Tom Harvey
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tom.electron-one.com
Tom Harvey
@tom.electron-one.com
550 followers 2K following 130 posts
Here to talk climate, energy transition and tech startups. Or, maybe sometimes, things that aren’t my job.

🏠 Valencia, Spain 🇪🇸
👶🏻 Glasgow, Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿
… took the scenic route between them
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tom.electron-one.com
I was listening to @trientertainment.bsky.social … and then “something unexpected happened” when Marina Hyde revealed a new Adam Curtis film called Shifty due out in June!

Podcast went out 6 days ago but I can’t find any more about it. I did learn that there is a DJ called Adam Shifty tho.
Transcript of the show: “I watched a new cut of Adam Curtis's forthcoming series of films, which I don't think people actually know is forthcoming, but it is. It's coming to iPlayer in early June, I think, and it's called Shifty and it's about the 80s. It's a sort of social history, so it's totally different from what we did before. It's really interesting. Kind of like how we all shifted in a sort of consciousness, shifted to this completely individualistic thing. He's very good at making you realize how things felt when they were happening and your memories are false.” From The Rest Is Entertainment: How Liz Hurley Slid Into Billy Ray Cyrus’s DMs, 29 Apr 2025 https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-rest-is-entertainment/id1718287198?i=1000705296835&r=113 This material may be protected by copyright.
May 5, 2025 at 3:43 PM
tom.electron-one.com
Rapid (your views may vary) recovery of the Spanish grid. For those on #energysky who are following our news.

10hr after the blackout. At 70% of predicted load. Detail in the alt text.

Long way to go to meet tomorrow’s peak.

Src: (in Spanish and behind paywall) elpais.com/espana/2025-...
12:35 and the grid demand collapses (blackout) to 10GW Fails to meet the usual demand peak of 34GW at 21:00 Currently back at 19GW of expected 27GW at 22:35 (70%)
April 28, 2025 at 9:04 PM
tom.electron-one.com
I would be remiss not to live post from #spain to #energysky today; here’s the grid mix now (massive blackout across the country) vs yesterday. Courtesy of @electricitymaps.com

Looks like the gas and nuclear have *vanished*.

But solar is ~half of what is was yesterday. And it’s plenty ☀️ today
Yesterday’s grid mix in spain. Predominantly solar (12GW) with a bit (4GW) of each of hydro, wind and nuclear. Today’s grid mix, with only solar and wind generating any meaningful amount. But still way less than yesterday. Solar is down to 5GW and wind is only 2.75GW. And that’s all the whole country gets today. Blackout time.
April 28, 2025 at 2:33 PM
tom.electron-one.com
If the infra (power grids) aren’t there yet - use what you have.

Can’t help but think of this old quote.

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_...
Never underestimate the bandwidth of a station wagon full of tapes hurtling down the highway. — Andrew s Tanenbaum
April 27, 2025 at 6:09 PM
tom.electron-one.com
Was just looking at those. Quite the looker.

> Please note our batteries are not designed for, nor UL approved for consumer use.

Yes. Noted. 😀
BluePack™ Critical Power Battery A 25kW, 48-volt battery for systems up to 812 volts is a safer, more sustainable alternative to lithium-ion.
December 10, 2024 at 10:02 PM
tom.electron-one.com
Why is this still the aesthetic of all residential battery storage and solar inverters?

10yr since the powerwall arrived, can we have something different?

🔌 💡
Apple Magic Mouse - famously awkward to charge
December 10, 2024 at 6:50 PM
tom.electron-one.com
Doesn’t everyone think they’re doing it to positively improve the lives of others?

In the worst cases, they just have excuses for why they’re not more effective.

And, even in the saintliest of cases, they just have insecurities for why they’re not more effective.
A tech-bro, announcing that he’s making the world a better place through some meaningless tech-bro activity. Specifically, fault tolerant, distributed databases (which is very Bluesky 😀)
November 27, 2024 at 9:19 AM
tom.electron-one.com
Some of of favourites from visits in 2018 and 2019
View from the north platform of Monte Alban Image of the central pyramid (the observatory of I recall correctly) and the main start case to the south of Monte Alban
November 17, 2024 at 12:37 AM
tom.electron-one.com
As a wise man - specifically @handle.invalid - says. It has to get worse before it gets worse.
Caption: It has to get worse before it gets worse. Image: the planet burning.
November 14, 2024 at 9:52 PM
tom.electron-one.com
If only everyone was pushing in the same direction to fight climate change.

