Energy is complex.
I make it click.
One energy concept explained clearly. Straight to your inbox. Free.
Latest explainers
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
What is decarbonization? Humanity’s slow-motion breakup with fossil fuels
Decarbonization means cutting carbon emissions across electricity, transport, buildings, industry, and the wider economy. But it is not simply “use more renewables.” It means rebuilding how we produce energy, move people, heat buildings, make steel, finance projects, and ultimately run modern civilization.
-
What is power grid frequency? The 50 Hz heartbeat keeping the lights on
Power grid frequency is the invisible heartbeat of the electricity system. In a 50 Hz grid, that heartbeat pulses 50 times every second—and even a small wobble can reveal a mismatch between electricity supply and demand. Here’s what grid frequency really means, why it rises and falls, how operators control it, and why batteries and renewables are rewriting the rules.
-
What is heat? The energy that refuses to sit still
Heat is everywhere—from your morning coffee and electric kettle to power plants, weather systems, factories, and the warming planet. But here’s the twist: heat isn’t actually something an object “contains.” It’s energy on the move. Let’s unpack what heat really is, how it travels, why temperature isn’t the same thing, and why this invisible energy transfer sits at the center of the modern energy system.
-
What is Commercial Operation Date (COD): The one date that can make—or break—an energy project
Commercial Operation Date (COD) is the moment an energy project stops being a construction story and starts becoming a business. But behind that innocent-looking date sit performance tests, grid approvals, PPAs, lenders, penalties, warranties, and millions of dollars. Here’s what COD really means—and why the entire project team obsesses over it.
-
What is the Duck Curve? When solar power collides with peak electricity demand
Solar power can become so abundant in the middle of the day that it creates a completely different problem for the electricity grid: too much power at noon, then a frantic scramble for electricity after sunset. That strange pattern is called the duck curve. Here’s what it is, why it happens, and why batteries, EVs, flexible demand, and smarter grids may finally teach the duck some manners.
-
What is wind power? How moving air becomes electricity
Wind power turns the kinetic energy of moving air into electricity—but a turbine doesn’t simply “catch” wind like a sail. From uneven solar heating and atmospheric pressure differences to aerodynamic lift, spinning generators, and grid-ready electricity, here’s what actually happens inside a wind turbine.
Need energy explained to your audience?
I write content
for energy
companies.
White papers & reports
Blog & editorial content
Newsletter ghostwriting
Investor & pitch materials
Dive into a topic
Energy basics
Renewable energy
Energy markets
Sustainability
History of energy
Transportation
Who’s behind 1000whats?
