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Dan Grey

@dangrey.bsky.social

920 followers 120 following 3.1K posts

Energy and transitioning from fossil fuels. Complex issues I try to shine a light on. Ex-UKAEA and Met Office. Occasionally politics Exeter, UK

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Dan Grey @dangrey.bsky.social · May 9

So Ørsted has canned the Hornsea 4 wind farm project – what does that mean for the pipeline of offshore wind farms between now and 2030?

Not all that much...

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Dan Grey @dangrey.bsky.social · May 7

Orsted, majority-owned by the Danish government, has decided to cancel the 2.4 GW Hornsea 4 offshore wind farm. The final investment decision had been expected later this year – they've taken it early, and it's a negative.

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Ørsted discontinues Hornsea 4 offshore wind project

Ørsted has announced it will discontinue construction on its Hornsea 4 offshore wind project in the UK, despite recently securing a Contract for

www.energyvoice.com

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Dan Grey @dangrey.bsky.social · 1h

Back on twitter I estimated that the proposed Rosebank oil field, west of Shetland, would result in 150 million tonnes of CO₂ being emitted.

The developers, Equinor, have now admitted it would put 250 million tonnes of CO₂ into the atmosphere!

Needless to say, it must not be permitted

Controversial UK oil field reveals climate impact if approved

The impact from the Rosebank oil field is estimated at nearly 250 million tonnes of planet warming CO2.

www.bbc.co.uk

Dan Grey @dangrey.bsky.social · 2h

I'm a big fan of ML; I just think AI as a concept has become a bit tarnished in the last few years, and describing ML has AI for marketing can be risky

Dan Grey @dangrey.bsky.social · 4h

Who?

Dan Grey @dangrey.bsky.social · 7h

It genuinely happens too. A friend of mine limits her hours because she would, effectively, not get paid for them. It's just daft.

She can afford to pay more tax than she does, and she should, but should be through lifting the 40% rate to 45% or similar.

Dan Grey @dangrey.bsky.social · 7h

In fact welfare spending should be higher:

Universal Credit should be sufficient for essential needs. @jrf-uk.bsky.social has shown it's £30 a week below

The UC "taper" rate should not be above the top rate of tax. At 55%, it is; this should be reduced, and everyone should have a work allowance

Dan Grey @dangrey.bsky.social · 10h

"Fears"? Surely "delight" at cheap electricity made here instead of importing expensive gas

Concerns over 2,700-acre 'mega-solar' scheme in Devon

Developers say the site will help cut emissions, but critics say a balance is needed with nature.

www.bbc.co.uk

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Dan Grey @dangrey.bsky.social · 11h

Weird to quote a projection of how much bigger the economy "would have been" in ten years' time. Why not say how much has been lost today?

Dan Grey @dangrey.bsky.social · 12h

Disaggregation/NILM (which uses machine learning not "AI"; I guess companies marketing it think an AI label sells) does seem to work, although it's always looked like snake oil to me
stax.strath.ac.uk/concern/thes...

NILM : energy monitoring, modelling, and disaggregation

stax.strath.ac.uk

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Dan Grey @dangrey.bsky.social · 12h

I thought Octopus had a WhatsApp "channel" but they withdrew it. Some suggestion that Saving Sessions, or at least the rate offered, is now regional so a "broadcast" notification wasn't suitable

Reposted by Dan Grey

Lauri Myllyvirta @laurimyllyvirta.bsky.social · 13h

China's coal imports fell 3% in September, and are down 11% year-to-date. Fossil gas imports fell 8% in September, -6% year-to-date. Net oil imports are up 2% year-to-date, 3% in September, and oil product exports are rising fast in October, indicating easing demand.

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Dan Grey @dangrey.bsky.social · 1d

“I used to think cancellation was for culture wars and comedians, not economists. But point out that North Sea oil doesn’t cut UK energy bills, and suddenly you’re censored”

Jessica Elgot @jessicaelgot.bsky.social · 1d

Read this sorry story about how an academic was axed from conference panels because he was deemed too interesting.

