Plugged In: the energy news podcast

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At the start of November, the Swedish government announced that it was vetoing plans for 13 offshore wind farms in the Baltic Sea due to security concerns. The announcement was met with much criticism from developers and lobby groups who felt blindsided by the cancellations and concerned about what this decision suggests about Sweden’s future energy priorities.

In this episode, Richard speaks to WindEurope about their fears regarding Sweden’s decision and discusses the nuances of Sweden’s Ministry of Defence with Defence Consultant and former Swedish Army Lieutenant Colonel. 

Host: Richard Sverrisson – Editor-in-Chief, Montel

Guests: Giles Dickson – CEO, WindEurope; Tobhias Wikstrom – CEO, Parachute Consulting; Anton Tigerstedt – Editor Sweden, Montel News

Editor: Bled Maliqi

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It has been a big week for global politics.

On the same day that the United States voted Donald Trump as their 47th President, the German coalition government broke down after a budget row over cutting energy costs to companies and financial support for Ukraine.

In this episode, Richard explores what this new US administration will mean for energy markets, and he speaks to one of our guests live from Munich about what the initial reaction to the news has been in Germany. Listen to a discussion on where this leaves the country – and the wider energy transition – as it enters a period of limbo until a new government is elected. 

Host: Richard Sverrisson - Editor-in-Chief, Montel

Guests: Nadia Martin Wiggen – Director, Svelland Capital; Tobias Federico – Managing Director of Energy Brainpool GmbH & Co. KG

Editor: Bled Maliqi

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This week, the UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves delivered her budget – the first from a Labour government in 14 years.

Whilst there were no big surprises for the energy sector, the budget still raised some interesting questions about the challenges in the UK when it comes to channeling private investment, and how effective the funding is going to be.

In this episode, Richard dissects what the announcements and fiscal decisions laid out by the Government will mean for energy businesses in the UK.

Host: Richard Sverrisson - Editor-in-Chief, Montel

Guests: Pranav Menon – Product Manager for GB Power Renewables, Aurora Energy Research; Johnny Gowdy – Director, Regen; Paul Buckworth – Montel Analytics 

Editor: Bled Maliqi

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It is over a year since Hamas attacked Israel, which triggered a wider conflict in the Middle East; the territory that produces around a third of the world’s oil. And much of its gas. 

Yet, despite the escalating military attacks and rising geopolitical tensions, the price of oil has not increased as significantly as some experts assumed, especially when compared to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine two years ago.

Why? In this episode, Richard speaks to geopolitics expert and co-founder of global data and intelligence firm, Energy Aspects, about what this tells us about the oil market, and what it suggests about our assumptions on the impact of geopolitical events vs the reality on the ground.   
 

Host: Richard Sverrisson - Editor-in-Chief, Montel
Guests: Richard Bronze – Co-Founder, Energy Aspects; Luke Roshan – Correspondent, Montel News

Editor: Bled Maliqi

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The last two years of the conflict in Ukraine, and the rise in malicious cyberattacks, has raised concerns security risks over Europe’s plans to be more self-sustainable in energy supply.

Now, as countries across Europe roll out their plans for further decarbonisation and electrification, the security of these plans has come into question, pushing the energy sector firmly onto NATO’s radar.  Is Europe’s energy market set up to deal with security threats?

In this episode, Richard speaks to two of the authors of a new report from Eurasia that puts the pressing issues of energy storage and grid compacity in Europe into a new – more urgent – context of security.

Host: Richard Sverrisson - Editor-in-Chief, Montel

Guests:Amund Vik – Senior Advisor to Eurasia Group and former Deputy Energy Minister in the Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy; Henning Gloystein – Head for Energy, Climate, and Natural Resources at Eurasia Group; Laurence Walker – Deputy Editor-in-Chief, Montel News

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It's clear for many that Europe needs to ramp up battery energy storage capacity over the next decade to help decarbonise the economy. But where does this leave battery developers and manufacturers who must navigate the complex markets and battle against negative pricing?

In this episode, Richard speaks to Neoen’s MD of Sweden about the largest battery in the Nordic region that will start operating early next year. In addition, we hear from Rystad Energy’s battery expert about the market conditions and the competitive threat from China that we have already seen start to impact local European manufacturers.

Host: Richard Sverrisson - Editor-in-Chief, Montel
Guests: Laetitia Prot – Managing Director Sweden, Neoen
               Lars Lysdal – Advisory Partner and battery expert, Rystad Energy

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This week marked a historic milestone for the UK as it shut down the last remaining coal-fired power station in Ratcliffe-on-Soar, Nottinghamshire. Once the backbone of the country’s energy supply, coal has been an essential part of the energy mix for over a century.

In this bonus episode, Richard speaks to Matthew Scrimshaw, CCO of Montel, who shares his memories of growing up in his childhood home which overlooked the iconic power plant. Matthew recounts stories of his grandfather going to work in another nearby coal unit, and being mesmerised as a boy by the Ratcliffe-on-Soar station.

Matthew, Richard, and Montel’s Deputy Editor-in-Chief, Laurence, reflect on coal’s role in the industrial revolution, the integral position it held in the politics of the 1970s and 80s, and how the dirty fuel will be remembered in British history.    

Host: Richard Sverrisson – Editor-in-Chief, Montel

Guests: Laurence Walker – Deputy Editor-in-Chief, Montel News; Matthew Scrimshaw – Chief Commercial Officer, Montel

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In September, the growing uncertainty surrounding the hydrogen economy brought new projects from producers like Shell and Equinor to a halt. Is this the start of a wave of hydrogen project cancellations that we are about to see in Europe? Has H2 passed peak hype?

Richard speaks to Montel’s Environmental Markets Reporter and the Hydrogen Science Coalition about why we are seeing hydrogen projects collapse now, and what is next to come.  

Host: Richard Sverrisson - Editor-in-Chief, Montel
Guests: David Cebon – Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Cambridge University and founding member of the Hydrogen Science Coalition; Rachael Burnett – Environmental Markets Reporter, Montel News

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Europe’s gas supplies are plentiful. Some in the industry are relaxed ahead of the coming winter, but with the rising military escalation in the Middle East and Eastern Europe, and the global market apprehensively awaiting November’s US Election, this positive sentiment might be about to change. 

In this week’s episode, we speak to hedge fund Svelland Capital about the impending challenges to the gas market. 

Host: Richard Sverrisson - Editor-in-Chief, Montel

Guests: Nadia Martin Wiggen – Director, Svelland Capital; Andres Cala – Senior LNG Correspondent, Montel

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This week, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, unveiled her team of new commissioners and set out their priorities for the next five years.

Amongst her new team are some key, experienced players for energy and climate, whose home countries are already avid supporters of the EU’s plans to decarbonise its economy.

Does this new, energy-charged Commission combined with Draghi’s report recommendations mean that we are going to see some drastic change in the next five years?

In this week’s episode, we hear initial reactions to the announcement from our own Brussel’s Correspondent and Eurelectric’s Policy Director.

Host: Richard Sverrisson - Editor-in-Chief, Montel

Guests: Siobhan Hall – Brussel’s Correspondent, Montel News; 
Cillian O’Donoghue – Policy Director, Eurelectric