Slow Burn

How batteries can help last-mile networks cope with faster electrification

Batteries aren’t just useful for time shifting or grid stability services. They could help to speed up electrification of heat, cooking, and transport…

Apr 24 • Lucy Shaw

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This isn’t a comeback: coal never left

We burned more coal than ever before in 2025, and are likely to do so again this year

Apr 8 • Lucy Shaw

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Why don’t we hedge more if we want predictable energy bills?

Consumer protection and collateral requirements can get in the way of fixed-price energy bills. Is it the government’s role to intervene?

Apr 3 • Lucy Shaw

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March 2026

Power Plays pod launch: overhyped/underhyped in energy and audience Q&A

Watch now | At Octopus HQ, Charlotte Kirk and I launched Power Plays: a podcast where we talk about the tech, finance, and politics powering the energy…

Mar 29 • Lucy Shaw

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The Iran War is Britain’s opening for bold energy reforms

Can you believe the Iran War started just three weeks ago? The British government faces a crisis painfully similar to the energy shocks brought on by…

Mar 21 • Lucy Shaw

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Electrification is security - if you have domestic generation fuels

Ethiopia and China offer lessons for Europe's energy security: pairing electrification with domestic generation for maximum impact.

Mar 11 • Lucy Shaw

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February 2026

The myth of flexible coal and the flextech that works instead

Coal power is not fundamentally a flexible technology. On the roof of Pleasants Power Station in West Virginia, I could almost hear the sun. It was so…

Feb 23 • Lucy Shaw

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Britain’s rooftop solar could be cheaper. Here’s how.

In a rare moment of parental bonding over energy economics, my mum and I both got quotes for rooftop solar this week. The UK's rooftop solar costs more…

Feb 16 • Lucy Shaw

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Coal's second life: how to turn liabilities into infrastructure for the future

With 500 acres of land, a former grid connection of over 1.5 gigawatts, and proximity to local ports, Aberthaw is an infrastructure developer’s dream…

Feb 9 • Lucy Shaw

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Off-Grid AI: what data centre developers can learn from Africa

Ten years ago, in the middle of the “cruellest place on earth”[i], we watched the football on a big screen under the stars.

Feb 2 • Lucy Shaw

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January 2026

This Week's Energy: undervalued coal privatisations, off-grid data centres, collapsing power prices and more

What caught my eye in the energy news this week.

Jan 30 • Lucy Shaw

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Cheap solar and batteries still can’t match India’s $11b+ coal rents

Renewables will need to compete on upstream benefits like tax revenue, foreign exchange savings, and energy independence to push coal out of the system…

Jan 26 • Lucy Shaw

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