Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables

Collocation is being positioned as the answer to America's grid bottleneck. The reality is more complicated. The US power sector is under pressure to keep pace with data centre development, and collocated generation could provide a solution. But as #WMHorizons shows, the costs, technical challenges and regulatory risks that must be mitigated are formidable. Read the full report here: https://okt.to/fJsnBk

Fantastic to be at the ACORE Finance Forum last week, where Kara McNutt, CFA participated in the panel discussion, “Capital Stacks for Hybridized Assets: Financing the Integrated Power Stack,” - exploring how the industry is financing increasingly integrated power, storage and renewables projects amid rising power demand and evolving market conditions. The Energy Gang team was also onsite throughout the forum, recording live conversations with industry leaders on the biggest issues shaping the energy transition. In a special episode recorded at ACORE, the team explores how surging electricity demand, AI-driven load growth and evolving policy dynamics are reshaping the outlook for clean energy investment and power markets. Watch the episode here: https://okt.to/dNYa0M Thanks to the ACORE team for bringing together such an insightful and timely discussion. We'll see you at the Grid Forum in October!

With US grid development moving slower than AI ambitions, data centre companies face a fork in the road. Path one: wait up to a decade for the required massive generation and transmission build-out. Path two: pay a premium for microgrids of unprecedented scale and complexity, or accept conditional grid connections that risk supply interruption and service-level agreement violations.  With 90 GW+ of collocated generation in US interconnection pipelines, it’s clear the need for speed has sent many down the second path. This month’s #WMHorizons sets out the risks and implications for developers and investors. Read the report now: https://okt.to/esz7HD

Join us at Utility Day 2026 on 9 June in Milan, hosted by IKN Italy, where more than 1,000 gas and power professionals will gather to explore the future of energy retail, flexibility, and market resilience. As markets navigate geopolitical uncertainty, price volatility, and supply pressures, this year’s discussions will focus on how flexibility, data, and evolving business models are reshaping the energy value chain. Our experts Valentino Ebser and Giorgio Cabianca will be on site and available to connect with peers across the industry. If you are attending and would like to meet the team, email us to schedule a meeting: contactus@woodmac.com #UtilityDay

The rising share of variable renewable energy (VRE) sources in power grids across Asia Pacific is increasing curtailment. That's the unfortunate reality sitting behind the energy transition headlines right now. Curtailment woes in the region are exacerbated by the limited system flexibility and grid constraints. In our report, Renewable curtailment in Asia Pacific, we found that Australia curtailed 8% of its renewable generation in 2025, while China curtailed an estimated 132 TWh - roughly double the entire VRE output of Southeast Asia. The data shows that once renewables cross about 10% of total generation, systems start to buckle under grid constraints and frequency management challenges. Battery storage helps, but at less than 5% of total VRE capacity across major APAC markets, it's nowhere near enough yet. What makes this tricky is the planning, investment, and execution timeline mismatch. A wind or solar farm takes 12 to 18 months to build whereas a grid upgrade takes 2 to 4 years. That gap isn't going away anytime soon, and it's why curtailment is expected to remain a defining challenge across the region for the rest of the decade. But one thing is clear, curtailment challenges are here to stay and can only be managed through storage, market reform, smarter grid investment, and demand-side flexibility working together. Explore how Lens can help you navigate the energy transition: https://okt.to/f136uj

Join this expert panel discussion on Electrolyser deployment in Europe: navigating policy, partnerships and cost at the Wood Mackenzie Hydrogen Conference featuring leaders from Siemens Energy, Worley, and John Cockerill. 𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝗣𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁𝘀: ▪️IAA & procurement trade-offs: How the 20% cost waiver is forcing developers to weigh cheaper non‑EU electrolysers vs. subsidy eligibility—and whether this reshapes sourcing strategies ▪️Global collaboration vs. risk: What partnerships, licensing, and localisation between European and Chinese players mean for cost, speed, and project bankability ▪️Driving down costs: The role of modularity and turnkey solutions in reducing installed costs—and whether they truly move the needle Register now to join us in London on 4 June. #WMHydrogen #Hydrogen https://okt.to/QJ5AXw

