Inspired by the question of whether there is any guest you wanted and could not get. Have you considered doing a pod with someone you totally or mostly disagree with? Let's say the head of COP 28, Sultan Al Jaber. Maybe the head of a big utility on how to align their incentives with climate needs. I couldn't even imagine you talking to Joe Manchin, even if you could get him. But you get the idea.
Seconding Manchin or someone on his staff. I’ve heard accounts that his staff are very serious and knowledgeable people especially on energy topics, whatever one may think of his politics.
How do you think about the restrictions on Chinese imports in relationship to EV tech? The anti-China provisions in the IRA are seriously hampering eligibility for the $7500 credit, and Biden saying he'd block BYD imports at a time when we desperately need cheap EVs feels weird -- but then, I get the humanitarian goals, and the long-term industrial policy side makes sense too. So where do you net out on all this?
Around February 2022, David mentioned his experience with tendonitis was going to make Volts understandably center on podcast discussions instead of written Substack posts for the time being. Hopefully he's been managing his condition alright and it's improved since then.
In hindsight, do you think that shift has influenced your thought process as a climate journalist overtime? Or what kind of Substack posts do you wish you could have written during that time if you hadn't gotten tendonitis? And how much consideration have you given to hiring a typist for more written posts since then?
I saw on ex-twitter that you saw Dune 2, loved it, and pulled a lot of *ideas* out of it. I'm curious to hear more about what you thought of the movie and what *ideas*, themes, and other things you saw, and what got glued in your head Have you read the books, or seen the odd 80s version of the movie?
A question for which the answer may well snowball into an entire episode: How far out are we from "smart grids" actually managing decentralised assets (PV, EVs, BESS, etc.) effectively in practice at scale to enable greater VRE penetration?
Some background:
I recently started a job working as a policy advisor on power system transformation in Southeast Asia. The region's utilities are really pumping the brakes when it comes to rooftop PV, some of them imposing a limit on its installed capacity in LV distribution grids at 15% of transformer capacity, out of a fear of grid congestion (and other issues). Having worked in academia researching power systems in Europe until around 5 years ago, my gut reaction was: "When these issues actually do arise, we'll use the flexibility of distributed assets to alleviate congestion."
However, when catching up with where European DSOs (vs. academia) stand at the moment, my findings were quite sobering. To me, we look quite far off from any solution being ready to be deployed at scale. Roughly speaking, outside of some interesting pilot projects, all that's happening at the moment are the use of non-firm connection agreements and the use of some mostly California-like time-of-use tariffs. And like Astrid Atkinson I think of those very much as a temporary solution.
More worryingly perhaps is that distribution utilities, nor regulators, nor policy-makers seem to know how to get out of this stalemate. They all know it's an issue, one that's going to get a lot bigger, but they're all looking at each other to make the first move. Consequently, this also limits private sector movement, as they can't really know how they'd be compensated for anything. One of the few examples I found is that a couple of retailers already do some EV charging coordination, but they use that to play on the wholesale market, and don't take distribution grid constraints into account.
In some ways, distribution utilities in Southeast Asia (and other more regulated markets) are lucky in that they are allowed to themselves invest in things like storage, as opposed to European counterparts (what a great idea that power sector liberalization has turned out to be), so they'll have some more options to play with. Still, at some point they will also need a coordination strategy for all the distributed assets in their systems they won't own (PV, EVs, BESS, etc.). And they might need it pretty quickly if their countries are to stay on track with their RE targets.
Hence my question again: how far out do you think we are from Camus Energy-like solutions being at a stage where distribution utilities across the globe can easily integrate them into their operations (and take them into account for their planning)?
Are there any serious environmental initiatives being undertaken by red states or Republican congresspeople? Not looking for "balance", just asking if there's anything noteworthy that is being missed.
They may fit this in effect despite not being coded as climate initiatives, but there have been some red state initiatives to allow YIMBY-type housing development that generates less vehicle-miles traveled than the traditional far-flung suburbs that get built otherwise. I wonder if there are other initiatives that are not “climate-coded” that still help the climate.
Good question. I'm trying to stay focused on other things, but I hear some rhetoric to the effect of Investor Owned Utilities being Communist/Socialist or "Mob Rackets" that strike me as more establishment Republican stuff. It was Republicans in TX that beat back attempts to throttle renewables, and Ron DeSantis vetoed a law written by FPL and rubber-stamped by the legislature to kill rooftop solar. For the vast number of Republicans, getting (re-)elected depends on agreeing with "Mr. Drill-Drill-Drill". I'm sure there are a few that wish they had convicted him after the 2021 impeachment, but now they're stuck.
There are big problems with the investor-owned utility model. Do co-ops and/or municipal utilities really do better (from a climate perspective)? There have been episodes praising the co-op model, but I'd like to know whether existing co-ops actually accelerate the energy transition. Speaking here from Alaska, which is almost entirely co-op utilities and doing a crap job transitioning so far, despite the potential that we will literally run out of natural gas within the next few years. (I've been on the board of one of those co-ops for the last 5 years, so have seen this first hand).
