Energy Gang

Wood Mackenzie

Episodes

Mentioned books

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Mar 23, 2017 • 54min

Coal Is Losing

The headwinds for coal are coming from every direction. Since 2010, More than 250 coal plants in America have been shuttered, or are set to close. Meanwhile, in the most energy-hungry regions of the world, thousands of megawatts of new coal plants have been halted. This week, we’re covering the struggles of coal from a few different angles. First, the steady drumbeat of plant closures in the U.S. What has caused them, and what comes next? We’ll talk about the just-announced closure of the Navajo Generating Station -- the biggest coal plant in the West -- and why it encompasses all the complicated factors around the transition away from coal. Then, a clean coal redux. As billions of dollars in cost overruns mount at America’s first commercial carbon-capture plant, the coal industry looks to the White House for more support. And finally, the international picture. Coal is still the dominant source of generation around the world, but new build-outs are slowing in key countries. Can we say that peak coal has arrived? Our guest co-host this week is Mary Anne Hitt, the director of the Sierra Club's Beyond Coal Campaign. She also co-hosts a climate podcast called No Place Like Home. This podcast is sponsored by KACO New Energy, a leading solar inverter company with superior engineering and unmatched customer service: http://kaco-newenergy.com/ See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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Mar 16, 2017 • 48min

An Uncertain Future for Electric Cars in America

America's electric car market is entering an uncertain period. States are rolling back their support for EVs, the federal government is revisiting fuel standards designed to support EVs, and consumers are still not electric in the numbers that many people assumed. At the same time, however, many automakers are moving ahead with new models, giving consumers more choices. Will drivers increasingly choose electric? Or will lagging policy hurt the market? We'll discuss on this week's podcast. In the second segment, we'll talk about the official White House budget released this week. Plus, we’ll talk about Trump’s business advisory council, which is filled with some of the biggest renewable energy investors in the world. Finally, can Elon Musk fix South Australia’s energy crisis? This podcast is sponsored by KACO New Energy, a leading solar inverter company with superior engineering and unmatched customer service: http://kaco-newenergy.com/ See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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Mar 9, 2017 • 55min

Week 7: Trump Dumps the Environment

We’re on week seven of the Trump Presidency. In the months since the election, we've been stalwart in our view that things are not as bad as they seem -- despite the contradictions and confrontations, clean energy will emerge largely unscathed. That may be true. But it’s also impossible to ignore how quickly Trump’s team has worked to unwind the country’s environmental policy. As more details emerge, it’s becoming clear that the White House is not interested in a traditional conservative approach to environmental protection or a thoughtful redesign of top-down regulations -- it is intent on burning them to the ground. In this week's show, we'll talk about the impending reversal of climate regulations, new staff changes, and across-the-board budget cuts. And then we’re going to shift over to some bellwether business activity in the solar industry. What does AES’ acquisition of sPower say about the health of America’s utility-scale solar sector? We’ll end with a discussion about why electricity prices in Ontario, Canada have skyrocketed. Who’s to blame? This podcast is sponsored by KACO New Energy, a leading solar inverter company with superior engineering and unmatched customer service. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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Mar 2, 2017 • 43min

Cleantech Career Advice

There are now more than 100,000 people working in the clean energy sector across Massachusetts. What is the state doing right? This week, we're talking about workforce development in cleantech. In recent months, we've seen a sharp increase in requests from listeners asking for advice on job opportunities in cleantech. There are also many educators or economic development experts trying to stay head of the curve. If this industry becomes as big as everyone says it will be, how can local economies reap the benefit? This subject is particularly relevant at a time when everyone is talking about the future of work. We are in the middle of the most dramatic economic transitions in history. The forces of globalization, automation and consumer tech are shattering traditional notions of work. In parallel, cleantech and other distributed technologies are changing what it means to work in energy. This week, we sit down with Tamika Jacques, the director of workforce development at the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center. We’ll answer some common career questions, and look at what it takes to build a cleantech jobs strategy in a state or region. This podcast is sponsored by KACO New Energy, a leading solar inverter company with superior engineering and unmatched customer service: http://kaco-newenergy.com/ Below are some career resources mentioned by Jacques on the podcast: MassCEC jobs board: www.masscec.com/jobs Clean Energy Education website: http://cleanenergyeducation.org/ New England Clean Energy Council: http://www.necec.org/ Greentown Labs events calendar: https://www.greentownlabs.com/events See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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Mar 1, 2017 • 25min

Is Retail Electricity Choice Coming to California?

As if California's electric grid isn't already changing fast enough, the state's leading regulator says it's probably time to change even faster. In an interview on this week's Interchange podcast, Michael Picker, president of the California Public Utilities Commission, said that he believes the state should consider liberalizing its retail electricity market in order to broaden customer choice. While listening, make sure to sign up for GTM's event, California's Distributed Energy Future. Commissioner Picker will be there to elaborate more on retail choice. Interchange listeners get 15% off. Just use the promo code INTERCHANGE when checking out: http://bit.ly/2lzw4dD See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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Feb 23, 2017 • 49min

What's in Scott Pruitt's Emails?

