This is the second episode of Plugged In’s five-part CEO summer series, where Richard interviews prominent leaders in Europe’s energy sector. 

In this episode, Richard interviews Leonhard Birnbaum, CEO of E.ON, about Europe’s power market. 

They discuss the boom in renewable energy, the issues surrounding security of supply, and the importance of investing in Europe’s grid infrastructure. 

Presenter: Richard Sverisson - Editor-in-Chief 

Guest: Leonhard Birnbaum - CEO of E.ON

Editors: Bled Maliqi, Sarah Knowles

Producer: Sarah Knowles

This is the first episode of Plugged In’s five-part CEO summer series, where Richard interviews prominent leaders in Europe’s energy sector. 

In this episode, Richard speaks to Dhara Vyas, CEO of Energy UK about the state of the UK’s energy sector one year on from the Labour government coming into power. 

They discuss the UK’s renewable energy targets, the UK government’s green energy policies, and the problem of rising energy prices. 

Presenter: Richard Sverrisson - Editor-in-Chief 

Guest: Dhara Vyas - CEO of Energy UK

Editors: Bled Maliqi, Sarah Knowles

Producer: Sarah Knowles

The US, China, and now Europe are seeing a surge in data centres as big tech firms and other businesses develop their AI models. But, will these data centres cause the dramatic rise in power consumption that many are predicting? 

In this episode, Richard goes deep into the subject with data centre experts from RISE and Greenscale to understand who the tenants of these data centres are, what challenges the tech and energy industries need to overcome together, and how data centres will continue to evolve with the exponential growth in AI. 

Presenter: Richard Sverrisson
Contributor: Alina Trabattoni - Italy Correspondent, Montel News

Guests:
Tor Björn Minde - Head of ICE Datacenter Unit at RISE (Research Institutes of Sweden)
Liam Newcombe - Senior Vice President of Product, Energy Strategy and Innovation, Greenscale

Editors: Bled Maliqi
Producer: Sarah Knowles

This week, LNG prices rose to a 10-week high in Europe in response to the escalating conflict in the Middle East.  

With the shadow of a threat from Iran to close its vital waterway for global LNG shipments, in this episode, we discuss the likelihood of this happening, the political power dynamics at play and the implications for global energy markets.

Richard speaks to Eurasia Group’s Head of Energy and Kpler’s Principal LNG Analyst about the changes in shipping movements that we have seen around the strait in response to Israel and Iran’s attacks, and what this tells us about how the energy markets have so far reacted.

Host: Richard Sverrisson
Contributor: Laurence Walker - Deputy Editor-in-Chief, Montel News

Guests:
Laura Page - Principal LNG Analyst, Kpler
Henning Gloystein - Practice Head of Energy, Climate & Resources, Eurasia Group

Editor: Bled Maliqi
Producer: Sarah Knowles

Since spring 2025, power prices in the Nordics have been below zero, thanks to a myriad of factors, including low power demand and a glut of green power production. 

Whilst this has been good news for some consumers in the region - who have been paid to use their electricity - the prevalence of sub-zero prices has created jitters for investors and many in öthe markets are feeling the impact of the negative downturn. 

In this episode, Richard speaks to a panel of experts from Montel’s Energy Day in Helsinki about why the Nordics are experiencing the most dramatic level of negative prices vs the rest of Europe. We also look at PPAs, the impact of an increase in nuclear energy, and how renewables can coexist with other growing energy sources. 

Presenter: Richard Sverrisson

Guests:

Suvi Paaso - Managing Director, Power Deriva 
Riku Merikoski - Senior Power Analyst, Axpo Solutions AG
Vesa Ahoniemi - Chief Commercial Officer, Winda Energy
Priyanka Shinde - Market Expert Nordic, Montel Analytics

Editors: Bled Maliqi
Producer: Sarah Knowles

In May, Danish energy producer, Orsted, pulled out of the UK’s Hornsea 4 project, citing "economic reasons", and earlier this week, industry leaders in The Netherlands have expressed their serious concerns about the high costs and potential delays which threaten the delivery of key offshore wind projects.

