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Latest explainers
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What is energy intensity? When a growing economy learns to use less energy
Energy intensity measures how much energy an economy uses to produce a unit of economic output. A falling number can signal efficiency, electrification, or structural change—but it can also fool you. Here is how to read one of the energy world’s most useful ratios without asking it to tell you more than it knows.
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What is resource adequacy? Why 100 GW is not always 100 GW when you need it
A power system can have more installed capacity than peak demand and still face electricity shortages. Resource adequacy asks the question that actually matters: will enough generation, storage, imports, and flexible demand be available when the system needs them most?
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What is primary energy? Where the energy story actually begins
Primary energy is where we start counting energy before it is transformed, refined, converted, or delivered to consumers. Sounds simple—until wind, solar, nuclear, gasoline, and electricity enter the room.
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What is carbon intensity? When one kWh is dirtier than another
A kilowatt-hour is always a kilowatt-hour. But its carbon footprint can change dramatically depending on where—and even when—it was produced. Carbon intensity is the number that reveals the difference.
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What is grid inertia? The invisible weight keeping electricity stable
Grid inertia is the split-second buffer that slows sudden changes in power-system frequency. For a century, huge spinning generators supplied it almost accidentally. Now solar, wind, batteries, and power electronics are forcing grids to learn how to replace something nobody used to think much about.
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What is power? Why more power does not mean more energy
Power and energy sound almost interchangeable. They aren’t. Power tells you how fast energy is moving, while energy tells you how much moved in total. That tiny distinction explains everything from your kettle and electricity bill to MW, MWh, batteries, power plants, EV chargers, and the grid itself.
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What is diesel? The badass of fossil fuels
Diesel is more than truck fuel. It is an energy-dense petroleum fuel built for compression-ignition engines—and one of the hardest fuels to replace. Here’s how diesel works, how it is made, why heavy industry still loves it, and why its future is suddenly up for grabs.
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What is price risk: The invisible force that can turn a great energy deal into a disaster
Price risk is the possibility that changing market prices will hurt your revenue, costs, or profitability. In energy markets, where electricity, gas, oil, and carbon prices can move brutally fast, understanding price risk can mean the difference between a healthy margin and a financial headache. Here’s how it works, where it comes from, and how energy companies manage it.
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What is merit order? The invisible queue behind electricity prices
Merit order ranks power plants from cheapest to most expensive based on marginal cost. Then comes the strange part: the last plant needed can set the wholesale electricity price for everyone. Here’s why cheap wind can coexist with expensive power, why gas matters so much, and how renewables are rewriting the market.
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What is a Feed-in Tariff? The guaranteed price that quietly built the renewable energy boom
A feed-in tariff (FIT) pays renewable energy producers a guaranteed price for the electricity they generate. Simple idea, massive consequences. Here’s how FITs work, why governments created them, where the money comes from, and why energy markets are now moving beyond them.
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