The smarter E’s Post

Since our previous update in May 2025, prices have remained broadly stable this quarter, reinforcing the persistence of the “duck curve” pattern and indicating that the spring trend has carried through into summer. Read more in our August edition of our Battery Revenues report: https://lnkd.in/epd2ZVeY #batterystorage #renewableenergy #energymarkets #europe

⚡️ Live experiment seems to crash – “All-electric” strategy set to fail 💥 Yesterday’s reports and discussions paint a stark picture: ⚠️ Amprion alert: The CEO of grid operator Amprion warns that high electricity prices this autumn could force shutdowns as a last resort (per ZFK report). https://lnkd.in/dbf3qe8B 🏛️ Germany’s 🇩🇪 Federal Network Agency cautions: According to the Security of Supply Report (Sep 3, 2025), Germany may face rare electricity shortages as early as 2030—if renewable rollouts, new gas-fired capacity, and demand flexibility fall behind. In a downside scenario, up to 36 GW of new gas capacity may be needed to avert disruptions. Although blackouts are not expected, delays in grid and generation expansion pose real risks. (Reuters) ⸻ This isn’t just a setback—it’s a near-bankruptcy of the “we electrify everything” doctrine. 🔎 What’s happening❓ ⚡️ Renewables alone aren’t enough. Europe’s all-electric future depends on sunny and windy skies, but poor weather can expose grid vulnerabilities. It cannot replace controllable power supply. 💧 Hydrogen and molecular energy carriers (like biomethane or blue hydrogen) provide flexibility, storage, and dispatchability—critical for balancing intermittent clean power and supporting heavy industry. 🛡️ Delaying industrial-scale hydrogen and a diverse energy mix risks Europe’s energy sovereignty and resilience. ⸻ 🚀 The Way Forward‼️ 🔄 Activate a diversified energy strategy—embrace hydrogen and molecular fuels alongside electrification. ⏩ Streamline and accelerate hydrogen deployment. Move from aspiration to execution. 💶 Match policy and investment incentives with the realities of grid reliability and industrial demand. Without hydrogen and molecules, the European energy transition will stall—not fail softly, but crash. ⸻ 👉 Read more: Germany could see power supply gap in 2030, regulator says https://lnkd.in/dcBTdXnQ ⸻ #EnergyTransition #Hydrogen #EnergySecurity #GreenTransition #EU #HydrogenEconomy

Watt Ho! Your Weekly Jolt of Energy Whimsights :) Which side would you bet on?   If you were expecting oil stocks to perform in the era of Trump, think again. If you thought clean energy stocks would underperform in the aftermath of the One Big Beautiful Bill, think again. Renewable energy stocks have outperformed oil plays YTD in 2025 on average, especially in the period following “Liberation Day”. The thesis seems to be that there could be risks to fossil fuel demand amid tariff wars but there is no stopping the renewable bandwagon, especially in the age of AI. There has been increasing speculation that the AI wave will drive a boom in electricity generation that will be at least partly if not majorly fuelled by renewable energy, given relatively quick lead times. Whether that boom comes to pass, or AI and data centres get more energy efficient over time is still a point of debate. But the bets are on. Also, policy nuances need to be noted. Deployment of wind and solar could pick up in the US before slowing down. And even a slowdown could mean better margins amid more transparent and rational pricing once subsidies are removed. In other parts of the world, clean energy stocks may be expecting other fillips, like the signs of industry consolidation in China’s solar sector. All in all, clean energy stocks could be stealing a march, driven by AI, policy incentives or the lack thereof, and shifting market bets. #oil #cleanenergy #renewables #policy #shiftingsands

U.S. data centers used 176 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity in 2023, triple what they consumed less than a decade earlier. By 2030, we’re talking about 400–500 TWh every year, enough to power 20 to 30 million homes. That’s not a blip on the chart. That’s a new industrial revolution. So what fuels this surge? Natural gas. ⬇️⬇️

