Energy Gang

President Bidens Climate agenda has been reformed, and with the Build Back Better Act in a stalemate, should Americans give up hope on expecting anything to come of it?To discuss this and more, Ed Crooks is joined on the show this week by returning guest Dr. Melissa Lott from Columbia University, and Robbie Orvis from Energy Innovation, who makes his Energy Gang debut. The Build Back Better Act is up first. There’s a glimmer of hope on the horizon for the climate policies within the climate package. How much of the package will be saved and is there anything in it that’s different from before? Next, the gang looks at EVs. With the lack of federal climate action, states have now taken it upon themselves to make some policy changes within their own borders. New York, New Jersey, and Oregon all have taken the initiative within the past few months by pushing for cleaner energy and policies that could help with EV demand. Is this the natural evolution of policymaking when the “trickle-down effect” halts progress? Also, the team discusses the growing problems that clean energy is currently facing. The cost of inputs, battery raw materials, and the waste created by clean energy equipment including solar panels, wind turbines, and electric cars when they come to the end of their useful lives are causing issues. Can recycling be the solution or part of the answer at least? What does lithium-ion battery recycling look like? Who is currently recycling old EV batteries? The free electrons are super charged this week. Ed wonders why festival owners are turning down a possible renewable energy project, Melissa wants to talk carbon-free beef, and Robbie’s been exploring the most overlooked parts when buying a hybrid car – chip shortages are throwing a spanner in the works.The Energy Gang is brought to you by EPC Power.EPC Power manufactures self-developed energy storage smart inverters made in their American factories with gigawatt level capacity. Visit www.epcpower.com/energygang to learn more about their utility scale and C&I product lines and schedule a call to learn how they can help you power your energy storage projects! EPC Power – Excellence in Power Conversion.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

It’s the first Energy Gang of the year. Ed Crooks is joined by Emily Chasan of Generate Capital and Amy Harder, formerly of the Wall Street Journal and Axios, now at Breakthrough Energy, which is the net-zero initiative founded by Bill Gates - find out more here: Cipher: Overview | LinkedIn - who joins the gang for the first time to kick off 2022 with a bang.With air travel over the holiday season bouncing back – despite the Omicron variant – what are the best prospects for taking the emissions out of aviation? In the US, in mid-December, more than two million people per day were passing through the TSA’s checkpoints. That is still significantly below pre-pandemic levels, but it is roughly double the numbers in the same period of 2020. Even with the pandemic still raging, people want to fly. That is a real problem for getting to net zero. Aviation emissions are small, accounting for a little under 2% of total global greenhouse gas emissions, but their share is rising. Sustainable aviation fuel and electric planes, are they are viable solution yet?Also, VC and private equity investment into clean tech is booming. About 60 billion dollars was invested in by venture capital and private equity into climate tech in the first half of 2021, according to a recent survey from professional services firm PwC. That’s almost triple the 28 billion that was invested in the first half of 2020.About 14% of all VC financing is now going to climate tech. Is investment going to the right technologies?And finally, one of the ideas that is being developed to make sure capital flows into the right activities is EU’s Green Taxonomy. It’s a list of environmentally sustainable economic activities, to give companies, investors and policymakers definitions for which economic activities can be treated as environmentally sustainable, and which can’t. The gang examine the plans; is it a sensible strategy? Is the EU setting a path others might follow?There has been a huge amount of discussion in the past couple of weeks about the Netflix film Don’t Look Up: a rare example of Hollywood giving a big-budget big-star treatment to a movie about climate change. It deserves some scrutiny, so to wrap up the show Ed, Emily and Amy give their opinions on the film and argue its effectiveness at raising awareness for climate change.The Energy Gang is brought to you by EPC Power.EPC Power manufactures self-developed energy storage smart inverters made in their American factories with gigawatt level capacity. Visit www.epcpower.com/energygang to learn more about their utility scale and C&I product lines and schedule a call to learn how they can help you power your energy storage projects! EPC Power – Excellence in Power Conversion.      See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Achieving net zero emissions requires collaboration from a multitude of government organizations and businesses.For a country the size of Australia, 24% of electricity coming from renewables is a huge accomplishment. But it does not come easy. Australia has two large interconnected energy networks, the National Electricity Market along the East Coast, with demand of 30-35 GW, and the Western Australia Electricity Market, with demand between 2-3 GW. Both networks are receiving a huge update of distributed solar which means the amount of energy generated by renewables is constantly increasing.Hitachi Energy, a longtime partner of The Energy Gang has played an integral role in helping Australia to achieve this, and on today’s episode, Ed Crooks is joined by two key representatives from Hitachi Energy, to discuss their work in Australia and examine some of the lessons that other countries can learn from Australia’s experience.Juergen Zimmerman is Business Development and Technology Manager for Hitachi Energy, based in Darwin, Australia.John Glassmire is Senior Advisor for Grid Edge Solutions, also at Hitachi Energy and based in Seattle.This episode was produced in collaboration with Hitachi Energy. Hitachi is helping to accelerate the energy transition by developing digital and energy platforms, helping customers to overcome the complexity and capacity challenges required to transition towards a carbon-neutral energy system. Get access to the on-demand webinars on Grid Edge Solutions here: https://bit.ly/3zPBh8aSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

