Volts is a podcast about leaving fossil fuels behind. I've been reporting on and explaining clean-energy topics for almost 20 years, and I love talking to politicians, analysts, innovators, and activists about the latest progress in the world's most important fight. (Volts is entirely subscriber-supported. Sign up!)
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...
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...
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...
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...
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.
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 ...
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....
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...
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...
David Roberts catches up with Tim Latimer, CEO of Fervo Energy, to discuss the company's significant progress in enhanced geothermal. They cover the successful Google pilot project proving the technology, achieving dramatic cost reductions, and the construction of their first large-scale commercial power plant in Utah. The conversation delves into technological innovations, geothermal's unlimited resource potential, its fit with surging data center demand, increasing political support, and the company's path to cost competitiveness.
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 ...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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 ...
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...
In this episode, I talk with Caroline Spears of Climate Cabinet about the results of the state and local climate races her organization tracked in 2024. We discuss the importance of these often-overlooked state and local races for climate progress, the challenges of the current political information environment, and Climate Cabinet's strategy for building power at the state level through 2030 and beyond. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access...
In this episode, I talk with Ray Minjares of ICCT and Jacqueline Torres of Forum Mobility about the electrification of heavy trucks, from drayage at ports to long-haul big rigs. We dig into charging challenges, innovative financing models, and the massive pollution cuts possible by transitioning fleets. Electric trucks are here — but they need the right policies and partnerships to scale. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episod...
In this episode, I talk with activist, sex advice columnist, and progressive journalist Dan Savage about the legacy of “ The Urban Archipelago ,” a groundbreaking piece he commissioned and edited two decades ago in the wake of GW Bush’s reelection, urging Democrats to embrace cities as their political base and future. We explore how NIMBY-captured Democratic city leadership has stifled urban potential — and why improving and growing cities isn’t just policy; it’s party building. This is a public...
In this episode, I chat with Sunrun CEO Mary Powell about how residential solar is evolving into much more than just panels. We dive into Sunrun’s expansion as a “clean energy lifestyle” brand, Mary’s belief in a customer-led energy transition, and alternatives to the tech bros' virile obsession with nuclear power. 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...
In this episode, I talk with Bill Moyer, founder of the Reconnect America campaign, about the huge, untapped potential of U.S. railroads to support the clean energy transition. Bill makes the case that our privately owned rail system, focused on short-term profits, is missing out on big public benefits—like shifting freight from roads to rails, reducing emissions, and even using rail corridors to carry high-voltage transmission lines for renewable energy. This is a public episode. If you'd like ...
In this episode, I chat with Ari Matusiak, co-founder and head of Rewiring America, which recently received a $2 billion grant from the feds to take home electrification mainstream. We dig into the practical challenges — getting local contractors on board, simplifying rebate access — and the enormous opportunities. 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...
In this episode, we’re diving into the wonky but vital topic of performance-based utility regulation (PBR) with Cara Goldenberg and Laura Gonzalez. We discuss how traditional utility regulation creates perverse incentives for utilities — and the tools PBR offers to better align incentives with modern priorities to like resilience, equity, and decarbonization. Dozens of states have adopted some form of PBR or other, and Virginia might be next. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss th...
In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Vanessa Chan, DOE’s Chief Commercialization Officer, to discuss the challenges of commercializing new clean energy technologies. Her office has helped develop a common vocabulary among stakeholders (“adoption readiness levels”) and concentrated the attention of public and private capital on certain key technologies (“pathway to liftoff” reports). It’s wonky stuff, but it has transformed and turbocharged DOE’s commercialization efforts. This is a public episod...
