Energy Evolution

There's just over a year to go until the EU introduces its sustainable aviation fuel mandate. S&P Global Commodity Insights' Seb Lewis, associate director for biofeedstocks and biofuels consulting, speaks with Stephen Li, associate director for biofuels research and analysis, and Simone Burgin, associate editor for biofuels pricing. The team discusses the current state of the SAF market and HEFA fuels, developments in advanced biofuels and PtL pathways, feedstocks, and the current state and future paths of SAF pricing.    Related prices: Sustainable Aviation Fuel CIF ARA Premium $/mt (AJNWF00) UCO (RED) FOB ARA $/mt (AUCOA00)

Wind turbines are widely recyclable – apart from their large rotor blades. As more wind farms get decommissioned, more blades end up in landfill or get burned, making recycling one of the industry’s biggest PR and sustainability challenges. Developers also pay increasing attention to emissions in the production of steel for towers. Two start-ups, Germany’s Voodin Blades and Sweden’s Modvion, say they have found solutions – by making the components entirely out of wood. Energy Evolution correspondent Camilla Naschert discusses this with CEOs Tom Siekmann and Otto Lundman.   Energy Evolution co-hosts Dan Testa and Taylor Kuykendall are veteran journalists with broad expertise covering the energy and mining sectors. Camellia Moors and Camilla Naschert, reporters who write about mining and power issues, are correspondents for Energy Evolution and regularly contribute to the show. Subscribe to Energy Evolution on your favorite platform to catch our latest episodes!

Marek Zhang, vice president of operations and service delivery at CFEX, shares insights on the complexities of tracking Scope 2 emissions. He discusses the vital role of collaboration with utilities and innovative solutions provided by CFEX’s decarbonization platform, which helps businesses minimize their carbon footprint. Also explored are the challenges of regulatory compliance and the importance of transparency in emissions reporting. Zhang highlights the implications of recent regulations and how digital tools can enhance accountability as companies strive for net-zero emissions.

This episode of Energy Evolution is all about utilities' capital plans and how they are adapting to the current economic climate. The episode features Darren Sweeney, a senior reporter in the S&P Global Commodity Insights newsroom, who attended the Edison Electric Institute Financial Conference in Phoenix and interviewed executives from Duke Energy, Exelon, and NiSource about their plans for the future. The executives discussed how they are navigating the energy transition and working to keep costs down for their customers in this high-cost environment, and also shared insights on potential growth opportunities and newer technologies like hydrogen and small modular reactors.  Energy Evolution guests this episode are Shawn Anderson, executive vice president and CFO at NiSource in Indiana; Brian Savoy, executive vice president and CFO at North Carolina-based Duke Energy; and Jeanne Jones, the executive vice president and CFO at Chicago-headquartered Exelon. Energy Evolution co-hosts Dan Testa and Taylor Kuykendall are veteran journalists with broad expertise covering the energy and mining sectors. In addition, Camellia Moors and Camilla Naschert, reporters who write about mining and power issues, are correspondents for Energy Evolution and regularly contribute to the show. Subscribe to Energy Evolution on your favorite platform to catch our latest episodes!  

Waste feedstocks in the form of Used Cooking Oil and Palm Oil Mill Effluent have been hitting headlines in the biofuels sphere – touted as the next generation of energy feedstocks. Feedstock flexibility appears to be a dominant trend over the next few years, and legislations across many countries look set to propel demand of waste-based feedstocks. In this podcast, Asia’s managing editor Takmila Shahid, markets editor Nurul Darni, together with Head of Asia agriculture and metals news team, Rohan Somwanshi, and biofuels analyst Chua Wei Jun, discuss the rising appeal of UCO and POME as the coveted biodiesel feedstocks, recent market trends, trade flows and legislations that drive demand for these feedstocks.

The growing use of renewable energy and the phasing out of fossil fuels is creating a large flexibility gap that needs to be filled by clean technologies such as energy storage. Long-term storage technologies are critical to solar and wind power, addressing the challenge of intermittency. While lithium-ion stands as the incumbent, scaling it for extended durations proves costly. Alternative solutions poised to fill this role will need to demonstrate scalable manufacturing and large-scale deployments to meet soaring demand. In this special miniseries of the Platts Future Energy podcast, metals engagement lead Jesline Tang and energy storage analyst Susan Taylor join metals markets reporter Euan Sadden to discuss the evolving landscape of alternative long-term storage technologies, their impact on the battery sector, and how they compare to existing lithium-ion battery systems. For more information, visit https://www.spglobal.com/commodityinsights/en

