Power Plays

Dr Charlotte Kirk and Lucy Shaw
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Join us - Dr Charlotte Kirk and Lucy Shaw - as we dive into the tech, finance and politics powering the energy transition each week. We'll unpack what happened, why it matters, and what you need to know. With deep industry insights and unique insider knowledge, we'll keep you up to date with all the Power Plays.

  1. 6d ago

    Can America secure its renewable energy future without making it more expensive? With Oliver Badenhorst, VP at Solar Landscape

    Recorded 25 August 2026. This week, we’re joined by Oliver Badenhorst, Vice President of Strategy and Business Operations at Solar Landscape. Drawing on his experience in commercial rooftop solar, energy strategy and US offshore wind, Ollie joins us in his personal capacity to discuss three major stories shaping the US energy sector: new solar import measures, restrictions on foreign-made inverters and the federal government’s offshore-wind lease refunds. 1 - New tariffs and minimum prices could raise US solar costs From December 2026, imported solar products will face a 15% tariff alongside minimum prices covering polysilicon, wafers, cells and modules.The $0.38/W module price floor could increase module costs for a 100 MW project from approximately $25 million to $38 million, adding around 12–13% to total project costs.The impact will vary by business model: community-solar developers may have more flexibility than utility-scale projects operating under long-term, fixed-price power contracts.The measures could support US manufacturing and reduce reliance on concentrated overseas supply chains, while raising energy costs and placing some marginal projects at risk.Developers may find administrative complexity, tax-credit eligibility rules and supply interruptions more disruptive than a clearly defined increase in equipment prices.2 - Restrictions on foreign inverters address a growing cybersecurity risk The FCC has blocked new models of foreign-made, internet-connected power inverters from receiving US authorization, unless they qualify for an exemption or are linked to domestic production plans.Previously approved models can continue to be manufactured, imported, sold and installed, delaying the immediate impact on developers with existing inventories.Inverters connect solar panels, batteries and EV chargers to the grid and increasingly enable remote monitoring, bidirectional power flows and distributed-energy coordination.Large fleets managed through shared cloud platforms can expand the grid’s cyberattack surface, strengthening the case for secure firmware, controlled software updates and clear remote-access rights.The restrictions could encourage domestic power-electronics manufacturing, while reducing equipment choice and potentially slowing access to newer inverter technology.3 - US offshore wind has been hit by financial, operational and political pressures The US government has agreed to return approximately $4 billion in offshore-wind lease payments, securing the cancellation of projects whose developers may otherwise have continued or challenged federal action.Many projects committed to fixed electricity prices before inflation, interest rates and supply-chain costs rose, weakening their economics.Offshore wind requires long development timelines, highly specialized equipment and complex construction at sea; the Jones Act adds further logistical constraints in the US.Turbine reliability problems, steel-price increases, constrained installation capacity and federal opposition have compounded the sector’s challenges.Falling solar and battery costs have strengthened a competing source of modular, rapidly deployable capacity, particularly as batteries allow solar generation to serve demand across more hours of the day.

    Can America secure its renewable energy future without making it more expensive? With Oliver Badenhorst, VP at Solar Landscape

