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Energy Evolution

Energy Evolution

S&P Global Commodity Insights 354 Episodes Sep 15, 2026

Energy Evolution is a podcast by S&P Global Commodity Insights that features interviews, analysis, and reporting on the transition of energy and commodities to a cleaner future. Host Eklavya Gupte speaks with policymakers, industry professionals, and in-house experts on topics like decarbonization, climate, emerging fuels, and commodity markets. The podcast merged with the Platts Future Energy podcast in January 2025.

Episodes

AI demand is intensifying the race to build advanced nuclear reactors
AI demand is intensifying the race to build advanced nuclear reactors Sep 15, 2026 32:16 Dozens of North American private startups and established companies, state agencies and academic institutions are racing to develop and commercialize an advanced nuclear reactor. Whether these companies, and the advanced nuclear sector at large, can succeed depends on numerous factors, including the capital plans of large tech companies, favorable federal policy and the strengths of individual rea
War and decarbonization: Rewriting the UK and Europe's refining future
War and decarbonization: Rewriting the UK and Europe's refining future Sep 8, 2026 32:43 By most conventional metrics, the European refining sector is in rude health. The Middle East conflict has driven key fuel price benchmarks to unprecedented heights, and refiners are running flat out to plug supply gaps left by disruptions to key Gulf exporters. In this episode, host Eklavya Gupte speaks to Kelly Norways, senior editor at S&P Global Energy Platts, who explains why the current boo
Why protesters want to slow America's data center boom
Why protesters want to slow America's data center boom Sep 1, 2026 25:29 Alongside a surge in data center construction, a growing protest movement has emerged in the US, with locals voicing concerns over electricity and water usage. Protests have put around 12 gigawatts of data center capacity at risk, analyst John Murray from S&P Global Energy tells the Energy Evolution podcast. To address concerns, tech firms need to improve transparency and deliver clear local benef
Europe's electrification challenge: Can ambition meet reality?
Europe's electrification challenge: Can ambition meet reality? Aug 25, 2026 32:57 The EU wants to nearly double its electrification rate to 46% by 2040, a transformation that would slash fossil fuel imports by hundreds of billions of euros annually. In this episode of Energy Evolution, host Eklavya Gupte examines the EU's Electrification Action Plan and assesses whether Europe can realistically achieve it. Coralie Laurencin, director of European gas, power and carbon policy at
Balcony solar and EVs are giving consumers a greater role in grid flexibility
Balcony solar and EVs are giving consumers a greater role in grid flexibility Aug 18, 2026 42:19 Balcony or "plug-in" solar is rapidly gaining popularity, as it gives consumers who might not have easy access to distributed solar generation a straightforward way to deploy the technology and begin saving on their power bills. Meanwhile, as drivers transition to electric vehicles, the possibility of deploying the batteries as a flexible grid resource hooked up to bidirectional chargers is also g
Cybersecurity and clean energy: Inside the EU funding ban for solar and storage inverters
Cybersecurity and clean energy: Inside the EU funding ban for solar and storage inverters Aug 11, 2026 30:21 In April 2026, the European Commission adopted interim guidance stipulating that solar and battery storage projects using inverters or power conversion systems sourced from high-risk countries would be ineligible for EU funding, citing concerns over cybersecurity and grid resilience. Among the affected countries is China, Europe's dominant supplier of clean energy technologies. In this episode of
Grid operator PJM juggles reforms as power auction results hit price cap again
Grid operator PJM juggles reforms as power auction results hit price cap again Aug 4, 2026 33:05 On July 14, grid operator PJM released the results of its latest capacity market auction for the 2028-2029 delivery year. Prices hit the federally approved cap of $325/megawatt-day, but the amount of procured capacity came up short of PJM's reliability requirement by 6.8 gigawatts. In other words, prices went as high as they were allowed to go but still didn't incentivize enough generation to meet
Discussing Democrats' midterm message on energy
Discussing Democrats' midterm message on energy Jul 28, 2026 47:06 From his first day in office, President Donald Trump has exerted major shifts in US energy policy during his second term, including opposition to offshore wind projects, extending the lives of coal-fired power plants, withdrawing from climate treaties and war with Iran. But with the midterm elections approaching, Democrats have an opportunity to regain power in Congress. So how are Democrats talki
Moving beyond the grid bottleneck with smart technology
Moving beyond the grid bottleneck with smart technology Jul 21, 2026 23:43 Smart technology is rapidly redefining the debate over grid infrastructure. Rather than spending millions on new transformers, transmission lines and generation capacity, a growing consensus suggests the answer lies in using existing resources more intelligently. In this episode, host Eklavya Gupte speaks with Devrim Celal, Chief Flexibility and Marketing Officer at Kraken Technologies, about how
The summer stress test: How heat waves are rewiring Europe's power markets
The summer stress test: How heat waves are rewiring Europe's power markets Jul 14, 2026 25:21 Traditionally, European power systems were engineered around a single imperative: survive the winter "Dunkelflaute," those prolonged cold, dark, windless stretches that push demand higher while renewable generation collapses. But rising summer temperatures are dismantling this assumption. Heat waves are forcing a fundamental recalibration of infrastructure investment, operational strategy and mark
The new economics of renewable energy: Why transmission trumps technology
The new economics of renewable energy: Why transmission trumps technology Jul 7, 2026 25:20 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.
What California's launch of an extended day-ahead market means for the western US
What California's launch of an extended day-ahead market means for the western US Jul 1, 2026 39:27 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

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