With Great Power

Latest Episodes:

Supporting the next wave of climate tech startups Nov 14, 2023

Show notes

A wave of extreme weather this year has left Jim Kapsis questioning whether utilities are prepared for more frequent, intense weather events in the future.

There's a growing group of startups that are more than ready to provide solutions, but they've struggled to break into the space. They need help figuring out a business model that works in the unique market that is the utility industry.

Jim's response? A new company called the Ad Hoc Group, founded in 2016 with the goal of helping those newcomers succeed.

This week, Brad speaks with Jim Kapsis, CEO and founder of the Ad Hoc Group, about its extensive work helping climate tech startups navigate the highly regulated world of utilities.

This podcast is produced by GridX. GridX is the Enterprise Rate Platform that modern utilities rely on to usher in our clean energy future.

Bringing the electric co-op into the 21st century Oct 31, 2023

Show notes

Rappahannock Electric Cooperative recently received a $38 million grant through the Department of Energy's Grid Innovation and Partnership Program. The grant will fund a massive rollout of technologies that will serve as the backbone of the energy transition.

Peter Muhoro is one of the executives at REC that will oversee these projects. The money will be used to implement a new distributed energy resources management system, deploy smart meters, and install a fiber network. Since Peter is bullish on clean energy technology, he's making sure REC's long-term strategy is built around it.

This week, Brad speaks with Peter Muhoro, the chief strategy, technology, and innovation officer at Rappahannock Electric Cooperative, about why electric cooperatives need to evolve and how to bring that about.

This podcast is produced by GridX. GridX is the Enterprise Rate Platform that modern utilities rely on to usher in our clean energy future.

Plotting clean energy strategy for the corporate world Oct 17, 2023

Show notes

In 2016, Edison International was rethinking how to boost their efforts toward fighting climate change. As the parent company behind Southern California Edison, they were making strides in the power sector.

But Edison International wanted to tackle decarbonization in other sectors. So they added clean energy consulting into the mix with their new venture, Edison Energy.

This past summer, Drew Murphy decided to take the reins over at Edison Energy, managing risk and reaping rewards for those involved. With executive roles at NRG and Edison under his belt, and his work on energy project finance at law firm Hunton & Williams, Drew understands how to make big climate goals a reality.

This week, Brad speaks with Drew Murphy, CEO of Edison Energy, about how they help some of the world’s biggest companies form long-term clean energy plans.

This podcast is produced by GridX. GridX is the Enterprise Rate Platform that modern utilities rely on to usher in our clean energy future.

Making sure Chicago's energy transition works for all communities Oct 03, 2023

Show notes

In January, Illinois' largest utility released ComEd 2030 – their roadmap for providing clean power for more than 4 million customers.

For CEO Gil Quiniones and the company, that means hitting big marks like enabling almost 2 million EVs by 2030, $1 billion in energy assistance for customers, integrating DERs, and procuring more clean power.

If done right, ComEd's path would be a big win for the state's clean energy goals, and energy equity in the region.

Before joining the utility in 2021, Gil tackled problems of energy and sustainability in another major American city, New York. He served as a part of Mayor Bloomberg's administration working on clean energy and climate policy, and held roles at ConEd and New York Power Authority.

Now he's spearheading Chicago's energy transition, with an emphasis on equity for the city's underserved communities.

This week, Brad speaks with Gil Quiniones, CEO of ComEd, about taking into account customer affordability and equity as they move ahead with their low-carbon plan.

This podcast is produced by GridX. GridX is the Enterprise Rate Platform that modern utilities rely on to usher in our clean energy future.

How green hydrogen could be the go-to fuel for the energy transition Sep 19, 2023

Show notes

Renewables are having a moment. Wind and solar capacity in the US went up 13 gigawatts last year, now totaling more than 238 gigawatts nationwide. And last year's Inflation Reduction Act is helping to move the needle in a big way.

But there's a problem. For wind and solar to meet the demands of the energy transition, we need some way to store all those electrons for use during peak hours or when production is low.

It's something Janice Lin knew early on. When Janice and her colleagues researched what solution could fill that gap, one fuel stood out above all else: hydrogen.

Under the right circumstances green hydrogen, produced via electrolysis powered by renewables, could be the long-term storage solution the energy transition needs. Once produced, the gas could be stored and moved around like we do now with natural gas. But when burned for power or in industrial settings, it'd be much cleaner than any fossil fuel.

This week, Brad speaks with Janice Lin, founder and President of the Green Hydrogen Coalition and founder and CEO of Strategen, about increasing the scale and adoption of green hydrogen.

The push for long duration storage Sep 05, 2023

Show notes

America’s new renewable power capacity is expected to triple each year through 2030. To decarbonize the grid, there needs to be a way to store those clean electrons.

