Trend · rank 119 of 250

Firm & black-start capacity

Dispatchable plant and restart capability are retiring faster than firm replacements arrive, making system balancing and restoration harder as power systems depend more on variable renewables and imports.

Strategic InfrastructureEnergy, networks & climate resiliencepowerresilience

Second pass: Carried forward from the first pass, where it was Loss of firm & black-start capacity. Held by all three panel models.

Sensitivity and network position

Rank
119of 250
Sensitivity
10.0rank 103
Breadth
2of 20 scenarios High or above
PageRank
39.5rank 97
Eigenvector
2.1
Betweenness
6.5
Links
16trends at Moderate similarity or above
Composite
21.0

Attention over three years

How much this trend is read about on Wikipedia and searched for on Google, week by week, set against the typical trend in the list so that what moves every trend at once is taken out. 100 is this trend's own three-year average. The score measures public attention, which is not the same as the strength of the force: a trend can deepen unnoticed, and a news event can lift attention for a fortnight.

Now
102
Over a year
−6%Steady
Over three years
+25%
Peak
30527 Apr 2025
Sources
Bothagreement -0.10
Coverage
4languages · 52 nations

Trailing 4-week average. 100 is this trend’s three-year average.

By language

Wikipedia reading in each language edition where the trend’s pages are read enough to measure (4 of 28). Share is of all the readers counted.

LanguageShareNowOver a yearThree years
English81%96+1%
German17%101+15%
Spanish2%91−14%
Dutch1%127+18%

By country

Google search interest over the three years, as a share of each country’s searching. 100 is the nation where interest is highest. The search terms are English, which favours countries that search in English.

United States

Singapore

Australia

United Kingdom

New Zealand

Canada

South Korea

Netherlands

South Africa

Ireland

Nigeria

Kenya

100

77

76

73

68

67

64

50

50

47

37

35

The 12 highest of 52 nations with a reading.

By region and G20 member

Attention to this trend inside each place, from Google searches made in its countries and Wikipedia reading in the languages mostly read there, averaged where both exist. Each line compares the trend with its own past in that place; the lines do not compare places.

Regions

PlaceRead fromNow90 days1 year3 yearsThree years
North AmericaGoogle in 2 countries + Wikipedia in English99+4%+7%−13%
EuropeGoogle in 8 countries + Wikipedia in German, Dutch115−2%+32%+36%
Indo-PacificGoogle in 6 countries115−17%+38%+52%
South AsiaGoogle in 2 countries123−16%+32%+57%
AfricaGoogle in 2 countries124+19%+37%+17%
Latin America and CaribbeanGoogle in 6 countries + Wikipedia in Spanish107−13%+10%+50%

G20 members

PlaceRead fromNow90 days1 year3 yearsThree years
ArgentinaGoogle141−23%+78%+281%
AustraliaGoogle90+6%+21%−38%
BrazilGoogle105−12%−0%+36%
CanadaGoogle102+6%+14%−21%
FranceGoogle94−53%+81%+81%
GermanyGoogle + Wikipedia in German123+19%+44%+38%
IndiaGoogle122−14%+35%+59%
IndonesiaGoogle94−17%−11%+141%
ItalyGoogle132+6%+41%+67%
MexicoGoogle122−11%+29%+29%
South AfricaGoogle112+24%+36%−20%
United KingdomGoogle94+11%−6%−29%
United StatesGoogle + Wikipedia in English99+4%+7%−14%

Relation to each scenario

A trend relates to a scenario when it changes how likely the scenario is, how hard it lands, or is itself sharply changed by it. Each score is the median of three scores given separately by the members of the model panel.

RelationScenarioFamily
5 · Very highHybrid coercion ends in an infrastructure blackout S04Geopolitical and security
4 · HighCheap firm clean power becomes available at scale S15 ↗Energy, climate and resources
3 · ModerateA major disaster disables the national economic core S07Energy, climate and resources
0 · Not relatedCritical trade divides into rival blocs S01Economic and trade
0 · Not relatedA global funding seizure reaches sovereign balance sheets S02Economic and trade
0 · Not relatedA regional war closes a globally important sea route S03Geopolitical and security
0 · Not relatedA disputed transfer of power breaks effective government S05Geopolitical and security
0 · Not relatedTwo breadbasket failures trigger a food availability crisis S06Energy, climate and resources
0 · Not relatedAn AI deployment step causes abrupt labour displacement S08Technology and infrastructure
0 · Not relatedA cryptographic breakthrough invalidates digital trust S09Technology and infrastructure
0 · Not relatedA novel respiratory pathogen exceeds health surge capacity S10Health
0 · Not relatedA creditor agreement releases fiscal capacity S11 ↗Economic and trade
0 · Not relatedA cross-regional market access compact redirects investment S12 ↗Economic and trade
0 · Not relatedA great-power agreement lowers economic security barriers S13 ↗Geopolitical and security
0 · Not relatedA verified Middle East settlement restores access S14 ↗Geopolitical and security
0 · Not relatedA validated farming package raises water-efficient output S16 ↗Energy, climate and resources
0 · Not relatedAI-directed research produces a reproducible discovery step S17 ↗Technology and infrastructure
0 · Not relatedA public service platform reaches inclusive operation S18 ↗Technology and infrastructure
0 · Not relatedAffordable preventive treatments reduce chronic illness S19 ↗Health
0 · Not relatedA live outbreak proves rapid distributed pandemic defence S20 ↗Health

Similarity = 0.3 × shared tags (Jaccard) + 0.3 × likeness of scenario profiles (cosine) + 0.3 × likeness of names and descriptions (TF-IDF cosine) + 0.1 if in the same capability domain, cut into seven levels at 0.12, 0.22, 0.33, 0.45, 0.58, 0.72. Shown at Moderate and above.

SimilarityTrendThemeRank
5 · Very highDistributed powerEnergy, networks & climate resilience81
5 · Very highReliable energy access gapsEnergy, networks & climate resilience197
4 · HighElectrification of heat & industryEnergy, networks & climate resilience70
4 · HighWater treatment & desalinationEnergy, networks & climate resilience89
4 · HighGrid expansion & demand flexibilityEnergy, networks & climate resilience131
3 · ModerateTelecom network resilienceEnergy, networks & climate resilience35
3 · ModerateInfrastructure ageing & maintenance backlogEnergy, networks & climate resilience39
3 · ModerateUrban population concentrationEnergy, networks & climate resilience61
3 · ModerateFossil fuel supply & refiningEnergy, networks & climate resilience112
3 · ModerateSubsea cable & pipeline dependenceEnergy, networks & climate resilience114
3 · ModerateRenewable generation expansionEnergy, networks & climate resilience128
3 · ModerateData-centre power & water demandEnergy, networks & climate resilience144
3 · ModerateConnected infrastructure operationEnergy, networks & climate resilience145
3 · ModerateUrban cooling infrastructureEnergy, networks & climate resilience151
3 · ModerateSatellite positioning & timing dependenceEnergy, networks & climate resilience190
3 · ModerateElectric transport & charging networksEnergy, networks & climate resilience211