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Tom Brown

@nworbmot.bsky.social
4.4K followers 664 following 467 posts

energy system modeller | professor @tuberlin.bsky.social | nworbmot.org | github.com/PyPSA | model.energy | openmod ally | #freethemodels | he/him

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Tom Brown @nworbmot.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
In 1988 Hans Moravec made the ultimate extrapolation by predicting human-level AI by 2028. He has just come out of multi-decade seclusion from public life to give an interview. Interview: nymag.com/intelligence... My blogpost with more links: nworbmot.org/blog/moravec...
nymag.com
Hans Moravec Was Right About AI. Is He Right About the Fate of Humanity?
Hans Moravec predicted human-level AI by 2028. Now he contemplates our species’ end—and his own.
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Tom Brown @nworbmot.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
Agentic AI is surely the Killer App of open energy modelling - just watching the agents play with @pypsa-org.bsky.social workflows, it's hard to imagine how closed suites can compete. Blog post: nworbmot.org/blog/agents-...
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Tom Brown @nworbmot.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
🇨🇦 Canada's ambitious plan to double its electricity demand by 2050, supplied by clean energy, is at least partly based on Canadian studies done with PyPSA @pypsa-org.bsky.social. 🇨🇦
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Marcel Fratzscher @mfratzscher.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
Neue Folge des Podcast Fossilfrei über mögliche Alternativen zu gasförmigem Wasserstoff. Meine Kollegen @wpschill.bsky.social & @aroth.bsky.social haben sich dieses Mal @nworbmot.bsky.social von der @tuberlin.bsky.social als Experten eingeladen. Interessanter Hörstoff für das kommende Wochenende!
youtu.be
#46: Ist Methanol der bessere Wasserstoff?
YouTube video by DIWBerlin
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Tom Brown @nworbmot.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
🚨 Podcast! 🚨 Ist Methanol der bessere Wasserstoff? In einem elektrifizierten Energiesystem könnte Methanol dort eine wichtige Rolle spielen, wo direkte Elektrifizierung an ihre Grenzen stößt – etwa im Langstreckenverkehr, in der Chemie oder als Backup - ohne komplexe Infrastruktur. Hört mal rein! 🎧
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DIW Berlin @diw.de · 13/08/2026
➡️ E-Biomethanol ist das Thema in der neuen Folge des DIW-Energiewende Podcast #fossilfrei mit @wpschill.bsky.social & @aroth.bsky.social. Als Gesprächspartner haben sie sich Tom Brown von der @tuberlin.bsky.social eingeladen. Die ganze Folge hören Sie hier 🎧 www.diw.de/de/diw_01.c....
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Wolf-Peter Schill @wpschill.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
Nachdem wir in den letzten beiden Folgen über #Dunkelflauten und #Wasserstoff Langfristspeicher gesprochen haben, knüpft die neue Folge #fossilfrei mit dem wie immer äußerst hörenswerten @nworbmot.bsky.social direkt an - es geht wieder um H2, aber dieses Mal in Form von E-Biomethanol. Viel Spaß!
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Wolf-Peter Schill @wpschill.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
1/ 🎙️ fossilfrei #45: Wie viel #Speicher braucht die Energiewende? www.diw.de/de/diw_01.c.... Wie wir das erneuerbare Energiesystem der Zukunft gegen schwere #Dunkelflauten wappnen können, diese Frage beschäftigt Viele - und sie ist für nicht wenige ein echtes Reizthema.
diw.de
DIW Berlin: 'fossilfrei' - der Energiewendepodcast des DIW Berlin
Folgen Die Energiewende erscheint oft kompliziert und unübersichtlich. Die Macher des "DIW-Monitor Energiewende" , Alexander Roth und Wolf-Peter Schill, sortieren das für euch. Wir diskutieren, auch…
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Tom Brown @nworbmot.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
Today we're launching PyPSA Labs, a new non-profit that offers development, maintenance, support and training for our open software Python for Power System Analysis (PyPSA). Check out our services here: pypsalabs.org
pypsalabs.org
PyPSA Labs - Sustaining Open-Source Energy System Modelling
PyPSA Labs is a non-profit organisation stewarding development, maintenance, support and training for the open-source energy system modelling framework PyPSA.