In this episode, Richard speaks to the CEO of WindEurope about the state of Europe’s renewable energy sector. He also speaks to a panel of experts from the UK and The Netherlands - including a former Dutch MP - about how delays and rules set by governments are causing serious issues for the industry. 

Presenter: Richard Sverrisson
Contributor: Karolin Schaps - Dutch Reporter, Montel News

Guests: 
Giles Dickson - CEO, WindEurope
Fintan Devenney - Senior Energy Analyst, Montel
Jan Vos - Chairman, NedZero
Bas Sudmeijer - MD, Boston Consulting Group

Editor: Bled Maliqi
Producer: Sarah Knowles

Spain and Portugal will be sending joint letters to the EU energy commissioner and French energy minister, urging them to apply pressure on the current plans for interconnections, following April’s blackout in the Iberian Peninsula.

 But are high costs, local resistance, and fears over the impact of cheap imports stiffening Paris’s opposition  to further power links with Spain.

This week we speak to key Spanish and French market experts to unpack some of the issues that the topic of further interconnection raises for the two countries. And for the rest of Europe.

Presenter: Richard Sverrisson

Contributors:

Muriel Boselli - France Correspondent, Montel News

Belen Belmonte - Spain Correspondent, Montel News 

Guests:                     

Ana Barillas - Managing Director, Iberia and LATAM at Aurora Energy Research

Emeric de Vigan - Managing Director, 42 Advisors
 
Editor: Oscar Birk

Producer: Sarah Knowles

As Europe eyes an end to Russian gas imports by 2027, fresh geopolitical tensions are reshaping energy markets once again. Could Trump’s mediation efforts result in a ceasefire in the Ukraine and could Russian gas re-enter Europe—directly or via shadow routes?

In this week’s episode, Richard speaks to two policy experts about what peace versus a ceasefire could really mean for gas prices, energy security, and the green transition. How do emerging interdependencies with the US, Qatar, and Africa shift Europe’s leverage—and what happens when offshore wind, solar, and LNG become pawns in great power rivalries?

Presenter: Richard Sverrisson – Editor-in-Chief, Montel News
Contributor: Andrés Cala – LNG Correspondent, Montel News

Guests: Francesco Sassi – Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Oslo
Tobias Federico – Chief Product Officer, Montel

Editor: Bled Maliqi
Producer: Sarah Knowles

In recent months, the European Commission has published what it describes as “simplified rules” of the carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM), but is the policy still unclear and too complicated for energy and metals traders?

In this episode, Richard talks to experts about the CBAM, and why some commodity trading firms  are holding off - despite the official January 2026 start date. Could some be at risk of ceasing trading temporarily?

Host: Richard Sverrisson - Editor-in-Chief, Montel News
Contributor: Gabriel Power - UK Power Reporter, Montel News

Guests:
Dan Maleski - Senior Environmental Markets Advisor, Redshaw Advisors
Nick Ogilvie - Product Manager, Carbon Chain

Editors: Bled Maliqi
Producer: Sarah Knowles

Since parts of Spain, Portugal, and France temporarily lost power on Monday 28th April, TSOs and policy makers across Europe have been quick to try and assess how much their own networks are at risk of a similar blackout.

Whilst we await conclusions from Entso-e’s investigations as to the cause of the outage, in this week’s episode Richard speaks to the Secretary General of Eurelectric and Rystad Energy about what this incident tells us about the reliability of Europe’s grid and our increasing dependency on electricity. What does the outage tell us about the need for flexibility and storage in an increasingly green power system?

Presenter: Richard Sverrisson - Editor-in-Chief, Montel News
Contributor: Pablo Bronte - Editor, Montel Iberia

Guests: 
Kristian Ruby - Secretary General, Eurelectric
Pratheeksha Ramdas - Senior New Energies Analyst, Rystad Energy

Editor: Bled Maliqi
Producer: Sarah Knowles

After a long delay, European TSOs finally released their bidding zone review this week. The report was met with much backlash from Germany’s government and industry leaders strongly opposed to the proposal to split its zone into five.

In this week’s podcast episode Richard speaks to commentators for and against dividing Germany’s price zone, and explores how the industry can expect TSOs in Germany and the Nordic region to respond in the next six months.

