What mattered this week

China: Oil demand to peak in 2027

Why? Electric vehicles. China’s EV sales alone are now larger all US car sales. Oil demand to drop by 1m barrels a day. 🤯
And worldwide? Still going up. India mad for it.
Best commentary: Bloomberg on China; Reuters on world demand; Times of India on their increasing demand

Still the cheapest: Renewables win again

Who said that? Lazard. On an unsubsidised, new-build basis in the US.
What’s the order? Solar and onshore wind are about half price of gas (but it needs to be windy or sunny). So, add batteries - means solar about same as gas.
Read more: Lazard’s LCOE paper

Spain’s grid blackout: It was everything’s fault

But wasn’t it whatever I hate the most? That’s the point: it was renewables AND fossils AND poor planning AND bad decision-making AND (most importantly) no batteries.
So the thing I hate WAS at fault! I knew it. Everyone wins: you can write the article you want.
Best commentary: Operators at fault (Reuters); Renewables at fault (Telegraph); Not enough batteries (ReNew)… etc etc

One thing to worry about

Deadly ticks are hotfooting it north, and diseases with them. The Asian Longhorned Tick is in the US. Europe’s next - brining HME, a fatal illness. (Nature)

One thing to be optimistic about

The first battery powered “road train” is in service in Australia. 53m long, three containers. Batteries win again… ❤️

If you’ve got more time, read this…

The EU wants 6% of aviation fuel to be renewable by 2030.

Is that a good idea? No, says Michael Liebriech in a short, but useful article.

Why? Drives airline fuel costs up by 21%, to reduce 0.02% of EU emissions.

His bottom line: there are better uses for the money. Mainly, heat pumps.