Hugh Daigle
@hdaigle.bsky.social
Professor, Hildebrand Department of Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering, University of Texas at Austin. Into decarbonization, gas hydrates, nanotechnology, birds. #energysky
Some people got big mad about this for some reason! Electrification with renewables and battery storage is already proving how we’ll achieve large scale decarbonization based on current trajectories. The hydrogen use case is diminishing in these areas.
Hydrogen use cases moving forward are decarbonizing industrial processes - steel, cement, hydrocracking. I’m pessimistic on anything else (transportation, energy storage). Sorry y’all, sad trombone &c. 2/2
November 19, 2025 at 2:52 AM
Some people got big mad about this for some reason! Electrification with renewables and battery storage is already proving how we’ll achieve large scale decarbonization based on current trajectories. The hydrogen use case is diminishing in these areas.
I’m having my sustainable energy class present this week on hydrogen use cases and, I’m going to be honest- it’s bleak. For hydrogen at least. Solar + wind + electrification are winning. Which is probably good. 1/2
November 18, 2025 at 2:26 AM
I’m having my sustainable energy class present this week on hydrogen use cases and, I’m going to be honest- it’s bleak. For hydrogen at least. Solar + wind + electrification are winning. Which is probably good. 1/2
“Where, “ 🤬🤬
Equations are parts of the sentence and should be punctuated as such
What's your most niche and unimportant crusade?
Mine is that I use the symbol "var" (as scientific standards bodies indicate) for reactive power instead of "VAR" (most common) or something weird like "Var" or worse, "VAr".
I'll admit it does feel a bit odd to put "Mvar" next to "MW" and "MVA". 🔌💡
Mine is that I use the symbol "var" (as scientific standards bodies indicate) for reactive power instead of "VAR" (most common) or something weird like "Var" or worse, "VAr".
I'll admit it does feel a bit odd to put "Mvar" next to "MW" and "MVA". 🔌💡
November 15, 2025 at 2:45 AM
“Where, “ 🤬🤬
Equations are parts of the sentence and should be punctuated as such
What's your most niche and unimportant crusade?
Mine is that I use the symbol "var" (as scientific standards bodies indicate) for reactive power instead of "VAR" (most common) or something weird like "Var" or worse, "VAr".
I'll admit it does feel a bit odd to put "Mvar" next to "MW" and "MVA". 🔌💡
Mine is that I use the symbol "var" (as scientific standards bodies indicate) for reactive power instead of "VAR" (most common) or something weird like "Var" or worse, "VAr".
I'll admit it does feel a bit odd to put "Mvar" next to "MW" and "MVA". 🔌💡
November 15, 2025 at 2:02 AM
Equations are parts of the sentence and should be punctuated as such
I won the 2-factor authentication lottery today
November 13, 2025 at 8:36 PM
I won the 2-factor authentication lottery today
Aurora borealis in Hyde Park LOL JK it’s the lights from the UT intramural fields!
November 13, 2025 at 1:49 AM
Aurora borealis in Hyde Park LOL JK it’s the lights from the UT intramural fields!
Walden Pond, Sunday morning 11/9
November 12, 2025 at 2:25 AM
Walden Pond, Sunday morning 11/9
Austin Energy with huge growth in solar generation. Flew home from Boston today and honestly the amount of solar installed between Dallas and here is astounding. And it can be (& is being) installed close to demand, avoiding wind’s transmission problem. www.kxan.com/news/local/a...
www.kxan.com
November 11, 2025 at 2:21 AM
Austin Energy with huge growth in solar generation. Flew home from Boston today and honestly the amount of solar installed between Dallas and here is astounding. And it can be (& is being) installed close to demand, avoiding wind’s transmission problem. www.kxan.com/news/local/a...
Impressive wait times for an odd-year election with only a bunch of constitutional amendments and a single proposition on the ballot. I think prop Q is driving turnout, but moreover I think people are just venting. I found it cathartic to vote this morning; my wife called it “hate voting.”
November 4, 2025 at 11:13 PM
Impressive wait times for an odd-year election with only a bunch of constitutional amendments and a single proposition on the ballot. I think prop Q is driving turnout, but moreover I think people are just venting. I found it cathartic to vote this morning; my wife called it “hate voting.”
My 7th grader carved his pumpkin and included “6-7” as an Easter egg. Can you find it?
October 31, 2025 at 1:09 AM
My 7th grader carved his pumpkin and included “6-7” as an Easter egg. Can you find it?
i don’t know how to cross-post this from FB but this is absolutely heartbreaking. The age of scientific ocean discovery we were brought up in is gone & will never come back. I can’t.
October 30, 2025 at 2:51 AM
i don’t know how to cross-post this from FB but this is absolutely heartbreaking. The age of scientific ocean discovery we were brought up in is gone & will never come back. I can’t.
Monarch butterflies coming through Austin
October 28, 2025 at 2:28 AM
Monarch butterflies coming through Austin
I was a little confused about Real Simple teaching us about the wind but then I saw it’s actually a conversation with @drkatemarvel.bsky.social! Worth a read. Well done.
October 25, 2025 at 2:08 AM
I was a little confused about Real Simple teaching us about the wind but then I saw it’s actually a conversation with @drkatemarvel.bsky.social! Worth a read. Well done.
Snapshotted from The Other Place… China is eating our lunch on nuclear energy. H/t @dwallacewells.bsky.social
October 24, 2025 at 2:25 AM
Snapshotted from The Other Place… China is eating our lunch on nuclear energy. H/t @dwallacewells.bsky.social
Austin Energy (our local publicly owned utility) with a big battery storage deal: austinenergy.com/about/news/n...