Disruptive Technologies in one industry can "bleed over" into others. The intermittent nature of the modern power grid almost eliminates most valuation metrics. Let me elaborate - for decades, manufacturers relied upon a simple truth: electricity was cheap, had a steady quality, and was predictable. That assumption shaped everything: chemical plants, steel mills, heck even potato chip production lines. Cost models, efficiency metrics, and valuations were all built on "steady state" electricity for "steady state" operations. Enter intermittent energy via renewables, storage, distributed generation, and digital platforms. Power flows are now dynamic, not fixed. This is my understanding why Secretary of Energy, Chris Wright, is critical of intermittent power. A key takeaway is that electricity now depends on WHEN and HOW it's used. Not just some annual average. Your estimated kilowatt hour is detached from reality - each day has unique (and sometimes exponential costs). This means the old "steady state" models are not as useful, if not outright obsolete. The future belongs to dynamic valuation - a way of pricing and planning that accounts for volatility...and to do that, you better control your RAGE (Roles, Actions, Goals, Environment) in your extended value chain. Question isn't whether energy disruption will effect your industry. It already has. #EnergyTransition #TechnologyDisruption #DisruptiveInnovation #DynamicValuation

Europe sees rising electricity demand in early September, with mixed forecasts for next week #Electricity #ElectricityDemand #Europe https://lnkd.in/dNZtBwAG

The US power market is transforming at breakneck speed. Unprecedented demand growth from data centres is colliding with accelerating thermal plant retirements. Solar and battery storage are reshaping generation portfolios as they expand eastward. Meanwhile, tariff uncertainty adds another layer of complexity to trading decisions. In this rapidly evolving environment, successful power traders need more than market awareness - they need strategic foresight. Our comprehensive guide (which you can download by filling out the form on this page) examines the critical themes that will define US power trading in the second half of 2025. Download the guide now to find out: - How demand surges are straining interconnection queues and what this means for grid reliability. - Why the retirement of 12.3 GW of capacity in 2025 presents both challenges and opportunities. - How solar capacity growth - from 7.6 GW to over 16 GW in MISO alone - is creating new market dynamics. - The guide also explores three distinct tariff scenarios and their potential impacts on commodity demand, prices and investment through 2030. With detailed analysis of regional variations and forward-looking perspectives, this resource equips you with the insights needed to make smarter trading decisions. Don't navigate these market shifts blindly. Download the full guide here: https://okt.to/vlysw9

The US power market is transforming at breakneck speed. Unprecedented demand growth from data centres is colliding with accelerating thermal plant retirements. Solar and battery storage are reshaping generation portfolios as they expand eastward. Meanwhile, tariff uncertainty adds another layer of complexity to trading decisions. In this rapidly evolving environment, successful power traders need more than market awareness - they need strategic foresight. Our comprehensive guide (which you can download by filling out the form on this page) examines the critical themes that will define US power trading in the second half of 2025. Download the guide now to find out: - How demand surges are straining interconnection queues and what this means for grid reliability. - Why the retirement of 12.3 GW of capacity in 2025 presents both challenges and opportunities. - How solar capacity growth - from 7.6 GW to over 16 GW in MISO alone - is creating new market dynamics. - The guide also explores three distinct tariff scenarios and their potential impacts on commodity demand, prices and investment through 2030. With detailed analysis of regional variations and forward-looking perspectives, this resource equips you with the insights needed to make smarter trading decisions. Don't navigate these market shifts blindly. Download the full guide here: https://okt.to/uvWjhX

Ofgem Price Cap Rises – What Now? This week, Ofgem announced another rise in the energy price cap, a stark reminder that the cost of powering our homes isn’t getting cheaper any time soon. For many households, this means tighter budgets and tough decisions heading into winter. But it also highlights a bigger picture — our need to accelerate the shift to smarter, more sustainable energy solutions. At Plug Me In, we’re seeing firsthand how people at home and work are looking for more control over their energy use — adopting solar + battery solutions, heat pumps and optimising their home setups for efficiency. 💡 The tools to fight rising costs are out there. ⚡ Smarter homes = lower bills + lower carbon. 🚗 Cleaner transport! The future of energy isn’t just about supply — it’s about how we use it. If you’re feeling the pinch from the price rise, now’s the time to take a serious look at how technology can help you reduce your dependence on the grid and take control of your energy. We’re here to help... #EnergyCrisis #Ofgem #HomeEnergy #Sustainability #EVCharging #PlugMeIn #EnergyIndependence #NetZero #SmartHomeshttps ://https://lnkd.in/ev2fsxyn.

#AI and an aging electricity grid are key reasons for surging electric bills. But substantial reductions in #renewableenergy projects are also contributing to the problem. Key quote: "U.S. investment in renewables plunged by about 36% in the first half of 2025 — roughly $20.5 billion — as uncertainty over federal support chills the market." https://lnkd.in/gqb4PsfF