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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

Dan Grey @dangrey.bsky.social · 7h

“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 · 8h

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

Dan Grey @dangrey.bsky.social · 8h

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

Dan Grey @dangrey.bsky.social · 8h

bsky.app/profile/adam...

Adam Vaughan @adamvaughan.bsky.social · 11h

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

Dan Grey @dangrey.bsky.social · 10h

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

Dan Grey @dangrey.bsky.social · 10h

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.

Dan Grey @dangrey.bsky.social · 11h

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 · 13h

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 · 13h

😭

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

Dan Grey @dangrey.bsky.social · 13h

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 · 13h

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

tillbridgesolar.com

Dan Grey @dangrey.bsky.social · 13h

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

Tillbridge Solar Project - Project information

national-infrastructure-consenting.planninginspectorate.gov.uk

Dan Grey @dangrey.bsky.social · 13h

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

tillbridgesolar.com

Reposted by Dan Grey

Peter Matejic @statspeter.bsky.social · 14h

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%.

Dan Grey @dangrey.bsky.social · 14h

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 · 14h

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

Dan Grey @dangrey.bsky.social · 14h

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

Dan Grey @dangrey.bsky.social · 14h

🤦

Dan Grey @dangrey.bsky.social · 14h

On #r4today this am Justin Rowlatt and Nick Robinson managed to discuss the granting today of planning permission for "Britain's biggest solar farm" without once naming it or where it will be. Anyone know?

Rowlatt even managed to say that it will be 50 MW... UK's biggest so far is actually 600 MW

Dan Grey @dangrey.bsky.social · 15h

Reform don't want to know

Reform UK-run Lincolnshire County Council scraps flood committee

The work will be incorporated into another committee despite all other parties opposing the change.

Dan Grey @dangrey.bsky.social · 1d

🤦 😂

Dan Grey @dangrey.bsky.social · 1d

That's just how the world works (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economi...)

It's a lot better to deal with the world how it is rather than to try what is impossible.

Economies of agglomeration - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Dan Grey @dangrey.bsky.social · 1d

That's heavy on bashing civil servants and pretty light on asking why it is how it is

Dan Grey @dangrey.bsky.social · 1d

Laissez-faire is nonsense, and regulatory capture needs to be constantly guarded against

Dan Grey @dangrey.bsky.social · 1d

The Dieselgate, Boeing 737 MAX, Grenfell, and Horizon scandals are all prime examples of why *robust* independent regulators, answerable to democratically-elected politicians, are *essential*

Notably the two of those which did not end in disaster were ferreted out by private activist organisations

'Dieselgate': Five carmakers go on trial over emissions cheat claims

The trial is the latest chapter of what has become known as the

Dan Grey @dangrey.bsky.social · 2d

Except that's where the GDP is – see first post...

Dan Grey @dangrey.bsky.social · 2d

Tbf Poland is 50% larger with only just over half the population than UK so planning control is much less of an issue there