  2. Aug 25

    Can Microreactors Deliver on the Nuclear Hype? With Guy Cohen from Currence

    Recorded on 21 August 2026 with this week’s co-host, Guy Cohen, who leads clean-firm-power analysis at Currence. There have been 2 recent news stories in the micro-reactors: Valar Atomics raised a $1 billion Series B, while Antares announced a $370 million Series C. We examine why investors are backing microreactors, what commercial progress looks like and the parallel opportunity in the infrastructure needed to deploy the reactors. 1. Why microreactors are attracting capital Microreactors produce 1–20 MW, are factory-built and transportable. Early markets include military bases, mines, remote communities and industrial sites dependent on diesel.They may suit smaller distributed computing facilities rather than gigawatt-scale AI campuses.Their advantage may be speed rather than cost: data centres could pay more for earlier power.US regulatory changes could enable fleet licensing, remote operation and smaller security footprints.2. What would justify the valuations? Neither Valar nor Antares has a commercially licensed reactor in operation. Reaching criticality matters, but does not prove commercial viability. Stronger indicators would include customer contracts, financing and long-lead equipment orders.Developers must demonstrate licensing progress, fuel access, manufacturing capacity and delivery experience.Economics depend on factory production, standardisation and repeated deployment.3. The opportunity extends beyond reactors Does nuclear really need more reactor designs, or stronger supply chains and delivery capabilities? Many advanced reactors require HALEU and specialised TRISO fuel.Announced non-Russian and non-Chinese HALEU production may support only around 5 GW by 2035.Projects also require fuel fabrication, heavy forgings, pressure vessels, turbines and skilled workers.Currence found reactor-developer funding fell 64% relative to H2 2025, while non-reactor funding rose 384%.In H1 2026, non-reactor startups raised as much as reactor developers.4. How microreactors differ from SMRs The Valar and Antares deals follow years of slower-than-expected Western SMR deployment. But leading SMRs are moving from early-stage equity towards government support and project finance.Gen III+ designs benefit from established supply chains; Gen IV reactors face greater first-of-a-kind risks.Microreactors are attracting early-stage capital because their regulatory and commercial pathways are only now emerging.5. Are existing reactors the faster opportunity? Restarts, uprates and life extensions can add capacity sooner and more cheaply. Microsoft is backing the 835 MW Three Mile Island restart.Palisades could return 800 MW to the grid.Meta’s 20-year Vistra agreement supports 433 MW of uprates.These projects matter this decade but cannot deliver the additional 100–300 GW contemplated by US targets.6. Where nuclear fits in the power mix Can microreactors and SMRs compete with other clean-power sources? Enhanced geothermal targets 8–10¢/kWh, while DOE aims for 4.5¢/kWh by 2035.Solar delivers around 3–5¢/kWh; adding four-hour storage brings to 9–10¢/kWh.Nuclear offers higher capacity factors; geothermal may be cheaper and faster where resources exist.Falling battery costs could reduce future baseload requirements.Public markets could finance established nuclear companies.

    Can Microreactors Deliver on the Nuclear Hype? With Guy Cohen from Currence

  3. Aug 17

    Can the world copy Australia's data centre & renewables policy, with Hamish McKenzie from the Grattan Institute

    Recorded on 13 August in California / 14 August in Australia. Excited to have Hamish McKenzie as our co-host this week. He is Deputy Director of Climate Change and Energy at the Grattan Institute, and previously worked in the private sector and parliament. This week we focus on 3 stories shaping Australia’s energy transition, and what they tell us about similar challenges playing out in the US and UK: 1. Australia’s proposed “bring your own power” rules for data centres: Australia already has 160 data centres, with over 90 in the pipeline, as investment and electricity demand grow rapidly.We discuss the government’s proposed framework requiring new data centres to procure 100% renewable electricity from additional generation, secure firming capacity, provide grid flexibility and respond to locational incentives.We look at how renewable matching could work, including proposals to divide procurement into different periods of the day rather than relying on annual matching.We explore the tension between data centres that can be developed in ~2 years and renewable projects that can take over 7, and what this could mean for wind, offshore wind, batteries and gas firming.2. Australia’s 82% renewable-electricity target and electricity-market reform: Australia’s National Electricity Market is approaching 50% renewable generation, but project development is slowing as the country works towards its 82% renewables target by 2030.We discuss delays to wind and transmission, community opposition, differing state policies and concerns that projects awarded support through the Capacity Investment Scheme may not all reach construction.We explain the tenor gap, developers need long-term revenue certainty to finance projects, while buyers are often reluctant to sign contracts beyond a few years.We examine the proposed contract-recycling mechanism intended to bridge that gap, and the challenges of implementing market reform across Australia’s federal and state governments.We discuss the changing generation mix: solar and batteries are growing rapidly, wind is struggling, batteries are increasingly displacing gas from intraday firming, and wholesale prices have fallen sharply over the past year.3. Australia’s domestic gas policy during the Iran War: Australia is one of the world’s largest LNG exporters, while remaining heavily dependent on imported liquid fuels and exposed to international energy-market volatility.We discuss how east-coast LNG exports connected domestic gas consumers to global markets and contributed to higher and more volatile prices, particularly during the 2022 energy crisis.The government’s proposed domestic gas-reservation policy would require LNG exporters to make gas equivalent to 20% of exports available to the domestic market.We consider whether lower domestic gas prices could slow electrification, while improving energy security and limiting exposure to extreme global price spikes.We also look at batteries increasingly replacing gas for short-duration firming, while gas retains a role during longer periods of low renewable generation.We finish with Australia’s wider transition: renewables have risen from around 8% of electricity in 2010 to close to 50% today, rooftop solar and household batteries have scaled rapidly, and policymakers are now looking to commercial and industrial solar as another source of quickly deployable capacity.