Presenter: Richard Sverrisson - Editor-in-Chief, Montel
Contributor: Siobhan Hall - Brussel’s Correspondent

Guests:
Casimir Lorenz - Managing Director for Central Europe, Aurora Energy Research
Tobias Federico - Chief Product Officer, Montel 
Morten Pindstrup - International Chief Engineer, Energinet

Editor: Bled Maliqi
Producer: Sarah Knowles

Norway is the largest exporter of guarantees of origin certificates. Yet last month, the country's government published guidance for industry and union leaders that supported a localised approach, opening up the possibility for double counting of GOs.

After Iceland was accused of a similar move last year, we explore whether this latest move is pulling the reliability of the GO market into question amid continuously falling prices.

In this week's episode, Richard speaks to Daniel Arnesson from Veyt about where the confidence is in the GO market, and when prices will start to rise again.

Presenter: Richard Sverrisson - Editor-in-Chief, Montel
Contributor: Gert Ove Mollestad - Norway Editor, Montel
Guest: Daniel Arnesson - Manager of Renewable Power Certificates, Veyt

Editors: Oscar Birk
Producer: Sarah Knowles

Oil and gas prices plummeted in the immediate aftermath of the trade war between the US and China.

With many expecting oil and gas prices to continue to decline as a result of Trump's tariffs, the trade war raises raises fundamental questions about the profitability of oil production. Will oil producers feel inspired to "drill baby drill", as Trump famously promised, if prices continue to fall?

In this episode, Richard speaks to Saul Kavonic, Head of Energy Research at MST Marquee, about the impact on global trade flows, prices and why an expected boost in LNG in 2026 may not materialise.

Host: Richard Sverrisson - Editor-in-Chief, Montel News
Contributor: Laurence Walker - Deputy Editor-in-Chief, Montel News
Guest: Saul Kavonic - Head of Energy Research, MST Marquee

Editor: Oscar Birk
Producer: Sarah Knowles 

This week, Trump's staggering tariffs on Asia and Europe caused turmoil in global equity and energy markets - as they took effect and were paused - raising many concerns within the energy sector about prices, trade flows, and the future of renewables investments.

With the situation changing day-by-day, even hour by hour, Richard speaks to Norges Bank Investment Management - Norway's Oil Fund - about the state of the global renewables markets, and what long-term impact the events of this week will have on the energy transition.

Presenter: Richard Sverrisson - Editor-in-Chief, Montel
Contributor: Olav Vilnes - Norway Editor, Montel
Guest: Harald von Heyden - Global Head of Energy and Infrastructure, Norges Bank Investment Management

Podcast Editors: Oscar Birk, Bled Maliqi
Podcast Producer: Sarah Knowles

In this week's episode, the president of the federal network agency discusses the critical issues facing Germany's energy market as the country waits for the new government to take the reins.

How will Germany - and Europe - fill gas storage ahead of the winter, given the current unattractive prices? We also talk about the pressure the country faces to split its price zone, and the outlook for power demand amid a challenging macro-economic environment for German industry. 

Presenter: Richard Sverrisson - Editor-in-Chief, Montel News
Guest:  Klaus Müller - President, The German Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur); Nathan Witkop - Editor, Clean Energy Desk

Editor: Bled Maliqi
Producer: Sarah Knowles

Last Friday, one of the world's largest transport hubs came to a halt for 18 hours after a fire broke out at one of its substations in North Hyde.

Since the incident, National Grid's CEO responded to accusations that Heathrow bosses were forced to shut down the airport due to a lack of power, confirming that the two other substations were operational and fully capable of powering the airport.

Why, then, was the airport not able to connect the power, and why did it take so long to return to its operations?

In this week's episode, Richard speaks to Simon Gallagher, grid expert and MD of UK Network Services, a leading independent energy networks consultancy, about some of the wider concerns this outage raises about the country@s energy security. How vulnerable is some of its crucial infrastructure?

 Host: Richard Sverrisson - Editor-in-Chief, Montel News
 Guest: Simon Gallagher, Managing Director of UK Network Services

 Editor: Bled Maliqi
 Producer: Sarah Knowles

Over the past year, many countries in Europe and beyond have announced plans to expand their nuclear programmes or build new reactors.

