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We are seeing a violent collision between two worlds: the high-speed, iterative world of artificial intelligence and the slow, grinding, capital-intensive world of nuclear physics. Data from a survey of over 600 global investors reveals that 63% now view AI electricity demand as a "structural" shift in nuclear planning. This isn't a temporary spike or a speculative bubble. It is the physical footprint of every Large Language Model (LLM) query finally showing up on the global balance sheet. For years, the energy narrative was dominated by…
While Kazakhstan has big plans to develop its nuclear power capacity, the United States is helping Astana think small. The US government has agreed to help train Kazakh specialists in the operation of small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs), according to a statement issued December 22 by the US Embassy in Astana. The first phase of the cooperation deal involves the supply of an SMR simulator to Kazakhstan’s Institute of Nuclear Physics in Almaty. At the same time, a US energy company, Sargent & Lundy, will carry out a feasibility…
There are at least two places, San Francisco and the mid-Hudson Valley in New York, where political activists are currently advocating for a public takeover of the local investor-owned utility. Pacific Gas and Electric is owned by utility holding company PG&E Corporation and the service territory of the former Central Hudson Gas & Electric Company is owned by Fortis Inc, a Canadian holding company with varied utility interests. We have no views on the respective merits of either municipalization movement. What we find interesting is that…
When we talk about energy storage today, lithium-ion batteries tend to dominate the conversation. They are sleek, compact, and have become the default image of the clean energy revolution. Yet behind the headlines, a quieter cast of characters has been doing the heavy lifting. Some of the most effective ways to store energy are not based on exotic chemistry at all, but on gravity, heat, air, and even sand. They are often strange, wonderfully simple, and surprisingly effective. If the world’s energy transition were a movie, lithium-ion batteries…
Santa runs on diesel. Every year, the global holiday economy depends on a short, unforgiving surge in distillate consumption that powers trucks, ports, warehouses, refrigeration, and backup generation, all under winter operating conditions. That commercially driven holiday cheer strains logistics and exposes how thin the margin has become in some already-tight diesel markets, particularly in Europe. After crude, diesel is the most economically important fuel in the system, and Christmas is when that reality asserts itself. In the U.S., distillate…
