Normally, we’d be bringing you an episode featuring an entrepreneur who’s making our climate-positive future a reality. But behind every founder with a big idea are scientists, engineers and policymakers working hard to turn those big ideas into reality. And right now, a lot of them are tackling one of the biggest contributors to the climate crisis – carbon So today, we have something new for you. As a bonus, we’re bringing you an episode of one of our favorite podcasts, The Big Switch. It’s hos...
May 10, 2022•23 min•Ep 53•Transcript available on Metacast With 93 Fortune 500 companies committing to net-zero targets, and with the SEC preparing to require public companies to disclose climate risks, corporations are beginning to think deeply about how to track and manage their emissions. That’s why Watershed Co-Founder and CEO Taylor Francis and his team built a platform to simplify the process — and help companies to decarbonize faster. From his co-founder’s guest bedroom, Taylor and his friends used their tech experience and climate passion to cre...
May 04, 2022•50 min•Ep 52•Transcript available on Metacast We’re running a contest! Through April 19, each review on Apple podcasts or share on social media (using #WattItTakes) will enter you to win a limited-edition Watt It Takes crewneck — and enable more people to hear inspiring stories about entrepreneurs making our climate-positive future a reality. To reduce greenhouse gas emissions quickly, we need to electrify large swaths of the economy. But that requires a steady supply of renewable power. And that's where things get tricky. Historically, we’...
Apr 05, 2022•40 min•Ep 51•Transcript available on Metacast We’re running a contest! Through March 15th, each review on Apple podcasts or share on social media (using #WattItTakes) will enter you to win a limited-edition Watt It Takes crewneck — and enable more people to hear inspiring stories about entrepreneurs making our climate-positive future a reality. Heavy industry is one of the hardest parts of the economy to decarbonize. Making steel, cement, and chemicals takes a lot of heat, a lot of electricity, and a lot of expensive equipment. Take hydroge...
Mar 02, 2022•52 min•Ep 50•Transcript available on Metacast There are 46,000 public EV charging stations across the United States. But with 32% of charging stations down at any given time, maintaining them is a big challenge for the industry. Minimizing charger downtime isn’t easy – differences in manufacturers, network providers, and utilities can mean wide variation in hardware or software between stations. That complexity can make fixing technical problems a challenge. And that's exactly what our guest, ChargerHelp! Co-founder and CEO Kameale Terry, i...
Feb 09, 2022•47 min•Ep 49•Transcript available on Metacast Electrifying cars and trucks is an essential part of decarbonizing mobility. But there's another vital piece in the race to zero-emissions transportation: public transit. Transit tech is emerging as one of the most exciting areas in the climate space. It's made up of companies using technology to get people out of their cars and onto shared vehicles like vans, buses, and trains. And the need has never been greater. When the pandemic threw public transportation systems around the world into turmo...
Dec 21, 2021•55 min•Ep 48•Transcript available on Metacast Starting in the 1960s, the United States became a world leader in building large-scale geothermal power plants. That changed in the mid-2000s with the fracking boom. Drillers turned their attention to oil and gas. And as wind, solar and batteries got cheaper, bankers and developers put their money into those resources. Today, geothermal development around the world has flatlined. But a small legion of clean energy entrepreneurs is working quietly in the background on innovations that could catal...
Dec 07, 2021•1 hr 1 min•Ep 47•Transcript available on Metacast There are a lot of nuances to the way people perceive our warming planet. But media coverage of the issue is often catastrophic, scientifically dense, or framed exclusively around politics. So how do we talk about climate in a way that resonates across diverse groups of people? That's what our guest, Alex Blumberg, kept asking himself. Alex is an acclaimed audio journalist. He’s the co-founder of Gimlet Media and host of the Spotify climate solutions podcast How to Save a Planet . Alex has pushe...
Nov 22, 2021•43 min•Ep 46•Transcript available on Metacast The United States recently surpassed 100 gigawatts of installed solar capacity, enough to power nearly 20 million homes. But to decarbonize the power grid by 2035 and meet growing demand, the Department of Energy estimates that we'll need 1,000 gigawatts of solar capacity, providing 40% of the nation's electricity in just 15 years. That means, on average, we'll need to install solar at quadruple the rate we did in 2020. We can't achieve that growth without creative new ways to install solar in a...
Oct 26, 2021•47 min•Ep 45•Transcript available on Metacast Ninety percent of Americans want to see more renewable energy on the grid. But two-thirds of them can't directly access wind and solar — because they don't own their rooftop, can't afford the upfront cost, or can't get it from their monopoly utility. That’s where our guest, Arcadia Founder & CEO Kiran Bhatraju, comes in. “We started Arcadia to give everyone access to clean energy. It was as simple as that,” says Bhatraju. “This is a very closed, balkanized industry. And so the core idea was to b...