He was told no one on the panel was expected to air difficult opinions in front of MPs that could damage the oil and gas sector

www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Academic axed from Labour conference panel for criticising energy policy

Sustainability expert was told panellists discussing North Sea oil and gas were meant to ‘agree entirely’ with each other

www.theguardian.com

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Dan Grey @dangrey.bsky.social · 1d

Octopus offering 24p for every kWh less of electricity you use than average between 6 and 7pm this evening (8 octopoints are worth 1p)

That's quite a good saving

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Dan Grey @dangrey.bsky.social · 1d

bsky.app/profile/adam...

Adam Vaughan @adamvaughan.bsky.social · 1d

UK energy secretary Ed Miliband has approved Tillbridge solar, a major new 500MW solar farm in Lincolnshire.

It's the 10th nationally significant solar farm he has approved since taking office, bringing the total to 4.2GW.

Decision here:
infrastructure.planninginspectorate.gov.uk/wp-content/i...

infrastructure.planninginspectorate.gov.uk

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Dan Grey @dangrey.bsky.social · 1d

The way people think the 1970s was some sort of utopia astonishes me. The country was falling apart.

Dan Grey @dangrey.bsky.social · 1d

That's extremely good.

Quite easy to argue with a fair bit of what she said, but she was very charismatic, just as much as Clinton and Blair were.

The UK was a far more modern country in 1990 than 1980 though.

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Dan Grey @dangrey.bsky.social · 1d

Reeves is going to come up with something really obscure again, just as lowering the threshold to pay employer NICs *really* hurt small companies last time round

Dan Grey @dangrey.bsky.social · 1d

Hinkley Point C and Sizewell C are not economically viable. Their costs will be charged directly to us bill payers. But if Xlinks was also on the grid, supplying the same volume of power but at half the £/MWh, the hit to bill-payers would be even more obvious

UK government will not fund Xlinks Morocco-UK interconnector - Solar Power Portal

The government will not provide a Contract for Difference (CfD) for the Xlinks Morocco-UK Power Project that would supply power to the UK.

www.solarpowerportal.co.uk

Dan Grey @dangrey.bsky.social · 1d

😭

As a reminder Xlinks would have brought as much power to Britain as Hinkley Point C or Sizewell C will generate, at a fraction of the cost and in around half the time.

The government did not give a reason for refusing Xlinks a CfD beyond "not in the national interest" but it's pretty obvious why

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Dan Grey @dangrey.bsky.social · 1d

You made me think to look at the nsip list for applications at the decision stage and I think I've found it

Dan Grey @dangrey.bsky.social · 1d

Think I've found it; Tillbridge Solar has a decision due date of today. Only 900 ha of panels and 500 MW, so not the biggest either approved or in planning

Most interesting part is the proposal for a 16 km underground 400 kV circuit to the nearest Grid Supply Point

The Scheme - Tillbridge Solar

false

tillbridgesolar.com

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Dan Grey @dangrey.bsky.social · 1d

national-infrastructure-consenting.planninginspectorate.gov.uk/projects/EN0...

Tillbridge Solar Project - Project information

national-infrastructure-consenting.planninginspectorate.gov.uk

Dan Grey @dangrey.bsky.social · 1d

The Scheme - Tillbridge Solar

false

tillbridgesolar.com

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Reposted by Dan Grey

Peter Matejic @statspeter.bsky.social · 1d

We are still at near zero real earnings growth since Sept 2024, 11th month in row. We had a very small rise in earnings in August 2025 on previous month, leaving earnings up just 0.2% on Sept 2024.

A chart showing how regular wages are growing after taking account of inflation. The first few months of the period starting September 2023 showed relatively slow growth, but there was consistent growth between February 2024 and September 2024, meaning wages grew by 2.4% over the year. This latter period is in contrast to the period starting September 2024, where growth has hovered around zero. Between September 2023 and August 2024, wages grew 2.1%, but in the same period a year later, they grew just 0.2%.

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Dan Grey @dangrey.bsky.social · 1d

Why should economic growth carry on at the post-war rate indefinitely? I've always thought a slow-down to be natural and inevitable.

We no longer talk about inequality but government should be making sure everyone has a fair share, not chasing a ghost

Dan Grey @dangrey.bsky.social · 1d

Don't think I've ever seen Johnson with a haircut before

Dan Grey @dangrey.bsky.social · 1d

Rowlatt said it was 1200 ha so a fair bit bigger than that one