Interchange Recharged

This week: how much methane are U.S. oil & natural gas drillers emitting? The data is accumulating — and it’s not looking good. A recent Wall Street Journal analysis found yearly methane emissions were equivalent to 69 million cars on the road. Some estimates are higher. The United Nations says yearly methane leaks may amount to adding nearly 100 million cars. As activist investors put more pressure on oil & gas drillers to deal with methane leaks, producers are now admitting there’s a problem. Meanwhile, they’re also touting “sustainably fracked” gas that comes from sources with fewer methane emissions.But what will happen to industry efforts to clean up methane leaks now that the Trump Administration is rolling back regulations?We are talking with Wall Street Journal reporter Rebecca Elliott, who’s been covering this leakage issue very closely. She’ll detail investor pressure, the impact of regulations, and why so many big drillers support slashing methane.Support for this podcast comes from PG&E. Did you know that 20 percent of EV drivers in the U.S. are in PG&E’s service area in Northern California? PG&E is helping to electrify corporate fleet vehicles. Get in touch with PG&E’s EV specialists to find out how you can take your transportation fleet electric.The Interchange is brought to you by Uplight, the company you once knew as Tendril and Simple Energy.The goal is still the same: to offer utility leaders a suite of engagement solutions that deliver customer experiences like Amazon and Netflix. Learn more about how Uplight is building an end-to-end product for utility customer engagement.You can listen to Uplight’s five-part podcast series, called Illuminators, about what utilities can learn from case studies of business disruption. Subscribe on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or anywhere else 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.

This week, we have an interview with Christopher Leonard, author of a new book, “Kochland: The Secret History of Koch Industries and Corporate Power in America.”Earlier this month, David Koch passed away. And it suddenly got everyone talking about the Koch Brothers again. It got us thinking about them too — not just their role in politics, but about the company they built. Koch Industries is one of the most influential energy and industrial firms in the world. And the way the Kochs have run their company tells us a lot about their approach to conservative politics. With David and Charles Koch back in the public spotlight, we’re talking with Christopher about their business practices, libertarian philosophies, and influence on politics.Support for this podcast comes from PG&E. Did you know that 20 percent of EV drivers in the U.S. are in PG&E’s service area in Northern California? PG&E is helping to electrify corporate fleet vehicles. Get in touch with PG&E’s EV specialists to find out how you can take your transportation fleet electric.The Interchange is also brought to you by Uplight, the company you once knew as Tendril and Simple Energy.The goal is still the same: to offer utility leaders a suite of engagement solutions that deliver customer experiences like Amazon and Netflix. Learn more about how Uplight is building an end-to-end product for utility customer engagement.You can listen to Uplight’s five-part podcast series, called Illuminators, about what utilities can learn from case studies of business disruption. Subscribe on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or anywhere else 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.

This week, we explore a possible financial time bomb for renewable energy: merchant risk.Since the dawn of grid-connected wind and solar, long-term power purchase agreements were the financial glue that held projects together. Developers could rely on relatively simple multi-decade contracts, thanks in large part to policy that encouraged or mandated utilities to enter those agreements.Today, things are a lot more complicated. It’s much harder to secure a long-term PPA, so more wind and solar projects are getting exposed to the risks of the market. Contract terms are being cut down to 10 years or less. And that means a vast majority of the electricity produced by those wind and solar projects must get sold on the competitive market.Wind and solar face “covariance risk” — a negative relationship between electricity output and price. These resources must sell their electricity during the time of day when lots of other solar and wind farms are also generating, thus depressing wholesale prices.In a not-so-distant future with high amounts of renewable energy, will developers be able to make money from their projects on the open market?In this episode, we explore the risks of merchant wind and solar. We’ll talk about why contract terms are changing, what kind of hedging strategies have emerged, and why this trend matters.Our guest is Christine Brozynski, a senior associate at the global law firm Norton Rose Fulbright. She’s represented lenders, sponsors and risk managers on gigawatts of wind, solar and gas deals worth billions of dollars. Support for this podcast comes from PG&E. Did you know that 20 percent of EV drivers in the U.S. are in PG&E’s service area in Northern California? PG&E is helping to electrify corporate fleet vehicles. Get in touch with PG&E’s EV specialists to find out how you can take your transportation fleet electric.The Interchange is also brought to you by Uplight, the company you once knew as Tendril and Simple Energy.The goal is still the same: To offer utility leaders a suite of engagement solutions that deliver customer experiences like Amazon and Netflix. Learn more about how Uplight is building an end-to-end product for utility customer engagement.You can listen to Uplight’s 5-part podcast series, called ILLUMINATORS, about what utilities can learn from case studies of business disruption. Subscribe on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or anywhere else 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.

