As Europe has reached 270GW wind power (vs 150GW USA), corresponding to a value of 500bnEUR, we dig into the value of those assets. Gerard being out, Laurent brought his friend Mortimer Menzel, Managing Partner of Augusta Co, one of the most seasoned investment bankers in the wind sector.

After describing the past gloom (interest rates, inflation, supply chain, Ukraine), we analyse the fundamentals of the market and turn out to be very optimistic for the years ahead, both onshore and offshore.  

Mortimer talentedly explains how the risks and markets have evolved over time and what impact they will have on future valuations. Overall, he is bullish as ever.  

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 I will be chairing a free Seminar on the future of Green Energy procurement with Ofgem, KPMG, S&P Global and Renewabl, the award-winning platform I seat on the Board of, at the law firm Wedlake Bell, on Thursday 3/10 at 4pm. In the City of London. Super technical.

Link to Register.   https://lu.ma/heh3uoqs
Renewabl day: The future of renewable energy procurement · Luma

As wind and solar become ubiquitous, the value of hydropower goes up. Hydropower is becoming the ultimate clean energy, as it is flexible and easily dispatchable.
Hydropower is concentrated in certain geographies (China, Brazil, Canada) and is almost entirely developed by State-Owned Utilities that can stomach and support the very long construction time. Bost costs and value should be measured in decades, not in years.
Unfortunately, Climate Change is impacting the reliability of hydro; we have recently witnessed  a succession of dry years and wet years, which have created stresses in the American West, Brazil and China… So, how to make the best of it? How to optimize this valuable resource?

That is the life’s mission of Janice Goodenough, CEO of HYDROGRID. With a master’s degree in Applied Mathematics and over 15 years of experience in the hydropower sector, Janice Goodenough is a dedicated advocate for leveraging the complete potential of hydropower amidst the evolving energy landscape. HYDROGRID Insight is an integrated water management & production planning platform for proactive hydro teams, providing comprehensive, predictive capabilities such as plant monitoring, predictive production planning, optimal trading, as well as constraint and maintenance management under a single hood.

We love hydro, but they need to stop snoozing. Wake up!  

We thank AMUNDI for supporting the show 

Transcripts   https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/redefining-energy--3170008    

After a crazy Intersolar in Munich which welcomed more than 120,000 visitors, the pace of Solar deployment in Europe is going exponentially.

Gerard and Laurent bring in Walburga Hemetsberger, CEO of Solar Power Europe, to discuss the development of Solar, and through the new report “Mission Solar 2040”, how we are on the cusp of a Flexibility Revolution.

The Report is available here: https://www.solarpowereurope.org/insights/thematic-reports/mission-solar-2040-1  

Germany is rightly portrayed as a pioneer in the development of wind and solar. For the past two decades, the German government has granted a) a very stable framework b) very generous terms to renewables. And the “Energiewende” (the Energy Transition) as this policy is named, has delivered exceptional results, as the share of renewables has jumped from 6% to 50% of the electricity mix.
But the cost to consumers has been significant. German Energy policy is very political and there is a lot of money flowing around without much consideration for economic realities.
As the German Green party is expected to become an ever-dominant political actor, especially in view of the Autumn 2021 elections, we wanted to have a conversation with one of its most prominent inspirers: Patrick Graichen, who – after a long career in the German Ministry of Energy and Environment – leads the Agora Energiewende think tank.
Where is the Energiewende today? What lessons can we learn from the past? How would a green-inspired Energy Transition continue to evolve both for Germany and Europe? Patrick delivers a unique insight into the future of the Energiewende.

Agora-Energiewende: https://www.agora-energiewende.de/en/

Thanks to our partner - Aquila Capital: https://www.aquila-capital.de/en/

While coal is being phased out in Europe and America, it is still the dominant source of energy in Asia. Why is that? And how will the situation evolve? Is there any teeth behind the net zero pledges for the second part of the century? In other words, is coal here to stay in Asia or has the tide started to turn?
There is no better expert on the subject that Tim Buckley, Director of Energy Finance Studies at IEEFA (The Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis), a thinktank examining issues related to energy markets, trends, and policies.
With Tim, we discover that the debate is much more than about pure climate change: it is about growth, jobs, energy security and technology. We end up with a positive message: it is really the beginning of the end for coal in Asia.

Thank you to Aquila Capital for supporting the show
https://www.aquila-capital.de/en/

Links to IEEFA
Tim Buckley https://www.linkedin.com/in/tim-buckley-0a654313/
IEEFA https://ieefa.org/

Ember Climate
https://ember-climate.org/

And finally, our hero from down under
Pablo Brait https://www.linkedin.com/in/pablo-brait-37a716117/

“Sorry, I’m getting emotional when it comes to smart meters”. Part of Eurelectric’ s Power Summit 2021, we have had a great conversation with Dr Leonhard Birnbaum, the new CEO of E.ON.
E.ON is a massive German Utility that has spent the last decade (aka “the lost decade”) selling its coal plants, exiting from nuclear and swapping assets with ex rival RWE. After this reinvention, E.ON can now face the 2020’s with a strong balance sheet and a clear strategy. How to make the most of its two main businesses, retail and networks? What is the impact of digitisation (EV charging, smart meters) on its revenue model? Will it have to adopt a more aggressive strategy than just deleveraging and distributing dividends? To summarise: is E.ON going to be a prey or a predator?
Dr Leonhard Birnbaum faces all our questions with humour, humility, and comes up with a clear vision for his company.
We would like to thank Kristian Ruby and the talented team of Eurelectric for organising the debate. https://www.eurelectric.org/
We thank our partner Aquila Capital for supporting the show - https://www.aquila-capital.de/en/
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Follow the show on Twitter
@Redef_Energy

The energy retail sector is also experiencing its version of the energy transition, where incumbents with legacy systems are challenged by new entrants rolling out ground-breaking digital platforms.
Beyond the digital supremacy, disruptors bring a new approach to consumers' needs, much closer to Amazon than a Utility. We have invited one of the leading new entrants, Greg Jackson, CEO of Octopus Energy, to discuss innovations, new pricings systems, and its tech, called “Kraken”. Greg explains how to overcome regulatory hurdles which are benefiting the established companies and shares with us how he is on the cusp of conquering the world from its base of 20m clients.

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We thank our partner Aquila Capital for supporting the show - https://www.aquila-capital.de/en/
10GW portfolio! Fantastic.

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Finally, thanks to Rosie Barnes, you can also see us on Youtube!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=6B65dYBxIgU

China manufactures 2/3 of the world’s solar panels and 2/3 of the world’s batteries. How does it look on the ground? What technological advances do Chinese companies have and what does it means for the future?
There is no better source of knowledge on the subject of Solar and Batteries that someone based in China and whose teams are inspecting hundreds of factories. This is for real; and, as usual in China, dynamics are complex… but the results are staggering.
Andy Klump, CEO of CEA (Clean Energy Associates) share with Gerard and Laurent his world-class expertise of what’s happening in the solar and battery industries. The conversation also delves into ESG, carbon content and traceability questions. Ever declining costs are a very positive message for the Energy Transition.
Thank you to Aquila Capital (https://www.aquila-capital.de/en/) for supporting the show.