Like this - but preventative!

Today, one week after the floods, people in Valencia are fighting the affects of climate change together.
November 7, 2024 at 11:04 PM
tom.electron-one.com
Great report from Ember Energy about impact of electrification on the UK Grid.

Some good news reading for everyone.

Key takeaways in the images (and alt text). Full report is here:

ember-energy.org/latest-insig...
Energy wasted in generating power has fallen by 21% since 2000 Clean sources supply just under two-thirds of the UK power generation. Since wind and solar waste much less input energy than coal and gas, the share of wasted total input energy has fallen from 60% in 2000 to 47% in 2023. Electrification reduces UK fossil fuel demand by four times more than the electricity demand it creates Clean electrification is already reducing fossil fuel use in the UK, as electric vehicles and heat pumps have scaled up in recent years. With the current share of clean power, the reduction in fossil fuel consumption was four times greater than the additional power required. Electric cars need three times less energy than petrol cars, limiting the grid impact of electrification. Losses in conventional combustion engines are much higher than those across the electricity generation and transmission process, meaning electric vehicles reduce energy demand overall. Increased deployment of clean power will reduce losses even for electric vehicles even further. 02 Electrification displaced the equivalent of 14 million barrels of oil in 2023 In 2023, with UK power generation just under two-thirds clean, 1.5 million electric vehicles and 430,000 residential heat pumps reduced oil and gas consumption by 14 million barrels of oil equivalent. This is comparable to 3.4% of the UK’s annual net oil and gas imports.
October 21, 2024 at 1:03 PM
tom.electron-one.com
And at least some value was created for constellation energy shareholders (this week)
Chart showing share price of constellation energy (owner of the nuclear plant) moving from low of $200.30 to a high of $257.12 after the announcement.
September 24, 2024 at 9:34 PM
tom.electron-one.com
Looks like James Cameron woke up, read your skeet and it led him down a dark path.
James Cameron announces, in the Hollywood reporter, that he has realised it’s been 30 years since he was relevant and will now seek relevance by joining Stability AI to cannibalise the creative industry that once made him relevant.
September 24, 2024 at 7:00 PM
tom.electron-one.com
The end of coal on the GB electricity grid is no longer a far-off, future target. It’s here and now!

x.com/myGridGB/sta...

I hate to post the other place in here. But love to post good news. And I don’t see the excellent Andrew Crossland on here … yet!
A tweet that reads: Britain is about to switch off its last coal power station. MyGridGB has been tracking coal use for 10 years now. From supplying 40% of our electricity when I started my PhD to today… it’s been quite the journey. So, bye bye King Coal. It’s time for renewables now
September 21, 2024 at 9:01 PM
tom.electron-one.com
On bad days, up to 50% of France’s sustainable electricity generation is provided by Serge Gainsbourg turning in his grave.

A huge driver in the reduction of French nuclear electricity!
A photo of Serge Gainsbourg and Brigitte Bardot hung above a urinal in a French-themed British restaurant
September 17, 2024 at 8:44 PM
tom.electron-one.com
It’s been a while since I posted this. Feels like it’s time…
What’s if climate is a big hoax and we create a better world for nothing
August 31, 2024 at 3:11 AM
tom.electron-one.com
But my quick googling for a data point feels beside the point.

I maybe misread but your reply felt to me as snarky. Was snark your intention?

And its one like is from … yikes … see screenshot. These the people you like to encourage?
One like. From a very anti wind farm account.
August 30, 2024 at 3:49 PM
tom.electron-one.com
More or less…

www.publicpower.org/system/files...

But I’d also like to account some of the growth against the electrification of life. Maybe some of it is charging cars. And after the AI bubble bursts all that excess generation will still be there.

So, can we keep this in the good news bucket??
Table showing retired generation plants by fuel type in 2023. 15GW in total and < 40MW of that is zero carbon supply.
August 30, 2024 at 3:43 PM
tom.electron-one.com
Lately been enjoying the smaller beer in the hot weather - but that, sir, is a heavenly pint!
Spanish beer
August 23, 2024 at 11:34 PM