The Green Blueprint

Are you a utility or climate tech startup looking to understand how artificial intelligence will shape your company? Come to our one-day event, Transition-AI: Boston on June 15. Our listeners get a 20% discount with the code PSPODS20.We’re hard at work on a new season of The Big Switch podcast, which will go deep on the impact of the European energy crisis. And this week, we’re featuring an episode from last season.There’s been a pretty major shake-up in the world of transit decarbonization. Last summer, the California Air Resources Board – a state organization that regulates air quality – approved a rule mandating that by 2035, all new cars sold in California will be zero-emissions. And last month, California approved a ban on diesel by 2036 in heavy-duty transport.These rules will transform California's transportation market; and deliver some huge climate and health wins along the way. Between now and 2035, the regulation will result in 9.5 million fewer gas-powered cars on the road. California’s not alone in cracking down on gas cars – soon, as many as seventeen other states may follow suit, resulting in a wave of regulation that could change American transit forever.In this episode, Dr. Melissa Lott talks with Mary Nichols, the former Chair of the California Air Resources Board, about the history and consequences of the rule.The Carbon Copy is supported by FischTank PR, a public relations, strategic messaging, and social media agency dedicated to elevating the work of climate and clean energy companies. Learn more about FischTank’s approach to cleantech and their services: fischtankpr.com.The Carbon Copy is brought to you by Sungrow. Now in more than 150 countries, Sungrow’s solutions include inverters for utility-scale, commercial & industrial solar, plus energy storage systems. Learn more at us.sungrowpower.com.

Over the last two years, we’ve created the foundation for a green industrial awakening in America — thanks to the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the CHIPS and Science Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act. Collectively, they will leverage hundreds of billions of dollars to support domestic producers.The green industrial framework is not new, but the policy levers are more powerful than ever. So what makes America’s industrial strategy 2.0 different from the Obama years? What lessons have been learned about what worked and what didn't? That is what we're unpacking this week, live from the Prelude Climate Summit.We’re joined by Katherine Hamilton, chair of 38 North; Jigar Shah, director of the Department of Energy’s loan programs office; and Sonia Aggarwal, CEO of Energy Innovation and a former senior advisor to the president.The Carbon Copy is supported by FischTank PR, a public relations, strategic messaging, and social media agency dedicated to elevating the work of climate and clean energy companies. Learn more about FischTank’s approach to cleantech and their services: fischtankpr.com.The Carbon Copy is brought to you by Sungrow. Now in more than 150 countries, Sungrow’s solutions include inverters for utility-scale, commercial & industrial solar, plus energy storage systems. Learn more at us.sungrowpower.com.

The landscape for peaker power plants in New York is changing. Over the next two years, dozens of aging oil- and gas-fired plants will be phased out around New York City, thanks to stronger air quality rules and the state’s climate law. Under the rules, some of National Grid's peaking generation will shut down permanently, and some will steadily ramp down.The plan to overhaul these plants is part of National Grid's Northeast clean energy vision – which will create hubs of clean energy projects built with specific local needs in mind. The goal is to make communities the "energy capitals" of a decarbonized grid.So what will these hubs look like? In this episode, Will Hazelip, president of National Grid Ventures for the US Northeast, outlines the high stakes for the utility – and the communities it serves. Will talks with Stephen Lacey about clean energy projects underway, the technology trends guiding investments, and the plan to maximize the local economic impact.Learn more about National Grid’s efforts to build the clean energy capitals of tomorrow. There, you'll find details about offshore wind, batteries, renewables, and transmission.

