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
Mar 18, 2016 • 44min
The Libertarian View On The Distributed Energy Transition
It wasn't just science that got Eli Lehrer to accept the reality of climate change. It was insurance markets. As a free-market expert on insurance policy, Lehrer realized many years ago where the industry models were headed.
"Every modeling firm used by the insurance industry acknowledged climate change is real. If markets have the ability to aggregate information, then either markets don't work or climate change is real. My judgment is that markets work and therefore climate change is real," says Lehrer.
In 2012, Lehrer founded the R Street Institute, a think tank devoted to spreading free market principles. In recent years, he's become a libertarian thought leader on environmental protection, carbon pricing and, most recently, the distributed energy transition. In this episode, the gang talks with Lehrer about how to make these issues more palatable to the political right.
In our second segment, we'll talk about a new consumer poll on rate design and subsidies for solar. We'll end the show with a look at United Airlines' big biofuels announcement.
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Mar 10, 2016 • 41min
The Second Coming Of Storage In America
America is undergoing a second wave of storage growth. The first wave came between 2011 and 2013, when grid-scale projects backed by the government stimulus came online.
The second wave is based largely on two applications for lithium-on batteries: frequency regulation and demand charge management. These two applications helped the U.S. storage market grow 243 percent in 2015, according to the new Energy Storage Monitor from GTM Research and the Energy Storage Association.
In 2020, America’s energy storage market will be 28 times bigger than it was in 2015. This third wave of growth, says GTM Senior Storage Analyst Ravi Manghani, will be catalyzed by a broader range of revenue streams as regional wholesale markets get more sophisticated. In this week's show, we'll look at the trends behind America's storage surge.
In the second segment, we'll talk about China's war on coal. In the last segment, we'll discuss the consequences of Vivint's decision to kill an acquisition agreement with SunEdison.
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Mar 3, 2016 • 41min
The Latest Technology Trends at the Grid Edge
ARPA-E, the government agency founded in 2007 to support R&D in cutting-edge energy technologies, has invested $1.3 billion into power electronics, new solar materials and novel battery chemistries over the years.
According to the agency, the private sector has already responded with $1.25 billion in follow-on funding. Much of that money is going toward technologies that will help enable a distributed, responsive, renewable grid.
In this week's show, we're joined by Jeff St. John, GTM's senior grid reporter, for a discussion on ARPA-E's grid edge strategy. How's it working?
Later in the show, we'll have an update on the drama surrounding Exelon’s $7 billion bid to acquire Pepco. Is the deal dead?
We will end by talking about a WTO ruling against India’s local content requirements for solar. How will it impact the country’s burgeoning solar market?
The Energy Gang is produced by Greentechmedia.com. The show features weekly discussions between energy futurist Jigar Shah, energy policy expert Katherine Hamilton and Greentech Media Editor Stephen Lacey.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Feb 25, 2016 • 35min
Troubles at Google-Owned Nest?
Nest, the smart home company acquired by Google in 2014, is under scrutiny. In the wake of multiple glitches that screwed with Nest thermostats this winter, there are now reports of unrest within the company.
But are these issues really that big of a deal for the maker of smart home devices? We’ll dissect the speculation about "internal problems" and ask whether recent bugs will impact Nest's position in the market.
Then, we’ll look at what the sudden death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia means for President Obama’s climate plan. We’ll end with a heated conversation about whether solar is really capable of helping developing countries leapfrog the grid.
Check out our Grid Edge Customer Network here: www.greentechmedia.com/customernetwork
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Feb 18, 2016 • 52min
Silicon Valley's Conflicted Relationship With Cleantech
In 2012, Wired magazine ran a prominent feature on why "the cleantech boom went bust." A couple years later, after a slew of venture investment failures in the industry, 60 Minutes ran a major story on "the cleantech crash."
The stories were widely criticized by cleantech experts as incomplete or inaccurate (the Energy Gang even ran its own critique of the 60 Minutes story). But they did reveal some hard truths: venture investors lost a lot of money on clean energy investments. There was indeed an investment bubble -- and it popped.
Over the last couple of years, investors have taken on a more capital-lite, software-dominant approach to cleantech. But now some of the biggest companies in Silicon Valley are taking on one of the most capital-intensive industries of all: automobiles.
So what are we to make of the venture investment climate? This week, we'll talk with Katie Fehrenbacher, a senior writer at Fortune, about trends she's seeing in the sector.
