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
At this live event in Austin, Texas, I was joined by Austin Energy executives Lisa Martin and Michael Enger to discuss how a progressive municipal utility charts a course to clean energy in Texas. We explore their multi-pronged approach to reaching 100 percent carbon-free electricity by 2035, from expanding distributed energy resources and battery storage to piloting first-of-its-kind geothermal technology. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get acc...
Feb 14, 2025•58 min
In this episode, recorded at a live event in Houston, I catch up with Tim Latimer, the CEO of Fervo Energy. Since the last time I interviewed him, almost two years ago, the company has proven out its technology, reduced its costs, started construction on a large-scale commercial power plant in Utah, and signed contracts for many more. We discuss enhanced geothermal’s benefits, its momentum, and its bipartisan support. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers...
Feb 12, 2025•1 hr 10 min
In this episode, I talk with climate scientist Zeke Hausfather about how enhanced rock weathering (ERW) turbocharges a natural process to permanently store CO₂. We dig into how it profits from existing infrastructure, and the big questions around measuring and verifying the carbon captured. Zeke also explains why farmers might actually benefit from spreading all those rocks — and why ERW could become a key, if limited, piece of the broader climate puzzle. This is a public episode. If you'd like ...
Feb 07, 2025•1 hr 7 min
In this episode, I speak with Harry Krejsa of Carnegie Mellon about why cybersecurity experts and clean energy advocates need to work together. Drawing from his White House experience, Krejsa explains how a modernized clean energy grid could actually help defend against China's cyberthreats — for the benefit of both peaceniks and natsec hawks. 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...
Feb 05, 2025•1 hr 10 min
Chris Hayes — author, MSNBC host, and previous guest on Volts — is just out with a new book, The Sirens Call , about the corrosive effects of the modern attention economy. In this episode, he and I dive deep into attention: what it is, when it became commodified, why it is so easy to steal, where industry is looking for new supplies, and how the harried and distracted can defend themselves from the onslaught. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get a...
Jan 29, 2025•1 hr 10 min
In this episode, I talk with Erik Steimle of Rye Development about the new wave of "closed loop" pumped-hydro storage projects. Unlike traditional systems that rely on rivers and dams, these projects use two artificial reservoirs — providing reliable long-duration storage without impacting natural waterways. We explore the economics of these billion-dollar facilities, their 100+ year lifespans, and how they compare to lithium-ion storage. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this w...
Jan 22, 2025•58 min
I'm joined by Eric Gimon to discuss "energy parks" — essentially large-scale microgrids that combine renewable generation, storage, and industrial loads behind a single grid connection. We explore how this model could accelerate clean energy deployment while creating new economic opportunities, despite some complex regulatory hurdles. 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 15, 2025•1 hr 9 min
In this episode, I talk with Matt Traldi, co-founder of Greenlight America, about the fight for clean energy at the local level. We discuss how small groups of opponents are successfully blocking renewable projects across the country, and how his organization is working to turn the tide by mobilizing local supporters and giving them the tools to advocate effectively at critical government meetings. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bo...
Jan 08, 2025•1 hr 10 min
In this episode, I revisit thermal energy networks with HEET's Zeyneb Magavi and Eversource's Eric Bosworth. What was once a novel concept - replacing gas networks with shared ground-source heat pumps - is now being piloted across the country. We explore the technology's remarkable efficiency and its potential to revolutionize heating and cooling — and give gas utilities a second life as thermal utilities. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get acce...
Jan 01, 2025•1 hr 23 min
In this episode, I speak with Ben Brown, CEO of Renew Home, about the company's groundbreaking 1-gigawatt virtual power plant deal with NRG Energy in Texas. It will be the nation’s largest VPP, leveraging existing smart thermostats to control millions of residential HVAC systems. We discuss customer experience, data privacy, and the ability of VPPs to rapidly scale to meet rising electricity demand. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to b...
Dec 20, 2024•1 hr 9 min
In this episode, I speak with Pier LaFarge, CEO of Sparkfund, who challenges the traditional antagonism between utilities and distributed energy advocates. While investor-owned utilities have long been seen as obstacles to clean energy adoption, LaFarge argues that they're actually essential to scaling DERs in an era of explosive electricity demand. 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 18, 2024•2 hr 53 min
In this episode, I speak with Malcolm Woolf and Connor Nelson about hydropower's underappreciated role in America's clean energy landscape. While providing most of our energy storage and thus supporting solar and wind deployments, hydropower faces significant challenges, with a decade-long relicensing processes and inadequate market compensation. We discuss why preserving and expanding this reliable, clean firm energy source is crucial as we transition to renewables. This is a public episode. If...
Dec 13, 2024•1 hr 3 min
In this episode, I chat with author Cory Doctorow about "enshittification," his viral term for how digital platforms and smart technologies inevitably get worse over time. We explore how monopoly power, aggressive IP protections, and lax privacy law enable companies to capture and exploit users — and what that might mean for the clean energy transition as our homes and vehicles become increasingly software-dependent. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers ...
Dec 11, 2024•2 hr 37 min
In this episode, I talk with Kate Gordon, CEO of California Forward, about how climate change is breaking the insurance industry. We discuss why insurers are fleeing high-risk states, the limitations of government backstops, and the looming political and financial crisis as communities face hard choices about where people can safely live. 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 04, 2024•1 hr 7 min
