Capturing solar energy in space promises 24/7 renewable energy at a competitive cost. But to get space solar to scale, scientists and engineers need to tackle questions around technology management in space, social acceptance of power beaming and ground infrastructure, as well as financing hurdles.  On this week's episode of Energy Evolution, reporter Camilla Naschert discusses all of this with Sanjay Vijendran, who leads the European Space Agency's space solar program, and Martin Soltau,...

A maritime law from 1920 prevents non-US ships from operating in and out of US ports. The problem for offshore wind? There are no large turbine installation ships under US flag yet. In this episode of Energy Evolution, we hear from industry experts how the Jones Act affects a fledgling offshore wind buildout and how developers found workarounds to get turbines offshore.  Guests are Dominion Energy SVP Mark Mitchell, Ørsted SVP Troy Patton and S&P Global Commodity Insights analyst John...

Cyber threats are mounting for utilities' critical infrastructure assets globally. If used by savvy hackers, AI also provides new tools for those trying to disrupt power supply or extract data. Decentralization of assets through the rollout of renewables is growing the attack vector for malign actors, NERC SVP Manny Cancel tells Energy Evolution correspondent Camilla Naschert. Cybersecurity expert Andrew Ginter of Waterfall Security lays out the threat landscape and why IT teams and...

Wrapping up the series of episodes featuring interviews gathered at CERAWeek by S&P Global, co-host of Energy Evolution Taylor Kuykendall shares bits of conversations with executives from new, innovative companies across different parts of the battery materials supply chain. Guests on this episode are: Gabi Knesel, a senior vice president at Locus Fermentation Solutions; Mahesh Konduru, CEO of Momentum Technologies; Srini Godavarthy, CEO of Li Metal; and John Busbee, the CEO and...

Energy Evolution continues to showcase interviews with influential leaders in the energy transition after co-host Taylor Kuykendall returned from CERAWeek 2024 by S&P Global, the company's flagship energy conference.  In this episode of the Energy Evolution podcast, Maria Pope, President and CEO of Portland General Electric, and John Pettigrew, CEO of National Grid, discuss the future of energy and the challenges facing the industry in the coming years. PGE provides electricity to a...

Energy Evolution continues to showcase interviews with influential leaders in the energy transition after co-host Taylor Kuykendall returned from CERAWeek 2024 by S&P Global, the company's flagship energy conference.  For this episode, Taylor sat down with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries America CEO Takajiro Ishikawa and Svante President and CEO Claude Letourneau about the past and future of carbon capture projects. Carbon capture is a key technology for reducing emissions, particularly for...

Energy Evolution continues to showcase interviews with influential leaders in the energy transition as co-host Taylor Kuykendall returns from CERAWeek 2024, by S&P Global, the company's flagship energy conference.  In this episode, we talk with Hunter Armistead, the CEO of Pattern Energy. Pattern Energy is developing SunZia Wind and Transmission to capture energy from the winds of New Mexico to power three million Americans in the western US. Hunter and Taylor talk about the challenges...

Energy Evolution continues to showcase interviews with influential leaders in the energy transition as co-host Taylor Kuykendall returns from CERAWeek 2024, by S&P Global, the company's flagship energy conference.  On this episode, we start with a chat with Ernest Moniz, former US energy secretary under the Obama administration, and now president and CEO of the Energy Futures Initiative think tank. Then, we talk to Michał Kurtyka, a fellow with the Atlantic Council Global Energy Center,...

This week, Energy Evolution reports from CERAWeek, S&P Global's flagship energy conference. Today’s conversation is with Colin Parfitt, vice president of Midstream at Chevron Corporation. Parfitt discussed Chevron’s approach to cutting carbon emissions intensity in the oil and gas business amid growing energy demand, the role of liquified natural gas in the energy space, and the pace of energy sector decarbonization with podcast co-host Taylor Kuykendall on the sidelines of the event. ...

This week, Energy Evolution reports from CERAWeek, S&P Global's flagship energy conference. Today’s conversation is with Meghan Nutting, executive vice president of Government and Regulatory Affairs at Sunnova Energy. Virtual power plants (VPPs) can help manage grid demand and support electrification, Nutting told podcast co-host Taylor Kuykendall on the sidelines of the event. She also talked about Sunnova’s Project Hestia, how VPPs may fit in with large conventional power plants, and...

This week, Energy Evolution reports from CERAWeek, S&P Global's flagship energy conference. While the event has become increasingly focused on the energy transition, one commodity trading house says the good times for fossil fuels are far from over. Demand for oil and gas, as well as key metals such as copper, is set to grow across most global markets, Trafigura chief economist Saad Rahim tells Taylor Kuykendall on the sidelines of the event. Subscribe to Energy Evolution to stay...

This week, Energy Evolution reports from CERAWeek, S&P Global's flagship energy conference. Our first conversation from the 'Super Bowl of energy' is with Arshad Mansoor, president of the Electric Power Research Institute. With AI changing the energy landscape at lightning speed, grid flexibility is increasingly indispensable, Mansoor tells podcast co-host Taylor Kuykendall.  Given that, innovation and deployment of small modular reactors and hydrogen cannot come fast enough, Mansoor...

