Energy Gang

• How can the grid help AI, and how can AI help the grid? Live from NYU at New York Climate Week, featuring leaders from Nvidia and Amazon | Energy Gang Live from Climate Week

  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. To explore the issues, the team Ed and Amy are joined by representatives of two of the key companies at the heart of the revolution. Josh Parker is Head of Sustainability at NVIDIA, and Craig Sundstrom is Head of Energy & Sustainability Policy at AWS. Xizhou Zhou, Wood Mackenzie’s Head of Power and Renewables, also joins the discussion, to add his perspectives on how the industry is changing The load shock is real. Xizhou says that more than 116 GW of US data centers are under construction or fully committed to interconnect in the next few years: equivalent to about 15% of US peak load today. After two decades of flat demand, the electricity industry must rebuild its muscle memory for rapid infrastructure build-out. US power prices went up 6% in the past year, with rates in some states going up far more. What is driving that surge? And what can be done to provide some relief for hard-pressed consumers? One answer comes from rapid progress in the technologies that make AI possible, including the chips. NVIDIA’s Josh Parker notes NVIDIA has cut energy use for inference tasks by 100,000× over the past decade ,and by about 30× in just the past two years. Craig from Amazon explains how new grid-enhancing technologies could quickly make a difference, pointing to an AWS/RMI study showing that 6.5 GW of extra capacity could be freed up on the PJM grid without building any new transmission lines. He adds that AI is already helping in California, where smart battery dispatch is cutting costs in real time. Data centers don’t only use electricity for computation: they create a lot of heat, too. Josh says there are ways to use that heat, and describes Scandinavian projects that use it for their local district heating networks. With geothermal and new small modular reactors unlikely to reach widespread deployment until well into the 2030s, the panel agrees that the real solutions in the next few years lie in upgrading transmission, expanding storage, redesigning rates, and building in flexibility.It's a busy and lively discussion, with a couple of questions from the audience answered by the panel. If you have any further questions or comments on the show, we’d love to hear them. You can comment on Spotify, leave a review on Apple Podcasts, or find us on YouTube and leave a comment there. Thanks!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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• What do China’s climate commitments mean for energy?

  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 guest Amy Myers Jaffe (Director of NYU’s Energy, Climate Justice and Sustainability Lab) explore the security, technology and climate implications of China’s energy policy. They are joined by someone who knows a lot about China’s role in the energy transition: David Sandalow, who is the Inaugural Fellow at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University. He talks through China’s rapid clean energy rollout, from solar to EVs, and its implications for the race for dominance in AI. We also welcome back Joseph Webster of the Atlantic Council, who studies China’s energy system and the implications for geopolitics.China’s energy surge in recent years has been staggering. The country added 217 gigawatts of solar capacity in 2023, and kept growing into 2024 and 2025. It is also leading the world in batteries and electric vehicles. Joseph explains how China’s energy investments intersect with military tech, particularly in AI and batteries, positioning China as a global leader in energy and technology innovation. Is the US struggling to keep up?Then, late drama! While we were recording, China finally released its new NDC, pledging a relatively modest 7-10% emissions reduction from peak levels. Some other countries and climate campaigners had hoped for more ambition. But the numbers involved are still staggering. The NDC sets a target of expanding wind and solar capacity to 3,600 GW by 2035, six times 2020 levels, and three times the entire generation capacity of the US, in all technologies. Ed, Amy, David and Joseph react to the news in real time and debate what it means for energy in the US and beyond.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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• Everyone is talking (again!) about a coming revival in nuclear power. What needs to change to make it happen? | More from New York Climate Week

  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 York Power Authority to move ahead with at least 1 gigawatt of new nuclear generation. And the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) is exploring what it needs to do to make that happen. Doreen Harris is President and CEO, and she explains to host Ed Crooks that nuclear is a central pillar of an emissions-free power mix.She says New York’s plan isn’t about bringing back old reactors like the ones at the Indian Point nuclear plant, controversially closed in 2021. The state wants new designs that are safer, modular, and more efficient. NYSERDA is leading a “Master Plan for Responsible Advanced Nuclear Development”, expected to be published by end of 2026, to explore technologies ranging from large reactors to small modular and micro reactors. Ed and Doreen discuss the plan, and the barriers and opportunities for nuclear in the US.Support from federal, state and local governments is going to be essential to make new nuclear construction a reality. But backing from the private sector will also be essential. Nick Campanella is a Senior Equity Research Analyst at Barclays investment bank. He says new nuclear investment will move forward only if three pieces line up: clear policy support, customers willing to buy the power, and an EPC ready to build the plant.Nick and Ed discuss the cost overruns and delays that have plagued nuclear projects in the West. Hyperscalers might be able to get costs down by committing to multiple reactor builds at once. The ‘first-of-a-kind’ project is always risky. The ‘nth-of-a-kind’ developments that benefit from the lessons learned on previous projects should be more predictable, and less costly. Nick believes it is quite possible that a final investment decision to build at least one new nuclear plant in the US is very possible before the end of 2026. If that happens, the first project to go ahead could be for large plants, not small or micro reactors. The US grid doesn’t need tens of megawatts; it needs thousands.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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• As the pressure for climate action fades, what is driving investment in clean energy? | The big talking points from New York Climate Week