In Episode 47, we dive into the exponential development of batteries into the Grid: the Energy Storage industry is doubling size every year. One of the key market is the UK, where the market is expected to x10 this decade because of the rise of renewables, the electrification of transport and heating, and the need for an ever-greater resiliency.
We wanted to discuss the various aspects of investing in Batteries with Ben Guest, Managing Director at Gresham House, a very talented and innovative Infrastructure Asset Manager. What are the opportunities and the challenges to invest in Batteries from a technical, digital and equity points of view? What are the revenues and how will they evolve? Where is the technology leading us? And so much more is the truly enlightening episode
We thank Aquila Capital for supporting the show!
https://www.aquila-capital.de/en/

After several black outs in the past months, the irresistible growing trend towards electrification and the relentless rise of renewables, the grid has become the indispensable nervous system of the energy transition. How can the grid manage more intermittent and decentralized sources while ensuring more resiliency in dire and more recurrent weather extremes.
Gerhard Salge, CTO Hitachi ABB Power Grids provides solutions for a modernised XXIst Century super-grid. The super-grid will be strengthen through interconnectors and AI, but also integrate new usages such as emobility, heating, and industrial uses like steel and mining. This is a journey where digisation, virtual inertia, mini-hubs are the new tool to build, manage and strengthen the XXist century supergrid. Massive investments and new mindsets will be key to a cleaner and more resilient electrical world.
Thank you to our partner - Aquila Capital - for supporting the show.
Visit Aquila Capital: https://www.aquila-capital.de/en/

The UK Green Industrial Revolution was introduced by Boris Johnson, UK Prime Minister, in 2020. It is a holistic approach to decarbonisation, but we wanted to focus on one of its key aspects: the development of the largest offshore wind farms in the world.
Beyond climate change, it is about innovation, new opportunities and massive jobs creation. We have invited two young engineers working on those gigantic projects Ajai Ahluwalia of Equinor and Virginia Ruiz of ScottishPower-Iberdrola. On the top of their daily jobs, they have both volunteered to work in the shadow board of RenewableUK (the trade association representing the renewable energy sector) and they are actively preparing COP26.
It is great to have young, diverse guests on the show, not just old grumpy white dudes. The passion and dedication of Millennials is definitely powering the Green Industrial Revolution.

Why are engineers, politicians and financiers talking about Hydrogen all the time? And why are they throwing billions of subsidies or investment in companies in that sector?
Is Hydrogen a problem, with its hundreds of millions tonnes of CO2 emissions per year or a “Swiss Army Knife” solution that will help decarbonise Mobility, Heating and God knows what?
Should decarbonising the current Hydrogen production be the initial goal? Carbon Capture, Electrolysers: do those technologies make sense from an economic perspective, are there technology breakthroughs ahead or does someone will have to foot the bill?
Rather than trying to fix the fuel, should we not instead switch the fuel and electrify everything?
Those are all the subjects that are covered in this long Episode, and answers are… complicated.
Fortunately, we have our friend Paul Martin on the show, to try to make sense of all those options, and dissociate the Hope from the Hype.

References:
•Electrification: Mark Jacobson
•Mobility: James Carter (and check Auke Hoestra on twitter)
•Aviation: Toby McCann
•Lobbying: THE HYDROGEN HYPE https://corporateeurope.org/sites/default/files/2020-12/hydrogen-report-web-final_3.pdf
•Finally, a lot of good material from our friends John Poljack and Alex Grant

Glencore’s CEO Gary Nagle has once described ESG as “some person in the basement in office number 27 engaged in a box-ticking exercise.” And a lot of fossil fuel companies – while being less explicit – share the same opinion on ESG… and have voiced their hostility indirectly through complicit media outlets.
The ESG movement is facing a significant backlash. On the one hand there has been too much greenwashing, on the other hand, ESG has become a political punching ball in certain US States dependent on the fossil fuel industry. Some European Oil companies want to list in NY to get a better valuation and are complaining about too much sustainability scrutiny. And Larry Fink, Blackrock CEO, went in the last four years from hero to zero of the ESG wave.
Going back a few years a lot of the ESG popularity was linked to an overweighting of Tech and Luxury stocks which performed wonderfully, a trend partially reversed by the war in Ukraine and the rise of interest rates. In 2024, we have seen outflows in ESG labelled funds from a peak three years ago. Still, they represent, according to the FT, a 7tnUSD pot of money, so it is a big industry.

We’re not experts… but a system that rates ExxonMobil higher than Tesla on ESG raises eyebrows.

To add insult to injury, there is a multiplication of standards and regulations (CSRD, SFDR) which make the whole ESG universe very confusing. There are byzantine debates about passive vs active management. There are endless conversations about the adequacy of “engagement” and if shareholders should behave as activists. And finally, there is a clear transatlantic drift when it comes to that issue.

We are totally lost! 

To try to understand better if ESG is dead, or if it will have to reinvent itself, we bring in Jean Jacques Barberis Deputy CEO and Head of Institutional and Corporate Clients Division & ESG at Amundi. Amundi is EU’s largest EU Asset Manager and a leader in Green investing. Jean-Jacques Barbéris is currently responsible for the global development of the institutional business at Amundi. With Jean Jacques, Laurent and Gerard take no prisoners and call a spade a spade… and then realise that Paris-aligned targets are for real, that “engagement” with companies deliver results, and that a proper investment strategy starts to yield results.

We thank DLA Piper for supporting the show.

We bring in Nick Wayth, CEO of Energy Institute (EI), for the release of the 73rd Edition of the Statistical Review of World Energy. The Energy Institute Statistical Review of World Energy™ analyses data on world energy markets from the prior year.
Previously produced by bp, the Review has been providing timely, comprehensive and objective data to the energy community since 1952. The Strategic Review is now a collaboration between the EI, KPMG, Kearney and Heriot University. Five key stories emerge from the 2023 data:

1. Record global energy consumption, with coal and oil pushing fossil fuels and their emissions to record levels
2. Solar and wind push global renewable electricity generation to another record level
3. Ongoing Ukraine conflict cements gas rebalancing in Europe  
4. Dependence on fossil fuels in major advanced economies is likely to have peaked
5. Growth economies struggle to curb fossil fuel growth, but renewables accelerate in China   

Although we disagree on the message and question the concept of Primary Energy (super misleading), we salute the consistency and comprehensiveness of that Report. Keep them coming.

https://www.energyinst.org/statistical-review

UK is at the nexus of the subsea interconnector’s new economy. Great Britain is connected to Continental Europe by 8 interconnectors representing up to 15% of its power consumption.

Subsea cables are now a growing industry because of the benefits they bring to the grids, such as resiliency, capacity, lower prices, and renewable energy balancing. Alongside batteries and pumped Hydro, interconnectors are the best flexible green infrastructure currently available on our road to net-zero.

How has the technology evolved over the recent years? What are the economics in terms of CAPEX and OPEX? What are the revenue models? Is there a role for infrastructure investor? What are the technological challenges? How are the permitting and regulatory frameworks? How far and how deep will we go in the development of interconnectors, as we start hearing about transcontinental projects. 

