SUPER SUMMERUPPERER

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Let Me Sum Up

Tennant Reed, Luke Menzel, Frankie Muskovic

Your regular deep dive into recent reports on climate and energy with Frankie Muskovic, Luke Menzel and Tennant Reed. Because there is too much.

  1. Jun 4

    LMSU Episode 100 Tops Up The National Podcast Reserve

    Summerupperers, we’ve made it! 100 episodes in and your intrepid hosts are still banging on about the latest developments and papers in climate and energy, because, THERE REALLY IS TOO MUCH. This week the LMSU crew marked the centenary occasion by recording this episode together - in real life! - on Bidjigal and Gadigal country, where we fielded questions and provocations from you, our amazing community of listeners. A huge shout out and thanks to Climate and Energy Minister Chris Bowen, Clare McLaughlin, Erwin Jackson, Julian Soo, Georgina Woods, Anna Hancock, Beth Richards, Alison Reeve, Carlos Flores, Anna Skarbek, Barry Sterland, Tom Quinn and the ghost of Queen Elizabeth II for calling in with your questions and well wishes!   Over 100 episodes and four and a bit years, one of the best parts of doing LMSU has been hearing from all of you. Emails, shout outs on socials or encounters in the wild - hearing you've enjoyed the pod or find it useful doing the important work you do to advance climate action is why we're still in your ears, every fortnight, summing up the latest developments in climate and energy. And a very special thanks to our Super Sumerupperers who support us on Patreon. Without you, we absolutely would not be here! Your continued support means we can work with the fabulous Mark Spencer, who edits the pod, thereby saving our collective sanity and relative work life balances. If you listen to us on the regular, consider joining our Patreon and getting access to special subscriber only bonus episodes.This week, our bonus episode involves unlocking the archive and airing Episode 0 - our very first pilot episode! Walk, don’t run, over to  letmesumup.net for all your LMSU needs.

    1h 20m
  2. May 21

    Data Centre Flex: Moderating Peak Loads To Calm Loads Of Pique

    Send us a voicemail to mark Let Me Sum Up’s upcoming 100th Episode! Your friendly neighbourhood climate and energy podcast of record is about to clock up its 100th episode! Global VP for Marketing and Extortion kindly requests Summeruppers to send us a voicemail with your questions for LMSU’s intrepid hosts or favourite anecdotes from listening to the pod. All contributions welcome! — In Episode XII of Global Energy Crisis Corner the current fuel crisis might have slipped off the radar of everyday Australians because, well, it’s all been Very Much Under Control And Nothing To See Here Except Higher Than Pre-Crisis Domestic Fuel Reserves. That doesn’t stop your tired, but resilient-in-our-nerdery intrepid hosts from another serving of what-is-actually-going-on-out-there chat! The latest IEA Oil Market Report makes it clear things are still VERY BAD but the impacts have been softened by countries drawing down on their domestic reserves - particularly China. But how much longer can this last? And how is this being experienced outside rich countries like Australia that can afford to pay extra to bolster imports? This article in the Economist does a good job outlining the impacts across Asia. Buckle up for Episode XIII folks. Our main course Your intrepid hosts dive out of the fire and into the frying pan to dissect ‘Power Flexible AI Factories: A UK-First Demonsration of Grid-Responsive AI Infrastructure’, a paper from Chris Williams et al and supported by Emerald AI, Electric Power Research Institute, the UK’s National Grid and Nebius. So what does BIG AI think the solution is to managing the growth of power-hungry data centres across the globe?  Unsurprisingly this paper is optimistic on the potential for data centres to operate in practice as a form of demand response, to smooth peak demand around significant events (tea kettle breaks for UEFA matches, anyone?) and reduce power consumption by up to 40%. The trial documented in the paper provides some real cause for optimism and throws out some suggestions for reform, but bigger trials and key questions - like who pays for the flex? And how about that water consumption? - still need grappling with.  One more things Tennant’s One More Thing is: a techno-optimist double delight! CATL deal for 60 GWh sodium-ion batteries for grid storage shows sodium is here and lithium constraints aren’t going to be a problem AND Fervo IPO - geothermal startup raises US$1.89b and market values it at $10b+ - they will have the money to get their first 500MW plant up and running this year (Cape Station, Utah). Frankie’s One More Thing is: a sneaky peak into LMSU’s post Budget analysis to alert folks to a tantalising reference to the Government’s work on a ‘market measure’ to drive demand for new Australian LCLF production (page 12 of BP1 to be precise). Watch this space! Luke’s One More Thing is: some electrification optimism percolating around the country - from the $40m funding in the Budget to help electrify Australia Post’s operations to Incat in Tasmania taking their ferries all electric! LMSU also heartily commends to Summerupperers the book ‘Power, Prosperity and Planet: Climate and Energy Policy For All’ from friend of the pod, Thom Woodroofe! And that’s it for now, Summerupperers. There is now a one-stop-shop for all your LMSU needs: head to letmesumup.net to support us on Patreon, procure merch, find back episodes, and leave us a voicemail!