The scope of the Environmental Protection Agency expanded dramatically under President Obama. Now under President Trump and new administrator Scott Pruitt, the agency is likely to be scaled way back. How far back? No one knows. But there are a lot of clues – including 7,500 pages of Pruitt’s emails. This week, while Pruitt started his job as America’s top environmental cop, his past emails as Oklahoma Attorney General were released on court order. And they provide a window into how he’ll manage the agency he has spent so long attacking over his career. Climatewire reporter Emily Holden joins us to talk about the emails, Pruitt's approach to running the EPA, and the future of the Clean Power Plan. Then, autonomy is taking hold in the oil and gas sector, destroying tens of thousands of jobs. Will robots kill jobs in cleantech too? Read the NY Times story here: http://nyti.ms/2lewyWC This podcast is sponsored by KACO New Energy, a leading solar inverter company with superior engineering and unmatched customer service: http://kaco-newenergy.com/ See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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Feb 16, 2017 • 42min

A Republican Carbon Tax?

Last week, a group of highly respected Republicans released a plan for a $40-per-ton carbon tax on point-of-source emissions from coal, oil and gas. Why now? With a Republican White House and Congress, they argued, now is the perfect time to show America that conservatives have better ideas than the command-and-control Democrats who are only interested in more regulation as a solution to climate change. A steadily-rising carbon tax is the most economically efficient way of dealing with carbon pollution. But it certainly doesn’t play well in American politics. And now that Republicans have control of Congress and the White House, they have little incentive to trade a carbon tax for an end to regulations. Still, some are hopeful that grassroots supporters, prominent Republicans and even officials like Rex Tillerson can help shape President Trump's mind on a carbon price. On this week's show, we'll look at what it would take to move carbon pricing forward. Then, there’s a growing movement to get scientists running for office. Should clean energy professionals also consider public office? Finally, remembering Art Rosenfeld, the godfather of energy efficiency. This podcast is sponsored by KACO New Energy, a leading solar inverter company with superior engineering and unmatched customer service: http://kaco-newenergy.com/ See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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Feb 10, 2017 • 59min

Will Electric Buses Take Over the Transit World?

By 2020, one-third of new fleet bus purchases will be electric. By 2025, electric buses will make up half of new sales to transit agencies. By 2030, every single transit bus sold will run on electricity. That's what Ryan Popple, the CEO of electric bus manufacturer Proterra, believes will happen. And there's plenty of evidence that the shift is underway, even if the current fleet is mostly diesel and compressed natural gas. In this week's podcast, we'll talk with Popple about his plan to kick combustion engines out of transit. We'll also talk about his career path that brought him from the Army to Tesla to venture capital, and eventually to Proterra. Then, renewables are becoming the “new normal” in the U.S. We will glimpse at two important reports on solar jobs and the American energy economy that put the current clean energy boom in perspective. This podcast is sponsored by KACO New Energy, a leading solar inverter company with superior engineering and unmatched customer service: http://kaco-newenergy.com/ See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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Feb 4, 2017 • 1h 13min

Making Sense of Donald Trump

This week, we’re live from Columbia University’s Energy Symposium in New York City. The Gang was joined by former NRG CEO David Crane for a lively conversation about Trumpland. We start the conversation off with a look at the turbulent first weeks of the Trump Administration. We’ve had nominations, executive orders, blackouts, bans, proposed budget cuts, resignations, rogue twitter accounts and growing protests. We’re just 14 days into the Trump Administration – what can we expect for the next 100 days? Then, we turn the mic around on David Crane. In 2014, while CEO of NRG, he wrote a letter to shareholders saying the power provider needed to become the google, apple or amazon of the energy sector. It didn’t take long for shareholders to sour on that vision –- so what does this say about how hard it is to transition from brown to green? Finally, how to get a job. We go through many of the questions that people ask us when looking for a job in cleantech, and we’ll try to pass on some advice worth following. This podcast is sponsored by KACO New Energy, a leading solar inverter company with superior engineering and unmatched customer service: http://kaco-newenergy.com/ See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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Jan 20, 2017 • 42min

The Grid as a Digital Lab

America’s first power plant was built in Manhattan. The first transmission of electricity occurred between Niagara Falls and Buffalo. And the first public power organization was founded in New York State. Today, that power provider, the New York Power Authority -- or NYPA -- is working to digitize the state’s grid end-to-end. We’ll talk with NYPA CEO Gil Quiniones about his push to create a "digital foundry" where the next generation of electricity inventors and innovators can re-imagine the grid. In the second half of the show, Katherine Hamilton gives us an update from the World Economic Forum, where thinkers from all across the globe are also re-imagining the energy system -- while also grappling with a new world order in the wake of America's election. Make sure to come to our live show on February 3 in New York City. We'll be at the Columbia Energy Symposium debating the latest developments in energy and cleantech: http://www.cuenergysymposium.com/ This podcast is sponsored by KACO New Energy, a leading solar inverter company with superior engineering and unmatched customer service: http://kaco-newenergy.com/ See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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