Interchange Recharged

Would electricity work during a zombie apocalypse?Does Elon Musk own Amazon or Uber?Are electric vehicles better for the environment?These are questions that people are asking Google — and we're going to answer them.This week on the Interchange, what our collective search history tells us about our perception of Elon Musk, electric vehicles and zombies.Plus, we'll have the results of last week's Deep Decarbonization Draft. (Listen to that episode, if you haven't already.)This podcast is supported by Wunder Capital, the easiest way to invest in large-scale solar energy projects across the U.S. With Wunder, you can help finance renewable energy projects while earning up to 7.5 percent annually. Get started here to diversify your portfolio and support American solar projects.This podcast is brought to you by Shoals, the gold standard for solar and storage balance-of-systems solutions. Learn more about how Shoals can make your project operate at the highest level.Recommended reading on electric vehicle emissions:Manhattan Institute report on electric vehicle pollutionUnion of Concerned Scientists report on the cleanliness of electric carsDepartment of Energy calculator for comparing electric vehicle emissionsSubscribe to The Interchange podcast via Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher or wherever you find your audio content.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Like fantasy sports? Listen to our deep decarbonization draft. In this episode, Shayle and Stephen choose their rosters of nine technologies to decarbonize the global economy. The goal: find the best resource mix to keep global temperatures below 2 degrees Celsius. After they battle it out, listeners decide who has the best team of technologies. Vote in our Twitter poll.Here are the rules:The draft has nine rounds. The “team” resulting from each person’s picks will need to stand on its own. Each pick must be a unique technology. For example, “energy efficiency” is not a pick, but “LED lighting” is.Technologies with major subsets must be picked separately. For example, rooftop solar and centralized solar are two different picks.The existing technology mix will stand. (We don’t need to pick “transmission & distribution" in order to have electricity.)The time horizon will be through 2050.The winner will be chosen by listeners. Once you've listened to the episode, access our GTM poll or our Twitter poll. We'll tally the results for a future episode.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week on The Interchange, a listener tries to convince his office building owner to install solar: "he's open to the idea, but we're struggling with the question of who pays," says Daniel from Menlo Park, California.This conundrum gets to the heart of C&I solar's complexity. We'll address the landlord-tenant split that plagues commercial solar — and the broad range of financing and policy solutions.Later in the show, we'll talk with two of our senior solar analysts at GTM Research, Michelle Davis and Allison Mond. Both residential installers and commercial developers have customer acquisition problems — only they’re the exact opposite problems.Residential installers now have more attractive loan options for ownership, but it’s getting harder to find the next tier of customers who want PV on their roofs; meanwhile, commercial solar developers are seeing more demand for third-party ownership, but projects are still bespoke and complicated.Davis and Mond unpack the latest financing and customer acquisition trends in residential and commercial PV.This podcast is supported by Wunder Capital, the easiest way to invest in large-scale solar energy projects across the U.S. With Wunder, you can help finance renewable energy projects while earning up to 7.5 percent annually. Get started here to diversify your portfolio and support American solar projects.This podcast is brought to you by Shoals, the gold standard for solar and storage balance-of-systems solutions. Learn more about how Shoals can make your project operate at the highest level.Recommended reading:GTM Research: Commercial Solar Consumer Finance TrendsGTM Research: U.S. Residential Solar Finance Update: H1 2018DOE Better Buildings (PDF): Promoting Solar PV on Leased Buildings Guide Kacie Peters: But What If I Sell My Building? Transferability in Commercial SolarSubscribe to The Interchange podcast via Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher or wherever you find your audio content.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The solar industry is talking about battery storage almost as much as solar these days.On this week's Interchange, we're addressing the shift toward storage in residential solar. Sunrun, a top installer, is at the forefront of the trend. In California, the company is adding storage to 20 percent of rooftop PV systems — and it believes other states will soon catch up. Sunrun now thinks of itself as a grid services provider. We'll talk with Sunrun Chief Policy Officer Anne Hoskins about how this broadened focus influences the way it interacts with utilities, regulators and customers. Shayle and Stephen will also talk about how batteries are changing the way consumers shop around for solar.This podcast is supported by Wunder Capital, the easiest way to invest in large-scale solar energy projects across the U.S. With Wunder, you can help finance renewable energy projects while earning up to 7.5 percent annually. Get started here to diversify your portfolio and support American solar projects.This podcast is brought to you by Shoals, the gold standard for solar and storage balance-of-systems solutions. Learn more about how Shoals can make your project operate at the highest level.Recommended reading:Sunrun white paper: A B​etter System Created by the People, for the PeopleGTM: Sunrun Keeps Growing, While Prepping for a Whole New Grid Services BusinessSubscribe to The Interchange podcast via Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher or wherever you find your audio content.