I would be very interested in hearing a conversation between Dave and someone from Green Mountain Power, the major electric company in Vermont. They are a B corp (interesting), they are well down the renewable path and seem to generally serve their customers well.
I wonder if you might consider doing an episode about priorities. There seems to be a belief that we can never judge the importance of one thing over another. Emissions from all sectors are equally bad. I think this is derived from the religion of "free markets".
I would argue if we're going to talk about emitting greenhouse gases, we go after areas that are least important. Food isn't one of those areas. Sure there's lots of room for improvement, regenerative agriculture is a good start, but there are so many other things created by humans that should be eliminated first. Global heating is going to mean food insecurity. We shouldn't be eliminating our food options. We need food resiliency.
There's a recent On Point short series, "Elements of energy: Mining for a green future" that starts every show with this DR quote in the intro:
“The most negative story you could tell, the worst assumptions you could project… still it’s going to be a vast, vast, vast improvement on the ongoing apocalypse that’s the fossil fuel economy.”
Is David actually in the show itself? (I haven't found more, but haven't listened to all of it either...) If not, what's this quote from? I appreciate it, but wish they'd actually flesh this aspect out to put the rest of the piece in perspective. Thanks!
I just learned a little about Sewage Heat Recovery and it seems like something with lot of untapped potential, especially in dense urban areas. I would be very interested in a deep dive into this technology!
David mentioned an upcoming pod w/some China expert. A few items I've noticed recently seem infrequently mentioned, but worth discussing:
Pumped Hydro Energy Storage: Apparently China has 100s of GW in design with 10ish GW being completed per year. As much or more than their nuclear construction, but rarely mentioned here. https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=57360
Swappable batteries for BEV semi trucks: China went whole hog on BEV buses, but has been slower on this more difficult category. Maybe it was in Bloomberg I just read that they'd been trying H2 fuel cells but only a few and more than half of the "new energy" semi trucks were using swappable batteries. (Think of something like a small sleeper that gets hauled off and replaced by a little gantry in a hut.) Avoiding the need for multi-megawatt fast chargers for each truck.
"Flexibility Retrofits" for coal powerplants: To get backup "dispatchable" power and lower capacity factors to integrate with high VRE fractions w/o building a bunch of gas powerplants (and gas grid!) supposedly many coal power plants are being tweaked with features to allow startup in hours vs. days, and lower minimum output and faster ramping.
There are obvs lots of policies that make clean technologies cheaper. Is anyone actively taking steps to make dirty technology more expensive? Sticks rather than carrots?
I am an environmental engineer and writer, and I’ve written a short film screenplay meant to dramatize our children’s future due to climate change. It’s an ambitious concept that combines art and education on behalf of the environment. I’ve been asked to present my film at an environmental event next year in Oslo, Norway. Problem is I haven’t’ found a production company interested in making a statement on the topic of climate change. If anyone can connect me with folks in the entertainment industry interested in Earth’s climate crisis, please let me know. And if anyone would like to review my screenplay, I’ll be glad to send a copy. Thanks, Ted
Great idea! I asked my friend Ryan Davis who heads up Smarthouse Creative - they produce environmental documentaries, but here are some suggestions from Ryan of places to talk to:
Thank you, Forrest, I will follow-up with the recommendations. The creative process is always difficult, but it's been hard communicating with folks in the entertainment industry to get started. I do appreciate that you spoke to your friend on my behalf.
I've just finished writing the manifesto for my organisation's new policy approach to the climate and I dread making a concerted effort to promote it only to find that I've kicked a hornet's nest on the Right and got it branded counterproductively. This struck me as a real danger after listening to Amy Westerveldt in the podcast. Already similar concepts (personal carbon allowances, "carbon cards", carbon rationing) have been tarred with a deep state WEF personal freedoms conspiracy theory brush. This is perhaps inevitable but I'm thinking, what should I cast our policy as? This is it: https://ecocore.org/ecocore-manifesto_compressed/ - I'm thinking of promoting the freedom it allows by enforcing nothing except lower CO2 emissions.
I was wondering if anybody has ideas on how AI/Analytics/Machine Learning/Statistics/Automation can be used to reduce utilities Operational Expenses? I'm just looking for blue sky ideas.
Some context: As David regularly talks about, utilities earn profit on CapEx, not OpEx, so they tend to deprioritize reducing costs in operational expenses. However, OpEx is passed on directly to customers and so large OpEx means higher bills, which a) makes people mad and b) makes rate cases at the regulator harder, which means that they are less likely to be allowed to invest in CapEx. So there is some incentive to reduce OpEx, but it isn't talked about very much. If there are some good high leverage use cases for "AI" it could be easier to sell the idea to utility execs and make more room for decarbonization investments.
