The Energy Gang

By Wood Mackenzie

What's The Energy Gang about?

Bi-weekly discussions on the latest trends in energy, cleantech, renewables, and the environment from Wood Mackenzie. Hosted by Ed Crooks.

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The Energy Gang episodes:

04.02.2024
Everyone is worrying about rising demand for electricity. Do Microsoft and Google have an answer?
Big power users are getting together to accelerate the development of advanced clean energy technologies. The hottest topic in energy right now is the expected surge in demand for electricity. Data centers for AI, new factories, and electric vehicles are driving...
03.19.2024
How will utilities meet surging power demand?
AI isn’t just threatening to take our jobs, it’s also draining our electricity. Data centres centers used to have power demand measured in the tens of megawatts. Now they are in the hundreds of megawatts, and the new ones that are...
03.08.2024
Bonus interviews from Distributech
This bonus episode of Wood Mackenzie’s The Energy Gang is our third from the Distributech conference in Orlando. Distributech is the leading event for the electricity transmission and distribution industry in North America. It gave our host Ed Crooks a fantastic...
03.05.2024
How can we develop new energy technologies and get them deployed at scale?
On this episode of Wood Mackenzie's The Energy Gang: what the history of innovation in solar power and batteries can teach us about the right ways to support clean energy breakthroughs. As the world moves towards a more sustainable energy future,...
03.01.2024
Bonus Episode: Evolving Power: The Impact of Electric Vehicles on Energy Utilities
When most people drive electric cars, what does that mean for the grid? This bonus episode of Wood Mackenzie’s The Energy Gang is our second from the Distributech conference in Orlando. Distributech is the leading event for the electricity transmission and distribution...
02.28.2024
The Energy Gang at Distributech 2024 in Orlando
What AI means for the energy transition in the electricity industry Welcome to a special episode of Wood Mackenzie's The Energy Gang, recorded at the Distributech 2024 conference in Orlando. Distributech is the leading event in North America for the electricity...
02.20.2024
2023 was a tough year for clean energy investment. Will 2024 be better?
There are no two ways around it: 2023 was a difficult year for low-carbon energy investment, and 2024 has so far carried on in very much the same vein. Rising interest rates, fears around future energy policy, cost inflation in some...
02.06.2024
A pause in US gas export approvals: a big win for the climate?
The US is the world’s largest exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG), super-cooled to about -160 °C (or -260 °F) so it can be shipped in tankers. An investment boom means export capacity will soar over the next few years....
01.23.2024
Is AI really a game-changer for energy?
The World Economic Forum held its annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, last week, bringing together leaders from business, finance, politics, academia and culture. Regular Energy Gang guest Dr Melissa Lott was there, talking about one of the meeting’s central themes:...
01.09.2024
What does 2024 have in store for energy?
Ed Crooks is joined by Amy Myers-Jaffe and Dr Melissa Lott to look ahead to 2024. They explore the people, places, and technologies that could have a big influence on energy this year. Amy kicks things off with a look ahead...
12.22.2023
COP28 - Ed's notebook
Further conversations from this year’s summit. COP28 was the largest climate talks to date, with global industry leaders, governments, analysts, journalists and climate activists converging on Dubai for the summit. The Energy Gang's schedule was packed, and host Ed Crooks was joined by...
12.22.2023
Be of good cheer! Reasons to feel optimistic about the energy transition at the end of 2023
As 2023 comes to a close, the Energy Gang reflects on the events and trends of 2023 that provided grounds for optimism about the transition to a lower-carbon world. On this week’s show, Ed Crooks is joined by Melissa Lott and...
12.15.2023
Was COP28 a huge success?
The gang assess the outcome of the climate talks in Dubai. This year’s COP went to overtime, as countries argued over the wording of the concluding statement. They had to carry on the negotiations all through the night to do it,...
12.11.2023
A nuclear COP?
Nuclear energy has been in the headlines more in Dubai, than at any previous COP. Nuclear power has had more prominence at this year’s climate talks than at any previous COP. In fact, some people have even been calling it “the...
12.08.2023
COP28: What's the point of the COP?
On day 9 of the climate talks, what do the experts think? As Simon Stiell, Executive Secretary of the UNFCC, said today, it’s go-time for governments at COP28 this week. To examine the latest stories Ed Crooks has assembled a...
12.08.2023
COP28: What’s happening with EVs?
