Energy Evolution

From turkeys and LED lights to celebrating Hanukkah with solar energy, the Energy Evolution team breaks down power usage during the holidays with efficiency tips, fun facts and a cooking tutorial.

The fourth episode also features answers to questions about the history behind Americans' holiday light tradition, which variety of stuffing is best and how regional grid operators prepare to accommodate soaring demand.

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The price of producing electricity from solar energy has dropped rapidly in the last several years and nothing is stopping it from dropping even further, an expert recently told the hosts of Energy Evolution, an S&P Global Market Intelligence podcast. There is still room for reducing the cost of solar, both by improving the physical workings of the technology itself and by reducing the cost of production and deployment of solar photovoltaics, said Greg Nemet, a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who researches technological shifts and how public policy can affect those changes. Once denounced as too expensive, solar energy is already displacing other fuel sources as the cheapest form of generation in some regions. Nemet, who wrote the recently published book "How Solar Energy Became Cheap," noted one of the challenges with solar energy is that once it is installed it essentially becomes a zero variable cost source of electricity. That could contribute to under investment on the part of utilities. The solution, he said, is to modernize utility regulations that in many cases were created decades ago in order to better accommodate renewable energy resources and other technologies.

Listen to the full episode to hear more, and subscribe to Energy Evolution to catch future episodes.

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Stationary storage takes the stage in the November edition of S&P Global Platts Battery Metals podcast. Senior pricing specialist Emmanuel Latham is joined by Felix Maire, lead analyst on US and European Power Storage markets at Platts Analytics, to discuss the major drivers on this growing...

As technological innovation is spurs opportunities in the energy sector, the U.S. government wants to facilitate a major shift in how the nation generates its power, top federal energy officials said during a new S&P Global Market Intelligence podcast. "We are in this incredible American moment where we are really seeing a fascinating transition in our energy landscape," Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Chairman Neil Chatterjee said on S&P Global Market Intelligence's second episode of Energy Evolution. "The challenge is that this transition is putting pressure on traditional forms of baseload power, namely coal and nuclear. As the regulator responsible for the reliability of the grid, ensuring that we can make that transition while maintaining reliability is a challenge." The administration has taken several steps to try to support coal and nuclear power. However, agencies like FERC and the U.S. Department of Energy are also supporting the development of policies and technology that would support the growing role renewable energy plays in U.S. electricity generation. "If the cost of renewables, the cost of storage, gets to a point where it can compete, I think that's great for consumers," Chatterjee said. "It's great for the economy. It's great for the environment and it's great for America." The U.S. electricity grid has already undergone a massive change as cheap natural gas from new shale gas drilling technologies pushed coal-fired generation out of the market. Now, growing renewable energy deployment is causing a "bit of a strain on the system," said Brian Anderson, director of the DOE's National Energy Technology Laboratory. "What we're looking for in the future are the options for large scale grid storage of electricity," Anderson said on the Energy Evolution podcast. "There are only a few options: battery packs — the costs are coming down tremendously — and other grid-scale storage options for storing electrons. We're going to start seeing a grid that is much different than we are used to because we need to be able to follow the dynamic nature of intermittent renewables." The DOE is working on finding a part of that solution. For example, they are studying materials that could be used to create a new generation of battery storage technology that does not have the same limitations as current batteries utilizing lithium-ion. "Lithium ion's done a great job for the last two or three decades, providing storage capabilities," said Dan Brouillette, the deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy who has recently been tapped to succeed outgoing Energy Secretary Rick Perry. "But it is limited and the ability to do utility-scale or large-scale storage still eludes us. That's why we've seen perhaps a slower adoption of some of the renewable technologies and we might otherwise have had." DOE is examining the possibility of using magnesium-ion instead of lithium-ion, for instance, which may prove to be a better means of storing power for later use. Battery storage research and development, he added is a high priority for the DOE as the technology is expected to be a "very important component" of the U.S. electricity generation mix in the coming years. The agency is also looking to more futuristic technology such as being able to beam power from one point to another without the use of wires. "Think about that," Brouillette said on the podcast. "Think about a world in which hurricanes matter perhaps a little bit less for the provision of electricity or the recovery from a major catastrophe like that. Those are some of the things we're thinking about at the DOE. And it's a very exciting place to be." Subscribe to Energy Evolution on Soundcloud to catch future episodes. (Photo: AP)

In this month's Battery Metals podcast, regional manager Marcel Goldenberg talks to Mark Preston, Team Principal of the Techeetah Formula E racing team, about battery technology and innovation in the world of electric vehicle racing and its possible applications to the everyday use of EVs, as...

Nickel prices have been strong since mid-July, aided by Indonesia's plan to move forward on its ban of unprocessed ore exports beginning in 2020, as well as global supply issues. Three-month nickel prices reached a year-to-date high in September. S&P Global Platts editors Marcel Goldenberg,...

Population growth and mineral resource scarcity will hamper the global energy sector's transition from hydrocarbons to renewables even as activist investors push many oil and gas companies to pivot toward more sustainable electricity sources, financial forecaster and futurist Jason Schenker says in the inaugural episode of Energy Evolution, a new S&P Global Market Intelligence podcast. Schenker is the Chairman of The Futurist Institute and the President of Prestige Economics. He has also authored several books on disruptive emerging technologies, including "The Future of Energy". Subscribe to Energy Evolution on Soundcloud to catch upcoming episodes! (Photo: AP)

Despite the consensus on lithium demand spiking in about five years from now, the current outlook is challenging producers in many different ways. The bearish price trend triggered different strategies among some of the major worldwide producers, but which of them is more likely to succeed? And how...

S&P Global Platts Battery Metals Podcast brings its focus back to China, the world's largest producer of new energy vehicles and the largest consumer of battery raw materials. In this episode, Platts commodity associate Melvin Goh and metals associate editor Joyce Zhang examine the impact of...

Lithium-ion battery manufacturers are in a quest to develop new, more efficient cathodes -- such as NCM 811—featuring higher energy density which allows electric vehicles to drive for longer distances. In addition to the cathode, there are several other areas of study being researched...