Plugged In: the energy news podcast

Europe is developing green energy at lighting speed.  But as solar and wind generation reaches record levels, new challenges are emerging across the electricity system. Negative prices, grid congestion, curtailment and falling capture prices are raising a fundamental question: has renewable deployment reached its limits, or is the rest of the energy system failing to keep pace? In this episode of...

Europe's energy transition has delivered record renewable deployment and significant emissions reductions, but a new wave of geopolitical instability is once again putting the resilience of the energy system to the test. This episode launches the Plugged In Summer Series , where we'll be asking one overarching question throughout: is the energy transition slowing down, or speeding up? Ac...

The UK has set one of the most ambitious energy targets in Europe: a fully clean power system by 2030. But achieving it will require a transformation of the country's electricity network, unprecedented levels of renewable investment, and difficult political and regulatory decisions. Recorded in Whitehall, Richard Sverrisson sits down with Chris Stark, Head of UK’s Mission for Clean Power, UK...

Europe is experiencing a rush of investment into data centres as artificial intelligence, cloud computing and digital services drive a new wave of electricity demand. From Finland to Spain, developers are searching for locations with abundant clean power, available grid connections and supportive policy frameworks. But as data centres grow larger and more power-hungry, questions are emerging about...

As Europe grapples with energy security concerns, expectations of rising electricity demand, and the rapid growth of AI-driven data centres, Finland is emerging as one of the continent's most compelling energy success stories. In this episode of Plugged In, Richard Sverrisson is joined first by Elias Huuhtanen, Finland Correspondent at Montel News, who explains why Finland's long-term ap...

Sweden's dispute with Brussels over electricity market rules is quickly becoming one of the biggest political energy stories in Europe. At the centre of the debate is a huge stockpile of congestion revenues; billions of euros generated from price differences across Sweden's own grid and its interconnectors with neighbouring countries. Stockholm argues the money should stay in Sweden to f...

Europe's power systems are facing a new reality. As heatwaves become more frequent and intense, electricity networks are coming under growing pressure. Rising cooling demand, aging infrastructure and the rapid expansion of renewable energy are all changing how grids operate during periods of extreme weather. The recent Iberian blackout also highlighted how important resilience, flexibility an...

The US-Israeli led war in Iran and the prolonged disruption in the Strait of Hormuz is once again exposing Europe’s vulnerability to global energy shocks; raising urgent questions about gas storage, LNG dependency and whether governments have learned anything from previous crises. In this episode of PluggedIn, Montel’s Richard speaks with Henning Gloystein from Eurasia Group and Saul Kavonic from...

Negative power prices  are becoming increasingly commonplace in Europe’s electricity markets.   With solar generation soaring and renewable buildout accelerating, Europe’s power systems are increasingly producing more electricity than consumers need during certain hours of the day. The result? Wholesale electricity prices falling below zero, with generators effectively paying the market to take th...

Norway - and the Nordic power system more generally - have seen fewer instances of negative prices than their continental counterparts in recent weeks. Why has the region been “snorkelling” while others have been plumbing the depths of negative prices. Norway’s hydropower system is under pressure after one of the coldest winters in 16 years and a prolonged period of low precipitation. Reservoir le...

Europe may have emerged from winter without a full-scale gas crisis; but with storage levels unusually low, geopolitical tensions rising, and summer-winter price spreads offering little commercial incentive, the real challenge may only just be beginning. Germany, home to Europe's largest gas storage capacity, is facing mounting pressure to refill ahead of winter while the war in the Middle Ea...

From the streets of Paris to the heart of Europe’s energy regulation, this episode explores how geopolitics, market design and infrastructure are reshaping France’s - and  the continent’s - energy future. As tensions in the Gulf ripple through global gas prices and Europe’s energy markets,  France finds itself in a uniquely resilient position, buoyed by nuclear power, growing renewables and strong...

Across Europe, power prices are behaving in ways that are leaving even seasoned market participants questioning what they’re seeing. From negative prices to seemingly counterintuitive flows between some price zones, the electricity system is becoming harder to interpret, and certainly more complex. On April 6, negative prices of EUR -15,000/MWh in Belgium's balancing market highlighted just h...

