Everyone is talking about virtual power plants, but as I discuss with EnergyHub CEO Seth Frader-Thompson, not all VPPs are created equal. We get nerdy on the various stages of VPP maturity and the specific technical requirements that VPPs must meet to truly compete with conventional power plants rather than just acting as “enhanced demand response.” 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...
Jan 21, 2026•1 hr 15 min
I’In this episode, I chat with Swedish tech entrepreneur Jonas Birgersson about his radical plan to apply the architecture of the internet—packet switching, buffering, and decentralized routing—to the electricity grid. We explore how his “EnergyNet” concept uses power electronics to create galvanically separated microgrids that stop cascading failures and allow neighbors to share power directly. It is a mind-bending look at how treating electrons like data could lead to unlimited energy for a lo...
Jan 14, 2026•1 hr 29 min
Conventional geothermal energy is limited to specific hot spots, but “closed-loop” geothermal, by going deeper and confining water to sealed boreholes, promises to work almost anywhere; it amounts to building a giant radiator, deep underground. I’m joined by Jeanine Vany and Mark Fitzgerald of pioneering closed-loop startup Eavor to discuss their newly operational plant in Germany and the many advantages of a system that requires no fracking and consumes no water. This is a public episode. If yo...
Jan 09, 2026•1 hr 5 min
In this episode, I’m joined by Kate Slevin of the Regional Plan Association to discuss the triumphant first year of congestion pricing in Manhattan. We explore how the program defied its critics by boosting business and pedestrian traffic while reducing gridlock, without evident traffic spillover onto adjacent streets. We also cover the money that’s been raised for public transit and what the future holds for the congestion relief zone. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this wit...
Jan 07, 2026•59 min
Hawaii Senator Brian Schatz joins me to discuss the energy policy landscape facing Democrats and how they should respond. We touch on the shift in messaging from “climate” to “affordability,” current Congressional Republican efforts on permitting reform in light of Trump’s anti-renewables crusade, the role of green groups in climate politics, and much more. 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/subscrib...
Dec 31, 2025•57 min
Why can Australian homeowners get rooftop solar installed in a week or less, for roughly 50 cents a watt, while Californians pay $3.30/w and wait months for interconnection? In this episode, I ask inimitable Australian energy expert Saul Griffith to walk us through the entire process — from quote to interconnection — to pinpoint exactly where the US system is broken and how we could fix it. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus epis...
Dec 26, 2025•1 hr 28 min
The problem of misinformation in the current age, argues political scientist Samuel Bagg, is not that reliably truth-producing institutions and practices don’t exist, but that people have ceased to trust them. Changing that requires something deeper than factchecking or media literacy. It’s a matter of social identity, and solving it will mean reconfiguring the social identity landscape. I talk with Bagg about that daunting conclusion and its implications for democracy. This is a public episode....
Dec 19, 2025•1 hr 10 min
Senator Ruben Gallego (AZ) joins me to discuss his new energy plan, which combines elements of the Inflation Reduction Act with a new focus on permitting reform and small modular nuclear reactors. We get into all of it, from the promise of nuclear energy to the role community consultation. 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...
Dec 17, 2025•47 min
In this episode, Aliya Haq unpacks how her two decades in the climate movement have reshaped her view of what works. After six years working at Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Energy initiative, she has launched the Clean Economy Project, which will push for grid upgrades, market reforms, and innovation to make clean energy cheaper and more abundant. We wrestle with the politics of it all. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, vi...
Dec 12, 2025•1 hr 14 min
I’m joined by Brian Turner and Kathleen Staks to unpack the details of the newly authorized Regional Organization for Western Energy (ROWE), a unique “à la carte” RTO designed to unify the western US grid without trampling on state independence. We discuss the transition from the existing imbalance market to a full day-ahead market, the safeguards built into the bylaws to protect state clean-energy policies, and the politics of getting 38 separate balancing authorities to cooperate. This is a pu...
