Energy Gang

Discussion on the IEA's World Energy Outlook and the possibility of peak demand for oil, gas, and coal by 2030. Analysis of recent mega-deals in the US oil industry. Challenges faced by the offshore wind energy industry. Concerns over China's dominance in critical minerals. Importance of an equitable transition in the energy industry. Intricate dynamics between Native Americans and natural resource wealth in the US.

This week marks 50 years since the first oil shock, exploring its parallels to current Middle East conflicts. Despite high US oil production, consumers remain vulnerable to fuel price fluctuations. Electric vehicles are critical in breaking our addiction to oil. The significance of a single charging standard for EVs and the three pillars for green hydrogen are discussed. Additionally, the podcast touches on unionized jobs in battery plants, battery production, decarbonization in the iron and steel industry, and the value of scrap in the circular economy.

The podcast discusses the rising demand for critical minerals in the energy transition and the potential of deep-sea mining to meet this demand. It explores the environmental impacts of deep-sea mining and the call for a 10-year delay by Norwegian lawmakers. The chapter also covers the challenges faced by mining companies, the progress in materials efficiency, and the importance of transitioning rapidly to renewable energy. Additionally, it briefly mentions the Cypher team's visit to a digital art museum and discusses energy efficiency, clean cooking options, and the potential of hydrogen.

Exploring the potential of low-carbon hydrogen and ammonia in the energy transition. The UK government's goals for hydrogen production. Decarbonizing the fertilizer industry with low carbon ammonia. Policy landscape and international trade for low carbon fertilizers. The established market for ammonia as a low carbon fuel. The role of blue hydrogen in carbon capture and reducing carbon intensity.

This podcast delves into the potential of hydrogen in the energy mix and the challenges it faces. It explores China's role in the renewable energy industry and the importance of healthy competition in the global supply chain. Other topics include government incentives for low carbon hydrogen production, high temperature solid oxide electrolysis technology, scalability of electrolyzer plants, Europe's position in the electrolyzer industry, the feasibility of reaching a 200 GW electrolyzer capacity, and the possibility of reaching a tipping point in adopting green energy.

Experts discuss US energy policy and the energy transition, emphasizing the need to strengthen the power grid, efficient permitting for new infrastructure, and clean energy deployment. The podcast also explores the Inflation Reduction Act's impact, progress in offshore wind, vanadium mining, and geothermal energy, NEPA amendments, and the impacts of solar farms. The chapter concludes with discussions on Department of Energy comments and efforts to build EV infrastructure.

The podcast explores the viability and scalability of direct air capture (DAC) and carbon sequestration. It discusses the U.S. Department of Energy's decision to invest $1.2 billion in DAC facilities and the criticism it has faced. The tension between DAC and oil demand is analyzed, along with alternative methods for decarbonizing industries. The cost analysis of leasing and purchasing electric vehicles is also discussed. Other topics include draft environmental assessment, climate events, and confusion in energy policy.

The podcast discusses the recent fall in investor interest in the solar sector, the bankruptcy of electric bus company Proterra, the challenges facing solar and electric vehicle industries, the decline of ESG investing, legal victories for climate change advocates, and the need for government action to support EV charging infrastructure