To answer all those questions, we have invited Rebecca Sedler, aka “The Mother of Interconnectors” (reference to Games of Throne). After a long career at E.ON and EDF, Rebecca is Managing Director of the Interconnectors business for UK National Grid. We will start by the Viking Link, her more recent achievement, linking GB to Denmark with a 750km cable and only 3.7% loss. Finally, we will talk about the bright future of subsea interconnectors.

“We are going to America”  www.nato-l.org 

https://www.cnn.com/2024/06/26/climate/green-energy-wars-undersea-cables-intl?cid=ios_app


We thank Amundi for supporting our show. EU Largest Asset Manager and leader in Green investing.

Laurent interviews Georgios Stassis, PPC’S CEO, during Eurelectric Power Summit 24.

PPC, the Greek Utility, is a remarkable turnaround story: from a soviet-style dinosaur a few years ago, PPC has become a thriving forward-looking profitable modern Utility.
With Georgios, we discuss the investment in renewables, the phase out of lignite, digitisation, the investment in new segments (Datacenters, E Mobility, Demand Response…) and share an overview of regional integration with interconnectors and the successful acquisition of Enel Romania.

And, to crown it all, a Quiz: Eurelectric or AC/DC?

In April, we did Ep129 Minutes about China and announced the interview with a real expert. Here it is.
With David Fishman, an American based in Shanghai, we dig deep into China’s Energy Transition. We try to reconcile the rise of renewables and the rise of coal use. We try to decipher what is decided locally and nationally. We investigate what is the result of command-and-control measures vs market forces. We cover wind, solar, batteries, EVs. Our goal is not to give good points or bad points, our mission is to share with our listeners the fascinating but complex picture of what is happening in China. And we debunk a lot of the cliches that we read in the Western media.
To paraphrase Churchill: “A riddle wrapped in mystery inside an enigma”.
As the US and the EU are becoming more and more wary and protectionist in relation to China’s progresses in clean technologies, we try to stay neutral when it comes to subsidies, “overcapacity” and real advances made by China Inc.
Beyond those cliches, we talk about human capital and the fundamental concern about energy security which are powerful drivers boosting the Chinese energy transition. In David’s opinion, China is turning the corner on Coal and Fuels, and we might already have seen peak emissions. And we like that!  

For institutions which would like to partner with our show, please ask for our media kit.  

We thank Amundi for suppiorting our show. 

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David Fishman is an economic consultant at the Lantau Group specializing in the Chinese power sector. His work includes regulatory and commercial intelligence for Chinese nuclear power, solar, wind, and distributed energy markets. His specific experience includes Chinese power market and policy intelligence and forecasting, solar and wind pricing forecasts, renewable asset transactional due diligence, China business matchmaking, and green power procurement planning and execution for multinationals with factories in China.   Check David Fishman on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/china-electricity-2023-statistics-summary-david-fishman-mknic?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_ios&utm_campaign=share_via  

Last week, Laurent was in Athens for the spectacular Eurelectric Summit (we will talk more about it in 2 weeks’ time, with a special Episode) meanwhile, we bring in our friend Jan-Michael Hess, organiser of the Berlin EcoSummit 4-5 June to discuss Clean Tech and his annual gathering of more than 100 Start-Ups and hundreds of investors.
If you don’t have your tickets (yet) https://ecosummit.net/  

"McKinsey, BCG and S&P Global Commodity Insights project electricity demand tied to data centers to increase at a CAGR of 15% through 2030." “Booming AI demand threatens global electricity supply (FT)”. Media and consultants have recently raised the alarm about the unquenchable energy thirst of AI and datacentres.  Can we believe those predictions or is it another scaremongering wave like we saw 15 years ago, when prophets predicted that the internet would soon consume 50% of the world power?

Laurent and Gerard prefer to go directly to the source. So, we have invited Michael Terrell, Senior Director Energy and Climate at Google. Google is one of the Top 5 purchasers of Green Electricity in the world, and Michael is one of the key architects for providing 24/7 green power to their 28 datacenters around the world.

With Michael, we analyse why datacenters consume so much energy. We also discuss why the overall grid has not melted down despite ominous predictions a decade ago, as energy efficiency improvements have been spectacular. We talk about fostering the purchase of green energy and especially 24/7. We discuss new tech, whether software (Tapestry) or hardtech (geothermal, nuclear, LDES) and why Google and others BigTech are fostering them. Finally, we discuss the development of AI and its impact on the future demand.

All in all, a great discussion but more importantly a very optimistic dialogue, where we see that we – the Energy Transition Brotherhood – are a force for good and we will defeat – easily – the old guard of fossil fuel lobbyists and scaremongers.   

We thank Amundi for supporting our show

We bring in the star of the week, Ember’s Dave Jones, to discuss the Global Electricity Review 2024, published last week.
Main take aways (thank you Nat Bullard): 

• Renewable sources (hydro, wind, solar, geothermal, biomass) are now 30% of global electricity supply.
• Solar generation increased 23% yoy; wind 10%.
• Fossil fuel generation increased 0.8%.

If not for a decline in hydro production, renewables would have met almost the entirety of the global increase in electricity demand.
We are entering a new era of electricity with three great flexors acting on a complex and growing supply mix:

1. Continued growth of wind+solar increasing global clean electron supply
2. Variations in hydro and nuclear production
3. Demand driven by electrification, data, and global wealth

 https://ember-climate.org/insights/research/global-electricity-review-2024/

 
We partner with EcoSummit Berlin, the annual unique gathering for startups and investors to discuss to decarbonise our economy and save our climate. Berlin 4-5 June. If you don’t have your tickets (yet) https://ecosummit.net/

Finally Happy Anniversary to Paul Chapman and his excellent podcast HC Insider who is about to change name to HC Commodities podcast. 200th episode. Really if you are interested in Commodities markets, from Oil to Power to Metals to Ags, Trading , they are the best.

Distribution grids are facing new challenges. On the one hand, they experience a growth of local demand, with EV charging, heat pumps and datacenters. On the other, they must accommodate with the fast deployment of decentralised energy such as rooftop solar and batteries. 
How to reconcile those challenges while maintaining grid stability? And how can Utilities, hooked up on rates and CAPEX start thinking differently and adopt new technologies? Beyond the regulatory changes and technical investments, some cultural shifts need to be implemented. And a lot of solutions are digital.
That’s the job of our guest, Robert Denda. Robert is CEO of Gridspertise, a new company carved out two years ago out of ENEL. Previously, he was Head of Innovation & Industrialization (since June 2021) at the Enel Global Infrastructure and Networks and Head of Network Technology and Innovation (since June 2015) at the same business line of the Enel Group, leading the development of and application of digital grid technologies at the largest privately-owned international operator of power distribution grids, serving 74 million customers.  

Gridspertise today is an independent company jointly controlled by is a 50/50 JV between Enel and investment fund CVC Capital Partners, valued almost 1bnEUR, headquartered in Italy but also present in Spain, Brazil, USA, Germany and Scandinavia the Nordics. Its Enterprise Value was valued 625M EUR at the time of the transaction, with potential deferred payments that could bring the enterprise value up to 1bn EUR.

