Third Way Energy

Welcome, New Subscribers! If you're joining us from last week's " Why Is No One Building the Software Stack for Energy in Africa ?" post—welcome to the trenches. You caught me at an interesting time. That piece about Africa's energy infrastructure gap clearly struck a nerve (my inbox is still recovering). I see you. You will probably end up wondering why you went from reading about systemic infras...

Three months ago, a factory owner in Nigeria asked me a simple question: "Can agricultural waste really replace my diesel boilers?" The short answer was yes. The long answer required explaining thermochemistry, gasification kinetics, tar cracking, ash fusion temperatures, and why his nephew's "revolutionary" biomass stove design violated the second law of thermodynamics. This is that long answer....

Four weeks ago, I launched this blog with grand ambitions. Document everything. Share all the data. Build in public. Transform the energy sector with radical transparency. Yeah, about that. Turns out writing about energy while doing energy while studying energy is like trying to change a tire while the car's still moving. Possible? Maybe. Advisable? Definitely not. Fun to watch? Absolutely. Here's...

Last week, I showed you the messy reality of solar power generation. The numbers were sobering: 24% capacity factors, wild price swings, and generation that drops 30 MW in seconds. But here's the thing—those were averages from specific locations. What about YOUR city? What about an off-grid project to consider in Senegal? Or that rooftop installation in Cairo? Thanks for reading! Subscribe for fre...

Remember last week when I mentioned that solar panels only work when the sun shines? Well, I lied. Sort of. The truth is much more interesting—and way more complicated. After spending the past week diving into real solar generation data from three different sites, I've discovered that the solar industry has been telling us a convenient half-truth. Yes, solar panels are getting cheaper and more eff...

Let me start with a confession: I'm terrible at making coffee. Not the brewing part (I've got that down to a science). It's the waiting that kills me. Standing there at 6 AM, watching my electric kettle slowly bring water to a boil, knowing that somewhere a power plant is burning something to make my morning ritual possible. Coal? Natural gas? Maybe a wind turbine is spinning somewhere? Who knows....