Energy Gang
Wood Mackenzie
Covering breaking news in clean tech, going deep on global energy policy, and debating the levers that need to move to accelerate the energy transition. Energy Gang is the podcast covering clean energy technology, renewable energy, and the environment. The world of clean energy moves fast, and you need a reliable source to stay on top of the news that matters. You’ll find it on Wood Mackenzie’s Energy Gang.How will changes to the US government affect decarbonisation and energy security? When will hydrogen, nuclear and carbon capture deploy at scale? Where’s the money for the energy transition green finance coming from and how much more is needed? What’s the outlook for EVs? What are the energy predictions for solar energy? What's the latest on climate change?Get answers to questions like these, bi-weekly on Tuesdays at 7am ET. Plus, get special live episodes recorded at the biggest climate and energy events throughout the year, like COP30 and Climate Week NYC. Don’t worry if you can’t make it in person, Energy Gang brings you all the updates on energy policy, energy finance and energy innovation you need to hear.Energy Gang is presented by Wood Mackenzie and hosted by Ed Crooks, Vice-Chairman of Energy at Wood Mackenzie and a former Financial Times and BBC News journalist. Regular guests are Amy Myers-Jaffe (Director of NYU’s Energy, Climate Justice and Sustainability Lab), and Dr Melissa Lott (Partner at Microsoft) – plus a roster of industry leaders and policy influencers, like Jigar Shah (Industry figurehead and former director of the Loan Programs Office in the US Department of Energy), Caroline Golin (Head of North America, Global Energy Market Development and Policy at Google) and Ambassador Geoffrey Pyatt (Former Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources).If you like The Energy Transition Show, Catalyst with Shayle Kann, The Big Switch from Columbia University, Open Circuit with Stephen Lacey or The Green Blueprint, you’ll enjoy Energy Gang.Want to get involved with the show? Reach out to podcasts@woodmac.com to:Bring Energy Gang to your eventBe a guest on the showSponsor an episodeAsk a question to Ed Crooks or one of our guestsCheck out another leading clean tech global podcast by Wood Mackenzie, Interchange Recharged: https://www.woodmac.com/podcasts/the-interchange-recharged/Wood Mackenzie is the leading global data and analytics solutions provider for renewables, energy and natural resources. Learn more about Wood Mackenzie on the official website: https://www.woodmac.com/
Episodes
Mentioned books
Apr 27, 2018 • 48min
A New Era of Grid Planning: "Folks Are Frustrated"
Are we entering a new era of grid planning? In recent years, we've assumed that sweeping reforms are the best way to get distributed energy built. But in pockets of the country, a more localized approach to deploying these assets is taking hold – and it could be the sign of a much bigger shift to come.On this week's Energy Gang, we'll look at Washington, D.C.'s new proposal for an authority that would push PEPCO to consider distributed alternatives to infrastructure projects.Then, why is one of the most progressive utilities in the country slow in scaling distributed energy offerings? We'll look at the mixed experience of Green Mountain Power.Finally, we revisit Puerto Rico. The power is mostly back on, but hurricane season is approaching quickly. What comes next?Do you have a question you want us to answer? We want to hear from you. Record yourself on your phone asking the question in a quiet room and send us your voice memo to podcasts@greentechmedia.com. Maybe we'll answer it in an upcoming episode.The Energy Gang is brought to you by Sense. Sense installs in your home's electrical panel and provides insight into your energy use and home activity through iOS, Android and web apps. Find out more.Recommended reading:GTM Squared: A Radical Approach to Grid Edge Regulatory ReformGTM: Green Mountain Power’s Distributed Energy Business Isn’t Scaling Fast EnoughMicrogrid Knowledge: The Microgrids Worked as Puerto Rico’s Grid Went Down AgainReveal investigation of Tesla: The Hidden Problems of Silicon ValleySubscribe 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.
