Chris Goodall
@chrisgoodall2.bsky.social
Writer on the energy transition. Angel investor in climatetech.
The unrivalled David Roberts' team has used 4 of the stories in my latest newsletter for posts on Bluesky in the last two hours. Why wait for David's posts when you can subscribe at Substack for free and get the best unpublicised energy stories earlier in the day? carboncommentary.substack.com
Carbon Commentary newsletter | Chris Goodall | Substack
An analysis of ten news stories from the past week on the energy transition. Click to read Carbon Commentary newsletter, by Chris Goodall, a Substack publication with thousands of subscribers.
carboncommentary.substack.com
November 9, 2025 at 10:30 PM
The unrivalled David Roberts' team has used 4 of the stories in my latest newsletter for posts on Bluesky in the last two hours. Why wait for David's posts when you can subscribe at Substack for free and get the best unpublicised energy stories earlier in the day? carboncommentary.substack.com
High winds and good sun in the four weeks from late August meant that the GB would have needed 8 TWh of storage (c.10 days national power use) with its target 2030 renewables capacity. Current battery capacity would meet just 0.1% of this.
www.carboncommentary.com/blog/2025/10...
www.carboncommentary.com/blog/2025/10...
How much electricity storage capacity does the UK need? | Carbon Commentary
The first winter storm of 2025 has just passed over the UK, providing huge amounts of wind-generated electricity. This wasn’t the first time in recent weeks. From late July to late August 2025 we saw ...
www.carboncommentary.com
October 6, 2025 at 10:23 AM
High winds and good sun in the four weeks from late August meant that the GB would have needed 8 TWh of storage (c.10 days national power use) with its target 2030 renewables capacity. Current battery capacity would meet just 0.1% of this.
www.carboncommentary.com/blog/2025/10...
www.carboncommentary.com/blog/2025/10...
More renewable electricity supply lowers wholesale prices. I looked at the first 220 days of 2025 and showed that a day in which UK wind and solar supply 50% of total generation typically has a 'day-ahead' price 40% less than a day with 20% wind and solar.
www.carboncommentary.com/blog/2025/8/...
www.carboncommentary.com/blog/2025/8/...
Renewables do unambiguously reduce wholesale power prices | Carbon Commentary
We still hear assertions that adding renewables to the grid has increased the UK’s electricity costs. I looked at two sources of data and plotted one against the other to test whether there’s any trut...
www.carboncommentary.com
September 3, 2025 at 12:40 PM
More renewable electricity supply lowers wholesale prices. I looked at the first 220 days of 2025 and showed that a day in which UK wind and solar supply 50% of total generation typically has a 'day-ahead' price 40% less than a day with 20% wind and solar.
www.carboncommentary.com/blog/2025/8/...
www.carboncommentary.com/blog/2025/8/...
Andrew Neil wrote a wildly inaccurate article on offshore wind the Daily Mail last week. In the article below, I specified the 15 most obvious errors. Sad to see such an experienced journalist publishing work without carrying out even basic research.
www.carboncommentary.com/blog/2025/9/...
www.carboncommentary.com/blog/2025/9/...
Andrew Neil errors on offshore wind developers | Carbon Commentary
The journalist Andrew Neil published an article on 27th August about offshore wind in the Daily Mail, a UK newspaper. The article contains a large number of factual inaccuracies. I have commented on t...
www.carboncommentary.com
September 2, 2025 at 9:42 AM
Andrew Neil wrote a wildly inaccurate article on offshore wind the Daily Mail last week. In the article below, I specified the 15 most obvious errors. Sad to see such an experienced journalist publishing work without carrying out even basic research.
www.carboncommentary.com/blog/2025/9/...
www.carboncommentary.com/blog/2025/9/...
Really think that Tim Parrique's book on degrowth (Slow Down or Die) is worth reading, even if you disagree with it. Growth is no longer improving rich societies, he says. Short FT review commends its though-provoking content while expressing strong reservations. www.ft.com/content/e7d6...
