Author: Barny Evans
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The Solar Eclipse
Solar is so much cheaper than every other generation technology and getting cheaper. Is it inevitable and wonderful that the entire world will end up running on solar power connected across the world? We are in the mid stages of a global energy revolution where we are moving to using almost 100% renewable energy. We…
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Climate Change Policies need to understand how Energy Systems Work
There is a lot of stuff going on in the world of energy in buildings and we are slowly moving in the right direction. We have tried every other option, but we are finally acknowledging that we need to electrify heating in almost all buildings. The Building Regulation updates are going to lock that in…
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Autonomous Vehicles – Good for Us, Bad for Government
Elon Musk confirms Tesla is overpriced As Tesla’s share price has begun to fall towards a more natural level of valuation, I heard Elon Musk justifying a higher share price on the basis that investors “have to believe Tesla is going to solve autonomous vehicles”. It made me laugh, because if he is right, (and…
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What if you aren’t windy or sunny?
The future of our global energy system is largely electrified, and that electricity will mostly come from solar or wind power. Both technologies are clean, cheap/very cheap and will get cheaper. If you are a country with lots of wind and a bit of solar, (UK) or a country with lots of solar but little…
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The Energy Transition Impact on Geopolitics
I have been thinking about the big picture of the geopolitics of energy for a while and this was turbocharged when I read the book Prisoners of Geography. The author looks at ten regions, Western Europe, Russia, China, Arctic, etc. and considers how geography has and continues to lock them into policies and situations. It…
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Could batteries save the rail system?
This article by Chris Wood at WSP, reminded me to write about how batteries may save the rail system and taxpayers a lot of money. I have written before how I think public transport will decline due to a combination of electrification and automation. Firstly electrification makes car travel super cheap. Today that is because…
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Artificial Intelligence and Energy – The Same Amazing Future
The current focus on artificial intelligence (AI) has reminded me of a point around energy which I still don’t think is understood or being considered enough. Unlike the old days of energy, where prices go up and down for various reasons, mostly unpredictable, with the all-electric and renewable energy revolution prices only go down. This…
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Wales’ Energy needs People, Policy and Pylons
The Welsh Government has committed to generating as much renewable electricity as we consume by 2035. That is a massive change in 12 years and we aren’t on target. We will need to generate multiples of the amount we generate now. That means a lot of solar farms, onshore and offshore wind farms, but also…
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Logistics – the 360 energy opportunity
Logistics is at the cutting edge of much change in society. The way we live now would not be possible without a sophisticated and efficient logistics system. The growth of online retail and ever faster delivery means the sector is at the cutting edge of the challenge to decarbonise. Accelerating deliveries and movement along with…
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Roads, where we are going we don’t need roads – Welsh Transport
Roads? Where we’re going, we don’t need roads! These are the problems with Welsh transport and it’s not simply an issue of building new roads or not In Wales, our transport plans seem to me to be delivering poor outcomes because we aren’t embracing simple economic principles or technological developments. We are locked in a…