    Can the world copy Australia's data centre & renewables policy, with Hamish McKenzie from the Grattan Institute

  4. Aug 6

    How Battery Swapping Could Transform Electric Trucking, with Will Rowe, CEO of Swaptopus

    Recorded 3 August 2026 This week, Charlotte and Lucy are joined by Will Rowe, Founder and CEO of Swaptopus, the joint venture between Octopus Energy Generation and CATL, building a battery-swapping network for electric HGVs across the UK and Europe. Story 1: Swaptopus & the future of electric freight Drawing on Will's experience in electrification and commercial transport, the discussion explores how battery swapping could accelerate HGV electrification across Europe. Topics include: ⚡ Battery swapping for HGVs: Why Swaptopus believes swapping can reduce downtime, improve vehicle utilisation and overcome grid constraints compared with conventional charging.🚛 Designing the optimal system: The trade-offs between battery size, charging infrastructure, battery inventory and European freight duty cycles, and how autonomous trucks could reshape vehicle architecture.🔋 Battery stations as energy assets: How swapping hubs could participate in electricity markets through flexibility services, energy trading and capacity markets alongside freight operations.♻️ Battery manufacturing & second life: Standardisation across truck manufacturers, European battery supply chains, and how retired truck batteries could be repurposed for commercial and industrial energy storage.⚖️ Hydrogen vs batteries: Why battery-electric trucking has accelerated so rapidly, whether infrastructure risks becoming stranded, and why flexible infrastructure matters more than backing a single technology pathway.📈 Demand-side electrification: Why governments have focused on renewable generation but paid far less attention to electrifying transport, heating and industry, and the policy changes needed to accelerate adoption.Story 2: Andy Burnham, North Sea oil & climate leadership 🛢️ Andy Burnham's comments on taking a more pragmatic approach to North Sea oil and gas prompt a wider discussion about energy security, affordability and decarbonisation. Should climate leadership be measured by reducing fossil fuel production or fossil fuel demand?The role of gas in supporting highly renewable electricity systems.Lessons from Norway and China, where fossil fuel production continues alongside rapid electrification.The balance between industrial competitiveness, energy security and long-term climate goals.Story 3: Could balcony solar be a game changer in the UK? ☀️ The UK is set to legalise plug-in balcony solar systems, potentially opening rooftop generation to millions more households. We discuss: Whether balcony solar is primarily about electricity generation or consumer empowerment.How consumer-owned solar could accelerate the adoption of batteries and flexible demand.The role of distributed energy resources in the future electricity system.How electricity pricing and network charging should evolve as more consumers become both generators and users.

    How Battery Swapping Could Transform Electric Trucking, with Will Rowe, CEO of Swaptopus

  5. Jul 31

    What Miatta Fahnbulleh means for UK energy, with Sulaiman Ilyas-Jarrett

    Recorded on 29 July. We're excited to welcome our second-ever guest host—and our first-ever triumvirate recording. Joining Charlotte and Lucy is Sulaiman Ilyas-Jarrett, former government advisor at the UK Deparment for Energy, Head of Renewable Delivery Policy & Strategy at DESNZ, senior energy adviser in Number 10 during the energy crisis, and currently a Policy Fellow at the University of Cambridge Centre for Science and Policy, and host of the Energy Revolution Podcast. We unpack what the UK's new Energy Secretary means for the future of energy policy, why electrification and demand-side policy are becoming the next major challenge after years of renewable build-out, and how new proposals to reform grid connections could reshape the race to build AI data centres. We also explore whether the UK's successful Contracts for Difference model has reached its limits, before looking at what China's solar manufacturing glut and India's push for domestic production reveal about the trade-offs between industrial policy, energy security and rapid decarbonisation. In this episode What Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh's appointment means for UK energy policy and the shift from generation to consumersWhy electrification, affordable electricity and demand-side policy are becoming the next frontier of the energy transitionThe debate around locational pricing, grid reform and what really determines where major industrial projects get builtOfgem's proposed grid connection fees for data centres and whether large electricity users should pay more for new infrastructureContracts for Difference vs corporate PPAs, and what the next phase of renewable deployment could look likeChina's solar manufacturing oversupply, India's domestic manufacturing ambitions, and the balance between resilient supply chains and rapid deployment