Apr 19, 2018 • 48min
Why SunPower Is Buying SolarWorld USA
SunPower couldn’t convince the Trump Administration to abandon tariffs on imported solar panels. So now it plans to buy one of the companies pushing tariffs in the first place.Yesterday, SunPower unveiled plans to acquire SolarWorld’s U.S. operations. Two months ago, CEO Tom Werner said SunPower was going to divest from America. But now he’s buying his way back in.In this week's episode, we'll explain how Trump's demands for tariffs are shifting the PV manufacturing landscape.Then, 173 countries agreed to cut emissions from the shipping sector by 2050. What are the technological solutions for a sector that could make up one-fifth of global emissions by the middle of the century?We'll end with the latest from Germany. Katherine was in the country getting an update on the closely scrutinized energy transition there — and we’ll get her take on where things stand.The Energy Gang is brought to you by Sense. Sense installs in your home's electrical panel and provides insight into your energy use and home activity through iOS, Android and web apps. Find out more.You can subscribe to Political Climate podcast via Apple Podcasts, Google Play and Stitcher. Recommended reading:GTM: SunPower CEO: SolarWorld Acquisition ‘Aligns Us’ With the Trump AdminGrist: The Shipping Industry Sets Sail Toward a Carbon-Free FutureAtlas of Germany's EnergiewiendeSubscribe 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.
Apr 13, 2018 • 40min
Statoil Bets on Floating Wind and Carbon Capture
Statoil is the largest operator of oil and gas rigs around the world. Consequently, the company's biggest low-carbon investments are offshore: floating wind farms and distributed carbon capture and storage.This week, we're talking to Stephen Bull, the VP in charge of Statoil's low-carbon business, about where he sees the most potential. We'll talk to him about the performance of floating wind, the economics of CCS, and whether oil companies are investing enough in their new energy divisions.We'll spend the second half of the show talking about two days of debate in Washington over the future of technology. No, it wasn't Mark Zuckerberg's hearing on Capitol Hill. It was a conference at FERC, where regulators are trying to figure out how to integrate distributed resources into wholesale markets. What did they accomplish? What does it portend for the future of distributed energy?The Energy Gang is brought to you by Sense. Sense installs in your home's electrical panel and provides insight into your energy use and home activity through iOS, Android and web apps. Find out more.Recommended reading:GTM: Statoil Plans to Integrate Battery Storage With Floating Offshore WindGTM: World’s First Floating Offshore Wind Farm Achieves 65% Capacity Factor After 3 MonthsGas Strategies: Carbon Capture & Storage Key to Delivering on the Paris AgreementGTM: Utilities, Grid Operators Tell FERC They Need Real-Time Data to Better Manage DERsSubscribe 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.
Apr 5, 2018 • 49min
Reality Check? Global Fossil Fuel Consumption Grows
After a multi-year decline, global carbon emissions are on the upswing.The International Energy Agency now says that emissions grew in 2017 -- caused by an increase oil, natural gas and coal demand. Nearly three-quarters of new energy demand across the globe was served by fossil fuels.At the same time, America saw another yearly drop in carbon emissions, which IEA says was assisted by renewables. But with more and more carbon-free nuclear plants slated for closure across the U.S., many worry the trend will end.In this week's Energy Gang, we'll look at trends in global energy demand. We'll also look to the situation in the U.S., where concerns about losing nuclear are growing.Then, we'll talk about FirstEnergy Solutions' bankruptcy. Could the company find a way to save its nuclear plants by compromising with renewables advocates? Finally, EPA chief Scott Pruitt is cutting back on Obama-era fuel efficiency standards. We’ll explore the consequences. Are CAFE standards even the right policy?The Energy Gang is brought to you by Sense. Sense installs in your home's electrical panel and provides insight into your energy use and home activity through our iOS, Android, and web apps. Find out more.Recommended reading:EIA: Global Energy and CO2 Status ReportThird Way: How Nuclear Retirements Might Undermine Clean Power Plan ProgressGTM: FirstEnergy Seeks Bankruptcy Protection for Ailing Coal and Nuclear SubsidiariesGTM: California Girds for Battle as EPA Rules to Weaken Vehicle Emissions StandardsR Street Institute: Replacing Fuel-Economy Rules With Clean Tax CutsSubscribe 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.
