Dylan McConnell
Renewable Energy & Energy Systems Researcher at University of NSW (..but also I live in Melbourne)
- Reposted by Dylan McConnellThe Washington Post was consistently doing some of the best climate reporting out there in recent years. This is a huge loss (h/t @sammyroth.bsky.social) open.substack.com/pub/climatec...
- Reposted by Dylan McConnellThread: Each week I run a simulation of Australia’s main electricity grid using rescaled generation data to show that it can get very close to 100% renewable electricity with 24GW/120GWh of storage (5 hrs at av demand) Results: Last week: 100.0% RE Last 232 weeks: 98.6% RE (1/5)
- Reposted by Dylan McConnellJanuary was another above-average month in Australia…not a big surprise but the size of the area with average maximums for the month of 39C or higher is notable:
- Underlying demand, and underlying demand ex-solar contribution (both utility and rooftop) over the last week or so ... 🔌💡
- Solar provided 59% of electricity in the Australian national (east coast) grid between 9am and 6pm over the past week. It was 30% of total generation. Life moves pretty fast etc. www.theguardian.com/environment/...
- Reposted by Dylan McConnellSolar provided 59% of electricity in the Australian national (east coast) grid between 9am and 6pm over the past week. It was 30% of total generation. Life moves pretty fast etc. www.theguardian.com/environment/...
- Reposted by Dylan McConnellEvery ad now
- lol these actually look like ducks.. 🔌💡
- (rest of the figure)
- Reposted by Dylan McConnellIn August 2021, I started running weekly simulations of Australia's main electricity grid to show that it's possible to get very close to 100% renewable supply with just enough storage to supply average demand for 5 hours. Here are learnings from 4 years of simulations: /1
- .. what a difference 17 years makes. Previous peak day in Victoria - (29 Jan 2009) - virtually no wind and solar. 🔌💡
- ..cf the new peak a couple of days ago: (note how gas has been relegated to even peak... and which is now visibly being eaten into by battery storage, in the dark blue)
- Love the concept of AI code being a "Denial-of-service attack on our human effort." (From FastAPI AI Contribution Guidelines: fastapi.tiangolo.com/contributing...)
- Reposted by Dylan McConnellRecord breaking electricity demand in both Victoria and Sth Australia yesterday. Wind & solar performed very well, reducing residual demand by 28% & 58% respectively. 4th highest ever demand on the NEM as a whole, with wind & solar reducing residual demand by 30% Here's stats from post 2023 data
- Ended up just under 300MW higher than previous peak. More interesting, is the timing - can clearing see the impact of rooftop solar - shifting the peak from 17 years ago occuring ~1:30pm, c.f. today occuring at 7pm (local time). 🔌💡
- Some numbers below.. (also looks like we might have seen some kind of load shedding or something around 7pm? .. ~300MW disappeared around then)
- So we have a new record peak demand for Vic tonight (and still climbing!)
- Pretty remarkable to have new peak on such a day, without any LOR notices, or relatively little volatility
- Reposted by Dylan McConnellRecord temperatures, bushfires, meh fire up those data centres that use stonks of water and require a shit tonne of electricity www.afr.com/politics/fed...
- Update: currently on track for a new record demand for Victoria (at least by one measure). And as previously, actual demand still running above earlier forecasts.
- Reposted by Dylan McConnellVictoria has set a new all-time heat record at just under 49C, while Doiyh Australia has set its equal-fourth hottest day (and equal 10th nationally for January). Via BoM
- Reposted by Dylan McConnellReminder that, as of the latest reports, Liam Ramos is still in prison in Texas - now for 5 days. His parents are legal asylum seekers with no criminal record.
- Reposted by Dylan McConnellRenmark in South Australia reached 49.6C and had 67km/h wind gusts.
- Melbourne times
- Forecast peak demand for Vic is close to a new record this evening ... actuals are currently running comfortable ahead of forecasts - if that keeps up, will certainly be a new record
- Oops forgot this figure - I thought a pretty a good representation of the battery / gas dynamic.. 🔌💡
- 2025 certainly a big year for batteries in the NEM 🔌💡 www.afr.com/policy/energ...
- 2025 certainly a big year for batteries in the NEM 🔌💡 www.afr.com/policy/energ...
