For once there was some truly encouraging news this week. Matthew Pearce writes in the Guardian about a new study that shows that a global shift towards clean electricity could trigger a ‘cascade’ of progress, helping reduce air pollution, cut waste and revive oceans. “The analysis focuses on “positive tipping points” – thresholds beyond which … Continue reading Energy in Demand News, September 13-14, 2026
Category: electrification
First gas, now coal: Australia’s battery revolution accelerates
David Leitch writes on the Renew Economy website about how Australia’s battery build-out is moving from merely reducing gas generation and peak prices to directly undermining the economics of coal. The “second wave” of batteries is the real story. Second wave of big batteries will eat the dinner of fossil fuels, forcing some coal … Continue reading First gas, now coal: Australia’s battery revolution accelerates
Energy in Demand News, September 6-7, 2026
Maersk, the integrated container logistics company, has signed a deal to install the first wind sail on a container ship, the Financial Times reports, noting that the maritime industry is returning “to an age-old technology to cut fuel consumption and comply with tougher environmental regulations. The sail, a 35m-high rotor sail designed by the British … Continue reading Energy in Demand News, September 6-7, 2026
Efficiency first: the missing step in industrial decarbonisation
Mitie, one of the UK’s leading technology-driven facilities management, transformation and compliance company, provides an important blog on industrial carbonisation. The challenge for any manufacturer committed to net zero is building a pathway that works commercially, operationally and technically. Why net zero fails in manufacturing – unless you fix this first Summary Manufacturers should … Continue reading Efficiency first: the missing step in industrial decarbonisation
Energy in Demand News, August 23-24, 2026
The Trump administration is doing everything possible to crush California’s environmental policies that have been respected world-wide, New York Times reports. “Mr. Trump and his Republican allies in Congress have blocked California from setting its own limits on automobile pollution, which federal law has permitted since the 1970s. The Energy Department has announced $75 million … Continue reading Energy in Demand News, August 23-24, 2026
The solar technology South Africa can’t afford to ignore
Writing on The Conversation website, Craig McGregor, Professor in Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering, Stellenbosch University, discusses how South Africa may be undervaluing a technology particularly well suited to its climate because energy planning focuses too heavily on the cost of generation rather than the value of reliable, dispatchable power. South Africa is overlooking solar … Continue reading The solar technology South Africa can’t afford to ignore
Energy in Demand News, August 16-17, 2026
The Financial Times, a newspaper of record for business and politics, has become almost passionate about climate change. “Even now, when weather records are being broken, when climate change is demonstrably here, not in the future, we seem frozen. We still go about our carbon-greedy lives: snapping up the last air-conditioning unit, booking another flight, … Continue reading Energy in Demand News, August 16-17, 2026
Small reactors, big promises — but can SMRs deliver?
Tim Schauenberg writes on the Deutsche Welle website questioning whether SMRs can live up to the considerable claims being made for them, particularly on cost, timing, safety and climate impact. Schauenberg looks at what's behind the SMR hype. The big catch with small modular nuclear reactors Many politicians and tech companies are now pushing to build new nuclear power … Continue reading Small reactors, big promises — but can SMRs deliver?
Europe looks south for its clean energy future
Felicity Bradstock writes on the Oil Price website about how Europe turning to North Africa’s enormous renewable resources to strengthen energy security and accelerate electrification. Europe Bets Billions on North Africa’s Clean Energy Potential The EU’s T-MED initiative aims to mobilize billions of euros for renewable energy, hydrogen, clean technology, and electricity networks across … Continue reading Europe looks south for its clean energy future
Can solar farms feed both AI and us?
In an article on The Conversation website, Joshua M. Pearce, John M. Thompson Chair in Information Technology and Innovation and Professor, Western University, discusses the apparent conflict between AI’s huge electricity appetite and protecting farmland, with agrivoltaics offering a way to solve both problems. ‘Agrivoltaics’ can both power AI data centres and increase food … Continue reading Can solar farms feed both AI and us?
Energy in Demand - Sustainable Energy - Rod Janssen 