Our conversation encompasses several themes, from smart meters to sensors, from cyber security to AI, from performance to business trends. Solutions are being implemented daily to speed up the Energy Transition.   

We thank Amundi, EU largest Asset Manager, for supporting the show

“Summer has come and passed / The innocent can never last / Wake me up when September ends”. Like John Wick, Laurent thinks he is back.
So we have a very energetic Minutes to start September. With Gerard, the co-hosts focus on one of the key trends of 2024 which they call “Batteries, the Great Consolidation”. A lot of great experts are helping shape our view.
To name a few Aaron Wade, Tom Tsogt, Cormac O’Laoire, Christopher Chico, Chris Berry, Benchmark Minerals Intelligence/Rho Motion (Iola Hughe  and all Simon Moores’ team). We are thankful for their relentless drive to show us the future.
So, what is the “Great Consolidation” in Batteries. First consolidation in the supplier's landscape, with CATL and BYD trashing the competition and indirectly eliminating a lot of promising startups (We list the cancelled Gigafactories). Then, consolidation in Chemistry, it’s all about LFP now. Finally consolidation in form factor, with prismatic becoming the staple.
At the end of the episode, we salute the King of Solar in Pakistan, Sulaiman ur Rehman.
And also invite on our podcast Mr Faraz Ahmad, one of the Top Energy guy at Amazon, as we are very curious about his attempts to rewrite the rules for accounting for Carbon Emissions. We want to know more. Faraz, you are welcome!    

Transcript
https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/redefining-energy--3170008

We hear conflicting messages regarding the status of the EV market. On the bright side, IEA predicts 17mEV to be sold this year, EV and Hybrids reach 50% market share in China for Q1, more than 500 EV models are currently on the market. On the dark side, Tesla and BYD deliveries were down in Q1_24, Tesla revenues were down 9% compared to Q1_23 and the price war has cut the EPS in 2.

Has Tesla lost its mojo or will Elon refocus and reboot. Lots of announcements, but also a 10% cut in the workforce, and a depressed share price. Meanwhile the “Oil Street Journal” and other publications have been repeating ad nauseum (but falsely) that the EV Story is over.

In fact, EV sales in Q1 2024 were 21% higher than Q1 2023. China led the way with at 31% growth with the US and Canada at 13%, and EU and EFTA trailing behind at a 7%. Removal of the BEV subsidies in Germany showing their full impact there.

There are also a lot of questions about protectionism, as Elon Musk just declared that “Chinese automakers would "demolish" most of the world's other car companies if there were no trade barriers. Our observation is generally that the Chinese car companies are the most competitive car companies in the world,"

To discuss this and the future of the EV market, Laurent brought James Carter. James is a friend of the show and one of the top Auto experts in the world based in Toronto, Canada.

And Gerard will be back with us next week. He was simply too busy successfully selling our German Rooftop Solar company Febesol to Thermondo. But that is a story for another day.

The pod has just been named number 1 Energy Transition show. Thank you, guys. We love you all.

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PS: when referring to our friend Roger Atkins, Laurent said “Shanghai Auto Show”. Oooops its was Beijing Auto China from which he brings back wondrous stories, including a meeting with the legend Robin Zheng, CATL founder.  

Laurent and Gerard have a rapid overview of what’s going on regarding the Energy Transition in China and its political implication in the West.
Record production of this, record production of that, overcapacity everywhere…
We babble a lot, rant a bit, and conclude that we need to invite a real expert on the show.  

What is the value of green electrons? Hard to say. Depends where, depends when. What is sure is that, in view of recent regulations and corporate commitments, they must be tracked.

From an annual basis, we are now moving to an hourly basis, under the thrust of corporate initiatives like the GhGProtocol, RE-100 and EnergyTag. Behind this movement, BigTech such as Microsoft and Google see a need to track those green electrons as their energy consumption is on the way up… and it has to 24/7.

Enter new innovative digital companies that are providing those complex and data-hungry services. Some platforms go even further, proposing to trade the green attributes of electrons. Renewabl is one of them.

Lead by the charismatic JP Cerda, Renewabl is one of the most advanced of those startups. The company is the recent winner of the "2024 Energy Tech Challengers Award" in the FinTech category

JP Cerda has a long history of trading green commodities, first at Shell and Orsted. Then a few years ago he managed to create Zeigo, the premier PPA auction platforms which he then successfully sold in 2022 to Schneider Electric. JP and his team really know what they are doing when it comes to designing and developing leading edge digital market places in the green sector.  

We thank Amundi for supporting our show 

Disclosure: Laurent is an investor in Renewabl  

A good article on the GoO market
 https://auroraer.com/media/guarantees-of-origin-market-set-for-growth-trajectory-projected-to-reach-3-7-bn-e-by-2030/  

This week, Gerard and Laurent have been invited to a private event organized by Aquila Capital in March 2024, during the Global Infrastructure Conference, where they debate with Markus Wandt, CIO Aquila if “Renewables are still an Infrastructure play?”

The main hindrance to the development of renewables is the connection queue. Basically, grid operators tell developers “Sorry guys, we’re full”. A recent study by RMI has proven that this is simply not true. Grid operators are either too conservative or not incentivized to take more load. Old solutions. Old thinking.
Grid Enhancing Technologies (GETs) are hardware and software solutions that are deployed within the existing transmission system, helping increase the capacity, flexibility, and efficiency of the current grid. They can perform functions such as rerouting power flows to avoid congested lines and providing data on real-time conditions that could enable more power to flow through a line when conditions allow — thus increasing our ability to best utilize the transmission infrastructure we already have.
But beyond a better digital management, new technologies of cables are emerging, incorporating the best Material Science has to offer.  New conductor technologies could triple grid capacity with structures in the existing rights of way, while also reducing line loss by half.
To talk about GETs and new conductors, we bring in Jason Huang, Co-founder and CEO of TS Conductor Corporation. Jason is PHD in material science and started his career in the aviation industry, working on civilian and military programs such as A350 and F35. TSConductor, supported by Breakthrough Ventures, NextEra and UK National Grid, is now rolling out a revolutionary new technology that will debottleneck the Grid and speed up the Energy Transition.  
We thank our new partner AMUNDI, largest European Asset Manager and really committed to the Energy Transition   
PS: 2nd minute - Laurent got “TO” wrong: it’s Topography Optimisation, not Technology Optimisation
The RMI report is here:
https://rmi.org/insight/analyzing-gets-as-a-tool-for-increasing-interconnection-throughput-from-pjms-queue/
The story about Amazon and AI is here
 https://www.pv-magazine.com/2024/03/08/amazon-says-us-utility-can-complete-power-flow-studies-in-hours-not-months/      

This week, Gerard and Laurent talk about the 3 big energy gatherings that happened this week. Houston (CERAweek), Bilbao (WindEurope) and Berlin (Global Infrastructure Summit). Laurent and Gerard were in Berlin and report what they saw and heard.
In a simple sentence à la John Wick “Yes, I think I’m back”  

“It’s hard to play a good game when you have been served weak cards”. This is the perennial challenge of Japan when it comes to the Energy Transition. And the game is getting harder when your two main choices, nuclear and hydrogen, are proving extremely costly in a world of cheap renewables.

