The Energy Gang - Greentech Media

Tracking the Equity Outcome of Decarbonization Jun 16, 2021

We can measure the energy transition in any number of ways. The hundreds of millions of solar panels and wind turbines installed. The gigatons of carbon reduced. Or the number of jobs created.

But how do we measure the equity outcome?

Our guest co-host, Dr. Destenie Nock, is focused on exactly this question. She is an assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering at Carnegie Mellon University.

Dr. Nock is creating new models for energy-systems planning that factor in positive social objectives, not just cost or reliability metrics.

Any decarbonization strategy is a de facto justice/equity strategy, as frontline communities will see the most benefit. But how do we maximize the benefit? And how do different pathways determine the outcome for low-income citizens and people of color who are disproportionately impacted by pollution? We’ll dig in.

Plus, what is happening with the infrastructure bill? All of a sudden, negotiations are at an impasse. President Biden broke off talks with Republican Senate leadership after strong disagreements over climate spending.

Now progressives and climate groups are wondering: are we going to lose another historic climate bill? And if so, how long will it be until another chance emerges?

The Energy Gang is brought to you by Aurora Solar. Aurora is offering all the presentations from its recent Empower Summit for free on its website. Go here to see conversations with people like Sunnova CEO John Berger and CALSSA Executive Director Bernadette Del Chiaro.

The Energy Gang is brought to you by Enel X, a leader in energy storage, DER management software, and smart electric vehicle charging stations to increase project value. Learn what Enel X can do for your business.

Coal Is Uncompetitive. Why Do We Burn So Much? Jun 11, 2021

America gets 20 percent of its electricity from coal. That’s a 50 percent drop since the peak in 2007. But if coal is becoming so economically uncompetitive, why does it still make up so much of our grid mix?

This week: Coal is no longer king. But it still has a lot of power across the land. How do we banish it for good?

Katherine and Stephen welcome Joe Daniel as a guest co-host this week. Joe is a senior energy analyst at the Union of Concerned Scientists.

Joe joins us to talk about the problem of coal plant “self-scheduling,” which locks in operation of dirty power plants even when the economics don’t make sense.

We’ll also look at how we unburden ourselves from the long-term agreements these coal plants are under? One solution is to buy back debt through securitization — basically like refinancing a mortgage. How will it work?

Finally, we’ll discuss the numbers behind nationalizing the coal industry. Could we buy up the entire sector, shut it down, and then offer wages, healthcare, pensions, and job placement to displaced workers? It would only cost somewhere between $33 billion and $83 billion over 15 years, according to estimates from the Union of Concerned Scientists.

The Energy Gang is brought to you by Aurora Solar. Join Aurora on June 8th and 9th for the second annual virtual summit. Hear from, and interact with, industry leaders, policy makers, sales experts, and more. Get your questions ready, and save your spot by registering now.

The Energy Gang is brought to you by Enel X, a leader in energy storage, DER management software, and smart electric vehicle charging stations to increase project value. Learn what Enel X can do for your business.

A Wartime Plan for Electrifying America May 23, 2021

What if someone told you that we have everything we need to decarbonize most of the economy?

We would just need to start electrifying every new car, furnace, water heater, drier, and cookstove, and industrial process starting right now. And yeah, and put solar on every roof that can handle it.

This week: a wartime plan for winning the climate fight with clean electricity. What’ll it take? How possible is it?

Saul Griffith is our guest co-host. He’s the founder and chief scientist of Rewiring America. He’s also the author of the upcoming book “Electrify,” from MIT Press.

If we are on a wartime footing for decarbonizing the economy, Saul could be considered a 5-star general of the “electrify everything” movement.

He founded or co-founded around a dozen companies and organizations. And he has a PhD from MIT in materials science and information theory.

Saul is now trying to marshal the world around his “a defensible and believable” pathway for decarbonizing America with clean electricity.

The Energy Gang is brought to you by Aurora Solar. Join Aurora on June 8th and 9th for the second annual virtual summit. Hear from, and interact with, industry leaders, policy makers, sales experts, and more. Get your questions ready, and save your spot by registering now.

The Energy Gang is brought to you by Enel X, a leader in energy storage, DER management software, and smart electric vehicle charging stations to increase project value. Learn what Enel X can do for your business.

What Are ‘Transformational’ Utilities Doing Right? May 16, 2021

First they ignore you. Then they laugh at you. Then they fight you. Then they transform?

This week: a look at some positive trends guiding the utility sector. What are power providers that are leading the energy transition doing right?

We’re joined by Julia Hamm, the president and CEO of the Smart Electric Power Alliance.

We’re talking about SEPA’s 2021 utility transformation profile -- a survey and ranking system of over 130 electric utilities in the US.

There are thousands of power companies. That means different flavors of corporate goals, management styles, and approaches to building clean energy. Julia’s going to help us understand what they are.

Why is utility progress more like “change management” than traditional Silicon Valley-style disruption?

Then: how utilities will benefit from Biden’s big infrastructure push.

Plus, the solar census: what will job growth look like in a post-pandemic world?

The Energy Gang is brought to you by Aurora Solar. Join Aurora on June 8th and 9th for the second annual virtual summit. Hear from, and interact with, industry leaders, policy makers, sales experts, and more. Get your questions ready, and save your spot by registering now.

The Energy Gang is brought to you by Enel X, a leader in energy storage, DER management software, and smart electric vehicle charging stations to increase project value. Learn what Enel X can do for your business.

Is Offshore Wind *Finally* Coming to America? May 07, 2021

The lack of progress on offshore wind in America is one of the most baffling and frustrating stories in energy.

The technology and resource availability are tremendous. Europe has de-risked the technology and proven it can be deployed at scale, and at low cost, with minimal disruption. U.S. states are setting big targets. And at a national-scale, people want it.

And yet, we have not been able to get any meaningful amounts of offshore wind capacity in the water.

That may be about to change. In late March, the Biden team said it plans to accelerate offshore wind development -- with a goal of getting 30 gigawatts of projects finished by 2030, and 110 gigawatts by 2050.

By comparison, we have 30 megawatts in the water now. And Europe currently has 25 gigawatts operational.

So what does the government need to do to finally make this industry a reality?

Energy futurist Ramez Naam is our guest co-host this week.

We’ll also talk about Biden’s first 100 days in office. He marked the occasion with a speech to Congress that emphasized his “blue-collar blueprint to rebuild America.” H e’s drawing a very clear connection between taking action on climate change and building tons of jobs.

So what has Biden accomplished so far that is meaningful? What is rhetorical and what is creating a clear pathway to real outcomes?

Finally, we’ll look at why the UN is shifting its focus to methane emissions.

The Energy Gang is brought to you by Aurora Solar. Join Aurora on June 8th and 9th for the second annual virtual summit. Hear from, and interact with, industry leaders, policy makers, sales experts, and more. Get your questions ready, and save your spot by registering now.

Banking Is the Pressure Point for Climate Apr 30, 2021

In 2015, then-Secretary of State John Kerry called the Paris climate treaty a “tremendous victory.” In the years since, $3.8 trillion has flowed into fossil fuels globally.

Now Kerry and other White House officials are focusing on banks and insurers that are still offering a lifeline to new fossil fuel projects. Can they slow the flow of cash?

This week: why finance is the main pressure point for climate.

Today, all the major banks are collectively supporting hundreds of billions of dollars worth of renewables projects every year.

But few are giving up on fossil fuels. One environmental campaigner put it this way: “the banks are gorging on doughnuts and then eating an apple afterwards.”

A new analysis from DeSmog finds that 77% of board directors at the top-7 US banks have ties to “climate-conflicted” groups.

Earlier this year, New York University released a study showing that only 7 percent of board members in the top 100 US companies -- which includes many banks -- had any climate expertise at all.

This week, Justin Guay joins Katherine and Stephen as a guest co-host. Justin is the director of global climate strategy at the Sunrise Project. He’s been following the flow of money into climate-conflicted projects for a decade.

Looking to grow your career in solar tech? Aurora Solar is the leader in solar design and sales software. Aurora is hiring across multiple roles including customer success, marketing, sales, operations, and more. See open roles and apply to join Aurora, voted one of the best places to work in 2021, at www.aurorasolar.com/energygang.

This podcast is brought to you by Sungrow, a leading provider of PV inverter solutions around the world. Sungrow has delivered more than 10 gigawatts of inverters to the Americas alone — and 120 gigawatts in total across the globe. Learn more about Sungrow’s cutting-edge solar projects.

Is America Halfway to a Zero-Carbon Grid? Apr 22, 2021

In 2005, it looked like heat-trapping gases from power plants were only going up.

That year, the EIA put out a projection: CO2 emissions from power plants would steadily rise every year, thanks to the incumbency of coal and gas.

Today, they’re half of what was projected. A new report from Lawrence Berkeley National Lab calls it “halfway to zero” -- meaning we are already halfway to a zero-carbon grid.

This week: why the path to net-zero may surprise us once again.

Then: America’s climate image on the world stage is in tatters. What will it take for the Biden team to stitch it back together before COP negotiations this fall?

Finally: a ton of specific policy ideas that can help us expand solar to the people who need it most.

BlocPower CEO Donnel Baird joins Katherine and Stephen as our guest co-host this week.

Looking to grow your career in solar tech? Aurora Solar is the leader in solar design and sales software. Aurora is hiring across multiple roles including customer success, marketing, sales, operations, and more. See open roles and apply to join Aurora, voted one of the best places to work in 2021, at www.aurorasolar.com/energygang.

This podcast is also brought to you by CPower. CPower’s latest book, "Demand-Side Energy Management in the Time of COVID," takes a peek into eight of the biggest commercial industries in North America and reveals key energy management strategies successful organizations executed during the wildest year of the young century. Download it here.

Unlocking Home Electrification With Heat Pumps Apr 15, 2021

Every few seconds, a new residential HVAC system or water heater is installed around America. Most of them are designed to burn oil and gas -- locking in 15-20 more years of carbon pollution.

So how do we electrify 100% of that new equipment rapidly? This week: a wide-ranging conversation about how to unlock the residential market.

Katherine and Stephen are joined by Nate Adams, the co-founder of HVAC 2.0. He’s called “the house whisperer” for a reason. They discuss the benefit of home electrification, the opportunity, and the market constraints.

Later in the show, a new trend in real estate: Redfin released a survey of prospective homebuyers, asking them about how they’d factor climate risk into their decisions. Half of them said that intensifying natural disasters influenced their decision to relocate. What are the consequences for the market?

Resources:

Grist: The Barriers to Home Electrification
Workshop: Nate Adams’ Electrify Everything Course
Redfin Survey: Climate Change Influencing American Home Buyers
Lisbeth Kaufman: Why I’m Buying a Climate Haven

Looking to grow your career in solar tech? Aurora Solar is the leader in solar design and sales software. Aurora is hiring across multiple roles including customer success, marketing, sales, operations, and more. See open roles and apply to join Aurora, voted one of the best places to work in 2021, at www.aurorasolar.com/energygang.

Can California Move Fast Without Breaking Things? Apr 09, 2021

California is the proving ground for every major change that President Biden wants to accelerate nationally: 100% carbon-free electricity, fossil fuel phaseouts, climate-resilient grid hardening.

The state wants to make 100% of retail electricity sales carbon-free by 2045. To that, it’ll need to match its best year ever for renewable energy installations -- for 25 years more years in a row. It’ll amount to $4.5 billion in yearly spending.

California is moving fast. Is there such a thing as too fast?

This week, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer Sammy Roth joins us to talk about California’s fast, sometimes-messy, and still-evolving energy transition.

Plus, tensions over public lands. It’s going to take a lot of investment, difficult choices, and grit to hit California’s zero-carbon goals. It’s also going to take a lot of land.

That’s putting the Biden team in a dilemma: how to balance a historic build-out of wind and solar farms with protection of public lands?

Plus, we look at the details of Biden’s “once in a generation” plan to reconstruct the economy one seawall, EV charging station, and transmission project at a time.

Resources:

Sammy Roth’s “Boiling Point” newsletter
Sammy’s article on the collision over renewables on public lands
Sammy’s article on California’s pathway forward to 100% clean power
E&E News: How Biden’s $2T infrastructure plan would overhaul the grid
NYT: Biden’s $2T plan to reshape the economy

Looking to grow your career in solar tech? Aurora Solar is the leader in solar design and sales software. Aurora is hiring across multiple roles including customer success, marketing, sales, operations, and more. See open roles and apply to join Aurora, voted one of the best places to work in 2021, at www.aurorasolar.com

How Do We Decarbonize the Food System? Apr 02, 2021

The systems that support growing, shipping and processing food make up one-third of heat trapping gases.

How can Agtech help us tackle this tangled and underserved sector? We’ll look at investment activity, technological solutions, and policy levers.

Then, we revisit long-duration storage. A net-zero grid will require new ways to store and discharge energy over long periods. How’s it shaping up?

Plus, is carbon pricing back on the table here in the US?

This week, Katherine and Stephen are joined by guest co-host Amy Duffuor, a principal at Prime Impact Fund.

Resources:

Ag Funder: How to Unleash Agtech in the Fight Against Climate Change
Greentech Media: California Could Need 55 GW of Long-Duration Storage
Axios: Oil Industry Endorses a Carbon Price

Looking to grow your career in solar tech? Aurora Solar is the leader in solar design and sales software. Aurora is hiring across multiple roles including customer success, marketing, sales, operations, and more. See open roles and apply to join Aurora, voted one of the best places to work in 2021, at www.aurorasolar.com

America’s Trillion-Dollar Climate Infrastructure Play Mar 25, 2021

This week, the nuts and bolts of climate policy: infrastructure.

With a $2 trillion covid relief package under his belt, Biden looks to harness another $3 trillion on building clean energy, hardening the electric grid, installing electric car chargers, and updating roads and bridges.

We’ll game out what’s needed and what’s possible.

Then: is this the moment for the black climate agenda? And if so, what are the priorities?

Finally, how will pressure campaigns over new fossil fuel infrastructure play out in the next four years? And what lessons have we learned from previous fights over the last decade?

The gang this week: Katherine Hamilton and Stephen Lacey are joined by climate strategist Tamara Toles O’Laughlin.

Resources:

New York Times: Biden’s Biden’s Recovery Plan Bets Big on Clean Energy
E&E News: How the Infrastructure Bill Might Tackle Climate Change
Redfin Study: Redlined Communities Face Greater Flood Risk
CNN: A New Pipeline Battle Fires Up in Minnesota

This podcast is brought to you by Sungrow, a leading provider of PV inverter solutions around the world. Sungrow has delivered more than 10 gigawatts of inverters to the Americas alone — and 120 gigawatts in total across the globe. Learn more about Sungrow’s cutting-edge solar projects.

This podcast is also brought to you by CPower. CPower’s latest book, Demand-Side Energy Management in the Time of COVID, takes a peek into eight of the biggest commercial industries in North America and reveals key energy management strategies that successful organizations executed during the wildest year of the young century. Download it here.

The Clash Over Gas Bans in Buildings Mar 18, 2021

This week: natural gas bans are the newest flash point in the energy transition. What does it mean for the electrify-everything movement -- and the gas industry’s public relations battle?

Then: how do we build back better for everybody? We’ll look how Biden’s recent stimulus and climate agenda could mend America’s growing wealth and race divide.

Plus: it’s been a year since the start of the pandemic. What transformed, and what didn’t? What did we get right and wrong? We’ll revisit the last 12 months.

Katherine Hamilton and Stephen Lacey are joined by Donnel Baird, the CEO of Blocpower.

Resources:

Mother Jones investigation on gas industry front groups.
NPR story on political conflicts over gas bans, and pre-emptive actions in red states
The Atlantic: Biden’s stimulus is a big deal for public transit
NYT: How Biden ties economic goals to racial equity
Politico: Congressional democrats unveil sweeping climate bill
Podcasters declare campaign

This podcast is brought to you by Sungrow, a leading provider of PV inverter solutions around the world. Sungrow has delivered more than 10 gigawatts of inverters to the Americas alone — and 120 gigawatts in total across the globe. Learn more about Sungrow’s cutting-edge solar projects.

This podcast is also brought to you by CPower. CPower’s latest book, Demand-Side Energy Management in the Time of COVID, takes a peek into eight of the biggest commercial industries in North America and reveals key energy management strategies that successful organizations executed during the wildest year of the young century. Download it here.

Climate Tech Is Changing Fast Mar 09, 2021

This week, we present a crossover episode of our sister podcast, The Interchange.

In this episode, host Shayle Kann talks with fellow venture capitalist Abe Yokell about the state of climate tech investing. It’s safe to say that this year has brought some of the biggest changes to the space we’ve ever seen. Shayle and Abe try to separate what’s real from what’s hype.

Thanks to everyone for their kind emails and social media reactions after Jigar's final episode.

The show goes on! We’re currently booking a diverse range of high-profile guests to join us each week. We think you're going to like what we have in store for you.

While you are waiting for new Energy Gang episodes, this is the perfect time to follow the The Interchange where ever you listen to podcasts.

Jigar's Final Episode Mar 03, 2021

Jigar Shah has been our co-host since 2013. But now he's moving on to new pastures.

Starting this this week, Jigar will be leading the Department of Energy's loan programs office -- running the government's strategy to finance the deployment of up-and-coming clean energy technologies.

In this episode, we reflect on Jigar's career and his role on the show. Plus, we'll learn more about his mission in the Biden Administration.

Read the announcement.

Watt It Takes: Executive Producer Stephen Lacey Feb 26, 2021

This week, we have a bonus episode of Watt It Takes featuring Stephen Lacey, our founding host and executive producer.

Back in December, Powerhouse CEO Emily Kirsch interviewed Stephen for a holiday edition of Watt It Takes. They talked in front of an audience about his career in journalism, how the world of podcasting has evolved, and his entrepreneurial journey launching a production company.

And great news! Watt It Takes is now a standalone series. You can subscribe on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts or anywhere you get your shows. We'll be featuring the top voices in climate tech throughout 2021.

The Texas Grid Failure Feb 24, 2021

Even for energy veterans, the depth of failures in Texas last week were breathtaking.

As arctic air froze power plants, gas lines, and mechanical instruments, the grid was shut down -- leaving 4 million people without electricity, unknown millions without heat, and three times that many without water.

Texas has been through freezes like this before in 2011, 2014 and 2018. Regulators were warned. So who is to blame for this historic catastrophe?

This week, we’ll talk about what happened in Texas -- reflecting on the responses and projecting the consequences for how we engineer the grid.

Then: did the shale boom fail to create all those promised jobs?

New research shows that the natural gas boom did not bring a massive employment wave to counties in the Marcellus and Utica shales. Wealth yes, but not so many jobs.

Wall Street Journal: In Frigid Texas, Desperate Families Take Risks to Stay Warm
Associated Press: Texas governor’s biggest donors: Energy industry that failed
NBC: The GOP is rapidly becoming the blue-collar party. Here's what that means.
Inside Climate News: A Decade Into the Fracking Boom, Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia Haven’t Gained Much, a Study Says

Thanks to our sponsors:

The Energy Gang is brought to you by Wärtsilä Energy. Wärtsilä is leading the energy transition with the Atlas of 100% Renewable Energy. Stick with us at the end of the show to hear how this tool is helping us understand how to best spend stimulus dollars on the clean-energy transition.

This podcast is brought to you by Sungrow, a leading provider of PV inverter solutions around the world. Sungrow has delivered more than 10 gigawatts of inverters to the Americas alone — and 120 gigawatts in total across the globe. Learn more about Sungrow’s cutting-edge solar projects.

This podcast is also brought to you by CPower. CPower’s latest book, Demand-Side Energy Management in the Time of COVID, takes a peek into eight of the biggest commercial industries in North America and reveals key energy management strategies that successful organizations executed during the wildest year of the young century. Download it here.

How a ‘Climate Emergency’ Could Harness Wartime Powers Feb 12, 2021

This week: climate change is certainly the most urgent issue we face. But should it be formally declared an emergency?

There’s a real conversation over the label in the US -- and it could have a very real impact on what the president can do.

This has been a growing priority for environmental groups. Grist reported that in December, more than 380 of them sent a letter to Joe Biden’s transition team, urging him to issue an executive order mobilizing the National Emergencies Act.

And now, Rep. Earl Blumenauer and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in the House and Sen. Bernie Sanders in the Senate among others just introduced The National Climate Emergency Act of 2021,

Then: what could be the counter-impact? Changes across the energy economy are set to accelerate. If we don’t do it correctly, are we facing a “Yellow Vest” protest movement like we saw recently in France?

And last: a new study shows that some cities are grossly under-reporting their carbon emissions. Do cities even have the resources to measure them properly?

Resources:

Grist: AOC, Sanders, and Blumenauer press Biden to declare a ‘climate emergency’
Vice: AOC and Bernie Are Teaming Up to Get Biden to Declare Climate Change a National Emergency
Vox: “We risk a yellow vest movement”: Why the US clean energy transition must be equitable
New York Times: U.S. Cities Are Vastly Undercounting Emissions, Researchers Find

Thanks to our sponsors:

The Energy Gang is brought to you by Wärtsilä Energy. Wärtsilä is leading the energy transition with the Atlas of 100% Renewable Energy. Stick with us at the end of the show to hear how this tool is helping us understand how to best spend stimulus dollars on the clean-energy transition.

This podcast is brought to you by Sungrow, a leading provider of PV inverter solutions around the world. Sungrow has delivered more than 10 gigawatts of inverters to the Americas alone — and 120 gigawatts in total across the globe. Learn more about Sungrow’s cutting-edge solar projects.

This podcast is also brought to you by CPower. CPower’s latest book, "Demand-Side Energy Management in the Time of COVID," takes a peek into eight of the biggest commercial industries in North America and reveals key energy management strategies successful organizations executed during the wildest year of the young century. Download it here.

The Dirty Secret Behind Utility Climate Goals Feb 05, 2021

Net-zero pledges are becoming common for utilities. But a huge number of them are failing to decarbonize on any timeframe that truly matters. They’re not phasing out coal, they’re building lots of new gas plants, and they’re not building enough clean energy.

We’ll talk about a damning new analysis of utility climate goals from the Sierra Club that digs into the actual numbers.

Then, the urgency of a national clean energy standard. What are the new political pieces in place to get a nationwide target in place? And can we build it to serve marginalized communities? A new analysis maps out how.

Finally, the bombshell news that General Motors will only sell zero-emissions cars by 2035. How hard is it to turn around a company born and raised in internal combustion? A cautionary tale from Volkswagen offers some answers.

Dr. Leah Stokes, professor at UC Santa Barbara, joins Stephen, Katherine and Jigar this week. Leah is the co-author behind the two reports we are discussing.

Leah is also co-host of A Matter of Degrees, a new podcast that looks at the forces behind climate change -- and how “climate curious” citizens can tackle it.

Resources:

Sierra Club: The Dirty Truth About Climate Pledges
Stokes, Ricketts: A Roadmap to 100% Clean Electricity by 2035
New York Times: G.M. Will Sell Only Zero-Emission Vehicles by 2035
Wall Street Journal: How Volkswagen’s $50 Billion Plan to Beat Tesla Short-Circuited

Thanks to our sponsors:

The Energy Gang is brought to you by Wärtsilä Energy. Wärtsilä is leading the energy transition with the Atlas of 100% Renewable Energy. Stick with us at the end of the show to hear how this tool is helping us understand how to best spend stimulus dollars on the clean-energy transition.

This podcast is brought to you by Sungrow, a leading provider of PV inverter solutions around the world. Sungrow has delivered more than 10 gigawatts of inverters to the Americas alone — and 120 gigawatts in total across the globe. Learn more about Sungrow’s cutting-edge solar projects.

This podcast is also brought to you by CPower. CPower and its team of energy experts are back with a webinar series aimed to help organizations make sense of the chaos and optimize their energy use and spend in 2021. This hour-long webinar series features market-by-market breakdowns to help energy planners make the right decisions. Register today.

Reversing Trump's Destruction Jan 29, 2021

It was hard to keep up with the destruction of the Trump era. And it’s already getting hard to keep up with the rebuilding.

This week brought a series of actions on climate change from the White House that are building a framework for the climate economy.

Sam Ricketts, a prominent climate policy advisor, told the Los Angeles Times: “This is the most ambitious climate platform put forward by an American president...It is mobilizing the entirety of the federal government in an unprecedented way. Every agency is now a climate agency.”

We’ll sort through it.

Then, last week we covered distributed energy modeling. Now we get to the practice: how do we rebuild markets to accommodate a ton of small-scale resources? They’re doing it in the UK. We’ve lagged in the US. We’ll compare.

Finally, Elon Musk says he’ll give $100M to carbon-capture tech that shows promise. He can’t run rockets on electricity. Will he get his carbon-neutral jet fuel?

Greentech Media: Biden Executive Orders Set Broad Federal Role in Clean Energy and Climate Change Mitigation
LATimes: Biden Orders Sweeping Actions to Pause Drilling and Fight Climate Change
Greentech Media: New UK DERMS Project Targets Flexibility Across Distribution and Transmission Grids
Twitter: Cisco DeVries’ Feed on the Dissing of OhmConnect
NBC News: Elon Musk to Offer $100 Million Prize for 'Best' Carbon Capture Tech
Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research A Review of the Role of Fossil Fuel Based Carbon Capture and Storage in the Energy System.

This podcast is brought to you by Sungrow, a leading provider of PV inverter solutions around the world. Sungrow has delivered more than 10 gigawatts of inverters to the Americas alone — and 120 gigawatts in total across the globe. Learn more about Sungrow’s cutting-edge solar projects.

This podcast is also brought to you by CPower. CPower and its team of energy experts are back with a webinar series aimed to help organizations make sense of the chaos and optimize their energy use and spend in 2021. This hour-long webinar series features market-by-market breakdowns to help energy planners make the right decisions. Register today.

Why Local Solar + Storage Is a Pillar of the Net-Zero Grid Jan 22, 2021

This week, we finally left behind a destructive regime that thwarted environmental policy at every turn. We exchanged it for a government putting climate experts and clean-energy doers in its highest ranks in a way that no prior administration has done before.

What comes next?

First up this week: If Biden wants his $2 trillion climate spending plan to make a bigger impact, should he emphasize rooftop solar and small-scale batteries? A leading modeler says a local solar-storage plan could save hundreds of billions of dollars as we build out the net-zero grid.

Then: the board members of major corporations are often ignorant about climate change and what it takes to address it, according to a new report from NYU’s Stern business school. Why is that true – still? What can be done about it?

And last: Should you sign up for your utility’s green power program? Is there a better way to guarantee that your monthly power bill supports the world you envision? We’ll answer a listener question.

Recommended reading:

VCE: Why Local Solar for All Costs Less
Local Solar For All Roadmap
LA Times: Boiling Point: How rooftop solar could save Americans $473 billion
Bloomberg: Many Corporate Boards Don’t Fully Understand the Climate Crisis
Harvard Business Review: Boards Are Obstructing ESG — at Their Own Peril
NREL: Voluntary Green Power Procurement - 2019 Utility Green Pricing Ranks
Energy Sage: What to look for, and availability of community solar

This podcast is brought to you by Sungrow, a leading provider of PV inverter solutions around the world. Sungrow has delivered more than 10 gigawatts of inverters to the Americas alone — and 120 gigawatts in total across the globe. Learn more about Sungrow’s cutting-edge solar projects.

This podcast is also brought to you by CPower. CPower and its team of energy experts are back with a webinar series aimed to help organizations make sense of the chaos and optimize their energy use and spend in 2021. This hour-long webinar series features market-by-market breakdowns to help energy planners make the right decisions. Register today.

Watt It Takes: BlocPower CEO Donnel Baird Jan 14, 2021

BlocPower CEO Donnel Baird is on a mission to clean up old, inefficient buildings in America’s cities -- and help people who are exposed to the worst pollution.

BlocPower was founded in 2012. It’s raised venture capital from Kapor Capital and Andreesen Horowitz. But that process was not easy for a company with a mostly non-white leadership team. As a black founder, Donnel was turned down 200 times before any venture firms were willing to back his vision.

“It was really difficult for us raising capital. One of our investors when I talked to him two or three years ago and said I was struggling to raise capital, he was like ‘yeah man, just hire some white people and send them into the fundraising meetings and it’ll clear things up,’” explains Donnel.

BlocPower is a Brooklyn, New York startup electrifying and weatherizing buildings in underserved communities -- slashing pollution and saving money. This includes housing units, churches, community centers.

And the mission for Donnel isn’t about just about hitting milestones for investors. It’s about changing the fabric of underserved communities that are plagued by pollution and energy poverty. That’s because Donnel has lived it himself.

In this episode, Powerhouse CEO Emily Kirsch talks with Donnel about how he channeled his frustration and anger around racial unfairness into a business model for the energy transition.

Listen to all our past episodes of Watt It Takes here. This series is normally recorded in front of a live audience, but we’re now recording the interviews remotely. See future events from Powerhouse here.

The Energy Gang is brought to you by Sungrow, a leading provider of PV inverter solutions across the world. Sungrow has delivered more than 10 gigawatts of inverters to the Americas alone -- and 120 gigawatts in total across the globe. Learn more about Sungrow’s cutting-edge solar projects.

The Energy Gang is also brought to you by CPower. CPower and its team of energy experts are back with a webinar series aimed to help organizations make sense of the chaos and optimize their energy use and spend in 2021. This hour-long webinar series features market-by-market breakdowns to help energy planners make the right decisions. Register today.

America's Drastic Shift: What Are Paths for Climate? Jan 08, 2021

In the final moments of 2020, the most important U.S. energy legislation in a decade flew in under the radar, attached to the coronavirus relief and government funding bill.

It’s an astonishing collection of measures. It sets aside $35 Billion in new funding for clean energy R&D, phases out some of the most egregious greenhouse gases, and extends tax credits for wind, solar, nuclear, and carbon capture. What’s the impact?

It would have been a bill big enough to discuss this whole episode. But it’s been eclipsed by the possibility of more ambitious legislation under a Democrat-controlled Congress -- thanks to some big Senate wins in Georgia on Wednesday.

With a window of action open, how much can get done in the next two years? We’ll dig in.

Lastly, one of the biggest business stories from the last year: Tesla. A stratospheric stock price, strong sales growth, and the second richest man in the world. What do Elon Musk’s fortunes foreshadow for EVs?

Recommended reading:

Greentech Media: What Renewable Energy and Energy Storage Did, and Didn’t, Get from Congress This Week
E&E News: 13 Ways the Massive Omnibus Hits Energy
Dave Roberts Volts Podcast: The Energy Act
E&ENews: Things to Watch in a 50-50 Senate
Bloomberg: Tesla Poised for Expansion After Just Missing 2020 Target
Barron’s: Tesla Passes a Market-Cap Milestone. It’s Worth More Than Facebook.

The Energy Gang is brought to you by Sungrow, a leading provider of PV inverter solutions across the world. Sungrow is supplying inverters for a series of new, world-class solar facilities that will support Facebook’s operations with 100% renewable energy. Learn more about Sungrow’s cutting-edge solar projects.

The Energy Gang is also brought to you by CPower. CPower and its team of energy experts are back with a webinar series aimed to help organizations make sense of the chaos and optimize their energy use and spend in 2021. This hour-long webinar series features market-by-market breakdowns to help energy planners make the right decisions. Register today.

Year-Ender: Listeners Choose Top Trends of 2020 Dec 20, 2020

Goodbye 2020. We’re not sad to see you go.

Even though this year brought a lot of outright bad stuff, it also brought a lot of positive, nuanced storylines in energy.

We’re going to tackle as many of them as possible, using suggestions from our listeners as a guide.

And no, they won’t be pandemic-related. Not explicitly anyway. You can listen to our previous episode for our pandemic picks.

We’ll tackle your suggestions: breakout technologies, political corruption, corporate momentum, energy justice, new financing approaches, and regulatory change.

The Energy Gang is brought to you by Wärtsilä Energy, leading the transition toward a 100% renewable energy future. Wärtsilä launched “The Path to 100%” to accelerate the transition to renewables. Become part of the discussion.

The Energy Gang is brought to you by Honeywell, a leading supplier of IOT solutions to mission-critical industries around the world. Honeywell Smart Energy helps utilities transform their grid operations through advanced solutions and targeted services from edge to cloud. Learn more.

Introducing: Google’s Quest for 24/7 Clean Energy Dec 15, 2020

We’re featuring an episode of Google’s new podcast about data centers, calledWhere the Internet Lives.

What would it take to run data centers on clean electricity, everywhere, every hour of the day? In this episode, we look at the evolution of data center energy use in a world confronting the threat of climate change – and explore promising ideas that could fuel a carbon-free future.

Subscribe anywhere you get podcasts. Or find it in these top platforms:

Revisiting Pandemic Predictions for Energy Dec 11, 2020

As we close out 2020, we are diving into the top stories that defined this frenzied and heavy year.

This week, we’ll start the show with a look back at how Covid re-shaped the energy transition. We’re going to revisit some predictions that did -- and didn’t -- come true. Next episode, we’ll look at a wider range of (non-pandemic) 2020 stories.

Then later in the show, advertising and PR professionals are suddenly being pressured to reveal how much of their income is from fossil fuel clients. Are firms in this industry the next to lose their social license?

And last: what could a Youth Climate Corps accomplish? And how should it be set up? We look to a Depression-era program to rally the passions of America’s climate generation.

Resources:

New Yorker: When “Creatives” Turn Destructive: Image-Makers and the Climate Crisis
Yale 360: How a Climate Corps Could Put Youth to Work in Greening America
“Where the Internet Lives” podcast from Google

The Energy Gang is brought to you by Wärtsilä Energy, leading the transition toward a 100% renewable energy future. Wärtsilä launched “The Path to 100%” to accelerate the transition to renewables. Become part of the discussion.

The Energy Gang is brought to you by Honeywell, a leading supplier of IOT solutions to mission-critical industries around the world. Honeywell Smart Energy helps utilities transform their grid operations through advanced solutions and targeted services from edge to cloud. Learn more.

A New President’s Powerful Tool: Climate Risk Disclosure Dec 03, 2020

Climate risk is now the topic du jour in Washington. The Biden transition team identified it as a powerful policy lever in the business world that could help the president-elect’s climate agenda without Congress.

But how? Could it happen at the Securities and Exchange Commission where companies disclose legal and other threats? What about a role for the Federal Reserve? What can Biden himself do?

This week, we’ll look at how federal action may happen -- and what impact it would have on emissions.

Then, from the first days in office, Trump’s team went after environmental protections with the focus of trained assassins. Those efforts are only intensifying in the weeks before Trump leaves the White House. How might Biden stop these “regulatory bombs?”

Last: reactions to Biden’s hires are revealing a split in the climate community. What do they reveal about theories of change in this changing political moment?

E&E News: Biden to Shine Light on Corporate Climate Risk
Bloomberg: All Businesses Everywhere, Get Ready to Disclose Your Climate Risk
New York Times: E.P.A.’s Final Deregulatory Rush Runs Into Open Staff Resistance
Propublica: Tracking the Trump Administration’s “Midnight Regulations”
Twitter: Bill McKibben defense of Brian Deese
Twitter: Matt Yglesias on the only way to make climate progress

The Energy Gang is brought to you by Wärtsilä Energy, leading the transition toward a 100% renewable energy future. Wärtsilä launched “The Path to 100%” to accelerate the transition to renewables. Become part of the discussion.

The Energy Gang is brought to you by Honeywell, a leading supplier of IoT solutions to mission-critical industries around the world. Honeywell Smart Energy helps utilities transform their grid operations through advanced solutions and targeted services from edge to cloud. Learn more.

Watt It Takes: EVgo's Cathy Zoi on Scaling EV Infrastructure Dec 02, 2020

Cathy Zoi has seen it all. She’s studied and worked in oil, gas and clean energy since the Reagan Era. Now as CEO of charging company EVgo, she knows the future of energy is coming fast.

“Rideshare drivers are now starting to drive EVs, those folks need to charge once a day away from home, and they need to do it fast. When COVID hit, delivery drivers for food deliveries needed to charge on our network. Fleet companies like Amazon. So every month that goes by, there is a new opportunity, says Zoi.”

Cathy has a breadth of energy and cleantech experience working in leadership roles at non-profits, startups, venture capital, academia, and government agencies.

Cathy was on the team that developed the original Energy Star rating when she worked at the Environmental Protection Agency. She was chief of staff in the White House Office on Environmental Policy in the Clinton-Gore Administration. And she is co-founder and executive chairman of Odyssey Energy, a software start-up bringing distributed clean power to developing countries.

In this episode, Powerhouse CEO Emily Kirsch sits down with Cathy Zoi to discuss how that journey inevitably led her to electric transportation.

Listen to all our past episodes of Watt It Takes here. This series is normally recorded in front of a live audience. But we’re now recording the interviews remotely. See future events here.

The Energy Gang is brought to you by Wärtsilä Energy, leading the transition toward a 100% renewable energy future. Wärtsilä launched “The Path to 100%” to accelerate the transition to renewables. Become part of the discussion.

The Energy Gang is brought to you by Honeywell, a leading supplier of IoT solutions to mission-critical industries around the world. Honeywell Smart Energy helps utilities transform their grid operations through advanced solutions and targeted services from edge to cloud. Learn more.

Automakers Knew About Climate Change 50 Years Ago Nov 20, 2020

In the 1960s, scientists who worked for General Motors and Ford discovered that the exhaust from their cars was very likely changing the climate. They made presentations at conferences. They briefed senior executives. And then, they were publicly contradicted and their work was suppressed.

We’ll talk to Maxine Joselow, the journalist who reported the story for E&E News over many months. She talked with more than two dozen former GM and Ford employees, retired auto industry executives, academics, and environmentalists about what the companies knew about climate change five decades ago.

It leaves the reader wondering: what if automakers had taken the problem more seriously a half-century ago?

Then, plenty of conservative states are embracing renewables. But now 100% clean energy mandates are spreading to redder states. The latest is Arizona: a place where elected officials and a giant utility previously worked to stop the march of clean energy. We’ll look at the shift.

And last: can a Marshall Plan for fading coal communities rebuild America’s former industrial regions?

E&E News: GM, Ford Knew About Climate Change 50 Years Ago
Scientific American: A Woman Warned GM about Warming, But Men Didn’t Listen
Greentech Media: Arizona Regulators Pass Rule for 100% Clean Energy by 2050
Smart Cities Dive: Mayors Unveil $60B Plan to Support Midwest Energy Transition
University of Pittsburgh: Marshall Plan for Middle America Roadmap

The Energy Gang is brought to you by Wärtsilä Energy, leading the transition toward a 100% renewable energy future. Wärtsilä launched “The Path to 100%” to accelerate the transition to renewables. Become part of the discussion.

The Energy Gang is brought to you by Honeywell, a leading supplier of IoT solutions to mission-critical industries around the world. Honeywell Smart Energy helps utilities transform their grid operations through advanced solutions and targeted services from edge to cloud. Learn more.

Day-One Climate Priorities for Biden’s White House Nov 13, 2020

Has 2020 – which seemed irredeemable – just done a 180? We’ll be back in the Paris agreement, Biden’s got a zero-emissions plan, East Asia’s making big moves, and there might even be a vaccine for Covid-19.

President-Elect Joe Biden has already named his environment transition team. And he discussed climate change with four European heads of state this Tuesday.

He also has a “Build Back Better” one-pager that looks a lot like the green recovery plans in Europe we’ve been discussing for months.

We’re going to look at specific things a Biden administration can do in each identified category to get to net-zero emissions.

Then, 2020 is turning into the year of net-zero. Japan and South Korea have now promised to zero out carbon emissions by 2050. That preserves the possibility of keeping warming at or below 1.5º C.

This fall, China also issued its first-ever net-zero date. That means most of East Asia has now committed to eliminating all new carbon emissions by a certain date.

President Moon Jae-in of South Korea actually ran and won on a platform of a Green New Deal for Korea. He’s talking about a ‘just transition’ away from dirty energy. And Japan says it will rethink its reliance on coal.

These are big stories on their own. Bigger in the context of America’s re-engagement with the world as we head toward climate negotiations in 2021.

The Energy Gang is brought to you by Wärtsilä Energy, leading the transition toward a 100% renewable energy future. Wärtsilä launched “The Path to 100%” to accelerate the transition to renewables. Become part of the discussion.

The Energy Gang is brought to you by Honeywell, a leading supplier of IoT solutions to mission-critical industries around the world. Honeywell Smart Energy helps utilities transform their grid operations through advanced solutions and targeted services from edge to cloud. Learn more.

How Customers Will Shape Zero-Carbon Utility Targets [Special Content From Oracle] Nov 10, 2020

This sponsored episode was produced in collaboration with GTM Creative Strategies and the Opower team at Oracle Utilities.

The last two years have brought a surge of plans for zero-carbon energy from some of the biggest power providers in the world. Dozens of U.S. utilities have committed to decarbonizing by 80% or more by 2050.

"Two thirds of U.S. consumers are now served by utilities with carbon or emissions reduction goals," says Scott Neuman, group vice president of Opower, at Oracle Utilities.

National Grid is the latest utility to up the ante. The electricity and gas supplier now wants to hit net-zero emissions by 2050.

"In terms of decarbonizing and reducing emissions across society, it can break out into three broad areas, decarbonizing generational power, decarbonizing transport and decarbonizing heat," says Badar Kahn, the presdient of National Grid US.

In this episode, we’ll hear from Badar Kahn and Scott Neuman about how zero-carbon goals may reshape utility operations -- and reshape the role of the customer.

"We're taking everything we've learned, everything we've built, and focusing our team on changing behaviors that will deliver the greatest emission reductions as quickly, affordably and accurately as possible," says Neuman.

Opower is working every single day to help your utility build a clean energy future. Utilities around the world rely on Opower to connect with their customers. Opower helps people save energy, save money, and adopt all the clean energy products & services we need right now.

Can Biden Undo Trump's Damage? Nov 05, 2020

This week: the future of the planet depends on the mail.

The mail-in votes are still being counted, but it’s increasingly likely that Joe Biden will become America’s next president.

As of this recording on Thursday morning, Biden’s path to the presidency looks much better than Trump’s. It could be Thursday night or Friday when we get calls for Georgia, Pennsylvania, Nevada and North Carolina.

We do not have an official result. But the direction feels clearer -- and we have plenty of local results, too.

Meanwhile, America is officially out of the Paris Climate Accord. What happens next?

In this episode, we’re just going to cover a smattering of stories coming out of the election.

Plus, we’ll answer a bunch of listener questions.

The Energy Gang is brought to you by Wärtsilä Energy, leading the transition toward a 100% renewable energy future. Wärtsilä launched “The Path to 100%” to accelerate the transition to renewables. Become part of the discussion.

The Energy Gang is brought to you by Honeywell, a leading supplier of IoT solutions to mission-critical industries around the world. Honeywell Smart Energy helps utilities transform their grid operations through advanced solutions and targeted services from edge to cloud. Learn more.

Climate's Role in the Final Days of the Campaign Oct 30, 2020

We’re just a few days out from the election -- and how could we talk about anything else? Climate is finally beginning to play the kind of role that we have waited so long for.

In this pre-election episode, we’ll recap where things stand: and how energy and climate are playing into late-stage messaging of Biden and Trump.

Plus, what are some of the crucial down-ballot races we’re watching election night?

And last: Five years have passed since the largest terrestrial natural gas disaster in U.S. history. A methane well in the Los Angeles hills broke open and shot a plume of methane into the air for four months.

What’s changed since the Aliso Canyon leak? And how did it accelerate distributed resources in the state?

The Energy Gang is brought to you by Sungrow, the leading global supplier of inverter solutions for renewables. During these uncertain times, Sungrow is committed to protecting its employees and continuing to reliably serve its customers around the world. Sungrow has also leveraged its extensive network across the United States to distribute face masks to communities in need.

The Energy Gang is also brought to you by KORE Power. Based in the U.S., KORE Power is situated to meet the growing global demand of the energy storage market. KORE Power is building the first large-scale battery cell manufacturing facility in the U.S. owned by an American company. Once it’s operational, the 1-million-square-foot facility will have 12 gigawatt-hours of scalable manufacturing capacity. Learn more.

Watt It Takes: Why Steph Speirs Wants Solar For All Oct 23, 2020

This week on Watt It Takes: Powerhouse CEO Emily Kirsch sits down with Solstice CEO Steph Speirs.

Solistice is a community solar company trying to make PV accessible to everyone.

Steph Speirs grew up one of three kids, first generation, in Hawaii. Her mom had immigrated from Korea. She knows what eviction feels like, and what it’s like to skirt homelessness. And she knows how a poor credit score can sink a human being.

She got a scholarship to a private high school, became a National Merit scholar and accrued three masters degrees at Yale, Princeton and MIT.

In this interview, we’ll hear how her time in the Obama administration led to a summer internship with the non-profit impact investor Acumen. She worked on solar lanterns in India. Her time in Yemen, India, and then Pakistan led to an awakening about energy injustice in the United States.

Solstice has now developed demand for 100 MW of community solar and just closed its biggest funding round so far.

To learn more about future speakers and attending a live event, go to Powerhouse.fund and click on the events tab. You can listen to all of the episodes of Watt It Takes here.

The Energy Gang is also brought to you by KORE Power. Based in the U.S., KORE Power is situated to meet the growing global demand of the energy storage market. KORE Power is building the first large-scale battery cell manufacturing facility in the U.S. owned by an American company. Once it’s operational, the 1-million-square-foot facility will have 12 gigawatt-hours of scalable manufacturing capacity. Learn more.

The Energy Gang is brought to you by Sungrow, the leading global supplier of inverter solutions for renewables. During these uncertain times, Sungrow is committed to protecting its employees and continuing to reliably serve its customers around the world. Sungrow has also leveraged its extensive network across the United States to distribute face masks to communities in need.

Taking Stock of Job Losses in Clean Energy Oct 16, 2020

In a year when clean energy and clean vehicle jobs were supposed to increase by some 175,000, we are down by half a million jobs.

We will tell you why, and explain the numbers. What will reverse the decline?

Then: Did New Jersey just pass the most sweeping environmental justice law in the country? The new law will mean big changes for industrial sites -- and the neighborhoods that often feel their worst impacts.

And last: What about all that nice, flat water in hydropower reservoirs? Could we float solar panels on it? The Department of Energy says we could. And it would actually produce massive amounts of electricity.

