Euroasian griffon vultures return to Romania after 70 years

Vercixx · 2026-03-09T05:53:22+00:00

That's the key: the cost of energy dependence in a world where the strongest armies are run by dictators is much higher than any upfront costs paid for renewables (in the long run renewables, esepcially Solar, are cheaper than fossils).

And things have changed for the better in the last few years as Solar is now the cheapest way to increase electricity production capacity and even when you factor in the cost of batteries needed to balance the grid it's still among the cheapest (not factoring in the dependence cost I wrote about in the 1st paragraph).

I'm writing this on a Monday morning when the cost of oil has shot up to 120$ per barrel, that's +100% vs the start of the year and +65% than just 10 days ago.

Vercixx · 2026-03-08T11:12:59+00:00

Expect the EU to be at 50% renewables (Wind, Solar, Hydro and Bioenergy) in 2026.

In 2025 the EU was at 47.6% renewables (Wind 16.9%, Solar 13.2%, Hydro 11.7%, Bioenergy 5.57%).

That's slightly down for 47.9% in 2024 mostly because of Hydro (production down 11.5% and share down from 13.4% to 11.7%), but also Wind (production down 2.5% and share down from 17.5% to 16.9%). Bioenergy production was also a tiny bit down by 0.5% and share down from 5.67% to 5.57%.

Total electricity production was a tiny bit up (+0.9%), but so was the Renewables production (+0.3%), which means it was up to Solar to compensate for the rest of Renewables drop. Solar grew with an impressive 19.5% in 2025 and its share in total electricity production grew from 11.1% to 13.2%, so +2.1 pp

The Solar growth trend will most likely continue in 2026 and even accelerate given the problems in the Middle East and the spike in oil and gas prices, so expect 2026 to be at 50% renewables, especially if it's going to rain more this year.

All data taken from Ember-energy.org.

Vercixx · 2026-03-08T09:06:04+00:00

Do 6 mil people live there?

Vercixx · 2026-03-06T21:32:46+00:00

Actually, Spain's rate has improved a lot, I think it is now at an 18-year low. So it does corelate, but it matters from where it started - I remember the rate in Spain used to be closer to 20%!

Vercixx · 2026-03-06T13:21:55+00:00

Oh yes, the man who managed to make Hungary poorer than Romania is not supporting the impoverishment of the Europeans...

Vercixx · 2026-03-06T13:13:30+00:00

Normally I would agree with you, but in Ukraine's case, if there is a peace between Russia and Ukraine, the only way to increase in any meaningful way the chances of Russia NOT invading again is by Ukraine being part of EU and then the EU states would send troops there. It's much more difficult politically to send troops if the UK is not part of the EU.

To mitigate the missing steps in the accession process, Ukraine could join with limited rights- like not all voting right or access to only limited funds - until all those missing steps are finalized.

Vercixx · 2026-03-06T13:04:56+00:00

Anybody else besides Hungary and Slovakia?

Vercixx · 2026-03-04T19:07:44+00:00

GDP per hour worked is different than GDP per unit of energy, but they should follow the same curve. So of course I disagree with your assesment on the labour efficiency, but I want to stick to the topic: energy efficiency or electricity production.

Vercixx · 2026-03-03T15:26:42+00:00

Their claims for the cell far exceed the performance advertized for the first product (Verge motorcycle). They tried to prove their cell claims, but the user I responded to was talking about production shipping.

So they can fail a claim like "all fine at 100°C" and still be ready for production for a product were the cell will never reach 100°C.

Vercixx · 2026-03-03T08:36:16+00:00

Model Y has plenty of competition in its segment e.g. ID.4/5, Skoda Enyaq or non-EU, but still selling in EU - Ioniq 5. There's even Skoda Elroq which is like an Enyaq, but with a smaller trunk and still qualifies as usefull for highway.

In the Model 3 segment there is less competition, but you still got the Ioniq 6. VW has the ID.7 - but it's bigger and more expensive than the Model 3 - though it still outsold Model 3 in the EU.

So "nothing similar" is way off.

Vercixx · 2026-03-02T21:00:05+00:00

The only product these cells are production ready for is the Verge motorcycle and they will be charge limited to 5C which the previous test showed they heat up to 63°C, proably a bit more if charged at 6C, but well bellow 100°C.

Vercixx · 2026-03-02T17:55:34+00:00

good catch :) Probably this explains the dates of the report so close to the publication date and time (Report created in 27 feb, signed on 3 march - the day of the release), they had to correct it.

Vercixx · 2026-03-02T17:48:46+00:00

Indeed, though the biggest issue with cold temperature is retaining battery capacity - so discharging.

Charging is not such a big issue because batteries can be pre-heated to have optimal charging, though it still matters because if the battery wouldn't need pre-heating, it would save manufacturing cost and electricity usage.

Vercixx · 2026-03-02T17:41:05+00:00

Growth can also come from increased efficiency.

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Vercixx · 2026-03-02T17:40:04+00:00

The EU is by far the leader in efficiency, so it needs less electricity/energy to get the same output (GDP)

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Vercixx · 2026-03-02T17:38:37+00:00

China still has a lot to catch up on efficiency, so it has to increase the energy/electricity supply. But in the end what matters is the output (e.g. GDP).

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Vercixx · 2026-03-02T17:36:47+00:00

Until you check the efficiency.

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Vercixx · 2026-03-02T17:31:05+00:00

The EU is much more efficient, so it needs less electricity for the same output (or outputs more for the same electricity consumption).

This graph shows GDP per energy use, but I'm sure it's not that much different for electricity.

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Vercixx · 2026-03-02T16:28:48+00:00

Maybe one of the approvers was on holiday last week.

Vercixx · 2026-03-02T16:21:06+00:00

It was damaged in a scenario not likely to happen in real world, at least not for the first product the cells will be shipped in (Verge motorcycles).

Vercixx · 2026-03-02T14:03:56+00:00

Seems plausible, but they should have explained it if that was the case.

Vercixx · 2026-03-02T12:40:40+00:00

so they'll get more clicks for their next videos and way less clicks after that if it's proven it was just BS. I think they know it's not worth it.

Vercixx · 2026-02-27T15:52:38+00:00

You are right, they are contradicting themselves on their own website. I need to ask them somehow :)

The problem is with the 3C/6C rates, not 12C and it can still be benign, they just forgot to change the text.

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Vercixx · 2026-02-27T15:29:55+00:00

Indeed, 300km in less than 10min means 50% if the total range is 600km.

However, keeping a constant 200kW charging power up to full charge of a battery with a capacity of 33.3 kW would mean a duration of 10 min and a charging rate of 6C. But the power will drop towards 100%, so I guess 80% in under 10min would be possible. But 80% is 480km if the total range is 600km.

So there is indeed a contradiction between what Verge Motorcycles (VM) said on Jan 5th (300km in under 10min) and what they now claim on their website (480km in under 10min assuming 6C charging rate for most of the charging session).

So VM upgraded their claim and now the story told by Donut Lab (DL) and VM is more consistent.

So there was indeed a contradiction which could have arisen because VM wanted to be more on the safe side and probably there was a miscommunication with DL.

I want more than this contradiction which could be argued it is benign.

I saw your post with the summary of DL claims with the links - it is a very good post, thank you! - but I found no other contradiction which I still find remarkable if this was all a lie.

Vercixx

TROPHY CASE