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In this week's episode, we take a trip to the Reykjanes Peninsula in Iceland to visit the Svartsengi power Station. Located only several hundred metres from several active volcanoes, the 85 MW geothermal plant has withstood 12 eruptions over the past few years - only shutting down once when power lines actually melted.  

Richard sits down with HS Orka's CEO to find out exactly how this resilient power station kept running when lava was flowing down the mountainside and the local residents were being evacuated. Not least how the company upgraded the plant on time and under budget.

 Host: Richard Sverrisson - Editor-in-Chief, Montel News
Guest: Tómas Már Sigurðsson - CEO, HS Orka

Editor: Oscar Birk
Producer: Sarah Knowles

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One week into the new year, and President Trump is continuing his mission to tear up the prevailing international order, creating further incertainty for global oil and gas markets following his attack on Venezuela and the arrest of its President, Nicolás Maduro. Meanwhile, Denmark has replied to US threats to annex Greenland, and Russia continues to target Ukraine's power infrastructure, despite ongoing ceasefire talks. 

In the first official episode of the new Plugged In podcast season, Richard sits down with Montel's Chief Analyst Tobias Federico to discuss the events that are already shaping the geopolitical landscape in 2026, as well as the significance of Berlin's power outage that affected 50,000 homes during the first weekend in January.  

Host: Richard Sverrisson - Editor-in-Chief, Montel News
Guest: Tobias Federico - Chief Analyst, Montel

Editor: Oscar Birk
Producer: Sarah Knowles

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Negative power prices, geopolitical tension, energy policy, batteries and strengthening the grid - what's in store for Europe's energy markets in 2026? 

In our first episode of the new year, Richard sits down with Montel's Editors from France, Spain, Germany, Italy, the Nordics, and the UK to review the key events from 2025, and discuss the headlines predicted to affect Europe's energy sector in 2026.

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

Guests: 

Christopher Eales - France Editor, Montel News

Pablo Bronte - Iberian Editor, Montel News

Andreas Lochner - Germany Editor, Montel News

Laurence Walker - UK Editor, Montel News

Enza Tedesco - Italy Editor, Montel News

Olav Vilnes - Nordics Editor, Montel News

Editor: Oscar Birk

Producer: Sarah Knowles

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How could our Christmas leftovers, such as rejected potatoes and 'pottail' from whisky distilleries, fuel the energy transition? 

In our final episode for 2025, Richard sits down with a company in Scotland to discuss how they produce bio-based green chemicals from food and drink byproducts, and how these greener alternatives are already helping pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries wean off fossil fuel chemicals. 

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

Contributor: Gabriel Power - UK Reporter, Montel News

Guest: Mark Simmers - CEO, Celtic Renewables

Editor: Oscar Birk

Producer: Sarah Knowles

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It's been a busy first year for the EU Energy Commissioner Dan Jørgensen. The Iberian blackout, grid congestion, curtailment of renewable energy and a record number of negative prices. How does he plan to tackle some of these issues in 2026?

In this episode, Richard sits down with the EU´s top energy official in the heart of the European Commission to discuss the details of his grids package released earlier this week, his stance on the future of Russian gas supplies, and how he is trying to work with member states who oppose the ban. 

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

Contributor: Fatima Sadouki - Brussel's Reporter, Montel News
Guest: Dan Jorgensen - European Commissioner for Energy

Editor: Oscar Birk
Producer: Sarah Knowles

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The global LNG market has been tight since 2022, with prices remaining around USD 10/MMbtu (about EUR 30/MWh). 

 However, with the one-year countdown to the complete phase-out of Russian gas starting next month, and a new wave of LNG capacity from the US and Qatar expected to come online from next year - could prices drop as low as USD 7/MMbtu? 

 In this episode, Richard sits down with LNG analysts and geopolitical experts to discuss how Asia could see a strong demand rebound in the next few years, why Germany's declining industrial gas consumption puts downward pressure on long-term demand into Europe. But there is a note of caution as structural challenges in the US LNG construction industry are likely to  cause supply delays. 