Around the US, cities are passing laws to phase fossil gas out of buildings. But the culinary industry is pushing back, saying that gas bans hurt chefs and restaurant owners. This week, the California Restaurant Association successfully won a lawsuit challenging Berkeley's pioneering gas ban.Chris Galarza is on a mission to show chefs that industrial induction cooking is far superior to gas. He’s the founder of Forward Dining Solutions, a company focused on kitchen electrification. Chris is also the head chef at Chatham University’s Eden Hall campus, where all cooking is electric.Journalist Miles O’Brien interviewed Chef Galarza as part of his new NOVA documentary airing this month, called Chasing Carbon Zero. This week: the story of one chef's quest to bring induction cooking to commercial and industrial kitchens around the country. We talk with Miles about what he found in that electric kitchen at Chatham University – and why Chef Galarza thinks induction will soon dominate, even with challenges from the restaurant lobby.In the second half of the episode, we'll talk about the bigger shifts in broadcast journalism around telling the climate story. Miles is the science correspondent at the PBS NewsHour and a former CNN anchor who has shifted his journalistic focus toward climate solutions. Can TV news rise to the challenge?The Carbon Copy is supported by FischTank PR, a public relations, strategic messaging, and social media agency dedicated to elevating the work of climate and clean energy companies. Learn more about FischTank’s approach to cleantech and their services: fischtankpr.com.The Carbon Copy is brought to you by Sungrow. Now in more than 150 countries, Sungrow’s solutions include inverters for utility-scale, commercial & industrial solar, plus energy storage systems. Learn more at us.sungrowpower.com.

We're sharing an episode of a podcast we love, Drilled from our friends over at Critical Frequency. Four years ago, the Drilled podcast asked a question that changed how people thought about climate stories: What if we stopped acting like the climate crisis was inevitable and instead treated it like it truly is… the crime of the century? Now, the original true crime podcast about climate change is back with a new season all about the opportunistic oil industry.The story is packed with high stakes court cases, intrepid journalists, and a whole lot of intrigue, set in the world's largest oil boom town. Listen to the new season of Drilled.

Up until six months ago, artificial intelligence might not have squeaked into the top five areas of climate tech for most people.But the Cambrian explosion of large language models – led by ChatGPT – has suddenly hooked hundreds of millions of users, offered mind-boggling creative capabilities that have surprised almost everyone, and kicked off an AI arms race in the tech world.What are the most compelling applications for AI in energy? This week, we feature a live conversation with Priya Donti, MIT professor and executive director of Climate Change AI; Amy Francetic, managing general partner at Buoyant Ventures; and Jesse Morris, CEO of the Energy Web Foundation. In this episode, recorded at Greentown Labs, we explore the wide range of applications for grid modeling, renewable energy integration, research & development, and product development. We also stretch beyond AI and talk about the wider digital layer that is fundamental to building and maintaining an increasingly electric, distributed energy system. You can also watch the conversation on video.This live episode is brought to you by Nexamp. Nexamp is leading the transformation to the new energy economy with proven solar and energy storage solutions that make clean energy more accessible for its customers and partners. Visit nexamp.com to learn more.

In five years, we've tripled the amount of solar capacity connected to America's grid. Wind capacity has grown 60% in the last 5 years. And in just the last year alone, battery capacity has doubled.But there’s also a surge in opposition to local projects. According to the Sabin Center for Climate Law at Columbia University, there are now 121 local policies that restrict or outright ban wind and solar in 31 states – a nearly 18% increase from 2021. What’s causing it?The opposition is coming in many different forms. In this episode, we'll focus on two of them: the coordinated spread of disinformation in local Facebook groups, and dark money going to news websites that are protecting utility political power.We’ll talk with Michael Thomas, author of the Distilled newsletter, who embedded himself with dozens of local Facebook groups devoted to fighting renewables. And we’ll also speak with Miranda Green, director of investigations at Floodlight, about the coordination of bad information spread on Facebook. Plus, she’ll tell the story of how her team uncovered a new method of influence peddling: utilities propping up news sites that cut down critics.The Carbon Copy is supported by FischTank PR, a public relations, strategic messaging, and social media agency dedicated to elevating the work of climate and clean energy companies. Learn more about FischTank’s approach to cleantech and their services: fischtankpr.com.The Carbon Copy is brought to you by Sungrow. Now in more than 150 countries, Sungrow’s solutions include inverters for utility-scale, commercial & industrial solar, plus energy storage systems. Learn more at us.sungrowpower.com.

