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Allen delivers the 2025 state of the wind industry. For the first time, wind and solar produced more electricity than coal worldwide. The US added 36% more wind capacity than last year, Australia’s market hit $2 billion, and China extended its 25-year streak of double-digit growth. But 2025 also brought challenges: the Trump administration froze offshore wind projects, Britain paid billions to curtail turbines, and global wind growth hit its lowest rate in two decades. Sign up now for Uptime Tech News, our weekly email update on all things wind technology. This episode is sponsored by Weather Guard Lightning Tech. Learn more about Weather Guard’s StrikeTape Wind Turbine LPS retrofit. Follow the show on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Linkedin and visit Weather Guard on the web. And subscribe to Rosemary Barnes’ YouTube channel here. Have a question we can answer on the show? Email us! Allen Hall: 2025, the year the wind industry will never forget. Let me tell you about a year of records and reversals of triumphs and a bunch of turbulence. First, the good news. Renewable energy has done something historic for the first time ever. Wind and solar produce more electricity than coal worldwide. The energy think tank embers as global electricity. Demand grew 2.6% in the first half of the year. Solar generation jumped by 31%, wind rose nearly 8%. Together they covered 83% of all new demand. Coal share of global electricity fell to 33.1%. Renewables rose to 34.3. A [00:01:00]pivotal moment they called it. And in the United States, turbines kept turning wood. McKinsey and the American Clean Power Association report America will add more than seven gigawatts of wind this year. That is 36% more than last year in the five year outlook. 46 gigawatts of new capacity through 2029. Even Arkansas by its first utility scale wind project online through Cordio crossover Wind, the powering market remains strong. 18 projects will drive 2.5 gigawatts of capacity additions over the next three years. And down under the story is equally bright. Australia’s wind energy market reached $2 billion in 2024 by. 2033 is expected to reach $6.7 billion a growth rate of nearly 15% per year. In July, Australian regulators streamlined permitting for wind farms, and in September remote mining operations signed [00:02:00] long-term wind power agreements while the world was building. China was dominating when power output in China is on track for more than 10% growth for the 25th year in a row. That’s right, 25 years in a row. China now accounts for more than 41% of all global wind power production a record. And China’s wind component exports up more than 20%. This year, over $4 billion shipped mainly to Europe and Asia, but 2025 was not smooth sailing, as we all know. In fact, global wind generation is on track for its smallest growth rate in more than 20 years. Four straight months of year over year. Declines in Europe, five months of declines in North America and even Asia registered rare drops in September and October. The policy wind shifted too in the United States. The Trump administration froze offshore wind project work in the Atlantic. The interior [00:03:00] Department directed five large scale projects off the East Coast to suspend activities for at least 90 days. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management cited classified national security information. That’s right. Classified information. Sure. Kirk Lippold, the former commander of the USS Coal. Ask the question on everyone’s mind. What has changed in the threat environment? Through his knowledge, nothing. Democratic. Governors of Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and New York issued a joint statement. They called the pause, a lump of dirty coal for the holiday season, for American workers, for consumers, for investors. Meanwhile, in Britain, another kind of problem emerged the cost of turning off wind farms when the grid cannot cope, hit 1.5 billion pounds. This year, octopus Energy, Britain’s biggest household supplier is tracking it payments to Wind farms to switch off 380 [00:04:00]million pounds. The cost of replacing that wasted power with. Gas 1.08 billion pounds. Sam Richards of Britain remade called it a catastrophic failure of the energy system. Households are paying the price. He said, we are throwing away British generated electricity and firing up expensive gas plants instead. In Europe, the string of dismal wind power auctions also continued some in Germany and Denmark received no bids at all. Key developers pushed for faster permitting and better auction terms. Orsted and Vestas led the charge. And in Japan soaring cost estimates cause Mitsubishi to pull out of three offshore projects. Projects that were slated to start operations by 2030. Gone. The Danish shore Adapting Ted, the world’s largest offshore wind developer sold a 55% stake in its greater Chiang two offshore Wind Farm in Taiwan. The Buyer [00:05:00] Life Insurance Company Cafe, the price around $789 million. With that deal, Ted has signed divestments, totaling 33 billion Danish crowns during 2025. The company is trying to restore investor confidence amid rising costs, supply chain disruptions, and uncertainty from American policy shifts. Meanwhile, the International Energy Agency is sounding the alarm director, Fadi Beal says Solar will account for 80% of renewable capacity growth through the end of the decade. And that sounds about right. So it’s got a bunch of catch up to do, but policymakers need to pay close attention. Supply chain, security grid integration challenges and the rapid rise of renewables is putting increasing pressure on electricity systems worldwide. Curtailment and negative price events are appearing in more markets, and the agency is calling for urgent [00:06:00] investments in grid energy storage and flexible generation. And what about those tariffs? We keep reading about wood McKenzie projects. Tariffs will drive up American turbine costs in 2026 in total US onshore wind capital expenditure is projected to increase 5% through 2029. US wind turbine pricing is experiencing obviously unprecedented uncertainty. Domestic manufacturing over capacity would normally push down prices, but tariff exposure on raw materials is pushing them up. And that’s by design of course. So where does this leave us? The numbers tell the story. Renewables overtook Coal. America will install 36% more turbines. This year, Australia’s market is booming. China continues. Its 25 year streak of double digit growth, but wind generation growth worldwide is at its lowest in two decades. And policy reversals in America have stalled. [00:07:00] Offshore development and Britain is paying billions to turn off turbines because the grid cannot handle the power. Europe’s auctions are struggling and Japan’s developers are pulling back and yet. The turbines keep turning. You see, wind energy has had good years and bad years, but 20 25, 20 25 may be one of the worst. The toxic Stew Reuters called it major policy reversals, corporate upheaval, subpar generation in key markets, and yet the industry sees reasons to expect improvement changes to auction incentives, supply chain adjustments, growing demand for power from all sources. The sheer scale of China’s expansion means global wind production will likely keep hitting new highs, even if growth grinds to a halt in America, even if it stays weak. In Europe, 2025 was a year of records and reversals. The thing to remember through all of this [00:08:00] is wind power is low cost power. It is not a nascent industry. And it is time to deliver more electricity, more consistency. Everyone within the sound of my voice is making a difference. Keep it up. You are changing the future for the better. 2025 was a rough year and I’m looking forward to 2026 and that’s the state of the wind industry for December 29th, 2025. Have a great new year.
The International Energy Agency's new World Energy Outlook 2025 has a major shift in how the agency is framing the future of global energy. It's going back to basics and once again providing an outlook based solely on policies already on the books today.
This week we talk about energy consumption, pollution, and bipartisan issues.We also discuss local politics, data center costs, and the Magnificent 7 tech companies.Recommended Book: Against the Machine by Paul KingsnorthTranscriptIn 2024, the International Energy Agency estimated that data centers consumed about 1.5% of all electricity generated, globally, that year. It went on to project that energy consumption by data centers could double by 2030, though other estimates are higher, due to the ballooning of investment in AI-focused data centers by some of the world's largest tech companies.There are all sorts of data centers that serve all kinds of purposes, and they've been around since the mid-20th century, since the development of general purposes digital computers, like the 1945 Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer, or ENIAC, which was programmable and reprogrammable, and used to study, among other things, the feasibility of thermonuclear weapons.ENIAC was built on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania and cost just shy of $500,000, which in today's money would be around $7 million. It was able to do calculators about a thousand times faster than other, electro-mechanical calculators that were available at the time, and was thus considered to be a pretty big deal, making some types of calculation that were previously not feasible, not only feasible, but casually accomplishable.This general model of building big-old computers at a center location was the way of things, on a practical level, until the dawn of personal computers in the 1980s. The mainframe-terminal setup that dominated until then necessitated that the huge, cumbersome computing hardware was all located in a big room somewhere, and then the terminal devices were points of access that allowed people to tap into those centralized resources.Microcomputers of the sort of a person might have in their home changed that dynamic, but the dawn of the internet reintroduced something similar, allowing folks to have a computer at home or at their desk, which has its own resources, but to then tap into other microcomputers, and to still other larger, more powerful computers across internet connections. Going on the web and visiting a website is basically just that: connecting to another computer somewhere, that distant device storing the website data on its hard drive and sending the results to your probably less-powerful device, at home or work.In the late-90s and early 2000s, this dynamic evolved still further, those far-off machines doing more and more heavy-lifting to create more and more sophisticated online experiences. This manifested as websites that were malleable and editable by the end-user—part of the so-called Web 2.0 experience, which allowed for comments and chat rooms and the uploading of images to those sites, based at those far off machines—and then as streaming video and music, and proto-versions of social networks became a thing, these channels connecting personal devices to more powerful, far-off devices needed more bandwidth, because more and more work was being done by those powerful, centrally located computers, so that the results could be distributed via the internet to all those personal computers and, increasingly, other devices like phones and tablets.Modern data centers do a lot of the same work as those earlier iterations, though increasingly they do a whole lot more heavy-lifting labor, as well. They've got hardware capable of, for instance, playing the most high-end video games at the highest settings, and then sending, frame by frame, the output of said video games to a weaker device, someone's phone or comparably low-end computer, at home, allowing the user of those weaker devices to play those games, their keyboard or controller inputs sent to the data center fast enough that they can control what's happening and see the result on their own screen in less than the blink of an eye.This is also what allows folks to store backups on cloud servers, big hard drives located in such facilities, and it's what allows the current AI boom to function—all the expensive computers and their high-end chips located at enormous data centers with sophisticated cooling systems and high-throughput cables that allow folks around the world to tap into their AI models, interact with them, have them do heavy-lifting for them, and then those computers at these data centers send all that information back out into the world, to their devices, even if those devices are underpowered and could never do that same kind of work on their own.What I'd like to talk about today are data centers, the enormous boom in their construction, and how these things are becoming a surprise hot button political issue pretty much everywhere.—As of early 2024, the US was host to nearly 5,400 data centers sprawled across the country. That's more than any other nation, and that number is growing quickly as those aforementioned enormous tech companies, including the Magnificent 7 tech companies, Nvidia, Apple, Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon, Meta, and Tesla, which have a combined market cap of about $21.7 trillion as of mid-December 2025, which is about two-thirds of the US's total GDP for the year, and which is more than the European Union's total GDP, which weighs in at around $19.4 trillion, as of October 2025—as they splurge on more and more of them.These aren't the only companies building data centers at breakneck speed—there are quite a few competitors in China doing the same, for instance—but they're putting up the lion's share of resources for this sort of infrastructure right now, in part because they anticipate a whole lot of near-future demand for AI services, and those services require just a silly amount of processing power, which itself requires a silly amount of monetary investment and electricity, but also because, first, there aren't a lot of moats, meaning protective, defensive assets in this industry, as is evidenced by their continual leapfrogging of each other, and the notion that a lot of what they're doing, today, will probably become commodity services in not too long, rather than high-end services people and businesses will be inclined to pay big money for, and second, because there's a suspicion, held by many in this industry, that there's an AI shake-out coming, a bubble pop or bare-minimum a release of air from that bubble, which will probably kill off a huge chunk of the industry, leaving just the largest, too-big-to-fail players still intact, who can then gobble up the rest of the dying industry at a discount.Those who have the infrastructure, who have invested the huge sums of money to build these data centers, basically, will be in a prime position to survive that extinction-level event, in other words. So they're all scrambling to erect these things as quickly as possible, lest they be left behind.That construction, though, is easier said than done.The highest-end chips account for around 70-80% of a modern data center's cost, as these GPUs, graphical processing units that are optimized for AI purposes, like Nvidia's Blackwell chips, can cost tens of thousands of dollars apiece, and millions of dollars per rack. There are a lot of racks of such chips in these data centers, and the total cost of a large-scale AI-optimized data center is often somewhere between $35 and $60 billion.A recent estimate by McKinsey suggests that by 2030, data center investment will need to be around $6.7 trillion a year just to keep up the pace and meet demand for compute power. That's