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Europe was once the world's biggest solar spender, until the region's PV market fell into a structural decline after subsidies were pulled back. Now Europe is on the upswing once again — this time, with far less government spending. As European countries embrace competitive auctions, the Old World of solar is getting new attention. The region is expected to install 10-17 gigawatts a year through 2022, bringing cumulative installs from 111 gigawatts to 182 gigawatts, according to GTM Research. A good portion of that capacity won't see any direct government support.Competitive auctions will make solar growth much more sustainable. But will it be enough to make up for the tens of gigawatts of coal and nuke plants closing around the region?Tom Heggarty, a senior global solar analyst with GTM Research, joins us on The Interchange to grapple with that question. We'll put the new trends into a historical and macro-economic context.This podcast is supported by Wunder Capital, the easiest way to invest in large-scale solar energy projects across the U.S. With Wunder, you can help finance renewable energy projects while earning up to 7.5 percent annually. Get started here to diversify your portfolio and support American solar projects.This podcast is brought to you by Shoals, the gold standard for solar and storage balance-of-systems solutions. Learn more about how Shoals can make your project operate at the highest level.Recommended reading:GTM Research: Europe Solar PV Market Outlook 2018GTM: Here Are Solar’s Next Gigawatt-Scale MarketsGTM: Germany's Course Correction on Solar GrowthSubscribe to The Interchange podcast via Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher or wherever you find your audio content.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Shell, the world’s sixth biggest oil and gas company, just published a future "sky" scenario that's getting a lot of attention. That potential future: By 2050, renewables could overtake oil, gas and coal as the primary energy source; by that date, it could be “impossible” to purchase a new internal combustion car; and by 2070, there could be 10,000 carbon capture plants operating globally.Shell's energy transition report is receiving mixed reaction. Many energy experts are hailing Shell for putting together such an ambitious document. A lot of environmentalists are cynical, since oil and gas still play a prominent role in the company's future vision.In this week's episode, we're going to walk through the different scenarios outlined by Shell. We'll also discuss what Shell's business might look like beyond 2050, as the company acquires more electricity retailers, EV charging assets and renewable energy developers.This podcast is supported by Wunder Capital, the easiest way to invest in large-scale solar energy projects across the U.S. With Wunder, you can help finance renewable energy projects while earning up to 7.5 percent annually. Get started here to diversify your portfolio and support American solar projects.This podcast is brought to you by Shoals, the gold standard for solar and storage balance-of-systems solutions. Learn more about how Shoals can make your project operate at the highest level.Recommended reading:Shell: The Energy Transition reportShell: The New Energies businessWashington Post: Shell Just Outlined a Radical Scenario for What It Would Take to Halt Climate ChangeSubscribe to The Interchange podcast via Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher or wherever you find your audio content.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Blockchain is largely untested compared to its potential. We know it’s likely transformative — we just don’t know exactly how.There are hundreds of potential applications in the electricity business. Which ones will win out?To kick off this week's show, Shayle, Scott and Stephen will examine different pathways for the technology. We'll answer:Of all the scenarios for the future of blockchain in energy, which one is most likely?Imagine a future in which blockchain doesn’t take off. What is the likely reason?Are there any pilots or trends underway now that push us in any of these directions?In the second half of the show, we’ll talk with Kristen Brown, a business technology expert at Commonwealth Edison, about how the regulated utility sees blockchain influencing operations.We’ll also talk with Michael Horwitz, a partner with Greentech Capital Advisors, about how he evaluates investment opportunities in the space.If you missed the companion episode, listen here.This podcast is supported by Wunder Capital, the easiest way to invest in large-scale solar energy projects across the U.S. With Wunder, you can help finance renewable energy projects while earning up to 7.5 percent annually. Get started here to diversify your portfolio and support American solar projects.This podcast is brought to you by Shoals, the gold standard for solar and storage balance-of-systems solutions. Learn more about how Shoals can make your project operate at the highest level.Recommended reading:GTM Squared: Does the Energy Industry Need Its Own Blockchain?GTM Squared: The Live Broadcast From Our Blockchain in Energy ForumSubscribe to The Interchange podcast via Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher or wherever you find your audio content.