Access to charging is a barrier to EV adoption for folks without a driveway or a garage, but what if charging your car in an urban area was as easy as charging your phone? Enter startup Itselectric, which has developed curbside level-2 chargers that connect to building electric panels, making installation quick and efficient. In this episode, co-founder and COO Tiya Gordon discusses the company’s award-winning charger design and vision for a future of ubiquitous urban charging. This is a public ...
Aug 28, 2024•56 min•Transcript available on Metacast Through the passage of IRA and CHIPS, the Biden administration has invested billions of dollars and created more than 100,000 manufacturing jobs in purple and red districts that have been hard-hit by globalization and disinvestment. In this episode, Julian Spector of Canary Media, reporting from these communities, shares about local reactions to this influx of new money and opportunities, and the reality that Trump’s Project 2025 wants to roll back the tax credits fueling this growth. This is a ...
Aug 21, 2024•1 hr•Transcript available on Metacast After decades of talk about offshore wind, California seems closer than ever to actually supporting an industry. But to meet the state’s goal of five gigawatts of offshore wind power by 2030, a lot of as-yet-nascent pieces need to fall into place. In this episode, Adam Stern of Offshore Wind California and Jocelyn Brown-Saracino of the US Department of Energy discuss California's recent policy efforts and the state of floating-wind technology. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss t...
Aug 14, 2024•1 hr 10 min•Transcript available on Metacast Most electricity ratepayers in the US have a smart meter generating real-time data about their power usage, which could theoretically be used to reduce consumption and save money, but in most cases, utilities have locked up the information in inaccessible formats. In this episode, Michael Murray, leader of business coalition Mission:data , describes the potential value of smart meter data and the group’s ongoing efforts to pry it from utilities. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss...
Aug 09, 2024•1 hr 5 min•Transcript available on Metacast Over the past five years, Colorado’s Democratic trifecta has produced a cascade of legislation on climate, energy, housing, and land use (among other things). In this episode, we dive into some of these achievements and the politics behind them with Gov. Jared Polis and his top climate policy advisor (and previous Volts guest ) Will Toor. 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...
Aug 07, 2024•48 min•Transcript available on Metacast NYC’s Revel is trying to build urban EV fast chargers and demand for those chargers (in the form of its own EV rideshare network) simultaneously. In this episode, Revel’s Tobias Lescht discusses the challenges of urban fast charging and the company’s plans to expand beyond NYC. 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...
Aug 02, 2024•1 hr 11 min•Transcript available on Metacast For years, perovskite solar cells have been the Next Big Thing in solar. In this episode, Joel Jean, co-founder and CEO of Swift Solar, explains what exactly perovskites are, the performance and weight advantages they promise, the challenges they face, and when they might actually reach market. 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...
Jul 31, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Transcript available on Metacast An enormous amount of wood is harvested from forests in the southern US to be burned in Europe as “renewable energy.” Now the industry wants to open more wood-pellet facilities in the Pacific Northwest. In this episode, Rita Frost of NRDC and Brenna Bell of 350 PDX explain why that’s a bad idea and why wood pellets aren’t as renewable as they look. 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...
Jul 24, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this episode, Beverly Craig of the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center discusses what passive house building principles entail, the benefits they generate for building occupants and the grid, and what it would take to persuade more US builders and policymakers to adopt them. 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...
Jul 19, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Transcript available on Metacast EVs are great for people with garages to charge them in, but what about everyone else? In this episode, Gabe Klein of DOE’s Joint Office of Energy and Transportation talks us through new approaches to EV charging for people in multifamily residences in urban settings, including new business models, new technologies, and even new vehicles. 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...
Jul 17, 2024•54 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this episode, David Wooley and Ed Carr, lead authors of recent papers outlining policy and technology options for reducing emissions in the shipping industry, discuss the fuels (and batteries?) that could power ships of the future, the policies needed to move forward, and California's pivotal role. 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...
Jul 12, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Transcript available on Metacast A startup called Mattiq is using a combination of nanotechnology, AI, and electrolysis to produce novel materials that could eventually substitute for carbon-intensive materials in sectors from chemicals to plastics to fuels. In this episode, CEO Jeff Erhardt and I dig into the technological and business details. 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...
Jul 10, 2024•1 hr 7 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this episode, CEO Siyu Huang of Factorial Energy talks through recent advancements in solid-state batteries, which promise significant improvements in energy density and safety and are paving the way for electric vehicles with substantially increased range to hit the market within the next few years. 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...
Jul 05, 2024•54 min•Transcript available on Metacast A new startup called Base Power aims to bring more stability to the volatile Texas grid by selling customers oversized home batteries at minimal costs and then using the excess capacity to trade on the market. In this episode, co-founders Zach Dell and Justin Lopas discuss their innovative business model and its potential impact in Texas and beyond. 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...
