The Energy Transition Show with Chris Nelder

Many utilities are actively working against the energy transition and abusing their monopoly power, but it doesn’t have to be that way.

How well do integrated assessment models reflect the trajectory of the energy transition, and how can we make their scenarios more useful to policymakers?

What motivates people to accept or reject a proposal to build a new renewable energy facility in their communities?

How National Grid ESO, Great Britain’s transmission network operator, is enhancing its grid to ensure stability while integrating more variable renewable power.

What does the IPCC Working Group III report say about the energy transition pathways and probabilities to limiting warming to 1.5 and 2°C? Part 2 of 2.

What does the IPCC Working Group III report say about the energy transition pathways and probabilities to limiting warming to 1.5 and 2°C? Part 1 of 2.

How can the West stop funding the war on Ukraine by reducing their imports of Russia’s fossil fuels and minerals, and accelerating the energy transition?

Could thermal storage meet much of the demand for energy in a high-renewables future, and radically reduce the expected need for battery storage?

Has the world ever transitioned from one fuel to another as quickly as we need to do this transition in order to meet our climate targets?

How much and what kinds of storage will be needed as variable renewables become more dominant on the power grid, and when and where will it be needed?

How are green bonds evaluated and rated to ensure that they’re really green and will have an impact on climate change?

How can the world align with the IEA’s scenarios for limiting warming to 1.5 degrees, and how should the oil & gas industry proceed in the energy transition?

What is the outlook for oil and gas, and how will the world manage the supply/demand balance as the energy transition proceeds?

What is the political economy of energy transitions, and what do we need to understand about it in order to make the energy transition a success?

In this second part of a two-part interview, we look at Russia’s gas, coal, nuclear, and renewables, and ask how it will fare as the energy transition proceeds.

In this first part of a two-part interview, we talk with Professor Thane Gustafson about Russia’s oil sector.

What needs to happen to get new transmission projects moving in the US, and how can the provisions of the new infrastructure law help?

How can the world shut down the coal industry faster and more equitably, while delivering the best outcomes for the public?

A new approach to energy forecasting finds that the energy transition is feasible, affordable, and most importantly, inevitable.

A global energy crunch is driving up the costs of all energy sources. But will it lead to renewed energy transition efforts, or reneging on climate commitments?

What are some of the reforms that can make electricity markets more friendly to the technologies and needs of the energy transition?

Energy researcher Jonathan Koomey rejoins us to review some of the major themes in energy transition over the past year.

What is the state of marine energy technologies, and how can we capture marine energy sustainably and safely while minimizing environmental damage?

It’s been a decade since the Fukushima nuclear disaster, but the future of Japan’s energy sector remains murky. We try to clarify it in this episode.

How can inverter-based resources integrate with synchronous generators as renewables become dominant on power grids? And is system inertia even necessary?

Will the energy transition be limited by the availability of land, or key minerals, or the cost of renewables? And how will it affect economic growth?

This is Volume 1 of the Best of the Energy Transition Show, compiled from our five most popular shows of the past two years.

What does “resilient” and “reliable” grid power mean from the perspective of grid planning, and what should bulk power system operators do to ensure it?

What carbon price is needed for Europe’s Emissions Trading System to make green hydrogen a viable part of meeting its goals under the Paris agreement?

What trajectory of global energy consumption and carbon emissions can we expect as the world starts to recover from the COVID pandemic? How much will energy consumption and emissions rebound, and what climate path are we now on?

In this episode we look at some significant projects that are under way to expand green hydrogen production capacity and use it to reduce carbon emissions.

Since utility-scale solar costs less than rooftop solar, shouldn’t we invest more in utility-scale? Our guest in this episode says no.

What really happened during the Texas blackout of February 2021, who was really at fault, and what does Texas need to do to keep it from happening again?

Should investors be wary of a stock market bubble now, and how can various kinds of investors participate in the energy transition?

In this first part of a two-part interview, we look at the global expectations for and production of hydrogen, and its potential role in energy transition.

In this first part of a two-part interview, we look at the global expectations for and production of hydrogen, and its potential role in energy transition.

How should we design climate policies so they really reduce emissions, and why have carbon market strategies mostly failed?

The first study to make granular estimates for methane leakage in a large number of US cities exceeds the previous estimate by 72%.

What is vehicle-grid integration, how are electric vehicles charged, and what are some of the best practices for managing EV loads on utility grids?

Is China the greatest threat to the global climate, or our greatest hope for energy transition?

What will the Biden-Harris administration mean for America’s energy transition, its relationship with the rest of the world, and for global action on climate?

To what extent will economics and fundamental limits of energy resources guide and control the progress of energy transition?

What risks does climate change pose to the financial sector and to various markets, and how should we recognize and internalize those risks?

Battery storage has grown ten-fold in the US over the past five years, but the storage sector is still just getting started.

Investors need to reduce their exposure to fossil fuel assets as the world starts taking action on climate change.

How did the solar industry get to where it is today, and what does the future hold for it?

According to modeling by the UN, decarbonizing the economy of the United States, and getting to net-zero emissions by 2050, is not only possible but affordable.

Jonathan Koomey returns to the show for another freewheeling discussion about some of the interesting developments in energy transition over the past year.

What are the policies that the US needs to pursue in order to achieve its decarbonization targets?

In this part of our Energy Basics mini-series, we review the evolution of the electricity industry, and explain how wholesale and retail power markets work.