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Tom Brown @nworbmot.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
🎙️New podcast! From the epic battle of the rebuttals on renewables feasibility to a solar-battery future and the potential role of methanol as a gap-filler - this pod with Erik Wallnér has it all! solcellskollen.se/podcast/tom-...
solcellskollen.se
Tom Brown, On the feasibility of 100% renewable electricity – and biomethanol as a backstop in a net-zero emissions scenario - Solcellskollen
I podden dyker vi ner i samtal med entreprenörer, forskare och andra nyfikna som banar väg för framtidens energisystem. Programmet leds av Erik Wallnér från Solcellskollen.
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Tom Brown @nworbmot.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
📢 New pod alert! On: importance of hourly matching for corporates, genesis of open energy modelling tool @pypsa-org.bsky.social, how solar and batteries will eat global power generation...lots of fun with @mrchrisadams.net from the Green Web Foundation. Sound: shows.acast.com/environment-...
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Tom Brown @nworbmot.bsky.social · 06/06/2026
Proprietary capacity expansion model from 1957 Used for modelling the Finnish transmission grid and extensions to it until the late 1970s; from Helsinki Museum of Technology. #freethemodels
Finnish grid modelDetail on generators and loadsExtensions to grid are tested Loads over day
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Tom Brown @nworbmot.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
Eine Welt ohne Gasinfrastruktur? In unserer neuen Studie zeigen wir, dass sich fast die gesamte Energienachfrage in Europa mit Elektrifizierung und Methanol decken lässt – ohne die Komplexität einer großflächigen Wasserstoffwirtschaft. www.pv-magazine.de/2026/05/15/e...
pv-magazine.de
Eine Welt ohne Gasinfrastruktur: Elektrifizierung mit Methanol für den Rest
Wissenschaftler der Technischen Universität (TU) Berlin haben die Studie „A minimal methanol backstop for high-electrification scenarios“ veröffentlicht. Darin plädieren sie dafür, eher mit Methanol a...
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Tom Brown @nworbmot.bsky.social · 14/05/2026
A world without gas infrastructure? If we aggressively electrify the economy, green methanol could cover most of the remaining non-electric demand - without needing large-scale hydrogen or methane networks. New paper in Joule: "A Minimal Methanol Backstop for High Electrification Scenarios"
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Tom Brown @nworbmot.bsky.social · 10/05/2026
The story of how I was written into Ian McEwan's 2010 novel Solar as an annoying know-it-all (perish the thought), only to be strangled a few pages later. Some light Sunday reading for anyone with time on their hands. nworbmot.org/blog/mcewan-...
Ian McEwan's Solar
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Georg Zachmann @gzachmann.bsky.social · 09/05/2026
Tom argues, that it does not make econ sense that 1) the new DE heating law would allow for biomethane usage in heating (a baseload that could be cost-effectively replaced by heat pumps etc) 2) while the DE power plant strategy requirs to set up a costly new H2 infrastructure for peak plants
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Tom Brown @nworbmot.bsky.social · 09/05/2026
Im GMG darf knappes Biomethan in Gasheizungen eingesetzt werden, aber in Kraftwerken für die Versorgungssicherheit nicht? Dort müssen alle Kraftwerke „wasserstoff-ready“ ausgelegt werden. Wieso eigentlich? Ist das Bestehen auf Wasserstoff eine Vorgabe der Europäischen Kommission?
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Tom Brown @nworbmot.bsky.social · 05/05/2026
Come share your innovative new uses of PyPSA, or just touch based with the community, at our next User Meeting in June. See you there!
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Tom Brown @nworbmot.bsky.social · 23/04/2026
Open grid data - threat or opportunity? I lay out the case for why there is a huge public benefit, and why security concerns, at least about some types of data, are overblown. nworbmot.org/blog/open-gr...
