The hottest Energy Systems Substack posts right now

Energy is the ability to do work, like moving or changing things. Everything we do requires energy, and we can't create or destroy it, only change its form.
Most of the energy we use gets wasted, with many losses occurring during energy transformations. Only about a third of the energy consumed goes towards useful work.
Hydrocarbons, like oil and gas, are easy to store and transport, but as we shift to electricity, we need better storage solutions to manage fluctuations in supply and demand.

We are quietly withdrawing our commitment to maintaining shared systems and infrastructure. Trading resilience for short-term efficiency shrinks margins for error and makes cascading failures and inequality more likely.
The planet is storing heat and the impacts keep accumulating, so climate-driven risks will persist and compound even without dramatic new events. That truth erodes confidence in a stable future and reduces people's willingness to invest in long-term projects.
Trust, cooperation, and belief in the future are fraying as people and nations pull back from each other, from treaties, and even from having children. That loss of social commitment undermines our ability to solve shared problems and sustain institutions.

The critical debate in climate science is about whether past scenarios were flawed, not just forecasts of the future; a key 2017 study showed many high-emission scenarios relied on unrealistic assumptions about coal and fossil fuel growth.
Despite evidence that extreme scenarios like RCP8.5 are unlikely, influential authors reframed them as ‘worst cases,’ so thousands of studies and policy discussions still use outdated scenarios and risk drawing misleading conclusions.
If the scenarios were fundamentally flawed from the start, then climate research, scenario development, and policy choices need major changes, and the fight over this history will shape who leads future climate science and policy.

Societies grow in size and complexity when they get better at using energy and processing information. More energy and better information help societies do more things and support more people.
Job specialization plays a key role in a society's complexity. When people focus on different jobs and communicate well, it allows for innovation and better organization.
Viewing societies as computers can help us understand how they evolve over time. It highlights how energy use and information processing are closely linked in driving societal growth.

The US is betting on building the smartest AI models and assumes intelligence will stay scarce while coordination can be bought on markets.
China is deliberately commoditizing intelligence by opening models so value shifts to energy, hardware, manufacturing, and the ability to coordinate AI into physical systems.
Once intelligence is abundant, durable power and profits will flow to whoever can reliably execute and coordinate systems at scale, so winning means building coordination, execution, and energy advantages—not just better models.

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Texas State Senate is creating problems in the electricity markets by politicizing them
Winter storms like Uri in 2021 exposed weaknesses in Texas' electricity system
Legislation focusing on subsidizing natural gas and harming renewables may not address the core issue of natural gas infrastructure vulnerability

The destructive wind was caused by a 'downburst,' which is a torrent of colder air that creates high-velocity vortices when it hits the ground.
Extreme weather events like this signal the urgent need for infrastructure improvements to withstand the impacts of climate change.
Households can adapt to disruptions with a mix of old and new strategies, like using candles, flashlights, smartphones, and public resources like libraries.

Battery chemistry is really important for how well electric vehicles (EVs) perform. The kind of battery used affects how quickly and efficiently the car can use its power.
High-performance EVs need batteries that can discharge power very quickly, often at high rates. This allows them to reach top speeds and perform well on race tracks.
Some battery types, like LMFP, are better for maintaining power and temperature, which makes them more suitable for high-performance vehicles. They can charge and discharge efficiently without overheating.