2025 at 10:01 PM
.. Also, what do you propose we do with the 80GW of offshore wind power that Green Party policy calls for by 2035 (enough to replace 80 gas fired power stations) if it is not distributed around the U.K. by the national grid?
If this was the case, there would be no need for international inter-connectors (note far more costly than pylons per km) - it would just be cheaper to build more renewables in each country instead. Yet we are building inter-connectors, so has to be cheaper. We simply would not do it otherwise..
July 11, 2025 at 10:01 PM
If this was the case, there would be no need for international inter-connectors (note far more costly than pylons per km) - it would just be cheaper to build more renewables in each country instead. Yet we are building inter-connectors, so has to be cheaper. We simply would not do it otherwise..
…we need c60GW of new solar on farmland and this was before the proliferation of AI datacentres (not advocating for them) where each new AI datacentre needs 1GW of energy!
July 1, 2025 at 11:19 AM
…we need c60GW of new solar on farmland and this was before the proliferation of AI datacentres (not advocating for them) where each new AI datacentre needs 1GW of energy!
…suitable roof should have solar, but it is still not enough. CPRE thinks we could realistically get 40GW of new solar on rooftops and car parks by 2035:
www.cpre.org.uk/news/rooftop...
But Green Party manifesto says we need 100GW of new solar by 2035:
greenparty.org.uk/app/uploads/...
..so…
www.cpre.org.uk/news/rooftop...
But Green Party manifesto says we need 100GW of new solar by 2035:
greenparty.org.uk/app/uploads/...
..so…
Rooftops can provide over half our solar energy targets, report shows
A new report from CPRE shows that over half the government's targets for solar energy can be met by putting panels on roofs and car parks.
www.cpre.org.uk
July 1, 2025 at 11:19 AM
…suitable roof should have solar, but it is still not enough. CPRE thinks we could realistically get 40GW of new solar on rooftops and car parks by 2035:
www.cpre.org.uk/news/rooftop...
But Green Party manifesto says we need 100GW of new solar by 2035:
greenparty.org.uk/app/uploads/...
..so…
www.cpre.org.uk/news/rooftop...
But Green Party manifesto says we need 100GW of new solar by 2035:
greenparty.org.uk/app/uploads/...
..so…
Sharing electricity via the national grid between regions (and internationally) is surely sensible because it reduces costs. The alternative would be even more solar/wind/battery storage in every local region to cover the times when local renewable production could not meet demand. Of course every..
July 1, 2025 at 11:19 AM
Sharing electricity via the national grid between regions (and internationally) is surely sensible because it reduces costs. The alternative would be even more solar/wind/battery storage in every local region to cover the times when local renewable production could not meet demand. Of course every..
…the answer, I suggest, should be easy.
June 30, 2025 at 8:29 PM
…the answer, I suggest, should be easy.
…perceived as far worse offence to (some) human eyes, but in this case, planning is more likely to be passed by gov (Secretary of State for Energy, Security and Net Zero). The question then is: does some offence to (some) human eyes outweigh the chance of a habitable planet for our young people?..
June 30, 2025 at 8:29 PM
…perceived as far worse offence to (some) human eyes, but in this case, planning is more likely to be passed by gov (Secretary of State for Energy, Security and Net Zero). The question then is: does some offence to (some) human eyes outweigh the chance of a habitable planet for our young people?..
..cares not. No wonder applicants now go for far larger solar farms - if double the size of this one, then it is the gov that decides, not the council. So there is the irony - due to councils rejecting smaller applications like this, applicants are forced to go for far larger sites which are…
June 30, 2025 at 8:29 PM
..cares not. No wonder applicants now go for far larger solar farms - if double the size of this one, then it is the gov that decides, not the council. So there is the irony - due to councils rejecting smaller applications like this, applicants are forced to go for far larger sites which are…
..adjacent habitat (26ha) which is managed for the lapwings, skylark, not farming. Any lapwing young can forage in wildflower mix under the solar. Far higher chance they will breed successfully. Same for skylark. What’s not to like? Solar may offend the human eye (for some people), but the wildlife…
June 30, 2025 at 8:29 PM
..adjacent habitat (26ha) which is managed for the lapwings, skylark, not farming. Any lapwing young can forage in wildflower mix under the solar. Far higher chance they will breed successfully. Same for skylark. What’s not to like? Solar may offend the human eye (for some people), but the wildlife…
I’m just reading the mitigation report:
online-applications.sunderland.gov.uk/online-appli...
It is arable. 7 skylark and 3 lapwing pairs were found. IMHO, highly likely the lapwing currently fail to breed suscessfully as happens across England, often due to farming operations. Proposal creates…
online-applications.sunderland.gov.uk/online-appli...
It is arable. 7 skylark and 3 lapwing pairs were found. IMHO, highly likely the lapwing currently fail to breed suscessfully as happens across England, often due to farming operations. Proposal creates…
online-applications.sunderland.gov.uk
June 30, 2025 at 8:29 PM
I’m just reading the mitigation report:
online-applications.sunderland.gov.uk/online-appli...
It is arable. 7 skylark and 3 lapwing pairs were found. IMHO, highly likely the lapwing currently fail to breed suscessfully as happens across England, often due to farming operations. Proposal creates…
online-applications.sunderland.gov.uk/online-appli...
It is arable. 7 skylark and 3 lapwing pairs were found. IMHO, highly likely the lapwing currently fail to breed suscessfully as happens across England, often due to farming operations. Proposal creates…
..rich only). Climate science says we can do it, but only if we act like it is a climate emergency. At the moment we choosing not to. It all still remains a choice.
June 30, 2025 at 7:11 PM
..rich only). Climate science says we can do it, but only if we act like it is a climate emergency. At the moment we choosing not to. It all still remains a choice.
Not sure what you are getting at. I’m all for continuing civilisation myself if we can and to do that we need far more than your list of 3. We can still keep climate change below +2 deg (just, with a lot of roll-out of renewables, electrify transport, heating etc and with behaviour change from the…
June 30, 2025 at 7:11 PM
Not sure what you are getting at. I’m all for continuing civilisation myself if we can and to do that we need far more than your list of 3. We can still keep climate change below +2 deg (just, with a lot of roll-out of renewables, electrify transport, heating etc and with behaviour change from the…
Other studies show are nearly at that AMOC- off tipping point. The climate crisis is the biggest problem we have by far. We have to be led by science. It is too important to get wrong.
June 30, 2025 at 6:19 PM
Other studies show are nearly at that AMOC- off tipping point. The climate crisis is the biggest problem we have by far. We have to be led by science. It is too important to get wrong.
There are studies that show if the AMOC turns off, arable in uk will be impacted well beyond any loss due to solar. Eg: news-archive.exeter.ac.uk/homepage/tit....
Arable area reduces from 32% to 7%. Amount of arable lost to solar is tiny in comparison.
Arable area reduces from 32% to 7%. Amount of arable lost to solar is tiny in comparison.
Home page news - Atlantic circulation collapse could cut British crop farming - University of Exeter
news-archive.exeter.ac.uk
June 30, 2025 at 6:19 PM
There are studies that show if the AMOC turns off, arable in uk will be impacted well beyond any loss due to solar. Eg: news-archive.exeter.ac.uk/homepage/tit....
Arable area reduces from 32% to 7%. Amount of arable lost to solar is tiny in comparison.
Arable area reduces from 32% to 7%. Amount of arable lost to solar is tiny in comparison.
show that we are nearly at that tipping point.
June 30, 2025 at 5:28 PM
show that we are nearly at that tipping point.