Power Technology lists ten of the most popular tweets on power in October 2019, based on data from GlobalData’s Influencer Platform.

The top tweets were chosen from influencers as tracked by GlobalData’s Influencer Platform, which is based on a scientific process that works on pre-defined parameters. Influencers are selected after a deep analysis of the influencer’s relevance, network strength, engagement, and leading discussions on new and emerging trends.

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Most popular tweets in power in October 2019: the top ten

1. Bill McKibben’s tweet about PG&E’s plans to shut down its power gird in California

Author and environmentalist, Bill McKibben, tweeted about the plans of Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), a utility company based in the US, to turn off its power grid in California owing to extreme fire risk that can lead to wildfires.

Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS), is the action is undertaken when a combination of weather conditions increase the risk of damage to equipment. This can cause fire incidents requiring electricity services to be turned off in the area. The announcement was met with a lot of criticism as millions of customers would be affected.

Username: Bill McKibben

‏Twitter handle: @billmckibben

Retweets: 3,423

Likes: 7,794

2. Mike Hudema’s tweet about Ikea’s clean energy efforts

Mike Hudema, an environmental activist, shared a video by World Economic Forum. This showed how Swedish furniture retailer IKEA placed one million solar panels on 370 of its stores and warehouses. IKEA also installed 535 wind turbines in Europe and North America.

IKEA also bought stakes in two solar parks in the US and markets solar panels in some of its stores. The steps are part of IKEA’s plans to become climate-positive by 2030 and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. IKEA’s parent company has invested $2.7bn on clean energy efforts over the last ten years. Several other companies including Amazon, Coco-Cola, and Sony are also investing in clean energy projects.

Username: Mike Hudema

Twitter handle: @MikeHudema

Retweets: 1,731

Likes: 5,888

3. Assaad Razzouk’s tweet about Dubai MBR Solar Park

Assaad Razzouk, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Sindicatum Renewable Energy, tweeted about the decline in power generation costs at the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park in Dubai.

The solar park has a total capacity of 2.35GW in five phases. Phase one and two were developed in 2015, phase three in 2016 and phase four in 2018. Phase five is currently under development. The solar power generation cost has reduced by 71% from 5.85c/kWh for phase one to 1.69c/kWh for phase five over the last five years.

Username: Assaad Razzouk

Twitter handle: @AssaadRazzouk

Retweets: 596

Likes: 1,061

4. Simon Evans’s tweet about renewables

Simon Evans, deputy editor at CarbonBrief, tweeted about how rapidly renewables have replaced fossil fuels in UK power generation. Fossil fuels generated ten times the power generated by renewables in 2010, but in 2019 renewables have overtaken fossil fuels.

Windfarms, solar parks, biomass, and hydro plants together generated 29.5 terawatt hours (TWh) of electricity in the third quarter of 2019 in the UK. Fossil fuels generated just 29.1TWh. The rise in renewable electricity generation was attributed partly to the commissioning of new offshore windfarms such as the Hornsea One project and Beatrice offshore windfarm.

Username: Simon Evans

Twitter handle: @DrSimEvans

Retweets: 422

Likes: 823

5. Mark Z. Jacobson’s tweet about increasing adoption of electric cars in Norway

Mark Z. Jacobson, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Stanford University, tweeted about electric cars being adopted in Norway. He shared an article that details the effects of the trend on gas stations.

More than 50% of new cars being purchased in Norway are electric. As electric cars increase in number, gas stations are being closed down or downsized in capacity. Gas stations are replacing gas pumps with electric car charging stations to keep pace with the growing adoption of electric cars in the country.

Username: Mark Z. Jacobson

Twitter handle: @mzjacobson

Retweets: 363

Likes: 879

6. Arik Ring’s tweet about wind energy in Denmark

Arik Ring, a power generation and energy systems consultant, shared a video by World Economic Forum that details Denmark’s clean energy efforts. Denmark is currently producing 40% of its electricity from wind energy. The country moved towards renewables when the oil crisis in the 1970s increased the price of oil by four times.

The video details how more than 90% of the country’s energy came from fossil fuels in the 1960s until the sudden increase in oil prices severely affected the industrial sector. The government then began steps to increase electricity generation from renewable sources. Denmark is now home to the world’s biggest wind farm and produces one-third of the wind power in the world. Denmark is also working on reducing its greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption.

Username: Arik Ring

Twitter handle: @arikring

Retweets: 279

Likes: 317

7. Justin Guay’s tweets about cancellation of coal mine auction in India

Justin Guay, the director of global climate strategy at the Sunrise Project, tweeted about the cancellation of the auction of 21 coal mines in India. This was because the government received very few bids. Each mine requires a minimum of three bids to be qualified for an auction, but the government received less than this.

Poor market sentiment towards coal and changes in policy were considered to be the reasons for the low response. The Indian government is now looking at formulating a new policy to attract foreign direct investment in the coal industry.

Username: Justin Guay

Twitter handle: @Guay_JG

Retweets: 214

Likes: 500

8. Fatih Birol’s tweet about SUVs being major contributor to emissions

Fatih Birol, Executive Director of International Energy Agency, an autonomous inter-governmental organisation, tweeted about how growth of the sport utility vehicle (SUV) market is leading to increase in greenhouse gas emissions.

SUVs currently account for 40% of annual car sales. Their share in the passenger car sales doubled between 2010 and 2018. The growth in sales made SUVs the second biggest contributor to increase in carbon emissions after the power sector. Moreover, growth in the SUV market is expected to increase the global oil demand to two million barrels a day by 2040. This offsets the savings provided by approximately 150 million electric cars.

Username: Fatih Birol

Twitter handle: @IEABirol

Retweets: 243

Likes: 218

9. Peter Gleick’s tweet about water crisis in Vallejo in San Francisco

Peter Gleick, a scientist and innovator, tweeted about the declaration of a water emergency in Vallejo in the San Francisco Bay Area. PG&E ordered a pre-emptive power shut-off due to extreme weather conditions that could damage equipment and cause wildfires. A state of emergency was declared following this action.

The declaration prohibited outdoor water usage and residents were asked to reduce indoor water usage. People began to store water before the blackout, worsening the water crisis.

Username: Peter Gleick

Twitter handle: @PeterGleick

Retweets: 187

Likes: 224

10. Dr Thomas Hillig’s tweet about microgrids

Dr Thomas Hillig, the founder of Dr. Thomas Hillig Energy Consulting (THEnergy), a consulting firm, tweeted about the applications and advantages of microgrids. He shared a video from the World Economic Forum that details how microgrids have helped a German village to become energy self-sufficient.

Microgrids help in distributing the excess power generated from renewable sources between houses. The video mentions that they can also reduce the cost of renewable energy and offset the cost of solar panels. By 2050, half of the households in Europe will produce renewable energy. One third of these households will be part of a microgrid.

Username: Dr Thomas Hillig

Twitter handle: @THEnergyNet

Retweets: 139

Likes: 223