As part of the New York Intellectual Property Law Association, I’m looking for people interested in being on a zoom panel to discuss green energy IP issues. Also anyone not interested in volunteering for the panel, I would also be interested to hear what concerns you’d like to see addressed in the patent/trade secret/trademark space.
You mean in the patent/IP space? Most online posts related to green energy and IP seem to be pretty generic patent advice. I don’t know if that’s all that greentech needs or if there’s anything unique that requires a different IP angle.
I would like to know how to best respond to people who say it's not worth it to switch from fossil fuels to electricity because the electricity comes from fossil fuels anyway. I hear so much about that the grid can't handle it and won't be able to handle it, that it's all happening too slowly. I am trying to get our UU church to be sustainable - heat pump HVAC system, electric ovens, etc. - but I'm running into opposition for that reason. And the transition is expensive in spite of the IRA.
For electric utilities that own their generation, it's easier to invest in new renewables if the load is growing. I imagine it's easier for independent power producers to sell into a growing market also. Also, more electric use can push towards lower rates (since most costs are fixed, but charges are per Kwh). (from the perspective of someone on a co-op electric board). And your building gets more and more sustainable as the transition goes forwards.
Wesleyan University’s Department of Earth & Environmental Sciences (E&ES) and the Quantitative Analysis Center (QAC) invite applications for a full-time Assistant Professor of the Practice in Earth & Environmental Sciences and Quantitative Analysis beginning July 1, 2024. The initial appointment is for three years with the possibility of promotion and renewal based on performance and needs. The teaching load is the equivalent of five classes over two semesters. Two courses will originate in E&ES and may include a combination of an introductory GIS class intended for science students, a GIS laboratory class, or an advanced GIS class. Two classes will originate in the QAC, and follow a project-based learning approach to introduce GIS and spatial analysis to primarily social science and humanities students. The person in this position will also have consulting responsibilities with faculty and students on GIS projects and applications. Consulting duties will include providing professional GIS training, working individually with faculty and students on GIS teaching and research projects, and coordinating with a GIS student tutoring and assistant program within the QAC. Wesleyan is a highly selective liberal arts college with a strong and diverse undergraduate student body that highly values both scholarship and teaching.
If you know any high school or college students who want to do something about climate change, please send them to cfdmovement.org. This is a student-led collective action effort to build knowledge and support for a policy that will get the world halfway to achieving our 1.5°C goal. See "The US Carbon Price Gap" at bit.ly/cfdresources for details about that "half of all that is required" claim.
I work at Swell (https://swellinc.co), a social justice creative agency that has done bold communications and advocacy campaigns for unions, nonprofits, public and private sector clients.
We'd love to take on more climate work, especially if there is some tech (*cough* geothermal *cough) that is struggling to get noticed and could use a marketing boost. Check out our our previous work https://swellinc.co/our-work, and if you like what you see get in touch!
We're hiring at C+C, a social good communications agency. Current opening is for an account executive, ideally with transportation/transit/TDM experience, based in our Portland office. https://boards.greenhouse.io/colehourcoheninc/jobs/4334316006
150+ climate tech jobs in Canada are available here. We know many of these founders, and try to help them fill roles, if people ever want intros. https://emissionsdecisions.com/jobs
Hello the Alliance for Clean Energy New York, ACE NY, (a ACP regional partner) is hiring for an executive director and also a director for our offshore wind project. See more at aceny.org/careers
Looking for Collaborators in a Start Up. Let's combine the financing provisions of the IRA (tax code, direct pay, subsidies), the data of grids, and offer a Loan Management System for Retail lending for electrify everything. Send email to greenbanking@baasflow.com
To all students in New York State interested in clean energy jobs - NYSERDA has an excellent internship program you can sign up for. They help match students with jobs and provide partial reimbursement for companies who hire them into meaningful roles. We have hired many student interns off this site many times with excellent results. https://www.nyserda.ny.gov/All-Programs/Clean-Energy-Internship-Program
Not sure if this is place to submit a mailbag question for the future, but here goes: I would love to hear from someone knowledgeable about rate-basing assets at utilities to see if there is a creative way to semi-rate-base EV car batteries that utilities use. Yes, the IOU regulatory environment leads to bad results, but since we can't change it quickly, can we work with it to incent more efficient use of EV batteries in a way that benefits utilities, customers, and EV users?
Because I want the utilities to do the right thing for customers and the environment, and they won't unless either (a) forced, which is difficult because PUCs are weak and beholden, or (b) have a financial incentive.
I'm having a hard time imagining how you could justify rate basing assets owned by others, but it would seem reasonable to me to otherwise recover those costs through rates as part of the revenue requirements determination process, or through a power costs adjustment mechanism.
I think rate-basing could make sense because I would like EV batteries to be competitive with them purchasing and rate-basing their own batteries. In essence it could be a fractional ownership, giving them returns on assets they crave while more efficiently using capital and incenting EV ownership. I would like to speak with someone familiar with details of rate cases to develop a proposal.