A fragile ceasefire in the Gulf offers a moment of relief;  but is it already beginning to unravel and will it have lasting implications for gas supply in the region and far beyond? Recorded on the morning of April 9, amid fast-moving geopolitical developments, this special episode examines what the latest developments mean for global energy markets, LNG flows, and Europe’s energy security. Is thi...

In this episode of Plugged In, we return to Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) and their role in Europe’s energy transition. After years of rapid expansion, the PPA market hit a slowdown in 2025. Falling capture rates, rising negative prices and increasing volatility have made deals harder to structure and price, forcing both buyers and sellers to rethink how risk is shared. At the same time, renewa...

In this episode of Plugged In , we turn to a topic we haven’t covered often; but one that’s rapidly moving back into the spotlight: coal. As war in the Middle East disrupts LNG supply chains and drives gas prices sharply higher, European power markets are being forced to adapt. With gas-fired generation becoming increasingly expensive, coal is, at least temporarily, regaining economic relevance. W...

In the third episode of our energy crisis miniseries, we turn to Europe’s power markets, where rising gas prices, renewed volatility and political uncertainty are once again putting the electricity system under pressure. Although the current crisis is not a repeat of 2022, it is exposing fresh vulnerabilities; from low hydro levels in the Nordics and gas storage concerns in western Europe, to grow...

*** This episode was recorded on Wednesday before attacks on Qatari and Iranian energy infrastructure. But the message from the guests is still highly relevant - the wholesale gas market has not fully priced in the geopolitical risk premium.  In this second episode of our special series on the war in Iran and its implications for energy markets, we focus on a potential looming gas crisis. As Europ...

As wholesale markets remain nervous and volatile, there are renewed calls for policymakers to intervene to shield large energy users from spiking prices. But are markets failing? And could ill-conceived, knee-jerk interventions disrupt the EU’s internal energy market? Rising geopolitical tensions and disruption to key global shipping routes have pushed gas, power and oil prices sharply higher in r...

Italy has launched one of the most controversial proposals in the European energy market in years. In a bid to lower electricity prices and boost the competitiveness of Italian industry, the government has proposed shifting the cost of carbon emissions from gas-fired power plants to consumers. Supporters say the move could reduce wholesale power prices and ease pressure on businesses facing high e...

Middle East escalation has put the Strait of Hormuz; the world’s key energy chokepoint, under threat. We assess the impact on Brent crude, European gas (TTF), and global LNG, with a focus on Qatar’s supply and Europe’s exposure.   Joined by Hussein Ibish, Senior Resident Scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute, Dan Marks, Research Fellow for Energy Security at RUSI, and Henning Gloystein, Eurasi...

This week marks the four-year anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine - a war which has unearthed new hybrid warfare tactics and the targeting of crucial gas and electricity infrastructure  in the country.  What has changed this winter for the people of Ukraine, and will Putin's mission to "freeze Ukraine”  and brutally destroy its energy work?  In this episode, Richa...

With Nord Pool set to offer electricity futures contracts from March, competition for liquidity on the Nordic power curve will heat up this year. Who will come out on top? Also, the European Commission, along with the energy  regulators, wants to create a new, centralised unit to operate day-ahead market coupling in the EU. Whilst market participants agree with the need for increased regulatory ov...

As tensions between Iran and the US intensify, Russian mounts fresh attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure, and  President Trump softens his stance on the US  grab for Greenland, France´s President Macron has warned Europe about a false sense of security, even a state of emergency. In this episode, Richard speaks to our guests in front of a live audience at E-world in Essen, Germany, abou...

Norway is normally an exporter of electricity to its neighbours , but experts are sounding alarm bells. They warn that the increase in demand from electrification and data centres will eclipse the country's abundant power supply. Has Norway now reached that crucial turning point?  In this episode, Richard sits down with Nordic market experts at the Pareto Securities conference in Oslo to disc...