Energy Gang

Tanker traffic dries up, oil, gas and fertilizer prices soar, and the world holds its breath

The Strait of Hormuz has long been discussed as one of the single greatest vulnerabilities in global energy supply. Now the risk has become reality. Host Ed Crooks is joined by Amy Myers Jaffe, Director of NYU's Energy, Climate Justice and Sustainability Lab, and Chris Aversano, Director of Maritime Partnerships at Wood Mackenzi...

VPPs – virtual power plants – continue to spark heated debate. Are they genuinely a fast, affordable way to add capacity to the grid? Or are they an overhyped concept that falls apart when electricity systems are under stress? To find out, host Ed Crooks welcomes Colby Hastings, the senior director for residential energy at Tesla, to unpack what VPPs can and can’t do for the grid.

Colby explains how storage-based VPPs can b...

New analysis from Wood Mackenzie shows that 220 gigawatts of additional power demand from data centers is in the pipeline in the US, and 183 GW of that is already backed by firm commercial commitments. That is a huge amount to add in just a few years: it’s equal to about 22% of US peak demand in 2025. The big question is whether the US electricity industry going to be able to meet that additional demand. And if so, how?

On ...

ACORE, the power and renewables industry group, is this week hosting its annual Policy Forum in Washinton DC. It’s an event where industry leaders and experts discuss how the changing landscape of US energy policy is shaping infrastructure investment, the growth of electricity supply, and the affordability of power. 

Host Ed Crooks is recording two special episodes from the forum. This first show is focused on the US g...

Data centres have become one of the most contentious issue in US power markets. The question of who will pay for the new generation and grid upgrades needed to keep them running has been soaring up the political agenda, and attracting attention in the White House.

Host Ed Crooks is joined on this episode by Brandon Oyer, Head of Americas Power & Water at Amazon Web Services (AWS), and Vince Parisi, President & COO a...

It’s the hottest sector in the global energy industry right now, driven by rising power demand, the need to back up variable renewable generation, and escalating threats to grid resilience. It is of course, battery storage. Host Ed Crooks and regular guest Amy Myers Jaffe speak with Julian Nebreda, CEO of energy storage systems company Fluence, about why batteries are becoming essential grid infrastructure.

At peak hour...

As Texas battles another bout of bitterly cold weather, Energy Gang looks at the lessons that one generation and transmission electric co-operative learned from Winter Storm Uri in 2021. The freeze and subsequent shock to energy prices showed providers how dangerous it can be to rely on the market alone.

For Rayburn Electric, a not-for-profit, member-owned cooperative, incurring years of power costs in just d...

The new year has only just begun, and already we have seen an event with massive significance for the world of energy. The US operation to remove Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro opens a new era for a country that holds – according to some definitions – the world’s largest oil reserves.

So far there has been little impact on oil markets. But what are the implications going to be for energy in the months and years to come...

As we head into 2026, electricity grids aren’t just under strain; they are facing transformational change because of the shifts in the ways that we work, entertain ourselves, and get around. EVs are one of the fastest-growing new loads on the grid in many parts of the world, but are also one of the least well-understood. They can exhibit flexibility that’s mostly going unused today. Millions of EVs are already connected to...

It’s the final Energy Gang of the year, and host Ed Crooks is joined by regulars Amy Myers Jaffe, Director of NYU’s Energy, Climate Justice and Sustainability Lab, Shanu Mathew, a portfolio investor and manager, and Melissa Lott, a systems engineer and energy analyst, to take stock of an exciting year for energy.

The buzzword of 2025 was undoubtedly AI. Data centres transformed the outlook for power dema...

California is often described as the state where you can see the future of the US, and of the world. That has certainly been true in terms of some of the problems faced by the electricity grid. California has been grappling with the impact of wildfires and a big shift to renewable generation, and now faces the prospect of rising power demand from electrification and data centers.

In this episode, host Ed Crooks and regular ...

The COP30 climate talks in Belem wrapped up over the weekend, and reactions to the outcome were sharply divided. Simon Stiell, Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC, said “climate cooperation is still alive…we’re undeniably still in it and we are fighting back.” Others said the COP had been another failure, with a final statement that amounted to “a form of climate denial”.

To make sense of what really happened at COP30, and wh...

Negotiations in the COP 30 climate talks are continuing in Belem, Brazil. The headlines are focusing on the divisions between countries that are shaping this year’s climate talks. But despite the doom and gloom, there are some practical steps being taken to support the transition towards lower-carbon energy. There may be a notable lack of significant new pledges. But making a pledge is the easy part. Implementation is alwa...

COP30, which began this week in Belém, Brazil, marks a decade since the Paris Agreement was adopted at COP21 in 2015. It’s being billed as the “implementation COP”: instead of grand new announcements of international agreements, governments are supposed to be focused on delivering on the commitments they have already made. 

Host Ed Crooks and regular guest Amy Myers Jaffe welcome back Amy Harder, National Energy C...

COP30, now getting under way in Belem, Brazil, has been billed as “the implementation COP”, which means a focus on governments taking real steps to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement. We will be examining all the key issues for government negotiators in the talks very soon. But for this show, we are looking at the role of business. At New York Climate Week in September, the discussion was all about how businesses are...

As world leaders, businesses and NGOs start their journeys to Brazil for the COP30 climate talks, more than 200,000 people attended ADIPEC in Abu Dhabi, the world’s biggest energy event. Energy Gang was there to bring you the highlights from the week’s discussions.

One of the key talking points was the theme of energy addition, rather than transition. In other words, the idea that new renewables and other low-carbon s...

Electricity demand in the US is rising faster than it has in decades, driven by AI and a wave of investment in domestic manufacturing. But with transmission lines and other electricity infrastructure taking years to permit and build, how can America secure the power it needs fast enough to remain competitive?

In this special episode of The Energy Gang, recorded at the ACORE Grid Forum in Washington DC, host Ed Crooks speaks...

What happens when the surge in electricity demand comes faster than we can build the infrastructure to support it? Live in front of an audience at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, host Ed Crooks leads a conversation on the future of the US energy grid, skyrocketing load from data centers and electrification, and why politics keeps getting in the way of practical solutions. 

Neil Chatterjee, the former Chai...

As global energy systems evolve, emerging economies face a defining challenge: how to secure affordable power for today while investing in the low-carbon solutions that will drive tomorrow’s growth. Can energy diversification unlock a new era of industrial development, resilience, and inclusive prosperity?

In the third and final episode of our special series ahead of ADIPEC 2025, host Ed Crooks is joined by Charlotte Wolff-...