E2: Clean Energy Sector Enters Final Months of 2020 Down 478,000 Jobs
Bloomberg: Most U.S. Oil Job Losses in Pandemic Are Lasting
Fortune: The Oil and Gas Industry Has Lost More Than 100,000 Jobs This Year
NJ.com: Landmark Law to Protect N.J.'s Poorest Communities From Pollution
DOE: U.S. Hydropower Potential from Existing Non-powered Dams

The Energy Gang is brought to you by Sungrow, the leading global supplier of inverter solutions for renewables. During these uncertain times, Sungrow is committed to protecting its employees and continuing to reliably serve its customers around the world. Sungrow has also leveraged its extensive network across the United States to distribute face masks to communities in need.

The Energy Gang is also brought to you by KORE Power. Based in the U.S., KORE Power is situated to meet the growing global demand of the energy storage market. KORE Power is building the first large-scale battery cell manufacturing facility in the U.S. owned by an American company. Once it’s operational, the 1-million-square-foot facility will have 12 gigawatt-hours of scalable manufacturing capacity. Learn more.

Keep Calm and Close Clean Energy Deals [Special Content] Oct 14, 2020

Manish Hebbar architects billions of dollars worth of equity and debt deals in clean energy.

He’s able to stay methodical and calm in the middle of deals that are very stressful, involving multiple buyers and counter-parties.

“M&A transactions are those types of deals, where it's a fast-paced environment, every minute and every hour matters. It's really about who can stay the course and work through each round of progression.”

That skill goes back to his time as a Lieutenant in the Navy. It’s also influenced by his experience evaluating risk at Citibank during the height of the 2008 financial crisis.

Today, Manish is a managing director at CohnReznick Capital. He’s brokering some of clean energy’s biggest mergers and acquisitions -- like an 800-plus megawatt portfolio of wind projects in the U.S. and Canada in 2019.

In this special episode, produced in collaboration with CohnReznick Capital, we’ll hear how Manish used his experience in the military and financial risk to find his way into the fast-paced world of clean energy.

CohnReznick builds relationships, closes deals, and helps clean energy companies excel. Learn more about how people like Manish can help you work through some of the most complicated transactions in energy.

Exxon Is Losing the Energy Transition Oct 09, 2020

What does it mean when the world’s largest generator of wind and solar outpaces the most iconic oil company in market value? We’re talking about NextEra Energy and ExxonMobil. What does the flip tell us about the energy transition?

Plus, reporters at Bloomberg got their hands on documents that show ExxonMobil plans to pretty significantly ramp up emissions in the coming years. Is this the planet’s most recalcitrant company?

Then, the flattening of hydrocarbon growth will change global political power. But do we really know how yet? We’ll discuss a new piece from Jason Bordoff about the surprising geopolitics of energy.

Lastly, a lot of manufacturing relies on very high heat. Are there ways to reach those temperatures cleanly? We’ll look at some new developments in the steel industry.

Recommended reading:

Bloomberg: Exxon’s Plan for Surging Carbon Emissions Revealed in Leaked Documents
Barrons: Green-Oriented NextEra Nears ExxonMobil in Market cap
Wall Street Journal: NextEra Energy Made Takeover Approach to Duke Energy
Foreign Policy: Everything You Think About the Geopolitics of Climate Change is Wrong
IRENA: A New World, The Geopolitics of the Energy Transformation
Mighty Earth: ArcelorMittal’s New Carbon-Neutral Commitment Could Catalyze Steel
SSAB: “First in fossil-free steel using ‘Hybrit’ technology”
Greentech Media: How to Slash the Industrial Emissions that are Heating the Planet
Greentech Media: The Building Industry Gets Serious About Embodied Carbon
Columbia Center on Energy Policy : Low-carbon heat solutions for heavy industry
A Matter of Degrees podcast with Leah Stokes and Katharine Wilkinson

The Energy Gang is brought to you by Sungrow, the leading global supplier of inverter solutions for renewables. During these uncertain times, Sungrow is committed to protecting its employees and continuing to reliably serve its customers around the world. Sungrow has also leveraged its extensive network across the United States to distribute face masks to communities in need.

The Energy Gang is also brought to you by KORE Power. Based in the U.S., KORE Power is situated to meet the growing global demand of the energy storage market. KORE Power is building the first large-scale battery cell manufacturing facility in the U.S. owned by an American company. Once it’s operational, the 1-million-square-foot facility will have 12 gigawatt-hours of scalable manufacturing capacity. Learn more.

What's Behind China's Zero-Carbon Aim? Oct 03, 2020

China, the country currently pouring the most carbon into the atmosphere, is making a promise to get to zero emissions – 40 years from now. Is it a breakthrough? Or is it a plan to keep burning coal? Is it both? We’ll hash it out.

Then, the Governor of California wants to stop selling any new cars that run on gasoline – in 15 years. It’s ambitious, can it be done? Is it legal? What will that take?

And last, a flurry of serious commitments from top American brands – Walmart, Google, Apple. Each of them is super challenging for a different reason. But also groundbreaking. We’ll dig in.

Resources:

The Guardian: China Pledges to Become Carbon Neutral Before 2060
Bloomberg: China’s Top Climate Scientists Map Out Path to 2060 Goal
L.A. Times: Newsom Orders 2035 Phaseout of Gas-Powered Vehicles
Axios: Walmart Aims for Zero Greenhouse Gas Emissions by 2040
GTM: Google Pledges 24/7 Carbon-Free Energy by 2030

The Energy Gang is brought to you by Sungrow, the leading global supplier of inverter solutions for renewables. During these uncertain times, Sungrow is committed to protecting its employees and continuing to reliably serve its customers around the world. Sungrow has also leveraged its extensive network across the United States to distribute face masks to communities in need.

The Energy Gang is also brought to you by KORE Power. Based in the U.S., KORE Power is situated to meet the growing global demand of the energy storage market. KORE Power is building the first large-scale battery cell manufacturing facility in the U.S. owned by an American company. Once it’s operational, the 1-million-square-foot facility will have 12 gigawatt-hours of scalable manufacturing capacity. Learn more.

How a Changed Supreme Court Could Derail Climate Progress Sep 25, 2020

Does the loss of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg mean the future of federal climate policy is in jeopardy? What will a changed Supreme Court mean for climate change, and for the all-important endangerment finding? The Gang weighs in.

Then, the great plastic cover-up. How important are plastics to the profits of fossil fuel companies? We dive into an important investigation from NPR and Frontline into how fossil fuel companies hoodwinked the public on plastics recycling.

Then last, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is out with an important and long-awaited policy that opens the door for all types of distributed energy – hot water heaters, batteries, rooftop solar, electric cars – to feed energy into the grid in the aggregate. Are we finally there?

Recommended reading, viewing:

Scientific American: Ruth Bader Ginsburg Leaves a Nuanced Legacy on Env. Issues
Politico: Ginsburg Left a Long Environmental Legacy
Axios: The Climate Stakes of the Supreme Court Fight
Guardian: Oil industry lobbies US to help weaken Kenya’s strong stance on plastic waste
Fast Company: Surprise: Your cleaning supplies are full of fossil fuel
Frontline: Plastic Wars
NPR: How big oil misled the public into believing plastic would be recycled
Greentech Media: ‘Game-Changer’ FERC Order Opens Grid Markets to DER
Houston Chronicle: FERC opens grid to power aggregators
Twitter: Peter Cavan’s thread
Twitter: Ari Peskoe’s thread

The Energy Gang is brought to you by Sungrow, the leading global supplier of inverter solutions for renewables. During these uncertain times, Sungrow is committed to protecting its employees and continuing to reliably serve its customers around the world. Sungrow has also leveraged its extensive network across the United States to distribute face masks to communities in need.

The Energy Gang is also brought to you by KORE Power. Based in the U.S., KORE Power is situated to meet the growing global demand of the energy storage market. KORE Power is building the first large-scale battery cell manufacturing facility in the U.S. owned by an American company. Once it’s operational, the 1-million-square-foot facility will have 12 gigawatt-hours of scalable manufacturing capacity. Learn more.

Watt It Takes: Michael Liebreich Sep 22, 2020

This week on Watt It Takes: Powerhouse CEO Emily Kirsch sits down with Michael Liebreich.

You may know Liebreich as the brain behind New Energy Finance, which was sold to Bloomberg in 2009.

But before that company, Leibreich started a ski-based travel startup and invested in a portfolio of companies that lost 90 percent of their value in the dot-com bust.

After that, he was "unemployable." But he used a team of interns to begin compiling data on clean energy investment. in this episode, he tells the story of how that became a 140-employee business that Bloomberg eventually acquired.

This conversation was recorded live (remotely) as part of an interview series in collaboration with Powerhouse and Greentech Media.

To learn more about future speakers and attending a live event, go to Powerhouse.fund and click on the events tab. You can listen to all of the episodes of Watt It Takes here.

The Energy Gang is brought to you by KORE Power. Based in the U.S., KORE Power is situated to meet the growing global demand of the energy storage market. In fact, KORE Power is building a large-scale battery cell manufacturing facility here in the U.S. Once it’s operational, the 1 million square foot facility will have 12 gigawatt-hours of scalable manufacturing capacity. Learn more.

The Energy Gang is also brought to you by Sungrow, the leading global supplier of inverter solutions for renewables. During these uncertain times, Sungrow is committed to protecting its employees and continuing to reliably serve its customers around the world. Sungrow has also leveraged its extensive network across the United States to distribute face masks to communities in need.

Renewables Beat Fossils on Europe's Grid Sep 11, 2020

In the first half of 2020, renewables beat out fossil fuels on the grid in Europe for the first time. They didn’t only beat out coal -- they beat out all fossil fuels put together. We’ll look at what the milestone means.

Then, 30 major companies have come together in a new joint lobbying organization to flex united power for clean energy. Will it make renewables a bigger political force? And what will they be fighting for?

Then, your view of Texas is probably out-of-date. We look at the dawn of Big Solar in Texas and peek at the ERCOT interconnection queue -- it’s almost all green.

Recommended reading:

Danish Startup ‘Tomorrow’: Global Real Time Carbon Intensity Map of Electricity
Climate Home News: Renewables overtake fossil fuels in EU electricity generation
Forbes: European Renewables Just Crushed Fossil Fuels. Here’s How It Happened
Johannes vd Bosch: Twitter thread about Renewables in Germany
E&ENews: AWEA, Clean Energy Companies Join Forces for Lobbying
Greentech Media: AWEA Introduces New Trade Group
Recharge: AWEA and power giants plan new body 'to make renewables dominant'
Texas Observer: Texas Solar Hits a Turning Point
Jigar Shah LinkedIn post

The Energy Gang is brought to you by KORE Power. Based in the U.S., KORE Power is situated to meet the growing global demand of the energy storage market. In fact, KORE Power is building a large-scale battery cell manufacturing facility here in the U.S. Once it’s operational, the 1 million square foot facility will have 12 gigawatt-hours of scalable manufacturing capacity. Learn more.

The Energy Gang is also brought to you by Sungrow, the leading global supplier of inverter solutions for renewables. During these uncertain times, Sungrow is committed to protecting its employees and continuing to reliably serve its customers around the world. Sungrow has also leveraged its extensive network across the United States to distribute face masks to communities in need.

Watt It Takes: Van Jones Sep 04, 2020

This week on Watt It Takes: Powerhouse CEO Emily Kirsch sits down with green jobs pioneer Van Jones.

Jones may be best known for “The Van Jones Show” and “The Redemption Project,” which both air on CNN. He is also the author of three best-selling books, including “The Green Collar Economy.”

But long before the high-profile Green New Deal, Jones was also a powerful voice for bringing clean energy jobs to black and brown communities. He helped spearhead the Green Jobs Act of 2007, the first time the country deliberately trained workers for the future clean economy.

In this episode, Jones reveals a little-told backstory of his childhood and early life, his time at Yale Law School, and the painful time he briefly joined, and then left, the Obama Administration as the green jobs czar.

This conversation was recorded live (remotely) as part of an interview series in collaboration with Powerhouse and Greentech Media.

To learn more about future speakers and attending a live event, go to Powerhouse.fund and click on the events tab. You can listen to all of the episodes of Watt It Takes here.

The Energy Gang is brought to you by Sungrow, the leading global supplier of inverter solutions for renewables. During these uncertain times, Sungrow is committed to protecting its employees and continuing to reliably serve its customers around the world. Sungrow has also leveraged its extensive network across the United States to distribute face masks to communities in need.

The Energy Gang is also brought to you by KORE Power. Based in the U.S., KORE Power is situated to meet the growing global demand of the energy storage market. In fact, KORE Power is building a large-scale battery cell manufacturing facility here in the U.S. Once it’s operational, the 1 million square foot facility will have 12 gigawatt-hours of scalable manufacturing capacity. Learn more.

Two Months Before the US Election, Climate Stays on Top Aug 26, 2020

We are just over two months away from America’s presidential election. And that means we are days away from one of the most consequential political moments ever for the planet.

Joe Biden put climate and cleantech jobs at the top of his priorities in last week’s nomination speech. His VP pick, Kamala Harris, says she’ll use her background as a prosecutor to hold industries accountable for climate change. And climate donors are pouring millions into their campaign.

Meanwhile, Trump was in Pennsylvania telling oil and gas workers that Biden is going to end their way of life. But a new poll from Resources for the Future shows that climate is a higher priority than ever for voters. We’ll start with a political roundup.

Then, a story about what’s at stake in the election. More details emerge about Trump Administration censorship of clean-energy research. What is the Seams study, and what happened to it?

Finally, we’ll take a bunch of questions from listeners about wave/tidal energy, plastic pellets, small-modular nuclear, geothermal heat, and non-wires alternatives.

This episode was recorded live in front of an in-home audience. Thanks to everyone for joining us!

The Energy Gang is brought to you by Fluence, a global leader in battery-based energy storage technology and services. From commercializing the first grid-connected battery systems in 2008 to the multi-gigawatt fleet being deployed for customers globally today, the Fluence team is ensuring that storage is the cornerstone of the electric future. Learn more.

The Energy Gang is brought to you by Nor-Cal Control. As a total controls and monitoring solution provider, Nor-Cal supports every phase of your project, from turnkey design solutions to post-OEM enhancements, troubleshooting and training. As the only system integrator in solar PV that comes from a traditional power generation background, Nor-Cal has earned a reputation as the “strongest in controls.” Learn more.

What Caused California’s Blackouts? Aug 21, 2020

Last week, short-term blackouts rolled across an overheated California after the grid operator said there was not enough power to meet demand.

This wasn’t supposed to happen again. Not after the Enron scandal. Not after 19 years of reforms. We have a very different grid now.

Renewables skeptics, including President Trump, are seizing on the incident. What really happened? Where do we place blame? We explain the confluence of grid-management factors.

Then, coal power generation in the United States plunged 30% in just the first half of this year. But what Asia, where 80% of coal gets burned now? What hope is there for a coal decline there? We’ll look at China, Japan and India.

Finally, stunning public health research. What happens when you combine this up-to-date science with the new, low-cost renewable energy? You get a blockbuster picture, that’s what. We’ll examine new research that shows the health benefits alone pay for our energy transition.

Recommended reading:

New York Times: Rolling Blackouts in California Have Power Experts Stumped
GTM: Western Heat Wave Tests California’s Clean Grid Transition
Twitter: Ed Burgess Tesla Powerwall Thread
Reuters: China's New Coal Projects Account for 90% of Global Total
The Guardian: India Plans to Fell Ancient Forest to Create 40 New Coalfields
New York times: Japan Races to Build New Coal-Burning Power Plants, Despite the Climate Risks
Vox: Roberts: Air Pollution Is Much Worse Than We Thought
Printed version of Dr. Shindell’s testimony

The Energy Gang is brought to you by Fluence, a global leader in battery-based energy storage technology and services. From commercializing the first grid-connected battery systems in 2008 to the multi-gigawatt fleet being deployed for customers globally today, the Fluence team is ensuring that storage is the cornerstone of the electric future. Learn more.

The Energy Gang is brought to you by Nor-Cal Control. As a total controls and monitoring solution provider, Nor-Cal supports every phase of your project, from turnkey design solutions to post-OEM enhancements, troubleshooting and training. As the only system integrator in solar PV that comes from a traditional power generation background, Nor-Cal has earned a reputation as the “strongest in controls.” Learn more.

The Economic Case for Electrifying Everything Aug 14, 2020

“Electrify everything” isn’t just a good slogan. It’s the fastest way to decarbonize and create tens of millions of jobs -- and it can be done using off-the-shelf technology.

A respected squad of researchers did the math on a swap-out of every aging boiler, truck and power plant -- and replacing it with equipment that won’t burn fossil fuels ever again. We’ll dig into a new analysis from Rewiring America.

Then, BP has more details around its plan to become the first oil major to transition away from the hydrocarbon-drilling business. What do they amount to? Can the company actually do it this time?

Last, PSEG promised to do right by its customers after failing them during Hurricane Sandy. So why were Long Islanders left sweltering for days after a few high winds from the remnants of Hurricane Isaias? And what does it portend in a future of stronger storms?

Note: we have a “live” show on August 25th. We’re wrapping up this crazy summer with another live conversation from our homes to yours. Sign up here.

Our guest co-host this week is Melissa Lott of the Columbia Center on Global Energy Policy.

Recommended reading:

Griffith, Calisch, Laskey, Rewiring America: Report
VOX: How to Drive Fossil Fuel out of the Economy, Quickly
Bloomberg Green: BP Walks Away From the Oil Supermajor Model It Helped Create
GTM: BP Aims to Build 50GW of Renewables by 2030, Cut Fossil Fuel Output by 40%
GTM: New Jersey PSEG Seeks to Sell Merchant Fossil, Solar Fleet
Long Island Herald: Glen Cove Residents, Officials Frustrated with PSEG LI Leadership

The Energy Gang is brought to you by Fluence, a global leader in battery-based energy storage technology and services. From commercializing the first grid-connected battery systems in 2008 to the multi-gigawatt fleet being deployed for customers globally today, the Fluence team is ensuring that storage is the cornerstone of the electric future. Learn more.

The Energy Gang is brought to you by Nor-Cal Control. As a total controls and monitoring solution provider, Nor-Cal supports every phase of your project, from turnkey design solutions to post-OEM enhancements, troubleshooting and training. As the only system integrator in solar PV that comes from a traditional power generation background, Nor-Cal has earned a reputation as the “strongest in controls.” Learn more.

The Era of ‘Super Hybrid’ Renewables? Aug 07, 2020

On this week’s episode of The Energy Gang: big energy companies are putting together bids for multi- renewable power -- and it’s merchant.

Global investment in offshore wind more than quadrupled in the first half of this year. More new wind farms were approved at the height of the pandemic than during all last year.

Some of offshore projects include storage, and even hydrogen. Some of them include floating solar panels. Is this what the future of projects looks like for oil & gas majors?

Then, is green hydrogen here to stay? One Saudi project unveiled last month is at gigawatt scale. Another major utility is getting out of America’s largest coal plant and making investments in solar-generated hydrogen. Bloom Energy is even making electrolyzers. What does this activity tell us?

And last, there’s a reason Henrik Fisker hasn’t gone away, even after the demise of the Fisker Karma. We dive into the new Fisker Ocean SUV and a spate of other electric car announcements and ask: Does parity on EV prices even matter?

Join us with guest co-host Melissa Lott of the Columbia Center on Global Energy Policy.

Recommended reading:

GTM: Super-Hybrid: Dutch Offshore Farm to Include Floating Solar, Storage & Hydrogen
GTM: Dutch Offshore Wind Tender Faces Concerns of Depressed Interest
Utility Dive Opinion: Geothermal Energy Is Surging
GTM: NextEra Energy to Build Its First Green Hydrogen Plant in Florida
GTM: World’s Largest Green Hydrogen Project Unveiled in Saudi Arabia
Inside Climate News: How Soon Will An EV Cost the Same as a Gasoline Vehicle?
Reuters-NYT: Electric Car Maker Fisker to Go Public Through SPAC Deal at $2.9 Billion

The Interchange is brought to you by Fluence, a global leader in battery-based energy storage technology and services. From commercializing the first grid-connected battery systems in 2008 to the multi-gigawatt fleet being deployed for customers globally today, the Fluence team is ensuring that storage is the cornerstone of the electric future. Learn more.

The Energy Gang is brought to you by Nor-Cal Control. As a total controls and monitoring solution provider, Nor-Cal supports every phase of your project, from turnkey design solutions to post-OEM enhancements, troubleshooting and training. As the only system integrator in solar PV that comes from a traditional power generation background, Nor-Cal has earned a reputation at the “strongest in controls.” Learn more.

Watt It Takes: Opower's Dan Yates on the Origins of Behavioral Efficiency Jul 29, 2020

Dan Yates and his co-founder Alex Laskey built Opower, an efficiency company that saves more energy every year than the hoover dam can generate. It was based on cutting-edge behavioral science -- but it wasn’t always clear how the science would play out.

“It wasn’t okay with us to just know that there was going to be a result. It had to be a certain level, otherwise it wasn’t economic. And in the first few months, the results came in and they weren’t changing behavior. The floor fell out from under me. I said, ‘oh my god, we have no idea if this is going to work.'”

Opower was founded in 2007 by Dan and Alex, two friends from Harvard. Dan knew software. Alex knew how to sell. And both of them wanted to build a company for environmental good.

Opower was based on a simple premise: send paper mailers to utility customers comparing their electricity use to their neighbors. If people saw they were doing poorly, they’d make changes. It worked.

Over time, Opower inked deals with the world’s biggest power companies and started processing vast amounts of smart meter data -- making it arguably the biggest energy efficiency success story in business. The company went public in 2014 and was sold to Oracle in 2016.

In this episode, Powerhouse CEO Emily Kirsch talks with Dan about the science behind the idea, how Opower evolved and expanded, and why the company was eventually sold to Oracle.

Listen to all our past episodes of Watt It Takes here. This series is normally recorded in front of a live audience. But we’re now recording the interviews remotely. See future events here.

The Energy Gang is brought to you by Fluence, a global leader in battery-based energy storage technology and services. From commercializing the first grid-connected battery systems in 2008 to the multi-gigawatt fleet being deployed for customers globally today, the Fluence team is ensuring that storage is the cornerstone of the electric future. Learn more.

The Energy Gang is brought to you by Nor-Cal Control. As a total controls and monitoring solution provider, Nor-Cal supports every phase of your project, from turnkey design solutions to post-OEM enhancements, troubleshooting and training. As the only system integrator in solar PV that comes from a traditional power generation background, Nor-Cal has earned a reputation at the “strongest in controls.” Learn more.

Biden's Trillion-Dollar Climate Ambitions Jul 24, 2020

Joe Biden just released a plan to address climate change on a trillion-dollar scale. Along with focusing on rapid deployment of renewables, it also devotes resources to environmental justice, sustainable housing, clean transportation, and networking.

What would it mean? And who's informing the ideas? We’ll dig in.

Then Facebook's disinformation problem. We look at why Facebook is rejecting the conclusions of its fact-checkers on some articles about climate change. We’re joined by Emily Atkin, climate journalist and founder of the newsletter Heated, who dug up some of the documents showing who’s making these decisions at Facebook.

Then, U.S. attorneys in Ohio and Illinois have been busy investigating racketeering and bribery by high-ranking public officials who are doing the bidding of utility companies. In Ohio, the speaker of the House is arrested and in Illinois a utility is put on probation. There’s a common thread, and we tease it out.

Recommended reading:

Biden Campaign: Climate Plan
Biden Campaign: Environmental Justice Commitments
GTM: Biden Pledges $2T in Clean Energy and Infrastructure Spending
Heated: Facebook Creates Fact-Checking Exemption for Climate Deniers
NYT: How Facebook Handles Climate Disinformation
WaPo: GOP Ohio House speaker Arrested in Connection to $60 million Bribery Scheme
Axios: Ohio House speaker charged in $60 million bribery investigation
GTM: ComEd Agrees to $200M Fine on Federal Bribery Charge

The Interchange is brought to you by Fluence, a global leader in battery-based energy storage technology and services. From commercializing the first grid-connected battery systems in 2008 to the multi-gigawatt fleet being deployed for customers globally today, the Fluence team is ensuring that storage is the cornerstone of the electric future. Learn more.

The Energy Gang is brought to you by Nor-Cal Control. As a total controls and monitoring solution provider, Nor-Cal supports every phase of your project, from turnkey design solutions to post-OEM enhancements, troubleshooting and training. As the only system integrator in solar PV that comes from a traditional power generation background, Nor-Cal has earned a reputation at the “strongest in controls.” Learn more.

The Most Complete Climate Policy Plan Ever? Jul 17, 2020

A group of House lawmakers recently released a 547-page report on climate change. Reporters at E&E News call it “arguably the most comprehensive climate policy plan in American politics.”

The report spells out in great detail how to use Congressional policy to decarbonize the economy. It was the result of nearly a year of input from hundreds of experts, 17 hearings, and thousands of meetings.

This week, we’ll discuss why this report is so significant. We’ll also look at a companion infrastructure bill from House Democrats that makes clean energy a centerpiece. Can it become a reality after the election?

Then, drama for pipelines and batteries. We’ll look at a slew of legal decisions for pipelines in just two weeks, and what they mean for the future of fossil fuel infrastructure.

Last, storage, unleashed. A court affirms FERC’s decision to treat energy storage just like any other power source in wholesale markets, opening the door to massive investment.

Resources:

E&ENews: Democrats: 'We will turn this report into law'
WaPo: House Dems unveil ambitious climate package, steer toward a net-0 by 2050
Select Committee: Report
Bloomberg: Dakota Access Oil Line to Be Shut by Court in Blow for Trump
Bloomberg: State Court Judge Shuts Down Michigan’s Controversial Line 5
GTM: ‘Enormous Step’ for Energy Storage as Court Upholds FERC Order 841

The Interchange is brought to you by Fluence, a global leader in battery-based energy storage technology and services. From commercializing the first grid-connected battery systems in 2008 to the multi-gigawatt fleet being deployed for customers globally today, the Fluence team is ensuring that storage is the cornerstone of the electric future. Learn more.

The Energy Gang is brought to you by Nor-Cal Control. As a total controls and monitoring solution provider, Nor-Cal supports every phase of your project, from turnkey design solutions to post OEM enhancements, troubleshooting and training. As the only system integrator in solar PV that comes from a traditional power generation background, Nor-Cal has earned a reputation at the “strongest in controls.” Learn more.

Nikola vs Tesla: The Future of Trucking? Jun 26, 2020

A rivalry is emerging between two companies trying to clean up the trucking industry: Nikola Motor versus Tesla Motors.

Tesla thinks battery-electric semi models are superior. Nikola thinks hydrogen is the best choice.

Neither company actually has a semi model on the road. But Elon Musk and Trevor Milton are talking up their visions for the future of heavy-duty trucks, with the hope of getting vehicles to customers in the next couple of years.

This week on The Energy Gang: Which company is best positioned to win? Which technology is superior? And who’s the bigger showman, Musk or Milton?

Then: are we finally entering the era of the electric pick-up truck? Lots of new models are hitting the internet. But when will they hit the roads?

And last, Lyft wants every car in its fleet to be electric -- in 10 years. Most of the cars don’t belong to Lyft, so how are they going to make that happen?

Co-hosts Katherine Hamilton, Jigar Shah and Stephen Lacey discuss.

Resources:

Fast Company: 7 Things to Know About the Rising Tesla Competitor
Bloomberg/India Times: In the battle of electric-trucks, it is Nikola vs Tesla
HiConsumption: The 8 Electric Pickup Trucks Worth Waiting For
Elektrek: The year of the electric truck, finally?
Lyft: Path to Zero Emissions
Bloomberg: Lyft Says All Rides Will Be in Electric Cars by the End of 2030

The Energy Gang is brought to you by Sungrow, the leading global supplier of inverter solutions for renewables. During these uncertain times, Sungrow is committed to protecting its employees and continuing to reliably serve its customers around the world. Sungrow has also leveraged its extensive network across the United States to distribute face masks to communities in need.

The Energy Gang is also brought to you by KORE Power. Based in the U.S., KORE Power is situated to meet the growing global demand of the energy storage market. KORE Power is building the first large-scale battery cell manufacturing facility in the U.S. owned by an American company. Once it’s operational, the 1-million-square-foot facility will have 10 gigawatt-hours of scalable manufacturing capacity. Learn more.

An Anxious Accountant's Journey to the Top [Special Content] Jun 25, 2020

This is an original, branded podcast from GTM Creative Strategies, produced in collaboration with CohnReznick.

In 2004, Ted Gunther started a new job at a big accounting firm. He led the team overseeing transactions in newly-deregulated electricity markets.

On his first day, he met the "Green Book," a thick, complicated book that sets standards for derivatives, hedging strategies and contracts structures.

“I still remember it vividly. [...] I remember the partner at the time putting that book on my desk and asking me to go ahead and read this and I just looked at it and I thought to myself, ‘Wow, that's going to be a lot to read.’

Ted used The Green Book to become an expert in complicated energy markets.

As his career blossomed, he started grappling with another complicated problem: anxiety.

It started to grip Ted during meetings. “The heart's really beating fast. You know you have something to say but you have a hard time just getting it out and saying it.”

But he wasn’t going to let anxiety hold him back. Ted got help, moved past it, and became a partner at CohnReznick.

Today, he leads CohnReznick's renewable energy industry practice, and helps utilities and other energy companies execute all kinds of transactions, from long-term contracts to hedging strategies to tax structures.

In this special episode: how Ted is using the lessons from overcoming anxiety to help clientsand colleagues grow.

CohnReznick serves a wide range of industries from tech to government to entertainment. It’s a leader in cutting-edge fields like renewable energy and cannabis. To learn more about how people like Ted can help you work through some of the most complicated transactions in energy, visit CohnReznick.

A 90% Clean Grid Is Possible Quickly Jun 19, 2020

Most decarbonization proposals play out over 30 years, aiming toward 2050. But a new roadmap from researchers at UC Berkeley and the policy firm Energy Innovation shows the grid can get 90% clean in just 15 years.

No new fossil fuel plants. Lower rates for consumers. 85,000 lives saved. 500,000 additional jobs. Region by region, they lay out exactly how.

Prices have fallen so quickly that our understanding of what’s possible hasn’t kept pace. And now, say researchers, we have the chance to decarbonize much earlier than many thought possible.

This week, we’ll dig into the study and its implications.

Then: pollsters say Americans are “fully bought in” to a clean energy future — and want bigger societal issues addressed with it. But among crucial swing voters, is anyone even thinking about climate? We’ll look at what the latest polling tells us.

Lastly, BP decides its assets are worth $17 billion dollars less than they thought. It’s a massive write down. Is this a tipping point? A leading indicator?

Co-hosts Katherine Hamilton, Jigar Shah and Stephen Lacey discuss.

Resources:

UCB Goldman School of Public Policy: The 2035 Report
Energy Innovation LLC: 2035 Data Explorer
Greentech Media: 90% Clean Grid by 2035 Is Not Just Feasible, But Cheaper, Study Says
Environmental Research Letters: Combining Climate, Economic, and Social Policy Builds Public Support for Climate Action in the US (Bergquist, Mildenberger & Stokes)
WAPO Opinion: Protesters Want Justice — Including on Social, Economic and Climate Demands
Yale Program on Climate Comm: Politics and Global Warming April 2020
Climate 2020 Podcast: How Do You Message Climate In This Political Moment?
Bloomberg opinion: BP Submits to Brutal Reality on the Future of Oil
Twitter: Mark Campanale, Carbon Tracker
Bloomberg opinion: Big Oil Can Help Renewables by Spinning Them Off

The Energy Gang is brought to you by Sungrow, the leading global supplier of inverter solutions for renewables. During these uncertain times, Sungrow is committed to protecting its employees and continuing to reliably serve its customers around the world. Sungrow has also leveraged its extensive network across the United States to distribute face masks to communities in need.

The Energy Gang is also brought to you by KORE Power. Based in the U.S., KORE Power is situated to meet the growing global demand of the energy storage market. KORE Power is building the first large-scale battery cell manufacturing facility in the U.S. owned by an American company. Once it’s operational, the 1-million-square-foot facility will have 10 gigawatt-hours of scalable manufacturing capacity. Learn more.

Europe Invests Big in Green Recovery, While US Keeps the Status Quo Jun 11, 2020

We’re back with another live show from quarantine.

Europe is crafting a €750 billion recovery package in response to the economic impact of coronavirus. It will devote more than €200 billion directly to low-carbon infrastructure projects. That could enable hundreds of billions more for renewables, efficiency, clean public transport, and hydrogen.

Meanwhile, here in the U.S., our recent stimulus sent billions of dollars to debt-laden oil producers. With potentially one shot left to pass another recovery package, everyone is afraid to utter the word “climate.”

Coronavirus highlights yet another political and economic divide. How badly is America squandering this historic moment?

Plus, we address listener questions about offshore wind, undercovered climate solutions, career advice, and the mysterious ‘MOPR‘ that could override states’ clean energy preferences.

Thanks to all our listeners who tuned in live!

Mentioned on the the show:

Freestyle Rapper for Pexapark: Chris Turner
Rap Artist Who Rhymes on Science: Baba Brinkman
Heavy Metal Elon Musk Tribute Band: Raptor Command

Recommended reading:

DeutcheWelle: Germany pushes electric cars in $145B stimulus.
Bloomberg: The world’s greenest stimulus plan from Germany
BBC: Could the “Green stimulus” go global?
Climate Change News: Spain unveils climate law to cut emissions to net zero by 2050
Bloomberg: Europe’s Recovery Plan Has Green Strings Attached

The Energy Gang is brought to you by Sungrow, the leading global supplier of inverter solutions for renewables. During these uncertain times, Sungrow is committed to protecting its employees and continuing to reliably serve its customers around the world. Sungrow has also leveraged its extensive network across the United States to distribute face masks to communities in need.

The Energy Gang is also brought to you by KORE Power. Based in the U.S., KORE Power is situated to meet the growing global demand of the energy storage market. KORE Power is building the first large-scale battery cell manufacturing facility in the U.S. owned by an American company. Once it’s operational, the 1-million-square-foot facility will have 10 gigawatt-hours of scalable manufacturing capacity. Learn more.

Breathing While Black in America Jun 05, 2020

This week: as anger over police brutality explodes into the once-empty streets, we tackle an equally oppressive force for black Americans: environmental racism.

Coronavirus has exposed an unsettling reality for black and brown people, who are dying at higher rates in the country’s most polluted communities. We’re suddenly talking again about structural racism in policing and criminal justice. But the story of race, energy and the environment is also very important to understanding the anger of the moment.

We’re going to speak with a seasoned lawyer and organizer, who is working on the “mass melanization” of the environmental movement: Tamara Toles O’Laughlin, the North America Director for 350.org

Later in the show: if people lose their jobs and can’t pay their bills, what does that mean for their safety in a summer heat wave? And what does it mean for the financial health of utilities?

Finally, a new approach to residential demand response. Why are Consumers Energy, Uplight and Google giving away 100,000 free smart thermostats?

Don't forget to sign up for our FREE live show on June 9! Join us and submit your questions.

VOX: One reason why coronavirus is hitting black Americans the hardest
NY Times: In the Shadows of America’s Smokestacks, Virus is one More Deadly Risk
AP: 'Death By Racism': Part of America's DNA From the Start?
LA Times Boiling Point: Pandemic. Heat. And for the most vulnerable, no A/C
Gizmodo: Coronavirus, Summer Heat, and Poverty Could Create a 'Triple Whammy'
GTM: Can Free Smart Thermostats Get Homeowners to Enroll in Summertime Demand Response?
GTM: Residential Demand Response to Play Key Role Managing US Load This Summer

The Energy Gang is brought to you by Sungrow, the leading global supplier of inverter solutions for renewables. During these uncertain times, Sungrow is committed to protecting its employees and continuing to reliably serve its customers around the world. Sungrow has also leveraged its extensive network across the United States to distribute face masks to communities in need.

The Energy Gang is also brought to you by KORE Power. Based in the U.S., KORE Power is situated to meet the growing global demand of the energy storage market. KORE Power is building the first large-scale battery cell manufacturing facility in the U.S. owned by an American company. Once it’s operational, the 1 million square foot facility will have 10 gigawatt-hours of scalable manufacturing capacity. Learn more.

Watt It Takes: Building Distributed, 'Restorative' Hydropower May 29, 2020

Gia Schneider and her brother Abe started Natel Energy based on a hydropower turbine their father designed. And after more than a decade of R&D, pilots, software development and a project for Apple, Natel is preparing for the next level of scale.

“Our objectives have actually not wavered. But they haven’t wavered because of rigid adherence to dogma, they have not wavered because we check in consistently about ‘is this the right problem to solve?’” says Schneider.

Natel is commercializing a turbine for low-head hydro applications at old dams, irrigation canals and run-of-river projects. It’s designed to protect wildlife and drastically cut the ecological impact of hydropower. The original design came from Gia’s father, who started working on low-flow turbines back in the 1970s -- but it’s come a long way since then.

Gia also has a long history in energy. She worked at Constellation Energy and in Accenture’s utility practice. She started the energy and carbon trading desks at Credit Suisse. And in 2009, she launched Natel with her brother Abe.

In March, Natel closed an $11 million round led by Schneider Electric and Breakthrough Energy Ventures, just before the economy shut down.

In this episode, Powerhouse CEO Emily Kirsch talks with Gia about starting a company with her family, how to balance short-term tech development with long-term deployment goals, and how coronavirus could impact the next phase of growth.

This series is normally recorded in front of a live audience. But we’re now recording the interviews remotely. See future events here

We’re hosting a live episode of The Energy Gang on June 9. Sign up for free here.

The Energy Gang is brought to you by Sungrow, the leading global supplier of inverter solutions for renewables. During these uncertain times, Sungrow is committed to protecting its employees and continuing to reliably serve its customers around the world. Sungrow has also leveraged its extensive network across the United States to distribute face masks to communities in need.

The Battery Boom Continues May 22, 2020

This week, we cover some hopeful signs amidst the economic destruction.

First, we’ll look at the record-breaking activity in battery storage.

A coal plant in North Dakota will be replaced in part with a one-acre battery array from Form Energy that uses a new technology capable of discharging for 150 hours – that’s more than 30 times longer than lithium batteries.

Hawaii’s electric utility just awarded contracts for 16 projects that add up to more than 3 gigawatt-hours of storage, in order to replace an oil-fired and a coal-fired power plant.

And in California, Southern California Edison signed contracts for 770 megawatts of batteries, many paired with solar projects, to replace gas plants. That’s 200 megawatts more than the entire battery capacity installed in 2019.

Plus, in China, more hybrid wind/solar and battery plants are starting to emerge.

This led Dan Finn-Foley, Wood Mackenzie’s head of energy storage, to declare: “The utility energy storage market is blowing through milestones faster than we can report them.”

Then, renewables are surging and coal is declining. A new IEA report says that renewable generation will increase in 2020 -- pushing higher-cost fossil resources out of the market. "In all regions that implemented lockdown measures," the IEA report said, "the electricity supply underwent a notable shift towards low-carbon energy sources." We’ll look at why.

Finally: presumptive presidential nominee Joe Biden just unveiled a new climate task force. From the Sunrise Movement to a former EPA chief, we’ll talk about who’s on it, and look at their roles. What will this task force accomplish in terms of agenda-setting and setting the political tone?

Recommended reading:

GTM: ‘Blowing Through Milestones’: Hawaiian Electric Picks Winners in Solar-Storage Bonanza
GTM: Long Duration Breakthrough? Form Energy’s First Project Tries Pushing Storage to 150 Hours
Bloomberg: China’s Great Energy Shift Sets Mega Hybrid Plants in Motion
Inside Climate News: With Planned Closing of North Dakota Coal Plant, Energy Transition Comes Home to Rural America
E&ENews: How Lockdowns Boost Renewables and Harm Coal
GTM: WoodMac: Global Solar Market Set to Resume Growth in 2021 as Coronavirus Impact Fades
Carbon Brief: Will China Build Hundreds of New Coal Power Plants in the 2020s?
Inside Climate News: Biden Names Ocasio-Cortez, Kerry to Lead His Climate Task Force, Bridging Democrats’ Divide
The Verge: How the Left is Trying to Fix Biden

The Energy Gang is brought to you by Sungrow, the leading global supplier of inverter solutions for renewables. During these uncertain times, Sungrow is committed to protecting its employees and continuing to reliably serve its customers around the world. Sungrow has also leveraged its extensive network across the United States to distribute face masks to communities in need.

Layoffs Surge in Clean Energy May 15, 2020

This week, we look at sky-high layoffs in clean energy. How do we get people back to work?

The first major analysis of unemployment in the clean energy sector has been released for April. According to E2 and BW Research, nearly 600,000 jobs were lost in energy efficiency, manufacturing, electric vehicles and clean power and fuels.

We’ve seen a 17 percent drop in the green workforce since the start of the year. Those losses amount to double the employment growth in clean energy for the last three years.

It’s likely to get worse before it gets better. How much should we worry? And what sectors will come back the fastest?

Then, what do 200 of the world’s top economic advisers think about the most effective low-carbon solutions for economic recovery?

And finally, we’ll revisit wildfires. Why can’t California utilities, especially northern giant PG&E, get it right when it comes to fire prevention?

Recommended reading:

E2: Clean energy Unemployment Claims April 2020
NASEO & EFI: 2020 Energy & Employment Report
The New Republic: There are Green Jobs Hiding in the Oilfields
Oxford Report with Stern and Stiglitz: Will COVID-19 fiscal recovery packages accelerate or retard progress on climate change?
Axios: Clean energy and climate change unlikely to lead American recovery
PG&E: Q1 Earnings Report
CPUC: Draft Report
CA Current: Wildfire Plans Riddled with Deficiencies
Judge Alsup: Order Modifying Conditions of PG&E Probation
GTM: Why California Residents Could See Even More Blackouts This Year
L.A.Times: California Faces Perilous Fire Season as Coronavirus Threatens Firefighters

The Energy Gang is brought to you by Sungrow, the leading global supplier of inverter solutions for renewables. During these uncertain times, Sungrow is committed to protecting its employees and continuing to reliably serve its customers around the world. Sungrow has also leveraged its extensive network across the United States to distribute face masks to communities in need.

Trump’s Deregulation Push + Michael Moore’s Bad-Faith Movie May 08, 2020

This week: while the country is distracted by infection rates, deaths and protests, what else have we been missing?

We peek out from behind the quarantine curtain to see what the Trump administration has been up to on the energy front.

The Trump administration has declared a national emergency over cyber threats to the power grid. Equipment vendors “where a foreign adversary has an interest” will be banned. Most transformers are built in China. Will this create uncertainty or slow grid work?

The executive branch has been busy with environmental rollbacks. The Trump administration wants to loosen as much environmental regulation as possible in the six months before the election. We look at the list.

Then, we answer your questions. We sourced nearly 200 questions from our recent live show. And we’re going to tackle some of them.

They include: Michael Moore’s bad-faith trashing of clean energy and the environmental movement; one group’s attempt to kill solar net metering nationwide; and how the current economic mess is impacting cities and corporates.

The Energy Gang is brought to you by Sungrow, the leading global supplier of inverter solutions for renewables. During these uncertain times, Sungrow is committed to protecting its employees and continuing to reliably serve its customers around the world. Sungrow has also leveraged its extensive network across the United States to distribute face masks to communities in need.

Watt It Takes: From Self-Replicating Machines to Decarbonization Apr 30, 2020

This week on Watt It Takes: Powerhouse CEO Emily Kirsch sits down with Saul Griffith, the founder and chief scientist at Other Lab.

Saul Griffith has a PhD in materials science and information theory. He’s co-founded over a dozen companies. And now he’s determined to prove that we already have what it takes to decarbonize the economy.

“The reality is I think it's still possible to completely decarbonize by 2030 and save everyone money. And we just got to start thinking about it correctly,” says Saul.

Other Lab is an R&D incubator and accelerator that helps pair startups in robotics and renewable energy with government labs and corporate investors. It has partnered with NASA, the Navy, the Department of Energy, Google, Facebook, GE and Ford to help build and fund projects in energy, automation, and robotics “in service of 100% decarbonization.”

Saul co-founded Makani Wind, the high-altitude wind company acquired by Google, and the tracker company Sunfolding. He brings the grit of an entrepreneur, the rigor of a scientist, the dirty mouth of a sailor to his passionate work on climate change.

A word of warning: there is some swearing in this interview. It might not be appropriate for some young ears.

In this episode, Emily talks with Saul about the many companies he’s helped build, and how he’s taken on a new mission to convince people that we have most of what we need — right now — to decarbonize large swaths of the economy.

This conversation was recorded at the Powerhouse headquarters in Oakland, California, before the pandemic. Our next episode will be recorded remotely for an online audience. You find more details here.

Subscribe to GTM’s newsletter to learn more about the companies we profile on this series.

This podcast is brought to you by CPower. CPower is offering a market-by-market analysis of the issues, trends, and regulations that organizations should understand in 2020 to make better decisions about energy. Get your copy today of the “2020 State of Demand-Side Energy Management in North America” here.

Live From Our Homes to Yours, Literally Apr 24, 2020

This week, we bring you a joint episode of The Energy Gang and The Interchange, recorded in front of a live audience from our quarantine quarters around the country.

When we started making our podcasts seven years ago, it was clear that the energy transition would be a difficult one.

Both shows were designed as a forum to grapple with tough issues in an accessible, candid way. The clean energy industry has faced its share of crises over the years — but nothing quite like the current pandemic and economic freeze.

Supply chains are in limbo, funding opportunities for startups have vanished, and once-growing companies are at a standstill. Meanwhile, political leaders are trying to get money to struggling people and businesses, setting the stage for trillions more dollars in spending on infrastructure.

How will it all pan out? We’re trying to figure it out, just like you.

In this episode, we take listener questions about how to use the current crisis as an opportunity. We use some thought exercises as a way to break up the gloom, and do a mental health check-in with each other.

Listeners submitted over 120 questions. We’ll be considering them on future shows. If you have any other show topic ideas, tag The Energy Gangand The Interchange on Twitter. (And please give us a rating and review on Apple podcasts!)

This show is brought to you by CPower. Get your copy today of the 2020 State of Demand-Side Energy Management in North America at thecpowerway.com/future.

Reckoning With Utilities’ Dirty Past Apr 18, 2020

We’re doing a free live show from our homes! Sign up here to join us on Wednesday April 22nd. You can watch a behind-the-scenes recording with The Energy Gang and The Interchange.

This week: The many ways that dirty energy has controlled the politics of clean energy.

Dr. Leah Stokes, an expert on interest groups and their influence over policy, joins the gang. Her new book, Short Circuiting Policy, is the focus of our episode.

