Shon R. Hiatt

@robert_ivanhoe @USCEnergy Thank you, @robert_ivanhoe, for inspiring @USC and @USCMarshall students!

It was an honor speaking with students at @USCEnergy’s Energy Business Summit about the coming energy crisis and mining’s role in unlocking the critical minerals and geothermal energy...the #USA so desperately needs to overcome it…Bravo to the Zage Business of Energy Initiative. Thank you for inviting me. Don’t miss the 2026 edition...

At @USCMarshall, we're establishing a leading voice in the business of energy, advancing research and education in business models transforming the sector. Join us at this year's conference and support us in developing the next generation of energy leaders. #energybusinesssummit

@USCEnergy is gaining momentum, with a dynamic energy business program and the premier annual university conference driving industry insights and innovation.

Visiting Fellow @ShonHiatt kicked off @USCEnergy @USCMarshall’s 2025 Energy Business Summit, bringing industry leaders together to tackle today’s biggest energy challenges—from mining and nuclear to AI, data centers, and hydrocarbons. Watch the full sessions here lnkd.in/g2FhxiSj

@USCEnergy Looking forward to this!

Join us for the Energy Business Summit Tuesday, September 30 at USC. marshall.usc.edu/energy-busines…

@ClarkGilbert @Forbes @BYUPathwayWorld @byuidaho @EnsignSLC The innovation you and Kim Clark developed is making a difference in the lives of tens of thousands of people annually and transforming the higher-ed landscape. Thank you @ClarkGilbert!

Is energy education foundational—or just aspirational? Our latest NCEA Issue Brief by Visiting Fellow, @ShonHiatt, and Executive Director, @MarkPMills, takes a hard look at how the top 50 U.S. universities are preparing students to navigate the energy realities of the 21st century. Spoiler: Many aren’t. linkedin.com/posts/national… energyanalytics.org/energy-educati…

@ClarkGilbert @BYUPathwayWorld @WashTimes Incredible accomplishment. Thank you for your founding leadership @ClarkGilbert.

@energybants @ENEC_UAE @QvistStaffan Nice, Mark!

GRID INERTIA & SPANISH BLACKOUT: An analogy in an article from @ENEC_UAE CEO Mohammad al-Hammadi contains this useful metaphor, from @QvistStaffan's team at Quantified Carbon. Small or medium-sized disturbances on the grid become very difficult to manage and can cascade into wider instability and outages when the grid is in a low inertia condition, as was the case Monday in Spain just before the massive ongoing blackout, as seen in this snapshot captured by @JavierBlas.

@audioforceone @JavierBlas And large hydro

Historically, the main energy sources for stable electrical grids were: 1.Coal 2.Oil (or Gas) 3.Nuclear (Depending on the country, oil might be less important and replaced by hydro, but coal, gas, and nuclear dominated.) These sources share something critical: •Massive rotational inertia. Meaning: •The turbines (steam turbines in coal plants, gas plants, nuclear plants) are physically spinning huge masses. •These spinning machines resist changes in speed — just like a spinning flywheel. Thus, if demand suddenly jumps up or drops, the inertia of the system absorbs the shock naturally. It smooths out frequency variations.

Before the outage hit, Spain was running its grid with very little dispatchable spinning generation, and therefore no much inertia. Solar PV/thermal + wind: ~78% Nuclear: 11.5% Co-generation: 5% Gas-fired: ~3% (less than 1GW) Snapshot at 12.30pm local time (outage was 12.35pm)

@chamath Agreed. We are disadvantaged. We have a massive AI Data center and Energy demand project. One aspect of this study is examining novel ways to better optimize, augment and maximize our existing gas fleet. Would love to join your podcast and share.

I’ll add to this chorus. We have a huge electricity generation disadvantage in the US relative to China. In the US, Nat Gas turbines are backlogged thru 2030. Nuclear can’t be un-mothballed until 2035. 35k permits are backlogged in the bureaucracy for incremental generation. Last but not least, 90% of our incremental electricity generation as of Dec-2024 was solar and wind - in large part because of the ITC credits and credit transfer markets. The point is that while China is rushing ahead with state sponsored projects, backstopped financing and large pools of human expertise, we have a delicate ecosystem with major supply chain constraints, a fragile financing environment and a skilled worker shortage we need to work through. So whatever we do, if we muck around with the financial incentives, private industry will stop investing in electricity generation and we will be at a severe disadvantage vis a vis China. Do we then allow brownouts so that some AI data center can get the power they need? This will be deeply unpopular. Do we constrain private financing which then cripples the amount of renewable electricity being generated that then drive up costs and inflation because the other forms of energy won’t be online for another 5 years. Again, no easy answers in most cases but this one seems obvious. 1. Keep the ITC credits and transferability markets alive and thriving so private financing is robust. 2. Operation Warp Speed to build supply chain resiliency in Nat Gas. 3. Unclog permit backlog so we can “drill, baby, drill” 4. Education and skills training to solve the human capital deficit in these markets as soon as possible.

Read our latest Energy Brief on Addressing Challenges to Developing America’s Lithium Triangle. Domestic sourcing of lithium is an integral to transitioning to electric vehicles which use lithium-ion batteries. betprojects.usc.edu #EnergyTransition

A big appreciation to my host, Cheng Gao, for his jovial hospitality and for putting together a meeting schedule with faculty spanning various departments. It was delightful to reconnect with old friends and meet new ones! @USCEnergy @USCEnergy

Ross continues to demonstrate its commitment to education excellence through strategic investments in executive education and its #EMBA programs across the country.

I was recently invited to present at the @MichiganRoss, where I shared research on #innovation in the U.S. #energy sector.

Welcome Angela to @USCEnergy !

As the PI, Luciano is leading a team of a dozen European research centers to find solutions to this challenge. Malta's economic growth story offers insights into the importance of affordable energy policies and innovative solutions. #affordableenergy #economicgrowth #GDP

His latest project focuses on developing #standards for solar panel manufacturing to make it easier for the panels to be recycled. Currently, there are no established best practices to make solar panel #recycling feasible let alone economically viable.

Over the last decade, #Malta has experienced an impressive 6.3% annual economic growth rate and an incredible 25% population increase. A key factor contributing to this success is the government's commitment to #affordable #energy.