How robust is a business model based on a protected internal market with high margins and limited competition allowing Japan Inc. to expand abroad at super competitive prices, but stifling innovation and diversification? Japan is “Prisoner of its geography” (to quote Tim Marshall); thankfully its answer has been a world class level of engineering allowing to partially overcome its shortcomings.

And Gerard, during his recent trip to Japan, has witnessed some extraordinary achievements in the energy transition in the downstream sector, with extreme energy efficiency, retail innovations, and digital developments.

We have the pleasure to welcome Shuichiro Kawamura, who heads one of the rare investments’ funds focusing on the Energy Transition. Established in 2006, Energy & Environment Investment (EEI) is Japan's first VC firm solely dedicated to the energy and environment sectors. They support startups with innovative technologies and services in this space, aiming to drive sustainable growth and positive global impact. As of Q1_24, the AUM of EEI is around US$500MM, with more than 130 portfolio companies. There is no easy formula in Japan. Only the smarts will survive.

We thank our friends and partners AQUILA CAPITAL for supporting our show.

This week, Gerard and Laurent talk about Conferences / Exhibition that they recently attended and what they have learned there. Gerard was in Germany’s E-World while Laurent was in London’s Energy Storage Summit.

And they act as mirror opposites: "back in business" in Germany while the storage in London realises that the Champagne year of 2022 cannot easily be repeated. The storage industry nevertheless rejoices at the fall in price of batteries while the classic Utilities are being challenged by new innovations such as “balcony solar”

The two limiting factors for a faster deployment of EVs are the price of vehicles and “range anxiety”. While the former is being addressed by an ever-growing number of cheaper models available on the market, the latter is also experiencing a revolution.
You would believe that such an opportunity would be grasped by Utilities. Surprise! They didn’t move. Oil companies have started investing, but at their slow pace. In the Automotive sector, only Tesla has seized on the challenge, and how brilliantly! So, the passivity of incumbents has created an overture for talented and dynamic entrepreneurs. We have decided to invite one of them.
Our guest is Toddington Harper, CEO of Gridserve, a leading UK charging network. Gerard, Laurent and Toddington discuss all recent developments in EV charging from technology to software to interoperability. We are going to talk about Electric Super Hubs, Electric Retail Hubs and the industry-leading Electric Forecourts®.
In the coming years, the whole EV charging landscape will totally change and petrol stations will be looked at like we look at CDs and Cassette Tapes. At the heart of the revolution, focus on a consumer-centric approach and a new way of thinking holistically called “sun-to-wheel”. Charging is not a commodity, it’s a service, and only the best service providers will emerge as winners.

We thank AQUILA CAPITAL for supporting the show.

This week, Gerard and Laurent talk about three great reports that have recently been published and deliver some world-class data about past achievements, current status and the direction of travel. As a sign of things to come, European Carbon has lost 36% since the beginning of the year.

1. We are here saluting Ember and their power/emission statistics – European Electricity review https://ember-climate.org/ https://ember-climate.org/insights/research/european-electricity-review-2024/
2. Then the new bible, from Nat Bullard, available here. Everything Climate and the Energy Transition in 200 slides. https://www.nathanielbullard.com/presentations
3. And for the battery buffs, the encyclopaedia in everything batteries, which comes from the Volta Foundation https://www.volta.foundation/annual-battery-report

How to decarbonise buildings? That’s an important topic because that sector accounts for 37% of all emissions, making it one of the three pillars of decarbonisation next to electricity generation and transportation.

Progress has been mixed. If lighting is an incredible success, heating and cooling remain a complex proposition with certain countries adopting new technologies much faster than others. Energy efficiency is sometimes a hard sell, as pay back periods can be counted in decades. Energy efficiency can be active, passive, “behind the meter” or at system’s level. 

Laurent and Gerard wander though that landscape with Vincent Petit, who runs Schneider Electric Sustainability Research Institute. Vincent has overseen the company’s prospective on the Climate and Energy Transition since 2017. Digital and behind the meter (solar, batteries) open new horizons even if regulators get confused between sticks and carrots.

Furthermore, the famous “Jevons Paradox” seems to indicate that energy efficiency gains trigger a rise in energy consumption. We discuss options to decarbonise buildings, a long and winding road, but nevertheless critical to solving climate change. We debate about the value of sticks and carrots and the efficiency of public policy support. Is there a winning formula?

We thank Amundi for supporting the show

Transcripts available here: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/redefining-energy--3170008

To discuss everything that’s going on in the PPA market (and a lot of things are happening), Gerard and Laurent bring back the excellent Luca Pedretti, CEO and co-founder Pexapark. Pexapark is the leading swiss-based intelligence platform on PPA in Europe.
With Luca, we have an extensive conversation about the recent evolutions in the PPA market. Trends, duration, size, shapes, types of contracts, risk-sharing arrangements... We try to lay out how the market prices the following risks: capture risks, cannibalization risks, curtailment risks, settlement risks, credit risks…
Then the discussion moves to the Tech titans and their unquenchable thirst for green power are reshaping the market for green electrons. How new innovations like hourly Green Certificates (GoOs, REGOS) are appearing and adding some transparency in the price discovery process?
We finally debate about those soviet-era industrial policies in term of fuel choices (nuclear, hydrogen) that seem to ignore the permanent technological innovations (batteries), the need for flex, and the power of the market signals.
A lot of those themes are also detailed in Pexapark annual PPA report available below

We thank our friends and partners of Aquila Capital for supporting the show.

Link to Pexapark 𝐄𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐏𝐏𝐀 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭 𝐎𝐮𝐭𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤 2024 Report
https://pexapark.com/european-ppa-market/

In this report you’ll find:

💡 A 360° 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 𝐨𝐟 𝐏𝐏𝐀 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐥-𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 in 2023: Top PPA countries, buyers & sellers, and more thought-provoking data-driven insights
💡 𝐍𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐫𝐬 on the rising: Hybrid PPAs, 24/7 green procurement, PPAs for Green H2 Production, Multi-buyer PPAs
💡 𝐌𝐚𝐜𝐫𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐬 setting the rhythm: PPA pricing, market fundamentals and risks, regulatory environment, CfDs vs PPAs
💡 Distilment of our 𝐓𝐨𝐩 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 2024

This week, Gerard is out, so Laurent does the Minutes with Michael Barnard, host of our sister show Redefining Energy – Tech.
On the menu this week, an overview of the decarbonisation of shipping.
What will be electrified? What role for Hydrogen, Green Ammonia, Methanol and Biodiesel? And the answers are hybrid and multi-fuels.