demand from these tech companies, I should say—there's a big debate about where there's sufficient demand from consumers of AI products, and whether these tech companies are trying to create such demand from whole cloth, to justify heightened valuations, and thus to continue goosing their market caps, which in turn enriches those at the top of these companies.That said, it's a fair bet that for at least a few more years this influx in investment will continue, and that means pumping out more of these data centers.But building these sorts of facilities isn't just expensive, it's also regulatorily complex. There are smaller facilities, akin to ENIAC's campus location, back in the day, but a lot of them—because of the economies of scale inherent in building a lot of this stuff all at once, all in the same place—are enormous, a single data center facility covering thousands of acres and consuming a whole lot of power to keep all of those computers with their high-end chips running 24/7.Previous data centers from the pre-AI era tended to consume in the neighborhood of 30MW of energy, but the baseline now is closer to 200MW. The largest contemporary data centers consume 1GW of electricity, which is about the size of a small city's power grid—that's a city of maybe 500,000-750,000 people, though of course climate, industry, and other variables determine the exact energy requirements of a city—and they're expected to just get larger and more resource-intensive from here.This has resulted in panic and pullbacks in some areas. In Dublin, for instance, the government has stopped issuing new grid connections for data centers until 2028, as it's estimated that data centers will account for 28% of Ireland's power use by 2031, already.Some of these big tech companies have read the writing on the wall, and are either making deals to reactivate aging power plants—nuclear, gas, coal, whatever they can get—or are saying they'll build new ones to offset the impact on the local power grid.And that impact can be significant. In addition to the health and pollution issues caused by some of the sites—in Memphis, for instance, where Elon Musk's company, xAI, built a huge data center to help power his AI chatbot, Grok, the company is operating 35 unpermitted gas turbines, which it says are temporary, but which have been exacerbating locals' health issues and particulate numbers—in addition to those issues, energy prices across the US are up 6.9% year over year as of December 2025, which is much higher than overall inflation. Those costs are expected to increase still further as data centers claim more of the finite energy available on these grids, which in turn means less available for everyone else, and that scarcity, because of supply and demand, increases the cost of that remaining energy.As a consequence of these issues, and what's broadly being seen as casual overstepping of laws and regulations by these companies, which often funnel a lot of money to local politicians to help smooth the path for their construction ambitions, there are bipartisan efforts around the world to halt construction on these things, locals saying the claimed benefits, like jobs, don't actually make sense—as construction jobs will be temporary, and the data centers themselves don't require many human maintainers or operators, and because they consume all that energy, in some cases might consume a bunch of water—possibly not as much as other grand-scale developments, like golf courses, but still—and they tend to generate a bunch of low-level, at times harmful background noise, can create a bunch of local pollution, and in general take up a bunch of space without giving any real benefit to the locals.Interestingly, this is one of the few truly bipartisan issues that seems to be persisting in the United States, at a moment in which it's often difficult to find things Republicans and Democrats can agree on, and that's seemingly because it's not just a ‘big companies led by untouchable rich people stomping around in often poorer communities and taking what they want' sort of issue, it's also an affordability issue, because the installation of these things seems to already be pushing prices higher—when the price of energy goes up, the price of just about everything goes up—and it seems likely to push prices even higher in the coming years.We'll see to what degree this influences politics and platforms moving forward, but some local politicians in particular are already making hay by using antagonism toward the construction of new data centers a part of their policy and campaign promises, and considering the speed at which these things are being constructed, and the slow build of resistance toward them, it's also an issue that could persist through the US congressional election in 2026, to the subsequent presidential election in 2028.Show Noteshttps://www.wired.com/story/opposed-to-data-centers-the-working-families-party-wants-you-to-run-for-office/https://finance.yahoo.com/news/without-data-centers-gdp-growth-171546326.htmlhttps://time.com/7308925/elon-musk-memphis-ai-data-center/https://wreg.com/news/new-details-on-152m-data-center-planned-in-memphis/https://www.politico.com/news/2025/05/06/elon-musk-xai-memphis-gas-turbines-air-pollution-permits-00317582https://www.datacenterwatch.org/reporthttps://www.govtech.com/products/kent-county-mich-cancels-data-center-meeting-due-to-crowdhttps://www.woodtv.com/news/kent-county/gaines-township-planning-commission-to-hold-hearing-on-data-center-rezoning/https://www.theverge.com/science/841169/ai-data-center-oppositionhttps://www.iea.org/reports/energy-and-ai/energy-demand-from-aihttps://www.cbre.com/insights/reports/global-data-center-trends-2025https://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/news/chandler-city-council-unanimously-kills-sinema-backed-data-center-40628102/https://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/2025/11/rural-michigan-fights-back-how-riled-up-residents-are-challenging-big-tech-data-centers.html?outputType=amphttps://www.courthousenews.com/nonprofit-sues-to-block-165-billion-openai-data-center-in-rural-new-mexico/https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/microsoft-cancels-plans-for-data-center-caledonia-wisconsin/https://www.cnbc.com/2025/11/25/microsoft-ai-data-center-rejection-vs-support.htmlhttps://www.wpr.org/news/microsoft-caledonia-data-center-site-ozaukee-countyhttps://thehill.com/opinion/robbys-radar/5655111-bernie-sanders-data-center-moratorium/https://www.investopedia.com/magnificent-seven-stocks-8402262https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/technology-media-and-telecommunications/our-insights/the-cost-of-compute-a-7-trillion-dollar-race-to-scale-data-centershttps://www.mckinsey.com/industries/technology-media-and-telecommunications/our-insights/ai-power-expanding-data-center-capacity-to-meet-growing-demandhttps://www.marketplace.org/story/2025/12/19/are-energyhungry-data-centers-causing-electric-bills-to-go-uphttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Data_centerhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ENIAC This is a public episode. 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A whole mess of AI generated shownotes. Enjoy! 00:25 – Christmas in Hong Kong, KFC in JapanJoel (Jack the Insider) opens Episode 138 and checks in with Jack (Hong Kong Jack) about Hong Kong's love of Christmas shopping, surreal mall installations and the absence of nativity scenes, before detouring to Japan's KFC-at-Christmas tradition.01:50 – Australia's world‑first social media ban for under‑16sThe Jacks unpack the new national ban on social media for under‑16s, the generational politics of Gen Alpha kids and millennial parents, and the “pick up a book, go for a bike ride” messaging from Anthony Albanese and Julie Inman Grant.They read out Vox pops about kids discovering life without apps, YouTube‑driven body image issues, and the early scramble to alternative chat and file‑sharing apps like LemonAid.05:35 – Social engineering, High Court challenge and mental health concernsThey describe the policy as a conscious piece of social engineering aimed at reshaping youth culture over a decade, and note the High Court challenge led by the Digital Freedom Movement and Libertarian MLC John Ruddick.Beyond Blue, Headspace, ReachOut and the Black Dog Institute warn about cutting off access to online mental‑health support, as the Jacks weigh the internet's harms against the value of peer support communities for young people.09:35 – Enforcement gaps, workarounds and parental resistanceThe Jacks discuss uneven implementation, with some under‑16s apparently still able to access Facebook and Instagram while other apps are wiped, and a rush into less‑regulated platforms.They note reports that up to a third of parents will quietly help kids stay online and float the idea of a nationwide “kitchen‑table” style forum to help parents understand the risks and responsibilities around kids' social media use.12:00 – A social experiment the world is watchingThey canvas overseas interest, with Denmark, Spain and others eyeing bans at 15 rather than 16, and Sarah Ferguson's description of Australia's move as a live “social experiment” whose results are very much unknown.13:05 – Richo's state funeral and the dark arts of NSW Labor RightThe conversation turns to Graham “Richo” Richardson's state funeral, his reputation as Labor's master organiser and electoral numbers man, and his long life “on the public purse”.Joel recounts Richo's link to Balmain Welding and Stan “Standover” Smith, arguing that New South Wales Labor Right's success always had a darker underbelly.15:10 – Paul Brereton, the NACC and conflicts of interestThey examine National Anti‑Corruption Commission boss Paul Brereton's updated disclosures about his ongoing work with the Inspector‑General of the ADF and Afghanistan war‑crimes inquiries, revealed via FOI.The Jacks question whether someone so intertwined with Defence can credibly oversee corruption matters touching Defence acquisitions, and whether carving out whole domains from his remit makes his appointment untenable.18:25 – A quiet NACC, no perp walks and media theatreThe Jacks note how quietly the NACC has operated in Canberra—“blink and you'd miss them”—with none of the televised “perp walks” beloved of New South Wales ICAC coverage.Jack welcomes the absence of media spectacle; Joel admits to missing the grimace‑through‑the‑cameras moment as accused figures run the gauntlet.19:50 – Victorian youth vote turns on LaborNew polling of 18–34‑year‑olds in Victoria shows Labor's vote down 11 points to 28 per cent and the Coalition's up 17 points to 37 per cent, with the Greens steady at 20 per cent.The Jacks argue the Victorian Labor government looks to be in terminal decline, discuss leadership options for Jacinta Allan, and canvass how quickly preference “cascades” can flip a long‑term government once momentum turns.22:15 – Green exports vs coal, Treasury modelling under fireThey dissect Treasury modelling which suggests “green exports” (critical minerals, rare earths, battery inputs) will surpass coal and gas within a decade, and note scepticism from former Treasury official and now CBA chief economist Stephen Yeaman.The Jacks highlight International Energy Agency updates showing coal demand in key markets staying high, and the reality that renewables growth is largely meeting new demand rather than cutting deeply into existing coal and gas use.25:05 – Coal to 2049 and the reality of the gridJack points to Australian market operator projections that coal will remain in the domestic mix until at least 2049, while Joel questions which ageing coal plants will physically survive that long without new builds.They agree modelling must continually be revised against actual demand profiles in China, India, Indonesia and elsewhere, where coal still supplies half or more of electricity.27:20 – 30‑year suppression orders and transparencyThe Jacks shift to a 30‑year suppression order over evidence behind Tanya Plibersek's decision to block a $1 billion coal mine until 2055, and more broadly the proliferation of long‑term suppression orders in Australia.They criticise the over‑use of secrecy in both environmental and criminal matters, arguing it breeds suspicion that justice and accountability can be bought by the wealthy.28:25 – The “prominent family” sexual assault case in VictoriaWithout naming the individual, they discuss a Victorian case involving the convicted son of a prominent family whose identity remains suppressed even after guilty findings for serious sexual offences.They worry that blanket suppression encourages rumour, misidentification and a sense that powerful people get special treatment, even when protection of victims is a legitimate concern.30:05 – From undercover cop to gangland wars: how secrecy backfiresJoel revisits an NSW example where an undercover police officer's drink‑driving conviction was suppressed for 55 years, and Melbourne gangland cases where key cooperating witnesses remained pseudonymous for decades.The Jacks argue that when authorities create information vacuums, gossip and conspiracy inevitably rush in to fill the space.33:50 – MP expenses, family reunion travel and Annika Wells' bad day outThey turn to MPs' entitlements and “family reunion” travel: Annika Wells' ski‑trip optics and poor press conference performance, Don Farrell's extensive family travel, and Sarah Hanson‑Young's $50,000 in family travel for her lobbyist husband.While acknowledging how hard federal life is—especially for WA MPs—they question where legitimate family support ends and taxpayer‑funded lifestyle begins.37:05 – Why family reunion perks exist (and how they're abused)The Jacks recall the tragic case of Labor MP Greg Wilton as a driver for more generous family travel rules, given the emotional cost of long separations.They conclude the system is necessary but ripe for exploitation, and note the Coalition's relatively muted response given its own exposure to the same rules.39:15 – Diplomatic drinks trolleys: London, New York and the UNJoel notes Stephen Smith's stint as High Commissioner in London—the “ultimate drinks trolley” of Australian diplomacy—and his replacement by former SA Premier Jay Weatherill.Jack mentions Smith's reputation for being stingy with hospitality at Australia House, in contrast to the traditionally lavish networking role of London and New York postings.40:40 – Barnaby Joyce joins One NationThe big domestic political move: Barnaby Joyce's shift from the Nationals to One Nation, including his steak‑on‑a‑sandwich‑press dinner with Pauline Hanson.The Jacks canvass whether Joyce runs again in New England or heads for the Senate, and the anger among New England voters who may feel abandoned.42:25 – One Nation's growth, branch‑building and Pauline's futureThey dig into polling from Cos Samaras suggesting 39 per cent of Coalition voters say they'd be more likely to vote One Nation if Joyce led the party, and the risk of the Coalition following the UK Tories into long‑term decline.The Jacks note One Nation's organisational maturation—building actual branches and volunteer networks in NSW and Queensland—and wonder whether Pauline Hanson herself now caps the party's potential.45:20 – Kemi Badenoch, a revived UK Conservative Party and Reform's ceilingAttention swings to the UK, with fresh polling showing Labour slumping to the high teens, the Conservatives recovering into the high teens/low 20s, and Reform polling in the mid‑20s to low‑30s depending on the firm.They credit new Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch for lifting morale by dominating Keir Starmer at the despatch box, but caution that Reform's rise may still be more protest than durable realignment.49:45 – Fragmenting party systems in