- Also saw quarterly battery generation overtake OCGT generation for first time (.. but not gas generation in total - i.e. including the old steamers, and CCGT's_
- Reposted by Dylan McConnellHISTORIC HEAT IN AUSTRALIA Climatic history is set to be rewritten with an absolutely deadly week: Today 48.5C in South Australia,47.2 New South Wales, 45.3 Queensland,45.0 Victoria ‼️We might expect 7 CONSECUTIVE DAYS >46C in New South Wales and we can't rule out 50C. A HELL
- Reposted by Dylan McConnellAbsolute drivel from the BBCs live feed. Despite there being abundant evidence to contradict the repulsive Noem, her words are reported uncritically, in line with the apparent belief that presenting a lie alongside the truth and calling both “narratives” has anything to do with journalism.
- Reposted by Dylan McConnellIt is incredible STILL the level of denial in "polite company", not to mention amongst our political class, about what America now IS. Donald Trump is the most powerful leader in history and he is a fascist. That the US hasn't collapsed into total authoritarianism doesn't change the basic fact.
- Reposted by Dylan McConnellThey actually can’t lie more than they already do and video evidence is entirely meaningless, as the past few years of atrocities filmed in Gaza have shown.
- God a decade since the SA blackout this year... I feel ~old~
- ..here's the digital version btw www.smh.com.au/environment/...
- Reposted by Dylan McConnell[This post could not be retrieved]
- Reposted by Dylan McConnell"reminiscent of World War II military apparel"
- .. fun times 😐
- Reposted by Dylan McConnell
[This post could not be retrieved] - Reposted by Dylan McConnellThe Attorney General can’t rule out that accurately describing Israel as committing genocide could land you in jail for 15 years.
- Reposted by Dylan McConnellThe Israeli government has committed genocide in Gaza, and its members, including Netanyahu, are war criminals.
- Reposted by Dylan McConnellOk so advocating genocide is fine (exempt) under the hate speech laws but criticising the guy responsible for genocide is an offence. 👌
- Cool and normal forecast for the farm this weekend ............
- Reposted by Dylan McConnellSeems a drastically under-reported story of the whole Trump catastrophe.
- Reposted by Dylan McConnellThe good law, gun reform, was passed with the Coalition voting against it and Greens for it. The bad law, racial vilification, was passed with the Coalition voting for it (some Nats excepted) and Greens against it. Neat encapsulation of the social utility of each party.
- Reposted by Dylan McConnell“One notable MIT study found that 95 percent of companies that integrated AI saw zero meaningful growth in revenue. For coding tasks, one of AI’s most widely hyped applications, another study showed that programmers who used AI coding tools actually became slower at their jobs.”
- Reposted by Dylan McConnellThe University of Melbourne is getting off X! (Via Faculty of Science Dean's Circular)
- Reposted by Dylan McConnell🔌💡New AFR piece digs into record wind + solar curtailment across the NEM — featuring analysis from CEEM’s @dylanjmcconnell.bsky.social www.afr.com/policy/energ... For more on the complexities of curtailment (it's not all bad!), see Dylan’s previous explainer: theconversation.com/should-we-wo...
- Reposted by Dylan McConnell
- ... this is kind wrong / misleading - SWIS is going well, but SWIS doesn't equal WA! Lot's of offgrid, non-SWIS generation - and much of that is gas! reneweconomy.com.au/less-a-duck-...
- From latest Australian Energy Statistics - WA in aggregated is, infact, not out performing the NEM states... Or rather, it is out performing it in gas:
- Reposted by Dylan McConnellThread: Each week I run a simulation of Australia’s main electricity grid using rescaled generation data to show that it can get very close to 100% renewable electricity with 24GW/120GWh of storage (5 hrs at av demand) Results: Last week: 100% RE Last 229 weeks: 98.6% RE (1/5)
- Reposted by Dylan McConnellThis is genuine Jaw-droppingly, horrifyingly real
- Curtailment of VRE up considerably in 2025 - 7.2TWh, equivalent to approx half the annual electricity consumption of South Australia.. 🔌💡 www.afr.com/policy/energ...
- On the one hand - curtailment is an expected characteristic of RE-dominated energy energy systems: there is an efficient amount of curtailment. On the other, hand does present challenges for investment in RE. Wrote a bit about in The Convo a while back: theconversation.com/should-we-wo...
- Increase this year in part consequence of recovery of wind generation - large increase in wind generation also brings with it an increase in curtailment. Also, because we have too much coal still (that can't / doesn't ramp down - so RE curtailed instead ........ 🥲🥲)
- Reposted by Dylan McConnellMinister of State Alex Norris tells the BBC he won't personally come off X because it's important for communicating with voters. None of his tweets for the last month has more than 1000 views.
