Welcome to the new Energy Central — same great community, now with a smoother experience. To login, use your Energy Central email and reset your password.

The Energy System Is Infected — But There’s a Cure

The 2025 DNV report "From Silos to Systems" paints a sobering picture: massive renewable curtailments, grid congestion, and interconnection paralysis are symptoms of a deeply fragmented energy system. Over 2,600 GW of clean energy in the U.S. and 1,700 GW in the EU remain stuck in transmission queues — and the numbers are rising fast.

This isn't just a technical bottleneck. It's a systemic illness.

A new analysis frames the issue as an “Energy Virus” — a chronic mismatch between generation, storage, and dispatchability. And it offers a realistic, fast-acting treatment: compressed methane (CH₄) stored in modular TSTM units (Tubular Storage Tank Modules) based on existing high-pressure pipeline technology.

The global energy transition lies in critical condition — weakened by transmission bottlenecks, seasonal shortages, and overreliance on inflexible, battery-centered narratives. But there's hope: A dual infusion of methane (CH₄) and hydrogen (H₂) may stabilize the system.

Our latest visual metaphor shows the patient — planet Earth — receiving life-saving treatment. The message is clear: CH₄ offers a scalable, compressible energy buffer, while H₂ remains a promising complement.

🔗 Read the full white paper:
"Why the Energy Supply System Has Been Infected by a Dangerous Virus – and How It Can Be Cured"
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15717517

The system is not short on power. It's short on timing, storage, and delivery logic. TSTM restores that logic.

2