The Iran war has caused the greatest energy supply shock in living memory. Our #WMHorizons special edition lays out three distinct scenarios for the end of the war and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and the implications of these for oil & gas supply, demand and prices. The report explores: - A new era of energy price volatility: resuming Gulf exports is unlikely to be smooth sailing. - The push for energy independence: the prospect of a radical policy pivot for oil-importing countries. - Molecules v electrons: aggressive electrification and the cleantech opportunity. Uncertain times demand interconnected intelligence. Read on to understand what comes next: https://okt.to/amIE7V

Can AI really solve the power grid problem? Drew Maloney, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Edison Electric Institute, says no. AI is improving forecasting, grid management, and system efficiency. But the latest Energy Gang argues that none of that changes the core reality facing US electricity markets: demand is growing faster than infrastructure. That matters because AI data centres are now becoming a major source of new electricity demand across multiple US regions. This episode explores: - Why AI demand growth is colliding with generation and transmission constraints - How permitting delays are slowing infrastructure deployment - Why utilities argue the grid needs more physical capacity, not just smarter software - What rising demand means for electricity costs and reliability - How policymakers are approaching the next phase of grid expansion “At the end of the day, we still need more generation.” That may become one of the defining energy realities of this decade. The full episode is available on: YouTube: https://okt.to/O8eK9C Apple Podcasts: https://okt.to/Z0bnBy Or wherever you get your podcasts.

AI data centres are creating power swings that traditional grids were never designed to handle. In this episode of Interchange Recharged, Kristina Carlquist and Christian Payer from ABB explain why rapid charging and discharging cycles can degrade battery systems faster under volatile data centre loads, and why synchronous condensers are returning to the conversation around grid resilience. One insight stood out: “For the battery it is [impacting the lifetime].” That distinction matters as utilities and developers plan for a more electrified economy built around AI, renewable energy and inverter based systems. Key takeaways from the discussion: - AI data centres can swing power demand in seconds - Frequent cycling directly impacts battery lifetime - Physical inertia behaves differently from synthetic inertia - Grid resilience is becoming an infrastructure planning issue, not just a generation issue - Countries are valuing inertia services very differently ABB has already delivered 62 synchronous condensers to Voltigrid microgrids since late 2024, showing how quickly this challenge is moving from theory into deployment. Featuring Kristina Carlquist, General Manager of Synchronous Condensers, ABB, and Christian Payer, Sales Manager of Synchronous Condensers, ABB. The full conversation is available on: YouTube: https://okt.to/9nUVyG Apple Podcasts: https://okt.to/onXHZu Or wherever you get your podcasts.

Join this expert panel discussion on Gas & LNG, net zero & the realities of decarbonisation at the 4th annual Wood Mackenzie Gas LNG Conference featuring leaders from Uniper, IOGP Europe, and RMI. ▪️Is political momentum moving away from aggressive decarbonization timelines globally (Europe, Asia, US)? ▪️Will the EU Methane regulation and the CSDDD be watered down? ▪️Which decarbonisation strategies are physically and economically viable - which are policy-driven aspirations that will collapse when subsidies end? ▪️Practical decarbonisation - methane reduction, CCUS and what's actually deployable ▪️Is gas the enabler to renewable penetration, providing grid stability and displacing higher-carbon fuels ▪️Should capital flow to incremental improvements in existing gas infrastructure or to speculative alternatives that may never achieve commercial viability? ▪️What's the pathway to "green LNG" or "carbon-neutral gas" that's actually bankable? ▪️How should the industry reframe its role in the energy transition? Registration is now open. Join us in London for this two day event from 2-3 June 2026. https://okt.to/F4jxhO