Sep 28, 2021•50 min•Ep 44•Transcript available on Metacast When it comes to climate tech companies, there's only one name that's known around the world: Tesla. Tesla has arguably been the defining climate tech success story of the 21st century, driving demand for electric vehicles and becoming one of the world's most valuable companies. When people think of the person behind Tesla, they think of Elon Musk. But Musk wasn't there from the very beginning — he was an early investor in the company, and didn't become CEO until five years after its founding. M...
Aug 31, 2021•55 min•Ep 43•Transcript available on Metacast There's a race going on to build the next generation of energy storage technologies using gravity, chemicals, or heat to store clean electricity for long periods of time. And that's where our guest, Ramya Swaminathan, comes in. Ramya is the CEO of a company called Malta . Malta is building an electro-chemical battery that converts renewable electricity into heat. It's like a giant version of the heat pump in your air conditioner, using commercially-available, off-the-shelf parts. Malta's heat-pu...
Aug 10, 2021•48 min•Ep 42•Transcript available on Metacast Over the past four years, we’ve interviewed 40 incredible founders and CEOs on Watt It Takes. Our guests have inspired emerging and established leaders across the industry. And each one of these conversations has helped Emily on her own founder journey. With that in mind, in this episode of Watt It Takes , we’re turning the mic around to tell Emily’s story and the story of Powerhouse. Today, Powerhouse is an innovation firm and venture fund — working with the world’s leading companies to help co...
Jul 14, 2021•55 min•Ep 41•Transcript available on Metacast Andy Karsner is a highly influential entrepreneur, investor, diplomat, and strategist working to transform the world’s energy systems. In June, he was voted onto ExxonMobil’s board by activist shareholders as a way to hold the oil giant accountable on climate change. Back in the 90s, Andy was developing large gas and diesel power plants. But then he found the wind business. Andy started a company called Enercorp, which developed some of the earliest large-scale wind farms around the world. In 20...
Jun 15, 2021•38 min•Ep 40•Transcript available on Metacast Africa is becoming a dynamic market for clean, distributed energy. All across the continent, solar, batteries, generators, and microgrids are giving people energy cheaply — and providing greater reliability in a region where many central grids remain unreliable. But that dynamism can come at a cost. Systems are often complex. They lack standards. And it’s often difficult for buildings and businesses to manage and integrate them in concert with an incomplete grid. And that's where our guest, Ugwe...
May 18, 2021•52 min•Ep 39•Transcript available on Metacast Power plants are massive, complicated pieces of machinery. Gears. Pipes. Boilers. Generators. Instruments. But a new kind of model is taking shape: one that combines smartphones, software, and smart devices in homes. It’s called a virtual power plant. And it’s what our guest, Matt Duesterberg, is working to build every day. Matt is the co-founder of a company called Ohmconnect. It was founded in 2014 to make it easy for individuals to help clean up the grid. In December 2020, OhmConnect picked u...
Apr 20, 2021•39 min•Ep 38•Transcript available on Metacast This episode was originally released on November 15, 2018 In this episode: Emily’s conversation with Lynn Jurich, the co-founder and CEO of Sunrun. Sunrun was a pioneer in the early days of residential solar. Today, it’s the biggest installer of home solar systems in America -- and one of the industry’s biggest success stories. Sunrun also partners with utilities on using batteries and rooftop systems to create virtual power plants. Lynn talks about how she convinced homeowners and banks to inve...
Apr 06, 2021•51 min•Ep 37•Transcript available on Metacast This episode was originally published on September 4, 2020 In this episode: Emily’s conversation with CNN host and green-jobs pioneer Van Jones. Van may be best known for “The Van Jones Show” and “The Redemption Project,” which both air on CNN. He is also the author of three best-selling books, including “The Green Collar Economy.” But long before his high-profile career, Van was a powerful voice for bringing clean energy jobs to black and brown communities. He helped spearhead the Green Jobs Ac...
Apr 06, 2021•1 hr 4 min•Ep 35•Transcript available on Metacast This episode was originally released on January 15, 2021. In this episode: Emily’s conversation with Donnel Baird, the founder and CEO of BlocPower. BlocPower is a Brooklyn, New York startup electrifying and weatherizing buildings in underserved communities — slashing pollution and saving money. This includes housing units, churches, community centers. BlocPower was founded in 2012. It has raised venture capital from Kapor Capital and Andreesen Horowitz. But that process was not easy for a compa...
Apr 06, 2021•58 min•Ep 34•Transcript available on Metacast This episode was originally published on August 2, 2019 In this episode: Emily’s conversation with Matt Rogers, the co-founder of Nest. Nest is best known for its elegant learning thermostat, the first major breakout hit in the smart home space. Google later acquired the company for $3.2 billion. Matt is a former Apple engineer who applied design principles from the iPod and the iPad to smart thermostats — jolting an industry badly in need of change. This conversation was recorded live at Powerh...