Energy Evolution podcast co-host Taylor Kuykendall interviews researchers behind S&P Global Commodity Insights' Top Ten Cleantech Trends in 2024 for insight into what might be at the front of mind as energy leaders from around the world converge in Houston for CERAWeek 2024. This show's guests are Cormac Gilligan, an associate director at S&P Global Commodity Insights who focuses on solar and energy storage research, and D'avack Francesco, principal analyst, global power and...

What industries produce the most greenhouse gas emissions, and how are they changing as the energy transition proceeds? What are the major technological and policy solutions to cutting emissions in the iron and steel, chemicals, and cement and concrete sectors?  Energy Evolution correspondent Camellia Moors spoke with Jeff Rissman, senior director for industry at Energy Innovation, about his new book on industrial emissions and emissions mitigation strategies, Zero-Carbon Industry:...

As electric vehicle and clean energy technology demand ramps up, so is interest in sourcing the critical minerals they need from recycled materials.   Energy Evolution correspondent Camellia Moors spoke with guests Ahmad Ghahreman, CEO, president and co-founder of rare earths recycler Cyclic Materials, and Julian Proelss, director of business management battery recycling at chemical company BASF, about how these materials are extracted from old equipment and used in new batteries.  ...

Green tech, mining and energy company Fortescue announced in January that it plans to create an advanced manufacturing hub in Detroit, joining a host of companies starting up or expanding EV battery production facilities around the US.   What does Fortescue’s announcement mean for the Michigan EV battery supply chain, and how is the state working to encourage similar projects? How do investments in US EV battery production stack up against those around the world?  Energy Evolution...

The price of solar photovoltaic modules has declined around 40% in the past year due to high production in China. In this episode of Energy Evolution, we're exploring whether cheaper panels are unlocking the business case to build utility-scale solar in the Nordic region. With much fewer sun hours and ample wind and hydro, these northern European countries are no solar hubs – but this is starting to change. Energy Evolution correspondent Camilla Naschert spoke to Warren Campbell and Peter...

On this episode Energy Evolution podcast interviews Alfred Johnson, CEO and co-founder of Crux, about the shift towards clean energy and the tax credits offered by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The IRA is creating hundreds of billions of dollars in tax credits for companies that deploy renewable energy. Transferable tax credits enable companies to sell those credits and access capital quickly. Crux is a platform for developers, tax credit buyers, and financial institutions to transact...

In this episode of the Energy Evolution podcast by S&P Global Commodity Insights, Dan Testa and Taylor Kuykendall speak to Troy Demmer, Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer for Gecko Robotics, and Gilman Callsen, CEO and Founder of Rho Impact, about the use of robots in power plant inspections for sustainability. These robots can identify potential problems in power plants, allowing for preventive maintenance and reducing the reliance on backup generation sources, thus lowering emissions....

In the Energy Evolution podcast, Dan Testa and Taylor Kuykendall interview Jonathan Martell, COO of Mohave Electric Co-Op, and Larsh Johnson, CTO of Stem, to discuss rural power generators using artificial intelligence to help transition to clean energy. The guests discuss the challenges and solutions for increasing the share of renewables in the co-op retail energy mix, and a new solar-plus-storage project recently announced by Mohave.  Please subscribe to Energy Evolution to stay current...

At the COP28 climate conference in December, more than 20 countries—including the US, the UK, France and Sweden—signed a declaration committing to a tripling of nuclear capacity by 2050.   Correspondents Camilla Naschert and Camellia Moors spoke with experts across the nuclear energy and uranium mining industries about the declaration. Listen in to hear Antony Froggatt at Chatham House, Kirsty Gogan at TerraPraxis, Timothy Fox at ClearView Energy Partners, and Ross McElroy at Fission...

The International Energy Agency, a Paris-based intergovernmental organization that analyzes the global energy sector and offers policy recommendations, has announced that renewable energy is expanding faster than at any time in the last three decades, with 507 GW of renewables installed in 2023 alone, almost 50% more than the previous year. Our correspondent Camilla Naschert speaks with Commodity Insights reporter Alex Blackburne about what the report means. Meanwhile, co-host Taylor...

The Energy Evolution podcast explores the challenges and changes facing the transition to cleaner energy. One challenge is obtaining the materials necessary for the transition, such as lithium, copper, and rare earth metals. Space mining is a potential solution, with companies investing in research and development to mine asteroids and other celestial bodies for valuable metals and resources like water. The technology for space mining is in its early stages, and there are challenges, such as...

In this episode of Energy Evolution, hosts Dan Testa and Taylor Kuykendall dive into the latest trends in the energy transition and their impact on the energy and mining sectors as we kick off 2024. Joining them are correspondents Camilla Naschert and Camellia Moors, who share their insights on the rapidly changing landscape of energy production and consumption. With the world moving towards more sustainable energy sources, the hosts and correspondents discuss how companies in the energy and...