Mar 29, 2018 • 36min
Trouble at Silicon Valley Car Companies
It’s been a bad couple of weeks for two of Silicon Valley’s top car companies.After a pedestrian was killed by one of Uber’s autonomous cars in Arizona, the company’s AV operations were suspended. Other driverless car companies are now weighing the consequences to the technology, and regulators are asking if we need to slow down real-world testing.Tesla is dealing with two crashes of its own. The crash of a Model X is raising questions about autopilot mode, and its stock has crashed 25 percent this month as investors worry about Model 3 delivery problems.We'll look at the latest for Uber and Tesla in this week's episode.Then, we'll return to Washington. It was also a bad week for Trump, who didn’t get his cuts to energy programs in the latest federal budget. We’ll look at why the GOP is so out of step with the White House on clean energy cuts.This podcast is brought to you by CPower Energy Management. Find out more about CPower's demand-side energy management solutions.Recommended reading:GTM: Arizona Suspends Uber’s Autonomous Cars After a Death. What’s Next for Driverless Cars?GTM: Tesla Hit by Executive Churn, Model 3 Quality ConcernsGTM: The President’s Own Party Still Doesn’t Back His Attempts to Dismantle Clean EnergySubscribe 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.
Mar 26, 2018 • 56min
The SunEdison Origin Story
In the early 2000s, investors weren't very interested in SunEdison's business plan to finance solar with power purchase agreements."No one wanted to hear about physical infrastructure," said Jigar Shah, who drafted the business plan and co-founded the company.It took until 2006 to raise venture capital. But soon after, PPA customers started rolling in: Staples, Ikea, then Whole Foods."It was an idea who's time had come," said Shah. The PPA is now the backbone of solar.In this week's edition of the live podcast series Watt It Takes, Shah sits down with Powerhouse CEO Emily Kirsch to discuss his career in solar -- from Astropower to the Department of Energy to BP Solar and, eventually, to founding (and leaving) SunEdison.Jigar talks about why he left SunEdison, why he thinks Goldman Sachs was a terrible board member, and why cleantech entrepreneurs are taking really dumb money.Watt It Takes is a live interview series produced by Powerhouse in partnership with GTM. The conversation was recorded live in Oakland, California.This podcast is brought to you by CPower Energy Management. Find out more about CPower's demand-side energy management solutions.Listen to our other episodes 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 King Midas of SolarA History of Greentech Media With Scott ClavennaSungage's Sara Ross on Starting a Solar Loan CompanyLike our shows? Make sure to give The Interchange and The Energy Gang a rating and review on Apple podcasts. And make sure to subscribe to both shows on Apple podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher, or anywhere you get your podcasts.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Mar 16, 2018 • 59min
EVs, AVs and Sharing: Don't Screw Up the Transportation Revolution
There are three forces coming together in the transportation sector: vehicle autonomy, vehicle sharing, and vehicle electrification.On their own, app-based sharing and electric vehicles are powerful agents of change. Together with automation, "they're revolutionary," argues Dr. Dan Sperling, author of a new book on the subject."It will change our lifestyles, it'll change the automobile industry, it'll change land use and cities, it'll change energy," he explains on this week's podcast.Sperling is the author of Three Revolutions: Steering Automated, Shared, and Electric Vehicles to a Better Future. He joins us on The Energy Gang for a conversation about whether these revolutions will reinvent -- or ruin -- the way we get around.In the second half of the show, we'll talk about the continued realignment of global energy giants. We’ll run through some of the recent strategy shifts at the world’s top energy companies as they grapple with the clean energy, customer-centric transition.This podcast is brought to you by CPower Energy Management. Find out more about CPower's demand-side energy management solutions.Recommended reading:Amazon: Three Revolutions -- Steering Automated, Shared, and Electric Vehicles to a Better Future.Bloomberg: Only Carpools Can Keep the Driverless Future From Becoming a NightmareGTM: Statoil Is Now Equinor, in a Rebrand for the Energy TransitionGTM: E.ON and RWE Merger to Create New European Giants in Renewables and Retail EnergyGTM: Engie Advances ‘Energy Transition’ Plan With Major Stake in Electro Power SystemsSubscribe 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.