Links to Michael’s articles on the subject in Forbes
https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelbarnard/2023/12/05/how-will-climate-action-change-the-face-of-global-shipping/
https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelbarnard/2023/12/29/hydrogen-half-truths-keep-shipping-fuel-hopes-afloat/
https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelbarnard/2023/12/11/different-segments-of-the-shipping-market-have-different-climate-fixes/
https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelbarnard/2023/12/17/how-much-shipping-can-just-use-batteries-for-energy/
https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelbarnard/2023/12/20/shipping-still-has-efficiency-levers-to-pull-for-climate-action/
https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelbarnard/2023/12/27/what-energy-will-ships-that-cant-electrify-use-including-wind/
https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelbarnard/2024/01/05/2023-was-year-of-methanol-for-shipping-but-that-likely-wont-last/

At COP28 was endorsed the concept of “tripling renewables” – all good, but a lot of people forgot to mention the rest of the sentence which is “and doubling of Energy Efficiency”. In the latest IEA report, there is a 400bnUSD Energy Efficiency pie, almost at the level of Oil Upstream, and more than into Grids. Nobody talks about it. Buildings, Industrial, Transport. Electrification, Heat Pumps.

So, Laurent and Gerard thought that is was time. There are very few specialist of Energy Efficiency like Jonathan Maxwell.

Not only has he authored an extraordinary book called the EDGE, but he also manages Sustainable Development Capital SDCL, a multibillion Energy Efficiency fund. Efficient and decentralised generation of energy (or ‘EDGE’) solutions represent the largest, fastest, cheapest, and cleanest source of greenhouse gas emission reductions and energy security.

Datacenters, Lighting, Building, Heating, that’s the unknown world we are going to dive into. And it is a fast growing sector. Persistent tails winds such as energy security, decarbonisation and costs are powerful drivers for a continuous expansion of that sector.

We thank Aquila Capital for supporting our show

Why has the fund raised by infrastructure fund drastically collapsed in 2023. Is it linked to lackluster returns in a high interest rate environment?
At the same time, we have seen numerous acquisitions of mid size infrastructure specialists by larger global asset managers, case in point the very spectacular purchase of Global Infrastructure Partners by Blackrock (or is it a reverse take over?).
Where is the infrastructure investing going? That’s what on the menu of this week’s Minutes

Join Laurent and Gerard in Berlin – 20/21 March 2024 – Global Infrastructure Summit https://www.peievents.com/en/event/infrastructure-investor-global-summit/

After two years of irrational exuberance, we are back to earth when it comes to Cleantech investment.

On the menu this week, Gerard and Laurent are reviewing the Cleantech 100 report (15th edition). The overall ecosystem is down 40% yoy, but it has also cleaned the foam and is now revealing the future.

We discuss the 5 sub-sectors (agriculture, transportation, materials, resources, and energy) Our conclusion is that the sector has digested its excesses and is on a path to a new start.

Link to the report https://www.cleantech.com/the-global-cleantech-100/

Long term renewables assets portfolios provide stable returns. In most of the world, they are held by pension funds, insurance companies or big infrastructure funds. We have the exception of the UK with listed Infrastructure funds, also known as Yieldcos. For more than a decade, Yieldcos have been the backbone of the Energy Transition investing.
To explain what are listed Infrastructure funds, we bring in Colette Ord, Director, Investment Companies Research Property & Infrastructure at DBNumis. Deutsche Numis is a leading UK-focused investment bank leader in the UK market, the adviser of choice for listed companies, including one-fifth of the FTSE 350 index, with an average market capitalisation of £1bn, and has acted on the most UK IPOs over the past decade.
Colette Ord has analysed the listed infrastructure and renewables investment company segment of the London market since the launch of the first fund in 2006, so we dig into what was the thesis behind their launch 10 years ago.
We investigate how they delivered in terms of performance. We then dig deep into the key metrics of NAV (Net Asset Value). What is NAV, how it is calculated, how is it consistent. Then we analyse the interaction between free-risk interest rates and valuation of Yieldcos.
We conclude on their future, especially how they are progressively morphing into IPP (independent Power Producers)

An Episode powered by AXPO

Link to Bruce Huber’s paper on Yieldcos. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/yieldco-fallout-bargain-zombie-category-bruce-huber-jnbie/

First Episode on the Redefining Energy MINUTES on the main channel.

On the menu this week, an update of nuclear and offshore wind, two important (but minor) sources of carbon-free energy.

And some news on the scandal at Cummins, and their pollution cheating device, costing them 1.6bnUSD.

https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/cummins-take-about-204-bln-charge-fourth-quarter-2023-12-22/

Happy new year to all our listeners.

It has become a tradition for the first episode of the year: Gerard and Laurent present their 2024 Predictions in the Energy Transition. And we brought in our friend (and co-host of our sister show RE TECH) to spice up the conversation: Michael Barnard. Michael also acts as referee to score the predictions that were made a year ago.

1. Record installation of everything Energy Transition: Solar, Batteries, Heat Pumps, EV (Gerard)
2. Massive consolidation in the EV sector – Toyota will buy Panasonic (Laurent)
3. Volatility in the Energy market is here to stay (Gerard)
4. New alternatives to Li-Ion in Stationary Storage (Laurent)
5. The Energy Transition has no plan, it just goes (Gerard)
6. Nuclear: Westinghouse takes over Europe (Laurent)

Well, the result was that Gerard won (but Laurent is considering filing a reclamation)

Now, to 2024. Our 6 predictions are:

1. Stellantis will outsource its EV production in China
2. Politics: Elections in 2024 could derail the Energy Transition
3. Oversupply of everything energy related – Prices are going down
4. Stronger top-down governance of Transmission and Interconnection
5. The return of Clean Energy shares
6. China will gain massive international market in Wind and EVs

We thank our partner AXPO for supporting the show.

Final Episode of 2023 (and last one for the MINUTES on their own channel). All episodes will be on this channel going forward.

Here are the Redefining Energy Awards for 2023:

• Company of the Year - BYD
• Start Up of the Year - PV Case
• Deal of the Year – Tesla and NACS
• Trade of the Year – Short Gas TTF
• Scandal of the Year – Venture Global and the 200 LNG cargoes heist
• Person of the Year – Jigar Shah
• Stupidest Quote of the Year - Kim Kardashian
• LINK TO THAT COMMERCIAL https://youtu.be/9EASYmElZuU?si=ygpWeT5FeUsQ0e26
• Book of the Year: How Big things get done – Bent Flyvbjerg & Dan Gardner

Happy New Year to all our Listeners.
Thank you for your unwavering confidence!
And we will see you again on the 2nd of January 2024 for our famous Predictions 2024!

Last episode of the Year. And what a year. We passed 1m downloads since inception. In 2023, we will have 470k downloads up 34% compared to 2022.

Gerard and Laurent saw the Weaponisation of Energy coming: two years ago in Oct 2021, we did Episode 60 called “the Natgaspocalypse”. That was 5 months before the invasion of Ukraine.

Two years into weaponizing energy, it is time to look back and assess. What were the immediate impacts of that crisis. How to evaluate the short-term responses (market, supply chain, government, behaviour, fuel choice). Did the Energy system show resilience, or have we just been lucky?

To make sense of all of this, we brought Andy Sommer on the show. Andy is head of Fundamental Analysis, Modelling & Meteorology at Axpo, a major Renewable Energy Producer and Trader. Andy is responsible for Axpo’s short and mid-term analysis of all global energy markets, from oil to gas and coal, all the way to European power and emission markets.

