Energy Evolution

The clean energy investment landscape has undergone a fundamental reset. The era of zero interest rates has given way to a more disciplined environment where transmission access and power market fundamentals determine success or failure. In this episode, host Eklavya Gupte speaks with Declan Flanagan , founder and CEO of Bluestar Energy Capital, about how his company is responding to these shifts....

Every day, power market participants in the Western US must determine how much electricity they need for the following day and where it's going to come from. In response, California's grid operator on May 1 launched its Extended Day-Ahead Market, or EDAM, giving power providers a better way to coordinate to find the cheapest electricity.  So how is it going so far? And what does it mean for grid r...

Much of the current discussion about nuclear power focuses on advanced technologies, from the potential for nuclear fusion to the development of various designs for small, modular reactors. But if we ask what new nuclear reactors have been built recently in North America and are up and running? The answer is the two reactors at the Vogtle plant in Georgia, which use Westinghouse Electric's AP1000...

After nearly four months, global commodity markets have shown both vulnerability and resilience amid the unprecedented disruptions caused by the Iran war. The European gas market is no exception. In this episode of Energy Evolution, host Eklavya Gupte examines the paradoxes shaping Europe's gas outlook. Gas prices in Europe have surged since the conflict erupted, yet remain far below the panic-dri...

It's hard to overstate how fast the battery energy storage industry is growing, and the impact that's having on the power sector. In 2025, US utilities and independent developers added 17.75 gigawatts of large-scale battery storage capacity, up 52% from 2024. Multiple forecasts suggest another 100 GW or more of large-scale battery capacity will come online in the US through 2030.   To the extent u...

The growth of data centers, and the amount of electricity expected to be required to meet that demand, is probably the biggest issue in the US power sector.  US grid power supplied to hyperscale, leased and crypto-mining data centers reached about 64.4 gigawatts in 2025, nearly tripling since 2020. And that growth is accelerating. In this episode, host Dan Testa speaks with Brandon Oyer , head of...

In this episode, host Eklavya Gupte sits down with Marijn van Diessen , CEO of STX Group, one of the world's leading environmental commodity traders. The conversation explores Europe's strategic pivot toward domestic energy sources, the explosive growth potential of biomethane as a gas substitute, and the surge in demand for renewable certificates driven by AI data centers — alongside the challeng...

In this episode, host Eklavya Gupte explores how the war in the Middle East has exposed Asia's deep reliance on fossil fuels while also accelerating the region's energy transition. Ruchira Singh , energy transition editor at Platts, part of S&P Global Energy, speaks with Nobuo Tanaka , chair of the steering committee at the Innovation for Cool Earth Forum and former executive director of the Inter...

The war in the Middle East has put energy security back at the top of Europe's political agenda. For many, it brings back uncomfortable memories of 2022, when Russia's invasion of Ukraine triggered an energy crisis that forced governments to scramble for solutions. But this time, something is different. In this episode of Energy Evolution, host Eklavya Gupte speaks with Alex Blackburne , senior re...

The EU's methane emissions framework has drawn pushback from major gas producers and industry groups, warning that critical implementation details remain undefined even as a key 2027 regulatory deadline looms. In this episode of Energy Evolution, host Eklavya Gupte asks whether Europe's methane regulation will set a new global standard for climate accountability or trigger an energy crisis by impa...

Chris Womack is chairman, president and CEO of Southern Company, one of the largest investor-owned, regulated utility holding companies in the US. Its electric and gas subsidiaries serve more than 9 million customers in Alabama, Georgia, Illinois, Mississippi and Tennessee.  In this episode, co-host Dan Testa sits down with Womack to discuss the many issues facing the US power industry, including...

The development of data centers, many of which are to enable the growth and widespread use of powerful AI applications, is one of the key drivers of steeply increasing electricity demand forecasts in the US and around the world.   But while the power industry is working to supply electricity needed by large tech firms, it is also using AI technology to improve its own operations. In this episode,...

