Top Energy Journalists in UK (2025)

As deputy editor-in-chief at Solar Media and editor of Energy-Storage.News, Colthorpe specializes in grid-scale battery deployments and renewable integration policies. His reporting spans 35+ countries with particular focus on:

• Market Design: Capacity mechanisms, ancillary service rules, and revenue stacking models
• Technology Frontiers: Second-life batteries, lithium-ion gigafactories, and V2G integration
• Emerging Markets: Southeast Asian island grids, African mini-grid projects, and South American mining electrification

Pitching Priorities

• Do: Lead with projects exceeding 100MW capacity or demonstrating novel revenue models
• Do: Highlight policy developments enabling storage participation in multiple markets
• Avoid: Residential storage case studies or speculative hydrogen-storage concepts

With 650+ bylines analyzing storage economics, Colthorpe's work informs investment decisions across the global renewable energy sector. His articles receive average monthly engagement rates of 42% among utility executives and policy makers.

Currently investigating energy sector developments for the Financial Times, David Sheppard brings deep expertise in corporate finance and market dynamics. His work focuses on three key areas:

• Energy Sector Financialization: Analyzes complex financial instruments shaping oil/gas markets
• Corporate Restructuring: Tracks M&A activity in traditional energy firms transitioning to new business models
• Policy-Driven Investments: Examines how regulations impact energy infrastructure funding

Pitching Tips:

Provide Actionable Data

Sheppard prioritizes stories with verifiable financial data that reveal market trends. Include regulatory filings or proprietary datasets to support pitches.

Highlight Regulatory Angles

Successful pitches connect corporate strategies to specific policy changes, particularly in EU/UK energy markets.

Herman Wang spearheads energy market analysis for S&P Global Commodity Insights from London, specializing in OPEC dynamics and geopolitical risk. With over 15 years tracking the intersection of policy and energy flows, his work informs institutional investors and government agencies alike.

Pitching Priorities

• Geopolitical Energy Calculus: How emerging alliances (e.g., BRICS energy deals) reshape traditional supply routes
• Policy-Driven Market Shocks: Quantitative analysis of legislation impacting producer economies
• Energy Transition Pressures: OPEC members’ renewable investments versus fossil fuel dependence

Avoid

• Company-specific ESG initiatives without market-wide implications
• Technical breakdowns of renewable energy technologies
• Local energy stories lacking global price impacts

Wang’s reporting combines leaked production data, shipping analytics, and diplomatic sources to forecast market trends. His prescient analysis of the OPEC+ Russia partnership during the Ukraine crisis established him as a leading voice in geopolitical energy reporting.

Jane Gray is a journalist specializing in energy, media, and business, currently contributing to Network Magazine and Utility Week. Her work emphasizes regulatory frameworks and market strategies within the UK utility sector, offering actionable insights for industry stakeholders.

Pitching Tips

• Policy Over Technology: Prioritize stories tied to legislative changes rather than emerging tech trends.

"Gray’s analysis consistently bridges the gap between industry jargon and public understanding, making her a critical voice in UK energy discourse."

Jillian Ambrose is The Guardian’s award-winning energy correspondent, specializing in policy shifts, corporate accountability, and workforce transitions within decarbonization efforts. Based in London, her work influences both parliamentary debates and grassroots climate campaigns.

Key Coverage Areas

• Renewable Energy Markets: Track record of breaking stories on offshore wind auctions and grid modernization.
• Fossil Fuel Divestment: Exposed BP’s sponsorship deals with cultural institutions post-climate U-turn.
• Just Transition Policies: Documented the human impact of coal plant closures across the UK.

Avoid Pitches About

• Consumer energy saving tips
• Celebrity climate activism
• Unproven carbon removal technologies

Recent Recognition

2023 Energy Press Awards Winner: Cited for “redefining how journalists contextualize industrial decline within climate progress.”

Katherine Smale has established herself as a leading infrastructure and energy journalist through her decade of reporting at New Civil Engineer. Her work consistently bridges the gap between technical engineering details and broader policy implications, making complex subjects accessible to diverse audiences.

Key Coverage Areas

• Megaproject Management: Detailed analyses of UK’s largest transportation initiatives including Crossrail and HS2
• Construction Tech Adoption: Tracking implementation of AI, IoT, and digital twin technologies across the AEC sector
• Workforce Development: Investigating skills gaps in next-gen infrastructure projects

Pitching Recommendations

• Lead with Data Visualization Opportunities: 78% of her feature articles incorporate custom infographics – provide raw datasets for potential visual storytelling
• Emphasize Regional Impacts: Successful pitches often frame national infrastructure trends through local employment or environmental lenses

With her unique blend of technical expertise and narrative skill, Smale continues to shape public understanding of the UK’s infrastructure landscape while maintaining rigorous scrutiny of project delivery mechanisms.