Dec 10, 2025•58 min
Why is a deregulated state like Illinois suddenly embracing central planning? In this episode, I talk with Kady McFadden and John Delurey about the state’s decision to empower its utility commission to directly procure clean energy. We discuss why capacity markets are too slow for the current environment and their strategy of aggressively framing renewables and storage not just as green, but as the only “fast and cheap” way to protect ratepayers from price spikes. This is a public episode. If yo...
Dec 03, 2025•1 hr 26 min
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.volts.wtf With load growth projections all over the map and politicians zeroing in on high electricity prices, I take a step back in this audio essay to ask how we should build the grid in the face of massive uncertainty. The answer lies in modular, distributed technologies that strengthen the system regardless of whether the AI bubble eventually bursts....
Nov 28, 2025•10 min
Will cheap, DIY solar reach American renters? In Germany, millions of people plug solar panels directly into wall outlets like any other appliance, but in the US, red tape makes it ludicrously costly. I chat with Cora Stryker of Bright Saver about how “balcony solar” (AKA “plug-in solar”) is booming in Europe and making its way to America, starting in Utah. We discuss the technical and safety issues, the regulatory hurdles, and the solar “gateway drug” effect. This is a public episode. If you'd ...
Nov 26, 2025•1 hr 7 min
Energy strategist Kingsmill Bond joins me to explain why the transition to “electrotech” is unstoppable, whether or not politicians care about climate change. It’s not the reduced emissions, it’s physics (electrotech is more efficient) and economics (it’s cheaper). Despite political headwinds in the US, China and emerging economies are racing ahead with electrification and sector after sector is seeing peak fossil fuel consumption. There’s no stopping it: electrons will triumph over This is a pu...
Nov 21, 2025•1 hr 23 min
Environmentalism has typically focused on outdoor air quality, but climate change is pushing more people indoors more of the time, even as airborne pathogens and wildfire smoke challenge indoor air quality. I discuss the fight for better indoor air with Dr. Georgia Lagoudas, who recently coordinated a global pledge declaring it a basic human right. We dig into what pollutes indoor air, the technologies that can keep it clean, and the enormous social and economic benefits clean air in schools. Th...
Nov 19, 2025•1 hr 3 min
Distributed energy resources are everywhere, but connecting buyers and sellers is a coordination nightmare; I talk with James Johnston, whose company Piclo is tackling that problem head-on. He explains how they’ve built a transparent, open marketplace where utilities and other buyers can procure flexibility as a simple commodity from a wide range of sellers. We discuss how this model is already working in the UK and how it could allow data centers to pay for faster grid access in the US — potent...
Nov 12, 2025•1 hr 7 min
In this episode, I welcome back Caroline Spears from Climate Cabinet for a post-election debrief that, unlike last year’s, is full of good news. We explore how a slate of pro-climate candidates defied expectations in tough districts across the country, driven by a powerful backlash against the Trump administration. 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...
Nov 10, 2025•1 hr 2 min
In this episode, I chat with Nick Chaset, CEO of Octopus Energy US, about bringing the company’s customer-focused, tech-forward model to America. We get into the details of how Octopus simplifies home energy management for its retail customers and its plan to help regulated utilities do the same. We also touch on ambitious ideas like the “Zero Bills” home and how to build gigawatt-scale virtual power plants that benefit both consumers and the grid. This is a public episode. If you'd like to disc...
Nov 07, 2025•54 min
With the White House actively dismantling clean transportation policy, what can states do to salvage progress? I talk with former DOT policy advisor Liya Rechtman about a little-known authority that lets states transfer highway dollars to fund transit, EV charging, and bike lanes. We explore how governors can use this tool, but only if they act quickly. 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...
Nov 05, 2025•53 min
Lately, everyone from Tony Blair to Daniel Yergin is calling for a “climate reset,” so I brought on clean-energy analyst Michael Liebreich to discuss his own, very different version. While others push expensive distractions, Liebreich argues that the inexorable growth of cheap renewables is already on track to displace fossil fuels, a “tortoise” strategy that will win without the need for crisis politics. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get acces...