Europe and the UKDrawing on Michael Gove's comments, the Jacks sketch the new “four‑party” pattern across Europe—radical left/Green, social democratic, Christian Democrat centre‑right, and populist right—and argue the UK is slowly following suit.They suggest both Labour and the Conservatives can no longer comfortably absorb all votes on their respective sides of politics, with Reform and Greens carving out durable niches.53:05 – US seizes a Venezuelan tanker, Trump calls it the “biggest ever”The Jacks look at the US Coast Guard's seizure of a sanctioned Venezuelan oil tanker accused of moving Venezuelan and Iranian oil in support of foreign terrorist groups.Joel notes Trump's boast that it's “the largest tanker ever seized”, while quoting Pam Bondi's more sober explanation of the sanctions basis.54:45 – Five years of social media to enter the US?They examine a Trump‑era proposal to require even visa‑waiver travellers to provide five years of social media history before entering the United States.The Jacks question the logistical feasibility, highlight the trend of travellers using “burner phones” for US trips, and argue measures like this would severely damage American tourism.57:10 – SCOTUS, independent agencies and presidential powerThe Jacks discuss a pending US Supreme Court case about whether presidents can hire and fire the heads of independent agencies at will, with even liberal justices expressing sympathy for expansive executive authority.They link this to a broader global question: how much power should be handed from elected ministers to expert regulators, and how hard it is to claw that power back once delegated.01:00:25 – Trump's national security strategy and an abandoned EuropeThey turn to the Trump administration's new national security strategy framing Europe as both security dependent and economic competitor, and signalling an end to automatic US security guarantees.The Jacks describe openly hostile rhetoric from Trump figures like J.D. Vance and Marco Rubio towards Europe, and portray it as part of a broader American drift into isolationism as China and Russia advance.01:02:20 – Europe rearms: Germany, Poland and conscription talkThe conversation moves to European responses: big defence spending increases in Poland and Germany, and German plans to assess 18‑year‑olds for potential limited conscription.Joel argues Europe may need to build its own strategic table rather than rely on a fickle US ally, while Jack stresses serious military capability is the price of a genuine seat at any table.01:03:50 – Biden, the border and a blown political callThe Jacks examine a New York Times reconstruction of how the Biden administration mishandled southern border migration, from 75,000 encounters in January 2021 to 169,000 by March.They say Biden officials badly underestimated both the scale of migration and the law‑and‑order backlash, including resentment from migrants who followed legal pathways.01:07:05 – Migration then and now: Ellis Island vs the Rio GrandeJack recounts Ellis Island's history: the small but real share of arrivals turned back at ship‑owners' expense, and how many migrants later returned home despite being admitted.They contrast a heavily regulated, ship‑based 19th‑century system with today's chaotic mix of asylum flows, cartels and porous borders, and argue that simple “open borders” rhetoric ignores complex trade‑offs.01:09:55 – Americans know their ancestry, and that shapes the debateJoel notes how many Americans can precisely trace family arrival via Ellis Island, unlike many Australians who have fuzzier family histories.He suggests this deep personal connection to immigration history partly explains the emotional intensity around contemporary migration and ICE enforcement.01:10:30 – Ashes 2–0: Neeser's five‑for and Lyon's omissionSport time: Australia go 2–0 up in the Ashes with an eight‑wicket win at the Gabba.The big call is leaving Nathan Lyon out for Michael Neser; the Jacks weigh Nesser's match‑turning 5/42 and clever use of Alex Carey standing up to the stumps against the loss of a front‑line spinner over key periods.01:11:55 – Basball meets Australian conditionsThey discuss the limits of “Bazball” in Australia, praising Stokes and Will Jacks' rearguard while noting most English batters failed to adapt tempo to match situation.Jack cites past blueprints for winning in Australia—long, draining innings from Alastair Cook, Cheteshwar Pujara and Rahul Dravid—that hinge on time at the crease rather than constant aggression.01:15:05 – Keepers compared: Alex Carey vs England's glovesJoel hails Carey's performance as possibly the best keeping he's seen from an Australian in a single Test, including brilliant work standing up to the seamers and a running catch over Marnus Labuschagne.They contrast this with England's struggling keeper, question whether Ben Foakes should have been summoned, and note Carey's age probably rules him out as a future Test captain despite his leadership qualities.01:17:05 – England's bowling woes and Jofra Archer's limitsThe English attack looks potent in short bursts, especially Jofra Archer and Mark Wood, but lacks the endurance to bowl long, hostile spells over a five‑day Test in Australian conditions.Archer hasn't bowled more than 10 overs in an international match for over two years, and the Jacks argue that's showing late in games as speeds drop and discipline wanes.01:25:45 – World Cup 2026: Trump's “peace medal”, Craig Foster's critiqueSwitching codes to football, they note FIFA awarding Donald Trump a “peace” medal ahead of the 2026 World Cup and his delight in placing it on himself.Craig Foster attacks world football for embracing a US president he accuses of human‑rights abuses, prompting the Jacks to point out FIFA's recent World Cups in Russia and Qatar hardly make it a moral authority.01:27:20 – Seattle's Pride match… Iran vs EgyptJack tells the story of Seattle's local government declaring its allocated World Cup game a Pride match, only to discover the fixture will be Iran vs Egypt—two teams whose governments are unlikely to embrace that framing.01:27:55 – Stadiums in the desert and the cost of spectacleJoel reflects on vast, underused stadiums in the Gulf built for the World Cup and now often almost empty, using a low‑attendance cricket game in Abu Dhabi as an example of mega‑event over‑build.01:29:05 – Wrapping up and previewing the final show of 2025The Jacks close Episode 138 by flagging one more episode before Christmas, thanking listeners for feedback—especially stories around the social media ban—and promising to return with more politics, law and sport next week.a
The International Energy Agency says we'll burn through a record 8.85 billion tonnes of coal in 2025, the first overall increase in fifteen years. We hear from Ro Dhawan, at the International Council on Mining and Metals about a path towards using more clean energy. Plus, the price of oil is up after US threats of a blockade on sanctioned Venezeulan tankers. And could Amazon be getting a big order for its computer chips?You can contact us on WhatsApp or send us a voicenote: +44 330 678 3033.Presenter: Leanna Byrne Producer: Victoriya Holland Editor: Justin Bones
Investment in clean energy technologies is on course to hit a record $2.2 trillion this year, according to the International Energy Agency. That's more than twice the amount invested in fossil fuels. But 2025 also brought lots of geopolitical, economic, and political uncertainty to clean technology investing. Waning enthusiasm for climate action in some governments and intensifying trade wars have created more risk for many investors. So how much are these policy shifts impacting climate investment strategies? How have investors in the United States reacted to the roll-back of some key incentives in the Inflation Reduction Act? What technologies are most promising? And where is the climate investing landscape headed in the next decade? This week, Jason Bordoff talks to Emmanuel Lagarrigue about the state of renewables and clean tech investing. Emmanuel is a partner and the global co-head of KKR's climate transition strategy. Before that, he was a founding partner of BeyondNetZero, a General Atlantic fund focusing on decarbonization technologies. Emmanuel spent the first two decades of his career at Schneider Electric, where he held a number of leadership roles. He is also an advisory board member here at the Center on Global Energy Policy. Credits: Hosted by Jason Bordoff and Bill Loveless. Produced by Mary Catherine O'Connor, Caroline Pitman, and Kyu Lee. Engineering by Gregory Vilfranc.
4:20 pm: Dean Clancy, Senior Health Policy Fellow at Americans for Prosperity, joins Rod and Greg to discuss his piece in the Washington Examiner about how President Trump has put Democrats on the spot with his new Health Savings Account plan.4:38 pm: Chris Jacobs, Founder and CEO of the Juniper Research Group and a contributor to The Federalist, joins the show to discuss his piece about how the middle class can't keep up with inflation.6:05 pm: Kevin Killough, Energy Reporter for Just the News, joins the program for a conversation about how the International Energy Agency has listened to U.S. threats to stop funding the agency and is no longer basing its forecasts of future oil demand on net-zero emissions scenarios.6:38 pm: Sean Mahoney, Executive Director of the Space Frontier Foundation, joins Rod and Greg for a conversation about today's confirmation hearing for Jason Isaacman, President Trump's nominee to lead NASA.
The European Union has reached a deal to phase out Russian gas faster than originally planned — a move aimed at finally severing ties between the bloc and its once-primary energy supplier. The head of the International Energy Agency, Fatih Birol, joined Stephen Carroll on Bloomberg Radio in Brussels to discuss the deal, as well as the broader issue of energy security in the regionSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
To be a climate scientist means to live with a dour outlook. The news is never good. We're always at a tipping point beyond which irreversible damage to the planet will result. Humanity may die out. Therefore, it was cheering to find some good news in the International Energy Agency's (IEA) World Outlook 2025, albeit […]
REVIEW Michael Bernstam of the Hoover Institution analyzes the impact of sanctions on Russia, whose economy is hurt by cheap oil prices. The International Energy Agency forecasts a significant oil glut of 2 to 4 million barrels per day surplus in 2025 and 2026. This, along with US deregulation, means cheaper oil, potentially causing Russia to stumble into a deep recession. Guest: MichaelBernstam.
Around the globe, and here in the United States, energy markets face huge uncertainties. They include everything from rising geopolitical tensions to a wave of new liquefied natural gas supply, and from concentrated critical mineral supply chains to growing demand for electricity. These uncertainties are reflected by the International Energy Agency in this year's World Energy Outlook, which explores a range of possible energy futures — particularly around oil and gas demand. So how have energy policies at the country level, growing economic warfare, and rising prices impacted the IEA's outlook? How should we understand the role of energy security and geopolitical risk? Here in the US, how have energy policy shifts impacted the outlook? And what role do the transition to electric mobility and the pace of energy innovation play? This week, Jason Bordoff talks to Tim Gould about this year's World Energy Outlook, the IEA's flagship annual report. It projects a world with as much as 3 degrees of warming by 2100, under current policies, or with as little as 1.5 degrees of warming by 2100 if global energy systems quickly decarbonize. Tim is the International Energy Agency's chief energy economist. As part of this role, he co-leads the World Energy Outlook. Tim joined the IEA in 2008 as a specialist on Russian and Caspian energy. Before joining the agency, Tim worked on European and Eurasian energy issues in Brussels. Credits: Hosted by Jason Bordoff and Bill Loveless. Produced by Mary Catherine O'Connor, Caroline Pitman, and Kyu Lee. Engineering by Gregory Vilfranc.
Global stocks and shares have plunged for the fourth day in a row. The markets are falling as worries about AI valuations, the US economy and central bank rates hit sentiment.What happens if the AI bubble burst? We hear from the boss of Google in an exclusive BBC interview.What's next for the global car industry? Next year, one in four global car sales will be electric, that's according to a report by the International Energy Agency.A court in France will rule today if Perrier bottles will be forced to remove their bottles from shelves.And in the UK, selling tickets for a profit could be banned.Presenter: Leanna Byrne Producer: Niamh Mc Dermott Editor: Justin Bones
The International Energy Agency is out with its 2025 World Energy Outlook report and has brought its Current Policy Scenario section back with it. In recent years, the GOP has complained about the omission of the Current Policy Scenario analyzing future energy trends based on enacted laws and measures. POLITICO's James Bikales breaks down the report and why its predictions about a natural gas glut are causing such a buzz. Plus, Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro decides to pull out of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative in the state's newly passed budget. Josh Siegel is an energy reporter for POLITICO and the host of POLITICO Energy. James Bikales is a reporter for POLITICO. Nirmal Mulaikal is the co-host and producer of POLITICO Energy. Kara Tabor is an audio producer for POLITICO. Ben Lefebvre is the deputy energy editor at POLITICO. Matt Daily is the energy editor for POLITICO. For more news on energy and the environment, subscribe to Power Switch, our free evening newsletter: https://www.politico.com/power-switch And for even deeper coverage and analysis, read our Morning Energy newsletter by subscribing to POLITICO Pro: https://subscriber.politicopro.com/newsletter-archive/morning-energy Our theme music is by Pran Bandi. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Kevin covered the following stories: Has Noah's Ark finally been found?; Phil Flynn's Energy Report discusses the International Energy Agency's (IEA) ridiculous prediction of peak oil demand and the Climmunist's gathering in Brazil called Conference of the Parties 30 (COP 30) Climate Change Conference; Hurricane Specialist Bryan Norcross assesses the 2025 Hurricane Season; Kevin has the details, sifts through the data, puts the information into historical perspective, offers his insights and opinions.
Kevin covered the following stories: Has Noah's Ark finally been found?; Phil Flynn's Energy Report discusses the International Energy Agency's (IEA) ridiculous prediction of peak oil demand and the Climmunist's gathering in Brazil called Conference of the Parties 30 (COP 30) Climate Change Conference; Hurricane Specialist Bryan Norcross assesses the 2025 Hurricane Season; Kevin has the details, sifts through the data, puts the information into historical perspective, offers his insights and opinions. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Kevin covered the following stories: Has Noah's Ark finally been found?; Phil Flynn's Energy Report discusses the International Energy Agency's (IEA) ridiculous prediction of peak oil demand and the Climmunist's gathering in Brazil called Conference of the Parties 30 (COP 30) Climate Change Conference; Hurricane Specialist Bryan Norcross assesses the 2025 Hurricane Season; Kevin has the details, sifts through the data, puts the information into historical perspective, offers his insights and opinions.