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PyPSA @pypsa-org.bsky.social · 22/04/2026
𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗣𝘆𝗣𝗦𝗔 𝗥𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝘃𝟭.𝟮 🎉 - New 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗻𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 class for multi-carrier conversion with explicit rates as a flexible alternative to multi-port Links - 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘆𝘀 for Links and Processes via new delay and cyclic_delay attributes
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Tom Brown @nworbmot.bsky.social · 21/04/2026
Ich freue mich auf den Austausch in Potsdam!
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Einstein Forum @einsteinforum.bsky.social · 21/04/2026
KLIMASCHUTZ, ENERGIESICHERHEIT, KOSTENEFFIZIENZ – GEGENSÄTZE ODER VEREINBAR? - fragt und diskutiert TOM BROWN mit ANN-KATRIN SCHENK und dem Publikum am Mittwoch, 29. April, 19:00 live Am Neuen Markt 7 und via zoom: www.einsteinforum.de/.../klimasch...
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The Kyiv Independent @kyivindependent.com · 18/04/2026
Even as warmer weather reduces the disruptive impact of blackouts and lowers heating demand, Ukrainian officials and utility experts warn that Russia may be shifting its focus to a new pressure point: the country’s water infrastructure.
kyivindependent.com
Russia’s next war crime: After a winter of blackouts, Ukraine braces for summer water outages
Even as warmer weather reduces the disruptive impact of blackouts and lowers heating demand, Ukrainian officials and utility experts warn that Russia may be shifting its focus to a new pressure point:...
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Tom Brown @nworbmot.bsky.social · 15/04/2026
Python for Power System Analysis (PyPSA) now has an official social media channel - follow for feature deep-dives, releases and other updates!
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PyPSA @pypsa-org.bsky.social · 15/04/2026
Hello, World! Hello, Bluesky! PyPSA is now officially on Bluesky - it took a couple of years and a major version release, but we're finally here!
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Ursula von der Leyen @vonderleyen.ec.europa.eu · 13/04/2026
The only lasting way out of the fossil dependency is shifting electricity generation to renewables and nuclear. And electrifying the economy as rapidly as possible. We will present our electrification strategy before the summer. Electrifying Europe means making Europe more independent.
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Malte Kreutzfeldt @mkreutzfeldt.bsky.social · 09/04/2026
In ihrem aktuellen FAZ-Gastbeitrag beklagt Katherina Reiche eine "Selbsttäuschunug" in der Energiepolitik. Tatsächlich fällt der Täuschungsvorwurf aber teilweise auf sie selbst zurück, denn der Text enthält diverse falsche oder irreführende Zahlen. Ein Thread. (1/17) www.faz.net/aktuell/wirt...
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Georg Zachmann @gzachmann.bsky.social · 09/04/2026
Another energy crisis - another lack of unbiased, relevant, timely ENERGY DATA for policy-making: What is possible: The US Energy Information Administration, provides among many other series granular weekly! oil&petroleum data for: refinery production, imports, exports, prices, stocks, ... 1/4
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Tom Brown @nworbmot.bsky.social · 08/04/2026
In this time of turbulence, let's not forget the good news on solar and batteries - now cheap enough that most people can get most of their electricity from them, and save money. Had a great time with @chrisnelder.bsky.social on this podcast discussing this new world: nworbmot.org/blog/solar-b...
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Transition Show @transitionshow.bsky.social · 08/04/2026
In Ep. 272, Tom Brown @nworbmot.bsky.social shares a new model which shows that by 2030, solar and batteries could supply 90% of electricity to 80% of the global population for less than €80/MWh. It would not only be cost-effective, but also likely cheaper than gas. xenetwork.org/ets/episodes...
xenetwork.org
[Episode #273] – Solar and Batteries Can Power the World | The Energy Transition Show
Can solar and batteries power the world cost-effectively? A new model says yes.
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Chris Nelder @chrisnelder.bsky.social · 08/04/2026
The war in Iran has massively disrupted oil & natural gas supplies and inflated the cost of electricity produced from gas. Fortunately, the world doesn't need gas for power anymore. It can be powered entirely by solar! Listen in and find out how.