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has fundamentally reshaped its energy sector, with oil and gas exports diverted from Europe to Asia while soaring military spending strains the state budget. The war has stalled Russia's decarbonization plans and reduced investment in cleaner energy projects. But with climate change impacts increasingly visible across Russia's vast territory, the question looms: How wi...

Ernest Moniz was the 13th US secretary of energy, serving from 2013 to January 2017. During his tenure he was part of the team, along with then-Secretary of State John Kerry, that negotiated the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement. Moniz currently serves as founder and CEO of the EFI Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting the transition to a low-carbon energy future.   In this episode, Dan Testa...

The EU Emissions Trading System is facing its greatest test yet. European leaders and companies are sounding the alarm, warning that high carbon prices are undermining the bloc's industrial competitiveness and threatening to drive manufacturing offshore. In this episode of Energy Evolution, host Eklavya Gupte examines what's driving the turbulence in Europe's carbon market and what it means for th...

Measuring and reducing upstream methane emissions is critical for US gas producers, particularly as they look to export their product to markets like Europe and Asia, and as the tech industry turns to gas as a key solution to its voracious power demand.  In this episode, from the CERAWeek by S&P Global conference in Houston, co-host Dan Testa talks with Courtney Loper , head of government relation...

When it comes to advanced nuclear generation, most North American power producers are in the study and development phases. But Ontario Power Generation is currently constructing the first of four small modular nuclear reactors at its Darlington facility, with the first 300-MW unit scheduled to complete construction and connect to the grid by 2030. The other three reactors are scheduled to be compl...

The closure of the Strait of Hormuz was long considered one of the energy market's great hypotheticals -- until it became a reality. In this special CERAWeek series episode of Energy Evolution, host Eklavya Gupte sits down with Dave Ernsberger , president of S&P Global Energy, to examine what may be the most significant energy supply disruption ever and how it's forcing a fundamental redrawing of...

Carbon accounting — the math of how emissions are calculated, reported and compared — is poised to move to the forefront of global trade and energy markets. Three critical developments in 2026 are forcing action: the implementation of the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, revisions to the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, and new industry-driven product-level carbon accounting efforts. In this episo...

California utility PG&E is studying the impacts of electrification to understand and prepare for a future grid with high levels of distributed energy resources, and significantly higher power demand.   But although PG&E expects to spend about $25 billion by 2040 on grid upgrades, the distribution portion of customers' electric bills could decrease up to 25% over that period as added revenue from i...

For several years, Iran, Venezuela, and Russia have relied on a sprawling network of aging tankers—known as the shadow fleet—to keep their oil flowing despite Western sanctions. Now, the EU is proposing its most aggressive move yet: a sweeping ban on maritime services that could cut off insurance, brokerage, and port access for vessels carrying Russian crude. This comes at a time when the Venezuel...

The European Hydrogen Bank is meant to be Europe's big enabler for large-scale renewable hydrogen production, so why did the EU's second auction fail to deliver on its promise? In this episode of Energy Evolution, host Eklavya Gupte speaks with James Burgess , senior reporter at S&P Global Energy Platts, and Matthew Hodgkinson , senior principal analyst at S&P Global Energy Horizons, who explain w...

Offshore wind once looked like a natural play for oil majors: big offshore projects, complex engineering, and familiar operating conditions. But as costs and interest rates have risen, the sector's economics have started to clash with the companies' return expectations. This has revealed a business model where capital is invested upfront, payback is slow, and the competitive advantage often lies i...

As AI-driven electricity demand surges and companies race to decarbonize, environmental commodity markets are growing swiftly. Host Eklavya Gupte interviews John Melby , CEO of Xpansiv, who provides insight into what it takes to create the digital trading infrastructure for markets ranging from carbon credits to renewable energy certificates and power purchase agreements. We also hear from Marie-l...

Greenland has suddenly emerged as a focal point in the global competition for critical minerals and energy. This episode explores the Arctic island's strategic importance through conversations examining how resource competition and geopolitics are converging in one of Earth's most remote locations. Host Eklavya Gupte speaks with Kip Keen , senior reporter at S&P Global Energy, on Greenland's miner...