    What Miatta Fahnbulleh means for UK energy, with Sulaiman Ilyas-Jarrett

  6. Jul 28

    Carbon Reimagined: eSAF Approval, On's Low-Carbon Running Shoes, CO₂ Electrolysis in India & Europe's €100 Billion Industrial Bet

    Recorded 23rd July: First Charlotte explores how carbon is shifting from being viewed solely as a waste product to becoming a valuable industrial feedstock. From sustainable aviation fuel and captured-carbon running shoes to low-carbon chemicals and Europe's latest industrial policy, the episode examines how renewable electricity and CO₂ are reshaping heavy industry, and what it will take to scale these technologies commercially. Then Lucy discusses the first days of the UK's new government under Prime Minister Andy Burnham, the appointment of Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh, and what their early policy announcements could mean for energy affordability, electrification and the UK's long-term transition away from fossil fuels. This week's topics include: The ASTM approval of the methanol-to-jet (MTJ) pathway, creating a second commercial Power-to-Liquid route for sustainable aviation fuel alongside Fischer-Tropsch.Why MTJ could lower the cost of eSAF through higher jet fuel selectivity and smaller, more modular production plants.How captured carbon is being turned into high-performance running shoe midsoles through Infinium and On's new partnership.Dioxycle's collaboration with Adani to produce low-carbon formic acid from captured CO₂ using electrolysis.The European Commission's proposed €100 billion Industrial Decarbonisation Bank and Carbon Contracts for Difference.Reforms to the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS), including the expansion of carbon removals and new support for industrial decarbonisation.The UK's new government, early energy policy signals, electricity affordability, North Sea oil and gas, and the future direction of UK energy policy.

    Carbon Reimagined: eSAF Approval, On's Low-Carbon Running Shoes, CO₂ Electrolysis in India & Europe's €100 Billion Industrial Bet

  7. Jul 14

    From heatwaves to hidden capacity: How extreme heat is reshaping the electricity grid

    Recorded 12th July. This week we explore how extreme heat is reshaping electricity systems around the world, and why one of the biggest opportunities is improving how we use the infrastructure we already have. We begin by examining the record-breaking heatwaves across Europe, where soaring temperatures have contributed to thousands of excess deaths while exposing how electricity grids, homes and energy markets were designed for a cooler climate. We discuss Why cooling demand is becoming just as important as winter heating, How heat affects both electricity demand and electricity generation, Why technologies such as heat pumps, demand response and dynamic grid management will become increasingly important.We then turn to the United States, where PJM recorded all-time peak electricity demand during an East Coast heatwave. Despite having substantial backup generation, batteries and demand response capacity available, fragmented market rules and regulatory frameworks limited how effectively these resources could be used. We explore the forecasting errors, emergency reliability orders and operational challenges that forced grid operators to keep thermal power plants online and curtail large electricity users. The conversation also examines the hidden environmental and public health consequences of relying on diesel backup generators during grid emergencies, and why better coordination of distributed energy resources could provide cleaner, lower-cost alternatives. Finally, we look at two companies tackling one of the electricity sector's biggest challenges: unlocking more capacity from the grid we already have. GridSolver (WattCarbon & Resilience Energy) has launched an open-source platform that maps more than 66,000 US neighbourhoods to identify where batteries, flexible demand, EV charging and rooftop solar would provide the greatest value to the electricity grid.GridCARE, a Stanford spinout backed by a $64 million Series A, uses AI-powered digital models to identify hidden capacity across existing transmission and distribution networks, enabling faster grid connections without waiting years for new infrastructure.In this episode Extreme heat and electricity systems: Europe's record-breaking heatwaves and excess mortalityWhy cooling demand is becoming a major challenge for electricity gridsHow heat affects transmission lines, power plants and system reliabilityWhy heat pumps can reduce both emissions and electricity costsDemand response and flexible electricity consumption during extreme weatherThe US grid under stress: PJM's record electricity demand during the East Coast heatwaveEmergency reliability orders and backup generationWhy forecasting errors created operational challengesThe regulatory barriers preventing greater use of flexible resourcesThe environmental and health impacts of diesel backup generatorsGetting more from the existing grid: How GridSolver identifies where distributed energy resources create the greatest valueWhy different neighbourhoods require different flexibility solutionsHow GridCARE uses AI to uncover unused grid capacityWhy utilities are increasingly focused on improving grid utilisation before building new infrastructureHow better coordination of existing assets could reduce electricity costs and accelerate new grid connections