An interview with Kristen Siemen from General Motors On this bonus episode recorded live from COP28, Ed Crooks meets Kristen Siemen, Chief Sustainability Officer at General Motors. She sits down with Ed to discuss the current state of the EV market,...
12.07.2023
COP28: Hydrogen headaches
What are the barriers to cheap green hydrogen? As COP28 debates the future of fossil fuels, many people think low-carbon hydrogen could replace them for some uses. But, hydrogen has plenty of problems of its own: water use, public resistance to...
12.06.2023
This year’s COP is breaking new ground
At the halfway point of COP28 the focus is still on fossil fuel abatement. Ed Crooks is joined by Dr Melissa Lott, Director of Research at Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy and Professor at the Climate School, and Michael...
12.05.2023
Will COP28 deliver a pledge to phase out fossil fuels?
At the halfway point of this year’s climate negotiations at COP28, the focus is still on the proposal that the world’s governments should commit to phasing out fossil fuels. Discussion on the best way forward is still going on; fossil...
12.04.2023
Delivering on the promise of climate finance - at last
The insight and debate from the Climate Co-Lab event at COP28 In 2009, developed countries jointly pledged to mobilise $100bn per annum to support climate action in developing countries. This target has never been met and the pledge will expire in...
12.04.2023
The Energy Gang on the ground at COP28: the summit so far
Part one of our coverage live from the conference Ed Crooks is joined by Amy Harder & Bill Spindle from Cipher, the publication supported by Breakthrough Energy – the clean energy network founded by Bill Gates. Amy and Bill have been...
12.01.2023
What can we expect from COP28?
COP28, this year’s Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, started in Dubai on Thursday November 30. The Energy Gang will be there, bringing you all the latest news from the negotiations and explaining what...
11.17.2023
Thanksgiving Special: a family debate about energy
Thanksgiving is a special time in America when families across the country get together and argue. In honor of that tradition, host Ed Crooks and regular Amy Myers-Jaffe are joined by Danny and Toby Rice, two brothers who have both...
11.03.2023
Will oil, gas and coal peak by 2030?
The International Energy Agency last week published its World Energy Outlook, which is its big annual review of everything that is going on in the world of energy. One of the headlines that has been attracting a lot of attention is...
10.20.2023
Fifty years since the first Oil Shock: how much has changed?
This week marks 50 years, almost to the day, since the 1973 OPEC oil embargo on the US, which led to global oil prices soaring. Oil’s potential role as a political weapon was thrown into sharp relief, and the world...
10.06.2023
The energy transition needs minerals. Is deep sea mining the best way to get them?
The International Energy Agency last month held its first ever summit to discuss Critical Minerals and Clean Energy. It was attended by more than 50 countries, which came together to discuss ways to secure the critical minerals that are needed to...
09.27.2023
The Energy Gang at the London Hydrogen Conference – Part 2
Host Ed Crooks brings you the second of two special episodes recorded live from Wood Mackenzie’s Hydrogen Conference. In the rapidly changing energy landscape, hydrogen has become a hot topic. For some, it represents a beacon of potential for meeting...
09.26.2023
The Energy Gang at the London Hydrogen Conference – Part 1
Host Ed Crooks brings you the first of two special episodes recorded live from Wood Mackenzie’s Hydrogen Conference Industry leaders and energy analysts gathered recently for the second annual Wood Mackenzie Hydrogen Conference, where they debated the potential of hydrogen in...
09.22.2023
The Energy Gang Live from NYU: An Expert Analysis on the Energy Transition Landscape
What’s Next for US Energy Policy? As part of Climate Week in New York, The Energy Gang recorded a special edition in partnership with New York University: an expert panel discussing the future direction of US climate policy and its implications...
09.08.2023
The US Government Is Rolling The Dice On Direct Air Capture
Direct air capture and carbon sequestration – is it viable, and scalable? The U.S. Department of Energy announced in late August that it would be investing $1.2 billion in two direct air capture or DAC facilities. Direct air capture technology, which...
08.25.2023
Riding The Solar Coaster of Clean Energy Investment
It’s a little over a year since the US Inflation Reduction Act was passed into law. Solar was one of the main beneficiaries, thanks to an extension and expansion of the tax credits available to the industry. So why has...
08.11.2023
Defeating Doomerism: The Search For A New Climate Narrative
On the last Energy Gang we looked at the impact of record temperatures on the energy sector. This week, we discuss another impact of climate change: its effect on human psychology. We discuss how the way we talk about global...
07.28.2023
Heating Up: What Record Temperatures Mean For Energy