Kevin covered the following stories: Has Noah's Ark finally been found?; Phil Flynn's Energy Report discusses the International Energy Agency's (IEA) ridiculous prediction of peak oil demand and the Climmunist's gathering in Brazil called Conference of the Parties 30 (COP 30) Climate Change Conference; Hurricane Specialist Bryan Norcross assesses the 2025 Hurricane Season; Kevin has the details, sifts through the data, puts the information into historical perspective, offers his insights and opinions. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The International Energy Agency says global oil and gas demand will rise for the next 25 years if the world does not change course; Masayoshi Son's SoftBank Group has sold its entire stake in Nvidia; and investors have been selling off the debt of US tech heavyweights. Plus, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's plan to reduce income taxes for the “middle-class” has sparked criticism that she is helping the rich.Mentioned in this podcast:Oil and gas demand to rise for 25 years without global change of course, says IEAWhy Nvidia should be glad to see the back of SoftBankSoftBank sells Nvidia stake for $5.8bn as it prepares for AI investmentsInvestor angst over Big Tech's AI spending spills into bond marketGiorgia Meloni's ‘middle-class' tax cut sparks political row in ItalyToday's FT News Briefing was produced by Victoria Craig, Lulu Smyth and Sonja Hutson. Our show was mixed by Kelly Garry. Additional help from Gavin Kallmann. The FT's acting co-head of audio is Topher Forhecz. The show's theme music is by Metaphor Music. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
On Episode 724 of The Core Report, financial journalist Govindraj Ethiraj talks to Pooja Vijay Ramamurthi, Fellow at Centre for Social and Economic Progress (CSEP) as well as Madhavi Arora, Lead Economist at Emkay Global Financial Services.SHOW NOTES(00:00) The Take(06:17) Markets perk up on trade signals(07:02) Inflation hits record low, what does that mean?(14:57) COP30 kicks off in Brazil. What's at stake this time?(23:58) International Energy Agency now says electric vehicle sales could slow down and fossil fuel consumption will rise, in a reversal of sortsRegister for the 3rd Edition of the Algorand India Summit https://algorand.co/india-summit-2025For more of our coverage check out thecore.inSubscribe to our NewsletterFollow us on:Twitter |Instagram |Facebook |Linkedin |Youtube
《联合国气候变化框架公约》第30次缔约方会议(COP30)于11月10日在巴西贝伦开幕。这是一次肩负众望的气候大会——《巴黎协定》达成十周年,COP能否从规则的谈判转向承诺的落实,国际社会将会怎样开启气候行动的下一个十年,让我们持续关注。本期节目中,我们邀请到三位《不成气候No Such Climate》的实习研究员,请她们分享各自在COP30上最关心的议题。也欢迎在评论区和我们分享你的COP30看点。【本期剧透】00:26 COP30面临的复杂挑战02:52 张汀果:首个气候临界点已经突破,海洋必须置于气候讨论的前沿10:38 郭文芬:主场亚马逊,气候、自然与土著人民议题交织23:57 李聆溪:清洁炉灶作为一种碳交易机制【延伸阅读】COP30前瞻对话地球:COP30前瞻:全球气候大会有哪些看点?https://dialogue.earth/zh/3/60108380/北京绿研公益发展中心:绿研观察丨展望COP30: 走向2035新十年,提振雄心直面现实https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/NVXOvi1TO2sR44vwWur4AQ澎湃:前瞻|从巴黎到贝伦:COP30能否成为气候行动2.0的起点?https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_31830220海洋相关https://www.unsw.edu.au/news/2025/05/ocean-based-climate-actions--in-ndcs-nbsaps-analysishttps://cop30.br/en/news-about-cop30/oceans-must-be-at-the-forefront-of-climate-discussions-said-ana-toni-ceo-of-cop30https://unfccc.int/news/ocean-dialogue-calls-on-parties-to-strengthen-ocean-based-action-in-national-climate-goals-and-planshttps://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/uFxGA24MNGJvy0M-SpHJ0Ahttps://global-tipping-points.org/热带雨林相关https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/G6D7A-02M2tyXphOBiOyCAhttps://www.gov.br/planaltointeligente/en/follow-the-government/speeches-statements/speech-by-president-lula-at-the-opening-of-the-tropical-forests-forever-facility-meetinghttp://thjj.thjj.org/coohome/coserver.aspx?uid=5A7D0669B13D448484AD20EB008A204D&aid=0F51CB90F44C45648948924680B587D6&clid=9&t=75https://dialogue.earth/zh/6/60080701/https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/mt6jC_qcgK-3UCfTOI-GAQhttps://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-63156-0https://www.sp-amazon.org/publications/#ar2021https://eng-ar21.sp-amazon.org/220717_SPA%20Executive%20Summary%202021%20(English).pdfhttps://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06970-0清洁炉灶相关World Health Organization, Household Air Pollution and Health: Fact Sheet, Geneva, 2024, pp.1–6.International Energy Agency, Tracking SDG7: The Energy Progress Report (Clean Cooking Chapter), Paris, 2024, pp.45–62.IPCC, AR6 Working Group I: Short-Lived Climate Forcers (Black Carbon) – Chapter 6, Geneva, 2021, pp.6-1–6-75.UNFCCC, Guidance on Article 6.2: Reporting and Corresponding Adjustments (Reference Manual), Bonn, 2024, pp.1–48.Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market, Core Carbon Principles & Assessment Framework (Cookstove Updates), London, 2025, pp.1–30.Verra, VM0050: Methodology for Improved Cookstoves and Fuel Switching, Washington, D.C., 2024, pp.1–120.The Lancet Global Health, Maternal and Child Health Series, London, 2021, p.88.生态环境部, 《中国应对气候变化的政策与行动年度报告 2024》, 北京, 2024, p1–p200.国家统计局, 《中国统计年鉴 2024》, 北京, 2024, 能源与环境篇.国家卫生健康委员会, 《中国卫生健康统计年鉴 2023》, 北京, 2023.国家标准化管理委员会, 《GB/T 18883—2022 室内空气质量标准》, 北京, 2022, pp.1–36.中国气候变化事务工作领导小组办公室, 《落实〈巴黎协定〉国家自主贡献进展报告(摘要)》, 北京, 2023, pp.1–40.联合国开发计划署中国, 《中国可持续能源与清洁烹饪实践案例集(中文版)》, 北京, 2022, pp.1–60.中国环境科学研究院(编), 《黑碳及短寿命气候污染物控制策略研究(专题汇编)》, 北京, 2021, pp.1–120.【创作团队】策划:何弦、乐园、科莱美特气候共学营营员(张汀果、郭文芬、李聆溪)主持:乐园、科莱美特气候共学营营员(张汀果、郭文芬、李聆溪)后期:科莱美特气候共学营营员(张汀果、郭文芬、李聆溪)《不成气候No Such Climate》是一档广泛地关注气候变化、空气污染等大气科学议题与时事热点、社会生活的相交点的播客。 【收听方式】欢迎通过苹果播客、小宇宙、Spotify、Pocket Casts等泛用型播客客户端订阅我们的节目。我们也会在喜马拉雅、荔枝播客、网易云音乐、QQ音乐等平台同步更新。【联系我们】小红书@不成气候NoSuchClimate微信公众号 不成气候No Such Climatenosuchclimate@gmail.com
Making Money Minute with Ron Hiebert - Depletion If you have ever spent any time running on a treadmill, you have an appreciation for how difficult it is to manage an oil and gas company. It takes focussed effort to not go backward. The hidden enemy is depletion. Each year the reserves you have become less and less. This requires continual exploration and development. The amount of spend needed to remain stationary is enormous. The International Energy Agency believes the world needs to invest $540 Billion a year looking for oil, to maintain, not grow, current output over the next 35 years. In the energy business - if you snooze you lose.
The Automotive Troublemaker w/ Paul J Daly and Kyle Mountsier
Shoot us a Text.Episode #1181: Today we're talking about an EV market hitting the brakes post–tax credit, why most electric drivers are just fine charging at home, and Amazon's billion-dollar bet on future jobs—while cutting tens of thousands of its own.Show Notes with links:The EV market is undergoing a “recalibration” following the end of the federal $7,500 tax credit. J.D. Power says October electric vehicle deliveries are expected to drop 43% from last year, taking EV market share from 8.5% down to just 5.2%.The September “last call” for the credit pushed EV share to nearly 13%, creating a hangover in October sales.Gasoline models now account for nearly 80% of retail sales, while hybrids jumped two full points to 14%J.D. Power's Tyson Jominy. “The recent EV market correction underscores a critical lesson: Consumers prefer having access to a range of powertrain options.”Do you imagine EV drivers are circling parking lots hunting for chargers? Think again. About 80% of all EV charging happens right at home — quietly, conveniently, and far cheaper than fueling up at a gas pump.The International Energy Agency reports 83% of EV charging in the U.S. and 80% in Canada happens at home.J.D. Power's EV Experience Study shows drivers rate home charging satisfaction at 85/100 versus just 50/100 for public chargers.“Home charging remains the single biggest advantage of owning an EV,” said Brent Gruber, executive director of EV practice at J.D. Power.Amazon is sending a mixed message to the labor market this week. The tech giant is investing billions to train millions for the “future of work” — while preparing to lay off tens of thousands of its own.The company launched Future Ready 2030, a $2.5 billion initiative aimed at training 50 million employees, students, and job seekers worldwide.At the same time, Amazon is reportedly cutting up to 30,000 corporate jobs, about 10% of its white-collar workforce — its largest round of layoffs since 2022.“Whether someone dreams of working at Amazon, works here now, or has moved on to their next chapter, our goal is the same: helping them have access to the education and training needed to thrive in whatever comes next,” said Beth Galetti, Amazon's SVP of People Experience and Technology.0:00 Intro with Paul J Daly and Kyle Mountsier0:15 Paul's hat from Kazakhstan2:05 Upcoming ASOTU Edge Webinar with foureyes on Nov. 53:00 EV Market Hits Recalibration in October6:17 83% of American EV Drivers Charge At Home9:42 Amazon Invests $2.5B In Training, Cuts 30K White-Collar JobsJoin Paul J Daly and Kyle Mountsier every morning for the Automotive State of the Union podcast as they connect the dots across car dealerships, retail trends, emerging tech like AI, and cultural shifts—bringing clarity, speed, and people-first insight to automotive leaders navigating a rapidly changing industry.Get the Daily Push Back email at https://www.asotu.com/ JOIN the conversation on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/company/asotu/
Allen, Rosemary, and Yolanda discuss the IEA's 27% cut to offshore wind forecasts, GE's wind financials, and Ming Yang's revolutionary 50MW dual-rotor turbine. Register for the next SkySpecs Webinar! Sign up now for Uptime Tech News, our weekly email update on all things wind technology. This episode is sponsored by Weather Guard Lightning Tech. Learn more about Weather Guard's StrikeTape Wind Turbine LPS retrofit. Follow the show on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Linkedin and visit Weather Guard on the web. And subscribe to Rosemary Barnes' YouTube channel here. Have a question we can answer on the show? Email us! You are listening to the Uptime Wind Energy Podcast brought to you by build turbines.com. Learn, train, and be a part of the Clean Energy Revolution. Visit build turbines.com today. Now here's your hosts, Allen Hall, Joel Saxon, Phil Totaro, and Rosemary Barnes. Allen Hall: Welcome to the Uptime Wintery Podcast. I'm your host, Allen Hall in the Queen city of Charlotte, North Carolina. Rosemary's in Australia on her way to Sydney and Yolanda Padrone is here on site at a wind farm in Texas and there has been a, a number of news articles this week. Joel's over actually in Copenhagen enjoying, uh, the sites and sounds of that great city, the International Energy Agency slash its five year offshore wind growth forecast by. Are you ready for this? 27% citing policy shifts, obviously in the United States and [00:01:00] project cancellations across Europe and Asia. The big one in Asia is the Japan's Mitsubishi pulling out a couple of projects there when costs, um, more than doubled according to them. And Denmark is changing from, uh, negative bidding auctions in favor of contracts for different, so there has been a, a big pullback in offshore wind. It's not zero, you know, it's not going to zero at any time. I think there's just a lot of projects that appear to be reassessing the interest rate environments, the ability to get turbines, the cost of ships, everything. And rosemary in Australia, it does seem like there's been a little bit of a pullback there too for offshore wind. Uh, Rosemary Barnes: yeah. I mean it's, it's hard 'cause we're still like in such a, just a nascent part of the. Industry. It's still really far from clear whether we need or are going to get any offshore wind at all. Victoria has some pretty solid commitments to it. The government [00:02:00] does so. That's probably as close as, um, anything to being certain that we'll get some offshore wind. But, um, probably we've all learned, America has shown us that a political com commitment is not as, you know, a government commitment is not as locked in as what we probably would've thought it would mean, um, a few years ago. So, yeah, we'll see. I think Australia is struggling like the rest of the world. We're struggling a bit just in general with getting projects to, um, FID and. You know, getting construction actually underway and offshore wind is just like, you know, the same problems but on steroids. So it's no surprise that you'd be seeing more challenges there. There's been a few projects that have, um, been canceled or paused, but you know, they weren't at the point where there were definitely going ahead. So it's, you know, like there's a huge pipeline that makes almost no sense for how many projects there are in planning. Obviously some of them are going to [00:03:00] not go ahead, probably most of them. Um, and yeah, so we'll, we'll probably see many more cancellations and I think we'll see at least a few offshore wind farms and probably those early examples are gonna dictate a bit how easy it is for other people to follow, or how much anyone even wants to follow. Allen Hall: Well, is it gonna become a case where. Certain countries are, uh, focused on certain energy sources like France and Nuclear, and the UK will be offshore wind, onshore wind, and solar. Germany sort of a mix of everything,
Trevor reconnects with his former professor, Dr. Rupp Carriveau from the University of Windsor, to explore how Southern Ontario's agriculture and energy sectors intersect. From powering greenhouses and managing massive industrial demand to reimagining aging wind farms and testing “atomic agriculture,” together they unpack how innovation, AI, and new tech are reshaping Canada's clean energy future. Listen to episode 164 of thinkenery. Related links Dr. Rupp Carriveau on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rupp-carriveau-b4273823/ Environmental Energy Institute: https://www.environmentalenergyinstitute.com/ Turbulence and Energy Lab: http://www.turbulenceandenergylab.org/ Offshore Energy and Storage Society: https://www.osessociety.com/ Trevor Freeman on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/trevor-freeman-p-eng-8b612114 Hydro Ottawa: https://hydroottawa.com/en To subscribe using Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/thinkenergy/id1465129405 To subscribe using Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7wFz7rdR8Gq3f2WOafjxpl To subscribe on Libsyn: http://thinkenergy.libsyn.com/ --- Subscribe so you don't miss a video: https://www.youtube.com/user/hydroottawalimited Follow along on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hydroottawa Stay in the know on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HydroOttawa Keep up with the posts on X: https://twitter.com/thinkenergypod --- Transcript: Trevor Freeman 00:07 Welcome to thinkenergy, a podcast that dives into the fast, changing world of energy through conversations with industry leaders, innovators and people on the front lines of the energy transition. Join me, Trevor Freeman, as I explore the traditional, unconventional and up and coming facets of the energy industry. If you have any thoughts, feedback or ideas for topics we should cover, please reach out to us at think energy at hydro ottawa.com, hi everyone, and welcome back. Today's episode brings us back to a few elements of my own personal history. Now you'll have to bear with me for a minute or two while I dive into my past in order to properly set up today's conversation, I grew up in southwestern Ontario, in and just outside the border town of Windsor, Ontario. Now for those of you not familiar with this area, Windsor and its surroundings are the most southern part of Canada. It might surprise you to know that Windsor is at the same latitude as Northern California and Rome, Italy. You can imagine that after growing up in Windsor and then living in various places around the globe, when I finally settled down here in Ottawa, adjusting to the more stereotypical Canadian winters of this northern capital, took a little bit of getting used to Windsor is so far south when you cross the border to its neighboring American city, Detroit, Michigan, you actually travel north. Have a look at a map if this seems to defy logic, but I promise you, it's true. This is the area that I grew up in. It's also where I went to school and got my engineering degree. More on that in a minute. Now, if you've ever driven down to the southwestern end of the 401 going past London and Chatham, you will notice two things. First, it is flat, very flat. You will not see a meaningful Hill anywhere in sight. I often joke with people that I used to toboggan when we did get any meaningful snow off of highway overpasses, because that was the only hill we could find. I was only partly joking, and I have indeed tobogganed off of said overpasses in my young and foolish days. But that is a story for another time. That brings us to the second thing you'll