Volts

Sam D’Amico, an engineer and founder of Impulse Labs, is rethinking everyday machines through electrification. He discusses the battery-powered induction cooktop inspired by a pizza oven, the four technologies reshaping hardware, and why China dominates manufacturing. They explore domestic supply chains, factory proximity, EV competition, appliance batteries, Silicon Valley’s climate priorities, and geoengineering.

Nick Chaset, energy executive and CEO of Octopus Energy US and Uplight, explores why Britain has built a thriving virtual power plant while the US struggles to coordinate homes, utilities, and devices. They discuss Uplight’s utility strategy, Texas’s changing market, customer participation, consumer protection, data centers, dynamic pricing, and the future of EVs, batteries, and flexible demand.

Kristian Jensen, CEO of Green Power Denmark and former Danish minister, discusses Denmark’s next energy chapter. Can the country hit its 2030 climate target? He explores biomass’s legacy, heat pumps and district heating, EVs and vehicle-to-grid, crowded grids, data centers, community-owned solar, power-to-X, and the political consensus behind rapid electrification.

Matt Traldi, political organizer and founder of Greenlight America, works to accelerate clean-energy projects through local organizing. He explains how his nonprofit spots pivotal permitting fights, recruits trusted community voices, and wins support across the political spectrum. They explore blue-state resistance, data center backlash, measuring impact, painful losses, permitting reform, and Greenlight’s rapid growth.

Daniel Palken, an infrastructure and energy permitting expert and former Senate energy aide, unpacks a sprawling bipartisan reform bill. They explore major transmission changes, new grid costs for data centers, geothermal opportunities, fossil fuel carve-outs, weakened NEPA remedies, state water permits, and fears of “forever permits.” They also debate Trump, Democratic strategy, emissions modeling, and the bill’s chances of passing.

Leah Stokes, a UC Santa Barbara professor and climate-policy expert, shares the personal and political story behind the Inflation Reduction Act. She discusses her high-risk twin pregnancy, the power of collective action, why electrification is central to decarbonization, Joe Manchin’s mysterious negotiations, data centers’ energy demands, transmission gridlock, permitting reform, and the future of climate politics.

Leah Kuspa, CEO of Good Power, discusses sharper clean-energy messaging centered on affordability, reliability, jobs, and energy security, with different appeals for different audiences. Joel Edwards, a geothermal specialist at Zanskar, explores machine-learning models, the discovery of Nevada’s hidden Big Blind resource, field testing, and the unpredictable path to better geothermal exploration.

Luke Winston-Almanzar, CEO of Boston-area climate-tech company Reservoir, discusses the humble water heater’s electrification potential. They explore smarter, quieter heat-pump designs, predictive heating, faster hot water, easier installation, leak detection, cold-climate performance, costs, and durability. The conversation also examines connected water heaters as virtual power plants, competition from CO2 systems, policy headwinds, and Reservoir’s plans to scale.

Cole Ashman, founder and CEO of Pila Energy and a former Tesla Powerwall and Span team member, explores plug-in home batteries. They discuss affordable backup for renters and homeowners, battery safety, solar pairing, mesh networks, utility virtual power plants, financing models, and whether small batteries could become invisible, grid-connected infrastructure.

Frank Maisano, a veteran Washington energy communications strategist and influential newsletter writer, explains how he shapes media coverage across fossil fuels, utilities, and renewables. They explore why clean-energy groups struggle for influence, Trump’s attacks on renewables, Republican energy politics, permitting battles, data centers, offshore wind, and the PAC targeting fossil-fuel allies. A revealing tour of DC’s energy power networks.