‘America First’ and other financial follies — the best new books on economics
A gripping chronicle of the west’s interest in emerging markets; a reminder of the importance of human capital; a degrowth polemic; and a debunking of Trump’s economic agenda
www.ft.com
July 21, 2025 at 9:31 AM
Really think that Tim Parrique's book on degrowth (Slow Down or Die) is worth reading, even if you disagree with it. Growth is no longer improving rich societies, he says. Short FT review commends its though-provoking content while expressing strong reservations. www.ft.com/content/e7d6...
Will UK will meet its 2030 clean power targets? The topic is well covered but I tried a different approach, using 1/2hr generation data from last year to model the impact of more solar+wind in 2030. The exercise showed the targets are very unlikely to be met. www.carboncommentary.com/blog/2025/5/...
Will the UK meet its 2030 targets for zero carbon electricity? | Carbon Commentary
If the government achieves its targets for renewable electricity capacity for 2030, will it meet its objective for virtually decarbonising the GB grid by that date? Several analysts have given optimis...
www.carboncommentary.com
May 30, 2025 at 12:47 PM
Will UK will meet its 2030 clean power targets? The topic is well covered but I tried a different approach, using 1/2hr generation data from last year to model the impact of more solar+wind in 2030. The exercise showed the targets are very unlikely to be met. www.carboncommentary.com/blog/2025/5/...
FT article on the large sums now flowing into Enhanced Rock Weathering as possibly a cheap carbon capture route.
www.ft.com/content/ffc2...
Surprisingly, no mention at all of the likely benefits in the form of better agricultural yields and reduced fertiliser use.
www.ncl.ac.uk/business-and...
www.ft.com/content/ffc2...
Surprisingly, no mention at all of the likely benefits in the form of better agricultural yields and reduced fertiliser use.
www.ncl.ac.uk/business-and...
Joint study shows benefits of enhanced rock weathering for agriculture
Working with UNDO, new research shows spreading finely crushed silicate rock on agricultural land enhances yields as well as sequestering carbon dioxide.
www.ncl.ac.uk
May 25, 2025 at 9:05 AM
FT article on the large sums now flowing into Enhanced Rock Weathering as possibly a cheap carbon capture route.
www.ft.com/content/ffc2...
Surprisingly, no mention at all of the likely benefits in the form of better agricultural yields and reduced fertiliser use.
www.ncl.ac.uk/business-and...
www.ft.com/content/ffc2...
Surprisingly, no mention at all of the likely benefits in the form of better agricultural yields and reduced fertiliser use.
www.ncl.ac.uk/business-and...
The implications of last week's announcement from Canada about the first new SMRs to be ordered. Summary: on the basis of this deal not clear that SMRs are going to be any cheaper than full size nuclear reactors.
www.carboncommentary.com/blog/2025/5/...
www.carboncommentary.com/blog/2025/5/...
The first test for new Small Modular Reactors (SMR) | Carbon Commentary
Abstract This article takes data surrounding last week’s announcement of the first SMR farm in Ontario, Canada to assess whether this new approach to nuclear shows any signs of reducing costs below ...
www.carboncommentary.com
May 12, 2025 at 8:39 AM
The implications of last week's announcement from Canada about the first new SMRs to be ordered. Summary: on the basis of this deal not clear that SMRs are going to be any cheaper than full size nuclear reactors.
www.carboncommentary.com/blog/2025/5/...
www.carboncommentary.com/blog/2025/5/...
My daughter Ursula is studying in Barcelona. A photograph from her yesterday of a large circle of people around a battery-powered radio listening to news about the power cut.
April 29, 2025 at 6:35 AM
My daughter Ursula is studying in Barcelona. A photograph from her yesterday of a large circle of people around a battery-powered radio listening to news about the power cut.
The human brain consumes about 20 watts of power. Today's numbers from the IEA suggest that AI in data centres will consume about 240 terawatt hours by 2030. That means at the end of this decade artificial intelligence will use more energy than human intelligence.