see, which is wind turbines. A lot of wind turbines. They are seemingly everywhere, stretching as far as you can see, southwestern Ontario is a hotbed of wind energy generation. Finally, a hint at why I'm going on about this part of the province on an energy podcast. But before we get into it, there's one other thing to touch on, and that is the fact that this area is also home to a large number of greenhouses growing produce year-round, as well as manufacturing. Windsor and its surrounding area is the automotive capital of Canada, with a number of plants from major car companies, as well as a supporting ecosystem of parts manufacturers. Incidentally, that's where I started my career, working as an environmental engineer for one of the automakers, and many members of my family have also worked or still work in that industry. The reason I bring up greenhouses in the auto industry is because they have some very high energy demand profiles, and that is how we get for me going on nostalgically about the area I grew up in, to our conversation today, I recently caught up with one of my engineering professors, Dr Rupp Carriveau, about the work that he and his colleagues have been doing that ties all of this together. And I thought it would be great to have him on the show to talk about that. Dr. Carriveau is the director of the Environmental Energy Institute and co-director of the Turbulence and Energy Lab and the CO lead of AGUwin at the University of Windsor. Back in the day, he was my fluid dynamics professor. But today, he balances his teaching duties with research into energy systems futures and advanced agricultural systems. He is a founder of the offshore energy and storage society, a recipient of the University Scholar Award, and has been named to Canada's clean 50 for his contributions to clean capitalism. Dr Rupp Carriveau, welcome to the show. Dr Rupp Carriveau 03:59 Trevor, great to be here. Thanks. Trevor Freeman 04:01 Yeah. So, Rupp, the last time we chatted, well, so you and I chatted a couple weeks ago, but before that, the last time that you and I interacted, I was in third year university. You were my fluid dynamics Prof. So, in addition to your professorial duties, you're now the director of the environmental Energy Institute at the University of Windsor. So, there's two questions around that. First off, how did you end up going from my fluid dynamics prof a number of years ago, probably close to 20 years ago now, to running this institute? And tell us a little bit about what the Institute does. Dr Rupp Carriveau 04:40 Sure. Though. So, thanks. Yeah, and very memorable Trevor, because I, you know, I remember you well. And, yeah, that was, that was a very nice class that we had. I remember, well, I remember your colleagues too. Trevor Freeman 04:54 If there's one thing I do, well, it's, it's be memorable, and you can take that however you want. Dr Rupp Carriveau 04:58 That is, that is. Something to be said for that. Yeah, thanks for that question. So I should point out that in addition to EEI, I am a co-director in the Turbulence and Energy Lab, which is really where all of the EEI initiatives have started from, that's a lab that I co supervise with Dr David Ting in mechanical engineering and the nuts and bolts, the very serious engineering side of things, comes out of the Turbulence and Energy Lab. EEI kind of came about to handle topics that were, frankly speaking, less interesting to Dr Ting. So, things that push more, a little bit more into policy wider systems looks at things as opposed to, you know, pure thermodynamics and energy efficiency type pursuits, which underpin a lot of the EEI policy pieces, but are sort of beyond the scope of what turbulence and energy lab does. So those two things, and then more recently, actually, I'm co lead on, AGUwin, which is like a center of excellence, emerging Center of Excellence at the University of Windsor. So, Agriculture U Windsor is a group of about 40 professors that do work in agriculture in some shape or form. And we've, we've, we've taken to organizing that movement in seeking sort of group funding proposals, developing curriculum and organized sort of platforms to help industry in agriculture. And it's, it's really taking off, which I'm really excited about my extremely hard-working colleagues and CO lead, Isabel Barrett-Ng, she in particular, has been really driving a lot of really cool initiatives ahead and all the people that work with us. So, yeah, lots, lots happening at the University since I saw you last. But you know, time has a way of helping with that, people find ways to find efficiencies and get to do and build on, build on, hopefully incremental progress. Trevor Freeman 07:08 Yeah, very cool. And you're teasing a few of the areas our conversation is going to go today, that sort of intersection between agriculture and obviously, this is an energy podcast, and so how does agriculture and the way we're moving in with agriculture impacts energy and vice versa. So, we're definitely going to get to that in a minute, I think, for our listeners that are not familiar with Southern Ontario, and I haven't talked about Southern Ontario on the podcast a lot, but people that know me know I will gladly talk about what goes on in the very southern part of our country. It's where I grew up. Help us paint a picture of what Southern Ontario is like. So, in the context of energy, what makes this area of Ontario unique? Dr Rupp Carriveau 07:50 Well, it's that's a really good question, and I'm glad you phrased it that way, because I think it gets taken for granted. And also, folks, folks don't know energy isn't in the headlines every day, and if it is, it's not a headline that everybody pays attention to. But the southwestern Ontario region, if you take the 401 west of London, you'll start to see a high concentration of wind. So, there's a significant wind corridor in the region, and that's because it's very flat, so the whole area used to be a lake bed, and so we have very fertile agricultural lands as a result of that. And we also have very few obstacles to fetch, which is a huge aspect of how wind carries over the lakes, and is, you know, not, not obstructed. And so it's like you have offshore resources onshore, which is completely ideal. Also, we have, as it may be, we have massive natural gas resources in the area, in sort of the subterranean space of Devonian reefs for natural gas storage. We have natural gas generation facilities down around the Windsor area that help with provincial peaking and there is some solar in the region, because it is the Leamington Kingsville area is referred to as the sun parlor of Ontario. And as a result, we have a lot of under glass agriculture there, which benefits, obviously, directly from solar resources. And then we have solar photovoltaic that takes advantage of that sun as well. So there's, there's a lot happening here energy wise. Trevor Freeman 09:38 Yeah, and there's a lot on the demand side of things as well. So, you mentioned the greenhouses, which are an up and coming, you know, source of demand draws on our grid. There's also a big manufacturing base. Talk a little bit about the manufacturing base in the area. Yeah, yeah. And that's that gets into my next question is talking about some of the specific, unique energy needs of greenhouses. I think on the manufacturing side, you know, you mentioned the auto industry and the parts industry that supports it, you're seeing more. There's a battery plant being built now I think that, I think people have a sense of that, but greenhouses are this thing that I think a lot of folks don't think about. So, you talked about the magnitude of the load, the lighting side of things. What else is this like, a 24/7 load? Is this sector growing like? Tell us a little bit about, you know where things are going with greenhouses? Dr Rupp Carriveau 09:53 Yeah, thanks. So, yeah, I was, I was thinking about generation and, yeah, demand is. Significant we have. You know, Windsor has laid claim to Canada's automotive capital, and while I'm biased, I'd like to think it still is. And so we have significant manufacturing around the automotive industry, either automotive OEMs or tier one parts makers that have significant draws. We have Stellantis. Every minivan comes out of this area has come out of this area. The electric Dodge Charger comes out of this area. But there are engine plants for Ford, but they're also now, you know, sort of next generation transport technologies. You've talking about battery manufacturing. So, there's an enormous LG consortium with Stellantis here that's doing battery manufacturing. And so, these are huge loads that that add to existing and growing loads in the greenhouse space, which, again, I'll just mention it now, is something that isn't well understood. And we did a, we did a study for the province a couple years, three, four years ago. Now, I think grid Innovation Fund project that looked at sort of really getting into granular detailing of the loads that come with a lit greenhouse. A lot of people don't appreciate that a lit greenhouse, when switched on, depending on the lighting technology, depending on how it's used, can be like a 50-megawatt load, which is a significant load. And just imagine that's one so they can come on quickly, and they are non-trivial, significant loads. And so, this is something that we looked at trying to develop distributed energy resource sort of solutions for, because, simply speaking, you can't put up a new transmission line overnight, and we don't want to economically constrain the growth of the sector. Sure, yeah. I mean, it's, it's not a simple thing to characterize, because what you can take away from this is that these greenhouse developers are business dynamos, and frankly speaking, many of them do very well, because they're very good at what they do, and with the resources they have, they can largely do what they want. And if, if the infrastructure isn't there, they will build it so. So, you'll have folks that are operating off the grid, essentially not off the gas grid, of course, but they're using gas for cogeneration purposes, to produce heat for their crops, but also the electricity for their lights. So that is one aspect of it that further complicates how to figure out what these loads on the grid will be. But for the most part, of course, the grid provides quite clean and quite affordable electricity in the province, and you know where they can they want to be able to connect to the grid. Now, lights are designed to extend the growing day and extend the growing season as well. So, in terms of when they're switched on and how they're switched on, that is highly variable, and that is also something that is, I would say, in development, folks are looking at different ways to use intermittent lighting to be conscious of when peaking happens. It is dispatchable in a way, in that some growers are able to turn their lights off to avoid, you know, peaking charges. But again, there's a lot to manage. And, and it's, it's very complicated, both on the grid side and, and for the greenhouse grower. Trevor Freeman 14:38 Yeah, so you mentioned natural gas for cogen for heating as well. So, as we look to decarbonize all different aspects of the sector, we talk often on the show of what are the specific areas where decarbonization might be challenging. Is, is greenhouses one of those areas? And, and what are the options available for heating these spaces? Like, is it realistic to think that there's an electric solution here, or what? What's happening in that sector related to decarbonization? Dr Rupp Carriveau 15:10 Again, you've hit on a real sort of hot button issue for the for the sector, the trouble with natural gas is that it's spectacular. Oh, it's storable. It's dispatchable. It's a triple threat for greenhouses in the best way possible, because you can make your heat, you can make your electricity, and the plants crave CO2, and that comes out of the flue gas on the other side of the combustion reaction. So, you know, when you swing in there and you say, Oh, I've got this great new solution. It's called hydrogen. We'll burn hydrogen and we won't have these nasty CO2 release. And they're like, Okay, who's going to replace my CO2? So, it's a difficult fuel to displace. Now, admittedly, people understand that, you know, that's where we really need to go. And is, is electric? You know, electrification the path. So, people talk about, people talk about heat pumps, people talk about electric boilers. And then, as I mentioned, people talked about, you know, we've, we've also looked at the idea of blending hydrogen into a natural gas feed for existing infrastructure to, you know, because, because not all of the CO2, that is, you know, released is, is taken down by the plants. And so could you get to a magic blend where it's just the amount of CO2 that you need is what goes into the other side, and then there's nothing left after the plants take what they need. So, there's a lot of things that are being looked at. It is again, a challenging space to operate in, because it's highly competitive. Getting really granular. Data is very sensitive, because this, this, this is a, you know, it's a game of margins, and it's in its high stakes production. So to get in there and sort of be in the way is, is difficult. So, this work is being done. We're participating in a lot of this work. We just finished a study for the province, a Hydrogen Innovation Fund study on looking at the integration of hydrogen into the greenhouse space. And it was, it was pretty revelatory for us. Trevor Freeman 17:36 So is the exhaust from burning natural gas on site. Does that get recycled through the greenhouse and therefore captured to some degree? Do we know how much you kind of hinted at finding out that sweet spot? Do we know how much of that gets captured? Dr Rupp Carriveau 17:53 Yeah, so the short answer is yes. So, they have the cogen engines have scrubbers on them, and these, these machines are spectacularly capable of being tuned the combustion and the professionals that operate them at the greenhouse facilities are artists, and that they can get the sort of combustion profile a certain way, and so that that flue gas will go into the greenhouse, but to know exactly how much is being taken down, that is an area of active research, and we don't, we don't know that answer yet. There are people that are looking at it, and you can imagine it's kind of a provocative number for the sector. So, they're being very careful about how they do it. Trevor Freeman 18:36 I'm sure, I'm sure. Okay, let's, let's park that just for a minute here, and jump back to something you mentioned earlier. You talked about one how flat Southern Ontario is, and it took me leaving, leaving the county before I really knew what skiing and tobogganing and everything else was. So, there's a lot of wind power generation. And for anyone listening, yeah, as rip mentioned, if you ever drive down the 401 going towards Windsor, you'll just start to see these massive wind turbines kind of everywhere you look. So, help us understand how these turbines, you know, you look out over a field and you see, you know, 2030, of them more in your line of sight. How do they connect to our provincial grid? How do the contracts work? Like, who gets that power? Give us a little bit of a sense of how that works. Dr Rupp Carriveau 19:28 For sure. Yeah, well, so what most people don't realize, and again, it's not something that's talked about, and if it is, I don't know people are necessarily paying attention to it, but, but you know the comment I'll get from relatives we talked about Thanksgiving. So, you know people, because they know I'm a wind person, they'll be like, 'Hey, I was driving down the road and I saw they weren't spinning with, what's going on? Are they broken or what?' Well, you know, because we, we've got some pro wind and some non pro wind folks in the in the family, so it's an exciting time for me. But you know, and I mentioned that the greenhouses I'm working with are often starved for utility supply. And they said, well, how can that be? The turbines are right there. They're sharing the same space, right? And most people don't realize that. Really, I would say 95% of the wind in our corridor is put on a transmission line and sent up to, effectively, to Toronto, to be distributed throughout the province, which is great, but it's not really a local asset. And that was sort of what inspired us when we saw these two sorts of juxtaposed. We thought maybe you could turn these assets into something that acted as really a new type of distributed energy resource, and that you've got a transmission connected asset that's currently under contract, but if that contract could be modified, then the fiscal connections could potentially be modified so you could have local distribution, let's say at a time of maybe at a time of transmission curtailment, maybe under different