Sam Hamels
@SamHamels
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Energy economist at Ghent University. Trying to help figure out the energy transition in all its social, political, economic and technical complexity.
Ghent University, Belgium
Joined August 2008
Yesterday I gave a 2h lecture about electricity markets, with a focus on futures and the day-ahead market. Full recording available on my YouTube channel (link in comment below). Enjoy! 🍿
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Happy Solar Pessimism Chart Update Day to all who celebrate
NEW | The world installed a record 814 GW of solar and wind capacity in 2025 ☀️⚡️ That's over 1,000 TWh of electricity generation per year... ...enough to displace nearly twice Qatar's annual LNG export volume in gas generation 🔥❌ Fossil fuels crisis? Wind and solar deliver.
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Electric trucks and other electric commercial vehicles will take over their markets faster than personal electric cars. Fleet owners and operators care about cost per mile, not just up front cost. And electric drive trains are cheaper in energy and maintenance per mile.
Something nobody around you sees coming yet, but is actually happening: electric trucks at scale
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Same data, two different charts! A reminder that context - and proper explanation etc is vital!
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"We maken wonen onbetaalbaar door ons te verzetten tegen bijna elke oplossing die wonen betaalbaar kan maken." Een dubbelinterview met @CarolineDeitere in @tijd over wonen, renovatie en energie.
tijd.be
Als starter vandaag een woning kopen is allesbehalve evident. Caroline Deiteren, directeur-generaal van Embuild Vlaanderen, en energie-expert Ruben Baetens leggen de vinger op de zere plekken: een...
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Onze noorderburen mogen BE wel dankbaar zijn. Tot nu toe kochten we dit jaar gemiddeld 2GW* aan stroom uit Nederland, waardoor onderbenutting van hun centrales vermeden werd. We helpen ook voorkomen dat hun zonnepanelen en windturbines afgeschakeld moeten worden.
Onze zuiderburen mogen NL wel dankbaar zijn. Tot nu toe leverde Nederland dit jaar netto (!) gemiddeld 2000 MW (!) 'prik' aan België. In dezelfde periode 2025 was dit gemiddeld 1200 MW en in 2024 was dit nog 'slechts' gemiddeld 800 MW. #grafiekvandedag
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Every politician should be required to write a 10-page paper on unintended consequences of government policy before they can take office.
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During the Cold War the United States military had 15,000 soldiers stationed in Greenland. That presence has been reduced by 99% to just 150 soldiers today. Denmark has given the US exclusive and full military access to Greenland but the US does not use it. This has nothing to
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"Drill a shale well, feed a power plant for months. Drill a geothermal well, feed a power plant for decades." -Overheard at a Midland, TX dive bar
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This is Kristina Solovyova. Russian terrorists killed her in Zhytomyr striking residential buildings with drones on December 23. She was only 4🕯
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My unpopular opinion / Hot Take : I actually do not desire to see technology advance any further.
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@gerardgovers De meeste mensen slapen een keer per dag. 8 uur in normaal stopcontact (2kW) -> 100 km rijbereik in de batterij (1/3)
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Nice Nano Banana Pro prompt for weather app: CITY=Prague,Czechia Present a clear, 45° top-down isometric miniature 3D cartoon scene of [CITY], featuring its most iconic landmarks and architectural elements. Use soft, refined textures with realistic PBR materials and gentle,
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Energy transitions can happen faster than we think: In 2000 almost 90% of Denmark's electricity was from fossil fuels. In 2024 less than 10% of Danish electricity was from fossil fuels.
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Something I think people continue to have poor intuition for: The space of intelligences is large and animal intelligence (the only kind we've ever known) is only a single point, arising from a very specific kind of optimization that is fundamentally distinct from that of our
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Accepteren dat mensen kunnen vervolgd/bestraft worden omwille van wat ze zeggen/schrijven op sociale media is accepteren dat ook jij op een dag van je bed gelicht kan worden omwille van een 'mening'.
Hard to believe the German government's response to the below post on X. The person who made the comment: ➡️faced a German police raid at 6am last Thursday ➡️was forced to unlock and hand his phone over ➡️was taken to a police station and had his biometrics collected ➡️was
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Pissing people off is not the right strategy Couldn't agree more 💯
'Don't piss people off' -- Why the theory of change needs to adapt. @MLiebreich argues that the clean energy transition is already well advanced and that narratives to go even faster risk polarising voters and resulting in slower climate action. He joined @mark_lynas for our
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95 % van alle verkochte nieuwe auto’s in Noorwegen is elektrisch In juni was dat zelfs 97%. Daarmee loopt land wereldwijd ver voorop. Nederland zit op 35%, China op 50.) Inmiddels is bijna 1/3 van auto’s in Noorwegen elektrisch en verdwijnen benzineauto’s uit het straatbeeld.
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Your default cognitive environment is hostile to deep thought. If you consume a minute-by-minute feed optimized for engagement, you are training your mind to be reactive, shallow, short-term. The most potent way to think about the world is the opposite: analytical, long-term,
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A huge day for the @PragmaCharge Spain team: our first @DaimlerTruck eActros 600s electric HGVs are on the road and delivering loads in #Valencia. Cheaper than diesel with no subsidies. Hey, fossil trucks, we're coming for you! https://t.co/IZDbSYdPwJ
pragmacharge.com
Valencia, 16th October 2025 – Under the Electric Trucking-as-a-Service Master Agreement with Transnugon, PragmaCharge has begun the delivery of the first heavy-duty electric trucks. A handover...
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