This week, we’re talking about a trend that’s picking up in electricity markets: aggregation of distributed resources.Utilities have been remotely switching off air conditioners to manage demand for a long time. But a range of emerging resources — solar paired with batteries, smart thermostats, intelligent water heaters, electric car chargers — are creating new kinds of virtual power plants.People have been talking about the virtual power plant concept for years. And it’s finally happening in a meaningful way — although rolling out very differently in regional markets around the U.S.In this episode, Shayle Kann talks with Adam James about the nuances to DER aggregation. They’ll highlight specific projects around the country and talk about how the business models work.Shayle is our co-host and managing director at Energy Impact Partners. Adam is the chief of staff at Energy Impact Partners.Adam previously worked at SolarCity/Tesla. He’s also a former analyst at GTM Research.Stephen Lacey will be back from paternity leave next week. Support for this podcast comes from PG&E. Did you know that 20 percent of EV drivers in the U.S. are in PG&E’s service area in Northern California? PG&E is helping to electrify corporate fleet vehicles. Get in touch with PG&E’s EV specialists to find out how you can take your transportation fleet electric.The Interchange is also brought to you by Uplight, the company you once knew as Tendril and Simple Energy.The goal is still the same: To offer utility leaders a suite of engagement solutions that deliver customer experiences like Amazon and Netflix. Learn more about how Uplight is building an end-to-end product for utility customer engagement.You can listen to Uplight’s 5-part podcast series, called ILLUMINATORS, about what utilities can learn from case studies of business disruption. Subscribe on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or anywhere else 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.

Note: after this episode, we will be on hiatus for a few weeks while Stephen Lacey goes on paternity leave.This week, a conversation about what the Green New Deal reveals about public opinion on climate change.Why are national climate politics frozen? The conventional understanding is that Americans are deeply divided on the issue along party lines.Until recently, Democrats have been scared of talking too often about climate in national campaigns because they think the electorate is split; and the Republican Party has been outright hostile to climate policy, believing that’s what the majority of conservative voters think.And then, in steps the Green New Deal. It’s revealing something extraordinary. According to a Yale survey, 81 percent of registered voters say they would support the Green New Deal. And 64 percent of Republicans say they would support it. Other polls have shown similar levels of support.So what does this reveal about how climate plays among the electorate? And is there a disconnect between what people want and what policymakers think they want? We’re joined by Dr. Leah Stokes, an assistant professor of political science at the University of California Santa Barbara. She is an expert on political behavior — which includes public opinion, voting behavior, and how policy is influenced. Leah describes why the Green New Deal plays well with voters. She also talks about how climate is shaping the presidential campaign, why Trump is now talking about the environment, and describes the role of fossil fuel incumbents in shaping public opinion. Support for this podcast comes from PG&E. Did you know that 20 percent of EV drivers in the U.S. are in PG&E’s service area in Northern California? PG&E is helping to electrify corporate fleet vehicles. Get in touch with PG&E’s EV specialists to find out how you can take your transportation fleet electric.The Interchange is also brought to you by Uplight, the company you once knew as Tendril and Simple Energy.The goal is still the same: To offer utility leaders a suite of engagement solutions that deliver customer experiences like Amazon and Netflix. Learn more about how Uplight is building an end-to-end product for utility customer engagement.You can listen to Uplight’s 5-part podcast series, called ILLUMINATORS, about what utilities can learn from case studies of business disruption. Subscribe on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or anywhere else 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.

