Thatcher Ulrich

Program writer for a respectable software company.

@[email protected]

[Thatcher Ulrich @ThatcherUlrich]

Heat pump performance part 3: heating season is over!

Mitsubishi mini-splits in Brooklyn: COP=3.25, avg temp 42.4F, min 10F

Carrier ducted in MA: COP=2.24, avg temp 43.3, min -3F

Read on for background, and a dodgy but fun vendor-vs-vendor COP vs temp chart

[Thatcher Ulrich @ThatcherUlrich]

But how do we win? Can you encase them all in concrete while you're there?

[Alex Cohen @anothercohen]

I just showed up to Burning Man with 10 tons of food and clothes.

Desperate VCs are offering me positions in their top startup investments in exchange for a warm meal and clean outfit.

I’ve already amassed a sizable position in Stripe and SpaceX.

This is how I win

[Thatcher Ulrich @ThatcherUlrich]

@JohnSmillie42 @whatisnuclear Hm yeah, no neutrons, direct conversion, there's a chance of commercialization.

[Thatcher Ulrich @ThatcherUlrich]

@JohnSmillie42 I realize WNA is not the last word. I trust @whatisnuclear for an optimist realist slant

https://t.co/9D0LW3wSLR

[Thatcher Ulrich @ThatcherUlrich]

@JohnSmillie42 I recently took another look at fusion. Many groups are trying, but unless science changes unexpectedly, it seems to me anything that makes neutrons is never going to be an affordable terrestrial energy generator (compared to PV). Even if R&D goes great.

https://t.co/5arV84L1MN

[Thatcher Ulrich @ThatcherUlrich]

@pelagicsiren @Robotbeat @QuantumG Is fusion (ASSUMING tech is worked out) of actual practical interest for power gen? This WNA article claims plants will be inherently larger and more expansive than (already marginal) fission.

https://t.co/vdcJamSf7w

[Thomas Kole (see 🦋 and 🐘) @ThomasKoleTA]

a Portrait of Tenochtitlan, my 3D reconstruction of the capital of the Aztec Empire is released!

I've been looking forward to this for a long time, and I am really curious what all of you think.

Take a look:
https://t.co/31FSp9NBIm

#tenochtitlan

[Thatcher Ulrich @ThatcherUlrich]

@JohnSmillie42 @estee_nj It'll be a sad little bump in December :(

The MA offshore PPAs (after vineyard wind) look like they'll be cancelled and rebid. They were in the $80/MWh ballpark

https://t.co/IbefaI1jLp

[Thatcher Ulrich @ThatcherUlrich]

@MissQuickstep @nothings @KobeissiLetter I didn't know some basics about the chart. This FRED blog post talks about it. For one thing, it's a rate (quarterly savings). So "money in the bank" is the integral of it, and post says households as of 5/23 still hadn't spent all the extra COVID savings

https://t.co/3xfmj9OH8v

[Thatcher Ulrich @ThatcherUlrich]

@MissQuickstep @nothings @KobeissiLetter Couldn't the upturn reflect record low unemployment, steeply rising wages and inkings of easing inflation?

[Thatcher Ulrich @ThatcherUlrich]

@estee_nj @JohnSmillie42 Those prices are alarming. BTM solar in New England is already hefty. Wind and PV have been near parity for a few years - are we seeing a crossover? The seasonality is a problem for the Northeast though. Much better to have substantial wind in the mix.

[Thatcher Ulrich @ThatcherUlrich]

@Jonathan_Blow

[Thatcher Ulrich @ThatcherUlrich]

@bdhowald The "temporary" setup was itself transformative though! Compared to the parking lot.

[Thatcher Ulrich @ThatcherUlrich]

@MissQuickstep @nothings @KobeissiLetter Or it's a Rorschach test. (Personally I don't have a coherent opinion. Am I looking at a rebound after a rebound? The end of western civ? Dunno)

[Thatcher Ulrich @ThatcherUlrich]

@KobeissiLetter @nothings Zooming out

https://t.co/gh7WJcfbNE

[Thatcher Ulrich @ThatcherUlrich]

@Nick65979825 @Robotbeat I can barely tolerate thinking about him now, but I still kinda want a cybertruck

[Thatcher Ulrich @ThatcherUlrich]

@pelagicsiren @Robotbeat @QuantumG Is fusion (ASSUMING tech is worked out) of actual practical interest for power gen? This WNA article claims plants will be inherently larger and more expansive than (already marginal) fission.

https://t.co/vdcJamSf7w

[Thatcher Ulrich @ThatcherUlrich]

@SolarInMASS Not surprising, given how often megawatts and megawatt hours get confused.

[Tyler Norris @tylerhnorris]

@ClementsFERC I build on recent @Jacob_Mays @IEEEorg paper, which makes compelling case that most US interconnection (“IX”) processes are internally inconsistent & violate basic principles of efficient markets. Problem starts w/ insufficient consideration of redispatch & curtailment: (5/14)

[Thatcher Ulrich @ThatcherUlrich]

@Jonathan_Blow @brianstrx On the other hand, you have a debugger

[Thatcher Ulrich @ThatcherUlrich]

Epic thread on passing the Inflation Reduction Act

[Jesse D. Jenkins @JesseJenkins]

One year ago today, the Inflation Reduction Act became law, throwing the financial might of the federal government behind the clean energy transition & forever changing the climate fight. And I dont think enough people appreciate JUST HOW CLOSE WE WERE TO LOSING IT ALLl! A 🧵...

[Thatcher Ulrich @ThatcherUlrich]

@TimK31415 @CleanPowerDave Seems like the financial return on investment is a way to aggregate and quantify the values. Except that doesn't capture externalities, where combustion fuels do so much damage off the books.