This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.volts.wtf This week on "What the F is Happening" (periodic episodes in which we reluctantly discuss current events) we talk with Adrian Deveny, a former Senate aide who was in the trenches for the IRA's creation, about the House GOP's "Big Beautiful Bill." In its current form, it amounts to wholesale destruction of the last four years of climate policy. We ponder the bill's chances of becoming less catastrophic in the Senate amid ...
May 30, 2025•20 min
In this episode, I talk with Catie Gould and Alan Durning of the Sightline Institute about the "dark matter" of urban land use: parking — specifically, the municipal parking mandates that help make housing more expensive and scarce. We discuss a landmark new parking reform bill in my home state of Washington, what it does and the coalition that made it possible, and point to other places where parking reform is coming soon. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subsc...
May 28, 2025•1 hr 4 min
This week, I chat with Dawn Weisz of MCE Clean Energy about the nitty-gritty of community choice aggregation, where local governments take control of their electricity procurement. We get into issues like navigating utility obstruction, the complexities of rising grid costs they don't control, and their push for smarter, more autonomous regulation. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.volts.wtf/subscribe...
May 23, 2025•1 hr 2 min
In this episode, I sit down with Page Crahan, who leads Tapestry, an audacious effort to “make the grid visible.” We explore how disparate, scattered data sources can be stitched together by AI into a coherent realtime map of the grid, to slash operation and maintenance costs and speed up the grid interconnection process. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.volts.wtf/subscribe...
May 21, 2025•52 min
In this episode, I’m joined by Marissa Hummon, whose team partnered with NVIDIA to tuck a credit-card-sized GPU computer with AI software into the humble electricity meter. We discuss how that edge computing digests 32,000 waveform samples per second, spots failing transformers, and orchestrates VPPs — plus the guardrails that keep it from becoming Skynet. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.volts.wtf/subscribe...
May 16, 2025•58 min
The hype about hydrogen is back with a vengeance, and thus, so is Joe Romm, who just issued a revised and updated version of his 2003 book The Hype About Hydrogen . We discuss the persistent economic and technical hurdles that make widespread hydrogen adoption unrealistic, explain why most applications are better served by direct electrification, and scrutinize the massive investments and motivations behind the current hydrogen push. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with o...
May 14, 2025•1 hr 19 min
In this episode, I chat with Kathy Hannun of Dandelion Energy about ground-source heat pumps, which are twice as efficient as air-source units but still more expensive up front. Dandelion has designed its own drills and heat pumps, and with a new 1,500-home partnership with a developer in Colorado, it’s looking to scale up and bring costs down. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.volts.wtf/subscribe...
May 09, 2025•1 hr 3 min
In this episode, I’m joined by consultant Jarrett Walker to take the pulse of US transit in a world of empty downtown office towers, surging weekend ridership, and the tech elite’s dream of transit without strangers. We unpack the myths that plague buses, reveal why Canada’s transit abundance should be our model, and map the policy battles that will determine whether US transit systems shrink or soar. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to...
May 07, 2025•1 hr 4 min
I catch up with Span CEO Arch Rao to discuss the company's expansion from consumer panels to the utility-focused Span Edge which can be used to create a true distributed power plant. We discuss why this is key to accelerating electrification and examine how the system works to respect consumer choices while managing grid constraints. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.volts.wtf/subscribe...
May 02, 2025•1 hr 7 min
In this episode, I speak with Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, one of the depressingly few Democratic leaders showing real fight in the face of Trumpism. We get into the weeds on how Illinois is defending its climate laws, advancing clean energy and manufacturing, and tackling thorny challenges like the housing crisis, the transition away from natural gas, and the looming “fiscal cliff” facing transit agencies. Oh, and the governor explains what quantum computing is. This is a public episode. If y...
