Covering breaking news in clean tech, going deep on global energy policy, and debating the levers that need to move to accelerate the energy transition. Energy Gang is the podcast covering clean energy technology, renewable energy, and the environment. The world of clean energy moves fast, and you need a reliable source to stay on top of the news that matters. You’ll find it on Wood Mackenzie’s Energy Gang.
How will changes to the US government affect decarbonisation and energy security? When will hydrogen, nuclear and carbon capture deploy at scale? Where’s the money for the energy transition green finance coming from and how much more is needed? What’s the outlook for EVs? What are the energy predictions for solar energy? What's the latest on climate change?
Get answers to questions like these, bi-weekly on Tuesdays at 7am ET. Plus, get special live episodes recorded at the biggest climate and energy events throughout the year, like COP30 and Climate Week NYC. Don’t worry if you can’t make it in person, Energy Gang brings you all the updates on energy policy, energy finance and energy innovation you need to hear.
Energy Gang is presented by Wood Mackenzie and hosted by Ed Crooks, Vice-Chairman of Energy at Wood Mackenzie and a former Financial Times and BBC News journalist. Regular guests are Amy Myers-Jaffe (Director of NYU’s Energy, Climate Justice and Sustainability Lab), and Dr Melissa Lott (Partner at Microsoft) – plus a roster of industry leaders and policy influencers, like Jigar Shah (Industry figurehead and former director of the Loan Programs Office in the US Department of Energy), Caroline Golin (Head of North America, Global Energy Market Development and Policy at Google) and Ambassador Geoffrey Pyatt (Former Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources).
If you like The Energy Transition Show, Catalyst with Shayle Kann, The Big Switch from Columbia University, Open Circuit with Stephen Lacey or The Green Blueprint, you’ll enjoy Energy Gang.
Wood Mackenzie is the leading global data and analytics solutions provider for renewables, energy and natural resources. Learn more about Wood Mackenzie on the official website: https://www.woodmac.com/
Don't just listen to podcasts. Learn from them with transcripts, summaries, and chapters for every episode. Skim, search, and bookmark insights. Learn more
What happens when the surge in electricity demand comes faster than we can build the infrastructure to support it? Live in front of an audience at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, host Ed Crooks leads a conversation on the future of the US energy grid, skyrocketing load from data centers and electrification, and why politics keeps getting in the way of practical solutions. Neil Chatterjee, the former Chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), has spent a long time ...
As global energy systems evolve, emerging economies face a defining challenge: how to secure affordable power for today while investing in the low-carbon solutions that will drive tomorrow’s growth. Can energy diversification unlock a new era of industrial development, resilience, and inclusive prosperity? In the third and final episode of our special series ahead of ADIPEC 2025, host Ed Crooks is joined by Charlotte Wolff-Bye, Group Chief Sustainability Officer at PETRONAS, and Andrew Smart, Se...
Everyone agrees it takes too long and costs too much to build energy infrastructure in America, but what exactly needs fixing, and can we make progress without rolling back vital environmental protections? In this special episode of Energy Gang, recorded live at the ACORE Grid Forum in Washington D.C., host Ed Crooks takes a deep dive into one of the most complex and consequential issues in US energy policy: permitting reform. Ed begins the episode in conversation with Matt Christiansen, partner...
Nuclear power is back at the centre of the global energy conversation again. Is a real renaissance in the industry under way? Or are we just in another moment of excitement before familiar challenges emerge and the hype cycle turns down again? In the second of three special episodes ahead of ADIPEC 2025, host Ed Crooks speaks with Dr Sama Bilbao y León, Director General of the World Nuclear Association, about how the role of nuclear power in a world of turbocharged electricity demand growth and ...
Host Ed Crooks talks to Jason Liu, Chief Executive of Wood Mackenzie and co-author (with Chief Analyst Simon Flowers) of a new book, Connected, about the fast-changing world of energy. They are also joined by Sunaina Ocalan, formerly Senior Director for Corporate Strategy & Climate at the oil and gas company Hess, now Senior Analyst and Co-Head for Americas Energy & Transition at Bernstein Research. Together, they explore how energy leaders can plan, invest and operate operate in a world...
Low-carbon hydrogen has taken a few knocks in the headlines lately. There have been cancelled projects and fewer splashy announcements. Policy support has been jittery. Is momentum fading, or are we simply moving out of the hype phase and into the serious work of delivery? Host Ed Crooks puts that question to two industry leaders who are aiming to build hydrogen businesses at scale: Pierre-Étienne Franc, CEO of HY24, and Alex Tancock, CEO of Intercontinental Energy. Pierre-Étienne argues the mar...