We are working in partnership with a number of other organizations to organize Climate Career Week from March 25-29. There are already >1000 unique attendees across 20+ virtual panels / events and in-person meetups around the country. https://www.climatecareerweek.org
Solarpunk Conference 2024: Rays of Resilience! This year, we are gathering remotely on June 29th to delve into the depths of sustainable innovation, community resilience, and envisioning a brighter future together.
Sorry, it is a bit confusing. It's a "pay what you can" model, which is a common solarpunk thing. Here's what they say: "March 8th Ticket Sales: Additionally, starting today you can secure your spot at the conference by purchasing your tickets early! Like last year we have Regular Tickets, Supporter Tickets and Supported (Pay-What-You-Can) Tickets."
The 17th Annual STAR-TIDES Capabilities Demonstration will take place on April 15th-16th, 2024 at George Mason University’s Mason Square campus in Arlington, VA. The Demo will showcase products and activities of the STAR-TIDES (Sharing To Accelerate Research – Transformative Innovation for Development and Emergency Support) global knowledge-sharing network. This year’s theme is “Adapting to Climate Change,” emphasizing collaborative cross-sector approaches (such as energy + communications) to help communities adapt to the “new normal” of climate change in their region. As Thomas Friedman has pointed out, “it’s not the strongest, fastest, or smartest that survives, but rather the most adaptable.”
Please join experts from Coltura, RMI and the Greenlining Institute to learn about the light duty vehicle drivers using the most gasoline (“Gasoline Superusers”). We’ll explore who Superusers are, and how helping them switch to EVs can accelerate emission cuts and provide more equitable access. In this hour, we’ll provide an overview of Coltura’s recent report analyzing the nation’s gasoline consumption in granular detail for the first time ever, and how governments can use this gasoline data to target EV deployment for maximum environmental, economic and equity impact.
When: March 15th, 2024, 11 am PT, 12 noon MT, 1 pm CT, 2pm ET
This sounds good. I wonder if there's a different descriptor/framing than "Superuser"?
It sounds... well, super! (in the way that "hypermiler" has a positive connotation) when I think you want to suggest that the move to EV would be the positive option.
I'm wondering if there's a framing that still conveys the opportunity of the EV switch.
Just want to share that after consuming dozens of written and podcasted nuclear energy explainers, I thought David's recent discussion with Jigar was hands-down the best I have run across. Just outstanding. Hope he finds a way to get the material in front of a wider audience.
Apple Podcasts seems to support subscriber-only episodes in some manner. It would be neat to see Volts' subscriber-only episodes in the same feed, so that I could listen to them there. But I understand if Apple makes it too difficult to be worth it. Keep up the good work!
I've read about solar storms before, but this New Yorker article was the first one I've read since listening to Volts and all the discussions about long distance transmission. Would love to hear an episode from someone about how transmission planning could take this into account and reduce the tail risk in the energy transition - the article actually calls for *less* long distance because it's more vulnerable. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2024/03/04/what-a-major-solar-storm-could-do-to-our-planet
Ooh, I second this, thank you! For others: HB 1589: "Supporting Washington's clean energy economy and transitioning to a clean, affordable, and reliable energy future"
I'm just about done reading "The Ministry for the Future" by Kim Stanley Robinson. If a 566 page novel is not your thing, the author is *still* doing interviews discussing the 2020 book. A podcast from MCJCollective just dropped in my feed, today. And I've heard another a few months ago on the "Energy vs Climate" (Canadian) podcast. I think he is a great interview.
David receives hundreds of emails/DMs a week so he can't personally respond to each one! He also sees most Substack comments, especially comments in the community threads/mailbags.
Climate research fellow position is now posted at UC Berkeley Law! We are looking for law and policy research to support cutting-edge environmental, energy and climate policies, largely focused on California but also global in scope. This is high-impact work involving a range of emerging climate issues, from land use and transit to batteries and zero-emission vehicles. Fellowships are one-year positions with opportunities for renewal. More details and application here: https://aprecruit.berkeley.edu/JPF04351
SMNRs aren't new, aren't solving any critical problems and are a costly distraction from the energy transition. We must remember that net zeroing the economy is just 1/25th the scale of the larger problem of getting back to 300 ppm CO2. We could and will likely net zero the economy, just a question of how fast. But we will still have run away climate chaos which will suck 5 to 20 percent of global GDP. We must focus on greater visions of returning to 300 ppm and the solutions that are right under our nose like OIF. Please bring Peter Fiekowsky onto the show. Thanks for all you do. - Tim Montague, Clean Power Hour podcast and website
Regarding nuclear power: you are doing a huge disservice by never discussing the cost of NOT having firm dispatchable power. Wind and solar capacity factors can drop to low single digits in much of the country during periods measured in days, especially in winter. If we are trying to run data centers and heat our buildings with electricity, we need uninterrupted service. The peer reviewed journal Science Direct published an analysis in December 2021 showing that we need about 6 full power weeks of stored energy to get through a typical US winter. (link at end of this post). "Capital costs associated with electricity storage at this scale using, for example, batteries and hydroelectric technologies are measured in hundreds of trillions of dollars for the United States alone and thus are not viable."
