The Energy Revolution

This week we’re talking about energy bills. The UK has some of the highest electricity prices in theworld, and global events are once again pushing oil and gas markets into the headlines. But what actually drives the cost of energy in Britain? How will the latest crisis in the Middle East feed through to household bills? And does the price cap really protect consumers in the way people think? This...

A few weeks ago, Tony Blair published an essay arguing that the UK should focus less on clean power, and more on cheap power. But is that really the choice Britain faces? And in a world of rising electricity demand, data centres, expensive gas, and growing pressure on the grid, what would genuinely cheap power actually look like? This week, Andrew Sissons returns to the podcast to join host Sulaim...

This week we have a special episode of The Energy Revolution Podcast, as we’re joined by Chris Stark, Head of the UK’s Clean Power Mission, to discuss the UK’s plan to build a clean power system by 2030. What has the Clean Power Mission achieved so far? And how can the UK make sure clean power translates into lower bills, greater energy security and a more electrified economy? Chris and our host,...

For decades, the North Sea has played a major role in Britain’s energy system, economy and industrial base. But production has been declining for years, and the debate over what should happen next remains highly contested. Why are projects like Jackdaw and Rosebank still being reconsidered? What does the government’s position on new licences mean in practice? And what would further domestic produc...

This week we're live from Innovation Zero, to talk the challenges of scaling new climate technologies. The so-called "valley of death" affects all sectors, but clean tech is particularly difficult to move from research to wide-scale adoption. Why? And what can we do about it? Our guest this week is Rhian-Mari Thomas OBE, CEO at the Green Finance Institute and the first person to win...

The Hormuz Oil Crisis is reminding Britain just how reliant we still are on oil and gas. Our electricity is fairly clean, but only 21% of final energy use is electrified. The rest - in our homes, our cars, and our industries - relies on increasingly volatile and expensive oil and gas. Why is Britain so far behind in electrifying compared to countries like France, the Netherlands, or Norway? And wh...

Lucy Yu is one of the UK's most influential minds in the energy and AI space. She is CEO at the Centre for Net Zero, and recently appointed as the UK government's AI Champion for Clean Energy. Today she joins our host Sulaiman Ilyas-Jarrett (Policy Fellow at the University of Cambridge Centre for Science and Policy), to discuss the future of these two crucial sectors. Can the grid cope wit...

Energy security is on everyone's mind right now. Since Israel and the US struck Iran and Iran's strikes across the Gulf nations, oil prices have soared over $100 a barrel and the Straits of Hormuz remain blockaded. But this isn't the first time we've seen such a shock. Just 4 years ago Russia's full invasion of Ukraine caused a global energy crisis, and any historian will remem...

What's the stock market got to do with renewables? While there's a lot of focus on the rise of private equity in the infrastructure space, there is still a strong tradition in the UK of listed infrastructure funds, and of retail investors wanting to invest in the energy transition more widely. So is there still a case for public markets? And where do they fit into the overall picture of re...

Do you find politics obtuse? Struggling to keep up with the twists and turns of energy decisions? With an endless web of party politics, departmental differences, and think-tanks pumping out ideas, it can be hard to know what the government is really thinking and how decisions get made. Our guest this week is Sam Alvis, Head of Energy Security and Environment at IPPR, the influential think-tank, a...

Is clean energy good for growth? Since the 2008 crisis the UK has seen persistently sluggish growth, even compared to comparable advanced economies. Low investment, Brexit, and challenges in traditionally strong sectors have held the economy back for close to two decades. Now with the energy transition underway, is this an opportunity to improve the country's prospects? Or is a constraint on a...

Can AI make our grid better and more reliable? Or are AI solutions overhyped by execs and consultants that don't understand the technology? This week we look at a real world case of AI being used to identify damaged equipment on the UK grid, and improve the way that network operators maintain their infrastructure. The episode covers the various types of AI models and what they can, and cannot,...