Matthew James reports on energy systems through dual lenses: the technical mechanics of decarbonization and the moral imperatives driving climate action. His work for Energy Post and other outlets makes him essential reading for policymakers navigating the EU’s green transition.

Key Coverage Areas

• Renewable Fuel Mandates: Tracking implementation of EU directives like REDIII
• Energy Geopolitics: Military dependencies on fossil infrastructure
• Just Transitions: Workforce impacts of coal plant closures

Pitching Insights

• Data-Rich Policy Analysis: He prioritizes leaks, unpublished impact studies, and regulatory comment periods
• Underreported Communities: Focus on regions balancing energy poverty with climate goals

As Reuters UK's lead energy correspondent, Chestney deciphers complex market and policy shifts shaping the global transition from fossil fuels. Her work bridges technical grid operations with high-stakes climate diplomacy.

Key Coverage Areas

• Renewable Infrastructure Economics: Tracks investment patterns and technological breakthroughs enabling scalable clean energy deployment
• Climate Negotiation Mechanics: Analyzes international agreements' practical impacts on national energy strategies
• Grid Modernization Challenges: Explores technical and regulatory hurdles in updating aging energy infrastructure

Pitching Insights

• Lead with data: Her articles ground arguments in verifiable metrics from authoritative sources like IEA or national grid operators
• Contextualize globally: Even regional stories should address implications for international energy markets or climate targets
• Highlight policy nexus: Successful pitches demonstrate how industry developments relate to active legislation or regulatory frameworks

Chestney's reporting portfolio reveals particular interest in solar energy scalability, carbon market reforms, and equitable transition strategies for fossil fuel-dependent economies. She avoids lifestyle-focused climate content and celebrity environmental activism stories.

As The Engineer’s foremost analyst of manufacturing innovation, Stuart Nathan deciphers how technologies like digital twins and spatial computing transform heavy industries. His work bridges boardroom strategy and factory floor realities, with recent pieces examining:

• EV manufacturing bottlenecks: Analyzed battery plant retooling challenges across 12 European facilities
• AI in quality control: Profiled computer vision systems reducing aerospace defect rates by 40%
• Energy-efficient production: Chronicled heat recovery systems cutting steel mill emissions by 18%

Pitching Priorities

Successful pitches combine technical depth with operational evidence:

• Data-rich case studies: Include metrics like kWh savings per unit or reduced machine downtime percentages
• Cross-industry applications: Technologies adaptable across automotive, aerospace, and energy sectors
• Implementation timelines: Detailed roadmaps from prototype to full-scale deployment

Avoid consumer-focused gadgets or speculative R&D without pilot results. Nathan’s readers seek practical solutions vetted through industrial implementation.

Tom Bawden is a UK-based journalist specializing in energy transitions, environmental policy, and scientific conservation. Since 2022, he has been a lead correspondent for The i Paper, where his reporting bridges technical analysis with community-focused storytelling.

Key Coverage Areas

• Renewable Infrastructure: Solar/wind farm developments, grid modernization, and policy frameworks like the UK’s Net Zero Strategy.
• Geological Conservation: Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) protections, fossil preservation, and urban development conflicts.
• Climate Policy: Carbon pricing, international agreements, and local government sustainability initiatives.

Pitching Insights

• Do:
  • Highlight innovations in energy storage or grid technology with verifiable efficiency data
  • Provide case studies of communities balancing development and conservation
  • Connect scientific research to pending legislation (e.g., the Environment Act 2023 amendments)
• Avoid:
  • Speculative carbon capture technologies without pilot results
  • Celebrity-led environmental campaigns lacking policy depth

Career Highlights

• Exposed regulatory gaps in UK carbon offset markets, prompting CCC reforms
• Chronicled the solar power boom’s impact on rural economies
• 2024 RSS Award winner for science communication excellence

For pitches, prioritize data-rich stories that align with the UK’s legally binding climate targets. Bawden’s work consistently demonstrates that the most impactful environmental journalism sits at the intersection of human stories and hard science.

This University of Cumbria academic and Utility Week contributor brings philosophical rigor to energy policy analysis. His hybrid expertise demands nuanced pitching strategies:

Primary Focus Areas

• Energy Systems Analysis: Particularly interested in epistemic justice aspects of grid modernization
• Healthcare Hermeneutics: Seeks stories demonstrating interpretive practice in care settings
• Speculative Policy Fiction: Welcomes narrative approaches to infrastructure planning

Avoid These Angles

• Simplistic tech solutionism in energy transition
• Quantitative-only studies without qualitative dimensions

Optimal Outreach Format

Prefers initial contact via encrypted email with:

• 300-word narrative abstracts
• Annotated bibliography of relevant sources
• Clear ethical considerations statement