New challenges for our power supplies in a warming world. Global temperatures have been breaking records this summer. On some estimates, the earth is the hottest that it has been for about 125,000 years. In Phoenix, Arizona, temperatures have consistently reached...
07.14.2023
The Race To Lead The World In Clean Energy
Bidenomics’ is the new buzzword that the US administration is using to brand its industrial strategy. What does it mean for energy in the US, and around the world? Last week, President Joe Biden spoke in South Carolina about his economic...
06.30.2023
Controversy Over COP28
This year’s climate talks have already drawn widespread criticism. Can they make progress? COP28, this year’s Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, is still five months away, but the discussion around it is already...
06.16.2023
What Does The US Debt Ceiling Deal Mean For Clean Energy?
The north-eastern US has taken on a post-apocalyptic appearance recently, blanketed by smoke from wildfires in Canada. Host Ed Crooks and regular guest Melissa Lott, Director of Research at Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy, are both based in...
06.02.2023
Big Green Is Under Attack - As Clean Energy Scales Up, Criticism Grows
More money will be invested this year in the solar industry than in oil production. So said Faith Birol, executive director of the International Energy Agency, last week. Amy Harder, executive editor of Cipher, attended the Cleanpower 2023 event in New...
05.19.2023
AI in Energy; Evolution or Revolution?
The excitement around ChatGPT and other large language models has put AI firmly in the spotlight in recent months. Public perception is that we’re entering a new age of AI; it is a brand-new technology that promises to change our...
05.05.2023
Wind and Whales: How Can We Manage The Conflicts When Energy Investment Affects Local Communities And Eco-systems?
“Electrify everything” is turning from a slogan into reality
04.21.2023
The Energy Gang Live from NYU’s '2040 Now' Event
It’s a special edition of the Energy Gang this week. New York University’s 2040 Now event is an initiative focused on addressing the challenges posed by climate change, and this week the Energy Gang joined in. As part of the...
04.07.2023
Is Geothermal Power The Key To Stabilizing The Grid?
Alternative sources of power are moving into the spotlight. As the share of dispatchable power in our electricity system declines, with coal-fired plants giving way to variable wind and solar, maintaining reliable supplies to keep the lights on becomes more complex....
03.24.2023
Could a Banking Crisis Stop Our Energy Transition Progress?
It has been a turbulent month in the financial sector, which could have big implications for the world of energy. Mobilising capital is vital for achieving international goals to curb greenhouse gas emissions and to adapt to the impacts of...
03.10.2023
Clearing The Red Tape Around Renewables
Will permitting reforms make it easier to build infrastructure projects? A group called the REPEAT Project at Princeton University calculated last year that to unlock the full emissions reduction potential of the Inflation Reduction Act, the US needed to increase its...
02.24.2023
Climate Change is Shaping Our Most Important Decisions in the Energy Transition
The energy industry influences climate change, and climate change also influences the energy industry. Understanding the consequences of a warming world is essential for making the right decisions as trillions of dollars are invested in energy production around the world....
02.10.2023
The IRA 9 Months On: What's Standing in the Way of Progress?
The US Clean Energy Boom: What Might Stop It? The US Inflation Reduction Act, signed into law by President Joe Biden last August, has transformed the outlook for low-carbon energy in the US, because of the array of tax credits and...
01.27.2023
The Renaissance of Nuclear Power
What’s led the world to restart the stalled atomic engine? 2022 was a year of important milestones for nuclear power. The most significant piece of climate legislation in US history – the IRA – included tax incentives and investment for the...
01.13.2023
What Could 2023 Deliver For Energy?
The Energy Gang discuss the potential opportunities and challenges for 2023
12.16.2022
2022 - The Year In Energy
2022 has been a very eventful year in the world of energy. From January to December there has been an ongoing war, a European energy crisis, billions of dollars in funding for clean energy in the US and a Twitter...
12.02.2022
What Does a Split US Congress Mean for the Energy Transition?
The year is quickly coming to a close and there’s a lot going on in the world of energy. On this episode of the Energy Gang, host Ed Crooks is joined for the first time by Jackie Forrest of the ARC...
11.18.2022
Can We Call COP27 a Success?
The COP27 climate talks have been held in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. It’s a popular tourist destination, but the negotiators discussing ways to limit global warming and to address the harm done by climate change have not been able to relax. The talks have...