Who are the truly bad actor utilities? How have they held back climate policy, and where would we be without their resistance?

Suddenly, utilities are embracing much more ambitious carbon-free energy targets. How optimistic should we be about their intentions?

We’ll talk about the history of clean energy politics detailed in Leah’s book, which she researched over a seven-year period.

Then: the election. With Bernie Sanders out, what will his climate voters do? How long will they hold out, what influence do they have, and how will they wield it?

Recommended reading:

Leah Stokes: Short Circuiting Policy
Washington Post: Elizabeth Warren says ‘government has been bought and paid for’ by big business. Political scientists say she’s got a point.
Guardian: Trump Administration Declines to Strengthen U.S. Clean Air Standards
L.A. Times: Exposure to Air Pollution Linked to Higher Coronavirus Death Rates
The Atlantic: Trump’s New Auto Rollback is an Economic Disaster
The Atlantic: “We Knew They Had Cooked the Books”
NYT: Coronavirus Does Not Slow Trump’s Regulatory Rollbacks
NYT: Trump’s Environmental Rollbacks Find Opposition Within: Staff Scientists
The Hill: Democrat questions WH transparency in rollback of bedrock env law
Inside Climate News:Joe Biden Must Convince Climate Voters He’s a True Believer
The Hill: State of the Race: Green groups press Biden after Sanders exits
Common Dreams: After Sanders Exits Race, Climate Campaigners Thank Him for 'Raising the Bar' and Urge Biden to 'Step Up'
Guardian Opinion: Dear Joe Biden, Here is how you can earn our support

This podcast is brought to you by CPower. CPower is offering a market-by-market analysis of the issues, trends, and regulations that organizations should understand in 2020 to make better decisions about energy. Get your copy today of the “2020 State of Demand-Side Energy Management in North America” here.

Will Pollution Pauses Have a Lasting Impact? Apr 10, 2020

The world is experiencing a sudden, dramatic drop in all kinds of air pollution. The skies are dramatically different. People can hear birds they didn’t even know were there, and see landscapes that have been shrouded for decades.

It’s saved thousands of lives in averted asthma and heart attacks. When this is all over, will people clamor for cleaner air? We discuss the potential long-term impacts on this week’s episode.

Then: the 2020 climate summit is postponed. Could that be a good thing? What are the political benefits and diplomatic drawbacks?

Finally, we’ll assess curtailments of solar and wind energy as electricity consumption drops around the world.

Recommended reading:

Clean Air Memes from India: You Can See Los Angeles from Mumbai Now
Reuters: Biggest fall in carbon emissions since World War Two
WSJ: Coronavirus Lockdowns Clear the Air But the Effect Could be Fleeting
Twitter: Katharine Hayhoe’s Most Recent Cool Explainer
Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists: Will the coronavirus have a lasting impact on carbon emissions?
Forbes: Why Offering “Home-Office” Balance Leads to the Most Productive Employees
Bloomberg:What It Means to Have a Year Without Climate Diplomacy
E&ENews: Pandemic Delays Global Climate Summit
Climate Action Tracker: How the Pledges of Each Nation Stack Up
GTM: California Curtailment Surge as Coronavirus Cuts Demand
ITWeb: Eskom’s COVID-19 power curtailment bid stuns wind sector
GTM: 2017 Primer–Too Much of a Good Thing? An Illustrated Guide to Solar Curtailment on California’s Grid

This podcast is brought to you by CPower. CPower is helping organizations chart a path to energy’s future. Visit thecpowerway.com/future to learn how CPower can guide your decisions on distributed generation, demand response and your energy spend.

Does the Economic Crisis Shift the Clean Energy Calculus? Apr 03, 2020

This week: The coronavirus shockwave brings staggering losses of lives, jobs, and money.

So many applied for unemployment last week – 5 times more than ever before – that it was hard for graphic artists to draw a Y-axis that would fit them in historical comparisons. We’re now at 10 million unemployment claims.

With so much turmoil and uncertainty, we are going to dig back into some of the big themes of the week.

First, we’ll have a recap of stimulus activity. The day after the unprecedented unemployment numbers, the federal government approved a boost to the economy twice as large as any before in the history of the United States. What’s in it? What’s coming next?

Then, essential workers in energy: how grid operators are making sure that all-important juice keeps flowing to your home or essential workplace.

And finally, how the oil price shock may – or may not – impact renewables investment from fossil fuel majors.

Mentioned on the show:

Gail Tverberg: Our Infinite World
DSIRE: The database of renewables
Energy Storage News: Editor’s Blog

Recommended reading:

VOX: How the Covid-19 Recession Could Become a Depression
WSJ: After 3 Coronavirus Packages, Congress is Already Prepping a Fourth
The Hill: McCarthy Says Fourth Stimulus Might Not Be Necessary
Bloomberg: Winners and Losers in Congress’s $2 Trillion Rescue Plan
American Petroleum Institute: Open Letter to Congress and White House
Inside Climate News: Trump’s Move to Suspend Env. Enforcement is a Lifeline to Oil
E&ENews: Inside New York’s Grid Lockdown
DailyEnergyInsider: PJM Adapts to New Normal During Covid-19 Crisis
Bloomberg: US To Let Nuclear Plants Defer Repairs, Schedule Longer Shifts
OilPrice.com: Can Big Oil Still Fund Its Renewable Energy Push?

This podcast is brought to you by CPower. CPower is helping organizations chart a path to the energy future. Visit thecpowerway.com/future to learn how CPower can guide your decisions on distributed generation, demand response and your energy spend.

Election Special: Coronavirus and Climate Collide Mar 27, 2020

This is a special crossover episode between The Energy Gang and Climate 2020.

Coronavirus brought the 2020 election to a screeching halt. Climate was once a top issue in the Democratic primary, but it’s been overtaken by a virus and a looming economic apocalypse.

Primaries are delayed. Traditional campaigning has stopped. Biden is hiding out, preparing for the general election. Bernie Sanders is hanging on. And the way we think about all kinds of issues has totally flipped.

So how will climate, cleantech and the environment fit into this new political world?

The climate community is struggling with how to message. What are the appropriate ways to keep the focus on climate change, while we face public health and economic crises?

What about the intersection of extreme weather and coronavirus? Many state officials fear the next season’s floods, hurricanes and fires – events that can require evacuation while people are supposed to stay homebound. How will climate change compound the problem?

The Gang includes Stephen Lacey, Katherine Hamilton and Jigar Shah.

Jeff Nesbit, the executive director of Climate Nexus and co-host of the podcast Climate 2020, joins the gang for this special joint episode on politics. Jeff is also an author, former journalist, a senior public affairs official at the FDA, and Dan Quayle’s director of comms.

Mentioned on the show:

Twitter: Rachel Bitecofer’s Feed
Twitter: Leak Stokes’ Feed
Priorities USA: Political Ad

Recommended:

Scientific American: U.N. Shifts from Climate Change to Coronavirus
The New Yorker: The Coronavirus and the Climate Movement by Bill McKibben
Inside Climate News: In the Face of a Pandemic, Climate Activists Reevaluate Their Tactics

This podcast is brought to you by CPower. CPower is helping organizations chart a path to the energy future. Visit thecpowerway.com/future to learn how CPower can guide your decisions on distributed generation, demand response and your energy spend.

The Vast Potential of Networked EV Chargers [Content From Enel X] Mar 25, 2020

This is an original, branded podcast produced in partnership with Enel X and GTM Creative Strategies.

Electric vehicle chargers now outnumber gas stations in some countries. They’re getting easier to find. They’re easier to install in homes. And they’re getting way smarter.

So how can we harness all these chargers for the benefit of the grid and consumers?

In this special podcast episode, produced in partnership with Enel X, we’re exploring the vast potential of electric vehicle chargers. We’ll talk with Giovanni Bertolino, the head of e-mobility for North America at Enel-X about a concept called managed charging. It’s also known as intelligent charging.

Giovanni’s team deploys networks of chargers that can adapt to pricing and grid needs — providing demand response services, and potentially, real-time services to manage the frequency of the grid.

We speak with Giovanni about the rise of managed charging. We started with the underlying market conditions: the grid is getting saturated with wind and solar. So how can chargers paired with demand response help support more renewables?

Large energy users partner with Enel X to manage risk on the energy markets, maximize payments through demand response, and finance upgrades to facilities to improve demand response earnings. They also increasingly work with Enel X to use chargers to manage the grid.

Find out more about how Enel X can help you capitalize on your biggest energy opportunities.

The Coronavirus Fallout Mar 19, 2020

This week: how coronavirus could accelerate or decelerate the energy transition.

We’re facing an oil shock amid a pandemic, supply chains are still in disarray, economic gears are grinding to a near halt, and countries are scrambling to put stimulus packages in place. How will this shape the energy system?

We’re going to break the conversation into three parts: the impact on fossil fuels and renewables; long-term prospects for decarbonization; and a blueprint for a low-carbon stimulus.

Where will the money go when this is all over? Could clean energy have the advantage over fossil energy from investors and governments?

Recommended reading:

GTM: Could the Oil Price Collapse Drive More $$ Into Renewables
GTM: For Wind and Solar Sectors, Biggest Coronavirus Risk May Be a Damaged Economy
Business Insider: Coronavirus Stunts Clean Energy Growth
WSJ: Oil Markets Point to Lasting Glut of Crude
WSJ: Oil Drop Takes Down Hedge Fund
OilPrice.com: Oil Price Crash Continues Despite $1.5 Trillion Fed Intervention
OilPrice.com: Morgan Stanley Expects Net Zero Demand Growth in China
E&ENews: The Oil Crash and Climate: What to Know
E&ENews: Green Energy's $10T Revolution Faces Oil Crash Test
E&ENews: Senate GOP Eyes Energy Aid in Response to Market Fallout

This podcast is brought to you by CPower. CPower is helping organizations chart a path to energy’s future. Visit thecpowerway.com/future to learn how CPower can guide your decisions on distributed generation, demand response and your energy spend.

Watt It Takes: Turning Real Estate Into Clean-Power Assets Mar 12, 2020

This week on Watt It Takes: Powerhouse CEO Emily Kirsch sits down with Robyn Beavers, the co-founder and CEO of Blueprint Power.

Blueprint works with real estate companies to turn their buildings into clean energy power plants. Blueprint developed software that helps building owners optimize their use of co-generation, fuel cells, solar or batteries.

Robin has a long history in the worlds of tech, real estate and energy. She was an early employee at Google, and went on to found the company’s environmental strategy group. She later built the innovation team at NRG Energy. She later went into the world of real estate, where she oversaw venture investments at Lennar.

Today, she’s bringing all that experience together in the hopes of making buildings more dynamic actors on the grid.

This conversation was recorded at the Powerhouse headquarters in Oakland, California.

To learn more about future speakers and attending a live event, go to Powerhouse.fund and click on the events tab. You can listen to all of the episodes of Watt It Takes here.

This podcast is brought to you by CPower. CPower is helping organizations chart a path to energy’s future. Visit thecpowerway.com/future to learn how CPower can guide your decisions on distributed generation, demand response and energy spend.

We Spend Jeff Bezos’ Climate Money Mar 05, 2020

What to do with all this climate money moving around?

The richest man in the world, Jeff Bezos, says he is going to channel $10 billion of his own dollars into climate solutions. Is this the biggest climate philanthropy ever? And where should he be devoting those dollars? We’ll help him spend it.

Then, the mushy middle. Our own Jigar Shah’s Generate Capital has raised another billion dollars to fund climate tech that is less attractive to some investors – fuel cells, microgrids and unconventional solar projects. We’ll talk about the underserved opportunities in finance.

And a new pot of money from ARPA-E to scale up existing technologies. It’s paltry compared to the money people like Gates and Bezos are throwing into the space. What role is the government playing to scale climate tech?

Recommended reading:

EENews: He Wants to Own It. Will $10B Buy the Climate Movement?
The Atlantic: $10 Billion? In This climate?
GTM: Generate Capital’s $1B Raise Draws Global Infrastructure Funds to Cleantech
Green Car Congress: ARPA-E Offers Up to $50 Million for Scaleups That Have a Path

This podcast is brought to you by CPower. CPower is helping organizations chart a path to energy's future. Visit thecpowerway.com/future to learn how CPower can guide your decisions on distributed generation, demand response and your energy spend.

Is BP's Shift for Real? Feb 21, 2020

Just weeks after taking over as CEO of BP, Bernard Looney unveiled a series of climate targets. This isn’t the first time BP has tried to make a push into clean energy and decarbonization -- is this time different?

In this week’s episode, we’ll look at the pressures that BP is facing. What does it take for a publicly-owned company to reevaluate its core product? And how do you reduce the carbon intensity of a hydrocarbon business? We’ll dig through the details.

Then, natural gas is suddenly in the hot seat. For gas-only utilities, one pathway is clear. They have to push renewable methane. But what are the limitations? And how will the battle over natural gas connections play out?

Finally, we’ll talk about another reversal, this time in Virginia. The state legislature is right in the middle of setting some pretty strong goals for offshore wind and storage, and they’ve got a governor who wants to sign it. What caused the politics to turn around so suddenly?

Recommended reading:

Vox: The False Promise of Renewable Natural Gas
GTM: Virginia Lawmakers Race to Define Clean Energy Goals, Offshore Wind Plans
WSJ: BP Wants to Become Carbon Neutral by 2050, But Doesn’t Say How

=This podcast is brought to you by Energetic Insurance. Energetic’s EneRate Credit Cover policy is an easy button for commercial solar — similar to a FICO score in residential solar. This enables savvy developers and investors to quickly finance commercial solar projects and turn around portfolio refinancings more rapidly. Find out more.

This podcast is brought to you by KORE Power. KORE Power is a leading manufacturer of high-density, high-voltage energy storage solutions for utility, industrial, microgrids and mission-critical markets. Find out more.

The State of Off-Grid Energy Access Feb 14, 2020

This week: The cutting-edge business of bringing power to the last billion people on Earth without it.

We’ll follow the money, the markets, the business models and ask whether distributed renewables are providing a real alternative to slow grid connections.

Investments in off-grid power in Africa and Asia have skyrocketed in the last five years. Thirty times more money went into the sector in 2018 compared with 2013. More than $500 million dollars was invested in electrification in 2018, for the first time, an analysis by Wood Mackenzie found.

The money is finally bringing lights, cell phone charging and electric stoves to millions of people who had to rely on kerosene and wood. But is the money getting funneled to the right projects? Can they scale to meet a high-energy society? And what are the bottlenecks in international finance preventing these solutions from expanding faster?

Ben Attia joins us for a dive into the state of the market. Ben has spent years immersed in the world of solar home systems and off grid renewables in the Middle East and Africa. He leads emerging coverage of off-grid power markets for Wood MacKenzie.

Resources:

Wood MacKenzie: Strategic Investments in Energy Access (by Ben)
GTM: Report: Investment in Off-Grid Energy Access Totals $1.7B Through 2018
MIT–Rockefeller Commission Report:
Financial Times: Mobisol, A Cautionary Tale for Impact Investors
Kahawatungu: M-Kopa Unveils Solar Refrigerators for Off-Grid Customers
Forbes Tata Power Aims to Boost Electricity for Rural India
Bloomberg Tata, Rockefeller Foundation Plan 10,000 India Microgrids
South Africa Business Day: Digital tech in solar will be big help to emerging countries

This podcast is brought to you by Energetic Insurance. Energetic’s EneRate Credit Cover policy is an easy button for commercial solar — similar to a FICO score in residential solar. This enables savvy developers and investors to quickly finance commercial solar projects and turn around portfolio refinancings more rapidly. Find out more.

This podcast is brought to you by KORE Power. KORE Power is a leading manufacturer of high-density, high-voltage energy storage solutions for utility, industrial, microgrids and mission-critical markets. Find out more.

Watt It Takes: Bringing Printable Batteries From Lab to Market Feb 08, 2020

This week on Watt It Takes: Powerhouse CEO Emily Kirsch sits down with Dr. Christine Ho, the co-founder and CEO of Imprint Energy.

Imprint Energy is the company created to commercialize Christine’s invention: a tiny, zinc-based solid-state battery that can be screen printed. It’s being integrated into sensors and other tiny devices across the internet-of-things.

Christine’s father was an entrepreneur. She saw the highs and lows of that life. She followed his path -- and has faced her own similar tumult. Today, Imprint is licensing its technology to multiple manufacturers, and it’s printed hundreds of thousands of batteries.

This conversation was recorded at the Powerhouse headquarters in Oakland, California.

To learn more about future speakers and attending a live event, go to Powerhouse.fund and click on the events tab. Listen to all of the episodes of Watt It Takes here.

Subscribe to GTM’s newsletter to learn more about the companies we profile on this series.

This podcast is brought to you by Energetic Insurance. Energetic’s EneRate Credit Cover policy is an easy button for commercial solar — similar to a FICO score in residential solar. This enables savvy developers and investors to quickly finance commercial solar projects and turn around portfolio refinancings more rapidly. Find out more.

This podcast is brought to you by KORE Power. KORE Power is a leading manufacturer of high-density, high-voltage energy storage solutions for utility, industrial, microgrids and mission-critical markets. Find out more.

Arizona Public Service’s Historic Shift Jan 31, 2020

This week: The largest utility in one of the West’s reddest states will go carbon-free by 2050.

The power company that has poured tens of millions of dollars into electing friendly regulators and fighting renewable energy says it’s all in for zero carbon electricity — even if the exact pathway isn’t yet clear.

Wasn’t APS investing heavily in keeping the Four Corners coal plant open longer? What happened? And how will this impact the way the utility starts planning its resource mix today?

Then, Congressional Republicans say they’re getting serious about climate. They’ve got a new messaging bill. We’ll talk about what’s in it — or what’s not in it — and ask why they’re tackling the issue now?

Plus, plug-in hybrids versus electric cars. Honda’s CEO says he thinks plug-in hybrids will dominate for a long time. What will the electric mobility transition look like? Will we jump straight to EVs, or will hybrids be a viable interim step for some automakers?

Resources:

Greentech Media: Arizona Public Service Carbon Free Power 2050
AZ Central: APS CEO says Company Won’t Spend on Political Campaigns
Politico: House Republicans Caught Between Trump and Young Voters on CC
Axios: Elements of the GOP Plan
Inside EVs: What’s Better, A Plug-in Hybrid or a Fully Electric
ExtremeTech: Did Honda’s CEO Say BEVs Make No Sense? Not Exactly

This podcast is brought to you by Energetic Insurance. Energetic’s EneRate Credit Cover policy is an easy button for commercial solar — similar to a FICO score in residential solar. This enables savvy developers and investors to quickly finance commercial solar projects and turn around portfolio refinancings more rapidly. Find out more.

This podcast is brought to you by KORE Power. KORE Power is a leading manufacturer of high-density, high-voltage energy storage solutions for utility, industrial, microgrids and mission-critical markets. Find out more.

Microsoft’s Carbon-Negative Gambit Jan 24, 2020

This week: Microsoft is setting a new standard for corporate climate targets.

The technology company promised to remove all of the carbon that it’s ever put in the atmosphere -- going back to when it was founded in an Albuquerque garage in 1975.

That includes $1 billion in carbon removal technologies and methods. Can it pull off such an ambitious plan? And will it force other corporates to follow?

Then, a landmark climate case. Twenty-one young people who sued the federal government for the right to live in a stable climate prevailed and prevailed and prevailed…until they lost. A judge agreed with their case, but said the courts weren’t the place to remedy climate change. What does it mean for future litigation?

Plus, we have a new member of the gang we’re going to meet. It’s Ingrid Lobet, our senior editor. Make sure to follow her on Twitter.

Resources:

MIT Technology Review: Microsoft Will Invest $1B in Carbon Reduction and Removal Tech
Wall Street Journal: Microsoft Raises Stakes in Corporate Climate Pledge Race
Vox: 21 Kids Sued the Government Over Climate Change
AP: U.S. Courts Dismisses Suit by Youth Over Climate Change

This podcast is brought to you by Energetic Insurance. Energetic’s EneRate Credit Cover policy is an easy button for commercial solar — similar to a FICO score in residential solar. This enables savvy developers and investors to quickly finance commercial solar projects and turn around portfolio refinancings more rapidly. Find out more.

This podcast is brought to you by KORE Power. KORE Power is a leading manufacturer of high-density, high-voltage energy storage solutions for utility, industrial, microgrids and mission-critical markets. Find out more.

The World’s Biggest Capitalist Says Climate Is ‘Reshaping Finance’ Jan 17, 2020

The world’s largest asset manager, BlackRock, is suddenly putting sustainability and climate risk at the center of its investment strategy.

“Investors are increasingly...recognizing that climate risk is investment risk. These questions are driving a profound reassessment of risk and asset values. And because capital markets pull future risk forward, we will see changes in capital allocation more quickly than we see changes to the climate itself,” wrote BlackRock CEO Larry Fink in his yearly investment letter.

BlackRock manages over $7 trillion in assets. This new strategy could have a wide impact on the world of finance -- and put climate risk at the top of investor considerations.

Plus, activists are targeting banks like Chase and Citibank by hitting them on the consumer finance side. We check in on the divestment movement as it gains momentum.

Then, a look at some lesser-known, but formidable greenhouse gases: refrigerants. How much a problem are they?

Finally, California looks beyond lithium-ion batteries. The state is looking to fund the next ideas in energy storage. What are those technologies and how will they be deployed?

Resources:

New York Times: BlackRock C.E.O. Larry Fink: Climate Crisis Will Reshape Finance
Listen to the Climate 2020 podcast interview with Bill McKibben
Bill McKibben in NYT: Want to Do Something About Climate? Follow the Money
E&E News: Senators Float HFC Phase-Down Bill
GreenBiz: Why Supermarkets are Key to a Cooler Climate
Utility Dive: California Is Looking for Better Storage

This podcast is brought to you by Energetic Insurance. Energetic’s EneRate Credit Cover policy is an easy button for commercial solar – similar to a FICO score in residential solar. This enables savvy developers and investors to quickly finance commercial solar projects and turn around portfolio refinancings faster. Find out more.

This podcast is brought to you by KORE Power. KORE Power is a leading manufacturer of high-density, high-voltage energy storage solutions for utility, industrial, microgrids and mission-critical markets. Find out more.

Will Australia's Hellish Fires Influence Climate Politics? Jan 11, 2020

This week, a look at the bushfires in Australia — their impact to the country, to the grid, and to politics of climate.

Then, a big change could be coming to a foundational federal policy in America. Are the proposed changes to PURPA a thoughtful response to market conditions and cheap renewables, or a political play?

Finally, we learn to code. Joe Biden is the latest democrat to push the idea that laid-off miners should learn to code. Why did it spark so much derision?

Recommended reading:

The Atlantic: Australia Will Lose to Climate Change
GTM: FERC Proposal Brings New Threat to Already-Suffering PURPA Solar Markets
Gizmodo: Biden Tells Miners to Learn to Code

This podcast is brought to you by KORE Power. KORE Power is a leading manufacturer of high density, high voltage energy storage solutions for utility, industrial, microgrids, and mission-critical markets. Find out more.

Presenting: The Deep Decarbonization Draft Dec 26, 2019

We have some bonus listening as we close out the year!

We present one of our most popular episodes of The Interchange: The Deep Decarbonization Draft.

It's like fantasy sports for energy nerds. The premise is simple: Shayle and Stephen choose their teams of decarbonization technologies and methods, and then pit them against each other to determine who’s best at saving the planet.

Go subscribe to The Interchange anywhere you get your podcasts. It's the perfect compliment to The Energy Gang.

Happy New Year!

Reflections on the Last 10 Years, Projections for the Next 10 Dec 23, 2019

We’re closing out the decade this week with a retrospective.

We have been doing this show since 2013. So we are going to share some of our top story lines in energy and cleantech of the last 10 years — many of which played out while we were doing this show.

We’ll start with some personal retrospectives. What was consuming us back in 2009? How did that story shake out?

Then we’ll choose the most important stories that defined the teens. Katherine will choose the top policy trend, Jigar will choose the top business trend, and Stephen will choose the top tech trend.

Finally, we’ll look ahead to 2030 and beyond. What needs to happen in policy, business, technology to “win” the decade?=

If you’re looking for more listening over the holidays, check out our year-end episode of The Interchange.

Support for the Interchange comes from Schneider Electric, the leader of the digital transformation in energy management and automation.

Support for this podcast comes from PG&E. PG&E is helping to electrify corporate fleet vehicles. Get in touch with PG&E’s EV specialists to find out how you can take your transportation fleet electric.

Watt It Takes: The Founder-Engineer Turning CO2 Into Usable Stuff Dec 13, 2019

This week on Watt It Takes: Emily Kirsch sits down with Dr. Etosha Cave, the co-founder and chief science officer of Opus 12.

Opus 12 is a team of engineers, electrochemists and materials scientists working on a technology that converts carbon dioxide into useable products. They are developing a metal catalyst that can turn CO2 into synthetic gas for fuels and ethylene for plastics.

If the tech works at commercial scale, it would be a vital solution for slashing CO2 from industrial sources. The company has brought in about $20 million in funding.

In this interview, Etosha talks about the inspiration for the technology, which came from her love of space and desire to go to Mars.

She talks about being a founder who’s also a black woman, and how that’s influenced her relationships with other people in energy.

And she talks about where Opus 12’s tech development stands.

To learn more about future speakers and attending a live event, go to Powerhouse.fund and click on the events tab. Listen to all of the episodes of Watt It Takes here.

Support for this podcast is brought to you by Sungrow. With the world’s most powerful 250-kilowatt, 1,500-volt string inverter, Sungrow is providing disruptive technology for utility-scale projects.

Subscribe to GTM podcasts via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you find your audio content.

This Clean-Energy Tax Pro Knows Your Deepest Secrets [Special Content] Dec 10, 2019

This is a branded podcast made in collaboration between CohnReznick Capital and GTM Creative Strategies.

Sheslie Royster is the person that big companies turn to when making an acquisition, investing in real estate, or finding a creative way to use tax credits. She’s a tax expert, focused mostly in wind and solar.

Those deals include a lot of numbers and math, of course. But Sheslie says the math isn’t as important as it seems. It’s the interpretation of the math that matters.

“I'd say a minimal amount is math. I'd say in the deals that we have where we're discussing tax issues, the numbers play a part but it's a smaller part. It's more the theory behind what's going on behind the numbers. What does this mean? What was the intent of the law? What is the intent of the deal?”

Sheslie is a tax partner at CohnReznick. She works on some very complicated projects that require a deep level of trust and intimacy.

“It's a personal relationship. People are telling you things about themselves that sometimes their spouses don't even know. Intimate details that people just don't tell when you meet them at a cocktail party,” she says.

So how does Sheslie get people to tell her things their spouses don’t know?

In this episode, we’ll uncover the the secrets of one of the best tax experts in the business.

This episode was produced by GTM Creative Strategies in collaboration with CohnReznick.

CohnReznick serves a wide range of industries, from tech to government to entertainment. It’s a leader in cutting-edge fields like renewable energy and cannabis. To learn more about how people like Sheslie can help you get the most out of your deals, visit CohnReznick.

Tesla's Cybertruck: Win or Fail? Dec 07, 2019

Truck buyers are historically some of the most brand-loyal auto consumers But recent surveys suggest that loyalty is loosening.

Into the picture steps Elon Musk, who dropped the Tesla Cybertruck last month. This space-age truck concept is truly putting the shift in consumer preferences to the test. It’s also tearing a lot of opinionated people apart.

In this episode: what is the Cybertruck and where might it fit into the emerging electric truck market? And can it sway truck buyers who don't care about Tesla?

Then, there’s a major tax bill in Congress right now that would be a boon to renewables — what are its chances?

Finally, what would we do with a million dollars? We answer a listener question about how to invest with impact.

Support for this podcast is brought to you by Sungrow. With the world’s most powerful 250-kilowatt, 1,500-volt string inverter, Sungrow is providing disruptive technology for utility-scale projects.

Subscribe to GTM podcasts via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you find your audio content.

New Candidates, 'Climategate' Redux, & Top Turkeys of 2019 Nov 22, 2019

This week: our pre-thanksgiving intellectual feast. It’s a four-course meal as usual.

For the hors d’oeuvres, we’re serving up something new: a roundup of the new entrants into the presidential race, and how they stack up on environmental issues.

For the side dishes, we’ll reheat some leftovers. We’ll look at the climategate debacle 10 years later.

And for the main course. What people or companies will we choose as the top turkeys of the year?

We’ll end with a little aperitif — our free electrons.

Read along with us:

POLITICO: The Left Smells a Rat in Bloomberg, Patrick Bids
Greenwire: As Mass. Governor, Deval Patrick Promoted RGGI, Clean Power
BBC Documentary: Climategate 10 Years Later
Columbia Journalism Review: Michael Mann on Coverage Since ‘Climategate’
Our top Turkeys: Andrew Wheeler's plan to dismantle EPA; Saudi Aramco's lagging IPO; and Elon Musk's lies about solar.

Support for this podcast is brought to you by Sungrow. With the world’s most powerful 250-kilowatt, 1,500-volt string inverter, Sungrow is providing disruptive technology for utility-scale projects.

Subscribe to GTM podcasts via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you find your audio content.

Is Big Tech Fueling the Climate Disinformation War? Nov 15, 2019

As we reckon with the dark side of Silicon Valley’s tech giants, there’s more scrutiny into how these companies are assisting climate denial and obfuscation.

We’ll look at a few different stories:

Climate and clean energy are getting disadvantaged by Facebook and Twitter’s different policies on political ads: how do we define issue ads and political speech?

Google, Facebook and others are getting called out for their support of groups that spread extreme climate denial: How much criticism do they deserve?

And Amazon, Microsoft and Google are building the digital backbone of industries that are wrecking the planet. How should we think about their role and culpability?

In the second half of the show, we’ll discuss America’s withdraws from the Paris climate treaty. With U.S. global leadership in shambles, who’s going to fill the gap? And how could elections change things?

Finally, how California’s wildfire crisis is stoking the state’s distributed generation market. We’ll look at the business impacts.

Recommended resources:

Heated: Exxon Climate Ads Aren’t Political, According to Twitter
Vox: Watch AOC Ask Mark Zuckerberg if She Can Run Fake Green New Deal Ads
Guardian: Google Made Large Contributions to Climate Deniers
Guardian: Facebook Video Spreads Climate Denial to 5 Million Users
GTM: Power Shutoff Disruption ‘Resets’ California’s Residential Market
Jigar Shah/Timothy Hade Op-Ed: It’s Time to Evolve California’s Electrical Grid

Support for this podcast is brought to you by Sungrow. With the world’s most powerful 250-kilowatt, 1,500-volt string inverter, Sungrow is providing disruptive technology for utility-scale projects.

Subscribe to GTM podcasts via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you find your audio content.

Watt It Takes: A Tesla Veteran’s Mission to Build Long-Duration Batteries Nov 08, 2019

This week on Watt It Takes: how a would-be priest made it his mission to spread the gospel of battery storage.

In this episode, Powerhouse CEO Emily Kirsch sits down with Mateo Jaramillo, the CEO and co-founder of Form Energy.

Form is working on a new kind of long-duration battery. And Mateo has one of the longer-duration careers in the storage industry.

In the early 2000s, he deployed the first behind-the-meter systems in New York for demand response — seeing the grid services potential well before anyone else.

Mateo went on to start the stationary energy storage unit at Tesla, launching and building the powerwall business. He also helped launch the supercharger business.

Today, he’s working on a new electrochemical battery that could provide storage services for days, not just hours. The idea is to unlock baseload renewables.

The chemistry was spun out of work from MIT researchers. It’s being scaled by a group of engineers and entrepreneurs with deep technical experience — and like Mateo, the bumps and bruises that come from scaling an early market.

In this interview, Mateo talks about what it took to power through the early days of battery storage, when everything sale and installation was a battle. And he’ll talk about what it will take to create Form’s new storage tech to unlock even more renewable energy.

To learn more about future speakers and attending a live event, go to Powerhouse.fund and click on the events tab.

Listen to all of the episodes of Watt It Takes here.

Support for this podcast is brought to you by Sungrow. With the world’s most powerful 250-kilowatt, 1,500-volt string inverter, Sungrow is providing disruptive technology for utility-scale projects.

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The Scariest Stories of the Year Oct 31, 2019

We recorded this episode on Halloween morning. We woke up and felt like celebrating the theme of the holiday.

If you’re listening after Halloween, don’t fret. There’s still plenty of newsworthy stuff in here.

First up, we’re choosing the story from 2019 that is most worthy of its own horror movie. As a bonus, we are also choosing the genre of horror.

Then, we pick the zombie story or trend of the year that just won’t die.

And finally, the company or person that deserves a treat.

We’ll end with some bone-chilling Free Electrons.

Could you do us a favor? Take our listener survey so we can give you more relevant content: bit.ly/gtmpodcast

Support for this podcast is brought to you by Sungrow. With the world’s most powerful 250-kilowatt, 1,500-volt string inverter, Sungrow is providing disruptive technology for utility-scale projects.

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Who’s Trying to Re-Kill the Electric Car? Oct 26, 2019

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This week: it’s the oil industry versus the world.

We’re examining two legal battles for oil majors playing out in states. One involves electric cars and one involves responsibility for climate change.

We’ll start first with a story from POLITICO’s Gavin Bade. Advocacy groups backed by oil companies are increasingly lobbying against utilities that are trying to support electric vehicles. Are we seeing a coming political clash between the oil industry and utility industry?

We’re joined by Gavin, who’s been tracking these emerging challenges.

Then, we are devoting our second half of the show to the legal challenges against fossil fuel companies.

Exxon is on trial in New York and numerous other states and cities are bringing suit against oil majors. It’s got everyone paying attention to this very complicated yet riveting issue: as the science and legal arguments evolve, will big fossil fuel companies be held accountable for a warming planet?

Support for this podcast is brought to you by Sungrow. With the world’s most powerful 250-kilowatt, 1,500-volt string inverter, Sungrow is providing disruptive technology for utility-scale projects.

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We Didn’t Start the Fire Oct 19, 2019

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The world’s fifth-largest economy looked more like a developing country last week, as PG&E purposefully cut power to millions of people in Northern California for days.

We knew this was coming. The growing safety and financial risk of wildfires in the state mean mass power outages will become more common. But in this case, PG&E was slammed for the way it handled things.

We’ll dig into the scope, the fallout, and the solutions of California’s power shutoffs due to wildfire threats.

Then: Dyson made a big business out of selling $400 hair dryers and $500 vacuum cleaners, but it couldn’t make a high-end electric car work. We’ll talk about why Dyson wrote off its EV plans.

Finally, the Trump administration lifts a tariff exemption for bifacial solar panels. So why are these two-sided solar panels becoming so popular now?

Additional resources:

New York Times: Inside PG&E’s Control Room
Bloomberg: What Happens When a Vacuum Company Tries to Make an Electric Car
GTM Squared: Has Bifacial Solar Finally Moved From Theoretical to Practical?

Support for this podcast is brought to you by Sungrow. With the world’s most powerful 250-kilowatt, 1,500-volt string inverter, Sungrow is providing disruptive technology for utility-scale projects.

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Are Ancient Bugs the Key to Storing Wind and Solar? [Special Content From NREL] Oct 15, 2019

This is a branded podcast made in collaboration between the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and GTM Creative Strategies.

As grids get saturated with wind and solar electricity, there’s pressure to find new ways to store that energy across daily, monthly or seasonal variations.

Could the answer be a billion-year-old microbe?

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory and SoCalGas are currently testing a new bioreactor that could turn renewable electrons into renewable methane -- allowing excess generation to be “stored” in existing natural gas pipelines.

The system relies on an ancient microorganism that ferments hydrogen and carbon dioxide and turns it into methane. By feeding the bugs hydrogen from renewable resources and CO2 from industrial sources, companies like SoCalGas could harness a new supply of renewable natural gas.

NREL has been testing the process in the lab for years. And it finally built a larger-scale version of the bioreactor.

We sent producer Catherine Jaffee to NREL’s lab in Golden, Colorado to check it out. We’ll learn how it works in the first part of the episode.

In the second half of the episode, we talk with NREL’s Kevin Harrison and SoCalGas’ Ron Kent about how the system is performing so far.

Learn more about all the world-changing research on clean energy happening at NREL.

Watt It Takes: The Startup Making Solar-Storage Better Than the African Grid Oct 02, 2019

Could you do us a favor? Take our listener survey so we can give you more relevant content: bit.ly/gtmpodcast

This week on Watt It Takes: how a computer nerd who loved assembling electronics became obsessed with designing a solar-storage system to light up Africa.

In this episode, Powerhouse CEO Emily Kirsch sits down with Xavier Helgesen, the co-founder and chief technology officer at ZOLA Electric.

Zola is a provider of solar and storage systems in Africa. Since its founding in 2012, the company has served over a million people with clean power in five countries.

Over the years, Zola has evolved from a small, scrappy startup that offered very basic energy packages into a hardware company that installs sleek, scalable power systems that function better than the grid.

“[Our goal] was not to be worse than the grid, but available anywhere — but to just be better than the grid. For solar and batteries to fundamentally be cheaper and more reliable than the grid. And if we succeed in that in the developing world, then the market is almost limitless,” says Helgesen.

In this interview, Helgesen talks about how he first got interested in energy access, the complexities of setting up a company as an outsider in Tanzania, and how Zola shifted into designing its own hybrid system.

This conversation was recorded live at Powerhouse’s headquarters. To learn more about future speakers and attending a live event, go to Powerhouse.fund and click on the events tab.

Support for this podcast is brought to you by Sungrow. With the world’s most powerful 250-kilowatt, 1,500-volt string inverter, Sungrow is providing disruptive technology for utility-scale projects.

Subscribe to GTM podcasts via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you find your audio content.

Clean Energy’s Ever-Changing Policy Risk [Special Content From CohnReznick] Sep 29, 2019

This is a branded podcast made in collaboration between CohnReznick Capital and GTM Creative Strategies.

Britta Von Oesen knows risk.

As an intern in Lehman Brothers’ global energy unit in 2008, she watched the collapse of the investment bank in real time.

Later, she watched European markets grind to a halt after feed-in-tariffs were reversed.

And in the U.S., she’s monitored the ever-changing tax policies and regulations that impact wind, solar and storage.

Today, Britta is a managing director at CohnReznick Capital. Her job is to help figure out how to get wind and solar deals done in the face of policy and financial risk.

In this special episode, produced in collaboration with CohnReznick Capital, we sit down with Britta Von Oesen to unpack some of those policy uncertainties and what they mean for renewables.

Go to CohnReznickCapital.com to learn more about how the company builds relationships, closes deals, and helps clean energy companies excel.

Turmoil at an Iconic American Hydropower Giant Sep 27, 2019

The Bonneville Power Administration, the government-owned “power marketing agency” that serves the Pacific Northwest, is facing a strong current of problems.

As cheap renewables make hydro less competitive in the region, BPA is now bleeding money. There’s now concern that its utility customers will stop buying hydro after contracts expire.

Meanwhile, the cost of rehabilitating salmon populations is mounting. As the power provider grapples with $15 billion in debt, some are calling for a reformation of BPA. How can the government prepare the hulking agency for the competitive clean energy future?

We’ll talk to a Jeremy P. Jacobs, a reporter for E&E’s Greenwire, who’s been digging into the story. You can read parts one, part two and part three of his ongoing series.

Then, climate strikes swept the globe last Friday, raising unprecedented media coverage. How is this different from previous mobilizations around climate? We’ll put this moment in the context of recent history.

Finally, offshore wind is getting dirt cheap in Europe. According to Carbon Brief, recent offshore wind prices are set to compete with existing gas seven years ahead of schedule. We’ll venture out to the leading edge of offshore wind development.

Read along with us:

E&E News: Jeremy Jacobs’ reporting on Bonneville Power Administration
New York Times: Climate Protesters and World Leaders on Same Planet, Different Worlds
GTM: UK’s Offshore Wind Auction So Successful It Might Have Made Itself Redundant
Carbon Brief: Record-Low Price for UK Offshore Wind Cheaper Than Existing Gas Plants by 2023

Support for this podcast is brought to you by Sungrow. With the world’s most powerful 250-kilowatt, 1,500-volt string inverter, Sungrow is providing disruptive technology for utility-scale projects.

Subscribe to GTM podcasts via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you find your audio content.

Does Climate Change Make Good Political TV? Sep 17, 2019

This week: We’ve gone from drought to flood.

People who care about climate change have spent the last three presidential election cycles cajoling, prodding and begging television news outlets to cover the issue. But the more pressure mounted, the more coverage lagged.

Across all three debates between Clinton and Trump in 2016, environmental issues got just under 5 and a half minutes of air time. And in all of 2016, the major networks talked about climate for just 50 minutes combined.

And then suddenly in September, we got CNN’s town hall, a seven-hour extravaganza that actually allowed candidates some time to tease out the nuances of their plans.

Sure, the moderators asked some weird questions about cheeseburgers, plastic straws and electric cars. But for the most part, the conversation was substantive and helpful.

In this episode, we’re digging into a few questions: Did the town hall advance the narrative? Did it change the campaign and polling? And which candidate performed the best?

We’re joined by Dr. Leah Stokes, an assistant professor of political science at the University of California Santa Barbara, who watched and analyzed all seven hours closely.

Read Leah’s top twitter threads on the candidates:

Elizabeth Warren
Bernie Sanders
Joe Biden
Andrew Yang
Kamala Harris
Jay Inslee
You can also read her analysis in the Washington Post comparing the candidates.

Follow the gang on twitter: Katherine, Jigar, Stephen and The Energy Gang.

Support for this podcast is brought to you by Sungrow. With the world’s most powerful 250-kilowatt, 1,500-volt string inverter, Sungrow is providing disruptive technology for utility-scale projects.

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How America Thwarted a Giant ‘Extension Cord’ for Renewables Sep 13, 2019

America is a place where if you can dream something — no matter how big or ambitious — you can do it.

Unless you’re trying to string 700 miles of high-voltage transmission lines to bring wind power from Oklahoma to Tennessee.

Our guest this week is Russell Gold, author of a new book about the saga that unfolded when wind energy pioneer Michael Skelly tried just that.

The book, “Superpower,” is all about Skelly’s attempt to build one of the most ambitious energy infrastructure projects in recent history — and how he faced nearly every obstacle imaginable. What does Skelly’s journey tell us about America’s diminishing ability to do great things?

Russell Gold is a veteran newspaper reporter who was a pulitzer prize finalist for his reporting on the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. He wrote a book in 2014 on the rise of fracking, called “The Boom.” He’ll join us to talk about the reasons why Skelly’s transmission plan failed.

Then, two top presidential candidates are calling for a ban on fracking and promising to phase out nuclear power. What would be the consequences if a democrat actually put those promises into action?

Finally: we’re digging into a piece from Jonathan Franzen in the New Yorker that got a lot of angry criticism. Should we just give up and stop pretending we can do anything about climate change?

Support for this podcast is brought to you by Sungrow. With the world’s most powerful 250-kilowatt, 1,500-volt string inverter, Sungrow is providing disruptive technology for utility-scale projects.

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Watt It Takes: The Startup Reshaping Mobility Planning With Data Sep 05, 2019

This week on Watt It Takes: How an energy researcher obsessed with electric vehicles stumbled upon a vast trove of transportation data and built a company that is reshaping infrastructure planning for mobility.

Powerhouse CEO Emily Kirsch sits down with Laura Schewel, the founder and CEO of Streetlight Data.

Laura spent her career studying storage, electric vehicles, and transportation systems at the Rocky Mountain Institute, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and then as a research fellow at UC Berkeley.

While at UC Berkeley, she got interested in finding a way to give electric vehicle owners more information about how they were driving their cars. She ended up uncovering a data gold mine in the process.

Laura built a company that now processes over 100 billion data points and provides transportation and urban planners with a granular view of how roads, bike lanes and sidewalks are being used.

In this episode, Laura Schewel talks about how she ultimately pursued the idea, and what she encountered in the wild world of entrepreneurship.

This conversation was recorded live at Powerhouse’s headquarters in Oakland, California. Buy tickets for upcoming events.

Support for this podcast is brought to you by Sungrow. With the world’s most powerful 250-kilowatt, 1,500-volt string inverter, Sungrow is providing disruptive technology for utility-scale projects.

Subscribe to GTM podcasts via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you find your audio content.

The Problem With Carbon Offsets Aug 30, 2019

With flight shame growing in popularity, extreme weather intensifying, and the Amazon burning, there’s more demand than ever for carbon offsets to assuage our guilt and make us feel like we’re doing something.

But those credits many not be doing what you think they are — or anything at all.

This week, we’re discussing the complicated and frustrating world of carbon offsets. There’s a reason why even the United Nations is now calling out their limitations.

This conversation is particularly important as California considers joining the Tropical Forest Standard as part of its cap-and-trade program.

Then, we’ll talk about new climate plans from Bernie Sanders and Andrew Yang. What’s in them? And who will become the climate candidate?

Finally, we dig into a bill from Ohio that bails out big utilities and guts clean energy. The politics of this thing are ugly — and they are only getting uglier.

Read along with us:

ProPublica: An Even More Inconvenient Truth
Bloomberg: Greta Thunberg and ‘Flight Shame’ Are Fueling a Carbon Offset Boom
New York Times: Bernie Sanders' Green New Deal
Vox: Ohio Just Passed the Worst Energy Bill of the 21st Century

Support for this podcast is brought to you by Sungrow. With the world’s most powerful 250-kilowatt, 1,500-volt string inverter, Sungrow is providing disruptive technology for utility-scale projects.

Subscribe to The Energy Gang podcast via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you find your audio content.

The New Normal for the Grid: Batteries Aug 23, 2019

In nearly every corner of the country, energy storage projects are finding their way onto the grid — they’re getting bigger, cheaper, more diverse, and even a little bit weirder.

Most of all, they’re just becoming normal.

This week, we’re talking about the new normal for power operations. It includes a lot of batteries. And maybe some air tanks, water pumps and cranes too.

GTM Staff Writer Julian Spector joins us as a guest co-host to round up the most topical projects and tell us where the storage market is headed.

Then we’ll look at a novel approach to long-duration storage: a gravity-based system from Energy Vault that just got a major injection of Japanese venture dollars. How skeptical should we be?

And finally, we’ll look at all the other alternatives to lithium-ion that are vying for traction in the market. Will pumped hydro see a revival? Can flow batteries finally prove themselves?

Read Julian Spector’s reporting here. And sign up for the GTM newsletter here.

Support for this podcast is brought to you by Sungrow. With the world’s most powerful 250-kilowatt, 1,500-volt string inverter, Sungrow is providing disruptive technology for utility-scale projects.

