Energy Gang

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.

This week, we're using an entire episode to discuss an ambitious piece of reporting on climate change. Earlier this month, the New York Times Magazine devoted an entire issue to a specific period of time in modern history: 1979 and 1989.It was a time when we first reckoned with the impact of climate change — a period of great awakening in science, politics and industry to the threat of greenhouse gases.As we’re painfully aware, that awakening didn’t turn into action. The 31,000-word piece weaves together a narrative to help explain why — when everyone seemed to be on the same page about the threat — we failed.We talk with Author Nathaniel Rich about the reason he wrote the piece, detail some of the most important moments during the decade, and address criticisms.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: The Decade We Almost Stopped Climate ChangeAtlantic: The Problem With The New York Times’ Big Story on Climate ChangeGuardian: 30 Years on, World Is Failing 'Miserably’ to Address Climate ChangeSubscribe 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 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.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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 GoingNew York Times: Tesla Directors, in Damage Control Mode, Want Elon Musk to Stop TweetingGTM: A Timeline of Tesla's Privatization SagaGTM: 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.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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

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