With Andy, we debate how did that shock impact the eternal debate Climate vs Security of Supply vs Affordability. And beyond the short-term consequences, what are the long-term impacts and the change of mindset that will give more emphasis on Energy Security.

Gerard (the Dove) and Laurent (the Hawk) come with different conclusions, but nevertheless agree on the path forward where Energy Security aligns with the Energy Transition.
We thank Aquila Capital for supporting our show. They have been great partners since inception.
Announcement:
Big changes coming in 2024. We go weekly.
In fact, we are merging the main show, this show, with our second show called Minutes. We created the sister-show Minutes two years ago as a separate experiment, and we have been pleased by its progression, so it is time to go mainstream.
So, in 2024, we will have our main show, not the first and 15 of each month, but the first and third Monday of each month. And then we will have a new revamped minutes (less than 10mns) where we will freewheeling discuss about a topic making the news or important to us. That will be on the second and fourth Monday of each month (and fifth if there is a fifth Monday, which apparently is quite rare). See how it goes. Your comments are welcome.

Which means, friends of Minutes, that the Minutes channel will cease to exist. Stay on the Main show for your Minutes.

A special interview with one of the great minds of the Energy Transition. Dr. Doug Arent is the Executive Director of Strategic Public– Private Partnerships at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colorado, U.S and Distinguished Fellow, World Economic Forum.  

He just published a book called “Our Renewable Energy Future: The Story of How Renewables will become the Basis for Our Lives.”   “Our Renewable Energy Future” focuses on clean energy technology evolution and where our energy system is going. While its foundation is technology innovation, the book brings a unique perspective that technology alone is not what has brought about the explosive growth of renewable energy.  

Laurent and Gerard have a stratospheric conversation with Dr Arent about the options in front of us. Digitisation and intelligent networks are going to revolutionize the way we produce and consumer energy.  

About NREL: Originally called the Solar Energy Research Institute, NREL began operating in July 1977 and was designated a national laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) in September 1991. It runs a budget of 1bnUSD/y making it one of the world’s (if not the) most impressive R&D institutions when it comes to Renewable Energy.  

LINK TO BOOK 
https://www.worldscientific.com/worldscibooks/10.1142/q0441#t=aboutBook


We thank Amundi for supporting the show

Transcripts available here: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/redefining-energy--3170008

This Sunday, a Special Episode. We are going live to COP28 in Dubai.

Our special guest is Bruce Douglas, CEO Global Renewable Alliance, who is spearheading the effort around the key message “Double down, Triple Up” or how we will decarbonise by tripling renewables by the end of the decade.

Bruce tells us how it is on the ground, how he is having the busiest week of his life, and how the positive message is now being relayed by hundreds of Heads of State and key business decision makers.

"COP28 text finally agreed - this is HUGE! Massive gratitude to everyone who made this possible 🙏 - proudest moment of my career so far... 😍
“The inclusion of tripling renewables in the final COP28 text is unprecedented and signals the start of a massive clean energy revolution. It is the first time all nations have recognised renewable energy as the main solution to the climate crisis, representing a paradigm shift in the energy transition."

In the past 5 years, we have seen an incredible rise of Energy Storage (ESS) on numerous Grids. Those markets, whether in Europe (10GW) or in the USA (16GW), have been created by the magic formula where entrepreneurship blended with new technology.

For Laurent and Gerard, there is not better guest to discuss the phenomenal growth of the ESS than Dr Alex O’Cinneide. Alex is the Founder and CEO of Gore Street Capital, a London based fund which now manages a portfolio of 1.2GW of batteries in GB, Ireland, Germany, Texas and California. Seven years ago, he was working out of a telephone booth with his laptop on his knees.
Alex explains the value of a geographical portfolio approach, how tech is evolving, how supply chains are reacting, what is similar and what is different in all those markets. An energy transition story which is also a personal journey of a very talented entrepreneur whose success has been recognised by the Industry as Alex has been recently received the prestigious “Man of the Year” award by Solar Media.

Alex describes the investment in batteries (compared to wind or solar) as the most challenging, but also the most important and rewarding.

And as we say on the show, it is all about harnessing “space and time” or in a more market angle “Long Flex – Short Vol”

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This podcast is powered by Axpo an international leader in providing sustainable energy solutions for the future.

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This podcast is done in partnership with the Energy Storage Summit 2024

The Energy Storage Summit (20-21 February, London) is the biggest, busiest, and most innovative networking event for energy storage, uniting stakeholders to exchange knowledge, learn and establish crucial industry connections. Taking place at the Novotel London West in Hammersmith, the Summit has become Europe’s annual must-attend energy storage event for the entire value chain.

You don’t want to miss this one – book your ticket using code RE15 for a 15% discount. Following two sold out editions, we expect the same again in 2024.
Don't miss your chance to hear directly from innovators spearheading change and make your mark on the rapidly evolving energy storage industry. https://storagesummit.solarenergyevents.com/tickets/

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More on Alex and Gore Street Capital

Alex O’Cinneide is CEO and Chair of the Investment Committee of Gore Street Capital, which he founded in 2015 as a global platform to facilitate the deployment of renewable energy solutions. His career has included senior roles at KPMG, Quorum European Partners, Kleinwort Benson, Paladin Capital Group and utility-scale renewables developer Masdar Capital, where he served as Head of Investments and General Manager for six years. Alex also holds academic qualifications from Trinity College Dublin, the London Business School and the London School of Economics and Political Science, culminating in a PhD that analysed the effectiveness of renewable energy policy in the Republic of Ireland and the UK.
Gore Street Capital was formed in 2015 as a global platform to acquire and manage renewable energy solutions, supporting robust businesses and high-performing assets that contribute towards the transition to a low-carbon economy. In 2018, Gore Street Capital created the UK energy storage investment class by listing Gore Street Energy Storage Fund (LSE: GSF) on the premium segment of the London Stock Exchange, and has since played a material role in the growth of GSF from £30m at IPO to a market cap of over £451m as of 30 June 2023. The company comprises a team of almost 45 energy professionals in GB, Ireland and the US working across finance, construction, engineering, legal and more as it continually brings roles in-house to support the fund.

A note from GSF Compliance Department:

• GSF is among the largest energy storage owners, including utilities, when judged on geographic spread – GB, Ireland, Germany, Texas and California.
• Around 3% of GSF’s Irish revenue is accrued by trading 5 MW from a 50 MW project.
• Gore Street Capital has 45 employees, plus contractors.
• GSF does not yet have operational assets in Scotland and future performance is yet to be determined.