April 10, 2025 at 1:34 PM
The human brain consumes about 20 watts of power. Today's numbers from the IEA suggest that AI in data centres will consume about 240 terawatt hours by 2030. That means at the end of this decade artificial intelligence will use more energy than human intelligence.
Actually, I was wrong. There is one visible number. It suggests BP is expecting a 95% capture rate. (Percentage of CO2 emitted actually stored). If I am right may be worth pointing out that no power station carbon capture project has ever achieved a capture rate as high as this.
February 14, 2025 at 5:39 PM
Actually, I was wrong. There is one visible number. It suggests BP is expecting a 95% capture rate. (Percentage of CO2 emitted actually stored). If I am right may be worth pointing out that no power station carbon capture project has ever achieved a capture rate as high as this.
£22bn planned to be spent on UK carbon capture. First deals were signed 2 months ago. Just sent copy of 750 page contract. All vital numbers redacted. No way to work out how much BP is paid, or the cost per tonne of CO2. But most of the payment will go directly on elec. bills. How can this be right?
February 14, 2025 at 5:38 PM
£22bn planned to be spent on UK carbon capture. First deals were signed 2 months ago. Just sent copy of 750 page contract. All vital numbers redacted. No way to work out how much BP is paid, or the cost per tonne of CO2. But most of the payment will go directly on elec. bills. How can this be right?
Does anybody have a rough estimate of how much cooling would result today from a 27GT reduction in CO2 in atmosphere? (I'm working on the value of cutting contrails and this is the approximate warming equivalent of the typical global coverage of contrails today).
February 11, 2025 at 6:32 PM
Does anybody have a rough estimate of how much cooling would result today from a 27GT reduction in CO2 in atmosphere? (I'm working on the value of cutting contrails and this is the approximate warming equivalent of the typical global coverage of contrails today).
Development of Enhanced Rock Weathering (ERW) as a carbon removal fix has been held up by difficulties measuring CO2 captured. German leader InPlanet has just announced a verified amount for its project in Brazil. A first. Personal view, but ERW has huge potential.
docs.google.com/document/d/1...
docs.google.com/document/d/1...
Press Release - World's First ERW Certified Carbon Removal Credits Issued
January 7th 2025 Inplanet.earth Press Release - For Immediate Release World’s First Certified Enhanced Rock Weathering Carbon Removal Credits Issued InPlanet and Isometric announces the first-eve...
docs.google.com
January 7, 2025 at 5:19 PM
Development of Enhanced Rock Weathering (ERW) as a carbon removal fix has been held up by difficulties measuring CO2 captured. German leader InPlanet has just announced a verified amount for its project in Brazil. A first. Personal view, but ERW has huge potential.
docs.google.com/document/d/1...
docs.google.com/document/d/1...
Better Energy, builder of 50% of all new renewables in Denmark since 2020 entered 'reconstruction' today. (Similar to Chap. 11 in the US, which protects insolvent cos). It blamed falling electricity use. I wrote a post on how similar forces affect the UK. www.carboncommentary.com/blog/2024/12...
Why solar and wind are losing momentum in many countries | Carbon Commentary
The energy transition is being held up by the slow rate of growth in electricity demand. Two examples illustrated this problem today (December 19th 2024). · Aurora...
www.carboncommentary.com
December 19, 2024 at 6:03 PM
Better Energy, builder of 50% of all new renewables in Denmark since 2020 entered 'reconstruction' today. (Similar to Chap. 11 in the US, which protects insolvent cos). It blamed falling electricity use. I wrote a post on how similar forces affect the UK. www.carboncommentary.com/blog/2024/12...
The future of transport. Solar-powered lie-flat 3 wheel cycle. The friend who took the photo estimated maximum speed of 60 km per hour. Seen here in a supermarket car park (though seems a trifle unclear where the shopping bags will be stored...)
November 17, 2024 at 1:38 PM
The future of transport. Solar-powered lie-flat 3 wheel cycle. The friend who took the photo estimated maximum speed of 60 km per hour. Seen here in a supermarket car park (though seems a trifle unclear where the shopping bags will be stored...)