Subscribe to The Energy Gang podcast via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you find your audio content.

How Electric Cars and Renewables Could Beat Oil Aug 16, 2019

Solar and wind sent European utilities into financial disarray, and U.S. utilities are facing a similar fate. Are global oil companies next?

A new report from one of the world’s biggest banks, BNP Paribas, says that solar and wind paired with electric cars provide up to 7 times more useful energy for mobility than gasoline dollar for dollar. And that economic reality could hit oil companies sooner than they think.

“The oil industry has never before in its history faced the kind of threat that renewable electricity in tandem with EVs poses to its business model,” concludes the report.

This week, we’ll dig into the findings. How does it square with current projections for EV growth and oil demand?

Then, a regulatory surprise from the Trump Administration is delaying an 800-megawatt offshore wind project. It could also hurt other projects planned for the East Coast. Is this a careful step, or a cynical political move from a hostile White House?

Finally, 16-year-old climate activist Greta Thunberg is on her way to the U.S. — and she’s come under fire from the conservative media. We’ll look at the strange reaction to her rise and influence.

Support for this podcast is brought to you by Sungrow. With the world’s most powerful 250-kilowatt, 1,500-volt string inverter, Sungrow is providing disruptive technology for utility-scale projects.

Subscribe to The Energy Gang podcast via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you find your audio content.

Watt It Takes: Nest Co-Founder Matt Rogers Aug 02, 2019

This week on Watt It Takes: How a former Apple engineer applied design principles from the iPod and the iPad to smart thermostats — jolting an industry badly in need of change.

Powerhouse CEO Emily Kirsch sits down with Matt Rogers, the co-founder and former chief product officer of Nest.

Nest is best known for its elegant learning thermostat, the first major breakout hit in the smart home space. Google later acquired the company for $3.2 billion.

In this interview, Rogers talks about his Apple influence, how he and co-founder Tony Fadell initially got obsessed with the connected home, and how Nest fit into the Google structure.

Before Nest launched, “the connected home wasn’t really a thing. It was a bunch of hackers stringing things together, there were no products to speak of, really,” says Rogers. “And I was like ‘this is a huge opportunity, we can go and make great products like we did at Apple.’”

This conversation was recorded live at Powerhouse’s headquarters in Oakland, California. Buy tickets for upcoming events.

Support for this podcast is brought to you by Sungrow. With the world’s most powerful 250-kilowatt, 1,500-volt string inverter, Sungrow is providing disruptive technology for utility-scale projects.

Subscribe to The Energy Gang podcast via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you find your audio content.

Why Is Trump Suddenly Talking About the Environment? Jul 14, 2019

Note: after this episode, we will be on hiatus for a few weeks while Stephen Lacey goes on paternity leave. We’ll be back soon!

On July 8, Donald Trump stood in the East Room of the White House and delivered a speech on his “environmental leadership.” What could he possibly talk about?

Onlookers called the speech “Orwellian.” The Trump Administration has tried to pull America out of a global climate agreement, sent officials to try to sell coal at the latest UN climate summit, forced climate scientists out of the government, and rolled back 83 environmental rules.

So why is Trump talking about the environment now? What does it tell us about how voters feel about the issue going into the election? We’ll look at the possible political reasons for the timing of the speech.

Then, we’ll look at New York’s big climate law. How does the state plan to cut emissions 85 percent by 2050? And how will ambitious policy in California and New York influence other states?

Finally, we tackle the seasonal debate over air conditioning. As the world gets hotter, AC use is exploding around the world. How do we cool the world without baking the climate?

Recommended reading:

New York Times: Trump Saw Opportunity in Speech on Environment. Critics Saw a ‘“1984” Moment.’
Vox: New York Just Passed the Most Ambitious Climate Target in the Country
New York Times: Do Americans Need Air-Conditioning?
Bloomberg: Air Conditioning Is the World's Next Big Threat

Support for this podcast is brought to you by Sungrow. With the world’s most powerful 250-kilowatt, 1500-volt string inverter, Sungrow is providing disruptive technology for utility-scale projects.

Subscribe to The Energy Gang podcast via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you find your audio content.

Greening the Cannabis Industry [Special Content From CohnReznick] Jul 09, 2019

This week, we present a special episode produced on behalf of CohnReznick.

There’s a bonanza sweeping across North America: cannabis.

As more states legalize marijuana, the industry is attracting high-profile investors and bringing in $6.5 billion in yearly sales.

But it also faces two major challenges: limited access to banking and high energy costs.

Because cannabis is still illegal at the federal level, traditional banks are unwilling to do business with the thousands of companies serving the market.

At the same time, the industry now eats up $6 billion in electricity costs. Growers are paying tens of thousands of dollars per month to power cultivation sites, and some utilities are worried about strain on the grid in certain locations.

Trying to slash that electricity use is very hard for cash-only companies that can’t get access to traditional financing.

“The capital you would most typically have to deploy if you wanted to site solar at a cultivation facility will end up being very expensive because you don’t have access to traditional bank financing,” explains Mark Hooley, a managing partner at CohnReznick.

In this episode, we talk with Mark about the intersection of cannabis and renewable energy. What will it take to green up America’s newest cash crop?

Learn more about CohnReznick’s cannabis practice.

The Trump-Branded Version of the Clean Power Plan Jul 02, 2019

This week: we examine the Trump alternative to the Clean Power Plan, look at the gap between red and blue states on climate change, and review the presidential debates.

Up first: how Trump's EPA is replacing Obama's major climate rule.

Then, the red-blue climate divide. States are putting ambitious new climate plans in place. But they’re almost all in states dominated by democrats -- and the new EPA power plant rule only makes that gap bigger. What are the long-term economic consequences for the red states failing to change?

Finally, we got 15 minutes of climate talk in the first two Democratic presidential debates. Does this yet again prove why we need a climate-only debate?

Recommended reading:

Yale Climate Connections: The Trump EPA Strategy to Undo the Clean Power Plan
New York Times: Blue States Roll Out Aggressive Climate Strategies. Red States Keep to the Sidelines
The Guardian: A Climate-Themed Debate? The Democrats Owe It to Voters

Support for this podcast is brought to you by Sungrow. With the world’s most powerful 250-kilowatt, 1500-volt string inverter, Sungrow is providing disruptive technology for utility-scale projects.

Subscribe to The Energy Gang podcast via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you find your audio content.

Watt It Takes: Creating a Battery Unicorn Jun 23, 2019

This week on Watt It Takes: How a Ukrainian immigrant quietly toiled away on a new battery chemistry and created a billion-dollar unicorn.

Powerhouse CEO Emily Kirsch sits down with Gene Berdichevsky, the CEO of Sila Nanotechnologies.

Sila is developing a new lithium-ion battery chemistry that uses silicon in place of graphite — leading to an improvement in battery density by 20 percent. This spring, Daimler led a $170 million round in Sila, valuing the startup at $1 billion.

Berdichevsky was the seventh employee at Tesla, where he developed the Roadster’s battery.

For the last eight years, Berdichevsky’s team at Sila has been working on a drop-in replacement for today’s lithium-ion batteries.

This conversation was recorded live at Powerhouse’s headquarters. Buy tickets for upcoming events.

Support for this podcast comes from PG&E. Did you know that 20 percent of EV drivers in the U.S. are in PG&E’s service area in Northern California? PG&E is helping to electrify corporate fleet vehicles. Get in touch with PG&E’s EV specialists to find out how you can take your transportation fleet electric.

We're also sponsored by Wunder Capital. Wunder Capital is the leading commercial solar financing company in the United States. Click here to find out how Wunder Capital can help you finance your next commercial solar project.

Subscribe to The Energy Gang podcast via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you find your audio content.

Will Geothermal Ever Boom Like Fracking? Jun 13, 2019

It’s been a decade since the fracking boom reshaped U.S. energy markets — so when will we ever use our drilling prowess to create a similar geothermal boom?

That’s the hope. The Department of Energy just released a massive new report revisiting America’s geothermal potential in conventional hydrothermal, enhanced geothermal, direct use and heat pumps.

And the potential is enormous — but it’s just sitting there, largely untapped. We’re going to open up DOE’s report and see which borehole it takes us down.

Then, the Biden and Warren campaigns both unveiled their energy and climate plans. Have they risen to the political and environmental stakes?

Finally, are states squandering billions in settlement dollars from the VW diesel scandal?

Support for this podcast comes from PG&E. Did you know that 20 percent of EV drivers in the U.S. are in PG&E’s service area in Northern California? PG&E is helping to electrify corporate fleet vehicles. Get in touch with PG&E’s EV specialists to find out how you can take your transportation fleet electric.

We're also sponsored by Wunder Capital. Wunder Capital is the leading commercial solar financing company in the United States. Click here to find out how Wunder Capital can help you finance your next commercial solar project.

Subscribe to GTM podcasts via Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify or wherever you find your audio content, or integrate our RSS feed into the app of your choice.

Comparing Presidential Candidates on Climate and Cleantech Jun 03, 2019

It may be a couple election cycles late, but we’re finally getting a wave of climate plans from presidential candidates. The issue is now front and center in the Democratic primaries.

We’ve spent the last week collecting the plans from leading candidates, surveying the stances of the rest of the field, and monitoring the reactions. We’ll sort through them in this week’s Energy Gang episode.

In the first half of the show, we’ll compare and contrast the unique plans from Elizabeth Warren, Jay Inslee, Beto O’Rourke, Michael Bennet and John Delaney. What is unique about each candidate’s proposal?

Then, we’ll tackle the rest of the field in the second half of the episode. Most of them are either using the Green New Deal as a fallback, or using it as a foil. We will take an account of how that short-but-influential congressional resolution — and the activism behind it — is having an impact on the presidential campaign.

Recommended reading:

Buzzfeed: Democrats Want To Make 2020 The Climate Change Election
Beto O’Rourke’s climate plan
Jay Inslee’s “Evergreen Economy” plan
Elizabeth Warren’s plan to make the military climate-ready
Michael Bennet’s climate plan
John Delaney’s climate plan

Support for this podcast comes from PG&E. Did you know that 20 percent of EV drivers in the U.S. are in PG&E’s service area in Northern California? PG&E is helping to electrify corporate fleet vehicles. Get in touch with PG&E’s EV specialists to find out how you can take your transportation fleet electric.

We're also sponsored by Wunder Capital. Wunder Capital is the leading commercial solar financing company in the United States. Click here to find out how Wunder Capital can help you finance your next commercial solar project.

Subscribe to GTM podcasts via Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify or wherever you find your audio content, or integrate our RSS feed into the app of your choice.

Breaking Down Global Subsidies for Fossil Fuels May 23, 2019

A new report from the International Monetary Fund shows that the world spent $5.2 trillion on fossil fuel subsidies in 2017. That’s half a trillion dollars more than in 2015.

But it also shows that fossil fuel subsidy spending is down by half since 2012. What gives? How much are we actually spending to make fossil fuels cheaper?

We’ll clarify the different ways economists are measuring that spending.

Then, U.S. tax subsidies for solar and wind are set to ramp downward as part of a deal struck in 2015. But some are calling for an extension of those credits once again.

Wait, didn’t the industry say it would be just fine without them? We’ll look at arguments for and against another extension.

Finally, PG&E is warning California customers about planned blackouts during this year’s fire seasons. Does this open up a new opportunity for commercial microgrids and residential battery backup?

Recommended reading:

Atlantic: The Hidden Subsidy of Fossil Fuels
GTM: US Solar Industry Braces for ITC Stepdown While Making the Case for Another Extension
Bloomberg: Democrats Try to Extend Wind, Solar Aid They Agreed to Let Die
SF Chronicle: Fire Danger Could Force SF Blackout, PG&E Says

Support for this podcast comes from PG&E. Did you know that 20 percent of EV drivers in the U.S. are in PG&E’s service area in Northern California? PG&E is helping to electrify corporate fleet vehicles. Get in touch with PG&E’s EV specialists to find out how you can take your transportation fleet electric.

We're also sponsored by Wunder Capital. Wunder Capital is the leading commercial solar financing company in the United States. Click here to find out how Wunder Capital can help you finance your next commercial solar project.

Subscribe to GTM podcasts via Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify or wherever you find your audio content, or integrate our RSS feed into the app of your choice.

America Has 2 Million Solar Systems. How'd We Get Here? May 16, 2019

It took four decades for America to install a million solar systems. And it took just three years to install the second million.

From here on out, the U.S. market will likely see a million systems every couple of years, according to the latest data from Wood Mackenzie.

To mark this new era of scale, we’re going to look back at the most important trends that got us to the first couple of million systems — and the most important trends that will keep many more millions coming.

Then, Tesla has a new way to package and sell solar online. Will it work?

Finally, what’s the best way to frame climate change and the clean energy transition? Presidential candidates are talking about the issues, and press outlets are trying to reframe coverage. What's working and what needs to change?

Recommended reading:

GTM: US Surpasses 2 Million Solar Installations as Industry Looks to ‘Dominate’ the 2020s
GTM: Tesla Embraces New Solar Strategy But Analysts Remain Skeptical
New York Times: These Days, It’s Not About the Polar Bears
Columbia Journalism Review: The Climate Crisis Is a Story for Every Beat

Support for this podcast comes from PG&E. Did you know that 20 percent of EV drivers in the U.S. are in PG&E’s service area in Northern California? PG&E is helping to electrify corporate fleet vehicles. Get in touch with PG&E’s EV specialists to find out how you can take your transportation fleet electric.

We're also sponsored by Wunder Capital. Wunder Capital is the leading commercial solar financing company in the United States. Click here to find out how Wunder Capital can help you finance your next commercial solar project.

Subscribe to GTM podcasts via Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify or wherever you find your audio content, or integrate our RSS feed into the app of your choice.

How Much Do Renewable Energy Mandates Really Cost? May 03, 2019

For well over a decade, researchers have been modeling the cost of state renewable energy mandates.

The results break down in predictable ways: conservative and progressive groups often come to very different conclusions based about costs and benefits.

An authoritative 2015 report from the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab found that compliance costs for state renewables targets only make up 2 percent of retail rates in most U.S. states.

After a lull, the debate over the cost of renewable energy targets is re-emerging. A new working paper from economists at the University of Chicago concludes that mandates are the most expensive way to reduce carbon pollution — and that they are much bigger drivers of rate increases than previously thought.

Many researchers are pushing back on the economists’ modeling of electricity rates. But it’s worth revisiting this debate, since renewables and carbon-free energy targets are used as placeholders for more ambitious climate policy.

In this week’s podcast, we’re discussing the findings of this study, the criticism, and how it fits into current trends U.S. in energy policy.

Then, Rivian continues to bring in money for electric trucks. What do Amazon and Ford see in the company? Are trucks the next big target for electrification?

Finally, a brief look at 5G networks. They could revolutionize energy services, but they’re also fraught with geopolitical and cybersecurity risk. Will the benefits outweigh the risk?

Recommended reading:

Twitter threads from Jesse Jenkins, Alex Gilbert, Jacob Mays, and Sam Ori.
University of Chicago working paper
New York Times: Ford to Invest $500 Million in Rivian, a Tesla Rival
New Yorker: The Terrifying Potential of the 5G Network

Support for this podcast comes from PG&E. Did you know that 20 percent of EV drivers in the U.S. are in PG&E’s service area in Northern California? PG&E is helping to electrify corporate fleet vehicles. Get in touch with PG&E’s EV specialists to find out how you can take your transportation fleet electric.

We're also sponsored by Wunder Capital. Wunder Capital is the leading commercial solar financing company in the United States. Click here to find out how Wunder Capital can help you finance your next commercial solar project.

Subscribe to The Interchange podcast via Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify or wherever you find your audio content. Or integrate our RSS feed into the app of your choice.

Watt It Takes: Why This Founder Dug Into Home Geothermal Apr 24, 2019

This week on Watt It Takes: How a product manager at Google saw promise in geothermal heat pumps — and applied the lessons of solar to an underserved market.

In this episode, Powerhouse CEO Emily Kirsch sits down with Kathy Hannun, the co-founder of Dandelion, a home geothermal company that uses a proprietary drilling technique, simple product design, and financing to cut the cost of ground-source heating and cooling.

For seven years, Kathy was on the rapid evaluation team at Alphabet X — formerly Google X — evaluating technology moonshots. That’s where she stumbled upon the opportunity in geothermal.

We’re going to hear from Kathy about what she learned trying to tackle a tough tech like home geothermal. We’ll also hear about what she learned from her time at Google, how she built her team, and why raising money as an expecting mother presented some unique challenges.

This conversation was recorded live at Powerhouse’s headquarters. Buy tickets for upcoming events.

Support for this podcast comes from PG&E. Did you know that 20 percent of EV drivers in the U.S. are in PG&E’s service area in Northern California? PG&E is helping to electrify corporate fleet vehicles. Get in touch with PG&E’s EV specialists to find out how you can take your transportation fleet electric.

We're also sponsored by Wunder Capital. Wunder Capital is the leading commercial solar financing company in the United States. Click here to find out how Wunder Capital can help you finance your next commercial solar project.

Subscribe to The Energy Gang podcast via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you find your audio content.

The Art of Closing Billions in Wind and Solar Deals [Special Content From CohnReznick] Apr 23, 2019

This week, we present a special episode produced in collaboration with CohnReznick Capital.

How do you broker billions of dollars worth of renewable energy deals — and do it again and again?

It takes grit, sure. But it also requires empathy.

And that, says Conor McKenna, is the real art of the deal.

McKenna is a senior managing director at CohnReznick Capital Markets. He’s helped close 8 gigawatts of wind, solar and biomass projects over his career.

We all know “The Art of the Deal,” Donald Trump’s 1987 book that offers hard-nosed business advice. The book includes lessons like fight back, play the game hard, and deliver the goods.

This advice has shaped our perception of real estate and Wall Street culture. But McKenna says one important lesson is missing: how to form good relationships so that everyone benefits from a deal.

“Every time we’ve seen someone focus on getting that last dollar out of an individual transaction, we’ve found that they’ve had a much harder time in repeating business and growing and scaling at the same rate as this industry.”

This isn’t a soft tactic. When you’re trying to pull together hundreds or thousands of megawatts of projects — and repeat the process over many times — you have to actually care about the people on the other side of the table.

“Those that have left money on the table and and allowed for their partners to feel successful as well, have had a lot more repeat business.”

In this episode, we look at how empathy can translate into billions of dollars in cash and push renewables further into the mainstream. Find out more about CohnReznick Capital's portfolio.

Amazon Cozies Up to Fossil Fuels Apr 18, 2019

The tech giants are all going long on renewables, but Amazon seems to be going long on oil and gas.

A new story details Amazon’s budding romance with the fossil fuel industry, while also lagging behind its peers in buying clean energy for its operations.

Other tech companies are using their analytics for helping extract more fossil fuels — but is the extent of Amazon’s pursuit unique?

Then, a new study shows that three-quarters of all coal in the US is more expensive than new renewables. But there’s an ongoing push in states from coal groups to force plants to stay open. We’ll have the latest in the feeble attempt to save coal.

Finally, the supreme court rejects a challenge to state nuclear subsidies. Is it a green light for more states to save their nuke fleets?

Recommended reading:

Gizmodo: Amazon Is Aggressively Pursuing Big Oil as It Stalls Out on Clean Energy
Vox: Amazon Says It’s a Leader on Fighting Climate Change. 5,000 Employees Disagree
Indy Star: Out-of-State Coal Interests Are Funding a Battle to Keep Coal Plants From Closing
Houston Chronicle: Supreme Court Denies Challenge to NY Nuclear Subsidy

Support for this podcast comes from PG&E. Did you know that 20 percent of EV drivers in the U.S. are in PG&E’s service area in Northern California? PG&E is helping to electrify corporate fleet vehicles. Get in touch with PG&E’s EV specialists to find out how you can take your transportation fleet electric.

Subscribe to The Energy Gang podcast via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you find your audio content.

Interpreting GOP Responses to the Green New Deal Apr 12, 2019

This week, the Green New Deal ripples through Washington.

A few leading Republicans are responding to the progressive climate plan with some ideas of their own: the New Manhattan Project and the Green Real Deal.

They’ve gotten a mostly cold response from the left. But have we finally broken the ice for a legitimate cross-party policy discussion on climate? We’ll look at the GOP responses.

Then, Trump’s latest verbal convulsion. Speaking at a fundraiser, the president said wind noise causes cancer and kills property values. We’ll take this opportunity to review what the literature says about the impact of wind.

Finally, we’ll go to Virginia, where there’s been a ton of legislative activity on solar, efficiency, grid infrastructure and climate — some of which was blocked by the state’s mega-utility Dominion Energy. We’ll examine the politics.

Recommended reading:

Bloomberg: GOP Tiptoes Toward Climate Plans as Ocasio-Cortez Turns Up Heat
Matt Gaetz: 'Green Real Deal' Proposal
Lamar Alexander: The New Manhattan Project
The Conversation: Wind Turbine Syndrome, a Classic ‘Communicated’ Disease
Virginia Mercury: How the General Assembly Failed Virginia Again on Clean Energy

Support for this podcast comes from PG&E. Did you know that 20 percent of EV drivers in the U.S. are in PG&E’s service area in Northern California? PG&E is helping to electrify corporate fleet vehicles. Get in touch with PG&E’s EV specialists to find out how you can take your transportation fleet electric.

Subscribe to The Energy Gang podcast via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you find your audio content.

Live at MIT: The 2040 Grid Apr 07, 2019

This past week, we recorded a live show at the MIT Energy Conference.

The theme of the show: what the grid may look like by 2040.

As a topical show, we usually don’t know what we’re going to be discussing until a day or two in advance. But the theme of the MIT conference was "tough tech and the 2040 grid" — so we decided to take it head on.

To start, we’ll adjust our brains to the 2040 timeframe with some fantastical scenarios.

Then, we create our own plans. We will each outline a possible future for the 2040 time frame — Katherine will look at policy and politics, Jigar will look at the business environment, and Stephen looks at technology make-up.

Finally, a news circuit. We’ll provide some quick commentary on top stories of the day.

And we’ll end with our Free Electrons.

What Does Lyft's IPO Signal for the Future of Mobility? Mar 28, 2019

Lyft is set for an IPO on Friday; Uber is driving up to the IPO window soon. Investors seem enthusiastic, but skeptics see a lot of risks and a bumpy path to profitability.

In 2018, transportation network companies — pretty much Lyft and Uber — gave 2.6 billion rides. Lyft gave a billion of those rides, doubling its revenue over 2017 to $2.2 billion.

We know the consumer appetite is there. But as Lyft hits the public markets, many wonder if that volume can be turned into profits. Autonomous cars, competition from other shared mobility companies, and regulations are all a potential risk.

So what does Lyft’s IPO — and soon Uber’s — tell us about where mobility is headed? We're discussing on this week's Energy Gang podcast.

Then, one of America’s biggest utilities said recently it will offer only carbon-free energy by 2050. In the second half of the show, we’re going to dig into Xcel’s plan. How will they do it? And will it encourage other big power companies to do the same?

Finally, Midwestern floods have caused $3 billion in damages and devastated rural communities. We’ll look at our poor infrastructure management, and where the floods fit into climate trends.

Recommended reading:

Seattle Times: As It Gets Set for IPO, Lyft Outlines All the Reasons Ride-Sharing Could Fail
NPR: Ride-Hailing Services Add To Traffic Congestion, Study Says
CityLab: If Your Car Is Stuck in Traffic, It's Not Uber and Lyft's Fault
Vox: For the First Time, a Major US Utility Has Committed to 100% Clean Energy
Xcel Energy: Building a Carbon-Free Future
Atlantic: Midwestern Flooding Isn’t a Natural Disaster
Report: Climate Change in the Midwest

Support for this podcast comes from Dandelion Energy, the leading home geothermal company. Dandelion is making it easier for homeowners to get geothermal. Customers who switch to geothermal heating save on average $2,250 per year. See if your home qualifies.

We're also brought to you by Wunder Capital. Listen to our careers episode produced with Wunder Capital. We talked with Wunder CTO Dave Riess about the framework he used to completely change his career path into solar — eventually co-founding a successful company. Listen to that episode in The Interchange feed or find it here.

Subscribe to The Energy Gang podcast via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you find your audio content.

Replay: The Story Behind Greentech Media's Founding Mar 24, 2019

We're on spring break this week. We'll be back on Thursday with our regular show.

To get you through the next few days, we’re offering up an earlier episode of Watt It Takes about the origin story of Greentech Media.

In this edition of Watt It Takes, Powerhouse CEO Emily Kirsch interviews GTM Co-Founder Scott Clavenna about the beginning of the company, the challenges of being a startup in the cleantech world, and our recent acquisition by Wood Mackenzie.

Watt It Takes is a live interview series produced by Powerhouse in partnership with GTM. The conversation was recorded live in Oakland, California.

Don't forget to subscribe to our other GTM podcast, The Interchange.

The Battery Storage Market Kicks Into High Gear Mar 14, 2019

The latest numbers for U.S. energy storage activity are out. They show a surge of activity coming over the next five years, leading to 6x market growth.

By 2024, the storage market will be worth $4.7 billion dollars, driven evenly by utility-scale and behind-the-meter battery projects.

On this week's episode, we'll unpack the numbers in the latest Energy Storage Monitor from Wood Mackenzie and the Energy Storage Association. They show a doubling and then a tripling of storage to come — making batteries an important part of utility planning in every region of the country.

Where’s growth happening, and what does it mean for grid planning?

Then, with many farmers in crisis, more of them are putting solar on their land. That’s providing new sources of income, but many fear it could take prime croplands out of commission. How do we site solar on agricultural lands properly?

And finally, what is going on over at Tesla? We’ll make try to make sense of the confusing series of decisions at the company.

Recommended reading:

GTM: US Energy Storage Broke Records in 2018, but the Best Is Yet to Come
GTM: APS Plans to Add Nearly 1GW of New Battery Storage and Solar Resources by 2025
Washington Post: The Next Money Crop for Farmers
Interchange podcast: What's Up With Tesla Energy?
New York Times: Tesla Says Never Mind, It Raises Prices and Keeps Most Stores
Bloomberg: Musk Pledges Belt-Tightening as Tesla Cuts Prices, Warns of Loss

Support for this podcast comes from Dandelion Energy, the leading home geothermal company. Dandelion is making it easier for homeowners to get geothermal. Customers who switch to geothermal heating save on average $2,250 per year. See if your home qualifies.

We're also brought to you by Wunder Capital. Listen to our careers episode produced with Wunder Capital. We talked with Wunder CTO Dave Riess about the framework he used to completely change his career path into solar — eventually co-founding a successful company. Listen to that episode in The Interchange feed or find it here.

Subscribe to The Energy Gang podcast via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you find your audio content.

Watt It Takes: Terry Jester Brings 40 Years of Solar Experience to Startups Mar 06, 2019

This week on Watt It Takes: Terry Jester has seen it all in her four-decade career in solar and electronics. As both an engineer and an executive, she’s learned that timing is everything in the energy business.

“I think as I’ve gotten older, I understand when best to strike…a good idea can not make it for bad timing, and a bad idea can go too far.”

In this episode, Powerhouse CEO Emily Kirsch sits down with Terry, who is now chief executive of SolPad, maker of a modular home solar-storage system.

Terry started her career at ARCO solar in 1979, where she worked on making products that could last decades. She’s since held operations or engineering positions at Shell, Siemens, SunPower, SolarWorld and Solaria — witnessing the initial evolution and eventual explosion of solar firsthand.

Terry is now in the startup world, where she’s trying to help SolPad carve out a niche in the market for home solar-battery systems. So we’re going to hear about how she’s applying operations lessons from big corporations to a startup.

This conversation was recorded live at the Women of Renewable Industries and Sustainable Energy forum in Denver, CO.

Watt It Takes is a collaboration between Powerhouse and Greentech Media. The series is normally recorded in front of a live audience at Powerhouse headquarters in Oakland, California. Buy tickets for upcoming events.

Support for this podcast comes from Dandelion Energy, the leading home geothermal company. Dandelion is making it easier for homeowners to get geothermal. Customers who switch to geothermal heating save on average $2,250 per year. See if your home qualifies.

We're also brought to you by Wunder Capital. Wunder Capital is the leading commercial solar financing company in the United States. Click here to find out how Wunder Capital can help you finance your next commercial solar project.

Risks and Rewards of Latin America's Solar Boom [Special Content From NEXTracker] Mar 05, 2019

This week, we’ve got a bonus episode produced in collaboration with NEXTracker.

It’s all about the risks and rewards of doing business in the roaring Latin American solar market.

We are speaking with two of the most in-the-know people on the subject.

We’re joined by Manan Parikh, Wood a solar analyst focused on the Americas for Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables.

And we’ll hear from Alejo Lopez, a senior director at NEXTracker, who’s helped grow a 3-gigawatt pipeline of trackers in Latin America — resulting in some of the cheapest and grandest solar projects in the world.

Auctions in Mexico, Chile, Argentina, Colombia, and Brazil are unleashing extremely low prices — between 2 and 3 cents a kilowatt-hour. As a result, the region is actually the strongest for trackers compared to the rest of the world.

It’s also a pretty crazy place to do business. Every country is very different. Political and economic volatility can make markets super hot one year, and then nonexistent the next. And ultra-low prices aren’t always healthy.

Still, Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables projects exponential growth for Latin America — making it 10% of the global market within the next few years.

So what does exponential growth look like? And what do solar markets based on unsubsidized, extremely low priced projects mean for businesses?

Learn about how NEXTracker helped deliver 754 megawatts of trackers to the largest solar project in the Americas.

Listen to our episode of Watt It Takes with NEXTracker CEO Dan Shugar, a solar pioneer.

Is Climate Delayism the New Denialism? Feb 28, 2019

We weren’t planning on making the Green New Deal a weekly item on the show. Then a video of Senator Dianne Feinstein dropped over the weekend, where she appears to lecture climate-protesting kids. It set off a chain reaction of outrage.

The social media fervor has since died down, but some really interesting journalism was left in its wake. This whole affair highlighted the crazy upheaval in climate politics — we’re going to tackle some of the bigger questions raised.

Are kids a legitimate constituency? What makes climate politics so different from other issues? Are climate delayers as bad as climate deniers? What’s the end game for Democrats?

Then, another ethics conflict for Trump’s energy people. We’ll talk about an EPA official who worked with a secretive utility group that lobbies against air pollution regulations, just months before he took a role regulating air pollution.

Zack Colman of Politico joins us to talk about the ties he uncovered. What do they tell us about the state of lobbying ethics and utility power in the nation’s capital?

Don’t forget about our live show on April 4 at the MIT Energy Conference in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Listeners get 10% off using the code “energygang” when they buy a ticket. Get tickets: bit.ly/mitenergygang

Read along with us:

The New Yorker: The Hard Lessons of Dianne Feinstein’s Encounter With the Young Green New Deal Activists
Axios: Dianne Feinstein's Green New Deal Video Basically Explains the Debate on Fighting Climate Change
Atlantic: Dianne Feinstein Doesn’t Need a Do-Over
Politico: Documents Detail Multimillion-Dollar ties Involving EPA Official, Secretive Industry Group

Support for this podcast comes from Dandelion Energy, the leading home geothermal company. Dandelion is making it easier for homeowners to get geothermal. Customers who switch to geothermal heating save on average $2,250 per year. See if your home qualifies.

We're also brought to you by Wunder Capital. Listen to our careers episode produced with Wunder Capital. We talked with Wunder CTO Dave Riess about the framework he used to completely change his career path into solar — eventually co-founding a successful company. Listen to that episode in The Interchange feed or find it here.

How Trump's Tariffs Hit US Solar, One Year On Feb 21, 2019

It’s been one year since the Trump White House slapped 30 percent tariffs on solar cells and modules imported into the US. What happened since?

The solar industry said tariffs would destroy tens of thousands of jobs and set the market back years. Turns out, the market is a lot more resilient than presumed. We now have the jobs numbers and installation data for 2018 — and yes, the tariffs definitely hurt solar, but not nearly as much as expected.

We’ll take stock of how tariffs shaped America’s solar market over the last year, both bad and good.

Then, Shell continues its distributed-energy acquisition spree. The oil giant just scooped up German battery services company sonnen — one month after buying EV charging firm Greenlots in January. What’s the end game?

We’ll end with a Trump Administration plan to freeze lighting standards. Is this Trump’s vendetta against hipster bars using globe lights and Edison bulbs?

We’re doing a live show at the MIT Energy Conference on April 4 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Follow this link and use the promo code “energygang,” and we’ll give you a 10% discount on your ticket. Come join us for a fun live show on the energy picture in 2040.

Recommended reading:

GTM: New Tariffs to Curb US Solar Installations by 11% Through 2022
GTM: US Solar Job Numbers Decline for the Second Consecutive Year
GTM: Oil Supermajor Shell Acquires Sonnen for Home Battery Expansion
ACEEE: Rollback of Light Bulb Standards Would Cost Consumers Billions

Support for this podcast comes from Dandelion Energy, the leading home geothermal company. Dandelion is making it easier for homeowners to get geothermal. Customers who switch to geothermal heating save on average $2,250 per year. See if your home qualifies.

We're also brought to you by Wunder Capital. Wunder Capital is the leading commercial solar financing company in the United States. Listen to our special podcast episode on careers produced in partnership with Wunder.

Subscribe to The Energy Gang podcast via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you find your audio content.

Parsing the Green New Deal Feb 14, 2019

The Green New Deal plan is out, and we’re suddenly having a national conversation about climate change again. It’s also injecting some early drama into the presidential primaries.

This week, we’re digging into the plan. We’ll tell you what’s in it, assess the reactions, and look at whether it will amount to anything. Also: is the democratic-socialist agenda antithetical the “creating climate wealth” framing — or complimentary?

Then, recycling is in crisis. You’re probably recycling wrong. China is cracking down. And your city is probably losing money. We’ll ask how to address it.

Finally, lab-grown meat and meat alternatives are facing a backlash from the meat industry. Bills are getting introduced in states around the country to prevent companies from using the word "meat." Could it set the industry back just as these products are gaining traction?

We’re doing a live show at the MIT Energy Conference on April 4 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Follow this link and use the promo code “energygang,” and we’ll give you a 10% discount on your ticket. Come join us for a fun live show on the energy picture in 2040.

Recommended reading:

Read the Green New Deal resolution
Politico: The Impossible Green Dream of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Vox: The Green New Deal Is a 2020 Litmus Test
Financial Times: Why the World’s Recycling System Stopped Working
New York Times: You Call That Meat? Not So Fast, Cattle Ranchers Say

Support for this podcast comes from Dandelion Energy, the leading home geothermal company. Dandelion is making it easier for homeowners to get geothermal. Customers who switch to geothermal heating save on average $2,250 per year. See if your home qualifies.

We're also brought to you by Wunder Capital. Wunder Capital is the leading commercial solar financing company in the United States. Click here to find out how Wunder Capital can help you finance your next commercial solar project.

Subscribe to The Energy Gang podcast via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you find your audio content.

Watt It Takes: How David Crane Jolted the Power Sector Feb 08, 2019

This week on Watt It Takes: How David Crane worked his way up in the power business to become CEO of NRG Energy — only to get tossed out of the job for his bold stance on climate.

In this episode, Emily Kirsch talks with Crane about taking risks in the conservative power industry.

We’re going to hear from Crane about why being a CEO is so lonely, how his open exit letter to NRG employees went viral, the best investment he ever made, and his early career.

Watt It Takes is a collaboration between Powerhouse and Greentech Media. The series is recorded in front of a live audience at Powerhouse headquarters in Oakland, California. Buy tickets for upcoming events.

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The Interchange: Utilities vs Oil Majors vs Mobility Providers vs Big Tech Feb 05, 2019

This week: a battle Royale for energy dominance.

We're cross-posting an episode from our other Greentech Media podcast, The Interchange.

The competitors: utilities, oil & gas majors, mobility providers and big tech. We’re pitting them against each other inside of a voice-activated, electrified cage to see who will emerge as the energy company of the future.

Subscribe to The Interchange podcast via Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify or wherever you find your audio content. Or integrate our RSS feed into the app of your choice.

The Debate Over America's 2050 Energy Mix Jan 31, 2019

What will the U.S. grid mix look like in 2050? It depends on which models you follow.

The future according to the Energy Information Administration's latest report: wind will stop growing, coal will stop declining, demand for electricity will keep going up, and emission reductions will moderate. A lot of people are unhappy about it.

It's no secret that EIA is ultra-conservative in its modeling. But why is there such a disconnect from the technological and economic shifts in energy markets? And why does EIA have such a hard time mapping technological change? We'll offer some solutions to the government's data problem.

Then: cancel your trip to Disneyland, stock up on Coca-Cola, and hoard as many iPhones as possible. We'll look at how the world’s biggest companies are detailing their risks to climate change.

Finally, we'll end on a philosophical note: who is to blame for climate change? Individuals? Companies? Governments? We'll take a cue from an articulate 16-year-old in Davos.

Don't forget to rate and review us on Apple podcasts. We're giving away a free subscription to GTM Squared to the person who writes the most interesting review by February 1.

Read along with us:

InsideClimate News: What the Government Misses in Its Energy Outlook and Why It Matters
Utility Dive: US Far Off Track for Global Climate Goals as Fossil Fuel Reliance Persists
Twitter: Jesse Jenkins thread on EIA data
Twitter: Alex Gilbert reactions to EIA data
Bloomberg: Corporate America Is Getting Ready to Monetize Climate Change
Barron's: Climate Change Could Hit These Companies Hardest
LinkedIn: Discussion of Greta Thunberg's Davos Speech

Support for this podcast comes from Wunder Capital. Wunder Capital is the leading commercial solar financing company in the United States. Click here to find out how Wunder Capital can help you finance your next commercial solar project.

Subscribe to The Energy Gang podcast via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you find your audio content.

A New Paradigm for Energy Efficiency Jan 24, 2019

What is energy efficiency? That sounds like a pretty simple question. But it’s not.

Defining efficiency used to be pretty straightforward: weatherize, upgrade equipment and lighting, use a bit of social science to cut consumption. But now efficiency is becoming just as much about shaping demand in real-time to support distributed energy. And that’s shaping how it gets defined, implemented and tracked.

A confluence of factors — the rise of new consumer tech in the home, bundled distributed energy offerings, a shifting demand curve due to PV, improvements to data collection, and the “electrify everything movement — are changing efficiency's role on the grid. We'll discuss this changing paradigm in our first segment.

Then, we'll move to electrification. Why are heat pumps suddenly getting so much attention? And how can they help meet efficiency and decarbonization goals?

Finally, we'll end with an update on how global power brokers are thinking about energy at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Katherine comes to us from the event.

Don't forget to rate and review us on Apple podcasts. We're giving away a free subscription to GTM Squared to the person who writes the most interesting review before the end of January.

Read along with us:

Twitter thread of efficiency resources suggested by listeners
ACEEE: Snapshot of Energy Efficiency Performance Incentives for Electric Utilities
Nexant: The Need for a Holistic Electrification Strategy
GTM: Electric Heating Accelerates the Push for Deep Decarbonization, but Cost Remains an Issue
GTM: Electric Heat Pumps Can Slash Heating Emissions by More Than Half in California Homes
Strategen Consulting: Is the "Duck Curve" Eroding the Value of Energy Efficiency?

Support for this podcast comes from Wunder Capital. Wunder Capital is the leading commercial solar financing company in the United States. Click here to find out how Wunder Capital can help you finance your next commercial solar project.

Subscribe to The Energy Gang podcast via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you find your audio content.

PG&E's Looming Historic Bankruptcy Jan 17, 2019

We are about to witness one of the most contentious and consequential bankruptcies in the history of energy.

PG&E, California’s biggest utility, is reeling from wildfire costs — and it is now headed to the courts, where it will likely be dismantled.

Will it crush California’s goals to clean up the electric grid? Or will lawmakers step in with a political fix? The stakes couldn’t be higher. We’re going to tackle the big questions raised by PG&E’s spiral.

Then, why are hundreds of liberal green groups shutting down every technology except wind and solar as part of the Green New Deal? We’ll discuss a letter has raised a lot of criticism — and risks fighting among allies even before a real plan is considered.

Finally, we’ll have a rundown of a terrifying Wall Street Journal story about how the Russians infiltrated dozens of utilities, allowing them to hide out inside the computer systems controlling the grid.

Don't forget to rate and review us on Apple podcasts. We're giving away a free subscription to GTM Squared to the person who writes the most interesting review before the end of January.

Read along with us:

GTM: The Big Questions Raised by PG&E’s Coming Bankruptcy
Los Angeles Times: PG&E’s Bankruptcy Could Slow California’s Fight Against Climate Change
Jigar's op-ed in The Hill: Modern Energy Infrastructure Could Mitigate California’s Wildfire Crisis
Vox: Here’s One Fight the Green New Deal Should Avoid for Now
Wall Street Journal: America’s Electric Grid Has a Vulnerable Back Door—and Russia Walked Through It

Support for this podcast comes from Wunder Capital. Wunder Capital is the leading commercial solar financing company in the United States. Click here to find out how Wunder Capital can help you finance your next commercial solar project.

Subscribe to The Energy Gang podcast via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you find your audio content.

Government Shuts Down, Pollution Ramps Up Jan 09, 2019

The political insanity in Washington can feel disconnected from reality. But two years into the Trump presidency, Americans all over the country are feeling it in the form of higher pollution.

In this week's episode, we're starting off with a look at how the government shutdown and Trump's regulatory rollback are impacting energy-related agencies, and encouraging the discharge of more chemicals, heavy metals and air pollutants.

Then Bill Gates is once again talking about the limits of renewables and the importance of nukes. Where does Gates’ message and investment thesis stack up with the reality of the global emissions picture?

Finally, we revisit the media and climate change. 60 Minutes is talking about the New Green Deal; Meet the Press devoted an hour to climate; and the New York Times called climate change the most important story of 2018. A sign of things of change in the media environment?

Read along with us:

New York Times: 'This Is Our Reality Now'
The Guardian: Americans' Health at Risk as Shutdown Slashes EPA
New York Times: The Most Important Story of 2018
Bill Gates: What I Learned at Work This Year
60 Minutes: A Profile of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Jigar Shah: Give Trump Money for a Wall by Funding the Green New Deal

Support for this podcast comes from Wunder Capital. Wunder Capital is the leading commercial solar financing company in the United States. Click here to find out how Wunder Capital can help you finance your next commercial solar project.

Subscribe to The Energy Gang podcast via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you find your audio content.

2018 Reflections and Prognostications Dec 21, 2018

This week, it’s our year-ender episode. And you know what that means: we’re going round the horn with our assessment of 2018.

First, we’ll discuss the top trends of the year.

Then, a roundup of the best energy journalism of 2018.

And finally, some predictions for 2019 — with a twist.

Here some links to our top journalism choices:

“The Coal Bailout Nobody is Talking About,” by Joseph Daniel
“Drilled” podcast, by Amy Westervelt
An interview with Ken Ward, jr. about his MacArthur Genius grant for investigative reporting on the coal industry.
And Stephen’s other picks for top podcasts of the year.

The Energy Gang is brought to you by GE's Reservoir, a modular lithium-ion energy storage system that can slash construction costs by 50 percent. Find out more about what Reservoir can do for your electric grid, solar plant, wind farm, microgrid or thermal power plant.

Use the promo code PODCAST to get a $50 discount for a GTM Squared membership this holiday season. Get your GTM Squared discounted membership here.

Watt It Takes: The Origin Story of Wunder Capital Dec 06, 2018

This week on Watt It Takes: Wunder Capital CEO Bryan Birsic on why he wants to solve the commercial solar financing challenge, when so many others couldn't.

"That is what a startup is to me. It's 50 or 100 people who can move a multi-billion-dollar industry in a way that an incumbent with thousands of people and multitudes of resources cannot," says Birsic.

Since its launch in 2014, Wunder has exploded onto the solar scene. In this edition of Watt It Takes, Powerhouse CEO Emily Kirsch talks with Birsic about applying the lessons from fintech to cleantech.

Watt It Takes is a collaboration between Powerhouse and Greentech Media. The series is recorded in front of a live audience at Powerhouse headquarters in Oakland, California. Buy tickets for upcoming events.

This podcast is brought to you by GE's Reservoir, a modular lithium-ion energy storage system that can slash construction costs by 50 percent. Find out more about what Reservoir can do for your electric grid, solar plant, wind farm, microgrid, or thermal power plant.

We’re giving listeners major discounts this fall. Use the promo code PODCAST to get a $50 discount for a GTM Squared membership and 20% off our final GTM conferences of the season. Get your GTM conference discount here. Get your GTM Squared discounted membership here.

Listen to our other episodes of Watt It Takes:

Subscribe to GTM podcasts via Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher or wherever you find your audio content.

Can Geothermal Scale? Nov 28, 2018

Back in 2008, there was a lot of excitement about geothermal. Many major banks were backing large-scale geothermal projects around the world; a wide range of startups were promising to unlock new resources; and wind and solar hadn’t shown their explosive growth yet.

But then the financial crisis hit. In the decade since, growth in geothermal has been lumpy — relegated to a handful of supportive markets around the world.

Why has geothermal grown so slowly compared to other renewables? What’s holding it back?

This week, we’re joined by Alexander Richter, the founder of the geothermal news site ThinkGeoEnergy. Alex has experience in project finance, research and journalism. We’ll talk with him about the last decade of geothermal development.

Then, in the second half of the show, we discuss the Green New Deal.

There’s a movement within the Democratic Party to push climate hard. What’s behind it? How would the New Green Deal work? (For a compliment to this discussion, check out the latest episode of Political Climate.)

The Energy Gang is brought to you by GE's Reservoir, a modular lithium-ion energy storage system that can slash construction costs by 50 percent. Find out more about what Reservoir can do for your electric grid, solar plant, wind farm, microgrid or thermal power plant.

We’re giving listeners major discounts this fall. Use the promo code PODCAST to get a $50 discount for a GTM Squared membership and 20% off our final GTM conferences of the season.

Get your GTM conference discount here.

Get your GTM Squared discounted membership here.

Subscribe to The Energy Gang podcast via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Play, Stitcher or wherever you find your audio content.

What if Utilities Are to Blame for Wildfires? Nov 21, 2018

California has seen a million and a half acres of forest burned this year. As the state recovers from the devastating Camp Fire and Woolsey Fire, residents are looking for someone to blame.

Now attention turns to utilities. Both Southern California Edison and Pacific Gas & Electric are under investigation and facing class-action lawsuits for potentially starting the blazes.