By not talking about the need for firm dispatchable electricity, and consistently talking about nuclear only through the lens of cost overruns (for a first of a kind in a generation), you are grossly misleading your otherwise informed listeners. Using terms like "dumpster fire" reflects an unscientific bias that will turn off many listeners who understand the nuances of our grid and the role of nuclear. I live in northern Illinois where our electricity generation is over 50% nuclear. We have one of the most stable grids in the country, and electricity prices many areas are jealous of.
The biggest factor impacting nuclear costs is construction time. South Korea and China have this figured out, and so can we.
Regarding nuclear waste, I'd like to simply remind listeners that this is not a safety issue, and not an engineering issue. It is a purely political issue. We have been disposing nuclear waste (from the US weapons program) in the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico for several years. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) certified WIPP for safe, long-term disposal of TRU wastes (essentially the same as spent fuel) in 1998. Why can't commercial nuclear reactors dispose of spent fuel in a similar manner? Opposition for political gain, and opposition by FF funded interests in order to hurt one of their major competitors: nuclear power.
A story for the moment we're living in, to equip people with resources and direction and a vision. You can read at https://pss.pm/1c
I'm thinking about distribution for this, how to get it in the hands of more people. Outlets/publishers with audiences that would find it useful, syndication, other approaches. Any help or collaboration to that end would be greatly appreciated! Somebody has already reached out with interest in adapting it to a graphic novel, and very open to collaboration in different formats as well.
1. Utility-scale solar power is invariably cheaper to generate than rooftop solar power.
2. As one expert says, "Rooftop solar creates a solar-shaped hole in the demand curve." IOW, rooftop output peaks just when solar farms might be curtailed due to lack of demand.
There are some undeniable advantages to rooftop, for instance the reduction of load on the wide-area power grid.
If you want to save the world, Texas is the place to do it. We emit more global warming pollution than any other state, but we also lead the nation in renewable energy. Environment Texas is seeking a Clean Air Advocate to stop pollution from the petrochemical industry, transition to 100% clean energy, and work on other campaigns to ensure clean air for all Texans. https://jobs.publicinterestnetwork.org/en/postings/7342afdf-6c69-40ef-8853-40bde5c0f3c7
Why is no one talking about removing fossil fuel subsidies? Isn't it time??? I know there are many different ways to count these but why aren't we at least tackling the low-hanging fruit here?????
--- MAILBAG QUESTIONS ---
Inspired by the question of whether there is any guest you wanted and could not get. Have you considered doing a pod with someone you totally or mostly disagree with? Let's say the head of COP 28, Sultan Al Jaber. Maybe the head of a big utility on how to align their incentives with climate needs. I couldn't even imagine you talking to Joe Manchin, even if you could get him. But you get the idea.
An FYI that David replies to this comment in March's mailbag!
Seconding Manchin or someone on his staff. I’ve heard accounts that his staff are very serious and knowledgeable people especially on energy topics, whatever one may think of his politics.
How do you think about the restrictions on Chinese imports in relationship to EV tech? The anti-China provisions in the IRA are seriously hampering eligibility for the $7500 credit, and Biden saying he'd block BYD imports at a time when we desperately need cheap EVs feels weird -- but then, I get the humanitarian goals, and the long-term industrial policy side makes sense too. So where do you net out on all this?
An FYI that David replies to this comment in March's mailbag!
Around February 2022, David mentioned his experience with tendonitis was going to make Volts understandably center on podcast discussions instead of written Substack posts for the time being. Hopefully he's been managing his condition alright and it's improved since then.
In hindsight, do you think that shift has influenced your thought process as a climate journalist overtime? Or what kind of Substack posts do you wish you could have written during that time if you hadn't gotten tendonitis? And how much consideration have you given to hiring a typist for more written posts since then?
An FYI that David replies to this comment in March's mailbag!
I saw on ex-twitter that you saw Dune 2, loved it, and pulled a lot of *ideas* out of it. I'm curious to hear more about what you thought of the movie and what *ideas*, themes, and other things you saw, and what got glued in your head Have you read the books, or seen the odd 80s version of the movie?
An FYI that David replies to this comment in March's mailbag (and tangents into a Star Wars critique)!
A question for which the answer may well snowball into an entire episode: How far out are we from "smart grids" actually managing decentralised assets (PV, EVs, BESS, etc.) effectively in practice at scale to enable greater VRE penetration?