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Out of the 122 startups (and counting) that GTM Research is tracking in the energy-blockchain space, 22 are focused on peer-to-peer energy trading.Sharing electrons directly with peers sounds cool, but why do it in the first place? Would it help the grid? Will it be a catalyst for more distributed energy? Or is it just a novel application?In this episode of The Interchange, we're exploring the potential of peer-to-peer trading. We'll start with a segment of Consensus, where we explore a specific blockchain tech or concept.Later in the show, we'll talk with Colleen Metelitsa, a grid edge analyst with GTM Research, about investment trends and emerging applications in the energy-blockchain space.Finally, we'll talk with three blockchain startups -- Electron, Leap and Omega Grid -- about their experiences building partnerships with incumbent energy companies. This podcast is supported by Wunder Capital, the easiest way to invest in large-scale solar energy projects across the U.S. With Wunder, you can help finance renewable energy projects while earning up to 7.5 percent annually. Get started here to diversify your portfolio and support American solar projects.Recommended reading:GTM Research: Blockchain for Energy 2018: Companies & Applications for Distributed Ledger Technologies on the GridGTM: Energy Blockchain Startups Raised $324 Million in the Last Year. Where’s the Money Going?Subscribe to The Interchange podcast via Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher or wherever you find your audio content.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Gina McCarthy isn't happy watching Scott Pruitt dismantle the climate plan that she helped President Obama build. But she doesn't think Pruitt will be successful."They've made a lot of announcements, they haven't made a lot of progress," she said in an interview on The Interchange podcast. McCarthy predicted that EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt will keep getting "slapped back" by legal challenges.And even if Pruitt makes progress, the markets have spoken against him. "The market has already dictated that strategy, and it's a clean energy future," she said. In this week's podcast, we talk with McCarthy about the EPA under the Trump Administration. We'll talk about the viciousness of environmental politics, the coal industry's impact on politics, shifts in the energy markets, and why she's optimistic about the future. "The clean energy train has left the station and it's moving," she said. McCarthy is currently the director of the Center for Health and the Global Environment at Harvard University. This podcast is brought to you by Shoals, the gold standard for solar and storage balance-of-systems solutions. Learn more about how Shoals can make your project operate at the highest level.This podcast is brought to you by Fiveworx, a turnkey customer engagement platform for utilities. Find out more about how Fiveworx can help your customer engagement program succeed -- and get you beyond the meter.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Last year was a tough one for many U.S. solar companies. For the first time, America's solar market saw a decline in growth and solar employment.What gives? In this podcast, we're going to walk through the sector-specific factors that threw solar off its axis in 2017. Some of the questions we address in this episode:Residential customer acquisition: why is it getting so much harder to find new customers?Solar-plus-storage: where are batteries getting the most traction?Utility-scale solar: what's the latest data on pricing?Sunrun and Tesla: why is Sunrun doing so well, while Tesla keeps shrinking?Non-residential: why is this sector outshining others in terms of growth?Don't forget to come to our 11th annual Solar Summit in San Diego, where we'll be dissecting data in the top solar markets around the world. This podcast is brought to you by Shoals, the gold standard for solar and storage balance-of-systems solutions. Learn more about how Shoals can make your project operate at the highest level.This podcast is brought to you by Fiveworx, a turnkey customer engagement platform for utilities. Find out more about how Fiveworx can help your customer engagement program succeed -- and get you beyond the meter.Recommended reading:GTM: US Residential and Utility-Scale Solar Markets See Installations Fall for the First TimeGTM Research: U.S. Solar Market Insight reportSubscribe to The Interchange podcast via Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher or wherever you find your audio content.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.