Recorded in front of a packed room at NYU’s Kimmel Center during Climate Week NYC, Ed Crooks and Amy Myers Jaffe moderate a debate on the high-stakes topic of AI and energy. They dig deep into the questions raised by the surge of investment in data centers: what it means for grid stability and electricity bills, and how new technologies and market structures can help the power industry adapt. Climate Week this year often felt more like AI Week, given how many discussions were centred around it. ...
For COP30, the international climate talks in Brazil in November, the countries of the world are supposed to roll out their new Nationally Determined Contributions or NDCs: their commitments to cut emissions. China’s NDC is particularly eagerly awaited: it is the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases. Its NDC has been described as the most important document that will be published this year. In this edition of the Energy Gang, recorded at New York University, host Ed Crooks and regular gue...
At Climate Week NYC continues, the hottest topic is the question of how to meet growing demand for electricity while cutting emissions. In New York State, electricity use is expected to increase by 25% over the next 15 years. To meet that demand, the state plans to add tens of gigawatts or renewables. But that is not enough. It also wants more “dispatchable, emissions-free” power to keep the grid stable, and that includes new nuclear reactors. Back in June, Governor Kathy Hochul asked the New Yo...
It’s New York Climate Week this week, and we’re bringing you highlights from all the key debates and discussions. Climate Week NYC is one of the most important gatherings in the energy calendar, bringing together business leaders, investors, scientists, campaigners and policymakers to discuss the global effort to prevent catastrophic global warming. Last year, confidence in renewable energy was riding high, but now the conversation is shifting toward the challenge of meeting rising electricity d...
As fossil fuel use and greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise, there is renewed interest in what can be done to capture carbon dioxide. Until now, most of the investment in carbon capture has gone into projects to take those emissions and store them underground forever. But what if we could make use of that captured carbon? To find out what role carbon capture and utilization, or CCU, could play in tackling climate change, host Ed Crooks is joined by three experts in the sector. He is joined ...
As AI drives unprecedented electricity consumption, the Energy Gang discusses how data centers, often seen as a grid strain, could instead become a powerful ally. Varun Sivaram of Emerald AI explains that by enabling AI factories to be grid-aware and power-flexible, they can provide crucial demand reduction during peak stress. The conversation covers the tension between data center reliability and grid needs, technological advancements like distributed computing, and regulatory pressures. Ultimately, the vision is to scale flexibility through demonstrations, accelerated grid connections, and innovation towards a "virtual power plant" of AI data centers, ensuring reliable and affordable electricity for all.
The COP21 climate talks in Paris in 2015 were hailed as a historic success. They resulted in a global agreement to curb climate change, and set a framework for every country in the world to contribute to achieving that goal. Ten years on, the conference no longer looks such a triumph. Greenhouse gas emissions are still rising, and so are global temperatures. The Paris agreement’s goals for keeping global warming in check seem to be slipping out of reach. So what is the world really getting out o...
Is the global transition to low-carbon energy accelerating or slowing down? One answer is that it depends where you look. In the US, energy policy has shifted away from support for low-carbon technologies, but China is continuing with record installations of solar, wind, and batteries, and record sales of EVs. With AI emerging as the central arena for great power completion, which model will work best at providing the power the new technologies need? The AI revolution will be the most transforma...
The grid “is designed for the core components - supplying electricity - but we are definitely pushing it to its limits,” says Melissa Lott, Partner for energy technologies at Microsoft*. The electricity grid has been described as one of the greatest achievements of human civilisation, because of its complexity, scale, and essential role in our societies. But it’s been around for over century, and in some places its components are many decades old. Whatever you think about the future of energy, i...
In this episode, we take a trip in a time machine, five years into the future. 2030 has been set as a deadline for many climate goals, and is a milestone for checking progress towards a low-carbon energy system. Ed Crooks, Amy Myers Jaffe and Melissa Lott imagine themselves five years from now, and look back at how the US energy industry has changed since the “big beautiful bill” was passed. What do they think have been the key headlines from the last half-decade? And how will history judge Amer...
This episode delves into the challenges facing the modern electricity grid, dubbed the 'crazy grid,' due to the convergence of variable renewables, EVs, data centers, and climate change. Guests discuss the difficulties in planning and building infrastructure amid uncertainty and political factors. They debate the role of Virtual Power Plants (VPPs) and technological solutions versus traditional infrastructure upgrades, emphasizing the need for a combination of approaches to meet rapidly growing energy demands and maintain competitiveness in new industries.
This week the US budget reconciliation legislation, dubbed the ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’, squeaked through the Senate on a 51/50 vote. The bill has wide-ranging implications for energy in the US, including an imminent end to tax credits for wind and solar power. To discuss what the new legislation means, host Ed Crooks is joined by regular guest Amy Myers-Jaffe, director of NYU’s Energy, Climate Justice and Sustainability Lab. Also joining the show are Robbie Orvis, senior director of Modeling an...
