A metals industry executive explores the race to develop alternative supplies of critical minerals essential to the energy transition.--- For over a century the global energy system has been dominated by fossil fuels, and governments and industry have gone to great lengths to secure reliable supplies of oil, natural gas, and coal. All along, scarcity and competition over fossil resources has been fuel for geopolitical conflict, and a root cause of energy insecurity when access to resources appears threatened or limited. Yet as the world shifts today toward clean energy technologies certain minerals like cobalt and lithium increasingly replace fossil fuels as the basis of our energy system. Accordingly, where governments once sought to gain secure supply of fossil fuels, energy security in the future will depend on access to dozens of critical minerals needed for an increasingly electrified and carbon-free energy system. Brian Menell, chief executive of critical minerals supply chain company TechMet, explores the challenges that come with dependence on resources that are by and large produced outside of the United States and, in notable cases, by countries with which the U.S. has strained diplomatic ties. Menell, whose company has received significant funding from the U.S. government’s International Development Finance Corporation, also discusses the challenges involved in developing new sources of supply, and the prospects for scaling the production of key minerals to support the pace of decarbonization. Brian Menell is Chairman and CEO of TechMet. Related Content Rare Earth Elements: A Resource Constraint of the Energy Transition https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/rare-earth-elements-a-resource-constraint-of-the-energy-transition/ Raw Materials Pose ESG Challenge for EV Industry https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/podcast/raw-materials-pose-esg-challenge-for-ev-industry/    Energy Policy Now is produced by The Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at the University of Pennsylvania. For all things energy policy, visit kleinmanenergy.upenn.eduSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ramón Méndez Galain, this year’s recipient of the Carnot Prize, reflects on leading Uruguay to a 98% renewable electricity mix, and what the rest of the world might take from his country’s experience. --- In 2008 Ramón Méndez Galain, a particle physicist with no experience in government, was appointed Director of Energy for Uruguay and proceeded to reimagine the country’s electricity grid. In less than a decade, Méndez’s energy transition plan succeeded in freeing the country’s power sector from its growing reliance on imported oil, and achieved energy independence through a mix of 98% renewable electricity. Méndez and Noah Gallagher Shannon, a journalist who has written about Uruguay’s energy transition for The New York Times Magazine, discuss the energy crisis that forced Uruguay’s shift to clean energy and the financing structure and political accommodations that made the transition possible. Méndez also discusses his current role as head of an NGO that assists policymakers in other countries with their own energy transitions, drawing upon lessons learned in Uruguay where possible. Ramón Méndez Galain is Executive Director of Asociación Ivy and former Director of Energy for Uruguay. Noah Gallagher Shannon is a freelance journalist and author of the New York Times Magazine article on Uruguay’s energy transition, “What Does Sustainable Living Look Like? Maybe Like Uruguay.” Related Content The Prospects for Pennsylvania as a RGGI Member https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/the-prospects-for-pennsylvania-as-a-rggi-member/ Wholesale Electricity Justice https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/wholesale-electricity-justice/ Nicholas Stern on the Role of Economics in Combatting Climate Change https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/podcast/nicholas-stern-on-the-role-of-economics-in-combating-climate-change/   Energy Policy Now is produced by The Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at the University of Pennsylvania. For all things energy policy, visit kleinmanenergy.upenn.eduSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Climatologist Michael Mann discusses his new book on Earth’s climate past, with insights into our climate future. --- Renowned Penn climatologist Michael Mann’s latest book, “Our Fragile Moment,” explores the history of climate change and the lessons it can provide into the trajectory of climate change today. The book is Mann’s response to the phenomenon of “climate doomism” which, Mann writes, misrepresents the paleoclimate record to promote climate inaction. In the book, Mann seeks to set the paleoclimate record straight, and discusses how human agency remains our greatest tool in preventing the worst impacts of climate change. Michael Mann is Presidential Distinguished Professor in the University of Pennsylvania’s Department of Earth and Environmental Science, and director of the Penn Center for Science, Sustainability and the Media. He is also a Faculty Fellow at the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy. Related Content The Net-Zero Governance Conveyor Belt https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/the-net-zero-governance-conveyor-belt/ The Prospects for Pennsylvania as a RGGI Member https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/the-prospects-for-pennsylvania-as-a-rggi-member/ Accelerating Climate Action https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/podcast/accelerating-climate-action/   Energy Policy Now is produced by The Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at the University of Pennsylvania. For all things energy policy, visit kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The podcast discusses the different approaches of European and American oil majors towards renewable energy, influenced by regional energy policy and perceptions of fossil fuel longevity. It explores the diversification of the oil industry, the strategic advantage of oil companies in the energy transition, investor strategies, the impact of the Inflation Reduction Act, and the future of renewable energy investments.

