Using data to accelerate the electricity transition @ember_energy
Bristol
Joined November 2013
- Tweets270
- Following601
- Followers785
- Likes5.6K
Pinned Tweet
Long denied, now proven.
Drax is cutting down primary forest to burn in its UK power station bbc.co.uk/news/science-envir…
Phil MacDonald retweeted
In September, China's combustion vehicle (ICE) sales dropped to just a third of the market for the first time
Battery electric vehicles are getting close to half of the market (47.3%), while Plug-ins added another 19.7%.
Only 5 years from >90% to 33% ICE.
Phil MacDonald retweeted
Europe is home to two of the most electrified countries in the world – Norway and Sweden.
But others are least electrified. Only 15% of Romania and Lithuania’s final energy consumption comes from electricity.
ember-energy.org/latest-insi…
Phil MacDonald retweeted
NEW DATA | For the first time ever, wind and solar produced more than 50% of the UK's electricity ☀️🍃🇬🇧
🏆 In September, wind and solar generation reached a share of 50.4%
Wind (7.7 TWh) and solar (1.7 TWh) also reached new absolute output records for the month of September.
Phil MacDonald retweeted
NEW: GLOBAL RENEWABLES OVERTAKES COAL
Renewables was up in the first half of the year, and coal had a small fall...🧵
Phil MacDonald retweeted
NEW: The first evidence of a solar take-off in Africa☀️✈️
x33 rise in Algeria🇩🇿 solar panel imports in the 12 mths to June 2025, compared to previous 12 mths.
x8 in Zambia🇿🇲
x7 in Botswana🇧🇼
x6 in Sudan🇸🇩
x3 in each of Liberia🇱🇷, DRC🇨🇩, Benin🇧🇯, Angola🇦🇴, Ethiopia🇪🇹
🧵
Phil MacDonald retweeted
5️⃣🎂 Five years in, Ember’s vision of an electric future is becoming reality.
Born in 2020 to empower decisionmakers with open data, Ember has fast-tracked the transition 💡
Now solar is surging, fossils are entering terminal decline and the electrotech revolution is here ⚡️☀️
Phil MacDonald retweeted
🚨 NEW RECORD | Fossil fuels fell below 50% of US electricity for the first month on record
This was driven by solar and wind reaching a record high 📈
In March 2025, solar rose by 37% (+8.3 TWh) and wind by 12% (+5.7 TWh) compared to the year before ↗️
ember-energy.org/data/us-ele…
This is testament to the incredible work the Ember team are doing across Asia and Europe - spread across 17 countries and counting (!)
Ember is proud to announce that our co-founder and managing director @PhilMacD1 is on @TIME's 2024 #TIME100Climate list!
Under his leadership, Ember now provides data-led insights to accelerate the #energytransition across 17 countries worldwide 🌐⚡
time.com/time100-climate
Phil MacDonald retweeted
The UK had its first coal-free day in 2017.
Next month, a new coal-free era begins with the closure of the UK’s last coal plant 🇬🇧
ember-climate.org/insights/r…
Phil MacDonald retweeted
The UK closes its LAST coal plant at the end of this month, marking the beginning of its coal-free era.
How did the home of the world’s first coal-fired power station finally phase it out? Read more in our latest report 👀
ember-climate.org/insights/r…
Phil MacDonald retweeted
NEW | China's coal-fired power generation fell for a third consecutive month in July 2024
Our latest @EmberClimate data shows that wind and solar + gains in hydropower have led to the largest declines in two years and the first sustained declines since the Covid-19 pandemic.
Phil MacDonald retweeted
NEW | Solar generates 1/5 of global electricity on solstice midday peak
Ember estimates that solar will generate 20% of the world's electricity across the midday peaks today, an increase from 16% last year 📈☀️
Read the analysis ember-climate.org/insights/i…
Phil MacDonald retweeted
NEW
The UK government has just quietly published estimates showing wind and solar will be several times cheaper than gas, for the foreseeable future
A few senior cabinet members (& a large section of the media) might like to take a look?
THREAD with charts + caveats
Shocking investigation -
As energy prices soared in 2022, Drax found a subsidy loophole that cost billpayers £millions
Drax, one of the UK's biggest energy producers, managed to avoid paying £639 million to struggling households as electricity bills soared
@_ToddGillespie explains how a loophole left consumers in the cold
Read in full: trib.al/aZLdrRZ
Phil MacDonald retweeted
The share of fossil fuels in New Mexico's electricity mix is falling off a cliff. It's down to a record low of 34% as of April.
Just two decades ago, fossil fuels produced 99% of the state's power.
Why you ask?
(1/5)
A significant milestone for the EU
MILESTONE 🇪🇺⚡Wind and solar produced more electricity than fossil fuels in the EU last month
ember-climate.org/press-rele…
Phil MacDonald retweeted
Ember is expanding! LOTS of interesting jobs up for grabs - aimed at speeding up the transition to clean power. Check them all out here: ember-climate.org/careers/
I can't emphasise enough what a great org this is to work for. Come join the vibe!
(DM with any questions 🤗)
Phil MacDonald retweeted
Do you want to understand what is happening in the global power system?
Where is the electricity transition headed?
Who is a leader?
Who is a laggard?
At @EmberClimate, we have compiled the data and tools to help you do just that. Here are some of the tools we built:
(1/10)
Phil MacDonald retweeted
I've covered climate in some capacity for at least 15 years and the last few years is really the first time where the story is that the energy transition is *actually happening*. Still wayyyyy too slow. But happening.
🇬🇧 The UK's power sector has undergone a striking shift in recent years: coal is now barely a presence, and wind has seen massive growth.
Discover more insights like these using our electricity data explorer:
ember-climate.org/data/data-…
Phil MacDonald retweeted
⚡️ A new era in the power sector
📉Fossil fuel electricity generation might have peaked in 2022.
📈Record expansion of renewable power is pushing oil, gas and coal out of the grid
@EmberClimate | #ClimateChange