I wrote a piece on the striking global increase in climate scepticism in recent years, using survey data from Ipsos and YouGov. www.carboncommentary.com/blog/2024/10...
The surprising rise in climate scepticism | Carbon Commentary
A yearly opinion survey carried out in many countries around the world looks at attitudes to climate change and to emissions reductions.[1] Paid for by the French utility EdF, the data collection is c...
www.carboncommentary.com
October 10, 2024 at 3:00 PM
I wrote a piece on the striking global increase in climate scepticism in recent years, using survey data from Ipsos and YouGov. www.carboncommentary.com/blog/2024/10...
UK promises £22bn to CCS operators. But across the Atlantic, latest well for CO2 drilled by ADM in Illinois is leaking. Has been closed because of risk of pollution of drinking water. Second failure there. No successes. Perhaps trial projects in UK would have been better than huge commitment now.
October 7, 2024 at 9:05 PM
UK promises £22bn to CCS operators. But across the Atlantic, latest well for CO2 drilled by ADM in Illinois is leaking. Has been closed because of risk of pollution of drinking water. Second failure there. No successes. Perhaps trial projects in UK would have been better than huge commitment now.
Another sign that decarbonisation is actually happening. The port of Hamburg, the 2nd largest in Germany, saw a c.4% fall in volumes shipped in H1 2024 saying 'the impact of the energy transition is becoming increasingly evident in bulk cargo handling, particularly with the decline in coal volumes.'
August 21, 2024 at 3:04 PM
Another sign that decarbonisation is actually happening. The port of Hamburg, the 2nd largest in Germany, saw a c.4% fall in volumes shipped in H1 2024 saying 'the impact of the energy transition is becoming increasingly evident in bulk cargo handling, particularly with the decline in coal volumes.'
In a previous life I worked on competition economics, including trying to stop early attempts to drain cash from water companies. Interviewed yesterday by Utility Week about Thames Water, I said that public ownership was inevitable. My reasoning is here: www.carboncommentary.com/blog/2024/4/...
April 4, 2024 at 3:38 PM
In a previous life I worked on competition economics, including trying to stop early attempts to drain cash from water companies. Interviewed yesterday by Utility Week about Thames Water, I said that public ownership was inevitable. My reasoning is here: www.carboncommentary.com/blog/2024/4/...
Hannah Ritchie wrote an extremely useful summary of my chapter on steel decarbonisation here: www.sustainabilitybynumbers.com/p/green-stee...
March 28, 2024 at 10:28 AM
Hannah Ritchie wrote an extremely useful summary of my chapter on steel decarbonisation here: www.sustainabilitybynumbers.com/p/green-stee...
Major study of effect of better insulation in Paris social housing shows 28% cut in energy use. Much bigger cut than typical. Perhaps we're getting better at insulating older flats. www.apur.org/fr/nos-trava.... Another impressive result: top floor heatwave temps up to 15degrees lower
Consommations réelles d’énergie des logements parisiensVolet 1 : parc
À partir d’une analyse inédite, l’Apur présente le bilan des consommations énergétiques réelles 2022 de plus de 76 000 logements sociaux parisiens et montre l’évolution des consommations avant et
www.apur.org
March 8, 2024 at 11:08 AM
Major study of effect of better insulation in Paris social housing shows 28% cut in energy use. Much bigger cut than typical. Perhaps we're getting better at insulating older flats. www.apur.org/fr/nos-trava.... Another impressive result: top floor heatwave temps up to 15degrees lower
Implausible claims about CO2 capture, industrial heat pumps, cost reductions for electrolysers, hydrogen tenders, advances in grid batteries and six other stories on my free newsletter at carboncommentary.substack.com
January 14, 2024 at 2:32 PM
Implausible claims about CO2 capture, industrial heat pumps, cost reductions for electrolysers, hydrogen tenders, advances in grid batteries and six other stories on my free newsletter at carboncommentary.substack.com