Long-distance electric transmission lines are a critical to the energy transition, yet construction of new lines has come to a near standstill in the U.S. Rob Gramlich of Grid Strategies discusses recent market and regulatory action to resurrect transmission development. --- Electric transmission line mileage will need to triple by the middle of this century to make a net-zero carbon grid a reality, according to estimates cited by the U.S. Department of Energy. Yet new transmission development has plummeted over the past decade, while efforts to spur new construction of long-distance power lines have largely come up short. Rob Gramlich, president of power sector consultancy Grid Strategies and a frequent expert witness on grid issues before Congress, discusses transmission’s critical role in making the grid of the future clean and reliable, and the reasons behind the development slowdown. He reviews the results of a recent report card analysis of transmission development activity across the country, and highlights efforts among grid operators and regulators to incentivize new development. Rob Gramlich is president of power sector consultancy Grid Strategies. Related Content Energy Transition Puts Grid Reliability to the Test https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/podcast/energy-transition-puts-grid-reliability-to-the-test/ The Prospects for Pennsylvania as a RGGI Member https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/the-prospects-for-pennsylvania-as-a-rggi-member/ Wholesale Electricity Justice https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/wholesale-electricity-justice/   Energy Policy Now is produced by The Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at the University of Pennsylvania. For all things energy policy, visit kleinmanenergy.upenn.eduSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As COP 28 draws closer, climate negotiators race to finalize a financing structure to help countries that suffer climate change-related damages. --- In late November this year’s global climate conference, COP 28, will begin in Dubai. The headline issue at COP will be the global stock take, which is a country by country review of progress toward fulfilling emissions reduction pledges under the Paris Climate Agreement. Yet while much attention at COP will be focused on emissions reductions, a second issue, and one that has long been critical to developing nations, will finally and concretely share the limelight. The issue is that of loss and damage finance, or financial support for countries that sustain damage resulting from a changing climate. In Dubai negotiators are expected to endorse a financing framework, and purpose-built fund, to explicitly address the recovery needs of countries impacted by climate change. Michael Franczak, a research fellow at the International Peace Institute, explores loss and damage finance and the race to deliver a formal finance mechanism in time for COP28. He also explains why the issue of loss and damage finance has been so contentious, and discusses innovative means to provide loss and damage funding on the scale that’s needed. Michael Franczak is a research fellow at the International Peace Institute and author of the recent IPI report, “Financing Loss and Damage at Scale: Toward a Mosaic Approach.” Related Content COP 27 and Climate Finance: Renovated Debates, Same Old Dilemmas https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/news-insights/cop27-and-climate-finance-renovated-debates-same-old-dilemmas/ COP27 Dispatch: Why Loss and Damage Finance Is Critical to Small Island States  https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/podcast/cop27-dispatch-why-loss-and-damage-finance-is-critical-to-small-island-states/   Energy Policy Now is produced by The Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at the University of Pennsylvania. For all things energy policy, visit kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

California is set to present its strategic plan to scale an offshore wind power industry based on unconventional floating wind technology. --- In late June the California Energy Commission will submit its strategic plan for the development of offshore wind energy to the state’s legislature. The plan is the culmination of two years of efforts by California to jump start its offshore wind industry and help the state reach its goal of 100% carbon free electricity by the year 2045. Yet California’s offshore wind ambitions are also a bet on floating offshore wind technology that is required by the state’s deep ocean waters. The technology has scarcely been applied anywhere in the world, and it presents infrastructure and economic hurdles that could complicate the state’s offshore wind efforts. Tim Fischer, Executive Director for Global Wind with Ramboll, a Danish offshore wind consultancy and engineering consultant to California effort, and Joe Rand of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, discuss the challenges