Alex Betts

Veteran squash player at Queen’s Club in London. Investing in Energy Efficiency with Aquila Capital. All views my own.

[Greg Jackson @g__j]

Nice of James to highlight this.

Solar panel waste could be as much as:

1 / 100th of packaging waste
1 / 500th of the amount of coal ash
1 / 500th the amount of construction waste
1 / 1000th the amount of municipal waste
1 / 10,000th of CO2 waste emitted by fossil fuels

(all pretty rough figures but you get the idea... It's almost like some people just don't like clean energy and want to find any objection, however spurious. Do they comb these reports just looking for excuses?)

[Andy Street @andy4wm]

Massive congratulations to Unai, the players, the staff, and every Villa supporter. We’ve waited 44 years for nights like this to return.

You’ve made us proud tonight.

#UTV

[Andy Street @andy4wm]

Good luck to Unai, the players and every Villa fan making the trip to Istanbul tomorrow.

Safe travels and enjoy every second of it. #UTV

[Elisa Mosini 🇪🇺🇮🇹 @MosiniElisa]

Maia Sandu, President of Moldova: “Russia is a state that sends drones against sleeping civilians and targets hospitals and schools with deliberate intent. Russia is an aggressor and the most serious security threat to the continent.”

She is brave, and she is speaking the truth

[Caolan @CaolanReports]

Proud to see my latest Ukraine documentary is now the most-watched film on YouTube about the drone attacks in Kherson. In a time when Russia has doubled its propaganda budget: accurate reporting is more important than ever. This film documents the reality of Russia’s war crimes

[Sir William Browder KCMG @Billbrowder]

Very insightful report.

Scandalous that Russia has been allowed to have a pavilion at the Venice Biennale

[Brian Allen @allenanalysis]

🇺🇸BREAKING: Someone placed a $920 million crude oil short at 3:40 AM.

70 minutes later Axios reported the US and Iran were close to a deal.

Oil dropped 12%.

The trade made $125 million in profit.

Minutes after that Iran launched the “Persian Gulf Strait Authority” and oil surged 8%.

$760 million placed before Trump’s last announcement.

$920 million placed before this one.

Every major announcement in this war has been front-run by someone who knew it was coming.

What kind of war is this?

This is more like a trading desk with an army.

Never stop connecting the dots.

[Mark W Tebbutt @mwt2008]

One of the biggest criticisms of renewables has always been:

“Wind and solar are only cheap because basic LCOE ignores intermittency, storage and reliability costs.”

The new 2026 IRENA report directly tested that claim by modelling firm renewables:
• solar/wind
• batteries
• overbuild
• reliability targets
• firming costs

Not just raw generation costs.

And the conclusions are highly relevant to the UK.

1) Hybrid renewables dramatically reduce firming costs

The report shows that combining:
• wind
• solar
• batteries

is far cheaper than trying to firm wind or solar alone.

That matters because this is essentially the UK strategy already underway:
• offshore wind
• onshore wind
• solar
• BESS
• interconnection
• flexible demand

The technologies complement each other.

Solar helps daytime/summer generation.
Wind is generally stronger overnight and in winter.

That reduces storage requirements and lowers total system costs.

2) Firm renewables are becoming cost competitive with fossil fuels

The report estimates that firm solar + storage systems in strong renewable regions are already around:
USD 54–82/MWh today.

Some projected below:
USD 50/MWh by 2035.

For comparison:
• new gas generation in many markets is now ~USD 100/MWh+
• new coal in China ~USD 70–85/MWh

Importantly:
these figures INCLUDE storage and reliability costs.

3) The report is refreshingly honest about limitations

IRENA explicitly says:
• not every renewable generator must be firm
• grids rely on diversity and flexibility
• lithium batteries alone become expensive at very high reliability levels

Which is exactly why:
• grid expansion
• interconnection
• long duration storage
• diversified renewables

matter.

4) This is likely conservative

The modelling is mainly based on existing 4-hour lithium-ion batteries.

It barely factors in emerging storage technologies like:
• sodium-ion
• iron-air
• advanced flow batteries

which could reduce long-duration storage costs even further over the next decade.