conditions. So again, looking into the physical plausibility of it was part of our study, and then doing some sort of economic investigation of how that would work, having a nearly 20-year-old asset all of a sudden springing into a new role in a new life, where it continues to perform transmission duties for the province at large, but it also serves local needs in the production, let's say, of hydrogen through an electrolyzer, or just plain electrons turning lights on. That is something that isn't possible yet. Regulatory reasons exist for that that would require some, some significant changes. But it was a really interesting exercise to go through to investigate how that could happen. Trevor Freeman 22:08 Yeah, so there's just trying to understand how this work. There's someone who owns these turbines. Some conglomerate somewhere, you know, Canadian, not Canadian, who knows. They contract with the Independent Electricity System Operator who operates the grid in the province. And they basically say, yeah, well, look, we'll provide you with X amount of power on some contract, and when ISO needs it, they call on it. How long do those contracts last? Is that a 10-year contract? A 20-year contract? Dr Rupp Carriveau 22:35 So, they are in Ontario. The ones that I'm familiar with for 20 years. So it's possible there are others. I know. I have a there's a farm that operates in PEI that has a nice 30 year PPA. So the longer you can get, the better. Yeah, and these, these power purchase agreements are, are wonderful for developers, because they're known entities, doing the math on your finances is really straightforward with these contracts. And frankly speaking, when you had a sector that needed to be brought up from nothing, they were very necessary. They were very necessary. And but those contracts, and they're and they're locked down, as much as we try to, you know, persuade the province to get crazy, to amuse us with these new, newfangled ways of of connecting to people, commerce wise, through energy, they are not interested so far, at least in and they're like, let's finish these out, and then we can talk your crazy ideas, you know, and so, but that's we're getting glare, because I would say many, many, many farms in the province will be coming up on the sun setting end of Their power purchase agreements in the coming five, six years. Trevor Freeman 24:03 Yeah, yeah. Which brings me to my next point, of the assets themselves, the actual physical turbine, I assume last longer than 20 years. You're going to build one of these things. You know, 20 years is not its end of life. So what are the options available today? You talked about regulatory barriers. We talk about regulatory barriers on this show often, what are, what are the options today for a wind farm that is at its end of contract? Does it look at re contracting? Can it kind of direct source to someone else? Like, what are the options available for an owner? Dr Rupp Carriveau 24:40 Yeah, well, to me, it's an exciting time, because it could be work for us. We get excited about this. I think it could be a source of anxiety for owners, because there's nothing better than that long term contract. So many of them will try to apply for things like a medium, a new medium term length contract from the. Province, like an MT two, I think they're called. There are other contract types that are possible, but there'll be, it'll be a highly competitive landscape for those, and the in the province won't be able to give everyone one of these contracts. So some of these, some of these operators, will likely have to look at other options which may be going into the spot market, potentially, you know, getting into the capacity game by getting a battery on site and firming up their ability to provide power when necessary or provide capacity. And then there's a there isn't a relatively recent regulatory development in the around the middle of July, the province said, you know, if you're a non emitting generator and you're not under contract, you could provide virtual power someone else who might need it, if they're looking if they're a class, a customer that's trying to avoid peak charges. You know, rather than that class a customer buys a battery behind the meter and physically reduce their peaks. They could potentially virtually reduce their peaks by setting up a virtual power purchase agreement with another supplier. So these, these off contract spinning assets could have an opportunity to get into this game of peak relief. Which, which could be very lucrative. Because, based on last year's provincial global adjustment charges at large, you're looking at being paid something on the order of about $72,000 a megawatt hour for the, for the for the for the megawatt hours in question, which, which, of course, you know, try to get as many as you can. . Trevor Freeman 26:31 Yeah. So there's a couple of things there. Bear with me while I connect a few dots for our listeners. So on different shows, we talk about different things. Global adjustment is one of them. And we've been talking here about these long term contracts. Global adjustment, as you might remember from previous conversations, is one of those mechanisms that bridges the gap between the spot market price, you know, the actual commodity cost of electricity that's out there, and some of the built-in cost to run the system, which includes these long term contracts. So there's a there's a fixed cost to run the system, global adjustment helps bridge that gap. The next concept here that is important to remember is this class, a strategy where the largest the largest customers, electricity customers in the province, have the opportunity to adjust how they are build global adjustment based on their contribution to the most intensive demand peaks in the province over the course of a year. So during a really high demand period, when everybody needs electricity, if they can reduce their demand, there's significant savings. And so what you're saying is there's this new this new ability for kind of a virtual connection, where, if I'm a big facility that has a high demand, and I contract with a generator, like a wind turbine that's not in contract anymore, I can say, hey, it's a peak time now I need to use some of your capacity to offset, you know, some of my demand, and there's those significant savings there. So you're absolutely right. That's a new thing in the province. We haven't had that ability up until just recently. So super fascinating, and that kind of connects our two topics today, that the large demand facilities in southern Ontario and these these generators that are potentially nearing the end of their contract and looking for what else might happen. So are you guys navigating that conversation between the greenhouses or the manufacturers and the generators? Dr Rupp Carriveau 28:49 I'm so glad you asked. And here comes, here comes a shameless plug. Yeah? So yes. So there's a spin off company from the turbulence and Energy Lab, and it's called jailbreak labs. And jailbreak labs really represents sort of the space that is more commercial than research, but it also was sort of spurned, spurred from research. So jailbreak Labs has developed a registry, and we've been providing some webinars as well. So this, again, this is a company that that is essentially run by students, that this registry allows generators and consumers to ultimately find each other so that, so that these kinds of connections can be made. Because, as you may well imagine, there is no guarantee that the wind will be blowing at the time that you need it so, so and your load may be such that you need a different type of generation profile. So it needs to be profiling on the generation side. There needs to be profiling on the customer side. Yeah, and, you know, we've been doing this on our own for years. It was the time was right for us to sort of step in and say, because we were following this, we were real fanboys of this, of this reg, even before it came into play. And we kept bugging, you know, OEB for meetings and ISO and they, begrudgingly, to their credit, would chat with us about it, and then the next thing we know, it's announced that it's that it's happening. Was very exciting. So, so, yes, so we're really interested in seeing this happen, because it seems like such a unique, we're thrilled, because we're always interested in this sort of Second Life for assets that already have been depreciated and they're clean energy assets. Let's get everything we can out of them and to have this dynamic opportunity for them, and that will help Class A customers too hard for us to ignore. Trevor Freeman 30:56 And you mentioned the last time we chatted about building a tool that helps evaluate and kind of injecting a little bit of AI decision making into this. Talk to us about that tool a little bit. Dr Rupp Carriveau 31:08 Yeah. So we have a, we have a tool called quantract which is basically playing on the idea of quantifying all the risk and opportunity in in a contract. So it's really a contract visualization tool. Another way to think of it as a real time Net Present Value tool that allows renewable energy stakeholders to really, evaluate the value of their investment by not only understanding the physical life left in an asset. Let's say that a wind farm that's, you know, at 20 years and it looks like we may need to replace some blades. Do we just walk away and say, look at it. We had a good run contracts over, you know, we made some money. Let's sell the assets as they are. Or do we say, you know, I'm looking into this vppa game, and we could do okay here, but I'm not exactly sure how that's going to work and when. And so this, this tool that we've developed, will do things like will first of all identify all risk factors, and risk includes opportunities and then we'll profile them, and then builds them into basically what is more or less a glorified discounted cash flow model. So it is a way of measuring the potential value of investment in the AI space. I mean, the AI piece of it is that we have developed agents that will actually identify other things that are less, less sort of noticeable to people. In fact, this regulatory change is one of the things that our AI agents would have been looking for. Okay, now it pre it predated our tool going online, so we didn't see it, but it's the kind of thing that we'd be looking for. So the agents look for news, they look for changes online, and then, and then what happens is, they got brought, they get brought into a profiler. The profiler then determines the probability of or makes an estimate of the probability that this risk will occur. IE, a regulatory change will happen. IE, battery plant will come to town at a certain time. IE, a Costco facility will come in. Then we'll determine the potential magnitude. So there'll be uncertainty in the occurrence, there'll be uncertainty in the magnitude, and there'll be uncertainty in the timing. So we have basically statistical distribution functions for each one of those things, the likelihood of it happening, the magnitude and the timing. And so those are all modeled in so that people can push a button and, say, with this level of certainty your investment would be, would be worth this much. And that's dynamic. It's in real time. So it's changing constantly. It's being updated constantly. And so no so that that is something that goes in, and one of these virtual power purchase agreements would be one of the types of things that would go into this sort of investment timeline? Trevor Freeman 34:22 Yeah, so it's giving these owners of these assets better data to make a decision about what comes next, as you said, and as we're talking I'm kind of doing the math here. If these are typically 20 year contracts, that's bringing us back to, you know, the mid, early, 2000s when we were really pushing to get off coal. So a lot of these assets probably started in and around that time. So you've probably got a whole bunch of customers, for lack of a better term, ready to start making decisions in the next you know, half a decade or so of what do I do with my. Sets. Have you seen this? Has it been used in the real world yet? Or is, are you getting close to that? Like, where are you at in development? Dr Rupp Carriveau 35:07 Yeah, it actually started. It's funny. It started a little a little bit even before this craze. A couple years ago, we had, we had a manufacturer in our county come to us with, they had a great interest in, in just, just they were trying to be proactive about avoiding carbon tax and so, and they wanted to develop a new generation technology close to their facility. And so we used it there since that time. Yeah, so, so it was field proven that was a still a research contract, because they were the technology that they were interested in was, was, was not off the shelf. But since that time, we got a chance, because we represent Canada in the International Energy Agency, task 43 on wind energy digitalization. And so one of the mandates there was to develop a robust and transparent tools for investment decision support using digital twins. And we had a German partner in Fraunhofer Institute that had developed nice digital twin that would provide us remaining useful life values for things like blades, you know, towers, foundations, etc, and those are, again, those are all costs that just plug into our but they did. They didn't have a framework of how to work that into an investment decision other than, you know, you may have to replace this in three years. Okay, well, that's good to know, but we need the whole picture to make that decision, and that's sort of what we were trying to bring so the short answer is, yes, we're getting a lot of interest now, which is thrilling for us, but it's, I'll be honest with you, it's not, it's not simple, like, you know, I I've talked about it a bunch of times, so I'm pretty good at talking about it, but, but the doing it is still, it's computationally intensive and in the end, it's still an estimate. It's a, it's a, it's a calculated, quantified estimate, but it's an estimate. I think what we like about it is it's better than saying, Well, I have a hunch that it's going to go this way, but we could get beat by the hunches too. Yeah, totally, right. So, so, you know, I'm not trying to sell people things that, like I we have to be transparent about it. It's still probability. Trevor Freeman 37:35 Well, I think if there's, if there's one thing that is very apparent, as we are well into this energy transition process that we talk about all the time here on the show. It's that the pace of change is is one of the things that's like no other time we are we are seeing things change, and that means both our demand is growing, our need to identify solutions is growing the way that we need to build out the grid and utilize the ers and utilize all these different solutions is growing at a rate that we haven't seen before, and therefore uncertainty goes up. And so to your point, yeah, we need help to make these decisions. We need better ways of doing it than just, as you say, having a hunch. That doesn't mean it's foolproof. It doesn't mean it's a guarantee. Dr Rupp Carriveau 38:27 Nope, it is not a guarantee. Trevor Freeman 38:30 Very cool. So Rupp, this is a great conversation. It's really fascinating to talk about to me, two areas of the energy sector that aren't really understood that well. I think the agriculture side of things, not a lot of people think about that as a major demand source. But also wind, I think we talk about solar a lot. It's a little bit more ubiquitous. People's neighbors have solar on their roofs. But wind is this unless you drive through Southern Ontario or other parts of the province where there's a lot of wind, you don't see it a lot. So it's fascinating to kind of help understand where these sectors are going. Is there anything else that the Institute is working on that that's worth chatting about here, or is what we've talked about, you know, kind of filling your day, in your students days? Dr Rupp Carriveau 39:15 Well, actually there is something we haven't talked about the nuclear option. Literally, literally the nuclear literally the nuclear option. Yeah, so we've been really thrilled to have a growing relationship with Canadian Nuclear Laboratories, which is much closer to you than it is to me. And specifically in the connection of small modular reactors to meet these growing agricultural loads. So I have a science colleague at the University of Windsor, Dr drew Marquart, who was all hot and bothered about these s. Mrs. And he's like, we should drop one of these SMRs in Leamington. Then I this, this part I really enjoyed, because it's obviously so he came from Oak Ridge National Laboratories in the States, and he's and he's been at CNL as well. So he's fully indoctrinated into the nuclear space. But it just didn't occur to him that that would be provocative or controversial