 In this week's episode of Energy Evolution, the hosts discuss a new series of articles out of the S&P Global Commodity Insights' newsroom that examines how some of the largest companies in the world are working to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 or sooner. Co-hosts Dan Testa and Taylor Kuykendall summarize some of the findings of the team's reporting before interviewing correspondents Camellia Moors and Camilla Naschert about their reporting on net-zero efforts in the European power and global metals and mining sectors. The episode also features an interview with Pedro Martins Barata, associate vice president for carbon markets and private sector decarbonization at the Environmental Defense Fund, on the state of industrial decarbonization. He talks about the different major features of decarbonization plans that companies might have and the role of policy in placing pressure on these industries to decarbonize. Energy Evolution co-hosts Dan Testa and Taylor Kuykendall are veteran journalists with broad expertise covering the energy and mining sectors. In addition, Camellia Moors and Camilla Naschert, reporters who write about mining and power issues, are correspondents for Energy Evolution and regularly contribute to the show. Subscribe to Energy Evolution on your favorite platform to catch our latest episodes! 

Article 6 of the Paris Agreement is seen as an essential enabler of international emissions trading, providing countries and businesses with a key pathway to meet and accelerate their climate goals. However, many key decisions and rules around the use of Article 6.2 and Article 6.4 need to be clarified at the COP28 climate summit in Dubai in order to move carbon markets forward. S&P Global Commodity Insights' experts Dana Agrotti, Vandana Sebastian and Eklavya Gupte explore some of the complexities of Article 6 and its implications for both the compliance and voluntary carbon markets. Related price assessments: CNHDD00 - Platts Household Devices ANBAA00 - Platts Nature-Based Avoidance CNRED00 - Platts Renewable Energy Related podcasts: ESG Insider: What to expect from COP28, the UN’s big climate change conference, with president Saugata Saha. Future Energy: Carbon credits seek to regain credibility amid growing scrutiny Video series: What is the voluntary carbon market? Further reading: Conversations at COP28 (Vandana Sebastian) UN Article 6.4 body fails to finalize carbon trade text, new meetings planned (Eklavya Gupte) Crunch time for UN carbon body to deliver clarity on Article 6.4 (Eklavya Gupte) COP28 presidency working to drive demand for high-quality carbon credits (Eklavya Gupte) INTERVIEW: COP28 director-general says progress on carbon markets needed to accelerate climate action (Eklavya Gupte)

On this episode of Energy Evolution, we are talking about carbon offset markets and oil and gas retirement credits. What function do these tools serve in the broader decarbonization push, and how exactly are we calculating them anyway? What are the policies needed to make these offsets and credits work appropriately? How useful are these mechanisms in comparison to directly reducing emissions? Listen in to find out!  Today’s speakers include Brad Handler, Program Manager for the Sustainable Finance Lab at the Colorado School of Mines’ Payne Institute for Public Policy, and Brian Prest, an economist and fellow at nonprofit Resources for the Future.  Energy Evolution co-hosts Dan Testa and Taylor Kuykendall are veteran journalists with broad expertise covering the energy and mining sectors. In addition, Camellia Moors and Camilla Naschert, reporters who write about mining and power issues, are correspondents for Energy Evolution and regularly contribute to the show. Subscribe to Energy Evolution on your favorite platform to catch our latest episodes! 

Wind turbines are essential tools for the transition to cleaner energy systems, but as the buildout progresses, questions around their biodiversity impact on land and offshore are becoming louder. Many new projects face legal challenges over the protection of birds in particular.  In Europe, the energy crisis following the war in Ukraine has led policymakers to reduce the compliance burden for new projects on land. Offshore, biodiversity advocates warn that a vast wind buildout risks the extinction of seabirds and sea animals.  In our 100th episode of Energy Evolution, we hear from Lena Fritsche of wind developer ABO Wind about long delays to new projects due to biodiversity rules, and from Ewout van Galen, director of the North Sea Foundation, which works to protect ecosystems in one of the world’s busiest seas. Energy Evolution co-hosts Dan Testa and Taylor Kuykendall are veteran journalists with broad expertise covering the energy and mining sectors. In addition, Camellia Moors and Camilla Naschert, reporters who write about mining and power issues, are correspondents for Energy Evolution and regularly contribute to the show. Subscribe to Energy Evolution on your favorite platform to catch our latest episodes! Read the full article on biodiversity considerations for wind power here:  https://www.spglobal.com/marketintelligence/en/news-insights/latest-news-headlines/biodiversity-questions-loom-larger-as-europe-s-wind-fleet-expands-77364736