It’s a special edition of the Energy Gang this week, with the last episode of 2021 recorded for Wood Mackenzie’s Grid Edge Innovation series. Ed is joined by Emily Chasan from Generate Capital and Amy Myers-Jaffe from Tufts University, to look at how smart devices are changing energy retailing, and the role of SPACs in financing clean energy deployment. The gang wraps up 2021 with their top 5 stories in energy for the year, looking back on the success of investment company Engine No.1, developments in energy storage, green stimulus in Europe and more.The Energy Gang is brought to you by Bloom Energy. Bloom’s onsite energy platform provides unparalleled control for those looking to secure clean, reliable 24/7 power that scales to meet critical business needs. It eliminates outage and price risk while accelerating us towards a zero carbon future. Visit Bloom Energy to learn how to take charge today.The Energy Gang is brought to you by Hitachi Energy. What does your energy future look like? Look to Hitachi Energy for the advanced energy technologies needed to deliver real outcomes — unlocking new revenue streams, maximizing renewable integration, and lowering carbon emissions. Learn more.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Zero-emission, low-cost electricity, delivered to the grid from natural-gas fuelled technology. A wright-brothers first flight kind of breakthrough in energy? The gang discuss the possibilities and scalability of NET Powers Technology, a Texas-based energy company who’ve made this exact claim. Ed is joined as usual by Melissa Lott from Columbia University, and Emily Chasan from Generate Capital.The other big story of the week was the collapse of British energy provider Bulb, the 6th largest provider in the country and an issue that has impacted some 2 million customers. Could the same thing happen in the US? Within those talks, the pros and cons of carbon capture technology are explored, and if the Biden administration made the right decision to release 50 million barrels of petroleum from the SPR to help ease the heightened holiday energy demand. The gang leaves you with some holiday-season free electrons, including a cracking joke from Ed, and find out why climate change is affecting Canada’s maple syrup production.The Energy Gang is brought to you by Bloom Energy. Bloom’s onsite energy platform provides unparalleled control for those looking to secure clean, reliable 24/7 power that scales to meet critical business needs. It eliminates outage and price risk while accelerating us towards a zero carbon future. Visit Bloom Energy to learn how to take charge today.The Energy Gang is brought to you by Hitachi Energy. What does your energy future look like? Look to Hitachi Energy for the advanced energy technologies needed to deliver real outcomes — unlocking new revenue streams, maximizing renewable integration, and lowering carbon emissions. Learn more.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The COP26 circus has left town. Across 2 weeks of talks in Glasgow, what were the successes, and what were the failures? With current commitments putting the world on track to 2.4°C of warming, the cost of inaction on climate and health will vastly outweigh the costs of acting now, so which countries are snapping into action?Host Ed Crooks is joined by regular Melissa Lott, Director of Research at the Centre on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University, and Amy Myers-Jaffe, Managing Director of the Climate Policy Lab, at the Fletcher School at Tufts University, to give the final verdict. Also in the show, the gang looks at innovations in technology in carbon capture and storage; President Biden’s infrastructure bill proposes big commitments on CCS, what do these look like? Plus, nuclear and hydrogen technologies, which could play a huge role in the energy transition, go under the microscope. The Energy Gang is brought to you by Bloom Energy. Bloom’s onsite energy platform provides unparalleled control for those looking to secure clean, reliable 24/7 power that scales to meet critical business needs. It eliminates outage and price risk while accelerating us towards a zero carbon future. Visit Bloom Energy to learn how to take charge today.The Energy Gang is brought to you by Hitachi Energy. What does your energy future look like? Look to Hitachi Energy for the advanced energy technologies needed to deliver real outcomes — unlocking new revenue streams, maximizing renewable integration, and lowering carbon emissions. Learn more.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