This week, we present a special episode on behalf of Centrica Business Solutions.The Green New Deal is now a driving force in climate politics. But up until now, it’s been mostly theoretical.And then, in April, Mayor Bill De Blasio declared that New York City is creating its own version of the Green New Deal. As part of the law, large commercial buildings will need to cut emissions by 40 percent by 2030 and 80 percent by 2050 — or face steep fines. After so much theorizing about the Green New Deal, we can finally see what happens when a resolution meets reality. And the impact is not what you might think. Many building upgrades in the city are now stalling because of uncertainty around the law.“No matter who I’ve spoken to, nobody’s disagreeing with the goals. It’s the application of how we benchmark. There are clearly buildings that can become vastly more efficient. But this legislation doesn’t prize density, it doesn’t prize efficiency, for some of our most modern buildings,” explains Paul Kuehn, sales director for distributed energy at Centrica Business Solutions.In this episode, we dive into New York’s new building emissions mandate. We’ll explore the short-term unintended consequences and the positive long-term impacts for clean energy. What can other cities — and eventually the entire country — learn from its complexities?We’ll have a conversation with Paul Kuehn of Centrica Business Solutions and Aaron Miller, a partner at Gotham 360, about how the details may play out. This podcast was produced on behalf of Centrica Business Solutions. Centrica is using analytics, market know-how, and distributed technologies to help C&I customers take control of their energy use and improve their environmental performance.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Every year, we see a wide range of models for the future global energy system.The scenarios come from a wide array of organizations: International Energy Agency and the Energy Information Administration; oil companies like BP, Shell and Equinor; and research outfits like Wood Mackenzie and Bloomberg New Energy Finance.And the conclusions are all over the map. So a group of experts at Resources for the Future put them all together and created their own model — a way to compare the scenarios in a meaningful way and get a more accurate picture of how the future may play out. In this podcast, we’ll dig through the report. Can clean energy start to replace fossil fuels, or will it simply compliment them?You can read the Resources for the Future report (PDF) here.Looking for another podcast this summer? Listen to ILLUMINATORS, a 5-part series about the history of business disruption from Tendril. What can energy companies learn from radical change in other industries? Subscribe on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or anywhere else 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.

This discussion dives into the intricacies of renewable energy curtailment, particularly in California, where excess solar power often leads to significant waste. It likens energy curtailment to uneaten leftovers, urging a reevaluation of how we perceive wasted electricity. The conversation shifts toward the potential economic advantages of overbuilding renewable sources instead of relying heavily on storage solutions. Financial implications for renewable developers are explored, highlighting the need for innovative strategies and enhanced infrastructure to handle increasing energy supplies.

This week, we’re challenging our long-held beliefs about whether individual actions matter. Even if we drastically altered our lifestyles, would it do anything to address climate change?We all want to believe that our individual life choices will have a meaningful impact on carbon emissions. But a focus on solar panels, LEDs and vegetarianism may just be a distraction.This week, Stephen is going to take the position that individual actions are inconsequential. Shayle will argue the other side.This is the second installment that addresses this theme. Last episode, we asked: do people care about energy? Listen here. Support for this podcast comes from PG&E. Did you know that 20 percent of EV drivers in the U.S. are in PG&E’s service area in Northern California? PG&E is helping to electrify corporate fleet vehicles. Get in touch with PG&E’s EV specialists to find out how you can take your transportation fleet electric.We're also sponsored by Wunder Capital. Wunder Capital is the leading commercial solar financing company in the United States. Click here to find out how Wunder Capital can help you finance your next commercial solar project.Subscribe to The Interchange podcast via Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify or wherever you find your audio content. Or integrate our RSS feed into the app of your choice.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Over the next two weeks, we are challenging our long-held assumptions about energy.We’re going to take the opposite stance of an argument that we agree with. Can we change our minds?In part 1, we’re revisiting the assumption that most people do not care about energy. Most people care about convenience, lifestyle and price. But do they care enough about their energy use to make a change for environmental reasons without external pressure? Shayle is going to take the opposite stance of what he believes — he’s going to argue that consumers do care. Stephen will respond by arguing that people don’t care.For your reading pleasure, here’s the article Shayle references on “flight shame” in Sweden.Support for this podcast comes from PG&E. Did you know that 20 percent of EV drivers in the U.S. are in PG&E’s service area in Northern California? PG&E is helping to electrify corporate fleet vehicles. Get in touch with PG&E’s EV specialists to find out how you can take your transportation fleet electric.We're also sponsored by Wunder Capital. Wunder Capital is the leading commercial solar financing company in the United States. Click here to find out how Wunder Capital can help you finance your next commercial solar project.Subscribe to The Interchange podcast via Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify or wherever you find your audio content. Or integrate our RSS feed into the app of your choice.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.