Later in the show, we'll take a look at SunEdison's latest troubles. And we'll end with a discussion about the recycling industry's economic woes.
The Energy Gang is produced by Greentechmedia.com. The show features weekly discussions between energy futurist Jigar Shah, energy policy expert Katherine Hamilton and Greentech Media Editor Stephen Lacey.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Feb 11, 2016 • 48min
Adapt or Die? National Grid's Plan to Embrace the Future of Energy
What does it take to truly change a large utility? Not just cosmetic changes to branding -- but true structural changes around distributed energy deployment and customized offerings for customers.
In this week's show, we’ll talk with an industry veteran who’s trying to usher in those changes.
Ed White, vice president of New Energy Solutions at National Grid, joins the Gang to discuss the utility's new plan to integrate solar, efficiency, storage, electric cars and grid automation all into one area of the business. It's not an easy task. But we'll talk with White about how he hopes to pull it off.
Later in the show, we'll discuss two major Supreme Court decisions on demand response and Obama's landmark climate rule. And we'll finish with a quick discussion of the positive outcome of California's net metering debate.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Feb 4, 2016 • 38min
Is Rooftop Solar Screwed in Nevada?
Nevada's sweeping changes to net metering last December shook the solar industry. And the drama continues in 2016.
Our GTM editorial and research team has been consumed by the situation in the state. Will consumers start defaulting on their PPAs? Will solar companies permanently leave the state? Will it make solar a bigger national political issue?
In this bonus episode, we'll bring on GTM Senior Writer Julia Pyper to dissect the situation in Nevada. We'll get a detailed update on one of the most controversial stories in solar.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Jan 22, 2016 • 42min
Hawaii's Unique Approach to Funding Cleantech Startups
Many states prioritize tech incubators for a variety of economic reasons. The Energy Excelerator in Hawaii has a much more specific mission: tie support for startups to a 100% renewable energy target set by the state last year.
That mission guides the way Energy Excelerator funds projects, chooses awards, and works with incumbents.
This week, we'll talk with Dawn Lippert, the organization's co-founder and director, about how Hawaii plans to support innovation in distributed energy.
Later in the show, we'll look at where Generate Capital (where co-host Jigar Shah acts as president) is deploying $150 million for "infrastructure-as-a-service" projects in underserved markets. We'll finish with a look at the political prospects for a carbon tax in 2016.
The Energy Gang is produced by Greentechmedia.com. The show features weekly discussions between energy futurist Jigar Shah, energy policy expert Katherine Hamilton and Greentech Media Editor Stephen Lacey.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Jan 14, 2016 • 46min
Diversifying Cleantech: Race and Class in the Energy Transition
In 2012, an NAACP analysis found that Americans living within three miles of a coal plant are disproportionately low-income and disproportionately non-white.
The report echoed government studies from the 1980s showing how toxic waste facilities and power plants were overwhelmingly located in communities of color across the U.S. -- studies that helped spark the environmental justice movement.
Today, environmental justice isn't just about fighting toxic facilities. It's about ensuring the transition to clean energy is fair, inclusive and economically beneficial. In this week's show, we'll talk with Jacqueline Patterson of the NAACP about what clean energy can learn from the environmental justice movement.
In the second part of the show, GTM's Eric Wesoff joins us to talk about his analysis of Vinod Khosla's venture investments in biofuels, batteries, solar and materials.
We'll finish by talking about the natural gas leak outside Los Angeles that has forced thousands of people from their homes.
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Jan 7, 2016 • 51min
Should We Be Optimistic or Pessimistic About the Future?
The final month of 2015 was one of the best in recent memory for climate action.
The world's carbon emissions dipped for the first time during a period of economic growth. The Paris climate talks ended with a global agreement to reduce greenhouse gases. And America extended key tax credits for renewables that will ensure strong growth in the years ahead.
Some are cheering. But others are not so sure we should be optimistic.
Brad Plumer, a senior editor at Vox, shares the cautious view on these developments. In this week's show, we'll talk with Plumer about the hard work that comes after Paris if world leaders are serious about decarbonizing the global economy.
Later in the show, we'll talk with GTM Senior Reporter Julia Pyper about how electric cars and autonomous vehicles are playing into the Consumer Electronics Show. We'll wrap up with a discussion about Nevada's controversial decision to slash net metering for all solar customers in the state.
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