What does the future look like for fossil fuel demand? OPEC and large oil and gas companies are bullish, but the rapid rollout of clean tech is undermining many of their claims. Our guest this week is Molly Walton, who worked on the World Energy Outlook at the International Energy Agency and is now Director for Energy at the We Mean Business Coalition. She joins Sulaiman Ilyas-Jarrett, a former se...

Energy is all about deals. Assets are bought, sold, and refinanced. Companies are acquired, portfolios consolidated. But what goes into making these deals happen, and what can they tell us about the energy sector at large? This week we're joined by Gareth Baker , a partner at the law firm Gowling WLG with over 15 years of experience working on some of the highest profile deals in the energy se...

The UK is in a cost of living crisis, and energy prices in particular are constantly hitting the headlines. Fuel poverty has been climbing, and many on middle or even higher incomes are struggling with costs too. How did we get here? And what can be done to tackle the problem? In this episode we are joined by Tilly Cook of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. We hear some real stories about what fuel p...

Do PPAs have a future? More power than ever is being procured through government backed CfDs, so how and why will corporates continue to buy power directly?   This week we’re joined by serial entrepreneur and CEO of Renewabl Juan Pablo Cerda to discuss the unique benefits of PPAs, and how the market is evolving to offer more sophisticated power profiles to buyers.   Alongside our host, former gove...

How does innovation actually happen? Energy technologies are changing fast, but we'll need to change even faster if we're going to achieve a decarbonized economy. This week, we're joined by Michael Rea, CEO of the Carbon Trust, who has over 25 years experience building clean energy innovation systems in the UK, in everything from carbon accounting to the early days of offshore wind. Al...

The current approach to funding gas plants is breaking, but what should replace it? And when?   For a long time, gas has been the backbone of the energy system. That's changing rapidly as renewables become cheaper and more widely deployed, but removing gas completely from the energy system is not an easy task.   Despite becoming less important, a small amount of it is likely to linger on the s...

The Democratic Republic of Congo produces over 70% of the words Cobalt, a key material in many modern bateries and clean energy technologies. It is a mining powerhouse, central to the global energy system, and yet the economy remains one of the poorest in the world. So what do these mines look like on the ground? Why have Chinese firms been buying up more of the country's mines? and what does...

Are businesses leaders or laggards in the energy transition?   Despite attempts by some to paint clean energy and net zero as anti-business and anti-growth, business leaders themselves are broadly supportive of the shift and see it as a place of economic opportunity.   This week our host Sulaiman Ilyas-Jarrett sits down with Rachel Solomon Williams, CEO of the Aldersgate Group, who work directly w...

The politics of net zero is changing. The term itself falling out of favour. According to the media, the consensus is fraying at the edges, with Nigel Farage and Kemi Badenoch banging the anti-net zero drum at every chance they get. And yet, beneath the surface there is still a relative amount of agreement. Labour, the Lib Dems, SNP, Plaid Cymru, and the insurgent Greens all agree that climate and...

Is a country's energy future determined by its geography? When it comes to energy resources, not all countries are made equal. Some are blessed with windy seas, others with regular sun, and a handful with the resources needed to build clean energy technology. This episode looks at some of the archetypes for energy systems, the limits of geography, and the opportunity for countries to still dec...

The UK has an ambitious goal to achieve Clean Power by 2030, and cement itself as a clean energy superpower in the decade that follows. The success of this will depend not just on national leadership, but an ability to make the case for the energy transition locally, for the people that will see infrastructure built in their back yards, or want to know how they’ll feel the benefits on their bills....

An uncomfortable truth in the energy transition is that Coal is still a major part of the global energy system. Despite being majorly polluting and often no cheaper than cleaner alternatives, it's persisted particularly in countries like China, India, and Indonesia, but also the USA and Australia. Why? And how do we truly phase it out of the system. Our guest this week is Lucy Shaw, who's...

The solar industry has faced tough questions about its supply chains and the links to state-enforced forced labour, particularly in regions like Xinjiang, China. In this week’s episode Sulaiman speaks with Rachel Owens, former human-rights campaigner and CEO of the Solar Stewardship Initiative, to talk about the major steps the sector has been taking to address the issue. We discuss how increased...