May 19
The grid's immune system is retiring: Synchronous condensers, AI data centers and the physics gap that software alone can't close
As coal and gas plants retire, the energy transition conversation focuses on replacing their generation capacity. What gets far less attention is the loss of the physical properties those machines provided for free: inertia that stabilises frequency, fault current that supports v ... Show More
1h 2m
May 5
Beyond combustion: Long Island's first hydrogen-powered linear generator and the fuel-flexible answer to the dispatchable emissions-free resource problem
Utilities are under pressure to deliver generation that is dispatchable, affordable, and clean enough to satisfy increasingly stringent environmental rules, notoriously hard to do in one asset. As renewables grow, the gas turbines and engines that have historically filled the gap ... Show More
39m 43s
Jun 2023
Big Green Is Under Attack - As Clean Energy Scales Up, Criticism Grows
<p>More money will be invested this year in the solar industry than in oil production. </p><p><br></p><p>So said Faith Birol, executive director of the International Energy Agency, last week. Amy Harder, executive editor of Cipher, attended the Cleanpower 2023 event in New O ... Show More
55m 29s
Feb 2023
The IRA 9 Months On: What's Standing in the Way of Progress?
<p><strong>The US Clean Energy Boom: What Might Stop It?</strong></p><p><br></p><p>The US Inflation Reduction Act, signed into law by President Joe Biden last August, has transformed the outlook for low-carbon energy in the US, because of the array of tax credits and other policy ... Show More
1h 1m
Feb 2024
2023 was a tough year for clean energy investment. Will 2024 be better?
<p>There are no two ways around it: 2023 was a difficult year for low-carbon energy investment, and 2024 has so far carried on in very much the same vein.</p><p>Rising interest rates, fears around future energy policy, cost inflation in some sectors, and perhaps a correction to s ... Show More
1 h
May 2023
Wind and Whales: How Can We Manage The Conflicts When Energy Investment Affects Local Communities And Eco-systems?
<p>On the Energy Gang this week, Ed Crooks is joined by Dr. Melissa Lott, the Director of Research at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University, and Amy Duffuor, who is a General Partner at Azolla Ventures, a climate-focused investment firm. </p><p>In t ... Show More
1h 4m
May 2022
Energy Policy: The Good, The Bad & The Ugly
<p>The energy transition is currently supported by three main pillars: science & technology, economics, and policy. In 2022 these three pillars are unaligned, with a lack of cohesion impeding progress. In today’s episode of the Energy Gang, the team explores three current eve ... Show More
1h 1m
Mar 2014
Anatomy of a Solar Power Boom: Can the Industry Keep it Going?
As expected, 2013 was yet another record year for solar in the U.S. With 5.1 gigawatts of PV and CSP coming online, the solar industry was the second largest provider of electricity capacity behind natural gas. But how long will it continue? With a tax credit expiration looming, ... Show More
43m 9s
Solar, wind, hydrogen and nuclear – we need more investment in these renewables, but where can the money come from?
In 2022, worldwide investment in renewables hit almost half a trillion dollars. Investment in solar – the largest sector - jumped 36% to 308 billion. Investment in wind – the second largest – remained stable at 175 billion. Overall investment ... Show More