Some background:
I recently started a job working as a policy advisor on power system transformation in Southeast Asia. The region's utilities are really pumping the brakes when it comes to rooftop PV, some of them imposing a limit on its installed capacity in LV distribution grids at 15% of transformer capacity, out of a fear of grid congestion (and other issues). Having worked in academia researching power systems in Europe until around 5 years ago, my gut reaction was: "When these issues actually do arise, we'll use the flexibility of distributed assets to alleviate congestion."
However, when catching up with where European DSOs (vs. academia) stand at the moment, my findings were quite sobering. To me, we look quite far off from any solution being ready to be deployed at scale. Roughly speaking, outside of some interesting pilot projects, all that's happening at the moment are the use of non-firm connection agreements and the use of some mostly California-like time-of-use tariffs. And like Astrid Atkinson I think of those very much as a temporary solution.
More worryingly perhaps is that distribution utilities, nor regulators, nor policy-makers seem to know how to get out of this stalemate. They all know it's an issue, one that's going to get a lot bigger, but they're all looking at each other to make the first move. Consequently, this also limits private sector movement, as they can't really know how they'd be compensated for anything. One of the few examples I found is that a couple of retailers already do some EV charging coordination, but they use that to play on the wholesale market, and don't take distribution grid constraints into account.
In some ways, distribution utilities in Southeast Asia (and other more regulated markets) are lucky in that they are allowed to themselves invest in things like storage, as opposed to European counterparts (what a great idea that power sector liberalization has turned out to be), so they'll have some more options to play with. Still, at some point they will also need a coordination strategy for all the distributed assets in their systems they won't own (PV, EVs, BESS, etc.). And they might need it pretty quickly if their countries are to stay on track with their RE targets.
Hence my question again: how far out do you think we are from Camus Energy-like solutions being at a stage where distribution utilities across the globe can easily integrate them into their operations (and take them into account for their planning)?
Are there any serious environmental initiatives being undertaken by red states or Republican congresspeople? Not looking for "balance", just asking if there's anything noteworthy that is being missed.
They may fit this in effect despite not being coded as climate initiatives, but there have been some red state initiatives to allow YIMBY-type housing development that generates less vehicle-miles traveled than the traditional far-flung suburbs that get built otherwise. I wonder if there are other initiatives that are not “climate-coded” that still help the climate.
Good question. I'm trying to stay focused on other things, but I hear some rhetoric to the effect of Investor Owned Utilities being Communist/Socialist or "Mob Rackets" that strike me as more establishment Republican stuff. It was Republicans in TX that beat back attempts to throttle renewables, and Ron DeSantis vetoed a law written by FPL and rubber-stamped by the legislature to kill rooftop solar. For the vast number of Republicans, getting (re-)elected depends on agreeing with "Mr. Drill-Drill-Drill". I'm sure there are a few that wish they had convicted him after the 2021 impeachment, but now they're stuck.
There are big problems with the investor-owned utility model. Do co-ops and/or municipal utilities really do better (from a climate perspective)? There have been episodes praising the co-op model, but I'd like to know whether existing co-ops actually accelerate the energy transition. Speaking here from Alaska, which is almost entirely co-op utilities and doing a crap job transitioning so far, despite the potential that we will literally run out of natural gas within the next few years. (I've been on the board of one of those co-ops for the last 5 years, so have seen this first hand).
I would be very interested in hearing a conversation between Dave and someone from Green Mountain Power, the major electric company in Vermont. They are a B corp (interesting), they are well down the renewable path and seem to generally serve their customers well.
Maybe Dave can figure out their “secret sauce!”
Where are we in the USA on getting control of construction costs for public transit projects?
I wonder if you might consider doing an episode about priorities. There seems to be a belief that we can never judge the importance of one thing over another. Emissions from all sectors are equally bad. I think this is derived from the religion of "free markets".
I would argue if we're going to talk about emitting greenhouse gases, we go after areas that are least important. Food isn't one of those areas. Sure there's lots of room for improvement, regenerative agriculture is a good start, but there are so many other things created by humans that should be eliminated first. Global heating is going to mean food insecurity. We shouldn't be eliminating our food options. We need food resiliency.
There's a recent On Point short series, "Elements of energy: Mining for a green future" that starts every show with this DR quote in the intro:
“The most negative story you could tell, the worst assumptions you could project… still it’s going to be a vast, vast, vast improvement on the ongoing apocalypse that’s the fossil fuel economy.”
Is David actually in the show itself? (I haven't found more, but haven't listened to all of it either...) If not, what's this quote from? I appreciate it, but wish they'd actually flesh this aspect out to put the rest of the piece in perspective. Thanks!
https://www.wbur.org/onpoint/2024/03/07/elements-of-energy-mining-for-a-green-future
Ha! They pre-interviewed me for the series but I declined to be a part of it because they tape live at 7am Pacific and frankly I'd rather die.
you chose wisely!
I just learned a little about Sewage Heat Recovery and it seems like something with lot of untapped potential, especially in dense urban areas. I would be very interested in a deep dive into this technology!