What's The Energy Gang about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

The Energy Gang episodes:

Everyone is worrying about rising demand for electricity. Do Microsoft and Google have an answer?

How will utilities meet surging power demand?

Bonus interviews from Distributech

How can we develop new energy technologies and get them deployed at scale?

Bonus Episode: Evolving Power: The Impact of Electric Vehicles on Energy Utilities

The Energy Gang at Distributech 2024 in Orlando

2023 was a tough year for clean energy investment. Will 2024 be better?

A pause in US gas export approvals: a big win for the climate?

Is AI really a game-changer for energy?

What does 2024 have in store for energy?

COP28 - Ed's notebook

Be of good cheer! Reasons to feel optimistic about the energy transition at the end of 2023

Was COP28 a huge success?

A nuclear COP?

COP28: What's the point of the COP?

COP28: What’s happening with EVs?

COP28: Hydrogen headaches

This year’s COP is breaking new ground

Will COP28 deliver a pledge to phase out fossil fuels?

Delivering on the promise of climate finance - at last

The Energy Gang on the ground at COP28: the summit so far

What can we expect from COP28?

Thanksgiving Special: a family debate about energy

Will oil, gas and coal peak by 2030?

Fifty years since the first Oil Shock: how much has changed?

The energy transition needs minerals. Is deep sea mining the best way to get them?

The Energy Gang at the London Hydrogen Conference – Part 2

The Energy Gang at the London Hydrogen Conference – Part 1

The Energy Gang Live from NYU: An Expert Analysis on the Energy Transition Landscape

The US Government Is Rolling The Dice On Direct Air Capture

Riding The Solar Coaster of Clean Energy Investment

Defeating Doomerism: The Search For A New Climate Narrative

Heating Up: What Record Temperatures Mean For Energy

The Race To Lead The World In Clean Energy

Controversy Over COP28

What Does The US Debt Ceiling Deal Mean For Clean Energy?

Big Green Is Under Attack - As Clean Energy Scales Up, Criticism Grows

AI in Energy; Evolution or Revolution?

Wind and Whales: How Can We Manage The Conflicts When Energy Investment Affects Local Communities And Eco-systems?

The Energy Gang Live from NYU’s '2040 Now' Event

Is Geothermal Power The Key To Stabilizing The Grid?

Could a Banking Crisis Stop Our Energy Transition Progress?

Clearing The Red Tape Around Renewables

Climate Change is Shaping Our Most Important Decisions in the Energy Transition

The IRA 9 Months On: What's Standing in the Way of Progress?

The Renaissance of Nuclear Power

What Could 2023 Deliver For Energy?

2022 - The Year In Energy

What Does a Split US Congress Mean for the Energy Transition?

Can We Call COP27 a Success?