    From heatwaves to hidden capacity: How extreme heat is reshaping the electricity grid

  8. Jul 3

    Can AI heat your home instead of overloading the grid?

    Recorded 30 June – We explore how engineering, software and market design are reshaping AI infrastructure and electricity systems. Charlotte examines three stories linked by a common theme: making existing infrastructure dramatically more productive. From NVIDIA's warm-water cooling technology and AI-powered water heaters to the largest virtual power plant ever assembled, we explore how AI is driving innovation far beyond the chip itself. Lucy then discusses a major US Supreme Court ruling that could increase political influence over the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), what that means for electricity markets, and why a new Columbia University report challenges the popular narrative that data centres are driving electricity price increases. 1. NVIDIA redesigns AI cooling with 45°C warm-water liquid cooling NVIDIA's next-generation Rubin AI platform is designed to operate using 45°C direct liquid cooling.Instead of cooling entire data halls with chilled air, warm water removes heat directly from chips, greatly reducing refrigeration energy and water consumption.AI competitiveness may increasingly depend not only on tokens per megawatt, but also on tokens per litre of water and per square metre of data centre space.2. What if AI GPU's ran inside your water heater? Startup WATTER has partnered with AI company Subconscious to embed GPUs inside domestic hot water systems.Instead of treating heat as waste, every AI inference simultaneously produces hot water.Combining GPUs, liquid cooling, heat exchangers and thermal storage could create a new model of distributed AI infrastructure, much like the evolution of distributed electricity systems.3. Sunrun, Tesla and Renew Home launch the largest US virtual power plant A 16.8 GW virtual power plant combines 7.8 GW of residential battery capacity, 9 GW of flexible demand, up to 9 million homes and more than 12 million connected devices.Rather than serving only utilities, the platform is designed to support AI data centres and hyperscalers, demonstrating how software can transform millions of distributed assets into critical electricity infrastructure.4. Is politics beginning to reshape US electricity markets? A recent US Supreme Court decision could make independent regulators more susceptible to presidential influence. We discuss: why independent regulation matters for competitive electricity marketshistorical examples of governments influencing market designhow political priorities could increasingly shape electricity regulationwhy investor confidence depends on stable, independent institutions5. What is really driving electricity prices? A new report from Columbia University's Center on Global Energy Policy concludes that data centres are not the primary driver of recent electricity price increases. Instead, rising costs largely reflect: ageing transmission and distribution infrastructurewildfire and storm resilience investmentsequipment cost inflationhigher natural gas pricesbroader structural issues within electricity markets6. Markets versus public ownership Drawing on recent visits to Kenya and South Africa, Lucy reflects on how electricity markets are evolving internationally, including: electricity market liberalisation across Africaprivate investment versus state ownershipwheeling arrangements and direct power saleswhat the UK's political debate could mean for future electricity market design.

    Can AI heat your home instead of overloading the grid?
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About

Join us - Dr Charlotte Kirk and Lucy Shaw - as we dive into the tech, finance and politics powering the energy transition each week. We'll unpack what happened, why it matters, and what you need to know. With deep industry insights and unique insider knowledge, we'll keep you up to date with all the Power Plays.

Information

  • Creator
    Dr Charlotte Kirk and Lucy Shaw
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    26
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Show Website
    Power Plays

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