at all, that there wouldn't be some social he, you know, he's like, we can do the math. And I said, Oh yeah, yeah, we can do the math. But I'm like, I think you're missing something. I think you're missing something, right? So, but so it's, it's a super fascinating topic, and we're trying to connect, physically connect. So just before the weekend, I was in the turbulence and Energy Lab, and we were trying to commission what we believe is North America's first we're calling it a model synthetic, small modular reactor, synthetic being the key word, and that it's non nuclear, okay? And so it's non nuclear. What it what it is really and if I'm going to de glamorize it for a second, it's a mini steam thermal power plant, which doesn't embody every SMR design, but many SMRs are designed around this sort of where you've got a nuclear reaction that provides the heat, and then after that, it's kind of a steam thermal power plant. Our interest is in this physical little plant being connected to small electrolyzer, being connected to small thermal battery, being connected to a lab scale electric battery and being connected to a lab scale fully automated inlet, cucumber, small cucumber, greenhouse, mini cubes greenhouse, all this in our lab. The exciting thing around this is, you know, I I've said that I think nuclear technology needs to get out from behind the walls of nuclear facilities for people to start to appreciate it, and by that, to start doing that, you have to take the nuclear part out, which, to me, is not necessarily a deal breaker in terms of these dynamic issues that we want to solve. You know, because nukes have traditionally been said, Well, you know they're not that. You know, you can't just ramp them up and down, and that's true, you know, and small modular reactors are supposed to be considerably more nimble, but there's still lots of challenges that have to be solved in terms of having how it is an asset that is provides copious energy, but does so maybe not, not as dynamic, certainly, as a gas turbine. That how does it? How do you make it nimble, right? How do you partner it up with the right complimentary other grid assets to take advantage of what it does so well, which is crank out great amounts of heat and electricity so, so effortlessly, right? And so that's, that's sort of what we're trying to do, and connecting it to what we're calling atomic agriculture. I don't know that's a good name or not. I like it, but, but, but, yeah, so that that's another thing that we're that we're flirting with right now. We're working on. We've done a few. We've had a few contracts with Canadian Nuclear Laboratories to get us this far. We did everything computationally. We're continuing to do computational studies with them. They develop their own hybrid energy systems, optimizer software, HISO, which we use, and we are now trying to put it into sort of the hardware space. So again, just the idea that physically looking at the inertia of spinning up a turbine, the little gap, the little sort of steam powered turbine that we have in the lab that's run by an electric boiler. But our hope is to, ultimately, we're going to get the electric boiler to be mimicking the sort of reaction heating dynamics of a true reactor. So by, but through electrical control. So we'll imitate that by having sort of data from nuclear reactions, and then we'll sort of get an electrical signal analog so that we can do that and basically have a non nuclear model, small modular reactor in the lab. Trevor Freeman 44:14 Very cool, very neat. Well, Rupp, this has been a great conversation. I really appreciate it. We do always end our interviews with a series of questions here, so I'm going to jump right into those. What's a book that you've read that you think everyone should read? Dr Rupp Carriveau 44:31 I would say any of the Babysitters Club. That's as high as I get in the literary hierarchy. I'm barely literate so and I thoroughly enjoyed reading those books with my daughters that they were great. So I recommend any, any of the Babysitters Club titles. I mean that completely seriously, I that was the peak of my that are dog man, yeah, Trevor Freeman 44:56 I'm about six months removed from what i. Was about an 18 month run where that's, that's all I read with my youngest kiddo. So they've, they've just moved on to a few other things. But yes, I've been steeped in the Babysitter's Club very recently. Dr Rupp Carriveau 45:11 So good. So, you know, absolutely. Trevor Freeman 45:14 So same question, but for a movie or a show, what's something that you recommend? Dr Rupp Carriveau 45:17 Everyone thrilled with that question. If you're looking for a good, good true story. I've always been romantically obsessed with the ghost in the darkness, the true story of, I guess, a civil engineer trying to solve a problem of man eating lions and Tsavo. That's a, that's a, that's a tremendous movie with Val Kilmer and Michael Douglas. Yeah, that's good then, and I think for something a little more light hearted and fun, a big fan of the way, way back and youth and revolt, nice. Trevor Freeman 46:03 If someone offered you a free round trip flight anywhere in the world, where would you go? Dr Rupp Carriveau 46:05 I don't really like flying, I got to be honest. But if, if I was forced onto the plane, I think, I think I go to Japan. Nice. Have you been before? No, I haven't. I'd like to go. Okay, cool. You're not the first guest that has said that someone else was very That's understandable. Yeah, who is someone that you admire? I would say truly selfless people that help people when no one's looking and when it's not being tabulated for likes those people are who I aspire to be more like nice. Trevor Freeman 46:47 And last question, what's something about the energy sector or its future that you're really excited about? Dr Rupp Carriveau 46:53 I think maybe power to the people I really like, the movement of distributed energy resources. I'm sure there's a limit to it, but I think, I think if we have more responsibility for our own power production, and again, I can see there are limits where it's probably, you know, there's, there's a point where it's too much. I'm all for, for major centralized coordination and the security in the reliability that goes with that. But I think a little bit more on the distributed side would be nice, because I think people would understand energy better. They would they would own it more, and I think our grid would probably increase in its resiliency. Trevor Freeman 47:37 Yeah, that's definitely something that no matter the topic, it seems, is a part of almost every conversation I have here on the show. It works its way in, and I think that's indicative of the fundamental role that decentralizing our energy production and storage is is already playing and is going to play in the years to come as we kind of tackle this energy transition drove this has been a really great conversation. I appreciate you taking the time to talk to us, and that's great to catch up. Great to chat with you again. Dr Rupp Carriveau 48:11 Total privilege for me. Trevor, I really appreciate it. Outstanding job. Trevor Freeman 48:15 Thanks for having me. Yeah, great to chat. Thanks for tuning in to another episode of the thinkenergy podcast, don't forget to subscribe. Wherever you listen to podcasts, and it would be great if you could leave us a review. It really helps to spread the word. As always, we would love to hear from you, whether it's feedback comments or an idea for a show or a guest. You can always reach us at thinkenergy@hydroottawa.com.
Kevin covers the following stories: despite the rhetoric last week, New Social Security Cost-Of-Living Adjustment (COLA) release date confirmed amid Government shutdown; the Department of Energy terminated $7.5 Billion in grants for last minute Biden-approved projects; oil and gas prices react to U.S.-China trade tensions; International Energy Agency's prediction of crude oil supply surplus in 2026; a possible meeting between President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jingping later this month; comments by Fed-Chair Jerome Powell indicating further rate cuts this year; Kevin has the details, digs into the data, puts the information into historical perspective, offers his insights and a few opinions.
Kevin covers the following stories: despite the rhetoric last week, New Social Security Cost-Of-Living Adjustment (COLA) release date confirmed amid Government shutdown; the Department of Energy terminated $7.5 Billion in grants for last minute Biden-approved projects; oil and gas prices react to U.S.-China trade tensions; International Energy Agency's prediction of crude oil supply surplus in 2026; a possible meeting between President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jingping later this month; comments by Fed-Chair Jerome Powell indicating further rate cuts this year; Kevin has the details, digs into the data, puts the information into historical perspective, offers his insights and a few opinions.
A new report from the International Energy Agency has found that energy retail prices in Ireland are three times higher than wholesale prices, one of the highest gaps in the world. The report also confirms that Ireland has the highest electricity prices in Europe. We get reaction to this with Charlie Weston, Personal Finance editor with the Irish Independent.
To view the graphs Nate is referring to in this episode, please click here. --- In this week's Frankly, Nate returns from New York City Climate Week with fresh reflections on the disconnect between our economic narratives and biophysical realities. Using his background in finance, Nate observes that while the prioritization of financial abstractions and claims continue to accelerate, with gold and silver prices reaching record-setting highs, the ledger is being balanced with parallel declines in our planetary health and social resilience. This tradeoff is harder and harder to ignore as newly crossed planetary boundaries continue alerting us to the fact that we are operating outside of our Earth's ability to maintain biospheric stability. Nate also gives an update on Peak Oil, drawing on the International Energy Agency's recent report regarding the implications of oil and gas field decline rates. He emphasizes that the question at hand is not if these energetic supply constraints will affect the trajectory of human systems – rather, the question is when it will come into effect, and how we will respond as a human species. Given the increasing number of reports on declining oil forecasts, how much longer can our society remain energy-blind? Where might our priorities shift if we truly understood the biophysical limits shaping our future? Lastly, if we were to zoom out towards a wider boundary lens, what types of societal responses become possible that could steer us towards better human and planetary futures? (Recorded September 30, 2025) Show Notes and More Watch this video episode on YouTube Want to learn the broad overview of The Great Simplification in 30 minutes? Watch our Animated Movie. --- Support The Institute for the Study of Energy and Our Future Join our Substack newsletter Join our Hylo channel and connect with other listeners
In this episode, we speak with Trevor Best, Co-founder and CEO of Syzygy Plasmonics, who shares how his company's proprietary photocatalytic technology converts waste biogas into sustainable aviation fuel, and has the potential to reach fossil jet fuel parity. Best discusses:NovaSAF's unique value proposition: converting biogas from landfills, dairy farms, and wastewater treatment plants into SAF, simultaneously addressing methane emissions whilst decarbonising aviation transport.The technology's competitive advantage: using light instead of heat which enables the use of raw biogas without extensive cleanup, scaling efficiently at smaller sites, and increasing yield by incorporating CO2 into the fuel rather than separating it out.Strategic targeting of stranded biogas assets that are far from natural gas grids, which helps secure feedstock at low prices $5-6 per MMBtu, making jet fuel parity achievable.How Syzygy is building the world's first biogas-to-SAF plant in Uruguay, that can produce 400,000 gallons of SAF anually, serving as proof of concept before scaling to 100,000 tons per year by 2030 through clustered developments.The global biogas opportunity: the International Energy Agency estimates reserves could theoretically produce 580 million tons per year of SAF, exceeding total global jet fuel consumption, though 95% remains stranded today.Best also shares his leadership philosophy: the importance of listening over talking, the inevitability of failure in entrepreneurship, and why persistence matters more than avoiding mistakes.If you LOVED this episode, you'll also love the conversation we had with Dave Kettner, President and General Counsel at Virent, who shares the company's pivotal role in shaping a sustainable future in aviation. Check it out here. Learn more about the innovators who are navigating the industry's challenges to make sustainable aviation a reality, in our new book ‘Sustainability in the Air: Volume 2'. Click here to learn more.Feel free to reach out via email to podcast@simpliflying.com. For more content on sustainable aviation, visit our website green.simpliflying.com and join the movement. It's about time.Links & More:Syzygy PlasmonicsSyzygy Plasmonics begins development of the world's first electrified biogas-to-SAF plant - PR NewswireSyzygy Plasmonics outlines dual-certified, cost effective RFNBO and Bio SAF solution as Europe calls for urgent action on Net-Zero aviation - BioEnergy TimesSyzygy Plasmonics and Velocys partner for sustainable aviation fuel production in Uruguay - ChemAnalyst
India's oil future is being shaped by global power moves and hidden agendas. What does this mean for the Indian economy and global energy security.In this episode of The Core Report Weekend Edition, Govindraj Ethiraj will be in conversation with energy expert Dr Anas Al Hajji to uncover the real story behind India's dependence on Russian oil, US tariffs on imports, and the role of OPEC, China, and Europe.Why is the International Energy Agency often wrong in its forecasts. How are India's refineries preparing for shifting crude supplies. Could China's oil storage strategy reshape global prices. And what really determines whether sanctions on Russia work or fail.We explore the truth about oil demand growth, future energy prices, and the geopolitical tensions driving markets. From India's energy security to US China trade wars, from Russia's oil exports to Canada's pipelines, this is a deep dive into the forces that will shape oil and energy markets through 2026.If you want to understand the next surge in oil demand, the risks for India's economy, and the opportunities for business leaders, this conversation is a must watch.Stay with us for sharp insights, expert analysis, and clear answers on where India and the world are heading in the global oil game.Join & Interact anonymously on our WhatsApp channel (https://tinyurl.com/The-Core-WhatsApp-Channel) Subscribe to our Newsletter (https://www.thecore.in/newsletters/thecorenewsletter)Follow Us on Social Media for More Updates:Twitter (https://twitter.com/the_core_in)Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/the.core.in/)Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/thecore.biz/)Linkedin (https://www.linkedin.com/company/thecore-in)Youtube (https://www.youtube.com/@thecore_in)
In this episode, Argus' Waldemar Jaszczyk discusses the future of clean cooking access in Africa with Daniel Wetzel, the head of the Tracking Sustainable Transitions Unit at the International Energy Agency. Daniel joins to take stock of the progress achieved since last year's summit on the issue, during which $2.2bn in public and private funding was pledged until 2030. Building on recent success, Daniel outlines the IEA's newly released roadmap for all African countries to reach universal access to clean cooking by 2040, describing LPG as the “workhorse” of the move away from harmful traditional cooking fuels such as wood, charcoal, and kerosene.
On this episode of the Energy Security Cubed Podcast, Kelly and Joe discuss the challenge of forecasting global energy demand with consideration of the International Energy Agency's World Energy Outlook data series and the potential for a global LNG glut. // Host Bio: - Kelly Ogle is Managing Director of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute - Joe Calnan is VP Energy and Calgary Operations at the Canadian Global Affairs Institute // Interview recording Date: September 16, 2025 // Energy Security Cubed is part of the CGAI Podcast Network. Follow the Canadian Global Affairs Institute on Facebook, Twitter (@CAGlobalAffairs), or on LinkedIn. Head over to our website at www.cgai.ca for more commentary. // Produced by Joe Calnan. Music credits to Drew Phillips.