Apr 30, 2025•48 min
In this episode, the tables are turned: I'm the guest of the Climate Papa podcast, interviewed by host Ben Eidelson. We discuss the nested fractal puzzle of decarbonization, the critical importance of the grid and urban land use, and why now is the most exciting time to jump into climate work. Plus, I share some thoughts on parenting and avoiding tech-bro culture as the climate space evolves. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus ep...
Apr 25, 2025•1 hr 25 min
My guest, Val Miftakhov of ZeroAvia, argues that hydrogen fuel cells paired with electric motors are the key to decarbonizing aviation. We discuss why he prefers his solution to sustainable aviation fuels or batteries, the challenges and misconceptions around supplying and refueling with hydrogen, and the tech roadmap from today's small retrofits to tomorrow's large jets. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.vol...
Apr 23, 2025•1 hr 12 min
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.volts.wtf I talk to Emily Pontecorvo (Heatmap) and Jeff St. John (Canary Media) to grapple with the latest Trump administration moves impacting climate and energy policy. We discuss the executive orders targeting state climate programs and propping up coal plants, the baffling new tariffs threatening energy supply chains, and the flurry of lawsuits challenging the administration's actions....
Apr 21, 2025•15 min
In this episode, I dive into the UK's decarbonization journey with Lucy Yu of the Centre for Net Zero. We discuss how the UK has become a world leader in offshore wind while lagging in heat pump adoption, why electricity market reform is essential to prevent gas from setting electricity prices, and how community ownership models overcome NIMBY resistance to wind projects. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.vol...
Apr 18, 2025•1 hr 7 min
I'm joined by “Texas Doug” Lewin to unpack the fascinating contradictions of a state that inadvertently became the nation's renewable energy powerhouse through a free market electricity system that its politicians now seem bent on strangling. Bills before the legislature would require solar and wind developers to also build gas plants, impose extreme setback requirements only on renewables, and potentially cripple the state's economy just as data centers drive unprecedented demand growth. This i...
Apr 16, 2025•1 hr 23 min
In this episode, I'm joined by Helena Sarén to discover how Finland achieved a nearly 95% carbon-neutral electricity mix and set the ambitious goal of carbon neutrality by 2035. We dig into the country's pragmatic approach to nuclear power, how its relationship with neighboring Russia has shaped its energy independence and security strategies, and how Finnish industry is actively pushing for more aggressive climate targets rather than resisting them. This is a public episode. If you'd like to di...
Apr 11, 2025•58 min
In this episode, I dig into the just-released Global Electricity Review from the think tank Ember, with founder Bryony Worthington and lead author Nicolas Fulghum. Clean electricity surpassed 40 percent of global generation in 2024, driven by record solar deployment. We explore solar's rapid doubling, the pace of demand growth, and the way China's clean energy decisions shape global trends. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus epis...
Apr 09, 2025•1 hr 18 min
In this episode, I talk with Antoine Vagneur-Jones, head of clean energy, trade, and supply chains for BloombergNEF, about the messy world of global clean energy supply chains. We explore China's manufacturing dominance, the faltering quest to "onshore" production in Western countries, and why blanket tariffs often undermine the very goals they're supposed to achieve. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.volts.w...
Apr 04, 2025•1 hr 8 min
In this episode, I sit down with my old friend Sean Casten for a frank insider's take on the precarious state of clean energy policy amid our ongoing constitutional meltdown. We dive into the political knife fight over IRA tax credits (some Republicans support them), why transmission reform remains frustratingly partisan despite economic logic, and the fossil industry's fear of competition. Despite the dire political landscape, Casten makes a compelling case for why clean energy developers shoul...
Apr 02, 2025•1 hr 11 min
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.volts.wtf In this month's mailbag, I rave about my new EV (despite my lifelong aversion to cars), explain why our political system would never permit a "decarbonization Trump", wrestle with solar geoengineering, and share my thoughts on why home batteries are so much pricier than the ones rolling around in our cars.