In 2021, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s supercomputer found that Los Angeles can hit 100% clean power within a decade and a half. But how will it be implemented in reality – in a way that benefits everyone?That’s the $86 billion question for the city. There are many other questions to answer: How will a utility serving four million residents phase out coal and gas, triple its yearly build-out of renewables and batteries, electrify 80% of homes and cars, build new transmission, and ramp up hydrogen and other forms of cutting-edge storage – all by 2035?This week, we dig into those challenges on stage with Marty Adams, general manager and chief engineer of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. The conversation was recorded live at the Intersolar North America conference in Long Beach, California.Come watch a live episode of The Carbon Copy! Canary Media and Post Script Media are hosting a live event at Greentown Labs in Somerville, Ma. on April 6. record a live episode of The Carbon Copy with some very special guests. Get your tickets today.The Carbon Copy is supported by FischTank PR, a public relations, strategic messaging, and social media agency dedicated to elevating the work of climate and clean energy companies. Learn more about FischTank’s approach to cleantech and their services: fischtankpr.com.The Carbon Copy is supported by Scale Microgrids, the distributed energy company dedicated to transforming the way modern energy infrastructure is designed, constructed, and financed. Distributed generation can be complex. Scale makes it easy. Learn more: scalemicrogrids.com.

Silicon Valley Bank was a mid-sized bank that catered to entrepreneurs in the tech sector. The bank was an early supporter of the climate tech and sustainability space, with over 1,500 clients across the industry.But things quickly unraveled this month after SVB executives told investors they'd sold off a massive portfolio of mortgage bonds – creating a historic run on the bank and a government takeover.For a couple days, it looked like many climate startups would lose their cash. They narrowly avoided a complete financial catastrophe after the Federal Reserve stepped in, but now many are pondering the longer-term consequences.“They were early pioneers in cleantech, what became known as climate tech. They were here from the beginning. We're gonna be missing them for a long time,” explains Prelude Ventures’ Gabriel Kra.This week, the demise of SVB. What was the bank's role in the industry, and happens with it gone?We’ll talk with Gabriel Kra, managing director of Prelude Ventures. We’ll also profile two entrepreneurs with money tied up at SVB: Maria Intscher-Owrang, the CEO of Simplifyber; and Bryan Guido Hassin, the CEO of DEXMAT. Come watch a live episode of The Carbon Copy! Canary Media and Post Script Media are hosting a live event at Greentown Labs in Somerville, Ma. on April 6. record a live episode of The Carbon Copy with some very special guests. Get your tickets today.The Carbon Copy is supported by FischTank PR, a public relations, strategic messaging, and social media agency dedicated to elevating the work of climate and clean energy companies. Learn more about FischTank’s approach to cleantech and their services: fischtankpr.com.The Carbon Copy is supported by Scale Microgrids, the distributed energy company dedicated to transforming the way modern energy infrastructure is designed, constructed, and financed. Distributed generation can be complex. Scale makes it easy. Learn more: scalemicrogrids.com.

A few weeks ago, TIME Magazine staff writer Alejandro de la Garza found himself on the floor of a hotel room in Nevada with two guys trying to cook sulfur dioxide out of a tin can. Luke Iseman and Andrew Song are the co-founders of Make Sunsets, a startup claiming to be implementing solar geoengineering by launching weather balloons filled with SO2 into the stratosphere.Their first experimental launch in the Mexican state of Baja resulted in a swift regulatory response from the Mexican government. But when they ran another test launch a few weeks ago just outside of Reno, Nevada, Luke invited Alejandro to meet them. This week, we speak with Alejandro about his TIME profile of the risky startup. Plus, we talk with geoengineering experts, Dr. Holly Buck and Dr. Kevin Surprise.“Any single person you talk to in solar geoengineering research, whether they're bullish or against it, they all think that what makes Sunsets doing is a bad idea,” explains Alejandro.Make Sunsets represents a turning point for the field of geoengineering, when rogue actors are pushing it from academic debate into the real world. Is the company’s recent balloon launch an act of performance art – or an open door to an uncontrolled climate experiment?Click here for a full transcriptCome watch a live episode of The Carbon Copy! Canary Media and Post Script Media are hosting a live event at Greentown Labs in Somerville, Ma. on April 6. record a live episode of The Carbon Copy with some very special guests. Get your tickets today.The Carbon Copy is supported by FischTank PR, a public relations, strategic messaging, and social media agency dedicated to elevating the work of climate and clean energy companies. Learn more about FischTank’s approach to cleantech and their services: fischtankpr.com.The Carbon Copy is supported by Scale Microgrids, the distributed energy company dedicated to transforming the way modern energy infrastructure is designed, constructed, and financed. Distributed generation can be complex. Scale makes it easy. Learn more: scalemicrogrids.com.