Oh, go on then "deep dive" into sewage heat recovery :-) I did think it was funny.
David mentioned an upcoming pod w/some China expert. A few items I've noticed recently seem infrequently mentioned, but worth discussing:
Pumped Hydro Energy Storage: Apparently China has 100s of GW in design with 10ish GW being completed per year. As much or more than their nuclear construction, but rarely mentioned here. https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=57360
Swappable batteries for BEV semi trucks: China went whole hog on BEV buses, but has been slower on this more difficult category. Maybe it was in Bloomberg I just read that they'd been trying H2 fuel cells but only a few and more than half of the "new energy" semi trucks were using swappable batteries. (Think of something like a small sleeper that gets hauled off and replaced by a little gantry in a hut.) Avoiding the need for multi-megawatt fast chargers for each truck.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2024-03-05/china-s-clean-truck-surprise-defies-the-ev-slowdown-narrative
"Flexibility Retrofits" for coal powerplants: To get backup "dispatchable" power and lower capacity factors to integrate with high VRE fractions w/o building a bunch of gas powerplants (and gas grid!) supposedly many coal power plants are being tweaked with features to allow startup in hours vs. days, and lower minimum output and faster ramping.
There are obvs lots of policies that make clean technologies cheaper. Is anyone actively taking steps to make dirty technology more expensive? Sticks rather than carrots?
What are the incentive structures around installing chargers with different kW rates. 250 vs. 350 vs. even higher?
--- SHARE WORK, ASK FOR HELP, FIND COLLABORATORS ---
I am an environmental engineer and writer, and I’ve written a short film screenplay meant to dramatize our children’s future due to climate change. It’s an ambitious concept that combines art and education on behalf of the environment. I’ve been asked to present my film at an environmental event next year in Oslo, Norway. Problem is I haven’t’ found a production company interested in making a statement on the topic of climate change. If anyone can connect me with folks in the entertainment industry interested in Earth’s climate crisis, please let me know. And if anyone would like to review my screenplay, I’ll be glad to send a copy. Thanks, Ted
Contact me through my children’s book series website - https://archieartichoke.com/contact-us/
Great idea! I asked my friend Ryan Davis who heads up Smarthouse Creative - they produce environmental documentaries, but here are some suggestions from Ryan of places to talk to:
Plumb Productions (has a contact about project ideas link): https://www.plumbproductions.com/films
People Power Media did an animated series about housing inequality: https://www.peoplepowermedia.org/
You also might connect with "SolarFred" from the last Community Thread! https://www.volts.wtf/p/volts-community-thread-03/comment/49389894
Thank you, Forrest, I will follow-up with the recommendations. The creative process is always difficult, but it's been hard communicating with folks in the entertainment industry to get started. I do appreciate that you spoke to your friend on my behalf.
We are working to highlight optimal environmental decisions for households here. If you are building solutions for consumers we'd look to highlight them and rank them https://open.substack.com/pub/emissionsdecisions/p/tell-your-boss-that-working-on-your?r=31iphl&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
I've just finished writing the manifesto for my organisation's new policy approach to the climate and I dread making a concerted effort to promote it only to find that I've kicked a hornet's nest on the Right and got it branded counterproductively. This struck me as a real danger after listening to Amy Westerveldt in the podcast. Already similar concepts (personal carbon allowances, "carbon cards", carbon rationing) have been tarred with a deep state WEF personal freedoms conspiracy theory brush. This is perhaps inevitable but I'm thinking, what should I cast our policy as? This is it: https://ecocore.org/ecocore-manifesto_compressed/ - I'm thinking of promoting the freedom it allows by enforcing nothing except lower CO2 emissions.
I was wondering if anybody has ideas on how AI/Analytics/Machine Learning/Statistics/Automation can be used to reduce utilities Operational Expenses? I'm just looking for blue sky ideas.
Some context: As David regularly talks about, utilities earn profit on CapEx, not OpEx, so they tend to deprioritize reducing costs in operational expenses. However, OpEx is passed on directly to customers and so large OpEx means higher bills, which a) makes people mad and b) makes rate cases at the regulator harder, which means that they are less likely to be allowed to invest in CapEx. So there is some incentive to reduce OpEx, but it isn't talked about very much. If there are some good high leverage use cases for "AI" it could be easier to sell the idea to utility execs and make more room for decarbonization investments.
As part of the New York Intellectual Property Law Association, I’m looking for people interested in being on a zoom panel to discuss green energy IP issues. Also anyone not interested in volunteering for the panel, I would also be interested to hear what concerns you’d like to see addressed in the patent/trade secret/trademark space.
Are there good open source resources that you have found in the space? I particularly like wikis to share information broadly.
You mean in the patent/IP space? Most online posts related to green energy and IP seem to be pretty generic patent advice. I don’t know if that’s all that greentech needs or if there’s anything unique that requires a different IP angle.