Sponsored content from Shoals Technologies Group. EBOS – electrical balance of systems – includes everything that carries electricity from solar panels to the grid: wiring, switches, connector boxes and other components. It might not grab headlines, but it’s the backbone of every solar and storage project, and is essential to performance, reliability and project success. In this special episode of The Energy Gang, host Ed Crooks talks with Stephen LaFleur, Senior Director of Sales for Utility-Sc...
The world is experiencing a new reality : infrastructure, agriculture, and supply chains were built for a historical climate that no longer exists. Last year the average global surface temperature was about 1.47° C warmer than in the late 19th century, according to NASA. On current trends we are on course for perhaps 2.7° C of warming by the end of the current century: far in excess of the Paris Agreement goal of 1.5° C. As it becomes increasingly likely that the world is not going to cut greenh...
In the third and final special episode recorded live from the ACORE Finance Forum, host Ed Crooks and regular guest Amy Myers Jaffe talk to industry leaders to explore some key issues in renewable energy technology and finance. Amy starts the episode by speaking with David Ulrey, CFO of Fervo Energy, an innovative geothermal startup. David shares insights into Fervo’s projects, including their initial commercial pilot in Nevada and the ambitious 100-megawatt development in Utah. They discuss the...
As the US races against China to develop the most advanced capabilities in AI, energy is critical. In this second episode from the ACORE finance forum, we speak to experts about how US energy policy, and in particular the reconciliation bill now being debated in Congress, might affect that race. Host Ed Crooks and regular guest Amy Myers Jaffe talk first to Joseph Webster, a Senior Fellow at the think-tank the Atlantic Council. They discuss the need for increased power supplies for data centers,...
The Energy Gang are at The American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE) Finance Forum in New York City, which brings together industry leaders, investors, and bankers to discuss the hottest issues in clean energy. Host Ed Crooks and regular guest Amy Myers Jaffe talk to ACORE Chief Executive and President Ray Long about the uncertainty hanging over the industry following the debate in Congress over repealing energy tax credits. He talks about the reasons why a Republican president and Congress s...
Legislation with massive implications for clean energy in the US has been making progress in Congress. The Republican party’s “big beautiful bill”, introducing sweeping changes to taxes and government spending, would phase out most of the tax credits for low-carbon energy that were created, expanded or extended in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022. To unpack the proposals and examine what they might mean for the US and the world, host Ed Crooks is joined by some of the Energy Gang’s top ...
It’s the most talked-about academic paper this year in the world of energy. Rethinking Load Growth , co-authored by Tyler Norris of Duke University has caused a stir in energy circles because it offers a new perspective on the hottest issue of the moment: how to provide power for new data centers and other large consumers. With new sources of electricity demand growing rapidly – from data centers for AI to battery factories to EV charging networks – grid planners are scrambling to understand how...
They called the film Avengers: Infinity War the most ambitious crossover event in history. We can’t quite make the same claim, but at Wood Mackenzie’s 2025 Solar and Energy Storage Summit, we did record a crossover episode. Ed Crooks, host of Energy Gang , is joined by Sylvia Leyva Martinez, Wood Mackenz’s principal analyst for solar power and host of Interchange Recharged , to discuss the future of energy, and of the electricity grid in particular . They are joined by Rob Chapman, Senior Vice P...
“With great uncertainty comes great opportunity”, says Abby Ross Hopper, president and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association, in this special episode of the Energy Gang, recorded live at Wood Mackenzie’s Solar & Energy Storage Summit. Is she right? And what are those opportunities? To find out, host Ed Crooks welcomed Abby and Shyam Srinivasan, CEO and Co-Founder of Zitara Technologies, for a special discussion on the state of the solar and storage industries today. Uncertainty is t...
These are hard times for investment in low-carbon energy. The lack of progress in international climate negotiations, threats to policy support, and an increased awareness of the challenges of decarbonization, have created some strong headwinds. Everyone agrees that more breakthroughs in innovative emissions-reducing technologies are essential for tackling climate change. So how can innovative energy companies raise the capital they need to scale? Catalytic capital can provide long-term investme...
This episode explores the surging electricity demand driven by AI data centers and manufacturing growth, challenging the US power industry after years of stagnation. Experts discuss whether baseload power or rapidly scaling renewables and batteries are the best solution, highlighting cost implications and the significant pipeline of clean energy projects. The conversation also covers regulatory hurdles, the political future of IRA tax credits, and the impact of permitting reforms on infrastructure development.
The Chinese car company BYD, the world’s top-selling manufacturer of electric vehicles, is launching two models that can charge in five minutes; about the time it takes to fill a tank with gasoline. It’s news that looks like a landmark moment in the energy transition, the way that the release of the DeepSeek model was for AI. It’s another eye-opening breakthrough out of China that should have the US worried. Or is it? To explain the significance of this latest leap forward in Chinese technology,...