COP26 is under way in Glasgow. It has been billed as the “last best hope for the world to get its act together” on climate change, but what is the real significance of the talks? Host Ed Crooks is joined by new regular co-host of the Energy Gang Melissa Lott, Director of Research at the Centre on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University, to discuss the key issues and outcomes of the conference. Also joining for this episode is Emily Chasan, Director of Communications at Generate Capital, and former Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg journalist. What needs to happen at COP26 for it to be counted as a success? The UN Environment Program noted in its new Emissions Gap 2021 report last week: “As a group, G20 members are not on track to achieve either their original or new 2030 pledges. Ten G20 members are on track to achieve their previous NDCs, while seven are off track.” In this episode, the gang will explore the pledges made at previous conferences, as well as the new ones, and discuss whether they can lead to meaningful change in the global energy system. In the second half of the show: soaring prices for gas, coal and electricity since the summer have raised questions about energy access, poverty and international equity: how can the world address these issues at COP26 and beyond?The Energy Gang is brought to you by Bloom Energy. Bloom’s onsite energy platform provides unparalleled control for those looking to secure clean, reliable 24/7 power that scales to meet critical business needs. It eliminates outage and price risk while accelerating us towards a zero carbon future. Visit Bloom Energy to learn how to take charge today.The Energy Gang is brought to you by Hitachi Energy. What does your energy future look like? Look to Hitachi Energy for the advanced energy technologies needed to deliver real outcomes — unlocking new revenue streams, maximizing renewable integration, and lowering carbon emissions. Learn more.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Some news for this podcast: Ed Crooks, VP of the Americas for Wood Mackenzie, will be taking over the show as our new host.Co-hosts Katherine Hamilton and Stephen Lacey will be moving on. Wood Mackenzie will be producing the podcast from now on, bringing on a range of new voices to join the gang.We discuss the transition in the first half of the episode. Later in the show, Katherine, Stephen and Ed explore the range of expectations for global climate talks in Glasgow. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The U.S. Department of Energy is crucial for funding, researching, and testing emerging energy tech.Now, in the Biden era, the agency is orienting itself toward deployment. How difficult is that transition?Our former co-host Jigar Shah joins Stephen, Katherine, and Ed to discuss his experience running the Energy Department’s loan programs office.In March, Jigar left his position at Generate Capital (and this podcast) to head into government service and run the loan programs office. Jigar has $40 billion in authority to back a wide range of climate technologies -- and he’s been working on the first round of investments with those dollars.In the second half of the show: a surprising twist in the global clean-energy transition. How much trouble will energy price inflation cause around the world?The Energy Gang is brought to you by Bloom Energy. Bloom’s onsite energy platform provides unparalleled control for those looking to secure clean, reliable 24/7 power that scales to meet critical business needs. It eliminates outage and price risk while accelerating us towards a zero carbon future. Visit Bloom Energy to learn how to take charge today.The Energy Gang is brought to you by Hitachi Energy. What does your energy future look like? Look to Hitachi Energy for the advanced energy technologies needed to deliver real outcomes — unlocking new revenue streams, maximizing renewable integration, and lowering carbon emissions. Learn more.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

EIA and IEA are out with projections for emissions and fossil fuel consumption. And they don’t look good. On our current policy trajectory, there is no peak in sight, according to EIA By 2050, we will likely see a 50% increase in energy consumption. And even though renewables will be the fastest-growing new source of energy, hydrocarbon liquid fuels will meet the majority of demand.That means emissions could rise through 2050, absent massive changes to policy.In July, the International Energy Agency issued a similar analysis showing that carbon emissions will hit record levels in the coming years. And that spending packages around the world — even at historic levels — are still not enough. How do we make sense of this sobering analysis?Plus, Wood Mackenzie is out with a new analysis of global energy storage trends, showing that storage deployments are set to triple this year. Most of that growth is coming from America and China, which account for 70% of installations. What are the applications, technologies and markets that will dominate this growth?Finally, Europe is in a crisis headed into winter. Natural gas is the second-most confused fuel in Europe — and prices are 6 times higher than they were in the spring.A confluence of factors — rapidly rising demand all at once, lower production than expected from Russia, low storage in Europe, lower-than-expected hydro and wind production — are contributing to the problem. What could alleviate the crisis? And does this put strain on Europe’s climate ambitions headed into COP26?The Energy Gang is brought to you by Bloom Energy. Bloom’s onsite energy platform provides unparalleled control for those looking to secure clean, reliable 24/7 power that scales to meet critical business needs. It eliminates outage and price risk while accelerating us towards a zero carbon future. Visit Bloom Energy to learn how to take charge today.The Energy Gang is brought to you by Hitachi Energy. What does your energy future look like? Look to Hitachi Energy for the advanced energy technologies needed to deliver real outcomes — unlocking new revenue streams, maximizing renewable integration, and lowering carbon emissions. Learn more.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.