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S&P Global Commodity Insights

Interviews, analysis and reporting from S&P Global Commodity Insights on energy and commodities' transition to a cleaner future. Hosts Taylor Kuykendall and Eklavya Gupte speak with policymakers, industry professionals and SPGCI in-house experts worldwide on topics related to decarbonization, climate, emerging fuels and energy sources, and the outlook for commodity markets from oil to power to metals. The Energy Evolution podcast has merged with the Platts Future Energy podcast as of January 2025.

Platts Future Energy

In the latest All Things Aviation episode on the Platts Future Energy Podcast, Sarah Abu Bakar speaks with feedstock analysts Rob Hatchett and Wes Petkau along with biofuel research associate director Ji Yang Lum. The discussion highlights the implications of global biofuel policy uncertainty and the potential impacts that trade tariffs pose on feedstock flows, further complicating an already uncertain and fragmented market. The group takes a regional approach to briefly outline the current layout of key factors influencing SAF policy support.
 
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All Things Aviation: SAF and the sticky issue of feedstocks (pt. 5)

Platts Future Energy is merging with Energy Evolution, and in this inaugural episode of the new series, hosts Taylor Kuykendall and Eklavya Gupte set the stage for 2025, which looks to be another pivotal year for the energy landscape. 
 
We highlight key topics such as advances in renewable technologies, the critical role of hydrogen in decarbonization, and the evolving policies that will shape global energy markets. We delve into the implications of Donald Trump's return to the presidency, including how policy shifts could affect global climate talks and emission regulations. Importantly, these changes are coming against a backdrop of geopolitical tensions and the ongoing energy transition. We also preview future episodes on the intersection of energy, technology, policy, and market trends, including the rising influence of artificial intelligence and its environmental implications. 
 
The new Energy Evolution will publish on Tuesdays.

Looking ahead: Key themes to watch in the energy transition in 2025

Ahead of Germany's general election on Feb. 23, Energy Evolution looks at the energy implications for Europe's largest economy.
 
With the center-right Christian Democrats leading in the polls, correspondent Camilla Naschert lays out the party's energy plans and discusses the main priorities for Germany's energy system with expert guests. 
 
Guests on the episode are Christoph Maurer, managing director at advisory firm Consentec; Daniel Muir, senior power and renewables analyst at S&P Global Commodity Insights; and Christian Schnibbe, communications chief at wind developer WPD.
 
The episode is hosted by Eklavya Gupte.
 
Energy Evolution is merging with Platts Future Energy, and episodes are now published on Tuesdays.

What's at stake in energy as Germans go to the polls

In this episode of the Energy Evolution podcast, Taylor Kuykendall discusses significant shifts in US energy policy following President Donald Trump's inauguration. On January 20, Trump declared a national energy emergency, aiming to reverse several Biden administration policies that he views as detrimental to domestic energy production. Key proposals include ending what he has called the electric vehicle mandate, increasing oil and gas leasing on federal lands, and streamlining energy infrastructure permitting. Trump also plans to revoke climate-related regulations and halt funding from the Inflation Reduction Act and the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law, potentially slowing the growth of renewable energy initiatives.
 
The episode features insights from three experts: Anna Mosby from S&P Global, Jonathan Elkind from Columbia University and Andy Marsh, CEO of Plug Power.
 
Marsh shares his perspective on the green hydrogen industry and the potential implications of an administration change on the recent $1.66 billion loan guarantee from the Department of Energy for his company. He expresses optimism about the hydrogen sector's future, despite concerns about regulatory changes under the new administration. 
 
Energy Evolution has merged with Platts Future Energy, and episodes are now published on Tuesdays.

Trump makes big moves on energy, climate early in return to presidency

Population growth and mineral resource scarcity will hamper the global energy sector's transition from hydrocarbons to renewables even as activist investors push many oil and gas companies to pivot toward more sustainable electricity sources, financial forecaster and futurist Jason Schenker says in the inaugural episode of Energy Evolution, a new S&P Global Market Intelligence podcast. Schenker is the Chairman of The Futurist Institute and the President of Prestige Economics. He has also authored several books on disruptive emerging technologies, including "The Future of Energy". Subscribe to Energy Evolution on Soundcloud to catch upcoming episodes! (Photo: AP)