Austin Energy signs Battery Storage Deal, Advancing Climate and Reliability Goals
austinenergy.com
October 24, 2025 at 12:11 AM
Austin Energy (our local publicly owned utility) with a big battery storage deal: austinenergy.com/about/news/n...
I don’t know about the West Coast areas but there’s very little resource potential on the Atlantic margin. Baltimore Canyon Trough, Carolina Trough, Georgia Embayment, all explored by the majors + COST wells back in the 70s and there‘s nothing. 1/2
Exclusive: Leaked documents detail Trump's plans to open East and West coasts to offshore oil drilling.
www.yahoo.com/news/article...
www.yahoo.com/news/article...
Exclusive: Leaked documents detail Trump's plans to open East and West coasts to offshore oil drilling
The Trump administration plans to open whole swaths of the East and West Coasts to offshore drilling, including areas previously protected for environmental reasons, documents show.
www.yahoo.com
October 23, 2025 at 1:35 AM
I don’t know about the West Coast areas but there’s very little resource potential on the Atlantic margin. Baltimore Canyon Trough, Carolina Trough, Georgia Embayment, all explored by the majors + COST wells back in the 70s and there‘s nothing. 1/2
The energy emergency is over, good job everyone! www.nytimes.com/2025/10/22/b...
Oil Prices Dropped 18%, Helping Drivers, but Squeezing the Industry
www.nytimes.com
October 23, 2025 at 1:14 AM
The energy emergency is over, good job everyone! www.nytimes.com/2025/10/22/b...
An account that I have blocked informed me that solar is subsidized, so why should it be cheap? Fossil fuel production is also heavily subsidized. Actually more so! This was literally in the news the other day. The bots aren’t bringing their A game. Do better, trolls. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/16/c...
October 22, 2025 at 2:59 AM
An account that I have blocked informed me that solar is subsidized, so why should it be cheap? Fossil fuel production is also heavily subsidized. Actually more so! This was literally in the news the other day. The bots aren’t bringing their A game. Do better, trolls. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/16/c...
Good! Solar is the fastest growing electricity source in the state that produces the most electricity. And it’s cheap!
“'Harris County personnel and Texas Coalition staff have dedicated countless hours to setting up operations for Solar for All and working to deliver the program’s benefits to their constituents,' the plaintiffs state."
Harris County, Texas, sues EPA over canceled Solar For All funds
County officials say the loss of $54 million in clean energy grants jeopardizes staffing, planning and partnerships built around the program, forcing major adjustments to local operations and budgets.
www.utilitydive.com
October 21, 2025 at 1:59 AM
Good! Solar is the fastest growing electricity source in the state that produces the most electricity. And it’s cheap!
The statements by the current CEO of Liberty contrast strongly with those of the former CEO. Tariffs are “a path to mediocrity, not excellence…They raise prices, cut profits, increase unemployment, diminish productivity and slow economic growth.” www.msn.com/en-us/money/...
MSN
www.msn.com
October 21, 2025 at 1:47 AM
The statements by the current CEO of Liberty contrast strongly with those of the former CEO. Tariffs are “a path to mediocrity, not excellence…They raise prices, cut profits, increase unemployment, diminish productivity and slow economic growth.” www.msn.com/en-us/money/...
I hate to dunk but have these guys looked at exploration techniques from 20 years ago? AI might add value in quantifying subsurface uncertainty- and my colleagues are looking at this! - but this assessment is a joke.
October 16, 2025 at 2:19 AM
I hate to dunk but have these guys looked at exploration techniques from 20 years ago? AI might add value in quantifying subsurface uncertainty- and my colleagues are looking at this! - but this assessment is a joke.
As summer stretches into October in Texas, a reminder that this is predicted and will affect grid stability by constricting times when power plants can conduct maintenance. Growth in renewables and storage will help. Here’s my 2024 oped with @joshdr83.bsky.social. www.expressnews.com/opinion/comm...
Diverse energy sources are needed to meet future (and present) demand | Commentary
The period of time when power plants can close for routine maintenance is shortening,...
www.expressnews.com
October 15, 2025 at 1:32 AM
As summer stretches into October in Texas, a reminder that this is predicted and will affect grid stability by constricting times when power plants can conduct maintenance. Growth in renewables and storage will help. Here’s my 2024 oped with @joshdr83.bsky.social. www.expressnews.com/opinion/comm...
We are in the midst of the geothermal unit of my sustainable energy class and this podcast is on point - Quaise is tackling a gnarly problem (and I was skeptical of their approach as recently as last year!) Volts continues its tradition of excellence. Y‘all should listen.
Today on Volts: geothermal startup Quaise is using microwaves to pulverize rock, drill down miles, & access levels of heat that cause water to go supercritical, so it holds exponentially more energy. The promise is geothermal power with 10X the productivity -- enough to lure FF giants into the biz.
Super-deep geothermal drilling ... with microwaves
I talk with Quaise CEO Carlos Araque about a technology that could persuade the oil and gas industry to drill for heat instead of fuel.
www.volts.wtf
October 11, 2025 at 1:45 AM
We are in the midst of the geothermal unit of my sustainable energy class and this podcast is on point - Quaise is tackling a gnarly problem (and I was skeptical of their approach as recently as last year!) Volts continues its tradition of excellence. Y‘all should listen.
New paper! We looked at every single permeability measurement from scientific ocean drilling boreholes so you don't have to. 71% are from the Pacific and the other oceans are jealous. Only 159 of the 4143 boreholes drilled have permeability data. (1/2) doi.org/10.1016/j.ma...
October 8, 2025 at 6:20 PM
New paper! We looked at every single permeability measurement from scientific ocean drilling boreholes so you don't have to. 71% are from the Pacific and the other oceans are jealous. Only 159 of the 4143 boreholes drilled have permeability data. (1/2) doi.org/10.1016/j.ma...