5) The strategic implications are huge

The debate is no longer:
“Can renewables generate cheap electricity?”

That question is already settled.

The debate is increasingly:
“How cheaply can renewables provide reliable electricity?”

And the answer is:
far more cheaply than many expected only a few years ago.

Especially as:
• batteries scale
• grids strengthen
• offshore wind expands
• long-duration storage matures
• and hybrid systems become standard.

Source:
IRENA 2026
“24/7 Renewables: The Economics of Firm Solar and Wind”
https://t.co/UUjvDRYezJ

#NetZero #RenewableEnergy #EnergyTransition #OffshoreWind #BatteryStorage

[Caolan @CaolanReports]

Russians losing it in the comments. Might want to save some of that anger for why your Victory Day parade in Moscow isn’t happening this year.

[PSA Squash Tour @PSASquashTour]

Celebrating Jonah Barrington who turns 85 today 🙌

Join us in wishing him a very happy birthday 🥳

Read all about his incredible career 👇
✍️ https://t.co/eo6DPp6e7n

[Deborah Meaden 🇺🇦 @DeborahMeaden]

@anne123456781 Wind blows, sun shines, fossil fuels fill in the other bits and are needed for transition but we should be reducing not increasing reliance on them

[Richard Stengel @stengel]

You know what would be amazing if Vance and his team can negotiate an agreement where Iran doesn't enrich above 3.67% (far below weapons grade); gets rid of 98% of its stockpile of enriched uranium; has weekly inspections by the IAEA; keeps the straits open without charging anyone; and commits to all of this for at least ten years. Oh, yeah, that was the Obama Iran deal.

[Justin Waite @SharePickers]

In the last week the UK generated 71% of it's electricity from renewables and nuclear. So why is our energy so expensive?

The UK's energy market operates on a "Marginal Pricing" system. In this system, the price of all electricity is set by the most expensive generator needed to meet demand at any given moment—which is almost always natural gas.

The government is currently debating REMA (Review of Electricity Market Arrangements). The goal is to "decouple" the price of electricity from gas, allowing consumers to actually see the savings from renewables. However, full implementation of these reforms isn't expected to significantly lower bills until the late 2020s or early 2030s.

[Prosper UK @Prosper_UK_]

At the end of Town Hall in Birmingham, someone came up and said: “You’ve inspired me - I want to stand.”

He’s now a candidate in Solihull.

This is how momentum builds - not online, but in real conversations, happening across the country.

[Timothy Snyder @TimothyDSnyder]

We fought and lost a war in Iran so that both the Iranians and the Russians could make far more money from oil—the Iranians from tolls, the Russians from higher prices and the end of sanctions. That isn’t just strategic defeat; it’s self-destructive foolishness at a level unknown to military history.

[Caolan @CaolanReports]

“We want to live in a free, European Democracy. After 16 years of sorrow, corruption and Russian influence. We have had enough”

The organisers & singers at the massive Budapest concert told me why Orban has to go.

[Andy Street @andy4wm]

Britain needs more plasma donations, for life-saving treatments and vital research.

One of just three donation centres in the country is here in Birmingham.

If you’re a healthy adult, please consider signing up here: https://t.co/cGqTt35oEi

It couldn’t be easier!

[Laurent Segalen @MegaWattXinfo]

Consumers respond faster to crisis than politicians.
"Solar panel sales climbed 54% in the first three weeks of March compared with the same period in February, said @OctopusEnergy. And EDF said residential sales were double their rate compared with last spring. "

[Timothy Snyder @TimothyDSnyder]

Given Trump’s Easter threats to carry out new war crimes in Iran, we should think one or two steps ahead about a coup attempt connected to the war. And then deter it. (1/17)

[D.Radka, #NAFO 🇨🇿🤝🇺🇦 @DakdaR22]

- Petr Pavel
President of the Czech Republic 🇨🇿

"The fact that Ukraine did not fall within three days, as Moscow signalled, but for already four years bravely faces daily attacks not only on the frontline but also in cities and villages across the country, is due to the immense sacrifice and determination of its people to defend their land, families and homes."

“Helping Ukraine defend itself is not only strategic, it is a moral obligation.”