  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 demand. The race to achieve the most advanced AI capabilities is widely seen in the energy industry as the most urgent issue it is facing today. And that is creating challenges for the drive towards decarbonization.At the Climate Week opening ceremony, Simon Stiell, Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC, said that climate advocates have “not explained to people in the right way what needs to be done”. He urged them to connect their messaging to immediate, everyday issues rather than distant disasters. To discuss all this, host Ed Crooks is joined by Helen Clarkson, CEO of the Climate Group, which puts on the event. She describes Climate Week NYC as the “green room for COP,” a place to sharpen focus before the big UN negotiations that are this year being held in Belem, Brazil, in November. While climate ambition is clearly faltering in the US, she says, there are rapid shifts under way elsewhere, such as the explosion of cheap rooftop solar in Pakistan. As this divide opens up between the US building on its strengths in fossil fuels, and other countries embracing low-carbon technologies, America risks losing competitiveness, she warns. Plus, the financial analyst’s view on the big themes of the week. Will Thompson is a Director in the Thematic Investment Research Team at Barclays Investment Bank, and he spends a lot of his time at the moment thinking about the intersection of AI and energy. He talks to Ed about how AI is driving a surge in electricity demand, with US data centers potentially doubling their share of the nation’s power use by 2030. And he describes the “power wall” facing AI: a looming bottleneck when companies want more power than the grid can provide. To overcome this, tech giants are moving toward distributed or “bring your own power” solutions, such as on-site natural gas plants and battery storage, he says. This shift prioritizes “speed to power” over cost and could push up emissions in the near term. Will and Ed discuss permitting delays, grid constraints, and fragile supply chains as the major barriers to accelerated investment in electricity supply capacity. There is bipartisan urgency in the US to secure AI dominance over China. Will it be enough?Follow the show wherever you get podcasts, so you don’t miss any of our Climate Week coverage.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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• Carbon capture could be an important tool for tackling climate change. Can we find productive ways to use that carbon?

  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 by Sarah Lamaison, who is the CEO and co-founder of CCU start-up Dioxycle, Tim van den Bergh, the climate tech innovation lead at the World Economic Forum, and John Ferrier, a senior research analyst at Wood Mackenzie. Together they unpack what CCU actually is (and isn’t), and where it can deliver the biggest punch; for example in the chemical industry, which is a sector in large part built on carbon.Sarah explains how Dioxycle’s carbon electrolysis can turn carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide into high-value molecules such ethylene using electricity and water. It is effectively “dual” decarbonization: it uses captured carbon instead of fossil feedstock, and also avoids process emissions.But despite those compelling advantages, CCU faces some steep challenges. The gang examines the policy landscape, and the economics that can make or break CCU projects. John outlines why support has historically skewed toward carbon storage rather than utilization: it offers measurable, near-term reductions and simpler business models. To accelerate the growth of CCU, it needs clearer incentives, and standardized lifecycle assessment of carbon emitted and avoided. Sarah compares Europe’s current framework, which can disadvantage CCU, with more supportive tax credits that are available in the US. She explains that the choice of product to be made using CCU really matters. For fuels, conventional feedstocks such as crude oil and natural gas are hard to beat on cost. For complex chemical pathways, there is room for CCU to undercut incumbents as efficiency improves. Tim looks at the system level, calling for global, aligned policies, early markets in cost-competitive niches and “patient capital” to bridge the valley of death that innovative companies face as they scale up.There’s a strong case that can be made for CCU, if policy, finance, and industry can travel in the same direction. This episode explains what would be needed to make that a reality, taking businesses from promising pilots to deployment at scale and cost parity with conventional feedstocks.UpLink is a World Economic Forum initiative focused on impactful early-stage innovation. It builds ecosystems that enable purpose-driven, early-stage entrepreneurs to scale their businesses for the markets and economies that are essential to a net-zero, nature-positive and equitable future. You can learn more in the World Economic Forum and Wood Mackenzie’s new report on scaling CCU, available here.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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