Why should the 97% of non-French listeners of the podcast be interested in the fate of the French nuclear fleet?
With 60GW and 56 reactors, the French nuclear fleet is critical to the very existence of a European Power market as it represents 10%-15% of the electricity consumed on the continent and much larger share if you only account for zero carbon sources.
And its “health” is a key component of Europe’s Security of Supply and Energy price levels. Furthermore, beyond Europe, a well-functioning French nuclear fleet reduces the need for LNG imports.
20 years ago, EDF was the most powerful utility in the world, producing 420TWh of carbon free power and about to be privatised to reach a 200bnEUR valuation. 20 years later, plagued by debt, major outages, financial losses, and poorly timed government interventions, EDF had to re-nationalised.
Rather than relitigate the past or engage into sterile discussions about whether nuclear is THE solution, A solution or NOT A solution, we have to live with simple facts: a) for the past 30 years, French nuke has been the backbone of the whole European Energy system b) it almost imploded in 2022 (half of the fleet down at some point) as the worst possible moment: when Russia invaded Ukraine.
Going forward, can Europe still rely on the French nuke fleet for Security of Supply? Can nuclear continue to provide cheap power or will it become uncompetitive? How does nuclear cope with an increasingly volatile power markets where the key word is now “Flexibility”?
We bring in a Breton sailor, Emeric de Vigan. Emeric is a former trader at EDF Energy where he oversaw the short-term power trading of the entire nuclear fleet. He is now head of Kpler Energy, a leading subscription-based data and analytics platform delivering real-time market intelligence for diverse commodities and their transportation.
In summary, Emeric really knows what he is talking about.
With Gerard and Laurent, Emeric delivers a dispassionate, clinical, and sometimes technical conversation about the future of the French nuclear fleet.

PS: after the recording of this episode, EDF and the French government found an agreement on the price of power for the current nuclear fleet: 70EUR/MWh (vs 42EUR/MWh under ARENH) More here: https://www.ft.com/content/e2fc3abf-4803-4561-8ef2-0c77fd2d07a8

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If you want to know more about the current political and economic conundrum about French nuclear, please read this excellent presentation by Yves Marignac, Institut Negawatt https://seafile.institut-negawatt.com/f/a565a5e04bcc4615b301/


This podcast is powered by Axpo an international leader in providing sustainable energy solutions for the future.

We hear a lot about Climate Tech, and the VC investments about to revolutionize and accelerate the Energy Transition. Gerard and Laurent wanted to know more. And there is no better place than Silicon Valley to hear it directly from the source.

What are the trends? Where to invest? What strategy?

There is no better guest than Dr. Carolin Funk, Partner at Blue Bear Capital, to provide an exceptional vision of the current Climate Tech environment.

Blue Bear is a Silicon Valley- based venture capital and early growth equity firm driving the expansion of digital technologies into multibillion-dollar verticals across the energy, infrastructure, and climate industries. Blue Bear's portfolio covers operational AI, IoT, and cybersecurity technologies, all deployed with enterprise customers to drive connectivity and efficiency across the world's most critical industries.

We deep dive into Blue Bear’s investments thesis, how they analyse hundreds of opportunities per year to select only 4-6 investments. What quality are they looking for in terms of TAM, teams and what exits are possible. Blue Bear is not your regular VC fund which strategy is sometimes described as “spraying and praying”. Their investments are highly concentrated and the added value to management is second to none. Blue Bear is royalty when it comes to Climate Tech. Having Blue Bear at your cap table gives you an additional aura when you’re an entrepreneur.
We thank our most faithfull partner Aquila Capital, one of the most successful infrastructure fund in Europe

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Finally, we have put an intro music (The Persuaders - 1971)
Tell us if you like it or not. We love all our listeners.

Honestly, we have struggled to find a suitable title for this Episode. We thought of and then abandoned catchier titles such as “Withering Wind”, “Have we reached peak wind?” and even “Wind – WTF”. Finally, we settled for a more optimistic headline.

Still, after a great decade, the Wind industry is facing serious head winds. After 2020 and 2021: record years – almost 100GW (incl 10% - 20% offshore), 2022 saw the market shrink down to 77GW. Dominated by China, US, EU, Brazil. Wind is now four times smaller than solar.

Struggling OEMs, social licenses, slow grid connections, supply chain inflation, botched auctions, write downs, rising interest rates, local content requirements… the list goes on and on.

Wind trends seem to have massively decoupled from the thriving duo Solar + Battery. How deep is the Wind Energy crisis? 1TW has been reached and there are massive plans that don’t seem to correspond to the current health of the supply chain. Have we reached peak wind?

We bring on our friend Rosie Barnes, one of the top wind observers in the world, and we try to categorize each issue, analising which are cyclical and which are structural. Can we endlessly grow the size of the Turbines? Not only from a technical point of view, but also from a logistical aspect and a financial perspective. Is there a real Chinese challenge?

We tackle all those points in a heated conversation where opinions are hard to reconcile. We agree only on a few things: the race towards bigger sizes must stop. OEMs must regroup and accept to pause any innovation, deliver longer series, and reconstitute their profitability. The wind industry needs to have a hard look at itself so as to re-emerge stronger in the coming years, as it will transform itself from a growth industry to a value industry

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An episode done in partnership with Wind Europe.
WindEurope is an association promoting the use of wind power in Europe. Based in Brussels it has over 600 members, which are active in over 50 countries.

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This podcast is powered by Axpo an international leader in providing sustainable energy solutions for the future. In the Nordics, Axpo has been a pioneer within Trading and Origination services for the last 20 years.

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Links to Rosie on Social Media
- Engineering with Rosie: https://www.youtube.com/@EngineeringwithRosie
- Uptime podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-uptime-wind-energy-podcast/id1504249857

The smaller the grid, the higher the price. Islands have been plagued forever by a higher price of power. This is an inherent consequence of their small scale. Add on the top some natural catastrophes, and you end up with a poor and costly service for consumers.
The good news is that there is a new generation of Utility managers which has started to tackle the problem. Of course, results are unperfect, as for one Hawaii there is one Puerto Rico. It is not just about money; it is about changing the culture and the rapid adoption of new technologies.
To illustrate what can be done at reasonable budgets, we have invited Steve Berberich, CEO of Jamaica Public Service Company Limited (JPS). After running the California ISO for a decade, he has opted for a new challenge rather than enjoy a well-deserved retirement. Jamaica’s energy system is highly dependent on high cost imported fossil fuels; petroleum imports account for over 80 percent of electricity production. Furthermore, electricity theft is a massive problem. Finally, Jamaica is always at the mercy of a devastating hurricanes.
Jamaica Public Service Company Limited (JPS) is a privately held integrated electric utility company and the sole distributor of electricity in Jamaica. The Company is engaged in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity, and also purchases power from a number of Independent Power Producers (IPPs). The change of attitude is to present this stable island of 3m as a perfect testing ground for all possible technological innovations. JPS invites all innovations to be rolled out in Jamaica, which then can leapfrog some legacy part of the industry.
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This Episode partners with Bruce Douglas’ Global Renewables Alliance Let’s triple renewables in the next ten years.
https://globalrenewablesalliance.org/
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The Episode is sponsored by PV CASE. PV CASE is the ultimate design software for solar PV developers from the earliest stages of planning all the way to the procurement phase. https://pvcase.com/RedefiningEnergy
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Finally, Laurent and Gerard would like to thank all our listeners as we have reached 1,000,000 downloads across all our shows. The main show will likely pass that bar in November. We will celebrate big time.