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Tom Brown @nworbmot.bsky.social · 07/04/2026
Targeting power plants causes untold and indiscriminate harm to civilians. Ask our Ukrainian friends. Trump hasn't even hid that the target is civilians, whom he wants to return to the Stone Age. This article makes the case for officially making the destruction of grids a war crime.
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Tom Brown @nworbmot.bsky.social · 06/04/2026
In 1964 Stanislav Lem anticipated how machine intelligence would be evolved, rather than designed, and that it might be intensely alien to us. His "Summa Technologiae" deserves to be more widely read in the English-speaking world. Here are some highlights: nworbmot.org/blog/lem-mac...
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Auke Hoekstra @aukehoekstra.bsky.social · 03/04/2026
Great addition to a recent blogpost from @nworbmot.bsky.social nworbmot.org/blog/solar-b... Most of humans can go 90% solar in 2030. It's mostly northern Europe that's the edge case that also needs loads of wind. And the last 10% fuel... we'll take care of that before too long.
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Georg Zachmann @gzachmann.bsky.social · 24/03/2026
Jensen Huang, the CEO of NVIDIA said at Lex Fridman's podcast (0h53) that to "solve the energy problem" more people need to understand that data centers should shift load across time and space. @nworbmot.bsky.social, iegor and I share this view: www.bruegel.org/first-glance...
bruegel.org
How data centres can chase renewable energy across Europe
Harnessing the flexibility offered by data centres depending on renewable energy availability could cut costs and emissions
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🇨🇦 Peter 🌏 Fairley 🇺🇸 @peter.fairley.ca · 22/03/2026
Re-upping as the U.S. military prepares to target Iran's electricity Unlocked www.nytimes.com/2024/04/15/o...
nytimes.com
Opinion | There Is a Part of Modern Life That Is So Essential Armies Should Never Attack It Again (Published 2024)
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Tom Brown @nworbmot.bsky.social · 22/03/2026
A question for the international lawyers: does the US energy blockade of Cuba count as a war crime, given the indiscriminate civilian suffering? www.theguardian.com/world/2026/m...
theguardian.com
Cuba’s power grid collapses in third nationwide blackout amid US oil blockade
Network breakdowns compounded by daily blackouts of up to 12 hours caused by fuel shortages
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Tom Brown @nworbmot.bsky.social · 22/03/2026
Nachhaltige Biomasse aus Abfällen und Reststoffen ist weltweit fundamental begrenzt. Statt ihre Nutzung im Gebäudesektor weiter anzureizen, sollte sie landen, wo kohlenstoffhaltige Moleküle unverzichtbar sind: in der Chemie sowie im Schiffs- und Flugverkehr. Mehr hier: nworbmot.org/blog/biomass...
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Adrian Odenweller @adrianodenweller.bsky.social · 23/02/2026
🚨 New paper: Coupling integrated assessment and energy system models 🚨 Planning future energy systems requires bridging two fundamentally different scales: long-term transformation pathways spanning decades, and short-term power system operations unfolding hour by hour. #EnergySky #PyPSA 🧵
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Harminder Dhillon @harminderdhillon.bsky.social · 20/02/2026
Just mind blowing. Solar and batteries can power this world. Pretty much.
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Tom Brown @nworbmot.bsky.social · 19/02/2026
I've added new results to this post on solar and batteries taking over the world, include system cost breakdowns in components (solar, battery, fuel), simulations with much lower battery costs in 2050 (e.g. 50 €/kWh, also 20 €/kWh), curtailment, etc., as well as making data files available. Enjoy!
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Fabian Neumann @fneum.bsky.social · 19/02/2026
🇪🇺 New PyPSA-Eur v2026.02.0 release for European open-source energy system modelling! Many thanks to all of the 34 community contributors to this release for a total of 200 pull requests! pypsa-eur.readthedocs.io/en/latest/re... Highlights include: #PyPSA #OpenSource #OpenData #EnergySky
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Simone Tagliapietra @tagliapietra.bsky.social · 16/02/2026
NEW🚨EU energy markets will be high on the agenda of EU leaders at the upcoming European Council in March. In this new paper, we propose 3 steps to improve the efficiency of the EU energy system: 🖥️ Open data 🔌 Integrate network planning 📚Alignment of national plans www.bruegel.org/policy-brief...
bruegel.org
Better coordination for a more efficient European energy system
EU energy efficiency hinges on open data, integrated grid planning and aligned national plans as electrification raises the cost of fragmentation
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Tom Brown @nworbmot.bsky.social · 09/02/2026
Solar and batteries are cheap enough that most people can get most of their electricity from them, and save money. This equation gets better and better over time as their costs decline. All details in a new blog post: nworbmot.org/blog/solar-b...
