A feast of hot takes

This year in energy has had the vibes of a dysfunctional family gathering: everyone showed up with big feelings, and no one agreed on the menu. To celebrate Thanksgiving, we’re processing the chaos right at the dinner table. In this holiday special, the team matches classic Thanksgiving guest archetypes with the biggest energy storylines of 2025. Who is the drunk uncle sucking up all the oxygen in the room? Who is the pragmatic parent holding the family together? And who is the rebellious teenager threatening to upend the status quo? But first, we serve an appetizer of the week’s biggest news: a new analysis from Grid Strategies shows that projected peak load growth has quadrupled in just two years to 166 GW. And we’ll wrap with leftovers — the unfinished stories we’ll be sharing well into next year. Fill out our listener survey for a chance to win a $100 gift card! Open Circuit is brought to you by Nextpower — formerly known as Nextracker. As electricity demand surges, solar is the only power source that can scale fast enough to meet this moment. Nextpower is the revolutionary technology platform ready to deliver it. Open Circuit is brought to you by Natural Power. Natural Power specializes in renewable energy consulting and engineering, supporting wind, solar, and battery storage projects from concept through financing. Discover how we're creating a world powered by renewable energy at naturalpower.com.