Thread by @nickymison

Russia's invasion of Ukraine is terrifying, tragic and infuriating. There are so many good takes, I'm going to stick to what I know - energy & decarbonisation and how this invasion could & should lead to the turbo-charging of the deployment of the "heat pump." Explainer🧵

Despite what many (uniformed) commentators say, the biggest use of gas in Europe is for heating buildings (water & space) not for power (though that is second). See @laurimyllyvirta's great thread for a graph on this 👇

https://twitter.com/laurimyllyvirta/status/1496849742411800580?s=20&t=nNPrOfw3TVWjvCz998hDlQ

Russia supplies ~30% of Europe's gas, making it extremely powerful. The the best way to reduce reliance on Russian gas, is to replace gas heating in European buildings (and buildings around the world), with a clean, renewable powered, electrified alternative. Enter the heat pump.

Heat pumps (known in Aus as air conditioners) work similar to a regrigerator, using electricity & a fluid to transfer & amplify heat or "coolth" from one place to another. They are amazing really because for the amount of electrical energy you put in, you get more heat energy out

Indeed in a submission to the Aus Technology Roadmap in 2020 I wrote that there are three foundational types of technology for energy decarbonisation:
1. Energy efficiency & electrification techs e.g. the heat pump.
2. Renewables - solar & wind
3. Firming techs e.g. batteries

Heat pumps are particularly powerful as they can be used in homes, commercial buildings and industrial processes.

wwf.org.au/what-we-do/cli…

So how do we turbo-charge the roll-out of heat pumps? Well thankfully its not rocket science - targets, rebates, mandates, installer training programs and some good promo should do the trick for most residential & commercial applications.

For industrial processes funding the technical studies and then zero interest loans for the capital works are a good place to start.

If you're in Australia and Russia invading Ukraine has given you the impetus to go gas free, I recommend the My Efficient Electric Home Facebook Group set up by @ForceyTim for all the info you'll need to get going. facebook.com/groups/MyEffic…

End #IStandWithUkraine