Oct 31, 2025•43 min
In this episode I’m joined by Wilson Ricks and Killian Daly, who are involved in the process of updating the Greenhouse Gas Protocol that governs (among other things) corporate clean-energy procurement. We explore the proposed shift to requiring hourly, local matching for Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs), a change designed to end the “race to the bottom” where companies buy cheap, low-impact RECs to paper over the fact that being “100 percent clean” is genuinely difficult. This is a public e...
Oct 29, 2025•1 hr 9 min
Redwood Materials has long dominated EV battery recycling, but what if they could drain every last drop of energy from those batteries before recycling them? I talk with the company’s CTO, Colin Campbell, about Redwood Energy, a new division doing just that by deploying used batteries as grid-scale storage at a massive scale. This isn’t just a side project; it’s a plan to turn a massive wave of incoming used batteries into a key resource for the grid. This is a public episode. If you'd like to d...
Oct 22, 2025•59 min
I chat with Sarah Goodyear and Doug Gordon, the hosts behind the unapologetic podcast “The War on Cars,” about their new book and the fight to reveal our car-dominated world as a political choice, not an inevitability. We explore the many ways automobiles suck, from the “motonormativity” that makes us angrier and more isolated behind the wheel to the devastating impact on children’s freedom and development. We also get into the positive, radical vision that animates their work: a future with few...
Oct 20, 2025•1 hr 9 min
New York passed one of the most ambitious climate laws in the country, but is now struggling to meet its goals. I’m joined by Doreen Harris, president of NYSERDA, the agency on the front lines of implementing the law. We explore what’s working, from community solar to new transmission lines, and what isn’t, including the slow pace of scaling up renewables and decarbonizing transportation. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episod...
Oct 17, 2025•50 min
In this episode, I talk with Seattle mayoral candidate Katie Wilson, a longtime transit and housing organizer who scored a surprise primary victory against the city’s establishment-friendly incumbent. Wilson makes the case for why her deep experience as a community organizer and coalition-builder is precisely the kind of leadership needed to restore faith in government and get big things done. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus e...
Oct 15, 2025•1 hr 8 min
In this episode, I chat with Quaise CEO Carlos Araque about unlocking geothermal energy on a planetary scale by drilling miles into the Earth’s crust. He explains how his company’s technology vaporizes rock with microwaves to reach depths where intense heat sends the water supercritical, packing ten times the energy density of conventional geothermal. The ultimate goal: persuading the oil and gas industry to put its capital and expertise toward mining heat rather than fuels. This is a public epi...
Oct 10, 2025•45 min
Why should you care about a utility commission race in Georgia? Because it’s a national bellwether, a sign of how voters are going to react to skyrocketing power prices and a test of whether Democrats can get their act together. I talk with candidate Peter Hubbard and activist Brionté McCorkle about the state’s Public Service Commission, its coziness with utilities, and what reform would look like. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bo...
Oct 08, 2025•1 hr 4 min
In this episode, I chat with investor Clay Dumas of Lowercarbon Capital about the growing use of “advance market commitments” (AMCs). We discuss how this simple idea — a group of buyers commits to purchasing a set amount of a product if it can be produced — can derisk investment and jumpstart innovation in the climate economy’s toughest sectors. Clay explains what makes for a well-designed AMC and how it can accelerate the path to commercialization for everything from carbon removal to green ste...
Oct 03, 2025•37 min
Data centers are creating a grid crunch, so what if they paid to solve it by upgrading our homes? I chat with Rewiring America’s Ari Matusiak and PG&E’s Carla Peterman about a new report proposing that hyperscalers fund household electrification to free up the grid capacity they desperately need. We explore how this reframes households as crucial energy infrastructure and creates a win-win-win for tech companies, utilities, and everyday people. This is a public episode. If you'd like to disc...
Oct 01, 2025•1 hr 7 min
High-temperature industrial heat for things like steel gets a lot of attention in clean energy world, but its somewhat less sexy cousin low -temperature industrial heat could use a little more. In this episode, I talk with Teresa Cheng (Industrious Labs) and Richard Hart (ACEEE) about how industries like beer, milk, and paper can decarbonize with industrial heat pumps and thermal storage. We dig into how electrified industry could help the grid, confront the hidden costs of sticking with gas, an...
Sep 24, 2025•1 hr 1 min
