How are key renewable energies faring at the end of 2025? Guest host and energy analyst Bridget van Dorsten talks through developments in geothermal, hydrogen and wind.
Interchange Recharged
Wood Mackenzie
4.8 • 535 Ratings
🗓️ 2 December 2025
⏱️ 39 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
At the start of the year things were looking uncertain for nascent renewables like hydrogen and geothermal. With policy support from the previous US administration they had boomed with the IRA, then came July 2025 and the Trump administration’s One Big Beautiful Bill, which tore up tax credits and removed incentives for those renewable technologies. As we approach the end of the year, has anything changed for the better? How are hydrogen, wind and geothermal looking as we prepare for 2026?
Regular host Sylvia Leyva Martinez is on maternity leave until the middle of next year, so her fellow energy analyst Bridget van Dorsten is stepping up to keep the mic warm. Bridget is an analyst researching hydrogen, but she has an engineer’s understanding of technologies across the energy spectrum. She doesn’t just cover that ‘frustrating, inefficient, expensive-to-move-around molecule’ (as she calls it); she knows what’s real in the energy world and what’s just hype.
To kick off her tenure as host she’s picked out a few highlights from the year relating to those important renewables – geothermal, hydrogen and wind. Looking back on those conversations Sylvia had with experts on those fields, Bridget then gives the energy analyst’s view on how things are progressing in the current policy environment. Expect in-depth analysis on what’s changed, and the key stats and forecasts you need to know as 2026 approaches.
Plus, Bridget looks back on the conversation Sylvia had with energy investors back in July, when we saw the oil and gas majors like Shell and Equinor announce they were scaling back their climate ambitions under pressure from investors. Bridget explores why the energy transition is unfolding slower than expected, how shareholder pressure is reshaping low-carbon strategies, and why companies like TotalEnergies and Shell have retreated from their plans to phase down fossil fuels.
Bridget will be hosting until mid-next-year, and she wants to know what topics you want explored.
Connect with the show and let us know what you want to hear, on LinkedIn, X or Bluesky at @interchangeshow, and follow the podcast so you don’t miss the episodes coming in the new year.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | What about government push towards forcing decarbonization, forcing me to consume low carbon hydrogen? |
| 0:07.4 | Federal clients and customers are really interested in geothermal. |
| 0:11.4 | There's quite a buzz around it right now. |
| 0:13.2 | If I was a player in the one world, I would be looking at that 18 to 24 month time frame for delivery pretty conservatively. It's kind of crazy. |
| 0:26.4 | Wood McKenzie's Solar Energy and Storage Summit is back in Denver on the 29th and 30th of April |
| 0:32.7 | 2026. It's co-located with the brand new North American Power and Renewables Forum, which features |
| 0:39.3 | senior speakers from across the U.S. power sector. Come and join over 450 senior leaders from |
| 0:45.8 | U.S. power developers, utilities, and independent power producers to tackle the industry's |
| 0:51.6 | biggest challenges. From navigating life after tax credits to capturing the load growth boom, |
| 0:57.7 | discover how the energy mix is evolving and how the U.S. is going to meet that power demand. |
| 1:03.0 | Seats are limited, so register now at woodmack.com. |
| 1:07.2 | Hello, and welcome to Interchange Recharged, where we break down the latest in clean tech, energy policy, and climate finance. |
| 1:14.6 | You might be wondering who this new voice is that you're hearing. |
| 1:17.6 | I'm Bridget Van Doriston. I'm an analyst at Wood McKenzie, where I research and analyze global energy markets just like Sylvia does. |
| 1:25.6 | And speaking of our wonderful and regular host, Sylvia, |
| 1:30.4 | she will be off on maternity leave for the next few months, so I will be keeping the mic warm for her. |
| 1:37.3 | Today's show will reflect back on some of the best conversations that we have had this year, |
| 1:42.3 | and you might have missed some so I |
| 1:44.6 | selected a few of my favorite discussions to kick off my time as host perhaps a bit |
| 1:49.7 | more about me similarly to how Sylvia is a solar focused analyst I do |
| 1:54.5 | research as well but my focus is on hydrogen and although I am an engineer I have |
| 2:00.5 | somehow devoted my career thus far to researching |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Wood Mackenzie, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Wood Mackenzie and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.