What happens to utilities if they are found at fault? And how do you protect a vulnerable electric grid as these fire get worse and worse? We'll discuss.

Then, we’ll mark the Thanksgiving week in the second half of the show. We’ll each share our picks for the top turkey of 2018. Who made the biggest blunders this year?

Recommended reading:

GTM: If Wildfires Drive PG&E Into Bankruptcy, What Happens to Renewable Energy Contracts?
SF Chronicle: California Regulator Lays Groundwork for PG&E Bailout
National Geographic: See How a Warmer World Primed California for Large Fires

The Energy Gang is brought to you by GE's Reservoir, a modular lithium-ion energy storage system that can slash construction costs by 50 percent. Find out more about what Reservoir can do for your electric grid, solar plant, wind farm, microgrid, or thermal power plant.

We’re giving listeners major discounts this fall. Use the promo code PODCAST to get a $50 discount for a GTM Squared membership and 20% off our final GTM conferences of the season.

Get your GTM conference discount here.

Get your GTM Squared discounted membership here.

Subscribe to The Energy Gang podcast via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Play, Stitcher or wherever you find your audio content.

Watt It Takes: The Origin Story of Sunrun Nov 15, 2018

This week on Watt It Takes: How Sunrun CEO Lynn Jurich convinced homeowners and banks to invest millions into third-party rooftop solar during the great recession.

“Everybody said it won’t work. We took it as a challenge,” says Jurich. “And so we just went for it.”

Sunrun was a pioneer in residential solar services. Unlike some of its fallen brethren pushing the national model, Sunrun grew at a much more sustainable clip. Today, the company is at the top of its game. Sunrun installed 100 megawatts of residential solar last quarter. It will likely install 5,000 residential batteries. It’s now partnering with utilities on using those batteries and rooftop systems as a virtual power plant.

In this edition of Watt It Takes, Powerhouse CEO Emily Kirsch talks with Jurich about how she went from begging homeowners at county fairs to signing hundreds of thousands of customers.

This podcast is brought to you by GE's Reservoir, a modular lithium-ion energy storage system that can slash construction costs by 50 percent. Find out more about what Reservoir can do for your electric grid, solar plant, wind farm, microgrid, or thermal power plant.

We’re giving listeners major discounts this fall. Use the promo code PODCAST to get a $50 discount for a GTM Squared membership and 20% off our final GTM conferences of the season. Get your GTM conference discount here. Get your GTM Squared discounted membership here.

Subscribe to The Energy Gang podcast via Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher or wherever you find your audio content.

Post-Election Punditry Nov 08, 2018

This week: we make sense of America’s midterm elections.

Will Democrats do anything on energy in the House? Why did so many ballot initiatives fail? What does the score tell us about the value of running as a climate hawk?

First, we’ll look at what happened in states with major ballot questions on carbon pricing, market design and renewables.

Then, what happens over the next two years under Democratic leadership in the House.

Finally, some specific races we were watching and why.

We’re giving listeners major discounts this fall. Use the promo code PODCAST to get a $50 discount for a GTM Squared membership and 20% off our final GTM conferences of the season.

Get your GTM conference discount here.

Get your GTM Squared discounted membership here.

The Energy Gang is brought to you by GE's Reservoir, a modular lithium-ion energy storage system that can slash construction costs by 50 percent. Find out more about what Reservoir can do for your electric grid, solar plant, wind farm, microgrid or thermal power plant.

How the 2008 Financial Crisis Shaped Clean Energy Oct 26, 2018

Ten years ago this week, stock markets around the world cratered as fears grew that the global economy was headed into a deep, dark recession.

Alan Greenspan called it “a once-in-a-century credit tsunami.”

Today, we are still feeling the economic and geopolitical consequences of the financial crisis. Energy markets were also transformed as a result — often in surprisingly positive ways.

In this episode of The Energy Gang, we’ll discussing the impact of the 2008 market meltdown a decade on. Would clean energy have received the same kind of government support without the crisis?

Then, we’ll turn to biomass. Biomass is one of the world’s top renewable resources for heat and electricity, but it’s facing some serious challenges, particularly here in the U.S. We’ll detail some of those problems.

Finally, Canada is putting a national carbon tax in place. How will it work? And can Prime Minister Trudeau rally Canadians in conservative-leaning provinces behind it?

The Energy Gang is brought to you by GE's Reservoir, a modular lithium-ion energy storage system that can slash construction costs by 50 percent. Find out more about what Reservoir can do for your electric grid, solar plant, wind farm, microgrid, or thermal power plant.

Recommended reading:

Politico: Rick Perry’s Coal Rescue Runs Aground at White House
Bloomberg: Report Debunking Trump’s Coal Plan Is Under Review, Administration Says
GTM: No-Deal Brexit Leaves Renewables Exposed
GTM: Inside the ‘Chaos’ Enveloping Illinois’ Distributed Solar Market

Subscribe to The Energy Gang podcast via Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher or wherever you find your audio content.

Debating the New IPCC Report: Hellish or Hopeful? Oct 11, 2018

For two years, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has been working on a new analysis about global emissions pathways. The report was released this week — and the conclusion is pretty dire.

Or is it actually more hopeful than it appears?

This week, we’ll discuss the IPCC’s findings, debate the tone, and dissect media coverage of the report.

Then, Orsted, the Danish mega-energy producer, is buying a leading American offshore wind developer. What does it say about the coming rush of offshore activity?

And finally, over to biofuels. President Trump is asking the EPA to lift restrictions on higher ethanol-gasoline blends in the summer. Farmers love it. The oil industry hates it. What was the political calculus?

Subscribe to The Energy Gang podcast via Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher or wherever you find your audio content.

Live in NYC: Are We Making Progress? Oct 08, 2018

This week, we're live in New York City.

Our theme: are we making progress?

We're joined by special guest Eric Roston, the sustainability editor at Bloomberg.

A big thanks to the Urban Future Lab, ACRE and Solar One for organizing the show as part of Clean Energy Connections.

Watt It Takes: How to Fly a Solar Airplane Around the World Sep 25, 2018

For all our East Coast fans of The Energy Gang: make sure to get your tickets for our live show on October 4 in New York City! Find them here.

This week on Watt It Takes: Why one man spent 15 years of his life obsessed with flying a solar airplane around the world.

We’re going to hear from Bertrand Piccard, a Swiss-balloonist-turned-futurist who co-piloted Solar Impulse, the first solar-electric airplane to navigate the globe.

Piccard is a very inspiring person. His entire mission was to do the impossible so that he could prove what is possible with renewable energy.

“We gave a new understanding of the level of complexity that renewable energies can solve. If you can fly around the world in a solar airplane, you can do everything,” says Piccard.

Powerhouse CEO Emily Kirsch sat down with Piccard to hear more about the 15 years of work that went into his historic flight – and about the deep family history that influenced him.

Buy tickets to future Watt It Takes events here.

Hurricane Redux: Toxic Sludge, Climate Denial and Battery Storage Sep 21, 2018

Before you do anything else, buy tickets to our live show on October 4 in New York City. It sells out fast, so get your tickets now!

One year after Hurricanes Harvey and Maria crushed Texas and Puerto Rico, Florence became one of the ten costliest hurricanes in U.S. history.

North Carolina is still reeling from severe flooding. And like Houston last year, the damage was made worse because of coastal development policies — even while state scientists sounded the alarm about rising sea levels.

We’re going to recap where things stand.

Then, residential battery storage. All these storms are creating new demand for batteries. It’s changing solar. We’ll discuss how much.

And then the billion-dollar pickup for Lucid Motors. Weren’t the Saudis supposed to take Tesla private? How did they end up throwing a $1 billion into lesser-known electric car company?

The Energy Gang is brought to you by Mission Solar Energy, a solar module manufacturer based in San Antonio, Texas. Mission Solar's high-performance solar panels have the highest testing ratings among any North American manufacturer in the market. Learn more about Mission's high-efficiency modules.

Recommended reading:

New York Times: North Carolina, Warned of Rising Seas, Chose to Favor Development
GTM: Clean Energy Players Weather Florence
Forbes: Hurricane Florence Brings The Issue Of Coal Ash Back To The Surface
GTM: Residential Storage Has Jumped Ahead. Can Utilities Keep Up?
Bloomberg: Saudi Wealth Fund to Invest $1 Billion in Tesla's Rival Lucid
Vox: The Public Wants 100% Renewable Energy, and Quick

Subscribe to The Energy Gang podcast via Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher or wherever you find your audio content.

Watt It Takes: How Sunnova's John Berger Convinced Oil & Gas Investors to Believe in Solar Sep 13, 2018

This week on Watt It Takes: How a Texas entrepreneur with fossil fuel roots came to see solar and storage as the future of energy.

We feature a conversation with John Berger, the CEO of the residential solar-and-storage firm Sunnova, about his mission to convince traditional energy investors to put their money into solar. Sunnova has pulled in tens of millions of dollars from investors who once thought solar was laughable.

"I'm proud of getting a bunch of oil and gas money. I worked hard to get that money. And I want a lot more of it. The reason is that there's been a lot of success — whether you love it or not — there's been a lot of financial success in oil and gas and there's a lot of really talented companies that have built big companies. And we need them to start putting their money in this space," says Berger.

Today, Sunnova is the fourth-biggest third-party solar provider in America, according to Wood Mackenzie's U.S. Distributed Solar Service.

Berger’s path is different than a lot of others in residential solar, who’ve mostly come tech, finance, or the environmental world. In this edition of Watt It Takes, Powerhouse CEO Emily Kirsch talks with Berger about his time at Enron, his belief in battery storage, his focus on resiliency in Puerto Rico, and his leadership strategy.

Watt It Takes is a collaboration between Powerhouse and Greentech Media. The series is recorded in front of a live audience at Powerhouse headquarters in Oakland, California. Buy tickets for upcoming events.

The Energy Gang is brought to you by Mission Solar Energy, a solar module manufacturer based in San Antonio, Texas. Mission Solar's high-performance solar panels have the highest testing ratings among any North American manufacturer in the market. Learn more about Mission's high-efficiency modules.

Listen to our previous episode of Watt It Takes:

Subscribe to The Energy Gang podcast via Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher or wherever you find your audio content.

California's 100% Clean Energy Gambit Sep 06, 2018

This week: California passes a bill to source 100% clean electricity by 2045. What does that actually mean? And more importantly, how will the target be met?

Then, writing in the New York Times this weekend, journalist Bethany McLean warned about fracking’s financial bubble. Is this a dire warning or a re-hash of old arguments?

We’ll end with a look at battery materials. Sustainability concerns are growing, while markets for lithium, nickel and cobalt fluctuate wildly. Are EVs and stationary storage batteries already shaking things up?

Recommended reading:

New York Times: The Decade We Almost Stopped Climate Change
Atlantic: The Problem With The New York Times’ Big Story on Climate Change
Guardian: 30 Years on, World Is Failing 'Miserably’ to Address Climate Change

Subscribe to The Energy Gang podcast via Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher or wherever you find your audio content.

Watt It Takes: The Promise of Electric Buses With Proterra CEO Ryan Popple Aug 22, 2018

This week on Watt It Takes: How Ryan Popple’s experience in the military, Tesla and venture capital helped him lead electric bus maker Proterra.

“It’s good for the ‘keep calm and carry on mentality’ when people tend to bring me a box of broken parts. So if you’re the founder or CEO of an organization, you shouldn’t be surprised when most of what is brought to you is bad news.”

Proterra is on a roll. The company is a leading manufacturer of heavy-duty electric buses in North America, with over 50 customers, a one-year backlog and vehicles on the road in two dozen cities. The company’s current pipeline represents 10 percent of the US transit fleet.

It took many years to reach this stage. Proterra faced numerous difficult technical re-designs and slow customer adoption over the last decade. In this interview, Popple reflects on how the company moved through the valley of death.

Watt It Takes is a collaboration between Powerhouse and Greentech Media. The series is recorded in front of a live audience at Powerhouse headquarters in Oakland, California. Buy tickets for upcoming events.

The Energy Gang is brought to you by Mission Solar Energy, a solar module manufacturer based in San Antonio, Texas. Mission Solar's high-performance solar panels have the highest testing ratings among any North American manufacturer in the market. Learn more about Mission's high-efficiency modules.

Subscribe to The Energy Gang podcast via Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher or wherever you find your audio content.

One Trillion Watts of Wind and Solar Aug 16, 2018

There are now one trillion watts of wind and solar installed around the world, according to new figures from BNEF.

It took a few decades to get here, but it’ll only take five years to do it again — and nearly 50 percent cheaper. Now that we’ve reached the terawatt scale, the true acceleration begins.

This week on the podcast, we'll contextualize that landmark for renewables.

Then, we'll discuss Tesla’s privatization debacle. Musk claimed on twitter that he has a plan to take Tesla private. Insiders said he didn’t. The board said it was never notified. Securities lawyers said Musk is flirting with the law. We’ll explain what’s going on.

We end in Germany, where a new commission is planning an end to coal in the country. Can it be a model for other industrialized countries?

The Energy Gang is brought to you by Mission Solar Energy, a solar module manufacturer based in San Antonio, Texas. Mission Solar's high-performance solar panels have the highest testing ratings among any North American manufacturer in the market. Learn more about Mission's high-efficiency modules.

Recommended reading:

BNEF: World Reaches 1,000GW of Wind and Solar, Keeps Going
New York Times: Tesla Directors, in Damage Control Mode, Want Elon Musk to Stop Tweeting
GTM: A Timeline of Tesla's Privatization Saga
GTM: German Commission Grapples With an End to Coal: ‘The Biggest Story No One Is Talking About’

Subscribe to The Energy Gang podcast via Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher or wherever you find your audio content.

Introducing Political Climate Aug 08, 2018

The Gang is on summer vacation this week. We'll be back soon with our regular analysis and debate on the stories in energy.

Meanwhile, we'd like to introduce you to Political Climate, GTM's newest podcast hosted by Senior Editor Julia Pyper.

The show features healthy debates from Republicans and Democrats over the politics of energy and climate. Enjoy this bonus episode and share your feedback with The Energy Gang and Political Climate on Twitter.

Subscribe to Political Climate via Apple Podcasts, Google Play, TuneIn, Overcast, Stitcher and Spotify.

Watt It Takes: How Schwarzenegger’s Chief of Staff Built a Battery Company Jul 30, 2018

This week on Watt It Takes: We’ll hear from Susan Kennedy, the CEO of Advanced Microgrid Solutions, about her transition from politics to behind-the-meter energy storage.

Kennedy was an important player in California environmental politics. She influenced some of the biggest pieces of legislation that launched the state’s solar industry and cap-and-trade market. She also worked as a senior advisor to some the biggest names in both parties, including Dianne Feinstein and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

After two decades in policy and politics, Kennedy set out to build a company that could take on the unique challenges of distributed energy integration. AMS was born. It has since become one of the most important startups in the booming behind-the-meter storage market.

"You have to believe that you can do anything. You have to have courage and faith to do what you've never done before."

Watt It Takes is a collaboration between Powerhouse and Greentech Media. The series is recorded in front of a live audience at Powerhouse headquarters in Oakland, California. Buy tickets for upcoming events.

The Energy Gang is brought to you by Mission Solar Energy, a solar module manufacturer based in San Antonio, Texas. Mission Solar's high-performance solar panels have the highest testing ratings among any North American manufacturer in the market. Learn more about Mission's high-efficiency modules.

Subscribe to The Energy Gang podcast via Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher or wherever you find your audio content.

A Grab Bag With Vox's David Roberts Jul 27, 2018

This week, David Roberts, a staff writer at Vox, joins the gang to talk about a wide range of topics in the news.

How would a good carbon tax work? Are we fooling ourselves thinking Republicans will ever support one?

In the absence of a carbon price, is 100% renewable energy good politics? Is it good policy?

Should we bail out nuclear? Can renewables fill in the gap created by closing nuke plants?

What should we be hopeful about?

We’ll spend the second half of the show talking about electric buses. Jigar’s company, Generate Capital, is deploying $200 million for electric bus leases. Are we reaching a tipping point for transit?

The Energy Gang is brought to you by Mission Solar Energy, a solar module manufacturer based in San Antonio, Texas. Mission Solar's high-performance solar panels have the highest testing ratings among any North American manufacturer in the market. Learn more about Mission's high-efficiency modules.

Subscribe to The Energy Gang podcast via Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher or wherever you find your audio content.

Trump, Putin and European Gas Jul 18, 2018

The Billion-Dollar Crash of Better Place Jul 12, 2018

Dozens of companies across solar, batteries and biofuels have imploded over the years. But it's hard to match the spectacular implosion of Better Place five years ago.

Better Place rose to fame in 2007, pulling in nearly $1 billion of venture capital by promising to put millions of cheap electric cars and battery switching stations on roads around the world. It fell nearly as quickly into bankruptcy after a series of poor decisions, market twists and bitter internal disputes.

A new book on the company's history, Totaled: The Billion-Dollar Crash of the Startup that Took on Big Auto, Big Oil and the World, uncovers lots of engrossing details on Better Place's quixotic mission to revolutionize electric vehicles.

On this week's Energy Gang podcast, we're talking to author Brian Blum about the Israeli EV company's rise and demise. "When you're an entrepreneur of any size, being able to change and to iterate is going to make your company a success. And Better Place really didn't do that," said Blum.

Blum will also talk about his personal experience with Better Place's car made in collaboration with Renault.

Later in the show, what does Donald Trump’s Supreme Court pick mean for environmental and energy law? We’ll look at the record of Judge Brett Kavanaugh.

The Energy Gang is brought to you by Mission Solar Energy, a solar module manufacturer based in San Antonio, Texas. Mission Solar's high-performance solar panels have the highest testing ratings than any North American manufacturer in the market. Learn more about Mission's high-efficiency modules.

Recommended reading:

Journal Science: Assessment of Methane Emissions From the U.S. Oil and Gas Supply Chain
New York Times: The Natural Gas Industry Has a Leak Problem
Jesse Jenkins Twitter analysis on the study
Richard Meyer Twitter analysis on the study
GTM: The ‘New’ New General Electric: Renewables Are In, Distributed Gas Generators Are Out

Subscribe to The Energy Gang podcast via Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher or wherever you find your audio content.

And while you're there, subscribe to our other podcasts, The Interchange and Political Climate.

Watt It Takes: How a NASA Roboticist Built a Groundbreaking Solar Tracker Jun 19, 2018

Leila Madrone was constantly looking for creative ways to use robots. In the mid 2000's, she co-founded a music group called Ensemble Robot, which featured robots that played music.

"I had this great passion to use robotics to have meaning in the world," said Madrone. Later, Madrone worked for NASA's intelligent robotics group.

Then she caught the solar bug: "Solar seemed like where the most possibility was for the future."

She teamed up with Saul Griffith, an expert in self-replicating machines, to start Sunfolding. It started with a seemingly simple idea: Solar trackers move solar panels over the day to create the most energy. But they’re made of heavy, expensive components. What if you could develop a cheaper, more efficient tracker using premium plastic materials and the power of air to maximize energy production?

With that idea, Leila built Sunfolding’s AirDrive technology that combines the functionality of motors, gears, dampers and batteries into a single component primarily composed of air.

In this edition of Watt It Takes, Powerhouse CEO Emily Kirsch interviews Leila Madrone about her path from music-making NASA roboticist to solar-tracker CEO.

This podcast is brought to you by Sense. Sense installs in your home's electrical panel and provides insight into your energy use and home activity through iOS, Android and web apps. Find out more.

Watt It Takes is a live interview series produced by Powerhouse in partnership with GTM. The conversation was recorded live in Oakland, California.

Listen to our other episodes of Watt It Takes:

Like our shows? Make sure to give The Interchange, The Energy Gang and Political Climate a rating and review on Apple podcasts. And make sure to subscribe to our shows on Apple podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher, or anywhere you get your podcasts.

Tesla's Layoffs: Musk Pushes for Profits Jun 14, 2018

Elon Musk announced Monday that Tesla is laying off 9 percent of salaried employees at the company. This is not the first round of sweeping layoffs at Tesla — the most recent came after the SolarCity acquisition. But this appears to be the biggest so far.

We'll discuss Elon's new quest for profitability.

Then, we'll cover the never-ending saga in Washington over saving coal plants. The Trump Administration is now trying to invoke national security to prop up closing coal and nuke plants – and the nation’s top energy regulators are giving it the cold shoulder.

Finally, The Energy Gang is celebrating its fifth anniversary this week. To mark the occasion, we'll each pick a single moment from the last five years caused an unstoppable ripple in the world of energy.

This podcast is brought to you by Sense. Sense installs in your home's electrical panel and provides insight into your energy use and home activity through iOS, Android and web apps. Find out more.

Recommended reading:

PERI report on NY carbon tax: An Economic Framework for Promoting Climate Stabilization and Expanding Good Job Opportunities
Miami Herald: Republicans Can’t Generate Buzz for Ros-Lehtinen’s Seat, and Some Say It’s Unwinnable
Mother Jones: The Illinois Governor’s Race Is Poised to Become the Most Expensive in History

Subscribe to The Energy Gang podcast via Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher or wherever you find your audio content.

And while you're there, subscribe to our other podcasts, The Interchange and Political Climate.

Electrify Everything: Rethinking Home Performance May 17, 2018

There’s a new phrase bouncing around energy circles: Electrify Everything.

This week, we talk to Nate Adams, a home performance expert whose personal mission is to rip gas meters out of homes and move us closer toward full electrification. As he’s learned from experience, it’s not easy.

The electrification of homes may be getting easier in California, however.

In the second half of the show, we’re going to tackle California’s new building codes. Starting in 2020, most new homes will have to come with solar panels on the roof. And there are new incentives for electric space heating and water heating – a very big step toward electrification of everything.

The codes have created a very strong reaction, both positive and negative – and we’ll look at both sides.

The Energy Gang is brought to you by Sense. Sense installs in your home's electrical panel and provides insight into your energy use and home activity through iOS, Android and web apps. Find out more.

Recommended reading:

GTM: Electrify Everything! A Practical Guide to Ditching Your Gas Meter
GTM: What Does It Take to Electrify Everything in Your Home?
Vox: The Key to Tackling Climate Change: Electrify Everything
GTM: California Rooftop Solar Mandate to Boost Sales 14% Over 4 Years
Bloomberg: California Puts Solar on the Roof and Up For Grabs
Vox: California Will Require Solar Panels on All New Homes. That’s Not Necessarily a Good Thing

Subscribe to The Energy Gang podcast via Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher or wherever you find your audio content.

And while you're there, subscribe to our other podcasts, The Interchange and Political Climate.

Watt It Takes: Billy Parish, From Dropout Activist to Solar CEO May 09, 2018

Billy Parish dropped out of college to pursue a career in climate activism. Today, he's the CEO of America's biggest rooftop solar loan company, Mosaic.

In this edition of Watt It Takes, Powerhouse CEO Emily Kirsch interviews Parish about his transition from activist to executive. They'll talk about the many iterations of Mosaic, difficulties in raising money from VCs, and Parish's philosophy on building a successful team.

Watt It Takes is a live interview series produced by Powerhouse in partnership with GTM. The conversation was recorded live in Oakland, California.

This podcast is brought to you by Sense. Sense installs in your home's electrical panel and provides insight into your energy use and home activity through iOS, Android and web apps. Find out more.

Listen to our other episodes of Watt It Takes:

Like our shows? Make sure to give The Interchange, The Energy Gang and Political Climate a rating and review on Apple podcasts. And make sure to subscribe to both shows on Apple podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher, or anywhere you get your podcasts.

Mythbusting May 04, 2018

We all fall victim to myths. But when they're deeply tied to our belief systems, they can be nearly impossible to break.

On this week's show, we're busting some of the most common myths in clean energy:

No, storage doesn't necessarily increase emissions. It depends on how it's used.
No, solar isn't just for rich Democrats. In California, Republicans are buying solar more often.
No, renewable energy doesn't inherently raise electric rates. In fact, U.S. electricity prices have fallen.

In the second half of the program, we'll revisit the swampy politics of solar in Alabama, South Carolina and Florida. A battle over net metering wages in South Carolina; a dispute over solar leasing continues in Florida; and a legal fight over solar fees in Alabama escalates.

Do you have a question you want us to answer? We want to hear from you. Record yourself asking your question in a quiet room and send your voice memo to podcasts@greentechmedia.com. Maybe we'll answer it in an upcoming episode.

The Energy Gang is brought to you by Sense. Sense installs in your home's electrical panel and provides insight into your energy use and home activity through iOS, Android and web apps. Find out more.

Subscribe to The Energy Gang podcast via Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher or wherever you find your audio content.

For Taxis, It's Uber. For Utilities, Could It Be DERs? [Original Content] May 02, 2018

This podcast episode sponsored by West Monroe Partners, and brought to you by creative strategies.

How do we think about change in the electric utility industry caused by distributed resources? Is it like telecom? Internet-based retail?

Sam Uyeno, senior manager in West Monroe Partners’ energy and utilities practice, says that it may be more like ride sharing. As distributed resources flourish, he argues that utilities will have to think about how to leverage new customers within its network — just as Uber came into the taxi market and allowed anyone to become operators.

When you consider distributed resource management software, “maybe that’s the Uber.”

Utilities are making large investments to keep up with the quickening pace of technological innovation. But it may not be enough to keep up with distributed energy resources. Utilities should also be looking for a new regulatory compact all together, argues Tom Hulsebosch, senior managing director for West Monroe Partner’s Energy & Utilities and sustainability practice.

In this podcast, we talk with Hulsebosch and Uyeno about the technology investments and business practices that utilities need to adopt in order to get ahead of the wave of distributed assets connecting to the grid.

Recommended reading:

A New Era of Grid Planning: "Folks Are Frustrated" Apr 27, 2018

Are we entering a new era of grid planning? In recent years, we've assumed that sweeping reforms are the best way to get distributed energy built. But in pockets of the country, a more localized approach to deploying these assets is taking hold – and it could be the sign of a much bigger shift to come.

On this week's Energy Gang, we'll look at Washington, D.C.'s new proposal for an authority that would push PEPCO to consider distributed alternatives to infrastructure projects.

Then, why is one of the most progressive utilities in the country slow in scaling distributed energy offerings? We'll look at the mixed experience of Green Mountain Power.

Finally, we revisit Puerto Rico. The power is mostly back on, but hurricane season is approaching quickly. What comes next?

Do you have a question you want us to answer? We want to hear from you. Record yourself on your phone asking the question in a quiet room and send us your voice memo to podcasts@greentechmedia.com. Maybe we'll answer it in an upcoming episode.

The Energy Gang is brought to you by Sense. Sense installs in your home's electrical panel and provides insight into your energy use and home activity through iOS, Android and web apps. Find out more.

Recommended reading:

GTM Squared: A Radical Approach to Grid Edge Regulatory Reform
GTM: Green Mountain Power’s Distributed Energy Business Isn’t Scaling Fast Enough
Microgrid Knowledge: The Microgrids Worked as Puerto Rico’s Grid Went Down Again
Reveal investigation of Tesla: The Hidden Problems of Silicon Valley

Subscribe to The Energy Gang podcast via Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher or wherever you find your audio content.

Why SunPower Is Buying SolarWorld USA Apr 19, 2018

SunPower couldn’t convince the Trump Administration to abandon tariffs on imported solar panels. So now it plans to buy one of the companies pushing tariffs in the first place.

Yesterday, SunPower unveiled plans to acquire SolarWorld’s U.S. operations. Two months ago, CEO Tom Werner said SunPower was going to divest from America. But now he’s buying his way back in.

In this week's episode, we'll explain how Trump's demands for tariffs are shifting the PV manufacturing landscape.

Then, 173 countries agreed to cut emissions from the shipping sector by 2050. What are the technological solutions for a sector that could make up one-fifth of global emissions by the middle of the century?

We'll end with the latest from Germany. Katherine was in the country getting an update on the closely scrutinized energy transition there — and we’ll get her take on where things stand.

The Energy Gang is brought to you by Sense. Sense installs in your home's electrical panel and provides insight into your energy use and home activity through iOS, Android and web apps. Find out more.

You can subscribe to Political Climate podcast via Apple Podcasts, Google Play and Stitcher.

Recommended reading:

GTM: SunPower CEO: SolarWorld Acquisition ‘Aligns Us’ With the Trump Admin
Grist: The Shipping Industry Sets Sail Toward a Carbon-Free Future
Atlas of Germany's Energiewiende

Subscribe to The Energy Gang podcast via Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher or wherever you find your audio content.

Statoil Bets on Floating Wind and Carbon Capture Apr 13, 2018

Statoil is the largest operator of oil and gas rigs around the world. Consequently, the company's biggest low-carbon investments are offshore: floating wind farms and distributed carbon capture and storage.

This week, we're talking to Stephen Bull, the VP in charge of Statoil's low-carbon business, about where he sees the most potential. We'll talk to him about the performance of floating wind, the economics of CCS, and whether oil companies are investing enough in their new energy divisions.

We'll spend the second half of the show talking about two days of debate in Washington over the future of technology. No, it wasn't Mark Zuckerberg's hearing on Capitol Hill. It was a conference at FERC, where regulators are trying to figure out how to integrate distributed resources into wholesale markets. What did they accomplish? What does it portend for the future of distributed energy?

The Energy Gang is brought to you by Sense. Sense installs in your home's electrical panel and provides insight into your energy use and home activity through iOS, Android and web apps. Find out more.

Recommended reading:

GTM: Statoil Plans to Integrate Battery Storage With Floating Offshore Wind
GTM: World’s First Floating Offshore Wind Farm Achieves 65% Capacity Factor After 3 Months
Gas Strategies: Carbon Capture & Storage Key to Delivering on the Paris Agreement
GTM: Utilities, Grid Operators Tell FERC They Need Real-Time Data to Better Manage DERs

Subscribe to The Energy Gang podcast via Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher or wherever you find your audio content.

Reality Check? Global Fossil Fuel Consumption Grows Apr 05, 2018

After a multi-year decline, global carbon emissions are on the upswing.

The International Energy Agency now says that emissions grew in 2017 -- caused by an increase oil, natural gas and coal demand. Nearly three-quarters of new energy demand across the globe was served by fossil fuels.

At the same time, America saw another yearly drop in carbon emissions, which IEA says was assisted by renewables. But with more and more carbon-free nuclear plants slated for closure across the U.S., many worry the trend will end.

In this week's Energy Gang, we'll look at trends in global energy demand. We'll also look to the situation in the U.S., where concerns about losing nuclear are growing.

Then, we'll talk about FirstEnergy Solutions' bankruptcy. Could the company find a way to save its nuclear plants by compromising with renewables advocates?

Finally, EPA chief Scott Pruitt is cutting back on Obama-era fuel efficiency standards. We’ll explore the consequences. Are CAFE standards even the right policy?

The Energy Gang is brought to you by Sense. Sense installs in your home's electrical panel and provides insight into your energy use and home activity through our iOS, Android, and web apps. Find out more.

Recommended reading:

EIA: Global Energy and CO2 Status Report
Third Way: How Nuclear Retirements Might Undermine Clean Power Plan Progress
GTM: FirstEnergy Seeks Bankruptcy Protection for Ailing Coal and Nuclear Subsidiaries
GTM: California Girds for Battle as EPA Rules to Weaken Vehicle Emissions Standards
R Street Institute: Replacing Fuel-Economy Rules With Clean Tax Cuts

Subscribe to The Energy Gang podcast via Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher or wherever you find your audio content.

Trouble at Silicon Valley Car Companies Mar 29, 2018

It’s been a bad couple of weeks for two of Silicon Valley’s top car companies.

After a pedestrian was killed by one of Uber’s autonomous cars in Arizona, the company’s AV operations were suspended. Other driverless car companies are now weighing the consequences to the technology, and regulators are asking if we need to slow down real-world testing.

Tesla is dealing with two crashes of its own. The crash of a Model X is raising questions about autopilot mode, and its stock has crashed 25 percent this month as investors worry about Model 3 delivery problems.

We'll look at the latest for Uber and Tesla in this week's episode.

Then, we'll return to Washington. It was also a bad week for Trump, who didn’t get his cuts to energy programs in the latest federal budget. We’ll look at why the GOP is so out of step with the White House on clean energy cuts.

This podcast is brought to you by CPower Energy Management. Find out more about CPower's demand-side energy management solutions.

Recommended reading:

GTM: Arizona Suspends Uber’s Autonomous Cars After a Death. What’s Next for Driverless Cars?
GTM: Tesla Hit by Executive Churn, Model 3 Quality Concerns
GTM: The President’s Own Party Still Doesn’t Back His Attempts to Dismantle Clean Energy

Subscribe to The Energy Gang podcast via Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher or wherever you find your audio content.

The SunEdison Origin Story Mar 26, 2018

In the early 2000s, investors weren't very interested in SunEdison's business plan to finance solar with power purchase agreements.

"No one wanted to hear about physical infrastructure," said Jigar Shah, who drafted the business plan and co-founded the company.

It took until 2006 to raise venture capital. But soon after, PPA customers started rolling in: Staples, Ikea, then Whole Foods.

"It was an idea who's time had come," said Shah. The PPA is now the backbone of solar.

In this week's edition of the live podcast series Watt It Takes, Shah sits down with Powerhouse CEO Emily Kirsch to discuss his career in solar -- from Astropower to the Department of Energy to BP Solar and, eventually, to founding (and leaving) SunEdison.

Jigar talks about why he left SunEdison, why he thinks Goldman Sachs was a terrible board member, and why cleantech entrepreneurs are taking really dumb money.

Watt It Takes is a live interview series produced by Powerhouse in partnership with GTM. The conversation was recorded live in Oakland, California.

This podcast is brought to you by CPower Energy Management. Find out more about CPower's demand-side energy management solutions.

Listen to our other episodes of Watt It Takes:

Like our shows? Make sure to give The Interchange and The Energy Gang a rating and review on Apple podcasts. And make sure to subscribe to both shows on Apple podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher, or anywhere you get your podcasts.

EVs, AVs and Sharing: Don't Screw Up the Transportation Revolution Mar 16, 2018

There are three forces coming together in the transportation sector: vehicle autonomy, vehicle sharing, and vehicle electrification.

On their own, app-based sharing and electric vehicles are powerful agents of change. Together with automation, "they're revolutionary," argues Dr. Dan Sperling, author of a new book on the subject.

"It will change our lifestyles, it'll change the automobile industry, it'll change land use and cities, it'll change energy," he explains on this week's podcast.

Sperling is the author of Three Revolutions: Steering Automated, Shared, and Electric Vehicles to a Better Future. He joins us on The Energy Gang for a conversation about whether these revolutions will reinvent -- or ruin -- the way we get around.

In the second half of the show, we'll talk about the continued realignment of global energy giants. We’ll run through some of the recent strategy shifts at the world’s top energy companies as they grapple with the clean energy, customer-centric transition.

This podcast is brought to you by CPower Energy Management. Find out more about CPower's demand-side energy management solutions.

Recommended reading:

Amazon: Three Revolutions -- Steering Automated, Shared, and Electric Vehicles to a Better Future.
Bloomberg: Only Carpools Can Keep the Driverless Future From Becoming a Nightmare
GTM: Statoil Is Now Equinor, in a Rebrand for the Energy Transition
GTM: E.ON and RWE Merger to Create New European Giants in Renewables and Retail Energy
GTM: Engie Advances ‘Energy Transition’ Plan With Major Stake in Electro Power Systems

Subscribe to The Energy Gang podcast via Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher or wherever you find your audio content.

What Utilities Can Learn From Amazon [Original Content From Tendril] Mar 06, 2018

Amazon's analytical approach to understanding the customer allowed it to move beyond books and dominate the retail space. Entire industries are getting upended and transformed as a result.

This story about disruption is a familiar one. We’ve seen how it plays time and time again – and it’s not pretty for the incumbents who fail to catch up with technology.

It's a compelling narrative in the utility space, where we are smack in the middle of an Amazon moment. Electricity consumers want choice. They respond to personalization. And there’s a new generation of technology providers who think they can give consumers what they want – better than traditional brick and mortar utilities.

And that’s why Tendril CEO Adrian Tuck sees the importance of talking about Amazon as a model.

“How did they go from one thing to this broad level of disruption? They massively focused on the customer and what the customer wants. They looked at every piece of the chain and they tried to make everything easier for the customer. They’re really looking at all those pieces and innovated rapidly to make the buying experience compelling and simple to use," said Tuck.

In this podcast, we'll talk with Tuck about the future of data acquisition, personalization, demand-side management and utility business models. Recommended reading:

Tendril e-book: The Amazon Effect: Energy in the On Demand Era and What It Means for Utilities
GTM: Utilities Have the Tools to Unleash the Power of Customers

This podcast is brought to you by Tendril, the industry’s leading DSM data analytics software provider.

The Coal Boss, the Comedian and the Squirrel Mar 01, 2018

Last June, comedian John Oliver devoted a long segment to the struggling coal industry on his HBO show Last Week Tonight.

He turned his attention to Robert Murray, the CEO of Murray Energy, one of the most bombastic advocates of coal. And then Murray sued Oliver for defamation.

That defamation lawsuit was thrown out by a judge last week. But the saga tells us a lot about Robert Murray, one of the most influential figures behind the Trump Administration's coal policies.

In this week's episode, we'll discuss Murray's approach to promoting coal and silencing critics.

Then, a look at some new documents from the Seminar Network, a group created by Charles and David Koch, claiming big wins on killing climate policy. The group is planning to spend up to $400 million on mid-term elections. We'll talk about how the Kochs killed America's climate conversation over the last decade.

Finally, Trump is now claiming he saved the solar industry with tariffs. We discuss the truth.

This podcast is brought to you by CPower Energy Management. Find out more about CPower's demand-side energy management solutions.

Recommended reading:

The Times-Picayune: How John Oliver and a Giant Squirrel Had Their Day in Court -- and Won
New York Times: How a Coal Baron’s Wish List Became President Trump’s To-Do List
The Intercept: Koch Document Reveals Laundry List of Policy Victories
GTM: Trump Claims Solar Tariffs Are ‘Reopening Plants.’ They’re Not

A Historic Moment for Energy Storage Feb 23, 2018

If storage is the Swiss Army Knife of the electric grid, then U.S. energy regulators are breaking out their tool belts.

Last week brought a historic ruling at FERC. Commissioners told regional grid operators to create rules valuing the grid services of energy storage. Will it screw natural gas peakers – or maybe cut, saw, file, prune, hook, or crimp them?

Later in the podcast, an infrastructure redux. The White House’s infrastructure plan is out. When it comes to energy, the Trump Administration is making pipelines a priority, and largely bypassing clean energy.

We’re heading down to Mexico for our final segment. GTM was there for our solar summit last week, and we’ll share a bit of insight into the forces behind one of the hottest -- and cheapest -- solar markets in the world.

This podcast is brought to you by CPower Energy Management. Find out more about CPower's demand-side energy management solutions.

Recommended reading:

GTM: FERC Allows Energy Storage to Play in Nationwide Wholesale Markets
FERC: Final Rule on Electric Storage Participation in Regional Markets
GTM: The Trump Infrastructure Plan Is ‘a Big Nothing Burger’ for Clean Energy
WaPo: Trump's Infrastructure Plan Would Make It Harder to Challenge Pipelines
GTM: Mexico’s Solar Market Is Booming, but Still Has Key Hurdles to Clear

Subscribe to The Energy Gang podcast via Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher or wherever you find your audio content.

Are Trump's Solar Tariffs Working? Feb 07, 2018

Since the White House slapped penalties on solar panels made outside America, a handful of companies say they’re likely to ramp up production in the U.S.

In recent weeks, two Asian producers -- Jinko Solar and United Renewable Energy -- said they're planning to set up new module assembly plants. Other domestic producers are making plans to hire new employees.

How should we interpret this activity? Does this mean the tariffs are working?

On this week's Energy Gang, we're joined by GTM Senior Editor Julia Pyper, who outlines the latest activity as the tariffs become law.

Then, it’s the news circuit. We’ll explore Puerto Rico’s utility privatization plans, Tesla’s virtual power plant in Australia, the Northern Pass transmission rejection, and Arizona’s conservative clean energy plan.

This podcast is brought to you by CPower Energy Management. Find out more about CPower's demand-side energy management solutions.

Stories referenced in this podcast:

Subscribe to The Energy Gang podcast via Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher or wherever you find your audio content.

How We Perceive Wind Farms Near Our Homes Feb 01, 2018

There are tens of thousands large-scale wind turbines scattered across America. That means over a million and a half households are located five miles from a turbine. And they’re actually inching closer to homes on average, according to government researchers. So how do those machines impact our property values, our soundscapes, and our quality of life?

The Lawrence Berkeley National Lab has a slew of new data on the impact of wind turbines on our lives. In this week's podcast, we’re going to dive into it. (Spoiler: the majority of people like them. We'll explain why.)

Then we’re going to talk about the president’s State of the Union Address. Why did Trump duck away from the coal renaissance narrative?

And finally, we'll explore the controversy around Massachusetts' deal with Northern Pass to supply 17 percent of its electricity with Canadian hydro.

Recommended reading:

LBNL: National Survey of Attitudes of Wind Power Project Neighbors
GTM: Trump Touts the End of the ‘War on American Energy’
GTM: The Controversy Surrounding Massachusetts’ $1.6B Hydropower Transmission Line
Vox: Reckoning With Climate Change Will Demand Ugly Tradeoffs

The Energy Gang is brought to you by CPower Energy Management. Find out more about CPower's demand-side energy management solutions.

Trump Issues Solar Tariffs: We Answer Your Questions Jan 23, 2018

The Trump Administration just imposed 30 percent tariffs on imported solar cells and modules. How much will it stunt solar growth in America? Will it spark a broader trade war?

There are a lot of questions about the impact. In this podcast, we’re giving you the answers – or, as many answers we have, just a day after the decision.

This week, we'll bring together our teams from The Interchange and The Energy Gang together to answer listener questions about the tariffs. We'll also talk with GTM Research's Cory Honeyman about how (and where) the 30 percent penalty will impact projects around the U.S.

Thanks to sponsor, C Power Energy Management. Find out more about CPower's demand-side energy management solutions.

In this episode, we address:

What does a 30 percent tariff mean for project economics in the residential and utility-scale sectors?
How will the 2.5 gigawatt cell quota work?
Will the decision help domestic U.S. manufacturing? Will it hurt domestic installation jobs?
What kind of challenges will we see at the World Trade Organization?
Is there a pathway toward a negotiation with China?
How could local policy blunt the negative impact of these tariffs?

Read all our previous coverage and analysis of the Trump Administration's solar tariffs:

GTM Research: New Tariffs to Curb US Solar Installations by 11% Through 2022
GTM: Trump Administration Issues 30% Solar Panel Import Tariff
GTM: Foreign Solar Manufacturers Weigh Opening US Facilities as Tariff Decision Looms

Like our shows? Make sure to give The Interchange and The Energy Gang a rating and review on Apple podcasts. And make sure to subscribe to both shows on Apple podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher, or anywhere you get your podcasts.

Electric Airplanes Are the Future of Aviation Jan 19, 2018

The next sector ripe for electrification: aviation.

Electric airplanes could completely make over the regional airline sector -- fundamentally changing the way we move around the country and creating new economic opportunities.

On this week's Energy Gang, we'll talk with Ashish Kumar, the CEO of Zunum Aero, about the company's electric propulsion system and hybrid-electric airplane model. We'll discuss design challenges, battery requirements, immediate market opportunities, and the long-term economic consequences of electrified aviation.

Then, a look at the latest global figures on renewables investment. China had another explosive year in 2017, while America had an anemic one. We'll tease out the latest global numbers that broke over the last week.

The Energy Gang is brought to you by CPower Energy Management. Find out more about CPower's demand-side energy management solutions.

Recommended reading:

Zunum Aero technology and design
GTM: Zunum Aero, an Electric Airplane Startup Backed by Boeing and JetBlue Ventures, Unstealths
GTM: Global Renewable Energy Prices Will Be Competitive With Fossil Fuels by 2020
GTM: China More Than Doubles America’s 2017 Investments in Clean Energy, in a ‘Runaway’ Year

Subscribe to The Energy Gang podcast via Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher or wherever you find your audio content.

Trump's Washington: Year One Jan 11, 2018

Nearly one year after President Trump was sworn into office, we’re re-examining the state of energy politics in Washington.

Our post-election episodes were some of our most popular shows of last year. This week, we’re returning to the subject now that we’ve got experience, and not just speculation.

Amy Harder, an energy and climate reporter with Axios, joins us to talk about a wide range of topics: Rick Perry's NOPR rejection, deregulation, solar tariffs, ANWR drilling, carbon taxes, an infrastructure bill, and the future of climate negotiations.

The podcast is also brought to you by CPower Energy Management. Find out more about CPower's demand-side energy management solutions.

Recommended reading:

GTM: FERC Rejects Energy Secretary Rick Perry’s Coal and Nuclear Energy Market Bailout Plan
Axios: Eight Climate and Energy Issues to Watch in 2018
Politico: White House Preparing for Trade Crackdown

Subscribe to The Energy Gang podcast via Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher or wherever you find your audio content.

The Dismantling of EPA Jan 05, 2018

What's it like inside the Environmental Protection Agency as the Trump Administration dismantles it from the top down?

This week, ProPublica’s Talia Buford joins us on The Energy Gang to talk about how Scott Pruitt’s aggressive regulatory rollback agenda is changing the agency’s relationship to science, to industry, and to the staffers who've worked there for decades. An abandoned rule on effluent from power plants tells us a lot about Pruitt's approach to disassembling the EPA.

Then, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo unveiled his latest energy vision, which features big targets for offshore wind and energy storage. Is New York suddenly the country’s hottest storage market?

And finally, we’ll wrap up with a glance at two once-mighty companies in solar that are re-emerging after tough times: BP Solar and SunEdison.

The podcast is also brought to you by CPower Energy Management. Find out more about CPower's demand-side energy management solutions.

Recommended reading:

ProPublica: What It’s Like Inside the Trump Administration’s Regulatory Rollback at the EPA
GTM: Andrew Cuomo Throws Political Weight Behind Offshore Wind and Energy Storage
GTM: SunEdison Emerges From Bankruptcy a Shadow of Its Former Self
GTM: BP Jumps Back Into Solar With a $200 Million Investment in Europe’s Biggest Project Developer

Subscribe to The Energy Gang podcast via Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher or wherever you find your audio content.

Watt It Takes: The Origin Story of Greentech Media Jan 03, 2018

We spend most of our time talking about other companies. For our first podcast of the year, we're turning the tables and reflecting on GTM.