- Reposted by Dylan McConnellHoly shit, this way beyond the pale. archive.is/ngaMG
- Reposted by Dylan McConnellBREAKING: I have just received this from the Adelaide Festival Board as a (former) Adelaide Writers Week participant. They have apologised to Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah, cancelled Writers’ Week, expressed regret and the remaining festival board members will now step down.
- Reposted by Dylan McConnellThe 2026 Adelaide Writers' Week has officially been cancelled. Well done to the Board of the Festival and the Premier of South Australia for this devastating outcome.
- Reposted by Dylan McConnellUnbelievable. I told the Sky News guy to fuck off with his questions and now *that* is the story. This hungry beast is insatiable. How’s that Royal Commission into Murdoch media going?
- Reposted by Dylan McConnellThis is the account of the French Foreign Ministry
- Reminder: "Wind power is critical to the government’s plans to have 82 per cent renewable energy in the grid by the end of the decade..." www.afr.com/policy/energ...
- PSA: @readingsbooks.bsky.social is offering a 10% discount for recent books of authors who have chosen to withdraw from the 2026 Adelaide Writers' Week: www.readings.com.au/collections/...
- "Literary festivals provide an important opportunity for authors to reach new readers & earn an income. The decision to withdraw from a literary festival is not one taken lightly. You can support local & international authors by buying their books and by borrowing them from your library"
- Reposted by Dylan McConnellJust re-doing because Sarah Ferguson is also out. And when "What is wrong with this picture? Nothing" is out they might as well switch off the lights. Gives cover to the other ABC talking heads who have yet to do anything. Makes it abundantly clear the mainstream view is against the board decision
- Reposted by Dylan McConnellThis headline is blatant misinformation. One guy quit because of Adler’s “anti-Zionist” program and zero people noticed or cared. The Board then acted against Adler and Randa, the whole festival collapsed and 4 board members quit rather than fix the mess they made. This upheaval is solely theirs.
- Reposted by Dylan McConnellGrass roots. My @smh cartoon.
- Reposted by Dylan McConnellNot one person has lost their job or been forced to apologise for supporting Israel’s genocide. You can support the mass murder of Muslims & you will never be in danger of losing your job in media or politics or the arts or business or education. Suggest Israel are wrong, & you will be targeted.
- Reposted by Dylan McConnellOne of the most brutal rake-stepping exercises I have ever seen www.sbs.com.au/news/article...
- Reposted by Dylan McConnellThe last 3 days (Jan 7-9) have all had extreme electricity demand on Australia's NEM. When you include demand met by rooftop solar, they rank as #1, #4 & #2 all-time respectively. Thankfully wind & solar generation were excellent, as they typically are on extreme demand days. /1
- Reposted by Dylan McConnellNot apocalyptic looking at all
- Reposted by Dylan McConnell[This post could not be retrieved]
- Reposted by Dylan McConnellUnfortunately for Malinauskas, the internet remembers. Instagram user beccilove dug out this quote from a few years ago.
- Reposted by Dylan McConnellThe Guardian doing inexplicable voluntary free public relations work for a corporation profiting from sexual abuse by headlining this as the image gen being "turned off". It isn't off: they've just monetised it. What the fuck are we doing here people, come on. www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
- Reposted by Dylan McConnellDefinite End of the World vibes here. dark clouds, ravens and hawks weaving above us, weird swirling gusty wind. going to be a long night.
- Unusual conditions for a La Nina.. And in case it needs to be said: “Global warming means all our heatwaves and associated fire weather are made at least 1–2C hotter than they would have been due to the higher background temperature” www.afr.com/policy/energ...
- Reposted by Dylan McConnellAlso worth asking why so many progressive orgs are still on X. It's staggering that progressive leaders would rather prop up a nazi factory than give up their (totally ineffective) megaphone.
- Reposted by Dylan McConnellElon Musk's AI chatbot is churning out non-consensual sexual deepfakes every minute. Meanwhile the Australian government continues to pay the company millions, writes Cam Wilson.
- Reposted by Dylan McConnellThe last 3 days, Jan 7, 8 & 9 now rank as #1, #4 & #3 all time record total demand. Obviously Jan 9 could go higher! Some more info about how renewables have reduced peak demand across the NEM here. bsky.app/profile/did:...
- Reposted by Dylan McConnell