    1h 18m
  3. May 7

    Santa (Marta)’s List: These Academics Know If Your Fossil Transition Policies Are Naughty Or Nice

    Send us a voicemail to mark Let Me Sum Up’s upcoming 100th Episode! Your friendly neighbourhood climate and energy podcast of record is about to clock up its 100th episode! And our Global VP for Marketing and Extortion kindly requests Summeruppers to send us a voicemail with your questions for LMSU’s intrepid hosts or favourite anecdotes from listening to the pod. All contributions welcome! Subscribe to LMSU’s Patreon for Pre-Budget Palooza or Grab our Sector Plan Odyssey Six Pack on its own! This week our Bonus episode includes wild and semi-informed speculation on what to expect for climate and energy in this year’s Federal Budget. Run, don’t walk, over to www.letmesumup.net and subscribe to our Patreon to check it out. And if all you really wanted from LMSU’s BoCo bonanza of late was our six pack of sector plan coverage, you can grab that on its own too.  — In a trend that shows no sign of abating, your intrepid hosts reconvene Global Energy Crisis Corner because, it’s been another two weeks and There Is Too Much. Since our last episode global oil prices are back up but local fuel prices are down. Que pasa? Government credit on import deals is subsidising fuel? Lag to global price spikes? Panic hoarding largely passed? A little bit of everything we reckon. So where does this leave us? The crisis doesn’t look like it'll be done anytime soon, time to explore efficiencies and longer term pivots to better storage and electrification we reckon!   Our main course Your intrepid hosts think it’s not a bad time for countries to be discussing the transition away from fossil fuels, so cue a global summit we prepared earlier! Last week the First Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels was held in Santa Marta, Colombia. We unpack where the conference came from (a few COPs in the making!), who was there (lots of constituencies, about half of COP parties pushing for stronger action to phase out fossils), who was not there (the other half of COP countries less keen on faster action, a bunch of business) and what happened! We dive into the Santa Marta Action Repertoire (SMART) Summary, the academic dialogue of the conference, edited and overseen by Friedrich J. Bohn, Jesse Burton, Andrea Cardoso, Frank Jotzo, Sissi Knispel de Acosta, Kjell Kühne, Pao-Yu Oei, Annette Zou. From overcoming economic dependence, to transforming supply and demand and advancing international cooperation and climate diplomacy, ideas abound and some spicy disagreement between your hosts emerges! One more things Tennant’s One More Thing is: the IMO Net-Zero Framework is back under discussion! The outcome was continued technical refinement work, with adoption decision not due to be re-opened til October 2026. Frankie’s One More Thing is: a hasty convening of Muskovic’s Methane Musings to plug the just-published IEA Global Methane Tracker 2026. What does it say? Frankie’s not sure but Tennant suggests there are claims Australia’s methane fugitives are *way* higher than reported. Luke’s One More Thing is: some reportage on the recent high level dialogue hosted by the IEA in Paris with Turkiye and Australia, at which some encouraging comments were made from Turkiye’s COP31 President Kurum on support for electrification and energy sovereignty… NOW? And that’s it for now, Summerupperers. There is now a one-stop-shop for all your LMSU needs: head to letmesumup.net to support us on Patreon, procure merch, find back episodes, and leave us a voicemail!

    1h 25m

About

Your regular deep dive into recent reports on climate and energy with Frankie Muskovic, Luke Menzel and Tennant Reed. Because there is too much.

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