In this edition of Watt It Takes, Powerhouse CEO Emily Kirsch interviews GTM Co-Founder Scott Clavenna about the origins of our company, the challenges of being a startup in the cleantech world, and our recent acquisition by Wood Mackenzie.

Watt It Takes is a live interview series produced by Powerhouse in partnership with GTM. The conversation was recorded live in Oakland, California.

As we prepare for the onslaught of news in 2018, this interview will give you more insight into how we operate as a company.

The podcast is also brought to you by CPower Energy Management. Find out more about CPower's demand-side energy management solutions.

How Utilities Blew $40 Billion on Failed Power Plants Dec 22, 2017

Good journalism is more important than ever. In our last episode of the year, we're choosing our favorite energy reporting of 2017.

We'll start off with a conversation about a damning investigative piece on how U.S. utilities put ratepayers on the hook for $40 billion in failed coal and nuke projects.

Tony Bartelme, a special projects reporter at the Post and Courier, joins us to talk about his bombshell story, "Power Failure: How Utilities Across the U.S. Changed the Rules to Make Big Bets With Your Money."

He and his team talked with 50 sources in industry and government. They uncovered a systematic effort to obfuscate problems with risky coal and nuke projects -- and pay executives handsomely while doing so.

In the second half of the show, we'll discuss some of our other favorite stories about microgrids, coal country, electric cars, fuel cells, politics, and the global energy transition.

This podcast is sponsored by Mission Solar Energy, a solar module manufacturer based in San Antonio, Texas. You can find out more about Mission’s American-made, high-power modules at missionsolar.com.

Here's a list of our favorite stories that we discussed on the show:

Vox: Meet the Microgrid, the Technology Poised to Transform Electricity
NY Times: Where Wind Farms Meet Coal Country, There's Enduring Faith in Trump
Medium: The Last Auto Mechanic
Quartz: Amazon’s Hydrogen-Powered Forklifts Are Its Latest Attempt to Beat Walmart
GTM: Global Oil Majors Are Poised for a Resurgence in Solar and Wind
GTM: In Storage vs. Peaker Study, CAISO’s Outdated Cost Estimates Produce Higher Price Tag for Storage
GTM: The Rising Tide of Evidence Against Blaming Wind and Solar for Grid Instability
GTM: First Solar Proves That PV Plants Can Rival Frequency Response Services From Natural Gas Peakers
GTM: What Superstorm Sandy Taught Consolidated Edison, 5 Years On
Twitter: Suggestions from the energy community on the top stories

Subscribe to The Energy Gang podcast via Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher or wherever you find your audio content.

Energy Storage Has Arrived Dec 14, 2017

Energy storage has arrived.

This year brought numerous record-breaking battery projects, dozens of acquisitions and partnerships, and over a dozen utility integrated resource plans that factor storage. Within a decade, the U.S. storage market could be 25 times bigger than it is today -- swamping natural gas peaker plants, and enabling a vast array of new grid applications.

In this week's episode, we open up our vault of data and describe the state of storage in America: which sectors are dominating, how utilities are thinking about the technology, where the economics stand, and what to look for in 2018.

Plus, we'll have a conversation with Green Mountain Power CEO Mary Powell about how customer-sited battery storage fits into the utility's broad culture and tech shift.

This podcast is sponsored by Mission Solar Energy, a solar module manufacturer based in San Antonio, Texas. Find out more about Mission’s American-made, high-power modules.

Recommended reading:

· GTM Research: U.S. Energy Storage Monitor, Q4 2017

· GTM: The 10 Stories That Defined Energy Storage in 2017

· GTM Squared: Watch the Live Broadcast From US Energy Storage Summit 2017

Make sure to subscribe to The Energy Gang on Apple podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher, or wherever you get your audio.

The Hidden History of Quebec's Hydropower Dec 08, 2017

Southern New England is hungry for more clean energy, and states like Connecticut and Massachusetts are turning to Hydro-Quebec for its excess hydropower.

There's one sticking point: they need a new transmission line to get all that power from Northern Quebec. And citizens in the states that could host new transmission projects -- New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine -- are resisting construction plans.

A lot of attention has focused on controversial transmission projects like Northern Pass. But what about the source of the electrons feeding the line?

In this week's podcast, we talk with Sam Evans-Brown, a journalist who's been exploring the history of Canadian hydro. It's a decades-long story filled with conflict, controversy, racism, and billions of dollars at stake.

Sam is host of the Outside/In podcast. He and his colleague Hannah McCarthy just published a 4-part audio series, called Powerline, about the hydropower working its way down to the Northeastern U.S. We'll talk about the stories they uncovered.

Then, Cape Wind is dead. We’ll have a eulogy.

And finally, we'll discuss that tax bill again. It’s messier than anyone thought possible.

This podcast is sponsored by Mission Solar Energy, a solar module manufacturer based in San Antonio, Texas. You can find out more about Mission’s American-made, high-power modules at missionsolar.com.

Are you coming to GTM's Storage Summit on December 12-13? Podcast listeners get 20 percent off their registration with the promo code PODCASTS.

Recommended reading:

Subscribe to The Energy Gang podcast via Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher or wherever you find your audio content.

Watt It Takes: Dan Shugar, the King Midas of Solar Nov 22, 2017

Dan Shugar lives, breathes and bleeds solar.

"If you cut my wrist, pure silicon comes out," he exclaimed in an interview with Powerhouse CEO Emily Kirsch, as part of the Watt It Takes interview series.

This week, Shugar steps behind the microphone to talk about turning his passion for PV into deals and acquisitions worth over $1 billion.

Shugar has a storied career. Some call him the "King Midas" of solar, because he's turned so many ventures into gold. He's the former president of Powerlight, the pioneering developer acquired by SunPower in 2006. He's now CEO of the tracker company NEXTracker, which was sold to Flextronics for $330 million last year.

In this edition of Watt It Takes, Shugar describes the moment he realized solar's potential while working for PG&E; how Powerlight was founded and funded; the risks he took when getting into solar; his passion for the environment; and why everyone is underestimating the growth of PV.

This conversation was recorded live in Oakland, California at Powerhouse. In the next episode, GTM Co-Founder Scott Clavenna takes the stage.

This podcast is brought to you by Mission Solar. Find out more about Mission's high-quality, American-made solar modules.

Listen to earlier episodes of Watt It Takes:

Like our shows? Make sure to give The Interchange and The Energy Gang a rating and review on Apple podcasts. And make sure to subscribe to both shows on Apple podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher, or anywhere you get your podcasts.

Tax Reform and Tesla's Semi-Truck Nov 17, 2017

The House passed its tax reform bill yesterday that includes cuts to renewable energy tax credits. The package is already having a chilling effect as developers stall projects because of a potential change to the tax code.

What will happen when the Senate and House try to reconcile their two bills? We'll try to anticipate the political chess match before the pieces move.

Then, we'll take a look at Tesla's newest shiny object: the electric semi-truck. Is this a convenient distraction for Musk as Tesla's financial health worsens? Or yet another master plan step that most of us will never understand until much later?

(Note: we recorded these segments on Thursday afternoon. For more on the House tax bill, read this overview; for a rundown of the new semi-truck, read Julia Pyper's reporting.)

We end the show why talking about IEA's latest worries about nuclear shut-downs in Europe. While global emissions rise, renewables may have a hard time filling in the gap.

This podcast is sponsored by Mission Solar Energy, a solar module manufacturer based in San Antonio, Texas. You can find out more about Mission’s American-made, high-power modules at missionsolar.com.

Are you coming to GTM's Storage Summit on December 12-13? Podcast listeners get 20 percent off their registration with the promo code PODCASTS.

Recommended reading:

GTM: Why Tesla’s Electric Semi Truck Is the Toughest Thing Musk Has Attempted Yet
Washington Post: The House Just Passed Its Big Tax Bill. Here’s What Is in It.
Recharge: Wind and PV Build-Out Too Slow to Replace Aging Nuclear, Says IEA

Subscribe to The Energy Gang podcast via Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher or wherever you find your audio content.

Sungevity CEO Andrew Birch Nov 07, 2017

This week: a conversation with Andrew Birch, the co-founder and CEO of Sungevity.

For those who’ve been following the wild ride in solar, you’re going to want to listen to this conversation.

Sungevity was once one of the biggest residential solar installers in the U.S. – until it filed for bankruptcy protection at the beginning of the year. In this interview, Andrew Birch talks candidly about how Sungevity was founded, what killed an acquisition deal to save the installer, how market forces and the political landscape hurt the business, and where he thinks global solar trends are headed.

This interview was conducted on-stage at Powerhouse, an incubator based in San Francisco. It’s part of the “Watt It Takes” series on how top cleantech entrepreneurs built their companies. The series is produced by Powerhouse, in partnership with Greentech Media.

This podcast is brought to you by Mission Solar Energy, a solar module manufacturer based in San Antonio, Texas. To find out more about Mission’s high-power, American quality modules visit missionsolar.com.

EPA's Science Purge Nov 03, 2017

Since taking over as administrator of the EPA, Scott Pruitt's meeting calendar has been filled almost exclusively with industry interests.

Now he's opening the door even wider for industry.

On Tuesday, the Administrator issued a new decree: any scientist getting funding from the EPA will no longer be allowed to serve on the agency's scientific advisory board. He's replacing scientists with representatives from the chemical, fossil fuel and utility industries.

The scientific community is up in arms, saying there is already a very detailed process for ensuring scientific integrity and avoiding conflicts. Former EPA officials who served in the Reagan, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush administrations are criticizing the move as a way to stifle independent science.

This week, we'll discuss the latest in Pruitt's campaign to unravel the EPA.

Then, European utilities are scooping up American distributed energy companies at a record pace. We'll talk about Enel's acquisition of Enernoc, eMoterWerks, Demand Energy and a range of other distributed energy players. Is it sustainable?

We'll end with a conversation about the latest developments in the ongoing solar trade case. Is the sky falling yet? MJ Shiao, head of Americas research at GTM, talks through the different penalties on imports proposed by international trade commissioners.

Recommended reading:

Washington Post: Scott Pruitt Blocks Scientists With EPA Funding From Serving as Agency Advisers
New York Times: A Stream of Industry Meetings and Trips Home on EPA Chief's Calendar
GTM: European Utility Giants Are on a Grid Edge Shopping Spree in 2017
GTM Webinar: US Solar Outlook Under Section 201
GTM: ITC Issues Recommended Remedies in Section 201 Solar Trade Case

This podcast is sponsored by Mission Solar Energy, a solar module manufacturer based in San Antonio, Texas. You can find out more about Mission’s American-made, high-power modules at missionsolar.com.

Subscribe to The Energy Gang podcast via Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher or wherever you find your audio content.

Rick Perry Picks Winners and Losers Oct 27, 2017

"Don’t let government pick winners and losers."

That was Rick Perry’s mantra as Texas governor and a presidential candidate. But it didn’t take him long to abandon it as energy secretary. This week, we’ll revisit the rare, bizarre request from Perry asking federal regulators to restructure electricity markets and prop up struggling coal and nuclear plants.

Then, the latest on the post-Hurricane energy crisis in Puerto Rico. We'll talk about the rebuilding effort, a controversial grid-rebuilding contract with an unknown company, and the strained Washington-Puerto relationship.

Finally, an Alaskan sovereign wealth fund is betting big on distributed energy through Generate Capital. We'll talk about what the fund says about new investment approaches in emerging tech.

Recommended reading and listening:

The Interchange: An interview With Ari Peskoe About the Legal Holes in Perry's NOPR

Vox: What Rick Perry Would Have Recommended If He Listened to His Own Grid Study

Martin Heinrich op-ed: Coal Bailout Is a Crude Attempt to Pay for Campaign Promises

Washington Post: FEMA Cites 'Significant Concerns' Over Whitefish Energy Deal in Puerto Rico

GTM: Generate Capital Raises $200 Million Fund

Dick Swanson, Founder of SunPower Oct 09, 2017

This week, we’re unveiling a new podcast collaboration between Greentech Media and Powerhouse, called "Watt it Takes." Watt It Takes is produced and recorded live at Powerhouse, a cleantech incubator and seed fund in Oakland, CA. Each month, a founder of a top clean energy company shares the personal story behind the company they’ve built. Our first episode features Dick Swanson, founder, and former CEO and CTO of SunPower, who talks about the wild ups and downs of building one of the largest solar companies in the world. The show begins with Shayle Kann, SVP at GTM, providing some market context. And then Powerhouse Founder and CEO Emily Kirsch leads the interview with Swanson. Want to meet these industry luminaries and watch a live recording? Get tickets for future events: wattittakesoct2017.splashthat.com.

Episode 200: We Reflect on the Biggest Changes in Energy Sep 29, 2017

When we first hit the record button four years ago, the energy landscape looked very different. Oil prices were above $90 per barrel. Utilities were only just starting to take distributed resources seriously as grid assets. Coal was still on the upswing globally. There was great uncertainty around a global climate deal. And Donald Trump was still two years away from announcing his presidential campaign. For our 200th episode of The Energy Gang, we'll reflect on the biggest changes we saw coming -- and didn't see coming -- since the podcast started. Before we reflect back, we'll start the show with a conversation about Puerto Rico. The U.S. territory is facing unspeakable devastation after Hurricanes Irma and Maria -- made worse by a bankrupt utility and an American government slow to send help. What do we know about the scope of the commonwealth’s energy problems post-hurricane? This podcast is sponsored by Mission Solar Energy, a solar module manufacturer based in San Antonio, Texas. You can find out more about Mission’s American-made, high-power modules at missionsolar.com.

Live From New York: Local Climate Policy in the Trump Era Sep 21, 2017

Donald Trump was in New York City this week. We left him some tickets for our live podcast at the box office, but he never showed up. Still, we had a blast taping our latest episode at WNYC's performance space in Manhattan. And this week, we've got that episode in its entirety. Special guest Mark Chambers, director of the mayor's office of sustainability, joined us on stage for a lively discussion. In this extended episode, we feature a variety of segments. First, we tested the gang’s knowledge of New York’s energy scene with a little segment we called "Climate Week: The Game." Then, we interviewed Mark Chambers, who offered insight into the city's climate action plan. Then, we went deep. We had a debate about the importance of local climate and energy policy in the Trump era -- with a little audience Q&A mixed in, too. Finally, we completed a quick news circuit and analyzed some top energy stories in the news. A big thanks to Urban Future Lab, ACRE, Solar One, and NYSERDA for partnering with GTM on the Clean Energy Connections series. This podcast is sponsored by Mission Solar Energy, a solar module manufacturer based in San Antonio, Texas. You can find out more about Mission’s American-made, high-power modules at missionsolar.com.

Inside India's Solar and Wind Boom Sep 18, 2017

India has blossomed into one of the most important renewable energy markets in the world. It currently has the fourth-most cumulative wind capacity installed, and will become the third-biggest solar market globally by 2022. The country also has plans to sell only electric vehicles by 2030. With immense growth comes new businesses and economic opportunity -- but also political and economic risk. This week, we'll talk with the CEO of India's top independent renewable energy developers about navigating that risk. Sumant Sinha is the founder and CEO of ReNew Power. He's overseen 2 gigawatts of completed wind and solar projects, and has plans to build 10 gigawatts more in the coming years. In this show, we interview Sinha about the many forces that are changing India’s energy markets. We address: The solar boom: Can India meet its 100 gigawatt solar target? Grid planning: Can central and state governments better coordinate market expansion? Quality: The importance of maintaining quality standards for projects The rise of auctions: Are record-low prices sustainable? India's EV target: Will it tangentially help ReNew Power's expansion: What will it take to hit 10 gigawatts of projects? This podcast is sponsored by Mission Solar Energy, a solar module manufacturer based in San Antonio, Texas. You can find out more about Mission’s American-made, high-power modules at missionsolar.com.

The Fall's Top Energy Stories Sep 08, 2017

We made it. We finished summer without nuclear war or an international catastrophe -- and now we can calm our nerves with pumpkin spice everything. This week, as we close out summer and prepare for a busy fall news cycle, we're checking in on the stories that we think will define the remainder of 2017. Katherine gives us a rundown on the top priorities for Congress. Jigar talks about the shakeout coming for the auto sector. And Stephen looks at the potential impact of solar tariffs. This podcast is sponsored by Mission Solar Energy, a solar module manufacturer based in San Antonio, Texas. Visit Mission Solar at the upcoming Solar Power International conference at Booth 3975. You can find out more about Mission’s American-made, high-power modules at missionsolar.com.

Painful Lessons From Hurricane Harvey Sep 01, 2017

While Texans start the painful process of rebuilding their lives after Hurricane Harvey, many are asking: could anything have been done to lessen the impact? In this week's podcast, we're going to discuss the storm through the lens of climate, urban planning and federal policy. All three of those factors created the perfect storm for maximum damage. Marianne Lavelle, a reporter with InsideClimate News, joins us to talk about the important stories to watch in the wake of the hurricane. Then, a DOE grid study redux. We’ll offer up some thoughts on the final version of that contentious federal grid reliability report that you’ve heard so much about. Then, China’s solar frenzy continues. Wasn’t it supposed to be a slow year? Also, don't forget to join us for our live podcast in NYC on September 19. Tickets here: http://bit.ly/2wbutCx Also, use the discount code "ENERGYGANG" for a 15 percent discount to our NY REV Future conference in Brooklyn on September 26 and 27. Register here: http://bit.ly/2woZNOn This podcast is sponsored by Mission Solar Energy, a solar module manufacturer based in San Antonio, Texas. You can find out more about Mission’s American-made, high-power modules at: missionsolar.com. Recommended reading: Will Harvey's Damage Shift How Congress Sees Climate Change and Budget Cuts? http://bit.ly/2vItHKv Harvey’s Devastation Shows the Need for Distributed Energy, Microgrids During Disasters: http://bit.ly/2wsSVhm The Interchange episode with Travis Fisher, lead on DOE’s epic grid reliability report: http://bit.ly/2wXrcsg

From the Vault: Elon Musk and Grid Fan Fiction Aug 22, 2017

What makes Elon Musk tick? What will the grid look like in 2030? This week, we (re)answer both of those questions. We're featuring a couple of our favorite podcast segments for your summer listening enjoyment. First up, a 2015 Energy Gang interview with Ashlee Vance, a Bloomberg reporter and author of the book, Elon Musk: Tesla, Space X and the Quest for a Fantastic Future. Vance gives us an intimate look at why Elon operates in such a unique way. It's been two years since the book was released, but it's still just as relevant. In our second interview, we dig into The Interchange vaults and serve up a conversation about what the grid may look like in 2030. It’s like a literary review of geeky grid fan fiction, written by Shayle Kann. Sign up for our live Energy Gang in New York City on September 19: This podcast is sponsored by Mission Solar Energy, a solar module manufacturer based in San Antonio, Texas. Visit Mission Solar at the upcoming Solar Power International conference at Booth 3975. You can find out more about Mission’s American-made, high-power modules at missionsolar.com. Recommended reading: Elon Musk: Tesla, Space X and the Quest for a Fantastic Future -- https://www.amazon.com/Ashlee-Vance/e/B003YLHAJG

Did Steve Bannon Hint at a Solar Trade War? Aug 17, 2017

White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon (unwittingly) gave an interview this week, saying America is locked in "an economic war with China." Bannon mentioned arcane sections of the 1974 Trade Act to penalize China for alleged steel and aluminum dumping. Could solar be on the list, too? Bannon's comments suggest he's also paying attention to Section 201 of the trade act -- which is the foundation of Suniva and SolarWorld’s case for slapping severe penalties on imported solar cells and modules from Asia and the rest of the world. Those companies, plus dozens of other heavy hitters in solar, were in Washington this week to argue their case in front of the International Trade Commission. In this week's show, we’ll have the latest on solar trade politics. Then, we'll dig into a fascinating new study on second-order climate beliefs. It’s not just about what you believe -- it’s about what you believe others believe. Finally, we’ll revisit the rise of non-wires alternatives. More utilities are opting for distributed resources in place of traditional wires upgrades on the grid. We’ll discuss a new project in Arizona and then look across the landscape of other projects. This podcast is sponsored by Mission Solar Energy, a solar module manufacturer based in San Antonio, Texas. Visit Mission Solar at the upcoming Solar Power International conference at Booth 3975. You can find out more about Mission’s American-made, high-power modules at missionsolar.com. Recommended reading: The Messy Politics Surrounding the Solar Trade Case: https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/the-messy-politics-surrounding-the-solar-trade-case The Importance of Second-Order Opinions for Climate Politics: https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/74f6/8960cca93ebe036baea022bfaf2e4c4e9e70.pdf APS Buys Energy Storage From AES for Less Than Half the Cost of a Transmission Upgrade: https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/aes-buys-energy-storage-for-less-than-half-the-cost-of-a-wires-upgrade

South Carolina's Nuclear Disaster Aug 10, 2017

What happens when lawmakers and industry craft a large, complicated bill and then rush it through the legislature without reading it? We saw the consequences in South Carolina. That's where two utilities in the state walked away from a nuclear plant they were building – leaving ratepayers to foot the bill and putting thousands of people out of work. It's the result of a piece of legislation quietly passed a decade ago. In this week's episode of The Energy Gang, we'll look at the political factors that led to South Carolina's nuclear debacle. Then, we'll review two newly published features about Louisiana – one on the state's disastrous environmental record, and the other on the slow recovery after last year’s record-breaking floods. We'll start the show off with a quick peek at the latest Tesla news, including the Model 3 unveiling and a major bond issuance. This podcast is sponsored by Mission Solar Energy, a solar module manufacturer based in San Antonio, Texas. Visit Mission Solar at the upcoming Solar Power International conference at Booth 3975. You can find out more about Mission’s American-made, high-power modules at missionsolar.com. Recommended reading: How SC Lawmakers Passed a 2007 Law That Failed Power Customers: http://www.thestate.com/news/politics-government/article165641762.html The Louisiana Environmental Apocalypse Road Trip: https://longreads.com/2017/07/13/the-louisiana-environmental-apocalypse-road-trip/amp/ Disaster and Neglect in Louisiana: http://reports.climatecentral.org/great-flood-louisiana/one-year-later/

So You Want to Build a Cleantech Startup? Aug 03, 2017

While venture capitalists swoon over startups devoted to making people click on ads and stare at their phones longer, they’re decidedly less interested in solving more difficult real-world problems -- like transforming the energy sector. Yes, we’ve been talking about this downward trend for years now. And there are still a number of venture firms actively pursuing opportunities in energy decarbonization and decentralization. But startups are realizing they can’t rely on venture capitalists like they used to. So where do they turn for support? This week, we feature a conversation with four execs from incubators around the country. We chat about the emergence of new funding sources, different business models for incubators and accelerators, and the importance of corporate partnerships. Joining the conversation: Emily Kirsch, the founder and CEO of Powerhouse, a software-focused incubator and accelerator in Oakland, California: https://powerhouse.solar/ Emily Reichert, CEO of Greentown Labs, a hardware-focused incubator in the country, based in Somerville, Massachusetts: https://www.greentownlabs.com/ Path Sapinsley, managing director of cleantech initiatives at the Urban Future Lab in Brooklyn, New York, which houses the ACRE incubator: http://ufl.nyc/ Beth Hartman, project manager at the IncubateEnergy Network at the Electric Power Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado: https://incubatenergy.org/ This podcast is brought to you by Wunder Capital, an award-winning investment platform that allows you to invest directly in solar projects and earn up to 8.5 percent annually. Create an account for free at WunderCapital.com/gtm.

Al Gore, Michael Lewis and Rick Perry Walk Into a Bar... Jul 27, 2017

Al Gore is back in the climate spotlight with the release of "An Inconvenient Sequel." This week, we’ll revisit his role as the unofficial spokesman for climate action. There’s still an active debate over how effective Gore has been in that role throughout the last decade. Then, Energy Secretary Rick Perry didn’t give away any nuclear secrets in his 22-minute call with Russian phone pranksters. But that may be the least of our worries. We’ll talk about a blockbuster new piece from Michael Lewis in Vanity Fair about the disordered transition in the Department of Energy. Finally, Britain makes some bold battery moves. We’ll glance at two new plans to boost distributed battery storage and ban gas-powered cars. This podcast is sponsored by Mission Solar Energy, a solar module manufacturer based in San Antonio, Texas. Visit Mission Solar at the upcoming Solar Power International conference at Booth 3975. You can find out more about Mission’s American-made, high-power modules at missionsolar.com. Atlantic piece on Al Gore: https://newrepublic.com/article/143966/troubling-return-al-gore-profile-inconvenient-sequel Michael Lewis' piece on the DOE: http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2017/07/department-of-energy-risks-michael-lewis

California's Cap-and-Trade Win Jul 21, 2017

After numerous attempts, a desperate plea from the governor, and some pot sweeteners to industry, legislators in California finally passed an extension of cap-and-trade to 2030. It’s a big deal. California is the world’s seventh-largest economy. With Governor Brown vowing to fill in the climate diplomacy vacuum left by Donald Trump, it would have been a huge setback to let cap-and-trade languish. We'll look at the significance. Then, can geothermal heating and cooling follow the path of solar? Dandelion, a new startup spun off from Google X, thinks so. We'll end with a look at the wave of executive departures from SolarCity's team in the aftermath of the Tesla acquisition. This podcast is sponsored by Mission Solar Energy, a solar module manufacturer based in San Antonio, Texas. Visit Mission Solar at the upcoming Solar Power International conference at Booth 3975. You can find out more about Mission’s American-made, high-power modules at missionsolar.com.

The Inconvenient Truth About Cities and Sustainability Jul 13, 2017

With America now a climate pariah on the global stage, cities around the country are stepping up their commitments to action. But are they just cheerleading, rather than actually leading? This week, guest Sam Brooks tells the hard truth about why cities are not living up to their bold pronouncements -- not yet, anyway. Brooks is the former director of the District of Columbia's sustainability division. He recently penned a piece for GTM on why cities are not leading on climate in the way they claim. We'll talk to him about the data behind his argument and his experience working in city government. Then, we'll discuss a couple big business moves. NRG is selling off its renewable energy assets as part of a major restructuring plan. We’ll tell you why. And AES creates a joint venture with Siemens to scale up utility-scale storage. We’ll take a look at the global storage arms race. This podcast is sponsored by Mission Solar Energy, a solar module manufacturer based in San Antonio, Texas. Visit Mission Solar at the upcoming Solar Power International conference at Booth 3975. You can find out more about Mission’s American-made, high-power modules at missionsolar.com. Read Sam Brooks' piece: https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/hard-truths-about-city-failures-with-clean-energy

Live: Can Oil Majors Dominate in an Era of Electrification? Jun 30, 2017

This week, we're coming to you live from Grid Edge World Forum. We kick off the show with a look at oil majors. Oil companies have toyed with renewables over the decades with mixed success -- but is it time to take them seriously in the era of electrification? Then, the latest experience with distributed renewables as grid assets. We’re all awaiting the release of a DOE report ordered by Energy Secretary Perry on how wind and solar are threatening baseload power and the health of the grid. We will go beyond the politics, and look to real-world applications as a guide for what’s really going on. In our last segment, we quickly flow through the most talked-about current events, including blockchain, artificial intelligence and the role of consumer tech giants in energy. This podcast is brought to you by Kaco New Energy.

The Fight Over 100% Renewables Jun 22, 2017

A bitter dispute. A clash. A battle royale. Those are just a few descriptions of a new study countering Mark Jacobson's 2015 report showing that we can source 100 percent of America's energy from wind, solar and water. Jacobson's study is controversial. Celebrities like Mark Ruffalo and Bernie Sanders have lauded his work. Other experts have long questioned his assumptions. Jacobson himself has called it the "only moral choice." This week, Twitter erupted with debate over Jacobson's assumptions -- resulting in personal attacks, a litany of tweet storms and wide press coverage. In this episode, we're going to dig into the dispute over 100 percent renewables that has spilled out of academia and into the mosh pit of Twitter and politics. In the second half of the show, we'll focus on reliability and renewables. Does Europe’s better outage record tell us anything about variable wind and solar and the health of the grid? Finally, America just got 10 percent of its electricity from non-hydro renewables. What does that tell us about where we are headed? This podcast is sponsored by KACO New Energy, a leading solar inverter company with superior engineering and unmatched customer service.

Inside the Minds of Top Utility Executives Jun 16, 2017

Utility executives poured into Boston from across the country this week for the Edison Electric Institute’s annual conference. They talked about everything from crazy national politics to rate design to artificial intelligence and the future of workers. We brought our recording gear and tracked down some top names in the industry. In this episode, we hear what's on the minds of utility executives. Here are some highlights from the interviews: Tom Fanning, CEO of Southern Company, on why decarbonization will continue under Trump: "We don't chase fads. Our business approach, our strategies, our models, have a much longer life than any political party or any particular administration." Pat Vincent-Collawn, PNM Resources CEO, on automation and the future of work: "We're not thinking about that enough yet." Julia Hamm, the CEO of SEPA, on how distributed energy is wrapped up in smart cities and artificial intelligence: "Utility executives are really starting to think about how does that suite of distributed energy resources fit into an even bigger picture." David Owens, retiring VP of regulatory affairs at EEI, on the new priorities for investor-owned utilities: We've gotten very aggressive in the industry's vision. And that vision is focused around cleaner energy, a smarter energy infrastructure, and providing customized or individualized solutions so we can respond to customer needs." And here's our reading list mentioned at the top of the show: R Street Institute report on why baseload retirements don't necessarily mean unreliability: bit.ly/2sA7uAH Rocky Mountain Institute piece on outdated notions of baseload power: bit.ly/2swyRdY Researchers debunk the premise of Rick Perry's baseload report in The Conversation: http://bit.ly/2rnBH1k GTM article summarizing a report on why ARPA-E is a success so far: http://bit.ly/2sGFevU Wall Street Journal article on oil giants shifting their focus to electricity: http://on.wsj.com/2tuE2bL The Interchange is brought to you by AES Energy Storage. AES is helping utilities harness the power of battery-based energy storage to make the electric power system cleaner, more flexible, and more reliable. Find out more: http://bit.ly/2oxZ5dT Make sure to subscribe to The Interchange podcast via iTunes, SoundCloud or Stitcher, or integrate our RSS feed into the podcast app of your choice.

Covering America's Climate Troll-in-Chief Jun 08, 2017

We’ve had a week to let the media digest Trump’s climate trolling. EPA administrator Scott Pruitt has been all over the airwaves defending the decision to withdraw from Paris, and journalists have been all over the administration for its loose relationship with the facts. We’ll look at how Paris has played out in the press. Then, after killing net metering, Nevada is suddenly back on the table as one of the most important solar markets –- and now one of the most important storage markets. We'll have an overview of the stunning reversal in the Silver State. And finally, we’ll talk about a new report warning of a coming auto-industry death spiral. This podcast is brought to you by Kaco New Energy: http://kaco-newenergy.com/

Trump's Paris Ruse Jun 02, 2017

We all just became actors in Donald Trump’s reality TV show. After an elaborate tease over the Paris climate deal in recent weeks, the president finally revealed that he’s walking away from the historic agreement. Soon after Trump’s speech, world leaders issued bold statements: It’s not going to happen. There is no renegotiation process. The deal is the deal. Then local officials spoke up. It didn’t take long for dozens of U.S. mayors and governors to adopt the targets set by the climate accord. And then the corporate fallout started. Already, Elon Musk and Disney CEO Bob Iger have quit Trump’s business advisory council. Many more executives have publicly rebuked the president. The international and domestic consequences of this decision are still playing out. In this episode of the Energy Gang, we grapple with in the immediate aftermath of Trump’s speech. What should we take seriously? This episode is sponsored by KACO New Energy: kaco-newenergy.com

California's Grid Is Facing an Existential Crisis May 25, 2017

California released a white paper last week documenting the stunning decline of the customer base for investor-owned utilities in the state. Meanwhile, the state is facing more and more curtailments, negative electricity pricing, and, on top of it all, a looming solar eclipse. What can we learn about market design from the nation’s solar leader? Then, getting to terawatt-scale PV. Researchers and policymakers are getting serious about thousands and thousands of gigawatts of solar in the coming decades. And they’re asking some hard questions about market design. What does the world look like under that scenario? Finally, we'll end with a fast cycle through some of the top news stories. How worried should you be? This week's podcast was recorded live at GTM's Solar Summit. For access to videos of all our sessions -- featuring First Solar, Sunpower, Sunshot, Google, SEIA, Sunrun and more -- sign up for GTM Squared. This podcast is sponsored by KACO New Energy, a leading solar inverter company with superior engineering and unmatched customer service.

Is Tesla's Solar Roof a Good Deal? May 11, 2017

Now that Tesla has unveiled pricing details for its solar roof, everyone is trying to figure out if it's a good deal. Depending on what your assumptions are -- what kind of roof you're replacing, what kind of market you live in, how much in subsidies you're earning, and what kind of solar system you're competing with -- the value can vary wildly. Some say it's a surprisingly good deal. Others say it's far more expensive than Tesla claims. In this week's podcast, we'll discuss the economic viability of the Tesla solar roof. We'll also look at growth prospects, potential barriers to adoption, and where the product might fit into Tesla's long-term solar strategy. Then, Walmart’s Project Gigaton: A look at the mega-retailer’s new plan to slash emissions deep in its supply chain. Finally, FERC nominees: After 4 months, we have some candidates for America’s top energy regulatory body. We’ll talk about how they could shape the country’s energy landscape over the next few years. This podcast is sponsored by KACO New Energy, a leading solar inverter company with superior engineering and unmatched customer service: kaco-newenergy.com

Bringing the Smart City to Life [SPONSORED CONTENT] May 08, 2017

In this show, sponsored by Itron, we discuss the emergence of the smart city. Itron has been at the forefront of developing smart city infrastructure. We speak with Sharelynn Moore, the VP of Marketing at Itron, about how the company is using sensors and software to make the smart city come alive. Learn more about Itron's smart cities work: http://www.itron.com/na/industries/smart-cities

Tesla's Grid Storage Architect May 04, 2017

Since the day Tesla was founded, executives saw stationary storage as a compliment to the electric car business. That was Martin Eberhard's plan when he co-founded the company and envisioned the Tesla Energy Group. Years later, after launching the Powerwall, CEO Elon Musk said the storage business could soon eclipse automobiles. Today, storage is an integral part of Tesla's package of offerings for consumers, and its development plans for utilities. In 2009, Mateo Jaramillo was hired to execute Tesla's storage strategy. Well, eventually. First, he was responsible for developing the company's powertrain. Over time, he became more heavily involved in stationary storage -- eventually building Tesla's in-house storage development arm and the team that designed the Powerwall and Powerpack. He drew on his years of experience at Gaia Power Technologies, where he worked on some of the earliest behind-the-meter battery systems in New York. Last December, Jaramillo left Tesla to focus on his next career move in storage. The LinkedIn description of his new job job reads: "The Next Thing." This week, we caught up with Jaramillo to talk about what that "next thing" might be. We talked about the history of behind-the-meter storage, the evolution of Tesla's approach to the market, and where storage business models and applications are headed. Thanks to our launch sponsor, AES Energy Storage. The grid is changing. Fast. And AES Energy Storage is helping utilities harness the power of battery-based energy storage to make the electric power system cleaner, more flexible, and more reliable. Find out more. Big thanks to our launch sponsor, AES Energy Storage: http://aesenergystorage.com/interchange Make sure to subscribe to the Interchange: iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-interchange/id1221460035?mt=2 SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/theinterchangepodcast Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/the-interchange Our RSS Feed: http://feeds.soundcloud.com/users/soundcloud:users:298570872/sounds.rss Bookmark our Interchange web page: https://www.greentechmedia.com/podcast/the-interchange

France's Presidential Election and the Future of Nuclear Apr 27, 2017

To many, France’s ongoing elections are the latest showdown between the liberal world order and a new brand of right-wing populism. That narrative follows a similar path in energy. France’s elections are pitting nuclear versus renewables, closed markets versus open, and disruption versus protectionism. France is going through a quite radical revaluation of its electricity mix. It gets about 75 percent of its electricity from nuclear. However, in 2015, President François Holland set a policy that would phase out aging nuclear plants, and reduce nuclear generation to 50 percent by 2025. He wants to fill in the gap with more renewables and efficiency. Now the two presidential candidates -- Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen -- are sparring over what to do with nuclear. It’s part of a broader debate over nationalizing the energy giant EDF, expanding or limiting energy trading with the E.U., and mixing variable renewables with a really high nuclear grid. On this week's podcast: As we near the May 7 run-off election between Macron and Le Pen, we consider the future of the world’s leading nuclear energy power during a time of political volatility and electricity market transformation. Then, are we at the start of a new solar trade war between America and the rest of the world? We'll discuss Suniva's wide-ranging trade complaint to the government. Finally, the U.K. recently went coal-free for a day. We place its significance. This podcast is sponsored by KACO New Energy, a leading solar inverter company with superior engineering and unmatched customer service: http://kaco-newenergy.com/ Make sure to subscribe to our other podcast, The Interchange. iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-interchange/id1221460035?mt=2 SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/theinterchangepodcast

Is Cheap Offshore Wind Coming to America? Apr 20, 2017

We've heard a lot about record low prices in utility-scale solar. Get ready for more records in offshore wind. In the last two months, we've seen offshore project developers in Europe bidding for pennies per kilowatt-hour -- easily beating 2020 price estimates. Now the Europeans want to export that learning to America. In this week's episode, we'll look at how the two markets compare -- and why some of the market and policy conditions that favor offshore wind in Europe don't exist in the U.S. Then, Energy Secretary Rick Perry wants to know if renewable energy is a danger to America’s grid. His recent memo on energy markets was only a page and a half long, but it was packed with a lot of assumptions –- and we'll unpack them ourselves. Finally, we'll discuss Plug Power’s deal with Amazon. It’s not just about fuel cells -- it’s about finding any cost advantage in the ultra-competitive retail sector. This podcast is sponsored by KACO New Energy, a leading solar inverter company with superior engineering and unmatched customer service: http://kaco-newenergy.com/ Make sure to subscribe to our other podcast, The Interchange! iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-interchange/id1221460035?mt=2 SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/theinterchangepodcast

The Complexity of a Zero-Carbon Grid Apr 14, 2017

What will it take to slash carbon emissions in the electric sector by 100 percent? We're already making immense progress. And we could use wind, solar and storage to cost-effectively cut grid emissions in half. But to go from 50 percent reductions to 100 percent will take a much more diverse range of technologies. That is the conclusion of a new literature review of 30 studies, written by Jesse Jenkins and Samuel Thernstrom. Jesse Jenkins joins us on the podcast. He’s an energy thinker, writer and a PhD candidate at MIT with an expertise in electric power system engineering. In this week's episode of The Interchange, we define "deep decarbonization," discuss the limitations of our current pathway, and talk about the intense tribalism that feeds the debate over how to transition to a zero-carbon system. We're re-launching the show this week publicly. Make sure to subscribe to us on SoundCloud, iTunes, Stitcher Radio or simply copy and paste our RSS feed into the podcast app of your choice. Big thanks to our launch sponsor, AES Energy Storage: Make sure to subscribe to the show! Links below: http://aesenergystorage.com/interchange iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-interchange/id1221460035?mt=2 SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/theinterchangepodcast Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/the-interchange Our RSS Feed: http://feeds.soundcloud.com/users/soundcloud:users:298570872/sounds.rss Bookmark our Interchange web page: https://www.greentechmedia.com/podcast/the-interchange And other links from the show are below. What we're reading: https://foresightdk.com/in-search-of-a-cure-for-cannibalisation/ Jesse Jenkins' paper on deep decarbonization: http://bit.ly/2oeRvBb

Westinghouse's Bankruptcy Threatens the Nuclear Revival Apr 06, 2017

Westinghouse, of the most important players in nuclear, filed for bankruptcy protection last week. It's a potential blow to the global industry. After all, half of the world's nuclear reactors use Westinghouse technology. The company has been working on two major nuclear power plants in Georgia and South Carolina -- both of which are now behind schedule and over budget. Will the reactors get built by the 2019 deadline? We'll talk about what happened to the company, and consider what it means for nuclear in the U.S. and around the world. Then, Brexit. Will the U.K. end its climate commitments now officially leaving the European Union? Finally, a lesson in traffic control. What we can learn about driver behavior from highway crises in Georgia and Los Angeles. Podcast PSA: We're making The Interchange podcast public! Listen to Shayle Kann and Stephen Lacey go deep on the forces guiding the global energy transformation. You can subscribe by searching for us in iTunes. Just search for "The Interchange" under podcasts. Or simply copy and paste our RSS feed into the podcast app of your choice: http://feeds.soundcloud.com/users/soundcloud:users:298570872/sounds.rss Or you can follow us on SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/theinterchangepodcast (And don't worry, if you're a GTM Squared member, you'll get access to all our episodes and all our transcripts.) This podcast is sponsored by KACO New Energy, a leading solar inverter company with superior engineering and unmatched customer service: http://kaco-newenergy.com/

Sungevity's Bankruptcy: What It Says About Residential Solar Mar 31, 2017

Sungevity was founded in 2007 with a promise of revolutionize solar sales through software. It sparked a move toward the "platform" approach to customer acquisition and sales. Sungevity eventually built up its sales, procurement and financing in-house -- peaking as the number-three residential solar company in 2014. Over the years, the company's cash-burn rate increased and Sungevity started outsourcing more of its operations. This month, after failing to close bridge financing, the company declared bankruptcy and sold off its financing platform. Would Sungevity have survived if it had stuck simply to lead generation? On this week's podcast, we'll look at Sungevity's struggles. We'll compare Sungevity's problems with other residential solar companies that have failed or faced challenges. We’re joined by Nicole Litvak, a senior analyst with GTM Research’s solar team, who will provide some insight into the sustainability of the national installation and sales model. Then, Trump’s executive order on climate change is finally here. But it’s not changing the minds of any utilities. We’ll talk about what’s in it, and discuss the difference between political optics and reality. Jigar will also share his disdain for the America versus China narrative that often frames this topic. This podcast is sponsored by KACO New Energy, a leading solar inverter company with superior engineering and unmatched customer service: http://kaco-newenergy.com/

Coal Is Losing Mar 23, 2017

The headwinds for coal are coming from every direction. Since 2010, More than 250 coal plants in America have been shuttered, or are set to close. Meanwhile, in the most energy-hungry regions of the world, thousands of megawatts of new coal plants have been halted. This week, we’re covering the struggles of coal from a few different angles. First, the steady drumbeat of plant closures in the U.S. What has caused them, and what comes next? We’ll talk about the just-announced closure of the Navajo Generating Station -- the biggest coal plant in the West -- and why it encompasses all the complicated factors around the transition away from coal. Then, a clean coal redux. As billions of dollars in cost overruns mount at America’s first commercial carbon-capture plant, the coal industry looks to the White House for more support. And finally, the international picture. Coal is still the dominant source of generation around the world, but new build-outs are slowing in key countries. Can we say that peak coal has arrived? Our guest co-host this week is Mary Anne Hitt, the director of the Sierra Club's Beyond Coal Campaign. She also co-hosts a climate podcast called No Place Like Home. This podcast is sponsored by KACO New Energy, a leading solar inverter company with superior engineering and unmatched customer service: http://kaco-newenergy.com/

An Uncertain Future for Electric Cars in America Mar 16, 2017

America's electric car market is entering an uncertain period. States are rolling back their support for EVs, the federal government is revisiting fuel standards designed to support EVs, and consumers are still not electric in the numbers that many people assumed. At the same time, however, many automakers are moving ahead with new models, giving consumers more choices. Will drivers increasingly choose electric? Or will lagging policy hurt the market? We'll discuss on this week's podcast. In the second segment, we'll talk about the official White House budget released this week. Plus, we’ll talk about Trump’s business advisory council, which is filled with some of the biggest renewable energy investors in the world. Finally, can Elon Musk fix South Australia’s energy crisis? This podcast is sponsored by KACO New Energy, a leading solar inverter company with superior engineering and unmatched customer service: http://kaco-newenergy.com/

Week 7: Trump Dumps the Environment Mar 09, 2017

We’re on week seven of the Trump Presidency. In the months since the election, we've been stalwart in our view that things are not as bad as they seem -- despite the contradictions and confrontations, clean energy will emerge largely unscathed. That may be true. But it’s also impossible to ignore how quickly Trump’s team has worked to unwind the country’s environmental policy. As more details emerge, it’s becoming clear that the White House is not interested in a traditional conservative approach to environmental protection or a thoughtful redesign of top-down regulations -- it is intent on burning them to the ground. In this week's show, we'll talk about the impending reversal of climate regulations, new staff changes, and across-the-board budget cuts. And then we’re going to shift over to some bellwether business activity in the solar industry. What does AES’ acquisition of sPower say about the health of America’s utility-scale solar sector? We’ll end with a discussion about why electricity prices in Ontario, Canada have skyrocketed. Who’s to blame? This podcast is sponsored by KACO New Energy, a leading solar inverter company with superior engineering and unmatched customer service.