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

Contributor: Laurence Walker - Deputy Editor-in-Chief, Montel News

Guests: 

Henning Gloystein - Managing Director of Energy and Resources, Eurasia Group. 

Saul Kavonic - Head of Energy Research, MST Financial.

Editor: Oscar Birk

Producer: Sarah Knowles

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Has the flagship climate conference of the parties (COP) lost its touch? 

One week after the closing of the annual COP conference,  we  examine the deals - or non-deals - that  came out of the two weeks of negotiations, and why the EU failed in its negotiations to deliver a  plan for the global transitioning away from fossil-fuels. 

Richard speaks to Lord Adair Turner about the pressure from petro-states on negotiations, the unusual alliances with developed countries, and why expectations surrounding COP's effectiveness as a mechanism for change are dwindling. 

Host: Richard Sverrisson - Editor-in-Chief, Montel News
Contributor: Cem Bektas - Carbon Reporter, Montel News

Guest: Lord Adair Turner - Chairman, Energy Transitions Commission

Editor: Oscar Birk
Producer: Sarah Knowles

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Germany boasts the biggest economy in Europe. Yet energy-intensive industries in the country are struggling with high energy costs versus their global competitors. 

The German government has said it will aim to lower the cost of power to EUR 50/MWh - far below current wholesale prices - from 1 January 2026 with the launch of its new industry power price.

What are the implications for German companies, larger firms as well as the smaller and medium sized companies that are the engines of the country’s economy?

In this episode, Richard speaks to Dr. Claudia Kemfert about the current sentiment towards the  coalition government. In  addition, what doed its plans to tender 10GW of predominantly gas-fired power plants says about Germany's commitment to the green energy transition?

Host: Richard Sverrisson - Editor-in-Chief, Montel News
Contributor: Christian Driessen - Germany Editor, Montel News

Guest: Dr. Claudia Kemfert - Professor of Energy Economics and Energy Policy at Leuphana University Lüneburg, and Head of the Energy, Transportation and Environment Department at the German Institute for Economic Research

Editor: Oscar Birk Hellenes
Producer: Sarah Knowles

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In recent months, political opposition towards renewable energy policies in the UK has been on a steady rise, as commitment to deliver "cheaper power" starts to overtake the ambition to have "clean power". Energy affordability is firmly back on the agenda.

In the drive to deliver green targets have politicians overhyped the implications of a move to a decarbonized power system? Is free power for all a realistic or even feasible concept? If not, how can consumers be incentivised to use electricity when it’s cheap and not when it’s expensive? What are the real consequences?

In this episode, Richard sits down with Afry Director, Stephen Woodhouse, at Montel's Energy Day in London to talk about whether the push for “clean power by 2030” can deliver cheap power, what changes are needed to deliver more private investment and how political and geopolitical shifts have reshaped costs and policy objectives.

Host: Richard Sverrisson - Editor-in-Chief, Montel News
Contributor: Laurence Walker - Deputy Editor-in-Chief, Montel News

Guest: Stephen Woodhouse - Director, Afry

Editor: Bled Maliqi
Producer: Sarah Knowles

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In October, the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol - the world’s most widely used carbon accounting framework - launched two public consultations, inviting input from professionals across the industry to share their thoughts on proposed changes to the current guidance for scope 2 carbon emissions and market-based accounting.  

But what are the changes? How do they affect big businesses on a global level? Could reformulating the methodology for temporal and locational reporting have far-reaching consequences for the GO market? 

In this episode, Richard sits down with experts in Amsterdam to discuss the proposed updates to the GHG Protocol, and what these changes mean for renewable energy markets and corporate sustainability reporting.

Host: Richard Sverrisson - Editor-in-Chief, Montel News
Contributor: Alina Trabattoni - Italy Reporter, Montel News

Guests: 
Killian Daly - Executive Director, EnergyTag
Carolyn Addy - Head of Commercial, Renewable

Editor: Bled Maliqi
Producer: Sarah Knowles