Show Notes
Gerard is invited by Ana Conde from PVcase to make the case for solar paired with storage as the economic foundation of the future energy system.
We are in the midst of a technological revolution driven by electrification and AI. But building the energy system that can power this shift requires more than adding new capacity — it demands system-level thinking, new coordination mechanisms, and new financial models to ensure a smooth transition.
They explore how solar moved from a niche technology to the backbone of modern energy infrastructure and why pairing it with storage is no longer optional for project bankability and long-term competitiveness.
They discuss how grid outages act as warning signals, exposing the fragility of legacy infrastructure, and what that implies for resilience in an increasingly electrified world.
The conversation also examines the economic incentives, institutional inertia, and behavioural forces that resist technological change — and how innovative business models are beginning to unlock faster adoption.
This episode goes beyond viewing solar as a technology alone. It unpacks the economics and coordination required to build a resilient, low-cost energy system capable of supporting the AI-driven future. -- An episode delivered in partnership with SolarPower Europe. SolarPower Europe has established the ‘Battery Storage Europe Platform’ (advocacy, COMs campaigning, networking) around battery storage. Companies should join as members to help us push messages on solar, flexibility and batteries https://www.batterystorageeurope.org/
More from Redefining Energy
Last year, the nuclear industry experienced something close to a gold rush. SMRs — Small Modular Reactors — became the hottest story in energy. Private capital poured in, valuations exploded, and the industry produced an impressive collection of truly bombastic promises. The backdrop is undeniably powerful: electrification is accelerating, geopolitics are reshaping energy markets, and the world needs reliable, 24/7 clean power. Nuclear has rarely enjoyed such formidable tailwinds.
The current datacenter buildout is the biggest GDP bet in America since the railroads 150 years ago. We have never seen a frenzy quite like this. The system is running on overdrive—and the cracks are starting to show.
The global market for Virtual Power Plants is assessed around 100GW (+/- 20GW). It is a 7bnUSD expected to grow at a CAGR above 20% in the next 5 years to reach 40bnUSD within a decade. VPP are a digitally coordinated flexible network of distributed resources: cheaper than central stations. They manage behind the meter assets like Solar, batteries, HVAC, EV…
Joseph J. Romm (1960–2026) was an MIT-trained physicist who became one of the most prominent voices in the U.S. climate movement after serving as Acting Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy at the U.S. Department of Energy in the 1990s.
In our series: How AI is revolutionising Energy, Laurent and Gerard dive deep into the intricate corner of Energy Management system for large industrial clusters.