Recent geopolitical events, including the Israeli attack on Doha and Russian drones entering Polish airspace, have influenced energy markets. On the other hand, the International Energy Agency's (IEA) latest report suggest a potential surplus. Please note: this podcast is provided for information purposes only and should not be construed as an offer, or a solicitation of an offer, to buy or sell financial instruments. This podcast does not constitute a personal recommendation and is not investment advice. Investec
In this episode of Redefining Energy Tech Michael Barnard sat down with Lyle Trytten, who many in the industry know as the nickel nerd. He has spent decades working in mining and mineral processing and has become a trusted voice for organizations like Natural Resources Canada and the International Energy Agency. Our conversation turned to the techno-economic realities of seabed mining, a topic made timely by American executive orders on resource leasing and the ongoing debates around the Clarion Clipperton Zone in the Pacific.Lyle laid out the three categories of undersea mineralization that matter: manganese-rich crusts closer to shore, sulfide deposits around black smokers, and the polymetallic nodules that dominate the abyssal plains. It is those nodules that attract the most attention, given their mix of manganese, nickel, copper, cobalt and iron. The percentages matter here. Manganese makes up 20 to 30% of nodules, feeding a steel market of about 20 million tons annually. Copper mirrors manganese in demand at similar volumes. Nickel sits above copper in value, with nodules carrying over 1% grades. Cobalt is the prize, worth two and a half times nickel and largely controlled today by the Democratic Republic of Congo with annual output of 250,000 to 300,000 tons. Compared to terrestrial deposits, those grades are very competitive, often better than what current copper and nickel mines deliver onshore.Of course, the challenge is not what lies within the nodules but where they are. Four kilometers down is a different game than an open pit in Chile. Lyle framed it with a simple multiplier: one times for onshore, ten times for offshore, a hundred times underwater, and a thousand times when you hit the seabed. The Clarion Clipperton Zone lies thousands of kilometers from shore, making costs and logistics daunting. Even compared to offshore oil, with rigs like Deepwater Horizon working at 1.5 kilometers depth, this is an order of magnitude harder. That reality explains why seabed mining remains more a promise than a practice.We also dug into the credibility problem the sector faces. The history of mining is littered with scams, from Bre-X to pump-and-dump juniors, which is why Canada now requires transparent disclosures under NI 43-101. Without strict governance and independent validation, seabed mining risks repeating those mistakes. The resource base is not the issue. Just as with oil, the minerals are there. The question is whether reserves—economically viable, technically accessible deposits—will come online in time to meet surging demand, especially for copper, which looks tight in the next 15 years.Substitutability plays a role too. Aluminum can stand in for copper in transmission lines. Stainless steel has shifted chemistries in response to nickel price spikes. Battery makers tweak their chemistries—NMC ratios change with market conditions, and lithium iron phosphate has taken half the electric vehicle market without using nickel, manganese, or cobalt at all. Recycling will matter increasingly, but with service lives of decades for stainless and 20 years for batteries, secondary supply will not relieve near-term shortages. Companies like Redwood Materials and Moment Energy are building the bridge to a circular system, but the lag time is real.The conversation left me with a clear takeaway. Seabed mining is not an easy fix. The minerals are there in attractive grades, but the depth, cost, and governance challenges are immense. At the same time, demand for copper, nickel, and cobalt will keep rising, and prices will eventually force new sources to market. The industry has opportunities in recycling, substitution, and responsible development, but the old habits of hype and over-promising will have to be broken if it is to have a role in the critical minerals future.
Before it invaded Ukraine, Russia was Europe's single largest supplier of imported natural gas. But now that the European Union is considering an outright ban on all Russian gas by the end of 2027, Russia is pivoting to Asia, courting China as both a crucial new market for its gas and an important geostrategic ally. When Russian President Vladimir Putin traveled to China at the end of August, the visit produced a series of cooperation agreements. Among them: a deal between Gazprom and the China National Petroleum Corporation to advance the long-discussed Power of Siberia 2 pipeline, a massive project that, if completed, could send 50 billion cubic meters of Russian natural gas to China each year. But the announcement is short on many details, including pricing, financing, and a timeline. So what — beyond symbolism — does this deal actually deliver for both Russia and China in the short term? What prompted China to sign the agreement after years of delays? And what does it tell us about China's efforts to diversify its energy imports? This week, Jason speaks with three scholars from the Center on Global Energy Policy (CGEP), Anne-Sophie Corbeau, Tatiana Mitrova, and Erica Downs, about the possible impacts of the Power of Siberia 2 pipeline agreement. The trio also recently co-authored a post about the PoS2 news on the CGEP website. Anne-Sophie is a global research scholar at CGEP, where she focuses on hydrogen and natural gas. She previously worked as a senior analyst at BP and the International Energy Agency. Tatiana is a CGEP research fellow with twenty five years of experience dealing with Russian and global energy markets. Erica is a senior research scholar at CGEP, where she focuses on Chinese energy markets and geopolitics. Earlier in her career she held senior roles in the China Studies program of the CNA Corporation and at Eurasia Group. Credits: Hosted by Jason Bordoff and Bill Loveless. Produced by Mary Catherine O'Connor, Caroline Pitman, and Kyu Lee. Engineering by Gregory Vilfranc.
We close out our Summer Playlist this week by welcoming Nobuo Tanaka, Executive Director Emeritus at the International Energy Agency, into the SmarterMarkets™ studio. David Greely sits down with Nobuo Tanaka to discuss how the energy trilemma of balancing energy security, affordability, and environmental sustainability is shaping the energy and geopolitical landscape facing Japan and Korea – and what it means for the future of LNG and nuclear power.
Kevin covers the following topics: Fusable's MC Advantage released their analysis of FMCSA data regarding crashes involving English Language Proficiency violators versus other violations; AI powered speed cameras can be used to find other violations; BP's latest oil and natural gas discovery; BP reports 2nd qtr. financial results; Paccar reported their 2nd qtr. results; Kevin has the details, sifts through the data, offers his insights, puts the information into historical perspective, offers his insights and a few opinions along the way. Oil and gas prices react to an unexpected rise crude oil supply, sanctions on Russia may increase or decrease pending Trump-Putin meeting on Friday, the International Energy Agency's forecast for oil supply and OPEC+ forecast global oil demand.
Kevin covers the following topics: Fusable's MC Advantage released their analysis of FMCSA data regarding crashes involving English Language Proficiency violators versus other violations; AI powered speed cameras can be used to find other violations; BP's latest oil and natural gas discovery; BP reports 2nd qtr. financial results; Paccar reported their 2nd qtr. results; Kevin has the details, sifts through the data, offers his insights, puts the information into historical perspective, offers his insights and a few opinions along the way. Oil and gas prices react to an unexpected rise crude oil supply, sanctions on Russia may increase or decrease pending Trump-Putin meeting on Friday, the International Energy Agency's forecast for oil supply and OPEC+ forecast global oil demand.
In this episode of Energy Evolution, we explore how heat waves are driving fundamental shifts in European power demand patterns and stress-testing the region's energy infrastructure. Host Eklavya Gupte speaks with Glenn Rickson, head of short-term European power analysis at S&P Global Commodity Insights, who breaks down the supply and demand pressures that are emerging from warmer temperatures. Correspondent Camilla Naschert interviews Brian Motherway, head of the office of energy efficiency and inclusive transitions at the International Energy Agency, on Europe's growing appetite for air conditioning and its impact on EU climate and energy efficiency goals. Energy Evolution has merged with Platts Future Energy, and episodes are now regularly published on Tuesdays. Links: EEX France Fin Baseload power AAOAM00 Platts UK GTMA Baseload power FUKXY01Western Europe endures record June heat stress: EU's climate monitor (subscriber content)
In this episode of Energy Evolution, we explore how heat waves are driving fundamental shifts in European power demand patterns and stress-testing the region's energy infrastructure. Host Eklavya Gupte speaks with Glenn Rickson, head of short-term European power analysis at S&P Global Commodity Insights, who breaks down the supply and demand pressures that are emerging from warmer temperatures. Correspondent Camilla Naschert interviews Brian Motherway, head of the office of energy efficiency and inclusive transitions at the International Energy Agency, on Europe's growing appetite for air conditioning and its impact on EU climate and energy efficiency goals. Energy Evolution has merged with Platts Future Energy, and episodes are now regularly published on Tuesdays. Links: EEX France Fin Baseload power AAOAM00 Platts UK GTMA Baseload power FUKXY01Western Europe endures record June heat stress: EU's climate monitor (subscriber content)
Artificial intelligence is transforming our world — and the energy sector. Earlier this year, the International Energy Agency (IEA) released a comprehensive report examining both AI's projected energy demands and how it might reshape energy systems. But while headlines often raise alarms around electricity demand growth, the reality is more nuanced and complex. While data centers currently account for just 1.5% of global electricity use, that share is expected to double by 2030, driven largely by the growth of AI. In some regions, particularly in the US, data centers could account for nearly half of all electricity demand growth in the coming years. So how should we understand the relationship between AI and energy? What does this mean for power systems around the world? Is artificial intelligence a friend or foe to the clean energy transition? This week, Jason Bordoff speaks with Laura Cozzi, about the IEA's findings on AI's energy demands. Laura is the chief energy modeler at the International Energy Agency, and its director of sustainability, technology, and outlooks. She oversees the IEA's analytical work on energy, climate, and economic modeling, and led the team that produced the agency's report on artificial intelligence and energy. Credits: Hosted by Jason Bordoff and Bill Loveless. Produced by Mary Catherine O'Connor, Caroline Pitman, and Kyu Lee. Engineering by Gregory Vilfranc.
The U.S. Commerce Department released the May Retail Sales Report; Kevin discusses the details and offers his insights. President Trump accomplished something no other President has ever done and he just did it again; Kevin reveals the details. GM's quickest sports car ever built; Kevin discusses this. President Trump and U.K. Prime Minster Starmer reached a trade agreement; Kevin explains, reviews the details and offers his insights. Estes Express Lines announced that they are increasing its terminal capacity; Kevin has the details and the cities involved. Oil and gas prices react to the International Energy Agency's global oil supply forecast, geopolitical events, potential production and supply route disruptions.
oday, we return to energy and AI. What will AI mean in terms of global energy consumption up to 2030 and beyond? And could that be offset by efficiencies and transformations generated by AI in our daily lives? Could AI even accelerating the energy transition? To do that, we are discussing International Energy Agency's latest paper - Energy and AI (https://www.iea.org/reports/energy-and-ai). A comprehensive review and deep dive in AI's impacts on our world energy map. Our guests are the lead authors, Siddharth Singh and Thomas Spencer. Both are also part of the team that produce the World Energy Outlook annually.For more on our senior advisory network, Enco Insights visit - www.encoinsights.com For more on www.Hyperionsearch.com - our clean energy search firmFor commodities search visit www.hcgroup.global
The emergence of AI is generating an unprecedented hunger for electricity, fundamentally reshaping global energy consumption. The International Energy Agency projects that data center electricity consumption will double to 945 terawatt hours by 2030, growing at 15% annually, four times
The International Energy Agency projects the global market value of critical minerals could reach almost $800 billion by 2040. That's because we must have them for the electrified future. And right now, China is a dominant supplier.The Trump administration wants to find other sources, and it's looking to U.S. and international waters to mine minerals on the ocean floor. Marketplace contributor Daniel Ackerman has been reporting on the deep-sea mining companies that are working to figure out how to harvest in unforgiving terrain.
The International Energy Agency projects the global market value of critical minerals could reach almost $800 billion by 2040. That's because we must have them for the electrified future. And right now, China is a dominant supplier.The Trump administration wants to find other sources, and it's looking to U.S. and international waters to mine minerals on the ocean floor. Marketplace contributor Daniel Ackerman has been reporting on the deep-sea mining companies that are working to figure out how to harvest in unforgiving terrain.
What happens when a company we trust with our most personal data gets into financial trouble ? We hear from a woman who trusted a US company with her genetic information.Also on Tech Life this week, will there be enough electricity for the demands of artificial intelligence ? The International Energy Agency tells us about the challenges of powering the AI boom. And we find out how to grow an island in The Maldives. The tech involved could protect low-lying territories from erosion and rising sea levels.We enjoy reading your messages about the one item of tech you simply can't do without. If you want to tell us about your must-have piece of tech, please get in touch by emailing techlife@bbc.co.uk or send us a Whatsapp message or voice memo on +44 330 1230 320.Presenter: Chris Vallance Producer: Tom Quinn Editor: Monica SorianoImage: A scientist holds a DNA sample with the results on a computer screen in a laboratory. Credit: Westend61/Getty Images
Two of the world's biggest energy firms are in court fighting over a new oil project that could be worth a trillion dollars.We hear why the International Energy Agency says the worlds is becoming too dependent on just a few countries for critical minerals that power clean energy technologies.Plus, Will Bain finds out why there's been a five-fold increase in streaming subscriptions in India.
Plus: Ford is to let rival Nissan use part of its flagship U.S. battery plant, as electric vehicle demand slows. And a new report by the International Energy Agency finds China continues to dominate the global supply of critical minerals. Kate Bullivant hosts. Sign up for WSJ's free What's News newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
On April 10, the International Energy Agency released a major report on energy and AI. The report explores topics including electricity demand for AI, how AI is being used in the energy sector, AI's role in accelerating energy innovation, the security implications of AI and greenhouse gas emissions from AI. Join host David Sandalow in conversation with Laura Cozzi, IEA's Director for Sustainability, Technology and Outlooks, who designed and directed this landmark report. The AI, Energy and Climate Podcast is a special series from the DSR Network sponsored by NEDO and hosted by David Sandalow, Inaugural Fellow at Columbia University's Center on Global Energy Policy. AI for Climate Change Mitigation Roadmap -- https://www.icef.go.jp/roadmap and transitiondigital.org/ai-climate-roadmap. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices