Power Plays Live at Octopus HQ: Over-hyped, Under-hyped or Hyped-just right

Live from Octopus Energy HQ: Over-hyped, Under-hyped, or Hyped-Just-Right?Introducing the origin story of Power Plays and celebrating with a live audience event hosted by Octopus Energy in London. We gave the audience six recent talking points in energy and asked them to vote: over-hyped, under-hyped, or hyped just right? The results weren't always what we expected. We also opened the floor to audience questions - from the future of the grid to hydropower's image problem, moonshots, and whether the North Sea still has a role to play.The game — six topics, audience votes, live debate:Enhanced geothermal — less than 1% of global geothermal output today, but with oil & gas tailwinds in the US, is it finally having its moment?Balcony solar — a technology that started in off-grid Africa and is now trending in Germany and the UK. Does the 4–6 year payback period justify the hype?Vehicle-to-grid — why we both think this is deeply underhypedCoal phase-out — under-hyped according to the room. Why the UK's experience gives us a misleading picture of where global coal consumption is actually goingCopper supply — the metal driving electrification, new refining and recycling technologies, alongisde substitution and optimisation opportuntiesCritical minerals geopolitics — Lucy takes the contrarian position: are we strategising for 60 very different supply chains together in a frenzied race that risks making energy more expensive for everyone?Audience Q&A:The grid of the future: who builds it, who pays, and how distributed resources could let us do more with what we already haveWhy hydropower isn't sexy — and why it should be, from Snowy 2.0 to the Grand Renaissance and ItaipuMoonshots: space-based solar generation, beaming energy across time zones, and fusion