Energy Gang

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

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

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/listening:Axios: The Financial Meltdown's Green AftermathThis American Life: The Giant Pool of Money (Stephen's free electron pick)Power Magazine: U.S. Biomass Power, Dampened by Market Forces, Fights to Stay AblazeBloomberg: Trudeau Imposes Carbon Tax, With Rebates, on Four ProvincesCheck out more energy-themed Halloween costume ideas on twitter.Subscribe to The Energy Gang podcast via Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher or wherever you find your audio content.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 White House abandons a plan to save coal plants. Did Trump read the IPCC’s latest report and have a change of heart? Turns out, the legally-flimsy effort caved under its own weight. We’ll explain.Then, failing Brexit talks weigh heavily on energy companies in the UK. If a deal can’t be struck with the EU, what will happen to energy markets?Finally, Illinois came out of nowhere with an ambitious community solar program. But it’s gone nowhere. What happened?Recommended reading:Politico: Rick Perry’s Coal Rescue Runs Aground at White HouseBloomberg: Report Debunking Trump’s Coal Plan Is Under Review, Administration SaysGTM: No-Deal Brexit Leaves Renewables ExposedGTM: Inside the ‘Chaos’ Enveloping Illinois’ Distributed Solar MarketSubscribe to The Energy Gang podcast via Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher or wherever you find your audio content.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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

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

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

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 DevelopmentGTM: Clean Energy Players Weather FlorenceForbes: Hurricane Florence Brings The Issue Of Coal Ash Back To The SurfaceGTM: Residential Storage Has Jumped Ahead. Can Utilities Keep Up?Bloomberg: Saudi Wealth Fund to Invest $1 Billion in Tesla's Rival LucidVox: The Public Wants 100% Renewable Energy, and QuickSubscribe to The Energy Gang podcast via Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher or wherever you find your audio content.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: 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:Nancy Pfund’s Pro Tips for Getting Started in CleantechSunPower Founder Dick Swanson’s Guide to Launching a Cleantech StartupLessons From the Fall of SungevityDan Shugar, the K​ing Midas of SolarA History of Greentech Media With Scott ClavennaSungage's Sara Ross on Starting a Solar Loan CompanyJigar Shah on the Origin Story of SunEdisonThe Origin Story of Mosaic With Billy ParishHow Roboticist Leila Madrone Built the Air-Based Solar Tracker Firm SunfoldingThe Death-Defying Reinvention of Advanced Microgrid SolutionsAssessing the Promise of Electric Buses With Proterra CEO Ryan PoppleSubscribe to The Energy Gang podcast via Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher or wherever you find your audio content.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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/listening:Political Climate: Taking 100% Clean Energy From ‘Radical’ to ‘Political Reality’New York Times: The Next Financial Crisis Lurks UndergroundGTM: Battery Markets and Metals Markets Have Officially CollidedThe 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.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.