Energy futurist sees major obstacles for renewables in next 30 years

As technological innovation is spurs opportunities in the energy sector, the U.S. government wants to facilitate a major shift in how the nation generates its power, top federal energy officials said during a new S&P Global Market Intelligence podcast. "We are in this incredible American moment where we are really seeing a fascinating transition in our energy landscape," Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Chairman Neil Chatterjee said on S&P Global Market Intelligence's second episode of Energy Evolution. "The challenge is that this transition is putting pressure on traditional forms of baseload power, namely coal and nuclear. As the regulator responsible for the reliability of the grid, ensuring that we can make that transition while maintaining reliability is a challenge." The administration has taken several steps to try to support coal and nuclear power. However, agencies like FERC and the U.S. Department of Energy are also supporting the development of policies and technology that would support the growing role renewable energy plays in U.S. electricity generation. "If the cost of renewables, the cost of storage, gets to a point where it can compete, I think that's great for consumers," Chatterjee said. "It's great for the economy. It's great for the environment and it's great for America." The U.S. electricity grid has already undergone a massive change as cheap natural gas from new shale gas drilling technologies pushed coal-fired generation out of the market. Now, growing renewable energy deployment is causing a "bit of a strain on the system," said Brian Anderson, director of the DOE's National Energy Technology Laboratory. "What we're looking for in the future are the options for large scale grid storage of electricity," Anderson said on the Energy Evolution podcast. "There are only a few options: battery packs — the costs are coming down tremendously — and other grid-scale storage options for storing electrons. We're going to start seeing a grid that is much different than we are used to because we need to be able to follow the dynamic nature of intermittent renewables." The DOE is working on finding a part of that solution. For example, they are studying materials that could be used to create a new generation of battery storage technology that does not have the same limitations as current batteries utilizing lithium-ion. "Lithium ion's done a great job for the last two or three decades, providing storage capabilities," said Dan Brouillette, the deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy who has recently been tapped to succeed outgoing Energy Secretary Rick Perry. "But it is limited and the ability to do utility-scale or large-scale storage still eludes us. That's why we've seen perhaps a slower adoption of some of the renewable technologies and we might otherwise have had." DOE is examining the possibility of using magnesium-ion instead of lithium-ion, for instance, which may prove to be a better means of storing power for later use. Battery storage research and development, he added is a high priority for the DOE as the technology is expected to be a "very important component" of the U.S. electricity generation mix in the coming years. The agency is also looking to more futuristic technology such as being able to beam power from one point to another without the use of wires. "Think about that," Brouillette said on the podcast. "Think about a world in which hurricanes matter perhaps a little bit less for the provision of electricity or the recovery from a major catastrophe like that. Those are some of the things we're thinking about at the DOE. And it's a very exciting place to be." Subscribe to Energy Evolution on Soundcloud to catch future episodes. (Photo: AP)

US energy officials push innovation to meet evolving energy needs

The price of producing electricity from solar energy has dropped rapidly in the last several years and nothing is stopping it from dropping even further, an expert recently told the hosts of Energy Evolution, an S&P Global Market Intelligence podcast. There is still room for reducing the cost of solar, both by improving the physical workings of the technology itself and by reducing the cost of production and deployment of solar photovoltaics, said Greg Nemet, a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who researches technological shifts and how public policy can affect those changes. Once denounced as too expensive, solar energy is already displacing other fuel sources as the cheapest form of generation in some regions. Nemet, who wrote the recently published book "How Solar Energy Became Cheap," noted one of the challenges with solar energy is that once it is installed it essentially becomes a zero variable cost source of electricity. That could contribute to under investment on the part of utilities. The solution, he said, is to modernize utility regulations that in many cases were created decades ago in order to better accommodate renewable energy resources and other technologies.
 
Listen to the full episode to hear more, and subscribe to Energy Evolution to catch future episodes.
 
(Photo: AP)

Why solar energy could get even cheaper

From turkeys and LED lights to celebrating Hanukkah with solar energy, the Energy Evolution team breaks down power usage during the holidays with efficiency tips, fun facts and a cooking tutorial.
 
The fourth episode also features answers to questions about the history behind Americans' holiday light tradition, which variety of stuffing is best and how regional grid operators prepare to accommodate soaring demand.
 
Subscribe to Energy Evolution on Soundcloud, Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Stitcher.
 
(Photo: AP)

A very special Energy Evolution holiday episode

After an S&P Global Market Intelligence investigative team uncovered the powerful incentives to build natural gas-fired power plants in the U.S., the Energy Evolution podcast interviewed some of the "Overpowered" series' sources and authors to follow up on why utilities are adding gas generation despite flat demand and some states' efforts to adopt more renewable energy.
 
Energy Evolution also talked to sources from the Overpowered series about why the PJM Interconnection — the country's largest market for electric power — may continue to over-procure gas generation capacity, how Virginia state officials are starting to push back against Dominion Energy Inc.'s electricity demand forecasts and what the Oxnard, Calif., city council is doing to acquire more power from renewable resources after rejecting the Puente Power Project proposed by NRG Energy Inc. and Edison International utility Southern California Edison Co.
 
Subscribe to Energy Evolution on Soundcloud, Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Stitcher.
 
(Photo: AP)

The forces driving a gas-fired power plant glut

BlackRock Inc., the world's largest asset manager, recently announced it would be pulling out of its investments in certain parts of the coal sector. The move is part of a broader trend where banks, insurers and other parts of the finance world are pledging to stay away from fossil fuels to address concerns about climate change. Join us on Energy Evolution, where this month we check in on what is being said about the rising fossil fuel divestment trend and talk to activists, analysts and a representative of the largest coal company in the U.S. about what is going on and what may be next.

Climate concerns are driving the financial world away from fossil fuels

The global steel sector accounts for roughly 7% of the world’s CO2 emissions. Blast furnaces, which process iron ore and coking coal, and produce most of the world’s steel, have a higher emissions intensity compared with mini-mills that melt ferrous scrap. Incorporating hydrogen and renewable power could help the sector lower its emissions profile as it looks for new ways to meet demand for greener steel.
 
S&P Global Platts managing editor Andrew Moore speaks with Platts senior editor for steel raw materials and metals analysis Hector Forster and Platts Analytics’ lead hydrogen analyst Zane McDonald on how hydrogen may help transition the steel sector away from emissions-intensive blast furnaces and more toward direct reduction iron- and scrap-fed electric arc furnaces.
 
The discussion covers global steel production trends, PCI coal substitution by hydrogen, power and hydrogen sources, carbon-based taxes on steel in Europe, and how demand for low emissions steel is already being seen in Europe.

Greening steel production and hydrogen’s potential

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