As the pressure mounts for countries to start delivering on their decarbonisation goals and have a tighter grasp on their energy security, it begs the question: has “the road to net zero” become “the road to nuclear”?

In this week’s episode, Richard speaks to the Director General of the Nuclear Energy Agency about what has triggered this latest revival in nuclear, and how the private and public sectors will need to decide who takes on the financial risk of building new atomic reactors. 

Host: Richard Sverrisson - Editor-in-Chief, Montel News

Guest: William D. Magwood, IV - Director General, Nuclear Energy Agency
Christopher Eales - France Editor, Montel News

Editor: Bled Maliqi, Montel
Producer: Sarah Knowles 

In this week’s episode we discuss how unprecedented global risks — from escalating trade tensions and hybrid warfare to rising populism — are reshaping Europe's energy markets. Statkraft's CEO Birgitte Ringstad Vartdal shares insights into the company's approach to project prioritisation, reveals why the green transition will inevitably continue despite near-term hurdles and discusses how companies can build local support for renewables amid growing opposition. Birgitte also weighs in on Norway’s controversial market intervention, the fixed-price electricity retail contract, and addresses criticism around regulatory hurdles and delays to new capacity projects.

Host: Richard Sverrisson – Editor-in-Chief, Montel.
Guest: Birgitte Ringstad Vartdal – CEO, Statkraft; Gert Ove Mollestad, Editor Norway, Montel.

Podcast editor: Bled Maliqi, Montel. 

This week we explore the growing energy security challenges facing Europe amid a “seismic” shift in the global geopolitical order. In light of this, we discuss plans by the European Commission to support industry and keep energy affordable. Will these measures be enough to protect the continent from instability and price shocks? Kristian Ruby, secretary general of Eurelectric, weighs in on whether the bloc is moving fast enough to secure its energy future in an increasingly uncertain world, while pondering the role of flexibility in stabilising power markets and opines on how electric vehicles could be a game-changer for grid resilience. 

Host: Richard Sverrisson – Editor-in-Chief, Montel.
Guests: Kristian Ruby – Secretary General, Eurelectric; Fatima Sadouki, Energy Correspondent, Montel.

Podcast editor: Bled Maliqi, Montel. 

As Germany’s Christian Democrat alliance (CDU/CSU) is in talks about forming a new government with the Social Democrats, this week’s episode discusses the country’s role in the new global order. It comes against a backdrop where US president Donald Trump is abandoning old friends in Europe and proposing a trade war instead of aiding old allies. Not only could this have implications for US-sourced LNG but the new government in Berlin must make key decisions on the future of fossil fuels, the renewables transition and on whether to embrace hydrogen. The coalition will also have to deal with pressure from domestic industry and consumers demanding cheaper and more reliable power provision, as well as a backlash against wind turbines in the east of the country.

Host: Richard Sverrisson - Editor-in-Chief, Montel News.

Guest: Claudia Kemfert, Professor of Energy, Economics and Energy Policy at Leuphana University. She also heads the Energy, Transport, Environment Department at the German Institute for Economic Research.

Podcast editor: Bled Maliqi, Montel. 

It was Europe’s biggest importer of Russian gas prior to the Ukraine invasion but Russia’s cutting of gas supplies to Europe pushed Uniper to the brink of collapse.

It was nationalised in one of the biggest corporate bailouts in German history.

Montel’s Editor-in-Chief has been speaking to Uniper’s COO, Holger Kreetz, on the firm’s recovery, Germany’s energy transition and the imminent snap election.

Host: Richard Sverrisson - Editor-in-Chief, Montel News.

Guests: Katharina Johannsen, Montel News Germany.

Holger Kreetz, Chief Operating Officer, Uniper.

Podcast editor: Oscar Birk, Montel. 

Europe’s energy sector is caught in the crossfire of rising populism. With elections approaching in Norway and Germany, governments are under pressure to prioritize short-term price stability over long-term market efficiency. Norway’s decision to impose fixed electricity prices has sparked concerns about weakened price signals and energy market fragmentation. Meanwhile, in Germany, the far-right AfD is gaining ground, threatening the country’s renewable energy expansion and interconnectivity with neighbours.