Apr 06, 2021•1 hr 5 min•Ep 33•Transcript available on Metacast This episode was originally released on October 23, 2020. In this episode: Emily’s conversation with Steph Speirs, the CEO of Solstice. Solstice is a community-solar company with a mission to bring clean electricity to underserved communities. Steph Speirs grew up as one of three kids, a first generation immigrant, in Hawaii. She knows what poverty can feel like, or how a poor credit score can sink a human being. Steph wanted to use her seat at the table to make room for others. Solstice’s motto...
Apr 06, 2021•51 min•Ep 32•Transcript available on Metacast This episode was first aired on February 25, 2021. In this episode: Emily’s conversation with Stephen Lacey, the founder of Post Script Audio. Stephen has been the creative force behind many of the top podcasts about climate change and clean energy. And, he also happens to be our executive producer. He’s been making podcasts about the energy transition since 2006. This was the dawn of on-demand audio and the modern clean energy industry—and he had a front-row seat to both. The conversation was r...
Apr 06, 2021•1 hr 17 min•Ep 30•Transcript available on Metacast This episode was originally published on December 2, 2020. In this episode: Emily’s conversation with Cathy Zoi, the CEO of EVgo — one of the country’s largest electric vehicle charging networks. Cathy has seen it all. She’s studied and worked in oil, gas and clean energy since the Reagan Era. Now at the helm of EVgo, she’s convinced the future of mobility is coming fast. Cathy was on the team that developed the original Energy Star rating when she worked at the Environmental Protection Agency. ...
Apr 06, 2021•49 min•Ep 29•Transcript available on Metacast This episode was first released on September 22, 2020. In this episode: Emily’s conversation with Michael Liebreich, the founder of Bloomberg New Energy Finance. Michael had been many things, from entry-level analyst to Olympic skier to a crestfallen dot-com entrepreneur. And then in the mid-2000s, he found his home in the clean energy economy. Unemployed, he used a team of interns to begin compiling data on clean energy investment. And that turned into a 140-employee business that Bloomberg LP ...
Apr 06, 2021•57 min•Ep 28•Transcript available on Metacast This episode originally aired August 16, 2021. In this episode: Emily’s conversation with Dan Yates, the co-founder and former CEO of Opower. Opower was based on a simple premise: send paper mailers to utility customers comparing their electricity use to their neighbors. And if people saw they were doing poorly, they’d make changes. It worked. Over time, Opower inked deals with the world’s biggest power companies and started processing vast amounts of smart meter data -- making it arguably the b...
Apr 06, 2021•53 min•Ep 27•Transcript available on Metacast This episode was originally published on May 28, 2020. In this episode: Emily’s conversation with Gia Schneider, the co-founder and CEO of Natel Energy. Natel is commercializing a turbine for low-head hydro applications—at locations like old dams, irrigation canals and run-of-river projects. And it’s designed to protect wildlife and drastically cut the ecological impact of hydropower. Gia has a long history in energy. She worked at Constellation Energy and in Accenture’s utility practice. She st...
Apr 06, 2021•53 min•Ep 26•Transcript available on Metacast This episode was originally published on April 30, 2020. In this episode: Emily’s conversation with Saul Griffith, the founder and chief scientist at Otherlab. Otherlab is an R&D incubator and accelerator that helps pair startups in robotics and renewable energy with government labs and corporate investors. It has partnered with NASA, the Navy, the Department of Energy, Google, Facebook, GE and Ford to help build and fund projects in energy, automation, and robotics in service of 100% decarboniz...
Apr 06, 2021•1 hr 7 min•Ep 25•Transcript available on Metacast In this episode: Emily’s conversation with Robyn Beavers, the co-founder and CEO of Blueprint Power. Blueprint works with real estate companies to turn their buildings into power plants. It has a piece of software that helps building owners optimize their use of co-generation, fuel cells, solar or batteries. Robin has a long history in the tech, real estate, and the energy world. This conversation was recorded in January 2020 in front of a live audience at Powerhouse’s headquarters in Oakland, C...
Apr 06, 2021•1 hr 7 min•Ep 24•Transcript available on Metacast In this episode: Emily’s conversation with Dr. Christine Ho, the co-founder and CEO of Imprint Energy. Imprint is the company created to commercialize Christine’s invention: a tiny, zinc-based solid-state battery that can be screen printed. It’s being integrated into sensors and other tiny devices, helping power the internet-of-things. Today, Imprint is licensing its technology to multiple manufacturers, and it’s printed hundreds of thousands of batteries. This conversation was recorded in 2020 ...
Apr 06, 2021•1 hr 7 min•Ep 23•Transcript available on Metacast In this episode: Emily’s conversation with Dr. Etosha Cave, the co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Opus 12. Opus 12 is a team of engineers, electrochemists and materials scientists working on a technology that converts carbon dioxide into usable products. If the tech works at commercial scale, it would be a vital solution for slashing CO2 from industrial sources. The company has brought in about $20 million in funding. This conversation was recorded in 2019 in front of a live audience at...
Apr 06, 2021•56 min•Ep 22•Transcript available on Metacast 
