Readings
01–03Why power, and why it is hard
- What’s really slowing down the AI buildout ↗ Chris Gillett, Works in ProgressAmerica has the electricity. The problem is getting it where data centres need it.
- The AI Industrial Explosion, Part 1 ↗ Damon BinderHow fast an AI economy could grow once you count factories, materials and power.
- The Electric Slide ↗ Packy McCormick and Sam D’AmicoWhy electrification looks inevitable, and how much of it China controls.
- Energy Technology Perspectives 2026 ↗ International Energy AgencyHow concentrated clean-energy supply chains are, and where the weak links lie.
- Special Report on Solar PV Global Supply Chains ↗ International Energy AgencyHow solar manufacturing moved to China, and what that concentration risks.
- Breakneck Dan WangHow China builds, and why it builds so fast. Also in the economics library.
04–07Living with the grid
- Why Texas Is Making Data Centers Wait ↗ Ryan McEntushThe clearest account of the queue, of campuses that make their own power, and of who pays.
- New York becomes the first state to enact a data center moratorium ↗ The VergeWhat it looks like when the rules change all at once.
- Data Centers and the Open Access Order ↗ Alex TabarrokThe case for letting data centres in.
- What Is So Hard About Behind-the-Meter Power for Datacenters? Part 1 ↗ Ellie Holbrook and colleagues, SemiAnalysisWhat a data centre must build to run on its own power.
- In Defense of Electricity Markets ↗ Austin VernonHow competitive markets run and pay for the grid.
- Rethinking Load Growth ↗ Tyler Norris and colleagues, Duke University, 2025How much new demand the grid can take if it cuts back at peak hours.
- How virtual power plants are shaping tomorrow’s energy system ↗ MIT Technology ReviewMany small batteries and devices, pooled into one resource the grid can count on.
- Grid-scale storage is the fastest-growing energy technology ↗ The EconomistBatteries as the grid’s new reserve.
- Why surge pricing can spark a brighter future for solar power ↗ Renuka SaneLetting evening prices rise costs less than storing power for the night.
08Who pays
- Spain just became one of Europe’s cheapest power markets ↗ Jan RosenowHow wind and solar pushed gas off the margin, and prices followed.
- Data Centers and Butter Guy BergerWhat the data-centre boom may cost the wider economy. Also in the economics library.
- India’s electricity sector needs structural reform ↗ Renuka SaneThe more household power is subsidised, the more factories and offices pay, and the more they want out.
- What’s the true cost of free electricity to states? ↗ Renuka SaneFree power hides its cost in the debts of state power companies.
09–10India’s power sector
- Growth Needs More Electricity ↗ Akshay Jaitly and Ajay ShahWhy India’s growth runs into its power sector.
- Climate change and our power sector (podcast) ↗ Akshay Jaitly and Ajay Shah, on The Seen and the UnseenA long conversation on why India’s power sector is stuck, and how prices and private firms could unstick it.
- The Evenings Are Hard ↗ Ajay ShahIndia’s sunny days, and the problem of its evenings.
- The lowest hanging fruit on the coconut tree ↗ Akshay Jaitly and Ajay ShahHow letting prices work in India’s power sector could carry its climate transition.
- Evaluating India’s energy ambitions ↗ Upasa Borah, Akshay Jaitly and Renuka SaneOnly a small share of announced power capacity gets built. India’s targets depend on finishing, not announcing.
- A green transition, but not without the coal-rich states ↗ Rohit ChandraThe states that lose when coal declines.
India trackers
Vasundhara keeps three public dashboards on India’s energy policy. Each figure links to its source.