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Patrick Graichen @pgraichen.bsky.social · 07/02/2026
Dass Deutschlands Gasspeicher auf unter 30% Füllstand gesunken sind, hat hier ja eine kleine Diskussion ausgelöst, ob das nun gefährlich ist oder nicht. Ich habe das deshalb zum Anlass genommen für meinen ersten Blog/Newsletter-Beitrag: steady.page/de/climate-a...
steady.page
Wie gefährlich ist Deutschlands Gasabhängigkeit wirklich?
Guten Tag! Herzlich Willkommen zur ersten Ausgabe meines Klima & Energie Newsletters. Nach 2 ½ Jahren weitgehender Funkstille melde ich mich hier mit diesem…
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Fabian Neumann @fneum.bsky.social · 01/02/2026
I have been teaching 'Data Science for Energy System Modelling' at TU Berlin for a while. This semester, I recorded the lectures to accompany the revamped, fully open course website: 🎓Course Website: fneum.github.io/data-science... 🎥 YouTube Playlist: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bqvb...
youtube.com
Data Science for Energy System Modelling - Lecture 1: Introduction
YouTube video by Fabian Neumann
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Robin Hawkes @robhawkes.bsky.social · 28/01/2026
What if you could visualise how electricity flows from a wind farm in Scotland to your home in London? Ok it's not quite that simple, but it got me thinking that there must be a way of visualising the complexity of the electricity transmission grid in Great Britain. This is my first attempt…
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Tom Brown @nworbmot.bsky.social · 12/01/2026
The recording of @agoraind.bsky.social's "empowerment through openness" webinar is online! 📺️ Keynote from me and PyPSA-SPICE intro by Samarth Kumar with discussion moderation by Rena Kuwahata. www.agora-energiewende.org/news-events/... (includes video and presentation materials) Comments below...
agora-energiewende.org
Empowerment through openness: the future of energy modelling
Discover how open-source energy models can drive change, transparency and public acceptance.
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Kopernikus-Projekt Ariadne @ariadneprojekt.bsky.social · 16/12/2025
𝗚𝘂𝘁𝗲 𝗡𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗵𝘁 𝗱𝗲𝘀 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝗮𝘁𝘀 🥳 Unsere gute Nachricht für #Dezember gibt auch gleich einen Anstoß fürs neue Jahr 💪 🌞 🌬️ Warum es so wichtig ist, sie zu beherzigen, könnt ihr im neuen #Ariadne-Report nachlesen! 👉 ariadneprojekt.de/publikation/... @nworbmot.bsky.social
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Kopernikus-Projekt Ariadne @ariadneprojekt.bsky.social · 15/12/2025
🔔 𝗘𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘂𝗻𝗴! Morgen, 10 Uhr, laden wir euch zum #Ariadne-Webinar "Studienvorstellung Auswirkungen einer Anpassung der Ausbauziele für erneuerbare Energien für das Jahr 2030" ein! 🖥️ Jetzt noch schnell registrieren! 👉 pik-potsdam.zoom.us/webinar/regi... @nworbmot.bsky.social @tuberlin.bsky.social
pik-potsdam.zoom.us
Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: Ariadne Webinar: Studienvorstellung Auswirkungen einer Anpassung der Ausbauziele für erneuerbare Energien für das Jahr 2030. After registering, you will rec...
Welche Auswirkungen hat ein gegenüber den derzeitigen Zielen verringerter Ausbau der Erneuerbaren Energien bis 2030 auf die Stromkosten und die EEG-Förderkosten? Diesen und weiteren Fragen geht eine n...
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