Cleantech Career Advice Mar 02, 2017

There are now more than 100,000 people working in the clean energy sector across Massachusetts. What is the state doing right? This week, we're talking about workforce development in cleantech. In recent months, we've seen a sharp increase in requests from listeners asking for advice on job opportunities in cleantech. There are also many educators or economic development experts trying to stay head of the curve. If this industry becomes as big as everyone says it will be, how can local economies reap the benefit? This subject is particularly relevant at a time when everyone is talking about the future of work. We are in the middle of the most dramatic economic transitions in history. The forces of globalization, automation and consumer tech are shattering traditional notions of work. In parallel, cleantech and other distributed technologies are changing what it means to work in energy. This week, we sit down with Tamika Jacques, the director of workforce development at the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center. We’ll answer some common career questions, and look at what it takes to build a cleantech jobs strategy in a state or region. This podcast is sponsored by KACO New Energy, a leading solar inverter company with superior engineering and unmatched customer service: http://kaco-newenergy.com/ Below are some career resources mentioned by Jacques on the podcast: MassCEC jobs board: www.masscec.com/jobs Clean Energy Education website: http://cleanenergyeducation.org/ New England Clean Energy Council: http://www.necec.org/ Greentown Labs events calendar: https://www.greentownlabs.com/events

Is Retail Electricity Choice Coming to California? Mar 01, 2017

As if California's electric grid isn't already changing fast enough, the state's leading regulator says it's probably time to change even faster. In an interview on this week's Interchange podcast, Michael Picker, president of the California Public Utilities Commission, said that he believes the state should consider liberalizing its retail electricity market in order to broaden customer choice. While listening, make sure to sign up for GTM's event, California's Distributed Energy Future. Commissioner Picker will be there to elaborate more on retail choice. Interchange listeners get 15% off. Just use the promo code INTERCHANGE when checking out: http://bit.ly/2lzw4dD

What's in Scott Pruitt's Emails? Feb 23, 2017

The scope of the Environmental Protection Agency expanded dramatically under President Obama. Now under President Trump and new administrator Scott Pruitt, the agency is likely to be scaled way back. How far back? No one knows. But there are a lot of clues – including 7,500 pages of Pruitt’s emails. This week, while Pruitt started his job as America’s top environmental cop, his past emails as Oklahoma Attorney General were released on court order. And they provide a window into how he’ll manage the agency he has spent so long attacking over his career. Climatewire reporter Emily Holden joins us to talk about the emails, Pruitt's approach to running the EPA, and the future of the Clean Power Plan. Then, autonomy is taking hold in the oil and gas sector, destroying tens of thousands of jobs. Will robots kill jobs in cleantech too? Read the NY Times story here: http://nyti.ms/2lewyWC This podcast is sponsored by KACO New Energy, a leading solar inverter company with superior engineering and unmatched customer service: http://kaco-newenergy.com/

A Republican Carbon Tax? Feb 16, 2017

Last week, a group of highly respected Republicans released a plan for a $40-per-ton carbon tax on point-of-source emissions from coal, oil and gas. Why now? With a Republican White House and Congress, they argued, now is the perfect time to show America that conservatives have better ideas than the command-and-control Democrats who are only interested in more regulation as a solution to climate change. A steadily-rising carbon tax is the most economically efficient way of dealing with carbon pollution. But it certainly doesn’t play well in American politics. And now that Republicans have control of Congress and the White House, they have little incentive to trade a carbon tax for an end to regulations. Still, some are hopeful that grassroots supporters, prominent Republicans and even officials like Rex Tillerson can help shape President Trump's mind on a carbon price. On this week's show, we'll look at what it would take to move carbon pricing forward. Then, there’s a growing movement to get scientists running for office. Should clean energy professionals also consider public office? Finally, remembering Art Rosenfeld, the godfather of energy efficiency. This podcast is sponsored by KACO New Energy, a leading solar inverter company with superior engineering and unmatched customer service: http://kaco-newenergy.com/

Will Electric Buses Take Over the Transit World? Feb 10, 2017

By 2020, one-third of new fleet bus purchases will be electric. By 2025, electric buses will make up half of new sales to transit agencies. By 2030, every single transit bus sold will run on electricity. That's what Ryan Popple, the CEO of electric bus manufacturer Proterra, believes will happen. And there's plenty of evidence that the shift is underway, even if the current fleet is mostly diesel and compressed natural gas. In this week's podcast, we'll talk with Popple about his plan to kick combustion engines out of transit. We'll also talk about his career path that brought him from the Army to Tesla to venture capital, and eventually to Proterra. Then, renewables are becoming the “new normal” in the U.S. We will glimpse at two important reports on solar jobs and the American energy economy that put the current clean energy boom in perspective. This podcast is sponsored by KACO New Energy, a leading solar inverter company with superior engineering and unmatched customer service: http://kaco-newenergy.com/

Making Sense of Donald Trump Feb 04, 2017

This week, we’re live from Columbia University’s Energy Symposium in New York City. The Gang was joined by former NRG CEO David Crane for a lively conversation about Trumpland. We start the conversation off with a look at the turbulent first weeks of the Trump Administration. We’ve had nominations, executive orders, blackouts, bans, proposed budget cuts, resignations, rogue twitter accounts and growing protests. We’re just 14 days into the Trump Administration – what can we expect for the next 100 days? Then, we turn the mic around on David Crane. In 2014, while CEO of NRG, he wrote a letter to shareholders saying the power provider needed to become the google, apple or amazon of the energy sector. It didn’t take long for shareholders to sour on that vision –- so what does this say about how hard it is to transition from brown to green? Finally, how to get a job. We go through many of the questions that people ask us when looking for a job in cleantech, and we’ll try to pass on some advice worth following. This podcast is sponsored by KACO New Energy, a leading solar inverter company with superior engineering and unmatched customer service: http://kaco-newenergy.com/

The Grid as a Digital Lab Jan 20, 2017

America’s first power plant was built in Manhattan. The first transmission of electricity occurred between Niagara Falls and Buffalo. And the first public power organization was founded in New York State. Today, that power provider, the New York Power Authority -- or NYPA -- is working to digitize the state’s grid end-to-end. We’ll talk with NYPA CEO Gil Quiniones about his push to create a "digital foundry" where the next generation of electricity inventors and innovators can re-imagine the grid. In the second half of the show, Katherine Hamilton gives us an update from the World Economic Forum, where thinkers from all across the globe are also re-imagining the energy system -- while also grappling with a new world order in the wake of America's election. Make sure to come to our live show on February 3 in New York City. We'll be at the Columbia Energy Symposium debating the latest developments in energy and cleantech: http://www.cuenergysymposium.com/ This podcast is sponsored by KACO New Energy, a leading solar inverter company with superior engineering and unmatched customer service: http://kaco-newenergy.com/

Autonomous Car Fleets: A Dystopian or Utopian Future? Jan 13, 2017

For years, researchers have been working behind the scenes to improve autonomous vehicles. And all of a sudden that work is playing out in a very public way. Top tech companies and automakers are testing new models on the streets, talking bullishly about fleets of self-driving cars, and thinking about how to combine electrification with automation. Meanwhile, regulators and city planners are trying to keep up with the pace of technological change. This year will likely mark the beginning of the commercial autonomous car era. Will that era bring sweeping efficiency improvements to the transportation sector? Or will it result in a chaotic, overcrowded hellscape for our streets? The decisions we make today will determine our fate. In this week's show, we'll talk with Joshua Goldman, a senior policy analyst for clean vehicles at the Union of Concerned Scientists, about those two potential futures. In the second half of the show, we’ll examine Uber’s attempt to help city planners by opening up some of its data. And we’ll discuss President Obama's article in Science magazine arguing that the clean energy transition is "irreversible." This podcast is sponsored by KACO New Energy, a leading solar inverter company with superior engineering and unmatched customer service.

2016 Year-End Extravaganza Dec 14, 2016

There are just two weeks left of 2016. And you know what? We're tapping out early. This is the last podcast of the year. It’s been such a crazy 12 months for news that we’re packing it up and saving our energy for 2017. Throughout the year, we've discussed every big story impacting the industry -- bankruptcies, acquisitions, legal challenges, the bloodbath in the public markets, new products, and, yes, the election of Donald Trump. Before we call it a year, we are strapping on our seat belts one last time and taking you with us on a ride through the twists and turns of 2016. We'll kick off with a look at Trump's picks of ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson for Secretary of State, former Texas Governor Rick Perry for Energy Secretary, and Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt to lead the Environmental Protection Agency. And then we'll discuss our other top stories in federal policy, state policy, international developments, business deals and technological improvements. Finally, we'll launch our Predict-O-Meter for 2017. Endless thanks to our devoted listeners. We'll be back in early January.

Marijuana Legalization and Microgrids Nov 30, 2016

It's often said that electric vehicles are the key to bringing back load growth for utilities in the U.S. But maybe there’s another way: Marijuana. After the November election, seven states and the district of Columbia have now legalized marijuana for recreational use. In the early states that legalized, energy use is already growing. In Washington State and Colorado, where marijuana has been legalized for years, utilities are seeing a spike in electricity consumption. In Denver, for example, cannabis growers account for 2 percent of electricity use. In Washington State, grow operations could suck up more electricity than electric cars over the coming decades. This may pose challenges to utilities, which are seeing increased outages and may have trouble addressing cannabis head-on because of the conflict between state and federal laws. It also presents an opportunity for serving a new class of customers. This week’s guest has been watching all of this play out. This week, we're talking with Tim Hade, the co-founder of Scale Energy Solutions, about the energy impact of marijuana legalization. He'll also talk about the financial opportunity -- and risks -- in managing that energy use. In the second half of the show, we’re going to discuss the legal, cultural and environmental motivations behind the Dakota Access pipeline protests that are rocking North Dakota. We’ll end with a quick discussion about what comes next for Tesla now that it has acquired SolarCity. Thanks to our sponsor, Mission Solar Energy: http://www.missionsolar.com/

Chasing Donald Trump Nov 22, 2016

Two weeks after the election, we have more clues about how president-elect Donald Trump may form a domestic energy policy and position America against the rest of the world on climate. But mostly we're dealing with speculation -- bits of insider information from the transition team, some new hires, and some deeper portraits of the people guiding Trump’s early energy policy. There are way more unknowns than knowns. That doesn’t mean there’s a lack of things to talk about. There's been a lot of compelling reporting over the last couple of weeks on the new world for energy, cleantech and the environment. Like last week, we're going to focus only on Trump’s energy and climate policy. The Gang was joined by Lisa Friedman, the editor of E&E Publishing’s ClimateWire, who helps us sift through the Trump's transition team picks, his statements about climate diplomacy, and the role of the business community in the next administration. Thanks to our sponsor, Mission Solar Energy. Find out more about Mission's American-made solar cells and modules: http://www.missionsolar.com/

Art of the Deal: How Corporates Are Investing in Renewables Nov 18, 2016

This week, we're coming to you live from General Motors' world headquarters, where we'll talk about how corporate renewable energy deals are structured, and what's motivating companies to keep investing. GTM's Stephen Lacey and Shayle Kann are joined by Hervé Touati, managing director of the Rocky Mountain Institute and co-manager of the Business Renewables Center. They're also joined by Rob Threlkeld, the general manager of renewable energy at General Motors. Thanks to Mission Solar for sponsoring this show. Find out more about the company's American-made solar cells and modules: www.MissionSolar.com And don't forget to come to our Storage Summit on December 7 in San Francisco. Energy Gang listeners get 15% off by using the promo code ENERGYGANG: https://www.greentechmedia.com/events/live/u.s.-energy-storage-summit-2016

President Trump's Energy Policy Nov 10, 2016

Whether or not you agreed with the top-down, government-centric, executive-level strategy of the Obama Administration -- it was, arguably, America's only federal political path forward on decarbonization. President-Elect Donald Trump plans to rip up that path as soon as he enters the White House. So how and where will he create a new one? This week, we’re trying to figure out what Trump's win means for the energy industry broadly – and what it means for the business of clean energy specifically. We fielded many questions from our listeners on Twitter yesterday. They asked about the Paris climate deal, domestic carbon regulations, renewable energy tax credits, coming legislation, and the role of states. So we’re going to break from our traditional format and try to address as many of them as possible. Thanks to our sponsor, Mission Solar Energy. Find out more about Mission's American-made solar cells and modules: http://www.missionsolar.com/

Tesla's Solar Roof: A Guide for Skeptics Nov 01, 2016

This is a free version of the Interchange. For more on how to access all our premium content, visit GTM Squared: https://www.greentechmedia.com/squared Back in August, Elon Musk broke into SolarCity's earnings call to make a surprise announcement: Tesla and SolarCity were designing a building-integrated solar product. "It's a solar roof as opposed to a module on a roof," said Musk. Just a few weeks earlier, Tesla went public with its intentions to acquire SolarCity. The solar roof was seen as an example of what the combined companies could create, market and sell. "We don't want to show all of our cards right now, but I think people are going to be really excited about what they see," said Musk. Their cards are now on the table after Musk unveiled the solar roof last Friday. The product was stunning -- but Tesla failed to release any substantive details about cost, performance, financing, or its business model for deploying solar roofs. (Given that very few building-integrated PV companies have actually succeeded, the lack of details was particularly fishy.) In this week's podcast, we dig into all the knowns and unknowns about Musk's mysterious solar roof. Does this represent a radical new business opportunity? Or is it just glitzy PR designed to convince investors of Tesla's plan to buy SolarCity?

Making Stuff Is Hard Oct 31, 2016

Dreaming, designing, building and deploying new kinds of hardware is tough in any business. But in the energy business, where change comes particularly slow, developing new tech is an especially hellacious undertaking. All of our segments tie into this theme. We’ll start off by talking with Emily Reichert, the CEO of Greentown Labs, a hardware-specific cleantech incubator. We’ll talk about where entrepreneurs tackling this space are finding the financial and human capital to get them to scale. Then we’ll turn to the ongoing saga of SolarCity. The company made a big bet on solar manufacturing last year – and new developments suggest that the decision to make its own solar panels was the wrong one. Finally, the solar industry in general is undergoing a lot of turmoil – particularly in manufacturing. We’ll broaden the discussion to talk about why solar producers are struggling, and why the solar industry may be facing a bloodbath in 2017. Thanks to our sponsor, Mission Solar Energy. Find out more about Mission's American-made solar cells and modules: http://www.missionsolar.com/

A Civil War Over Carbon Taxes Oct 20, 2016

In November, Washington State voters have the chance to pass the most ambitious carbon tax ever proposed in the U.S. But there’s one problem: Virtually every major green group in the state is against it, or afraid to support it. What is going on? We'll talk with David Roberts, a writer with Vox, about the strange battle within the environmental left over carbon pricing. Then, we'll turn to the hacked emails from Hillary Clinton’s campaign. They also show a tense relationship between left-leaning environmentalists and centrists like Clinton. And finally, we’ll discuss a landmark global treaty to slash HFCs. It’s another win for global diplomacy and the Obama Administration. But will a Republican Senate ratify it? Read David Roberts' piece on the carbon tax fight: http://www.vox.com/2016/10/18/13012394/i-732-carbon-tax-washington This podcast is sponsored by Mission Solar Energy, a producer of American-made solar cells and modules. Find out more at: http://www.missionsolar.com/

How Should We Pay for the Grid? Oct 19, 2016

We are at the beginning of one of the greatest economic and consumer behavior experiments ever seen in the energy sector. How do we refine pricing in order to rapidly transition our aging, centralized grid to a clean, decentralized one? And can we do it so that we limit the economic losers, pay for the fixed costs of operating the grid, and make everyone whole? It’s a complicated question. The range of actual rate design options – decoupling, minimum bills, demand charges, fixed charges, and time-of-use – offer so many varying benefits and drawbacks. Everyone agrees that we’re moving to a distributed grid. But there’s a lot of disagreement on how to pay for it. That is what we’re tackling in the show this week. We’re joined by Lisa Wood, the executive director of the Edison Institute for Electric Innovation, and Ralph Cavanagh, a senior attorney with the National Resources Defense Council. Their perspectives on rate design are featured in a new report from the Lawrence Berkeley Lab, called "Recovery of Utility Fixed Costs: Utility, Consumer, Environmental and Economist Perspectives." This podcast is sponsored by Mission Solar Energy, an American solar cell and module manufacturer: http://www.missionsolar.com/ This is a complimentary episode of our premium podcast, The Interchange. Find out more about GTM Squared: http://www.greentechmedia.com/squared

Live From SXSW Eco Oct 14, 2016

This week, we present our live conversation from SXSW Eco. We're really sorry for the audio quality. There were some technical difficulties, and we did our best to clean up what we had. We'll be back with a normal show next week.

Inside the Minds of Solar Consumers Oct 07, 2016

With over 1 million residential solar systems in the U.S., photovoltaics are entering mainstream. But how do installers sell the next 10 million systems while giving consumers a good experience? This week, we're talking about what consumers are looking for when solar shopping. We'll talk with Vikram Aggarwal, the CEO of EnergySage, about the company's latest Solar Market Intel report that tracks buying habits and sales tactics. We'll explore the trends covered in the report. Then, we discuss South Australia’s state-wide blackout. Was wind power to blame? And finally, New York City’s solar market is taking off. Now it wants to do the same for storage. How did the city turn its solar market around so quickly? This podcast is sponsored by Mission Solar Energy, a producer of American-made solar cells and modules: http://www.missionsolar.com/

Donald Trump’s Energy Delusion Sep 27, 2016

Last night, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton squared off on the presidential debate stage -- coming face-to-face for the first time in the campaign. Almost immediately, the candidates debated over energy and climate change. Clinton started the debate with a direct swing at Trump’s climate denial and dismissive comments on renewables. “Some country is going to be the clean-energy superpower of the 21st century. Donald thinks that climate change is a hoax perpetrated by the Chinese. I think it's real,” said Clinton. Trump swung back with an an awkward attempt to conjure up Solyndra, the government-backed solar company that went bust in 2011. “She talks about solar panels. We invested in a solar company, our country. That was a disaster. They lost plenty of money on that one,” said Trump. In the days leading up to the debate, more details emerged on Trump’s energy transition team. And during the debate, voters got a few additional hints at his worldview. This week, we’re going to square Trump’s stances on energy with, well, reality. Then, we’ll have an update on Obama’s signature climate rule that is now stuck in court. Finally, GM is getting ready to roll out its 2017 all-electric car, the Bolt. Is this the affordable EV we’ve all been waiting for? Links: Our sponsor, Mission Solar Energy: http://www.missionsolar.com/ Solar Market Insight conference: http://www.greentechmedia.com/events/live/us-solar-market-insight-2016 (Use the code ENERGYGANG for a 15% discount.) Bill Holmberg obituary: http://www.biofuelsdigest.com/bdigest/2016/09/08/bioenergy-legend-bill-holmberg-dies-at-88/

Breaking Diesel Dependence on Small Island Nations Sep 23, 2016

Renewables like wind and solar are largely not linked to oil prices. But there are markets where the success of renewables is more closely tied to oil: islands. Or, more specifically, small island developing states, which make up 20 percent of UN member countries. These small island states are dangerously dependent on diesel -- causing energy prices to fluctuate wildly and forcing many people into fuel poverty. That makes them perfect candidates for renewables. In this week's show, we talk to Leslie Labruto, director of the islands energy program at the Clinton Climate Initiative, about why opportunities in island markets are expanding, even in the face of low oil prices. Then, a pivotal moment for nuclear. After much scrutiny, the UK government approved the 3.2-gigawatt Hinkley Point C nuclear expansion. We'll discuss this historic test case for the competitiveness of nuclear. Finally, a pivotal moment for America’s solar industry. We’ll dig into a debate about where the country’s biggest solar lobbying group needs to turn its attention. Thanks to Mission Solar for sponsoring the show. Check out Mission's American-made solar panels: http://www.missionsolar.com/

America's Local Solar Politics Sep 13, 2016

This week, we hop around to a few U.S. states where there’s been a lot of action: Nevada, California and Florida. Julia Pyper, GTM’s senior reporter, joins us for the discussion. In Nevada, we’ll look at the continued fallout after the decision to end net metering last December. In California, we’ll discuss the unprecedented amount of activity on climate and energy at the end of the legislative session. And in Florida, we’ll talk about the ballot initiative battle that has pitted the state’s utilities against a broad coalition of solar supporters. This week's show is sponsored by Mission Solar Energy. Find out more about Mission's solar cells and modules, made in the USA: http://www.missionsolar.com/

Are We Making Global Energy Poverty Worse? Sep 01, 2016

Big development banks are pouring billions in energy projects in developing countries. Between 2000 and 2014, the World Bank Group alone invested $63.5 billion in electricity access. But we still have more than 1.5 billion people without access to energy services. What is the disconnect? This week, we'll talk about one of the biggest institutional barriers to energy access –- why multilateral development banks are not set up to solve energy poverty quickly. We'll talk to Aaron Leopold, the deputy director for global advocacy at the Power for All campaign, about how to speed up energy access by changing the way we think about traditional investment. Then, are prominent business journalists willfully ignoring the growth in U.S. clean energy jobs? Finally, America is now dealing with its first set of climate refugees in Alaska and Louisiana. A sign of things to come? This week's podcast is brought to you by SolarEdge and Mission Solar Energy.

Is an Offshore Wind Boom Coming for America? Aug 26, 2016

America’s first offshore wind project, the 30-megawatt Block Island Wind Farm off the coast of Rhode Island, is almost complete. The developer, Deepwater Wind, is already eyeing much bigger projects off the Atlantic coast. Meanwhile, following the federal government’s attempts to make offshore leasing easier, a number of East Coast states are adopting policies to encourage new projects. These developments have onlookers excited about the prospects for offshore wind in the U.S. Is America set to follow Europe, which has built many thousands of megawatts of projects? We'll discuss all the latest developments for offshore wind in the country. Later in the show, we'll discuss Bill McKibben’s latest piece on WWIII mobilization for cleantech. Finally, we’ll look back on the last ten years for the Northeastern regional carbon trading market, called RGGI.

Extra: Wind Technology Trends Aug 23, 2016

Wind keeps getting cheaper and cheaper. According to the latest wind technologies report from the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, the average price of new U.S. wind contracts came in at 2 cents per kilowatt-hour last year. That coincided with record installations, record generation and continued improvements in technology design. All of those trends were documented by our guest, Ryan Wiser, a senior scientist at Berkeley Lab, along with his colleague Mark Bollinger. In this week's show, we'll talk with Wiser about record installation numbers, technology improvements, and the competitiveness of wind after federal tax credits phase out. This Squared content has been unlocked by ABB Automation & Power World. ABB has a virtual conference coming up in September, called Risk, reliability & recovery. This free online event will focus on the real-world solutions to the challenges that utilities face: shrinking budgets, aging assets, new regulations and a host of new distributed energy assets. Register here: new.abb.com/apw/gtm2 If you sign up for ABB’s conference, you will also get $100 off a new GTM Squared membership. If you’re not already a Square and you want to be, now is the time.

Extra: The Commercial Storage Market Is Getting Interesting Aug 11, 2016

A growing number of businesses are using behind-the-meter batteries to cut utility fees. In the U.S., the commercial storage market is still small (36 megawatts in 2015) but it is growing quickly for demand charge management. And it is now starting to grow beyond anchor markets like California, New York and Hawaii. In this episode, we look at how use cases for commercial and industrial battery storage projects are getting more attractive. Ravi Manghani, the director of GTM research’s storage practice, joins us for the conversation. We’ll also going to talk about some new offerings from up-and-coming storage providers, and talk about how Tesla’s planned acquisition of SolarCity would impact C&I storage. This episode is brought to you by ABB Automation & Power World. ABB has a virtual conference coming up in September, called Risk, Reliability & Recovery. This free online event will focus on the real-world solutions to the challenges that utilities face: shrinking budgets, aging assets, new regulations and a host of new distributed energy assets. Register here: new.abb.com/apw/gtm.

A Brief History of Solar Research With SunPower Founder Dick Swanson Aug 09, 2016

SunPower founder Dick Swanson is an icon in the American solar industry –- an elder statesman, if you will. Swanson led groundbreaking solar research in the 70s, experimented with all kinds of solar cell types, broke efficiency records, and helped make SunPower one of the most successful solar companies of all time. Oh, and he’s also known for Swanson’s Law – even though he didn’t actually create the law. In this bonus episode of the Energy Gang, we feature a wide-ranging conversation with Swanson about the early days of solar research, the difficulties in building a solar manufacturing business, and what the future holds for photovoltaics. This podcast is sponsored by SolarEdge, a leader of the DC optimizer market and a leading supplier of inverters to the U.S. residential market.

Cleantech VC Is Dead! Long Live Cleantech VC! Aug 02, 2016

Enjoy this free episode of The Interchange from GTM Squared. If you like what you hear, make sure to become a member: http://www.greentechmedia.com/squared We’re more than a decade on from the beginning of the cleantech gold rush -- and a lot of venture capital firms failed to strike it rich. In this week's show, we tally the boom and bust in cleantech VC, and look at how it compares with other sectors. We're joined by Varun Sivaram, a fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, and Ben Gaddy, the director of technology development at the Clean Energy Trust. The two recently teamed up with another colleague, Frank O’Sullivan from the MIT Sloan School of Management, to log the performance of venture investments in clean energy and materials from 2006 to 2011. They then compare it to the medical field and software. They found that the failure rate in cleantech was much higher (and the returns were much lower) than these other fields. Their conclusion: venture capital is not the right model for revolutionizing the energy industry. So if that’s true, what should take its place? We debate.

Elon Musk's Master Plan for Tesla Jul 27, 2016

Last week, Tesla Motors dropped “motors” from its name, and is now calling itself just Tesla. This is an indication that the electric car company is thinking about much more than cars. And Elon Musk went way beyond indicating a shift – he explicitly spelled it out in his new master plan, published last Thursday. His first master plan, published in 2006, described the company we know today: build an expensive electric car, improve manufacturing, build a less expensive car, grow manufacturing, and finally build a mass market EV. While Tesla hasn’t always hit Musk’s ambitious timeframes, it is on a path to achieving his original vision. Part two is much more ambitious. It includes building a seamless solar-plus-storage offering, dominating grid-scale storage, revolutionizing busses and tractor trailers, and making shared fleets of autonomous vehicles available to all. As Musk described in his post: “Starting a car company is idiotic and an electric car company is idiocy squared.” So is his latest plan idiocy cubed? Or the right amount of Muskian ambition at just the right time? In this week's podcast, we dissect the plan. Then, we'll discuss energy in campaign politics. We’ll look at Hillary Clinton’s pick of Tim Kaine for vice president, and examine Donald Trump’s relationship with fracking tycoon Harold Hamm. Finally, we’ll take the pulse of regulators, who debated how to grapple with distributed resources at a big meeting this week.

Does 'Clean' Coal Have a Future? Jul 21, 2016

At this week’s Republican National Convention in Cleveland, the GOP doubled down on its commitment to coal -- calling it “an abundant, clean, affordable, reliable domestic energy resource.” Coal can get cleaned up. But it comes at a steep price. And that price can make it hard for even the most ardent supporters to get behind carbon capture and sequestration in practice. Earlier this month, the New York Times published an investigation on the Kemper Power plant, a carbon capture and sequestration project supported by the stimulus that is billions of dollars over budget and still not in service. Securities regulators are investigating the use of government funds, ratepayers in Mississippi are suing Southern Company, and now a whistleblower has released thousands of documents showing that Southern Company covered up its problems and lied about timelines. This is the latest blow to the clean coal industry – which detractors say will never materialize. This week, we'll talk about what Kemper means for the future of carbon capture and sequestration in the U.S. Later in the show, we'll provide some context to an FBI investigation into the 2014 Arizona Corporation Commission elections. And we'll end with a discussion about NextEra's failed bid to acquire Hawaiian Electric Industries.

Imagining the Future of Transportation: How Optimistic Should We Be? Jul 15, 2016

As the world awaits Elon Musk's master plan for Tesla, we provide a glimpse into America's master plan for transportation on this week's podcast. Reuben Sarkar, the deputy assistant secretary for transportation at the Department of Energy, joins us to talk electric cars, natural gas cars, autonomous cars, car efficiency and how the public sector can make automotive innovation easier in the private sector. We ask him: how optimistic should we really be about what all the changes underway in the sector? In the second half of the show, we’ll discuss the end of nuclear power in California. We’ll also ask about Sungevity’s novel approach to going public – a worrying sign, or a clever way to raise money?

What If We Redesigned the Grid From Scratch? Jun 30, 2016

What would the electric grid look like if we redesigned it from scratch using today's vast array of new technologies and rate designs? Would utilities, regulators and distributed energy providers agree on the design? They might agree on more than you think. In this week's show, we'll talk with Julia Hamm, president and CEO of the Smart Electric Power Alliance, about how to reconcile rapid technology change with the way electric utilities are structured. Then, we’ll talk Brexit. How will Britain’s exit from the European Union complicate energy markets and climate goals? Finally, we’ll untangle the mess in Brazil. It’s been a really rough year economically for the country – and that has spilled over into renewables. This podcast is sponsored by SolarEdge, a leader of the DC optimizer market and a leading supplier of inverters to the U.S. residential market.

Debating Tesla's Plan To Acquire SolarCity Jun 22, 2016

Will Tesla acquire SolarCity? Yesterday, news broke that Tesla’s board offered to buy SolarCity for roughly $2.5 billion. While shareholders and financial analysts don't seem to like the proposed deal, Elon Musk says it's a pivotal part of his long term plan. This week, we're coming live from GTM's Grid Edge World Forum. We'll debate what an acquisition would mean for both companies – and whether shareholders will bite. Then we'll discuss whether the smart home will ever materialize. It's been a difficult decade in the smart home sector. What will it take to turn things around? And finally, we'll take a sober look at fuel cells. Is there any love or respect for them anymore? Eric Wesoff, GTM's editor in chief, gives his bearish take on the future of the fuel cell industry.

The Climate Crisis Worsens Jun 17, 2016

Thirty years ago, a Congressional committee held a two-day hearing on climate change. In June of 1986, scientists didn’t have the sophisticated measurement tools and supercomputer models that they do today. But they did have a lot of data showing that greenhouse gases were steadily warming the planet -- and that failure to curb those emissions would bring dire consequences. Three decades later, those predictions are playing out with alarming accuracy. In the last few months, we’ve seen a slew of research showing that the planet has a worsening fever. We haven’t yet hit summer, but we’re already smashing more climate and weather records. We will talk about the barrage of alarming climate news over the last couple of months. Then, new data shows that renewables are on their way overtaking fossil fuels in the electric sector. Is the development as positive as it seems? Finally, we’ll talk transmission. A couple new projects in the U.S. illustrate how to build new lines effectively to support carbon-free energy.

Getting Subsidies Right for Renewable Energy Jun 09, 2016

Renewables are getting really cheap. But does that mean we need to get rid of all subsidies to support them? Many experts argue that we just need to retarget government support in a smarter way. In this week's show, we’ll explain how that might be done for both renewables and nuclear. Then, in a related conversation, we’ll ask whether nuclear needs to be included in state-level renewable energy mandates. We'll end with a look at a landmark agreement between the U.S. and India that could leverage $1 billion for off-grid solar and microgrid projects.

How One of the Most Successful Wind Tycoons Stayed Ahead of the Energy Markets Jun 03, 2016

Two years after Michael Polsky moved from Soviet Ukraine to the U.S. in 1976, America passed a law allowing independent developers to own power plants. He knew he needed to get in on the action. Polsky eventually became one of the most successful energy developers of all time -- building multiple successful businesses around cogeneration, natural gas and wind. Polsky is now the president and CEO of Invenergy, a company with nearly 14,000 megawatts of wind, solar, natural gas and energy storage projects operating or under construction in the U.S., Canada and Europe. He joins us this week to talk about what he foresaw before most others -- and what he sees as the future of energy. In the second half of the show, we'll discuss Donald Trump's energy speech in North Dakota last week. And we'll end with a quick look at the latest global investment figures for renewable energy.

A Sign of the Utility Death Spiral? May 26, 2016

Nevada Power is likely doing a lot of soul searching. Last week, two of the biggest Las Vegas casino companies -- MGM Resorts and Wynn – filed to leave Nevada Power and set off to buy wholesale electricity on their own. MGM has particularly strong renewable energy goals, and this move signals that the company thinks it can procure clean electrons cheaper than the utility. As more large corporations make similar moves, will it lead to a financial disaster for utilities? This week, we'll discuss the implications with Cory Honeyman, the associate director of GTM’s US solar research practice, who has been following the commercial customer class closely. Then, Exxon rejects shareholder demands on climate. We’ll look at the latest salvo over the oil giant’s carbon accounting. And we will end on a low note. Lake Mead, America’s biggest reservoir serving over 20 million people in the West, hit its lowest level ever. Are water wars on the horizon?

The Solar Coaster: Troubles at Yingli Solar and the Flatlining Global PV Market May 19, 2016

This year, GTM Research is forecasting that 66 gigawatts of PV capacity will be installed around the world -- a 21 percent increase over last year. But next year, capacity will only expand by 4 percent. In fact, without some of the top markets like India, America and China, the global solar market would likely retract next year. Meanwhile, Yingli Solar -- once the world's top producer of solar modules -- is having trouble paying back its loans and may be approaching bankruptcy. Why is the company doing so poorly while most other leading manufacturers are healthy? In this week's show, we'll talk with Mohit Anand, GTM Research's senior global solar analyst, about the ups and downs for PV around the globe. In the second half of the show, we'll talk about the controversy over shoddy labor practices at a Tesla contractor. And we'll finish by discussing the latest in the political war over solar in Nevada. Don't forget to check out our live show at the Grid Edge World Forum. Any new registrants get a 10 percent discount through the podcast. Just use the promo code ENERGYGANG while checking out to get your listener discount. Find the Grid Edge World Forum here: https://www.greentechmedia.com/events/live/grid-edge-world-forum-2016

Live From New York: Making America Great Again May 11, 2016

In this live episode from New York City, the Energy Gang is joined by two prominent energy journalists — Yuliya Chernova of the Wall Street Journal and Chris Martin of Bloomberg — to talk about the hottest stories in energy and cleantech. We’ll talk about bankruptcies, politics and the latest from New York’s bold plan to reform its energy market.

From Shell to SolarWorld: The Technology Stages of Solar Apr 21, 2016

Terry Jester started her solar career in 1979 as the VP of engineering at ARCO Solar, one of the early oil companies investing in photovoltaics. Over the years, the company was sold to Siemens, Shell and SolarWorld -- and Jester stayed through it all. Jester, who has also worked for SoloPower and SunPower, is now CEO of a solar-grade silicon manufacturer Silicor. We'll talk with her about the early days of solar, how the upstream business has changed, and discuss the future of solar production. In the second half of the show, we'll discuss a comprehensive bipartisan energy bill passed by the Senate this week. We'll end with the legacy of Rhone Resch, who is retiring as president of the solar industry’s national trade group after 12 years. Make sure to buy tickets for our upcoming live event on May 4: http://www.cleanecnyc.org/next-event/

Beyond Bitcoin: How Blockchain Could Transform the Energy Sector Apr 14, 2016

The cryptocurrency Bitcoin is changing the way people think about operating financial markets and banking systems. Meanwhile, distributed energy is changing the way people think about running grids. Can the two influence one another? Many experts believe that the blockchain -- the public database that tracks Bitcoin -- will be the catalyst for the distributed, transactive grid. This week, we'll talk with Paul Brody of Ernst & Young about how the blockchain can be applied to energy and the internet of things. We'll describe how blockchains work, why they're useful, and when they'll start influencing the energy business. In the second half of the show, we'll discuss concerns about rolling blackouts and too much renewable energy in California. We'll end the show by talking about a controversial proposal to give away millions of free solar kits in Kenya.

Tesla's Model 3: The iPhone or Blackberry of the Auto Sector? Apr 07, 2016

Many are billing Tesla's Model 3 launch as an iPhone moment. If the hype and pre-orders are any indication, the boutique electric vehicle manufacturer has indeed taken another step toward transforming the auto industry. But could the Model 3 also be a Blackberry moment? If sales don't live up to expectations and Tesla faces any sort of quality control issue, it could take a big hit. And there are plenty of incumbents looking to fill Tesla's role. In this week's show, we'll talk about the meaning of the Model 3 with Dana Hull, a Bloomberg business reporter covering Tesla and SpaceX. In the second segment, we'll ask how consumers can better protect themselves from fraud or poor investments in home solar systems. And we'll finish with a conversation about James Hansen's latest dire (and controversial) warning on climate change. Make sure to come to our live show in New York City on May 4. We'll be joined by Yuliya Chernova of the Wall Street Journal and Chris Martin of Bloomberg for a discussion of the hottest topics in energy and cleantech. Our last show sold out, so make sure to get your tickets today! Get tickets here: www.eventbrite.com/e/the-energy-gang-live-a-candid-take-on-the-clean-energy-transition-tickets-24231943395 The Energy Gang is produced by Greentechmedia.com. The show features weekly discussions between energy futurist Jigar Shah, energy policy expert Katherine Hamilton and Greentech Media Editor Stephen Lacey.

Inside Amazon's Drone-Based Solar Installation Service Apr 01, 2016

Amazon upended book publishers and brick-and-mortar retailers. Is it about to upend solar installers too? Two months ago, GTM researchers stumbled upon a patent filed by Amazon for a drone-based solar installation system. After an extended investigation, we've confirmed that the company is working on the technology as part of its broader drone-based package delivery service. Amazon already has FAA approval to pilot the drones, and plans to roll out the service within two years. If Amazon is successful, drone-based solar installation could completely change the way consumers buy solar. In this episode, we'll outline how the service will work and what impact it may have on the installation business. This podcast is part of GTM's premium service, Squared. Enjoy this week's episode for free. Sign up for Squared to hear more in-depth analysis every week. (If you're still reading this, please note the publish date: April 1.)

The Utility Industry Is Rebranding Itself Mar 31, 2016

Utilities are often criticized for not connecting deeply enough with their customers. In a world where choice is becoming more important -- turning ratepayers into dynamic consumers -- power companies need to offer a wider range of services and communications outlets. One way to better connect: use more consumer-friendly language. According to a report in the Huffington Post this week, the Edison Electric Institute recently hired a marketing expert to help member companies better message themselves. “They view us a monopoly, no incentives to serve the customers. They view us as stuck in the past in terms of technology," said PR guru Michael Maslansky in a presentation to the EEI board this January on consumer focus groups. "We need to be able to think about something sustained, something repetitious, something ongoing.” Is this just a public relations ploy to improve the image of utilities? Or is it a serious attempt to engage with customers? We'll discuss in this week's show. In our second segment, we'll talk about the Energy Information Administration's new report defending its forecasting and data gathering. Finally, we'll discuss a new analysis from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory showing that America can technically get 39 percent of its electricity from rooftop solar. The Energy Gang is produced by Greentechmedia.com. The show features weekly discussions between energy futurist Jigar Shah, energy policy expert Katherine Hamilton and Greentech Media Editor Stephen Lacey.

The Libertarian View On The Distributed Energy Transition Mar 18, 2016

It wasn't just science that got Eli Lehrer to accept the reality of climate change. It was insurance markets. As a free-market expert on insurance policy, Lehrer realized many years ago where the industry models were headed. "Every modeling firm used by the insurance industry acknowledged climate change is real. If markets have the ability to aggregate information, then either markets don't work or climate change is real. My judgment is that markets work and therefore climate change is real," says Lehrer. In 2012, Lehrer founded the R Street Institute, a think tank devoted to spreading free market principles. In recent years, he's become a libertarian thought leader on environmental protection, carbon pricing and, most recently, the distributed energy transition. In this episode, the gang talks with Lehrer about how to make these issues more palatable to the political right. In our second segment, we'll talk about a new consumer poll on rate design and subsidies for solar. We'll end the show with a look at United Airlines' big biofuels announcement.

The Second Coming Of Storage In America Mar 10, 2016

America is undergoing a second wave of storage growth. The first wave came between 2011 and 2013, when grid-scale projects backed by the government stimulus came online. The second wave is based largely on two applications for lithium-on batteries: frequency regulation and demand charge management. These two applications helped the U.S. storage market grow 243 percent in 2015, according to the new Energy Storage Monitor from GTM Research and the Energy Storage Association. In 2020, America’s energy storage market will be 28 times bigger than it was in 2015. This third wave of growth, says GTM Senior Storage Analyst Ravi Manghani, will be catalyzed by a broader range of revenue streams as regional wholesale markets get more sophisticated. In this week's show, we'll look at the trends behind America's storage surge. In the second segment, we'll talk about China's war on coal. In the last segment, we'll discuss the consequences of Vivint's decision to kill an acquisition agreement with SunEdison.

The Latest Technology Trends at the Grid Edge Mar 03, 2016

ARPA-E, the government agency founded in 2007 to support R&D in cutting-edge energy technologies, has invested $1.3 billion into power electronics, new solar materials and novel battery chemistries over the years. According to the agency, the private sector has already responded with $1.25 billion in follow-on funding. Much of that money is going toward technologies that will help enable a distributed, responsive, renewable grid. In this week's show, we're joined by Jeff St. John, GTM's senior grid reporter, for a discussion on ARPA-E's grid edge strategy. How's it working? Later in the show, we'll have an update on the drama surrounding Exelon’s $7 billion bid to acquire Pepco. Is the deal dead? We will end by talking about a WTO ruling against India’s local content requirements for solar. How will it impact the country’s burgeoning solar market? The Energy Gang is produced by Greentechmedia.com. The show features weekly discussions between energy futurist Jigar Shah, energy policy expert Katherine Hamilton and Greentech Media Editor Stephen Lacey.

Troubles at Google-Owned Nest? Feb 25, 2016

Nest, the smart home company acquired by Google in 2014, is under scrutiny. In the wake of multiple glitches that screwed with Nest thermostats this winter, there are now reports of unrest within the company. But are these issues really that big of a deal for the maker of smart home devices? We’ll dissect the speculation about "internal problems" and ask whether recent bugs will impact Nest's position in the market. Then, we’ll look at what the sudden death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia means for President Obama’s climate plan. We’ll end with a heated conversation about whether solar is really capable of helping developing countries leapfrog the grid. Check out our Grid Edge Customer Network here: www.greentechmedia.com/customernetwork

Silicon Valley's Conflicted Relationship With Cleantech Feb 18, 2016

In 2012, Wired magazine ran a prominent feature on why "the cleantech boom went bust." A couple years later, after a slew of venture investment failures in the industry, 60 Minutes ran a major story on "the cleantech crash." The stories were widely criticized by cleantech experts as incomplete or inaccurate (the Energy Gang even ran its own critique of the 60 Minutes story). But they did reveal some hard truths: venture investors lost a lot of money on clean energy investments. There was indeed an investment bubble -- and it popped. Over the last couple of years, investors have taken on a more capital-lite, software-dominant approach to cleantech. But now some of the biggest companies in Silicon Valley are taking on one of the most capital-intensive industries of all: automobiles. So what are we to make of the venture investment climate? This week, we'll talk with Katie Fehrenbacher, a senior writer at Fortune, about trends she's seeing in the sector. Later in the show, we'll take a look at SunEdison's latest troubles. And we'll end with a discussion about the recycling industry's economic woes. The Energy Gang is produced by Greentechmedia.com. The show features weekly discussions between energy futurist Jigar Shah, energy policy expert Katherine Hamilton and Greentech Media Editor Stephen Lacey.

Adapt or Die? National Grid's Plan to Embrace the Future of Energy Feb 11, 2016

What does it take to truly change a large utility? Not just cosmetic changes to branding -- but true structural changes around distributed energy deployment and customized offerings for customers. In this week's show, we’ll talk with an industry veteran who’s trying to usher in those changes. Ed White, vice president of New Energy Solutions at National Grid, joins the Gang to discuss the utility's new plan to integrate solar, efficiency, storage, electric cars and grid automation all into one area of the business. It's not an easy task. But we'll talk with White about how he hopes to pull it off. Later in the show, we'll discuss two major Supreme Court decisions on demand response and Obama's landmark climate rule. And we'll finish with a quick discussion of the positive outcome of California's net metering debate.

Is Rooftop Solar Screwed in Nevada? Feb 04, 2016

Nevada's sweeping changes to net metering last December shook the solar industry. And the drama continues in 2016. Our GTM editorial and research team has been consumed by the situation in the state. Will consumers start defaulting on their PPAs? Will solar companies permanently leave the state? Will it make solar a bigger national political issue? In this bonus episode, we'll bring on GTM Senior Writer Julia Pyper to dissect the situation in Nevada. We'll get a detailed update on one of the most controversial stories in solar.

Hawaii's Unique Approach to Funding Cleantech Startups Jan 22, 2016

Many states prioritize tech incubators for a variety of economic reasons. The Energy Excelerator in Hawaii has a much more specific mission: tie support for startups to a 100% renewable energy target set by the state last year. That mission guides the way Energy Excelerator funds projects, chooses awards, and works with incumbents. This week, we'll talk with Dawn Lippert, the organization's co-founder and director, about how Hawaii plans to support innovation in distributed energy. Later in the show, we'll look at where Generate Capital (where co-host Jigar Shah acts as president) is deploying $150 million for "infrastructure-as-a-service" projects in underserved markets. We'll finish with a look at the political prospects for a carbon tax in 2016. The Energy Gang is produced by Greentechmedia.com. The show features weekly discussions between energy futurist Jigar Shah, energy policy expert Katherine Hamilton and Greentech Media Editor Stephen Lacey.

Diversifying Cleantech: Race and Class in the Energy Transition Jan 14, 2016

In 2012, an NAACP analysis found that Americans living within three miles of a coal plant are disproportionately low-income and disproportionately non-white. The report echoed government studies from the 1980s showing how toxic waste facilities and power plants were overwhelmingly located in communities of color across the U.S. -- studies that helped spark the environmental justice movement. Today, environmental justice isn't just about fighting toxic facilities. It's about ensuring the transition to clean energy is fair, inclusive and economically beneficial. In this week's show, we'll talk with Jacqueline Patterson of the NAACP about what clean energy can learn from the environmental justice movement. In the second part of the show, GTM's Eric Wesoff joins us to talk about his analysis of Vinod Khosla's venture investments in biofuels, batteries, solar and materials. We'll finish by talking about the natural gas leak outside Los Angeles that has forced thousands of people from their homes.

Should We Be Optimistic or Pessimistic About the Future? Jan 07, 2016

The final month of 2015 was one of the best in recent memory for climate action. The world's carbon emissions dipped for the first time during a period of economic growth. The Paris climate talks ended with a global agreement to reduce greenhouse gases. And America extended key tax credits for renewables that will ensure strong growth in the years ahead. Some are cheering. But others are not so sure we should be optimistic. Brad Plumer, a senior editor at Vox, shares the cautious view on these developments. In this week's show, we'll talk with Plumer about the hard work that comes after Paris if world leaders are serious about decarbonizing the global economy. Later in the show, we'll talk with GTM Senior Reporter Julia Pyper about how electric cars and autonomous vehicles are playing into the Consumer Electronics Show. We'll wrap up with a discussion about Nevada's controversial decision to slash net metering for all solar customers in the state.

2015: The Year In Review Dec 22, 2015

For our last podcast of the year, we offer up our picks for the top stories from the last 12 months. In the first segment, we'll get Katherine's take on policy developments for climate and clean energy. In the second segment, Jigar will describe why he thinks the R&D versus deployment debate has been resolved. And in our last segment, Stephen will talk about the dislocation for public solar companies. This podcast is sponsored by Huawei Technologies, a leading global ICT solutions provider. Huawei is proud to offer its FusionSolar PV solution -- a unique approach to integrating, optimizing and digitizing solar-power plants.

Autonomous Cars and the Future of Mobility Dec 17, 2015

The world’s biggest automakers are suddenly under threat from consumer technology companies in Silicon Valley. Are they up to the threat? This week, we talk with Anand Shah, the leader of the autonomous mobility unit at Albright Stonebridge Group. Anand worked previously at Audi and the BMW group, where he analyzed all the forces changing the auto industry. We’ll discuss those forces, which include autonomous driving, electrification and ride sharing. In the second half of the show, we’ll talk about some positive developments for renewable energy tax credits. We’ll also look at the details of the international climate deal signed in Paris. This podcast is sponsored by Huawei Technologies, a leading global ICT solutions provider. Huawei is proud to offer its FusionSolar PV solution -- a unique approach to integrating, optimizing and digitizing solar-power plants.