Mar 6, 2018 • 38min
What Utilities Can Learn From Amazon [Original Content From Tendril]
Amazon's analytical approach to understanding the customer allowed it to move beyond books and dominate the retail space. Entire industries are getting upended and transformed as a result.This story about disruption is a familiar one. We’ve seen how it plays time and time again – and it’s not pretty for the incumbents who fail to catch up with technology. It's a compelling narrative in the utility space, where we are smack in the middle of an Amazon moment. Electricity consumers want choice. They respond to personalization. And there’s a new generation of technology providers who think they can give consumers what they want – better than traditional brick and mortar utilities.And that’s why Tendril CEO Adrian Tuck sees the importance of talking about Amazon as a model.“How did they go from one thing to this broad level of disruption? They massively focused on the customer and what the customer wants. They looked at every piece of the chain and they tried to make everything easier for the customer. They’re really looking at all those pieces and innovated rapidly to make the buying experience compelling and simple to use," said Tuck.In this podcast, we'll talk with Tuck about the future of data acquisition, personalization, demand-side management and utility business models. Recommended reading:Tendril e-book: The Amazon Effect: Energy in the On Demand Era and What It Means for UtilitiesGTM: Utilities Have the Tools to Unleash the Power of CustomersThis podcast is brought to you by Tendril, the industry’s leading DSM data analytics software provider. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Mar 1, 2018 • 49min
The Coal Boss, the Comedian and the Squirrel
Last June, comedian John Oliver devoted a long segment to the struggling coal industry on his HBO show Last Week Tonight. He turned his attention to Robert Murray, the CEO of Murray Energy, one of the most bombastic advocates of coal. And then Murray sued Oliver for defamation.That defamation lawsuit was thrown out by a judge last week. But the saga tells us a lot about Robert Murray, one of the most influential figures behind the Trump Administration's coal policies.In this week's episode, we'll discuss Murray's approach to promoting coal and silencing critics.Then, a look at some new documents from the Seminar Network, a group created by Charles and David Koch, claiming big wins on killing climate policy. The group is planning to spend up to $400 million on mid-term elections. We'll talk about how the Kochs killed America's climate conversation over the last decade.Finally, Trump is now claiming he saved the solar industry with tariffs. We discuss the truth. This podcast is brought to you by CPower Energy Management. Find out more about CPower's demand-side energy management solutions.Recommended reading:The Times-Picayune: How John Oliver and a Giant Squirrel Had Their Day in Court -- and WonNew York Times: How a Coal Baron’s Wish List Became President Trump’s To-Do ListThe Intercept: Koch Document Reveals Laundry List of Policy VictoriesGTM: Trump Claims Solar Tariffs Are ‘Reopening Plants.’ They’re NotSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Feb 23, 2018 • 47min
A Historic Moment for Energy Storage
If storage is the Swiss Army Knife of the electric grid, then U.S. energy regulators are breaking out their tool belts.Last week brought a historic ruling at FERC. Commissioners told regional grid operators to create rules valuing the grid services of energy storage. Will it screw natural gas peakers – or maybe cut, saw, file, prune, hook, or crimp them?Later in the podcast, an infrastructure redux. The White House’s infrastructure plan is out. When it comes to energy, the Trump Administration is making pipelines a priority, and largely bypassing clean energy.We’re heading down to Mexico for our final segment. GTM was there for our solar summit last week, and we’ll share a bit of insight into the forces behind one of the hottest -- and cheapest -- solar markets in the world.This podcast is brought to you by CPower Energy Management. Find out more about CPower's demand-side energy management solutions.Recommended reading:GTM: FERC Allows Energy Storage to Play in Nationwide Wholesale MarketsFERC: Final Rule on Electric Storage Participation in Regional MarketsGTM: The Trump Infrastructure Plan Is ‘a Big Nothing Burger’ for Clean EnergyWaPo: Trump's Infrastructure Plan Would Make It Harder to Challenge PipelinesGTM: Mexico’s Solar Market Is Booming, but Still Has Key Hurdles to ClearSubscribe 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.