This week, Plugged In comes to you from Essen at the E-World Energy & Water trade fair, where the future of Europe’s energy markets hangs in the balance. Montel’s Siobhan Hall sets the scene before we hear from Hanns Koenig, Managing Director for Central Europe at Aurora Energy Research, and Amund Vik, former Norwegian deputy minister for petroleum and energy.

We discuss Norway’s shift toward energy protectionism, the growing backlash against renewables, the risks of fixed electricity pricing, and whether Europe’s integrated energy market is at risk of political unravelling.

Host: Richard Sverrisson - Editor-in-Chief, Montel.

Guests: Hanns Koenig, Managing Director for Central Europe at Aurora Energy Research; Amund Vik, Senior Advisor, Eurasia Group; Stephen Woodhouse, Director, Afry; Siobhan Hall, Brussels Correspondent, Montel News

Podcast editor: Bled Maliqi, Montel. 

The UK has announced hugely ambitious plans - clean power by 2030. This will involve a massive roll-out of wind, onshore and offshore, solar as well as an expansion of grids and storage. A challenge, certainly. But not impossible, according to Jonathan Brearley, the chief executive of Ofgem, the UK's energy market regulator. The CEO also explains why the watchdog thinks zonal, rather than national pricing is the best way forward for the country. 

In the first episode of Plugged In: the energy news podcast we discuss how the country can meet its targets, the obstacles that stand in the way and why the UK is not close to running out of gas. In fact, the UK will need gas in the future, albeit in a significantly less dependent way, according to Ofgem.

Host: Richard Sverrisson - Editor-in-Chief, Montel News.

Guest: Jonathan Brearley, Chief Executive Officer, Ofgem; Laurence Walker, Deputy Editor-in-Chief, Montel News. 

Podcast editor: Oscar Birk 

Norway’s energy sector is at the centre of a dramatic political storm. With an election looming in September, Finance minister Trygve Slagsvold Vedum pulled his Centre Party out of the government, warning of greater dependence on what he calls Europe’s “dysfunctional” electricity market. But political uncertainty is not the only challenge — Norway faces a growing supply deficit, AI-driven demand spikes from data centres, and increasing hurdles in building new capacity.

This week, the Montel Weekly Podcast comes to you from Oslo at the Pareto Securities Power & Renewable Energy Conference. Montel’s Petter Udland sets the scene before we hear from Lars Ove Skorpen, Director Power & Renewable Energy at Pareto Securities. 

We discuss the government crisis over the EU’s 4th Energy Package, the impact of AI and DeepSeek on Norway’s power demand, the challenges of expanding interconnectors, and why investment in new capacity is not keeping up with demand.

 Host: Richard Sverrisson - Editor-in-Chief, Montel.
 Guests:
 Lars Ove Skorpen - Director Power & Renewable Energy, Pareto Securities
 Petter Udland, Montel journalist, Oslo

Podcast editor: Bled Maliqi

In his first hours back in office, US president Donald Trump issued a series of sweeping executive orders designed to prioritise fossil fuels, dismantle environmental policies and expand American energy dominance. From withdrawing from the Paris agreement to resuming LNG export permits and halting offshore wind projects, Trump’s agenda marks a dramatic pivot from the previous administration.

This week’s Montel Weekly Podcast delves into the consequences of these policy shifts on global energy markets, renewables and climate goals. Are Europe’s LNG needs creating new dependencies? How will domestic opposition shape the future of US energy?

Host Richard Sverrisson is joined by Montel’s Andres Cala and energy analyst Henning Gloystein to break down these developments. They discuss the challenges for renewables, the strategic importance of US LNG, and whether Trump’s “drill, baby, drill” strategy will deliver on its promises.

Host: Richard Sverrisson - Editor-in-Chief, Montel.
Guests: Henning Gloystein - Director, Energy, Climate & Resources at Eurasia Group
Andres Cala - LNG Correspondent, Montel News

Podcast editor: Bled Maliqi