That’s where long duration energy storage (LDES) comes into play. These technologies can store energy for 12 hours, a full day, or even weeks at a time. Unfortunately, long duration storage is not widely used today.

Julia Souder is working to solve that problem. As the head of the Long Duration Energy Storage Council, her team is working with the Department of Energy to develop and deploy LDES.

But it will be a tough job. The goal is to deploy a gigawatt this year, but reach eight terawatts of capacity by 2040. That means cranking out 500 gigawatts annually for the remaining sixteen years.

This week Brad talks with Julia, CEO of the LDES Council about how they plan to meet these goals.

Preparing the grid for millions more electric cars Aug 22, 2023

Show notes

EVs are a huge piece of the decarbonization puzzle. But as Apoorv Bhargava realized over his career working in the power business, utilities across the country aren’t prepared for the cost of onboarding the millions of EVs needed on the road.

A 2019 report from Boston Consulting Group found that it could cost a utility that serves two to three million customers, anywhere between $1,700 to $5,800 in grid upgrades per EV.

Apoorv wants to avoid that. As CEO and co-founder of WeaveGrid, his team provides utilities with the software to connect and manage EVs, while getting more EVs on the grid by using data to anticipate demand in different areas.

After more than a decade working on the energy transition in different capacities, Apoorv combined his experience in tech, consulting, and business by launching WeaveGrid with co-founder John Taggart in 2018.

This week, Brad talked with Apoorv about how WeaveGrid's technology is built to serve the interest of customers and utilities alike, and the levers needed to spur change in the private sector.

This podcast is produced by GridX. GridX is the Enterprise Rate Platform that modern utilities rely on to usher in our clean energy future.

How LA is putting the public first in its energy transition Aug 08, 2023

Show notes

After the city of Los Angeles and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power asked NREL to help them figure out what would it take to get LA's entire grid running on 100% renewable energy by 2045, their study called the LA100 said it wasn't just possible to make the switch; it was possible to do it a decade sooner.

So LADWP changed their goal. Instead of converting the grid by 2045, they'd do it by 2035. The scale of that transition is immense. Almost 4 million residents live within the city limits. Pulling it off would make LADWP the largest municipal utility in the country to run on 100% renewable energy.

As director of power system planning at the utility, Jason Rondou and his team are tasked with figuring out how to deploy hundreds of gigawatts worth of wind, solar, and long term storage to meet the city's growing energy demands.

And if done right, the city's transition could create nearly 10,000 new jobs and bring in $60 to $90 billion of new investment for the city.

This week, Brad talked with Jason about the policies and programs LADWP is using to clean up the city's grid, and the ways that a public utility like theirs is uniquely suited to the challenge.

This podcast is produced by GridX. GridX is the Enterprise Rate Platform that modern utilities rely on to usher in our clean energy future.

How California’s worst wildfire rocked the power industry Jul 25, 2023

Show notes

The 2018 Camp fire was the most destructive wildfire in California's history. By the time the smoke cleared, more than 150,000 acres had burned. Damages surpassed $16 billion. Dozens had died. Thousands more were displaced. So how did it all happen?

The increasingly hot and dry conditions in the region coupled with the high Diablo winds turned the forest floor into a powder keg. Within hours, thousands of homes were destroyed in Butte County and the surrounding areas.

Katherine Blunt was just a few days into her new role as a reporter covering renewable energy and utilities for the Wall Street Journal when the fire blew up.

She chronicled how the blazed occurred and the aftermath for Pacific Gas & Electric — the utility whose equipment caused the fire — in her 2022 book “California Burning: The Fall of Pacific Gas and Electric and What it Means for America’s Power Grid.”

This week, Brad talks with Katherine about reporting on the Camp fire and its ramifications for the local community and PG&E, and what it all means for the utility industry.

This podcast is produced by GridX. GridX is the Enterprise Rate Platform that modern utilities rely on to usher in our clean energy future.

What other industries can teach utilities about innovation Jul 11, 2023

Show notes

A third of the world's largest companies now have net-zero targets in place for carbon emissions. Google was ahead of the curve. Back in 2007, it had already achieved its goal of going carbon neutral across all of its offices and data centers around the globe.

But as demand for Google's services expanded, it knew that it had to overhaul its energy goals. At the time, Raiford Smith served as Google's global head of energy and location strategy. And part of his job was jump-starting this massive effort.

In 2021, Google launched one of the most ambitious corporate energy strategies ever. And Raiford and his team made it possible.

After a career spanning more than 30 years at utilities like Duke Energy, CPS, Entergy, and Southern company, and two years at Google, Raiford knows firsthand that change is possible at power companies.

This week, Brad talked with Raiford, now the chief innovation officer at AES, about what's needed to spur tech innovation at utilities, and the technologies that will be integral to the energy transition.

This podcast is produced by GridX. GridX is the Enterprise Rate Platform that modern utilities rely on to usher in our clean energy future.

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected