Interchange Recharged

Tax equity plays a significant role in clean energy finance, but are developers using it effectively, or are they stumbling over complexities and recent changes? Sylvia Leyva Martinez is joined by Bryen Alperin, Partner and Managing Director at Foss and Company, a leading firm in renewable energy investment, to debate it. They explore how tax credits and incentives are reshaping clean energy's financial framework. Tax structures have changed significantly in the past few years, and there’s new changes happening every day. Bryen talks about the challenges developers face, including policy changes under the Trump administration, and how these could affect project economics. It’s everything you need to know about how to make tax structures work for you. This episode is brought to you by Foss & Company—a leader in tax equity investing. At the forefront of clean energy finance, Foss helps developers and investors unlock capital for solar and energy storage projects across the U.S. If you're navigating the tax credit landscape or looking to maximize project returns, partner with the experts. Visit fossandco.comto learn more. Foss & Company—investing in tomorrow, today. https://fossandco.com/contact-us/"Power Play was developed by ExxonMobil to shine a light on the accomplishments of remarkable women and the men who uphold the importance of empowering others in the LNG and decarbonization industries. Nominations for the seventh annual Power Play Awards are now open, with four categories available: The Rising Star, The Pioneer, The Ambassador, and The Low Carbon Accelerator. Nominate a deserving candidate today! Nominations close May 30th. Find out more."See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

They called the film Avengers: Infinity War the most ambitious crossover event in history. We can’t quite make the same claim, but at Wood Mackenzie’s 2025 Solar and Energy Storage Summit, we did record a crossover episode. Sylvia Leyva Martinez, Wood Mackenz’s principal analyst for solar power and host of Interchange Recharged, is joined by Ed Crooks, host of Energy Gang, to discuss the future of energy, and of the electricity grid in particular.They are joined by Rob Chapman, Senior Vice President of Energy Delivery and Customer Solutions at the non-profit research group EPRI, the Electric Power Research Institute, which aims to help power society toward a reliable, affordable, and resilient energy future. Rob talks about a key theme in his work: the importance of flexibility on the electricity grid. Increased reliance on solar and wind power has created challenges in keeping the grid balanced and the lights on. Surging demand for electricity for new data centres to train and run AI models is giving rise to a whole new set of issues. More flexible demand and supply on the grid is increasingly valuable. But where can it come from?Data centres don’t usually offer a lot of flexibility in their operations. People want to use ChatGPT and watch Netflix even at night and when the wind is low. So what can the hyperscalers do to create flexibility? Are virtual power plants an effective option? And how can the energy industry improve collaboration to find solutions that promote the clean energy transition while keeping prices down?You can find Energy Gang wherever you get your podcasts, and follow Interchange Recharged with Sylvia Leyva Martinez for deep dives into the innovations that are accelerating the energy transition.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Wood Mackenzie’s 18th Solar and Energy Storage summit is back, in Denver this week. If you can’t make it, don’t worry – we have all the debate and key insight you need to know here on the podcast. Recorded live on day 2 of the summit, host Sylvia Leyva Martinez talks to key industry leaders in solar and storage to answer these questions:What’s best practice for battery asset management? To answer this Sylvia is joined by Jenny Fink, Director of Asset Management at KeyCapture Energy. They discuss the need to synchronise market operations, analytics and site management. What’s the biggest challenge involved in maintaining safe and efficient battery operations? How can developers and investors deal with market volatility? Petter Skantze is VP of Infrastructure Development at Nextera Energy. He talks to Sylvia about challenging load demands; stakes are higher now as project delays are a block to economic growth. Compared to legacy fossil fuels, solar and storage development lead times are many times faster – so why aren’t we seeing accelerated deployment?Finally, Sylvia talks with Jeff Cramer about the benefits of community solar. Jeff is President and CEO of the Coalition for Community Solar Access, and he explains how community solar has grown from a niche offering to a key benefit to consumers. New York and California are leading the charge with programs that incentivise community solar with distributed energy sources. This episode is brought to you by Foss & Company - a leader in tax equity investing. At the forefront of clean energy finance, Foss helps developers and investors unlock capital for solar and energy storage projects across the U.S. If you're navigating the tax credit landscape or looking to maximize project returns, partner with the experts. Visit fossandco.com to learn more.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Wood Mackenzie’s 18th Solar and Energy Storage summit is back, in Denver this week. If you can’t make it, don’t worry – we have all the debate and key insight you need to know here on the podcast.Recorded live on day 1 of the summit, host Sylvia Leyva Martinez talks to four industry leaders in solar and storage to answer these questions:Can the U.S. solar industry keep up with demand amid trade wars and policy chaos? Discussing this is David Carroll, ENGIE’s Chief Renewables Officer. He warns that policy uncertainty and tariff whiplash are stalling U.S. solar investment. Sylvia and David look at sodium-ion batteries; are they a safer option? Plus, more domestic energy storage is needed amid growing calls for stable tax credit policy to meet growing electricity demand. A must-hear for developers navigating today’s volatile energy landscape.What about VPPS? Can they scale fast enough to provide a real alternative? Answering this is Sarah Noll, She shares insights on regulatory challenges, customer trust, and tech adoption, showing how the Arizona Public Service is turning grid flexibility into a real growth strategy.Are storage operators leaving millions on the table because they don’t understand their own batteries? That’s the big question Shyam Srinivasan, CEO of Zitara, answers with Sylvia. He reveals how poor software integration is holding back storage performance. As storage scales rapidly, Shyam stresses the need for better diagnostics and real-time decision tools to optimise revenue, reliability, and resilience - especially in merchant markets.Finally, Samantha Frisk from Pivot energy sits down with Sylvia to look at models for community solar development. Sam explains how early engagement, local benefits like agrivoltaics, and trusted partnerships can turn sceptical communities into solar advocates - proving clean energy can uplift as well as decarbonise.This episode is brought to you by Foss & Company - a leader in tax equity investing. At the forefront of clean energy finance, Foss helps developers and investors unlock capital for solar and energy storage projects across the U.S. If you're navigating the tax credit landscape or looking to maximize project returns, partner with the experts. Visit fossandco.com to learn more.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Over the past couple of years unprecedented low prices for solar panels have spurred incredible growth. But there’s a big shift underway. In this special episode of the show, recorded live from the stage at Wood Mackenzie’s Solar & Energy Storage Summit 2025, host Sylvia Leyva Martinez, Principal Analyst at Wood Mackenzie, sits down with Ben Sigrin, Senior Product Manager at GridBeyond, to make sense of the turbulent market. With nearly 44 gigawatts of new solar expected this year, developers are under pressure to make faster, smarter decisions. GridBeyond helps solar and storage players optimise in real time, turning market volatility into opportunity. How do they do it? Are there other ways for off takers to get some certainty? Smart site selection is one of them, but what informs those decisions? Plus, hear the lessons from global solar markets that developers are bringing to the US.  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

“If you don't think in 15 years that we're going to value decarbonisation, or if you're worried about the 45Q, it's pretty tough to write that multi-billion dollar cheque,” says Peter Findlay, Director of CCUS Economics at Wood Mackenzie. In this week’s Interchange Recharged, Peter sits down again with host Sylvia Leyva Martinez to look at the challenges for new CCUS projects. It’s tough, as Peter says, because of the regulatory frameworks, financial mechanisms and incentives that currently exist in the US. To look at these and go deep on the legal barriers for CCUS deployment, Peter and Sylvia are also joined by Liz McGinley, partner at Bracewell Law Firm. Liz leads the firm’s tax practice and the energy transition team, and is renowned for her expertise in carbon capture and IRA tax credits. Liz discusses the intricate details of tax credits and regulatory updates while Peter reflects on the financial challenges of decarbonisation projects. In this episode:What will future legislative shifts mean for the industry’s growth? How might regulatory shifts under the Trump administration impact clean energy and CCUS projects, including potential changes to clean hydrogen, fuels, and power regulations?How do the costs and complexities of pre-combustion and post-combustion CCUS projects differ, and how are financial incentives structured for each?For more detailed analyis, check out the Lens reports from Wood Mac. Lens is a data analytics platform with sector-specific insights to help you power your Business Intelligence tools. Find it at woodmac.com/lensSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Mike Hall, CEO and co-founder of Anza Renewables, offers insights into the solar industry's future amidst uncertainty. He discusses the projected 26 GW solar capacity increase and the impact of shifting federal tax credits. Hall reveals how supply chains are diversifying to adapt, though China's dominance persists. He also tackles Trump’s tariffs on manufacturing and the financial incentives aiding developers. The conversation underscores the need for strategic planning in an unpredictable landscape, highlighting innovative procurement approaches.

Bridget Van Dorsten, a principal analyst at Wood Mackenzie specializing in hydrogen market trends, and Carl Cho, director of Clean Energy Finance at Citibank with over a decade of clean energy experience, dive into the identity crisis facing hydrogen energy. They discuss the U.S. transition toward blue hydrogen and the lag in green hydrogen project advancements. Roadblocks like financing, offtake uncertainty, and scaling challenges are explored. The duo also debates localized projects versus large-scale infrastructure, pondering hydrogen's future role in energy.

Maria Korsnick, President and CEO of the Nuclear Energy Institute, shares her expertise on the evolving landscape of nuclear energy in the U.S. She discusses the ambitious goals for nuclear capacity by 2050 and how large tech companies drive demand for reliable clean energy. Korsnick highlights the challenges and potential of small modular reactors and the vital role of tax credits in accelerating deployment. Furthermore, she explores the need for regulatory reform to foster growth and the importance of collaboration between the nuclear and tech sectors.

Nuin-Tara Key, Executive Director of Programs at California Forward, shares her insights on building climate resilience in the face of severe weather events. She emphasizes the urgent need for a balanced approach between mitigation and adaptation strategies amidst rising temperatures. Key discusses how California can enhance collaboration across sectors, navigate political challenges, and transform disaster funding from reactive relief to proactive resilience. The conversation highlights innovative solutions and community involvement as essential components for tackling climate impacts.