of quickly scaling floating wind power to meet California’s energy goals. They also consider the challenges of connecting large amounts of renewable energy to the on-shore grid, taking into account the need to balance infrastructure development with community priorities. Related Content Ammonia’s Role in a Net-Zero Carbon Economy https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/ammonias-role-in-a-net-zero-hydrogen-economy/ The Economics of Building Electrification https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/the-economics-of-building-electrification/ Scaling Private Finance for Global Solar Growth https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/podcast/scaling-private-finance-for-global-solar-growth/   Energy Policy Now is produced by The Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at the University of Pennsylvania. For all things energy policy, visit kleinmanenergy.upenn.eduSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nick Rohleder, Energy Policy Now’s former editorial assistant and current climate entrepreneur, discusses the challenge of managing the investment risk inherent in emerging clean energy technologies. --- Last year, $1.1 trillion dollars were invested globally in carbon-free energy technologies and infrastructure. This volume of investment marked a significant milestone, as the first year in which money directed to clean energy equaled investment in the global oil and gas industry. Yet rising clean energy investment masks a critical barrier to the deployment of climate technologies and infrastructure, many of which are new and relatively unproven. As low-carbon solutions are rushed to market to meet urgent climate challenges, they carry inherent technology and implementation risks that can create a disincentive to investment, in particular for investors that are not accustomed to weighing such risks. Nick Rohleder, a Penn alumnus, former editorial assistant to Energy Policy Now, and now a climate entrepreneur, discusses the nature of climate technology risk and why it poses a barrier to investment. He also looks at how commercialization and technology risks can be managed with the goal of accelerating the deployment of climate solutions. Nicholaus Rohleder is co-founder of Climate Commodities and Climate Risk Partners. Related Content The Prospects for Pennsylvania as a RGGI Member https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/the-prospects-for-pennsylvania-as-a-rggi-member/ Ammonia’s Role in a Net-Zero Hydrogen Economy https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/ammonias-role-in-a-net-zero-hydrogen-economy/   Energy Policy Now is produced by The Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at the University of Pennsylvania. For all things energy policy, visit kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Exploring Pennsylvania's legal and political hurdles to joining the RGGI market, the podcast delves into the economic and climate impacts of transitioning from coal to renewable energy. It discusses the opposition faced by Pennsylvania, job effects of coal plant closures, and the implications of Reggie on gas generators and drillers. The uncertain future lies in Governor Shapiro's hands, who is yet to commit to the market's development.

A geographer explores the impact of location on worker opportunity and equity in the clean energy economy. --- The Inflation Reduction Act earmarks hundreds of billions of dollars for clean energy and the development of jobs in the clean energy supply chain, construction and operations. Critically, the law also acknowledges that the transition to clean energy presents a generational opportunity to address labor inequities that are rooted in race and gender, as well as the often overlooked element of geography.  Nikki Luke, an assistant professor of Geography at the University of Tennessee, explores how state-level labor policies have contributed to geographic labor inequities that, if they persist, could limit access to quality jobs across the new energy economy. She also looks at local models to support inclusivity, and the role of organized labor in the energy transition.  Nikki Luke is an assistant professor of Geography at the University of Tennessee. Related Content Gender Baseline Assessment of Energy Compacts https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/gender-baseline-assessment-of-energy-compacts/ Energy Transition and Opportunity in the Oil Patch https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/podcast/energy-transition-and-opportunity-in-the-oil-patch/ Organized Labor Sees Promise in Transition to Clean Energy https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/podcast/organized-labor-sees-promise-in-transition-to-clean-energy/   Energy Policy Now is produced by The Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at the University of Pennsylvania. For all things energy policy, visit kleinmanenergy.upenn.eduSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.