On the last Energy Gang we looked at the impact of record temperatures on the energy sector. This week, we discuss another impact of climate change: its effect on human psychology. We discuss how the way we talk about global warming affects how we respond to it.A recent study in the journal Global Environmental Change argued that scientists and media organizations need to rethink the way they talk about climate change. The study’s authors called on the media to emphasise potential solutions to rising temperatures, rather than focusing solely on the dire consequences. This shift towards solutions-oriented thinking could help prevent a pervasive sense of fatalism: the idea that humans can do nothing useful to mitigate climate change. Doomerism, as it is sometimes known, seems to be creeping more and more into the conversation. Is it an inevitable consequence of the way we talk about climate change? One point that researchers have found is that using the term “climate emergency” reduced the perceived credibility of news reports, and the likelihood that people would take action, compared to using “climate change.” News about climate impacts leads to increased fear and decreased hope, relative to the impact of news about climate action. Are the media inadvertently encouraging people to believe that our civilization is fated to end in disaster, and we are all going to burn if we live long enough, so we might as well just live for the moment and enjoy the ride any way we can?To discuss the impact of climate doomerism on our mental health, and more, host Ed Crooks is joined by Dr Melissa Lott, Director of the Centre on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University. Melissa argues that the evidence shows there are in fact workable solutions to climate change, and that “everything we do to try to reduce emissions to any degree, already protects health.” So doomerism is not based on reality.Also on this episode is Amy Harder, who is the Executive Editor of Cipher, a news outlet supported by Breakthrough Energy, the climate investing and policy organization backed by Bill Gates. She has some new polling data on public attitudes to climate change, published by Pew Research.Looking for solutions led us to one answer to emissions that has made the news in recent weeks: carbon utilization. Amy’s outlet Cipher recently published a story looking at the debate in the US over tax breaks for carbon capture, and what happens to the carbon dioxide after it is captured. Amy explores with Ed and Melissa what this means for energy and the potential for carbon utilization as a whole.As always, please subscribe so you don’t miss an episode.You can find the report from Pew Research on US attitudes to climate change here: https://www.pewresearch.org/science/2023/08/09/why-some-americans-do-not-see-urgency-on-climate-change/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

New challenges for our power supplies in a warming world.Global temperatures have been breaking records this summer. On some estimates, the earth is the hottest that it has been for about 125,000 years. In Phoenix, Arizona, temperatures have consistently reached over 110 degrees Fahrenheit, and people are being hospitalized with severe burns after falling on the ground. The heat is bringing other threats, including the wildfires that have been burning out of control in parts of southern Europe and Canada.  Extreme heat inflates the demand for energy, particularly power for cooling and air conditioning, putting new strains on the power grid. In the US, electricity demand has been shattering records in Texas and Phoenix, and it's on a similar trend in other arts of the world, too. India's power demand, for instance, has been hitting new record highs due to the scorching temperatures and a steadily expanding economy.To explore the impacts of the extreme weather we’ve been seeing, host Ed Crooks is joined by Energy Gang regulars Dr Melissa Lott of Columbia University’s Centre on Global Energy Policy, and Amy Myers Jaffe, from NYU’s Energy, Climate Justice, and Sustainability Lab. The gang discusses the ramifications of a warming world, and the stresses that it creates. To take just one example, to cope with extreme temperatures more people use air-conditioning, which often means increasing the use of fossil fuels, adding to the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. In China, coal-fired power output in June was up 14% from the same month in 2022.The gang discuss the huge global disparities in energy usage around the world. In the US, about 90% of households have air-conditioning, while in the lower-income economies of Asia and Africa, it is 10% or less. Melissa and Amy discuss how the transition to a lower-carbon world will be viable only if it acknowledges the rest of the world’s demand for the comforts enjoyed in rich countries today.Climate change also causes problems for energy production. In Africa, hydropower plays a large role in electricity generation. As weather patterns shift, regions that rely on particular patterns of rainfall can struggle. Parts of China have been suffering blackouts this summer because of low hydro power generation, while California has been helped by relatively high snow and rainfall over the past winter. Picking up a theme from a previous episode of the show, when Dr Sarah Kapnick of the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration was a guest, the gang discuss the need for more advanced climate modelling to understand the factors shaping energy demand and supply. Finally, there is news of a potentially exciting breakthrough in what could be an important source of dispatchable power with zero emissions: geothermal energy. A company called Fervo Energy, led and staffed by people with backgrounds in both low-carbon energy and oil and gas, has reported a successful test of its first pair of geothermal wells drilled horizontally for more than 3,000 feet, using techniques pioneered in the shale industry. Could this technology eventually be a big piece of the energy transition puzzle? It’s all examined on this week’s show. Remember to subscribe so you don’t miss an episode, and follow the discussion on Twitter – we’re @theenergygang.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.