Get a Job in Cleantech Dec 11, 2015

There are roughly 8 million jobs globally in the renewable energy sector. A lot of people -- both young students and those with established careers -- want to know how they can be one of them. In this week's podcast, we'll talk with Dawn Dzurilla, founder of Gaia Human Capital Consultants, about best practices in job hunting: Should you get a graduate degree? What kind of skills are employers looking for? How do you keep yourself relevant during a long job search? In the second half of the show, we'll discuss the deep troubles at Abengoa. We'll end with a brief synopsis of what's happening during the final hours of the Paris climate talks. This podcast is sponsored by Huawei Technologies, a leading global ICT solutions provider. Huawei is proud to offer its FusionSolar PV solution -- a unique approach to integrating, optimizing and digitizing solar-power plants.

Will Global Climate Talks Succeed? Dec 03, 2015

Will developing countries sign on to binding carbon reduction targets? Will rich and poor countries agree to a financing package for climate adaptation? Will anyone pay attention to Republican climate deniers posturing on the global stage? Those are the questions people are looking to answer at the ongoing UN climate talks in Paris. In this week's show, we'll talk with ClimateWire Deputy Editor Lisa Friedman about how things are playing out at the negotiations. In the second half of the show, we'll look at a couple shakeups and spinoffs in the utility sector: David Crane's departure as NRG's CEO, and RWE's decision to split up its distributed energy and conventional energy businesses. We'll end with a conversation about how the U.S. government can more effectively support offshore wind. This podcast is sponsored by Huawei Technologies, a leading global ICT solutions provider. Huawei is proud to offer its FusionSolar PV solution -- a unique approach to integrating, optimizing and digitizing solar-power plants.

Will Residential Storage Thrive? Will Solar Survive After The ITC? We Discuss. Nov 24, 2015

This week, we're serving up a couple of our favorite Interchange podcasts from this fall. In our first segment, we talk with Ravi Manghani, a senior storage analyst at GTM Research, about where residential storage makes sense economically. In our second segment, we chat with MJ Shiao, the GTM's director of solar research, about what will happen to the U.S. solar industry if its tax credit isn't extended. Every week, we're having deep conversations about what's driving change in the cleantech and utility sectors. If you like what you hear, visit GTM Squared to become a subscriber and learn more about our premium content. http://www.greentechmedia.com/squared

Live: The Changing Utility-Solar Relationship Nov 17, 2015

This week, we have a live podcast from the Solar Focus conference in Washington, DC, hosted MDV-SEIA. The theme of the discussion: what role utilities play in implementing solar and other distributed resources. We’ll start with a conceptual framework in our first segment and look at some specific utility ownership programs in our second segment. At the end of the show, we’ll talk about the state of play for extending the Investment Tax Credit. This week’s guest host is Tanuj Deora, the chief strategy officer of the Solar Electric Power Association.

We Need a Fuel Sticker for Buildings Nov 09, 2015

We use labels to advertise fuel economy of automobiles and the efficiency of appliances. Why don’t we do the same thing for our buildings? There are now 16 cities around the U.S. with building energy disclosure laws in place. Early data shows the laws are working to encourage efficiency measures and behavior change. But how far can they take us? In this week’s show, we’ll talk about the effectiveness of building energy disclosure laws with Cliff Majersik, the executive director of the Institute for Market Transformation. In the second half of the show, we’ll dissect President Obama’s decision to reject the Keystone XL pipeline and discuss why SolarCity’s stock has taken such a big hit. This show is sponsored by Huawei Technologies. Find out more: http://www.huawei.com/us/ Find out more about our new premium service, GTM Squared: http://www.greentechmedia.com/squared

Can Opower Keep Utilities in Control of the Distributed Grid? Oct 29, 2015

Opower has evolved a lot over the years. The software provider started with a simple efficiency solution for utilities, and has since deepened its analytics and moved into demand response, billing, segmentation and customer care. One thing has stayed the same over the years: Opower firmly believes that the utility will be the arbiter of the distributed grid. In this week’s show, we’ll talk with Opower CEO Dan Yates about the promise and perils of selling software to utilities. He’ll also discuss why he believes strengthening utility interactions with customers will be crucial for realizing a renewables-heavy grid. Later in the show, we’ll discuss Hawaii’s decision to slash net metering. And we’ll wrap up with a preview of the Paris climate talks -- will an agreement be reached? Don't forget to check out our new premium service, GTM Squared: http://www.greentechmedia.com/squared.

Elon Musk: the Man Behind the Hype Oct 22, 2015

At a time when Silicon Valley entrepreneurs are criticized for their lack of ambition to create world-changing ideas, Elon Musk has emerged as a hero to many. Like Steve Jobs, Musk is both loved and reviled for his unwavering commitment to his vision. That vision: power the world with solar, make electric cars the dominant form of transportation, and revolutionize space travel. Some believe Musk is overhyped. Others think he's a savior of American manufacturing and innovation. Who is the man behind the myth? And how does run his companies? In this episode, we'll talk with Bloomberg Businessweek writer Ashlee Vance about his new book, "Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX and the Quest for a Fantastic Future." Vance describes Musk's leadership style, ambitious goals, and potential legacy. Later in the show, we'll discuss ISIS hacking attacks on the U.S. grid. We'll finish the show with a look at how Canada's new prime minister may influence climate and clean energy policy. Don't forget to check out our new premium service, GTM Squared: http://www.greentechmedia.com/squared.

YieldCos: Understanding the Renewables Financing Bubble Oct 18, 2015

When a slew of leading developers started forming YieldCos in 2013, they were hailed as a revolution in renewable energy financing. Not so much anymore. After enjoying a long surge in stock pricing, YieldCos have come crashing down -- some falling as far as 50 percent in value since July. Why did they all see such a dramatic reversal all at once? Is it that YieldCos are inherently risky? Or was there just an irrational exuberance that has leveled out? We'll answer those questions in this episode. We talk with finance expert Tom Konrad about how YieldCos are structured, why they were overvalued, what a market correction looks like, and whether they still represent the future of financing renewable energy projects. The Interchange is a brand new podcast available to GTM Squared subscribers. For one month, we’re giving away the show for free. Visit the http://www.greentechmedia.com/squared to find out more about our premium content.

Are Climate Goals Doomed Without Nuclear? Oct 15, 2015

When the Obama Administration released its carbon rule this summer, it was hailed as a "historic step" to cutting carbon pollution. But is it really? Lots of supporters and analysts think the targets are too weak. Many now worry that the government created a rule so fragile that it could break down with a modest change in the energy mix. The reason: existing nuclear has been left out. In this episode, we'll talk with energy analyst Jesse Jenkins about why maintaining nuclear plants is vital to keeping Obama's climate rule from collapsing. Later in the show, we'll talk about the fight over demand response that hit the Supreme Court this week. We'll also look at how energy and climate were discussed during the Democratic presidential debate.

Creating the Next Billion-Dollar Solar Firm Oct 14, 2015

Solar has been around for decades. But it’s only in the last 10 years when the billion-dollar companies have emerged. With solar business models still so new, there a lot more room for many more startups to emerge as the next behemoths in the industry. But can software companies do it? In this episode of The Interchange, we’ll talk with Emily Kirsch, the co-founder and CEO of Powerhouse, an incubator and accelerator dedicated to the distributed solar industry. She’ll discuss where she sees the greatest opportunities for growth. We’ll talk about why Powerhouse is so focused on software companies, hear about common mistakes made by entrepreneurs pitching their companies, and discuss some alternatives to venture capital. The Interchange is a brand new podcast available to GTM Squared subscribers. For one month, we’re giving away the show for free. Visit the http://www.greentechmedia.com/squared to find out more about our premium content.

Winning Strategies In Home Energy Management Oct 12, 2015

After a few years of struggles, tech providers are finally getting traction in home energy management. This is partly due to the rapid adoption of smart phones, which give companies cheap ways to interact with customers and monitor their energy consumption. It's also due to the success of laying energy services on top of home security packages, cable and internet packages, and solar contracts. So who will emerge as a winner in the space? In this edition of The Interchange, Stephen Lacey and Shayle Kann talk with Omar Saadeh, a senior grid analyst at GTM Research, about winning strategies in HEMS 2.0. The Interchange is a brand new podcast available to GTM Squared subscribers. For one month, we're giving away the show for free. Visit the gtmsquared.com to find out more about our premium content.

Can SunEdison Recover From Its Slump? Oct 08, 2015

It's been a tough summer and fall for the world's biggest renewable energy developer. Since SunEdison announced its acquisition of Vivint Solar in July, the company's stock price has fallen by 70 percent. Just this week, executives announced they are laying off 15 percent of the company's workforce -- amounting to a cut of around 1,000 people. How did a leading renewable energy company riding so high earlier in the year reverse course so quickly? In this week's podcast, we'll discuss the factors behind SunEdison's recent woes and look at its new plan to get back on track. Later in the show, we'll provide updates on Exelon's bid to buy up Pepco, Shell's decision to abandon Arctic drilling, and some energy bills making their way through Congress.

How Cheap Can Solar Get? Sep 29, 2015

This week, we present a special episode from our new podcast series, called "The Interchange." The Interchange is a brand-new podcast available to GTM Squared subscribers. For one month, we’re giving away the show for free. Visit gtmsquared.com to find out more about our premium content. Solar costs are on a strong downward trajectory. But competitiveness is a moving target. High levels of PV on the grid forces wholesale prices downward, potentially making the technology less competitive over time. At the same time, subsidies for the industry will likely continue to fade away. So what will it take for solar to become resistant to these forces? In the first episode of The Interchange, Stephen Lacey and Shayle Kann talk with solar expert Varun Sivaram, a fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, about the technology and rate design improvements needed to keep PV growth strong.

Exxon's Hidden Past Sep 22, 2015

In the mid 1970s, Exxon invested millions of dollars into sophisticated climate research and determined that greenhouse gas emissions would warm the planet to dangerous levels if left unchecked. But then something changed. In the mid 1980s and into the 90s, Exxon curtailed much of that research and started sowing doubt about the reality of the problem. By one tally, Exxon has spent $30 million supporting front groups and climate denying politicians in order to prevent action on reducing carbon emissions. Why such a dramatic reversal? In this episode, we talk with Neela Banerjee, a reporter with Inside Climate News, about a lengthy investigative series she's co-writing on Exxon's conflicted climate past. (Make sure to read part one, part two and part three of the Inside Climate News series.) Later in the show, we'll look at the good and bad pieces of California's latest climate and clean energy bill. And we'll end with a discussion of trends from Solar Power International. This podcast is sponsored by ReneSola, a Tier 1 solar cell and module manufacturer with a decade of experience in the cleantech industry. The Energy Gang is produced by Greentechmedia.com. The show features weekly discussions between energy futurist Jigar Shah, energy policy expert Katherine Hamilton and Greentech Media Editor Stephen Lacey.

Shell's Arctic Drilling Gamble Sep 11, 2015

In 2012, Shell ventured up to the Arctic to drill exploratory offshore oil wells. A lot went wrong. Its containment dome failed, a ship ran aground, another vessel was threatened by ice, one of its contractors was fined for safety violations -- and after all that, Shell never completed its exploratory drilling operation. The company has spent $7 billion to explore for oil in Arctic waters. And with a new plan of attack and fresh approval from the Obama Administration, Shell plans to spend $1 billion every year to get access to the region's rich reserves. In this episode, we look at the environmental, economic and political risks that Shell faces as it searches for oil in the Arctic. We'll also ask if its money could be better spent on harnessing energy resources beyond petroleum. Later in the show, we'll talk about how Hurricane Katrina influenced the environmental justice movement over the last 10 years. And we'll end with a discussion about steep feed-in tariff cuts for solar in the UK that business say will destroy the industry. This podcast is sponsored by ReneSola, a Tier 1 solar cell and module manufacturer with a decade of experience in the cleantech industry. The Energy Gang is produced by Greentechmedia.com. The show features weekly discussions between energy futurist Jigar Shah, energy policy expert Katherine Hamilton and Greentech Media Editor Stephen Lacey.

Distributed Batteries Are Following Solar's Success Sep 03, 2015

Behind-the meter battery storage is experiencing strong growth in the U.S. But with only 6.4 megawatts of capacity installed in 2014, companies have barely touched the market’s potential. Stem is one of a handful of companies leading the deployment of distributed batteries in commercial and industrial buildings. The company has since raised $75 million from a range of high-profile investors, and it is set to install about 10 megawatts of behind-the-meter battery systems this year. In this week’s show, Stem CEO John Carrington joins us to talk about why behind-the-meter storage is taking off, and where the economics and applications are headed. Carrington brings years of experience in solar to the storage industry. Later in the show, we’ll discuss the government’s investigation of the Solyndra loan guarantee, which was finally released after four years in the works. We’ll end the show with a discussion about Warren Buffett’s energy investments. This podcast is sponsored by ReneSola, a Tier 1 solar cell and module manufacturer with a decade of experience in the cleantech industry. The Energy Gang is produced by Greentechmedia.com. The show features weekly discussions between energy futurist Jigar Shah, energy policy expert Katherine Hamilton and Greentech Media Editor Stephen Lacey.

How Activists Killed a $6.9 Billion Utility Acquisition Aug 28, 2015

Until this week, most people thought Exelon's planned $6.9 billion acquisition of Pepco was a sure bet. But in a blow to both companies, regulators in the District of Columbia rejected the deal.What happened? The story is not just about a business deal gone awry. It’s a story about local empowerment, how utilities are dealing with the dramatic swing in America’s electricity market, and the tough decisions regulators are grappling with as they consider how to promote a cleaner grid. We will talk to Anya Schoolman, an organizer in DC who opposed the deal, about how a group of citizens derailed one of the largest utility acquisitions in history. Later in the show, we'll examine how recent turmoil in the financial markets may impact energy markets. And we'll finish with a discussion of President Obama's latest announcement on PACE and loan guarantees. This podcast is sponsored by ReneSola, a Tier 1 solar cell and module manufacturer with a decade of experience in the cleantech industry. The Energy Gang is produced by Greentechmedia.com. The show features weekly discussions between energy futurist Jigar Shah, energy policy expert Katherine Hamilton and Greentech Media Editor Stephen Lacey.

The Most Important Energy Bill You've Never Heard Of Aug 20, 2015

If there’s any concept that can cut through politics of distributed energy, it’s “personal energy independence.” Some utilities may not like the idea, but many supporters believe it’s a helpful way to frame policies supporting solar, storage and microgrids, both nationally and locally. That is what encouraged Senator Angus King (I-ME) to introduce a bill in Congress that would establish a nationwide integration plan for distributed energy. Called “The Free Market Energy Act,” the legislation wouldn’t mandate any specific technology; rather, it would direct states to establish rate structures and interconnection laws supporting on-site energy systems in a way that’s fair to utilities and individual customers. “It’s absolutely clear this is where the future is going and people are going to demand their own personal energy,” explained King, speaking on the Energy Gang. This week, we talk with Senator King about his bill and discuss the politics of energy in Congress. Later in the show, we’ll explore the business opportunities in Latin America for solar companies looking to expand internationally. We’ll wrap up with a look at the politics of race surrounding President Obama’s landmark climate rule. This podcast is sponsored by ReneSola, a Tier 1 solar cell and module manufacturer with a decade of experience in the cleantech industry. The Energy Gang is produced by Greentechmedia.com. The show features weekly discussions between energy futurist Jigar Shah, energy policy expert Katherine Hamilton and Greentech Media Editor Stephen Lacey.

Is Obama's Big Climate Plan Really That Ambitious? Aug 05, 2015

The Obama Administration finally completed its landmark climate rule that will require states to cut power plant carbon emissions. It's been hailed by supporters as historic, and demonized by opponents as an economic threat. But is it really all that big of a deal? That depends on how you look at it. In this week's show, we'll talk with Michael Grunwald, a senior reporter at Politico, who argues that the climate law is not very ambitious when it comes to carbon reductions. However, it will still be good for clean energy businesses, which will see new state markets open up because of the rule. We'll examine all the implications. Later in the program, we'll look at why the U.K.'s Green Deal efficiency program failed, and ask if there are lessons for U.S. efficiency programs. In our last segment, we'll discuss the philosophy behind Bill Gates' billion-dollar investment in clean energy. This podcast is sponsored by ReneSola, a Tier 1 solar cell and module manufacturer with a decade of experience in the cleantech industry. The Energy Gang is produced by Greentechmedia.com. The show features weekly discussions between energy futurist Jigar Shah, energy policy expert Katherine Hamilton and Greentech Media Editor Stephen Lacey.

Why Coal Companies Are Collapsing in Spectacular Fashion Jul 30, 2015

Pretty much everything bad that could happen to the coal industry is happening. Global coal demand is slumping; low natural gas prices and competitive renewables are shifting the energy mix in America; and a slew of regulations are causing plants to close at an unprecedented rate. Since 2012, more than 40 U.S. coal companies have filed for bankruptcy. And just this week, Peabody Energy, one of the largest coal firms in the world, reported $1 billion in quarterly losses. In this week’s show, we’ll talk with Taylor Kuykendall, a coal reporter with SNL, about all the factors contributing to coal’s demise. Then, we’ll discuss new grid rules in California that will allow companies to aggregate distributed resources and bid them into wholesale electricity markets. And we’ll end with a look at Hillary Clinton’s proposed plan to install 140 cumulative gigawatts of solar in America by 2020. This podcast is sponsored by ReneSola, a Tier 1 solar cell and module manufacturer with a decade of experience in the cleantech industry. The Energy Gang is produced by Greentechmedia.com. The show features weekly discussions between energy futurist Jigar Shah, energy policy expert Katherine Hamilton and Greentech Media Editor Stephen Lacey.

Inside SunEdison's Acquisition Bonanza Jul 23, 2015

SunEdison is on a mission to become one of the biggest energy companies in the world – built entirely on renewables. It still has a ways to go. SunEdison has a $9 billion market capitalization. The two biggest oil companies, PetroChina and ExxonMobil, are worth $376 billion and $342 billion respectively. And Duke Energy, America’s largest utility, has a market cap of $50 billion. But with a slew of billion-dollar acquisitions of wind and solar companies – most recently Vivint Solar -- SunEdison believes it is on the path to rivaling the world’s supermajors. "We are building the next generation of the biggest energy companies on earth," said Julie Blunden, SunEdison's chief strategy officer, this week after announcing plans to buy Vivint Solar for $2.2 billion. In this week’s show, we will discuss SunEdison’s business strategy and ask if the company is on a sustainable growth path. In the second half of the show, we’ll talk about a new report showing renewables outpacing nuclear power, and look at a scientific study of climate records that were shattered in 2014. This podcast is sponsored by ReneSola, a Tier 1 solar cell and module manufacturer with a decade of experience in the cleantech industry. The Energy Gang is produced by Greentechmedia.com. The show features weekly discussions between energy futurist Jigar Shah, energy policy expert Katherine Hamilton and Greentech Media Editor Stephen Lacey.

Political Turmoil for Renewables in Australia and Spain Jul 15, 2015

Two countries with some of the richest renewable energy resources in the world – Australia and Spain – are also two of the most hostile to the industry’s growth. Last week, Australia abruptly changed its national policies for renewables, upsetting project development plans. And in June, Spain proposed yet another tax on storage systems to discourage self-consumption. In this episode, we’ll talk about the turmoil and Australia and Spain, and look at the consequences for politicians and the renewable energy industry. We’ll finish up by debunking a new report from the Taxpayer’s Protection Alliance claiming that the solar industry is causing a bubble similar to the housing bubble that caused the 2008 financial crisis. The Energy Gang is produced by Greentechmedia.com. The show features weekly discussions between energy futurist Jigar Shah, energy policy expert Katherine Hamilton and Greentech Media Editor Stephen Lacey.

Why Global Solar Demand Will Be Off The Charts Jul 01, 2015

By the end of the decade, the solar industry could be installing 135 gigawatts yearly – more capacity in 12 months than all cumulative installations over the last four decades. The 2020 solar market will look much different today. It will be defined by fewer subsidies, greater geographic diversity and more sophisticated business models. This week, we’ll talk with Adam James, a senior solar analyst at GTM Research, about some of the most interesting findings from his new global demand report. Later in the show, we’ll discuss the Supreme Court ruling against the EPA’s mercury and air toxics rule for power plants. We’ll wrap up with a look at leading residential installer Sunrun as it prepares to go public. This podcast is sponsored by ReneSola, a Tier 1 solar cell and module manufacturer with a decade of experience in the cleantech industry. The Energy Gang is produced by Greentechmedia.com. The show features weekly discussions between energy futurist Jigar Shah, energy policy expert Katherine Hamilton and Greentech Media Editor Stephen Lacey.

A Top Utility Engineer Talks Distributed Energy Integration Jun 29, 2015

This week, we have a taping of the Energy Gang from GTM’s Grid Edge Live conference in San Diego. We’ll talk with Tom Bialek, the chief engineer at San Diego Gas & Electric, about the utility’s landmark microgrid project, its new distributed resource management system, and how to improve the utility-customer relationship. And we’ll wrap up with a look at how California’s pro-distributed energy policies are shaping utility procurements. This podcast is sponsored by ReneSola, a Tier 1 solar cell and module manufacturer with a decade of experience in the cleantech industry. The Energy Gang is produced by Greentechmedia.com. The show features weekly discussions between energy futurist Jigar Shah, energy policy expert Katherine Hamilton and Greentech Media Editor Stephen Lacey.

Is the Republican Party Incapable of Addressing Climate Change? Jun 19, 2015

After Pope Francis issued his strongly worded encyclical on climate change and the environment, many wondered how it would influence skeptical conservatives. It didn’t take long to get an answer. “I don’t think we should politicize our faith,” said Republican presidential hopeful Jeb Bush, who brushed off climate change as an inherently political issue. So what would it take to get Republicans more engaged on climate and cleantech? This week’s guest, Vox staff writer David Roberts, believes change won’t come from some kind of utopian post-partisan framework. “The other strategy is to beat the other side. If you can’t win them over, you beat them. For some reason, the whole idea of winning as opposed to transcending partisan battles is alien” to progressives, said Roberts. We’ll talk with David about the difference between “conservatism of the mind” and “conservatism as it exists” in energy policy. Later in the show, we’ll discuss the importance of the Pope’s encyclical on the environment. And we’ll wrap up with a look at underperforming concentrating solar power plants in Arizona and California. This podcast is sponsored by ReneSola, a Tier 1 solar cell and module manufacturer with a decade of experience in the cleantech industry. The Energy Gang is produced by Greentechmedia.com. The show features weekly discussions between energy futurist Jigar Shah, energy policy expert Katherine Hamilton and Greentech Media Editor Stephen Lacey.

New York's Energy Czar on Transforming the Electricity System Jun 12, 2015

Richard Kauffman has a lot of responsibilities as New York's "energy czar." He oversees multiple agencies and utilities, advises the governor on energy issues, and works closely with regulators in their attempt to build a new electricity market based on distributed resources. "Often the entities are diffuse and everyone is in their own silo. The benefit we have [in New York] is to develop and implement an integrated energy policy," explained Kauffman on the Energy Gang. This week, we'll talk with Kauffman about the state's unique approach to energy policy. We'll also talk about how he's trying to use markets -- not top-down government programs -- to stimulate change in the electricity sector. Later in the show, we'll debate the significance of EPA's report on groundwater contamination from fracking. To wrap up the show, we'll ask how much Australia overpaid for its solar boom. This podcast is sponsored by ReneSola, a Tier 1 solar cell and module manufacturer with a decade of experience in the cleantech industry. The Energy Gang is produced by Greentechmedia.com. The show features weekly discussions between energy futurist Jigar Shah, energy policy expert Katherine Hamilton and Greentech Media Editor Stephen Lacey.

Are We Measuring Energy Use All Wrong? Jun 05, 2015

We measure energy use with a commodity-based approach -- monitoring electrons, therms and gallons. But is there a better way to gauge the efficiency of the economy? Energy Economist Skip Laitner has been exploring a new method based on measuring "exergy," which shows that America's economy is only 14 percent efficient. And he says it's getting less efficient every year. In this week's show, we'll talk with Laitner about why measuring usable energy is better for understanding economic productivity. And we'll ask: how do we apply it to the real world? Later in the program, we'll discuss the state of the storage industry. And we'll look at why America's flagship clean coal project in Kemper, Mississippi is so delayed and over budget. This podcast is sponsored by ReneSola, a Tier 1 solar cell and module manufacturer with a decade of experience in the cleantech industry. The Energy Gang is produced by Greentechmedia.com. The show features weekly discussions between energy futurist Jigar Shah, energy policy expert Katherine Hamilton and Greentech Media Editor Stephen Lacey.

Should Utilities Own the Solar Panels on Your Roof? May 26, 2015

Whether the solar industry likes it or not, more regulated utilities in America are going to propose owning residential PV systems themselves. It's a controversial development. At our recent Solar Summit in Phoenix, GTM's Stephen Lacey and Shayle Kann hosted a debate on the following motion: "Regulated utilities should be allowed to own and rate-base residential solar." Lon Huber, a former advisor at Arizona's ratepayer advocate and current director of Strategen Consulting's government and utility program argued in favor of the motion. Court Rich, a senior partner at the Rose Law Group, argued against the motion. This week's episode is sponsored by Renesola, a top supplier and manufacturer of clean energy equipment.

The 21st-Century Power System May Be Closer Than You Think May 21, 2015

Discussion about changing utility business models has always been abstract. But with large utilities now getting hit financially by distributed energy, “Utility 2.0” is starting to seem much more real. This week, we’ll look at the progress that’s been made in New York, California and Massachusetts, where reformation of the power sector is currently underway in different stages. Lisa Frantzis, senior VP of strategy at Advanced Energy Economy, joins us to talk about how leading states are attempting to create a fair, open market for distributed energy. Later in the show, we’ll look at what’s behind the financial troubles at Yingli Solar. We’ll end with a discussion about New York’s massive new report on the environmental and health impacts of fracking. This podcast is sponsored by ReneSola, a Tier 1 solar cell and module manufacturer with a decade of experience in the cleantech industry. The Energy Gang is produced by Greentechmedia.com. The show features weekly discussions between energy futurist Jigar Shah, energy policy expert Katherine Hamilton and Greentech Media Editor Stephen Lacey.

Peak Oil in an Era of Fossil Fuel Abundance May 14, 2015

Over the last few years, analysts and academics worried about peak oil have been on the defensive. The fracking revolution has brought an abundance of oil and gas that no one thought possible a decade ago. So we can declare peak oil dead, right? Chris Nelder, an energy analyst who’s written extensively on the subject has a simple answer: no. In this week’s show, we’ll talk with Nelder about predicting the messy oil market, and get his thoughts on the long-term viability of unconventional fossil fuels. Later in the show, we’ll talk about Bank of America’s decision to phase out its coal investments. And then we’ll finish with a discussion of Hawaii’s plan to get 100 percent of its electricity from renewables. This podcast is sponsored by ReneSola, a Tier 1 solar cell and module manufacturer with a decade of experience in the cleantech industry. The Energy Gang is produced by Greentechmedia.com. The show features weekly discussions between energy futurist Jigar Shah, energy policy expert Katherine Hamilton and Greentech Media Editor Stephen Lacey.

Tesla’s New Battery: Is the Market Ready? May 07, 2015

Tesla’s new storage unit has everyone talking about distributed batteries. But is the U.S. market ready for them? This week, we’ll talk about what needs to happen on a regulatory level to take distributed storage beyond limited applications. Sky Stanfield, an attorney representing the Interstate Renewable Energy Council, joins us to chat about proactive approaches to storage integration. We’ll also look at a new bill proposed in Congress that would implement best practices on battery and solar interconnection nationwide. Then, we’ll look more specifically at the cost, applications and reaction to Tesla’s new battery. We’ll end with a discussion on whether fracking wastewater can be economically used as a geothermal resource. This podcast is sponsored by ReneSola, a Tier 1 solar cell and module manufacturer with a decade of experience in the cleantech industry. The Energy Gang is produced by Greentechmedia.com. The show features weekly discussions between energy futurist Jigar Shah, energy policy expert Katherine Hamilton and Greentech Media Editor Stephen Lacey

SunEdison's CEO Talks Clean Energy Megatrends May 04, 2015

Ahmad Chatila worked in the chip industry for 18 years before taking over as CEO of the semiconductor manufacturer MEMC in 2009. As a veteran of the industry, Chatila well understood the difficulties of the silicon wafer business. Semiconductors are a commodity, and the company was facing intense pricing pressure from Chinese competitors. So he decided to make MEMC an energy company -- zeroing in on SunEdison as an acquisition target. Nearly seven years after the acquisition, SunEdison is branching out beyond solar and into wind, battery storage, microgrids, and is eyeing hydro and even natural gas. The development arm became so important to the health of the company, MEMC adopted the SunEdison name in 2013. So how does Chatila see the business evolving? In this bonus episode of the Energy Gang, we feature an interview with Chatila on project development strategies, emerging markets, battery storage and vertical integration. We'll also talk about the megatrends that excite him most -- and also make him most nervous when it comes to competition. his podcast is sponsored by ReneSola, a Tier 1 solar cell and module manufacturer with a decade of experience in the cleantech industry. The Energy Gang is produced by Greentechmedia.com. The show features weekly discussions between energy futurist Jigar Shah, energy policy expert Katherine Hamilton and Greentech Media Editor Stephen Lacey

Can the US Wind Industry Get Beyond Its Boom-Bust Cycle? Apr 30, 2015

Wind has become a favorite target for politicians and conservative action groups looking end energy subsidies. But industry leaders are hitting back, saying they’ll only consider dropping the production tax credit when oil and gas lose their tax benefits. But does it need the subsidy? The average price for U.S. wind contracts is now 2.5 cents per kilowatt-hour. Some argue that the industry would remain competitive even without the PTC, and could avoid boom-bust cycles if it were eliminated. In this episode, Tom Kiernan, the CEO of the American Wind Energy Association, joins us to defend the industry’s stance on tax credits. He’ll also talk about some key economic and technology developments in the sector. Then, we take a look at the Ecomodernist manifesto, a new document from a group of academics, scientists and analysts outlining a human-based approach to environmentalism they call the “good Anthropocene.” Finally, we turn to the devastation in Nepal and ask whether distributed renewables can play a more prominent role in disaster response. This podcast is sponsored by ReneSola, a Tier 1 solar cell and module manufacturer with a decade of experience in the cleantech industry. The Energy Gang is produced by Greentechmedia.com. The show features weekly discussions between energy futurist Jigar Shah, energy policy expert Katherine Hamilton and Greentech Media Editor Stephen Lacey.

Why Renewables Can't Be Stopped Apr 23, 2015

In 2014, after a two-year dip in global clean energy spending, investors poured $310 billion into solar, wind, storage and energy efficiency. Although yearly investment levels are below what IEA estimates are needed to address climate change, the increase shows that appetite for funding companies and projects is increasing. Some believe the investment figures prove that fossil fuels have already lost the long-term race to renewables. This week, we’ll talk with Michael Liebreich, founder of Bloomberg New Energy Finance, about what the global numbers tell us. Then, we’ll look at how renewables are factoring into the upcoming parliamentary elections in the UK. Finally, we’ll talk about why the White House’s Quadrennial Energy Review is so important for planning the future grid. This podcast is sponsored by ReneSola, a Tier 1 solar cell and module manufacturer with a decade of experience in the cleantech industry. The Energy Gang is produced by Greentechmedia.com. The show features weekly discussions between energy futurist Jigar Shah, energy policy expert Katherine Hamilton and Greentech Media Editor Stephen Lacey.

Debate: Can America Get to 100% Renewable Energy? Apr 14, 2015

In 2008, when Al Gore called for America to get 100 percent from its electricity from renewables in 10 years, he was widely mocked by opponents. Even supporters who understood it was a rhetorical point quietly knew how difficult it would be to achieve. But suppose the timeframe were stretched out to 2050. Would it really be that crazy? Some models show it’s possible; skeptics say the models are widely unrealistic. This week, in place of the Energy Gang, we feature a debate between two experts on the issue. Mark Jacobson, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Stanford University faces off against Eric Dennis, a senior fellow at the Center for Industrial Progress. The two men will debate the following motion: “American can, and should, get 100% of its energy from renewables by 2050.” This podcast is sponsored by Renesola, a tier-one solar cell and module manufacturer with a decade of experience in the cleantech industry. The Energy Gang is produced by Greentechmedia.com. The show features weekly discussions between energy futurist Jigar Shah, energy policy expert Katherine Hamilton and Greentech Media Editor Stephen Lacey.

Can NRG Become the Apple or Google of Electricity Delivery? Apr 09, 2015

Last March, NRG CEO David Crane wrote a passionate letter to investors. “There is no Amazon, Apple, Facebook or Google in the American energy industry today,” lamented Crane. His plan, he said, was to make NRG the company “that enables the consumer to make their own energy choices.” Months later, Crane broke the electricity supplier up into three parts: NRG Business, NRG Home and NRG Renew. The Home arm of the business now includes retail sales, residential solar, residential EV charging and home energy management. In this week’s show, we’ll talk with the new CEO of NRG Home, Steve McBee, about his plan to double revenues through energy customization and consumer empowerment. Later in the show, we’ll discuss a new report from the Rocky Mountain Institute about the economics of “load defection” caused by solar-plus-storage. We’ll wrap up with a conversation about California’s severe drought. Are tech entrepreneurs ignoring an opportunity to address a crisis in their own backyard? This podcast is sponsored by ReneSola, a tier 1 solar cell and module manufacturer with a decade of experience in the cleantech industry. The Energy Gang is produced by Greentechmedia.com. The show features weekly discussions between energy futurist Jigar Shah, energy policy expert Katherine Hamilton and Greentech Media Editor Stephen Lacey.

Is Nuclear 2.0 Possible? Apr 04, 2015

Small modular nuclear reactors are hailed as the savior of the struggling nuclear industry. They’re cheaper, safer and more flexible than traditional light-water reactors. But many small modular reactor designs are also not fully proven on a commercial scale – and they’ll likely not achieve scale for another decade. In this week’s show, we’ll talk with Leslie Dewan, the co-founder and CEO of Transatomic Power, about what it will take to make nuclear 2.0 a reality. She’ll discuss regulatory challenges, cost barriers and interest from venture capitalists willing to take on the risk. Later in the show, we’ll examine some predictions for U.S. solar made by GTM’s Shayle Kann. And we wrap up with an overview of how energy services are being offered in the connected home. This podcast is sponsored by Renesola, a tier-one solar cell and module manufacturer with a decade of experience in the cleantech industry. The Energy Gang is produced by Greentechmedia.com. The show features weekly discussions between energy futurist Jigar Shah, energy policy expert Katherine Hamilton and Greentech Media Editor Stephen Lacey.

Does the US Solar Industry Need the Federal Tax Credit? Mar 26, 2015

The federal investment tax credit has enabled dramatic growth in the U.S. solar industry. But its looming expiration in 2017 is causing some within the solar business to ask: will it still be needed to continue that growth? The industry’s national lobbying group unequivocally supports an extension. President Obama supports a permanent credit. But some believe installers will still be able to compete in many markets, even when the credit goes to 10% for commercial and third-party owned systems and zero for everything else. In this week’s episode, Barry Cinnamon of Cinnamon Solar joins the Energy Gang to debate the necessity of the federal tax credit. He argues that it will destroy smaller installation companies like his, and talks about how to prepare for the change. Later in the show, we’ll explain why Germany’s grid didn’t implode during last week’s solar eclipse. Then, we’ll look at Senate Majority Mitch McConnell’s bid to stop EPA carbon regulations by lobbying state regulators and relying on arguments from a famous constitutional law professor. This podcast is sponsored by Kaco New Energy, a leading manufacturer of solar PV inverters for every size and module type. The Energy Gang is produced by Greentechmedia.com. The show features weekly discussions between energy futurist Jigar Shah, energy policy expert Katherine Hamilton and Greentech Media Editor Stephen Lacey.

Insight From One of Cleantech's Most Successful Venture Capitalists Mar 19, 2015

Nancy Pfund, the founder of DBL Investors, has supported some of the most successful modern clean energy companies, including Tesla, SolarCity, Powerlight and BrightSource. And unlike many other venture capital firms, DBL isn’t backing down from some of the riskier, capital-intensive investments. Other portfolio investments include CIGS manufacturer Siva Power, and storage companies Primus Power and PowerGenix. The firm is now in the process of raising a third fund worth $300 million. In this podcast, we’ll talk with Pfund about what she looks for in company strategies, why Tesla and SolarCity have been so successful, and how she’s trying to bust political myths about cleantech. Later in the show, we’ll debate a controversial new working study from Georgetown University economist Arik Levinson that concludes California’s energy efficiency policies did little to lower the state’s energy use. We discuss that study and counter-arguments from efficiency advocates. Finally, we’ll look at what’s behind SunEdison’s acquisition of Solar Grid Storage. This podcast is sponsored by Kaco New Energy, a leading manufacturer of solar PV inverters for every size and module type. The Energy Gang is produced by Greentechmedia.com. The show features weekly discussions between energy futurist Jigar Shah, energy policy expert Katherine Hamilton and Greentech Media Editor Stephen Lacey.

A Journalist's Guide to Congressional Energy Politics Mar 06, 2015

When the 114th Congress assembled for the first time in January, a bill approving Keystone XL was first on the agenda. By passing that bill with numerous amendments stuff in, Americans got a hint of what energy issues the Republican-controlled House and Senate would address in 2015. Those include efficiency standards, tax reform, natural gas exports and EPA regulations. This week, the Energy Gang is on break. In place of our normal show, we present a roundtable discussion between GTM Senior Editor Stephen Lacey, Huffington Post Energy Editor Kate Sheppard and E&E TV Managing Editor Monica Trauzzi on what we can expect from Congress this year. This podcast is sponsored by Kaco New Energy, a leading manufacturer of solar PV inverters for every size and module type. The Energy Gang is produced by Greentechmedia.com. The show features weekly discussions between energy futurist Jigar Shah, energy policy expert Katherine Hamilton and Greentech Media Editor Stephen Lacey.

Tribal Warfare and Energy Liberty: A Republican Take on the Energy Transition Feb 26, 2015

Former Congressman Bob Inglis has a tough job. As one of the only prominent Republicans talking about climate change, he’s been trying to give the rest of his party the courage to offer conservative solutions to the challenge. Three years after founding the Energy and Enterprise Initiative, there’s still a deep freeze in Congress on climate issues. But Inglis is gathering more allies in his fight for a carbon tax, and believes that the 2016 elections will force national candidates to recognize the challenge. In this week’s podcast, we’ll talk to Inglis about changing dynamics in the Republican party. We’ll also discuss how tribal politics and local fights over “energy liberty” are impacting momentum. Later in the show, we’ll assess earnings from a few leading solar companies, and talk about the proposed YieldCo from First Solar and SunPower. Finally, examine about how race is becoming a factor in the rhetorical skirmishes over rooftop solar. This podcast is sponsored by Kaco New Energy, a leading manufacturer of solar PV inverters for every size and module type. The Energy Gang is produced by Greentechmedia.com. The show features weekly discussions between energy futurist Jigar Shah, energy policy expert Katherine Hamilton and Greentech Media Editor Stephen Lacey.

The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels Feb 12, 2015

The case against fossil fuels is simple. Oil, coal and gas have been an extraordinary gift of nature that allowed modern society to flourish. But now, because of extreme climate risk and the competitiveness of renewable energy, we can (and must) leave those resources in the ground. But Alex Epstein believes that argument is too simplistic. In his new book, “The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels,” Epstein argues that fossil fuels are unfairly demonized. Pointing to positive trends in economic growth, pollution control and climate deaths – helped by energy abundance – Epstein says that fossil fuels should be celebrated, not disparaged. This week, we’ll interview Epstein and discuss the merits of his arguments. Then, later in the show, we’ll ask whether ratepayers should be funding PG&E’s new electric vehicle charging project, and check in with the ARPA-E Innovation Summit. This podcast is sponsored by Kaco New Energy, a leading manufacturer of solar PV inverters for every size and module type. The Energy Gang is produced by Greentechmedia.com. The show features weekly discussions between energy futurist Jigar Shah, energy policy expert Katherine Hamilton and Greentech Media Editor Stephen Lacey.

Why the Tea Party Is Getting Behind Solar Feb 05, 2015

For some conservatives, solar is a big green boondoggle promoted by a liberal president to benefit rich environmentalists. But for a growing number of libertarians and conservatives, solar is also seen as a tool for promoting competition in electricity markets and empowering consumers. In this week’s podcast, we’ll talk with Debbie Dooley, founder of the Green Tea Coalition and Conservatives for Energy Choice, about why Tea Partyers are rallying behind solar PV as a way to expand personal freedoms. Then, we’ll discuss a new report concluding that Europe overpaid $100 billion for its renewable energy capacity. And we’ll wrap up the show with a look at a secret automated car sharing service from Google that is reportedly designed to rival Uber. This podcast is sponsored by Kaco New Energy, a leading German inverter manufacturer. The Energy Gang is produced by Greentechmedia.com. The show features weekly discussion between energy futurist Jigar Shah, energy policy expert Katherine Hamilton and Greentech Media Editor Stephen Lacey.

The Solar-Utility Battle Is Getting Ugly Jan 28, 2015

If the war of words between SolarCity and Arizona Public Service is any indication, this year will likely see an escalation in tension between the solar industry and utilities throughout the U.S. Earlier this month, it was revealed that APS was behind a letter from members of Congress to the Federal Trade Commission asking the government to investigate the sales practices of solar services companies. SolarCity hit back immediately and published a scathing blog post calling out APS for using so-called “monopoly money” to influence politics at the highest level in order to limit consumer choice. In this show, we’ll look at APS’ claims and tactics, SolarCity’s response, and ask what it means for coming clashes between solar installers and traditional power companies. Later in the podcast, we’ll look at the highlights of President Obama’s trip to India, and then discuss problems in China’s domestic solar market. This podcast is sponsored by Kaco New Energy, a leading German inverter manufacturer. The Energy Gang is produced by Greentechmedia.com. The show features weekly discussion between energy futurist Jigar Shah, energy policy expert Katherine Hamilton and Greentech Media Editor Stephen Lacey.

Solar Loans: Should PV Be More Like Car Sales or Cable Television? Jan 22, 2015

Last year, 200,000 residential solar systems were installed in the U.S. More than two-thirds of those systems were third-party financed through leases or power purchase agreements. But third-party financing is peaking. As solar costs come down, more consumers demand direct ownership of their own systems and installers look for simpler options, a growing number of lenders are coming into the U.S. market with loan products. Will they rival leases and power purchase agreements? Not in the short term. But they are becoming much more popular – sparking debate around their value for customers. This week, we’ll talk with Sungage Financial CEO Sara Ross, who will provide background on the evolution of solar loans and talk about the democratization of solar finance. Later in the show, we’ll discuss the State of the Union address and look at the surge in solar jobs outlined in the Solar Foundation’s solar census. The Energy Gang is produced by Greentechmedia.com. The show features weekly discussion between energy futurist Jigar Shah, energy policy expert Katherine Hamilton and Greentech Media Editor Stephen Lacey.

Is it Time to End Subsidies for Wave and Tidal Energy? Jan 14, 2015

Progress in wave and tidal energy hasn’t been slow – it’s been nonexistent. Despite media attention, strategic investments from large energy companies and strong support from national governments, the marine renewables industry has seen mostly technical failure over the last decade. According to Bloomberg New Energy Finance, fewer than 150 megawatts of wave and tidal projects will be installed globally by the end of the decade -- a 72 percent reduction in earlier projections. Aside from creating dams, no companies have yet been able to competitively and reliably tap the waves or tides for electricity. So is it time to end support for marine renewables and spend money on more promising up-and-coming technologies? In this week’s show, we’ll look why companies operating in the space have struggled and ask whether it’s finally time to shift our attention. Then, we’ll discuss the increasingly important role of electric vehicles at the Detroit Auto Show. We’ll also talk about “One Knob,” an idea for creating a more free-market approach to residential energy efficiency. The Energy Gang is produced by Greentechmedia.com. The show features weekly discussion between energy futurist Jigar Shah, energy policy expert Katherine Hamilton and Greentech Media Editor Stephen Lacey.

Will Low Oil Prices Hurt Clean Energy? Jan 07, 2015

With oil prices dropping to five-year lows, pundits are pushing conspiracy theories about OPEC, public investors are acting irrationally, oil companies are going deeper into debt and political leaders are considering previously untouchable ideas like a gas tax. Meanwhile, many people are asking if an extended period of $50-per-barrel oil will compromise the economics of renewables. In this week’s episode, we’ll address the spectrum of economic and political consequences from oil’s strong price slide. Michael Levi, a senior fellow for energy and environment at the Council on Foreign Relations, joins us at the top of the show to chat about OPEC, the resiliency of America’s unconventional oil & gas sector, the impact of low prices on consumers, and which renewable energy sectors will be affected first. Later in the show, we’ll talk about the renewed push for increasing the gas tax in Congress. We’ll also provide an update on the U.S.-China trade case that may bring good news for installers worried about the cost of tariffs on Chinese products. The Energy Gang is produced by Greentechmedia.com. The show features weekly discussion between energy futurist Jigar Shah, energy policy expert Katherine Hamilton and Greentech Media Editor Stephen Lacey.

The Most Important and Overblown Energy Stories of 2014 Dec 24, 2014

This week, we stray from the week’s top news and instead focus on the top news of the entire year. We’ll give our picks for most important news item of the year, the most overblown story of the year and our story to watch in 2015. The Energy Gang is produced by Greentechmedia.com. The show features weekly discussion between energy futurist Jigar Shah, energy policy expert Katherine Hamilton and Greentech Media Editor Stephen Lacey.

Solyndra? Solyndra! The Legacy of Government Loan Guarantees Beyond Politics Dec 18, 2014

Three years after the political posturing around the Department of Energy’s clean energy loan guarantee program, some lawmakers still haven’t moved on. “What we have seen is incredible mismanagement, and it’s become the poster child for crony capitalism,” said Tennessee Republican Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn in an interview with Bloomberg last month. Performance tells a different story. Even after a handful of early bankruptcies, the program has so far seen a 98 percent success rate. And losses from those bankruptcies are only one-fifth the cost of what Congress appropriated when establishing the program. “The facts are clear, the results are i

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