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Greg Jackson

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379 total appearances

Appearances Over Time

Podcast Appearances

Azeem Azhar's Exponential View
What does Spain’s blackout mean for the future of clean energy?

So let's be really clear about that.

Azeem Azhar's Exponential View
What does Spain’s blackout mean for the future of clean energy?

But I think we can draw a few generic lessons.

Azeem Azhar's Exponential View
What does Spain’s blackout mean for the future of clean energy?

And there have been kind of comparable ones.

Azeem Azhar's Exponential View
What does Spain’s blackout mean for the future of clean energy?

I mentioned one in the UK.

Azeem Azhar's Exponential View
What does Spain’s blackout mean for the future of clean energy?

We, I think in 2000, was it 2016?

Azeem Azhar's Exponential View
What does Spain’s blackout mean for the future of clean energy?

South Australia had a very major blackout with some very similar looking characteristics, in that case caused by storms.

Azeem Azhar's Exponential View
What does Spain’s blackout mean for the future of clean energy?

There's some characteristics in common.

Azeem Azhar's Exponential View
What does Spain’s blackout mean for the future of clean energy?

And of course, we've seen them in Texas as well.

Azeem Azhar's Exponential View
What does Spain’s blackout mean for the future of clean energy?

And what they've got in common is an energy island with very little interconnection.

Azeem Azhar's Exponential View
What does Spain’s blackout mean for the future of clean energy?

So I think only about 3% of Spain's total capacity is available via interconnectors.

Azeem Azhar's Exponential View
What does Spain’s blackout mean for the future of clean energy?

I think technically there is actually a little bit of connection, but it's very, very, very skinny.

Azeem Azhar's Exponential View
What does Spain’s blackout mean for the future of clean energy?

And Australia's got a similar thing, energy islands, because obviously the geography of Australia lends itself to that.

Azeem Azhar's Exponential View
What does Spain’s blackout mean for the future of clean energy?

So the first thing is energy islands.

Azeem Azhar's Exponential View
What does Spain’s blackout mean for the future of clean energy?

The second thing is lack of batteries.

Azeem Azhar's Exponential View
What does Spain’s blackout mean for the future of clean energy?

And I think this is really big.

Azeem Azhar's Exponential View
What does Spain’s blackout mean for the future of clean energy?

Essentially, you can run a very high proportion renewable grid incredibly reliably.

Azeem Azhar's Exponential View
What does Spain’s blackout mean for the future of clean energy?

But you don't do it like you did the old ones.

Azeem Azhar's Exponential View
What does Spain’s blackout mean for the future of clean energy?

And we should talk here about market structures as well.

Azeem Azhar's Exponential View
What does Spain’s blackout mean for the future of clean energy?

But one key feature of Spain's grid is, I can't remember how, it's got like a fraction of a gigawatt of batteries and actually very little planned in the pipeline.

Azeem Azhar's Exponential View
What does Spain’s blackout mean for the future of clean energy?

If I compare that to, for example, the UK at the moment, the UK has got five, six gigawatts of batteries and it's got plans to get to 10 or 20 times that.