Energy Gang

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 AgoScientific American: A Woman Warned GM about Warming, But Men Didn’t ListenGreentech Media: Arizona Regulators Pass Rule for 100% Clean Energy by 2050Smart Cities Dive: Mayors Unveil $60B Plan to Support Midwest Energy TransitionUniversity of Pittsburgh: Marshall Plan for Middle America RoadmapThe 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.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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 JobsBloomberg: Most U.S. Oil Job Losses in Pandemic Are LastingFortune: The Oil and Gas Industry Has Lost More Than 100,000 Jobs This YearNJ.com: Landmark Law to Protect N.J.'s Poorest Communities From PollutionDOE: U.S. Hydropower Potential from Existing Non-powered DamsThe 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. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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 capWall Street Journal: NextEra Energy Made Takeover Approach to Duke EnergyForeign Policy: Everything You Think About the Geopolitics of Climate Change is Wrong IRENA: A New World, The Geopolitics of the Energy TransformationMighty Earth: ArcelorMittal’s New Carbon-Neutral Commitment Could Catalyze SteelSSAB: “First in fossil-free steel using ‘Hybrit’ technology”Greentech Media: How to Slash the Industrial Emissions that are Heating the PlanetGreentech Media: The Building Industry Gets Serious About Embodied CarbonColumbia Center on Energy Policy : Low-carbon heat solutions for heavy industryA Matter of Degrees podcast with Leah Stokes and Katharine WilkinsonThe 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. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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 GoalL.A. Times: Newsom Orders 2035 Phaseout of Gas-Powered VehiclesAxios: Walmart Aims for Zero Greenhouse Gas Emissions by 2040GTM: 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. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.