Jul 03, 2024•1 hr 13 min•Transcript available on Metacast US public education infrastructure faces significant challenges due to years of deferred maintenance and the growing impacts of climate change. Luckily, the Inflation Reduction Act offers substantial, easily accessible financial assistance to schools in the form of direct-pay tax credits for climate-friendly upgrades. Many schools don’t even know about them. In this episode, Sara Ross and Jonathan Klein of UndauntedK12 discuss their efforts to spread the word. This is a public episode. If you’d ...
Jun 28, 2024•53 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this episode: more heat pumps! Jane Melia, co-founder and CEO of Harvest, discusses the advantages of teaming a high-end eat pump with a large thermal battery, to coordinate the timing of electricity consumption. Shifting the heat pump load can help reduce both costs and emissions. 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...
Jun 26, 2024•57 min•Transcript available on Metacast New York City was on the cusp of (finally) implementing a congestion pricing program when Governor Kathy Hochul announced earlier this month that it would be “indefinitely delayed.” In this episode, NY State Sen. Liz Krueger and Evergreen Action’s Justin Balik, both with deep history in New York’s congestion pricing drama, discuss Hochul’s mysterious and possibly illegal move, the apocalyptic budget implications, and what might happen next. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this...
Jun 21, 2024•1 hr 4 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this episode, CEO Kyle Clark of BETA Technologies walks us through the details of how to design, build, and operate electric planes — first for relatively short light-cargo flights, but eventually, he says, for all of aviation. I loved this conversation so much. 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...
Jun 19, 2024•58 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this episode, recorded at a live event, Washington State Governor Jay Inslee discusses his multiple decades of climate advocacy, his political successes, and the upcoming threat to one of his crowning achievements. 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
Jun 14, 2024•1 hr 21 min•Transcript available on Metacast In his book The Price Is Wrong , Brett Christophers argues that, contrary to recent economic triumphalism among renewables advocates, wind and solar are not profitable enough to attract the private capital necessary to scale as fast as they need to scale. In this episode, he and I dig deep (extremely deep) into the details. 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...
Jun 12, 2024•2 hr 36 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this episode, I have a lively conversation with Alp Kucukelbir, co-author of a recent “Artificial Intelligence for Climate Change Mitigation Roadmap,” about the strengths and limits of AI in relation to climate, where it all might be headed, and how concerned we should be about the energy use of data centers. 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...
Jun 07, 2024•1 hr 21 min•Transcript available on Metacast More than half a billion people on the African continent lack access to electricity, and the number is only growing. In this episode, Tombo Banda of CrossBoundary’s Mini-Grid Innovation Lab discusses the longstanding barriers to electricity access in sub-Saharan Africa, why current business models haven’t been effective, and the mini-grid innovations that could turn the tide. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www...
Jun 05, 2024•47 min•Transcript available on Metacast Steel production generates almost 10 percent of global carbon emissions and has long been considered “hard to abate.” Enter Boston Metal, a startup that aims to make carbon-free steel using only (sing it with me!) clean electricity. In this episode, CEO Tadeu Carneiro explains “molten oxide electrolysis” and its potential to transform the industry. 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 29, 2024•52 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this episode, Rob Gramlich of Grid Strategies comes back on the pod to discuss the suddenly sizzling transmission world, where both President Biden and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission have recently announced significant updates to transmission planning, permitting, and funding. 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 24, 2024•1 hr 9 min•Transcript available on Metacast Which political races should climate advocates focus on to get the most bang for their buck? (Hint: not the presidency.) In this episode, executive director Caroline Spears of Climate Cabinet explains how her organization uses data science to identify state and local races with high potential to impact climate progress. 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 22, 2024•56 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this episode, I talk with CEO Paul Lambert of startup Quilt, which came out of stealth this week with heat pumps that are not ugly. They perform well too, and are easy to buy and install, but mostly they’re not ugly. 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 17, 2024•1 hr 5 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this episode, California electricity guru Lorenzo Kristov shares his vision of a just, democratic, “bottom-up” grid based in distributed local energy. 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 15, 2024•2 hr 30 min•Transcript available on Metacast Climate awareness is growing in the real world, but it remains rare in popular entertainment, as illustrated by some new research on climate in film. In this episode, Anna Jane Joyner discusses the efforts of her nonprofit, Good Energy, to help screenwriters tell climate stories better (or at all). 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 08, 2024•1 hr 3 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this episode, Grace Van Horn and Jonas Monast of the Center for Applied Environmental Law and Policy do a deep analysis on the EPA’s recently finalized carbon pollution standards for power plants. 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 06, 2024•1 hr 5 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this episode, longtime clean-energy analyst Michael Liebreich assesses five causes for pessimism about the net-zero transition, alongside five causes for optimism. 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 01, 2024•1 hr 12 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