Mar 28, 2025•12 min
In this episode, I talk with Patrick Robbins of Public Power NY and Johanna Bozuwa of the Climate and Community Institute about New York's groundbreaking Build Public Renewables Act, which empowers the state's public utility to build clean energy at scale. We explore how this surprising legislative victory happened, the challenges of implementation, and why public ownership might be the key to making renewable energy both politically resilient and economically accessible. This is a public episod...
Mar 26, 2025•1 hr 1 min
In this episode, I'm joined by Toms Lumsden and Young (development manager and urban planner, respectively) to explore Blatchford, an ambitious sustainable community being built on the grounds of a former municipal airport in Edmonton, Alberta (Canada’s most conservative province). We dig into how this city-led, mixed-use development is creating a carbon-neutral community with pedestrian-first streets, a variety of housing forms, and a district energy system, right in the heart of oil country. T...
Mar 19, 2025•1 hr 1 min
In this episode, I talk with Devrim Celal from Kraken about ensuring all our smart home energy devices can actually talk to the grid. We discuss how Mercury will certify devices to create reliability standards, preventing your fancy EV charger or heat pump from becoming useless if a manufacturer disappears while helping utilities manage load growth. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.volts.wtf/subscribe...
Mar 14, 2025•57 min
In this episode, Harvard Law's Eliza Martin and Ari Peskoe join me to unpack how data centers' skyrocketing electricity demand could leave ordinary customers subsidizing Big Tech's power bills. Most chilling is the potential alliance between utilities and tech giants that threatens to derail much-needed utility reforms while entrenching fossil-fueled infrastructure. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.volts.wtf...
Mar 12, 2025•1 hr
Why are housing and urban land use so central to climate policy? In this episode, I try to answer the question squarely, in dialogue with Matthew Lewis of California YIMBY. We discuss why EVs alone can't decarbonize transportation fast enough, how the climate-driven insurance crisis will bankrupt states, why the climate movement’s own internal NIMBYs are its greatest impediment, and when green philanthropists and leaders will finally catch up. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss t...
Mar 07, 2025•1 hr 23 min
In this episode, I'm joined by Albert Gore to discuss the fate of the electric-vehicle tax credits under the Trump administration. Gore explains how the consumer credit provides a demand-side signal to complement the supply-side manufacturing credits, and why eliminating either would primarily benefit Chinese manufacturers. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.volts.wtf/subscribe...
Mar 05, 2025•1 hr 8 min
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.volts.wtf In this episode, I speak with Canary Media journalists Clare Fieseler and Julian Spector to assess the early impacts of Trump's executive orders on clean energy. We explore what's actually happening with offshore wind projects, manufacturing investments, and tax credits from the Inflation Reduction Act.
Feb 28, 2025•9 min
In this episode, I speak with Mustafa Amjad and Waqas Moosa about Pakistan's extraordinary solar boom -- nearly 30 gigawatts of panels have flooded into the country since 2020! We explore how punishingly high grid electricity prices combined with dramatically cheaper Chinese solar panels have created a bottom-up energy revolution that could become the blueprint for energy transitions worldwide. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus ...
Feb 26, 2025•1 hr 1 min
In this episode, I'm joined by James Van Nostrand. He is the top utility regulator in Massachusetts, the first state to explicitly tell gas utilities to plan their own phase-out. We explore this complex transition, including the fate of existing gas infrastructure, the potential of networked geothermal as an alternative, and protections for both workers and ratepayers. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.volts....
Feb 21, 2025•1 hr 7 min
In this episode I'm joined by Annemarie Gray and Felicity Maxwell to discuss how the YIMBY movement is finally cracking the code on housing reform in major American cities. We examine the recent groundbreaking victories in New York City and Austin, exploring how pro-housing groups are learning from each other through networks like Welcoming Neighbors Network, and wrestle with the challenge of increasing housing supply while protecting existing communities. This is a public episode. If you'd like...
Feb 19, 2025•1 hr 14 min