I would like to know how to best respond to people who say it's not worth it to switch from fossil fuels to electricity because the electricity comes from fossil fuels anyway. I hear so much about that the grid can't handle it and won't be able to handle it, that it's all happening too slowly. I am trying to get our UU church to be sustainable - heat pump HVAC system, electric ovens, etc. - but I'm running into opposition for that reason. And the transition is expensive in spite of the IRA.
For electric utilities that own their generation, it's easier to invest in new renewables if the load is growing. I imagine it's easier for independent power producers to sell into a growing market also. Also, more electric use can push towards lower rates (since most costs are fixed, but charges are per Kwh). (from the perspective of someone on a co-op electric board). And your building gets more and more sustainable as the transition goes forwards.
Wesleyan University’s Department of Earth & Environmental Sciences (E&ES) and the Quantitative Analysis Center (QAC) invite applications for a full-time Assistant Professor of the Practice in Earth & Environmental Sciences and Quantitative Analysis beginning July 1, 2024. The initial appointment is for three years with the possibility of promotion and renewal based on performance and needs. The teaching load is the equivalent of five classes over two semesters. Two courses will originate in E&ES and may include a combination of an introductory GIS class intended for science students, a GIS laboratory class, or an advanced GIS class. Two classes will originate in the QAC, and follow a project-based learning approach to introduce GIS and spatial analysis to primarily social science and humanities students. The person in this position will also have consulting responsibilities with faculty and students on GIS projects and applications. Consulting duties will include providing professional GIS training, working individually with faculty and students on GIS teaching and research projects, and coordinating with a GIS student tutoring and assistant program within the QAC. Wesleyan is a highly selective liberal arts college with a strong and diverse undergraduate student body that highly values both scholarship and teaching.
https://careers.wesleyan.edu/postings/10238
If you know any high school or college students who want to do something about climate change, please send them to cfdmovement.org. This is a student-led collective action effort to build knowledge and support for a policy that will get the world halfway to achieving our 1.5°C goal. See "The US Carbon Price Gap" at bit.ly/cfdresources for details about that "half of all that is required" claim.
I work at Swell (https://swellinc.co), a social justice creative agency that has done bold communications and advocacy campaigns for unions, nonprofits, public and private sector clients.
We'd love to take on more climate work, especially if there is some tech (*cough* geothermal *cough) that is struggling to get noticed and could use a marketing boost. Check out our our previous work https://swellinc.co/our-work, and if you like what you see get in touch!
--- CLIMATE JOBS & OPPORTUNITIES ---
We're hiring at C+C, a social good communications agency. Current opening is for an account executive, ideally with transportation/transit/TDM experience, based in our Portland office. https://boards.greenhouse.io/colehourcoheninc/jobs/4334316006
150+ climate tech jobs in Canada are available here. We know many of these founders, and try to help them fill roles, if people ever want intros. https://emissionsdecisions.com/jobs
Reimagine Jobs newsletter: https://reimagine-jobs-newsletter.beehiiv.com/p/3724-newsletter
Hello the Alliance for Clean Energy New York, ACE NY, (a ACP regional partner) is hiring for an executive director and also a director for our offshore wind project. See more at aceny.org/careers
Looking for Collaborators in a Start Up. Let's combine the financing provisions of the IRA (tax code, direct pay, subsidies), the data of grids, and offer a Loan Management System for Retail lending for electrify everything. Send email to greenbanking@baasflow.com
To all students in New York State interested in clean energy jobs - NYSERDA has an excellent internship program you can sign up for. They help match students with jobs and provide partial reimbursement for companies who hire them into meaningful roles. We have hired many student interns off this site many times with excellent results. https://www.nyserda.ny.gov/All-Programs/Clean-Energy-Internship-Program
We're hiring for several positions at Center for Energy and Environment, a clean energy non-profit: https://www.mncee.org/work-with-us
In particular on my team (Market Transformation), we're actively hiring for:
* Commercial Construction Outreach Specialist (somewhat urgent need on this one)
* Technical Data Analyst
* Program Coordinator
* Senior Manager of Market Deployment (Market Transformation)
Not sure if this is place to submit a mailbag question for the future, but here goes: I would love to hear from someone knowledgeable about rate-basing assets at utilities to see if there is a creative way to semi-rate-base EV car batteries that utilities use. Yes, the IOU regulatory environment leads to bad results, but since we can't change it quickly, can we work with it to incent more efficient use of EV batteries in a way that benefits utilities, customers, and EV users?
Why would you want to let shareholders profit on customers' assets? (tone sincere)
Because I want the utilities to do the right thing for customers and the environment, and they won't unless either (a) forced, which is difficult because PUCs are weak and beholden, or (b) have a financial incentive.
I'm having a hard time imagining how you could justify rate basing assets owned by others, but it would seem reasonable to me to otherwise recover those costs through rates as part of the revenue requirements determination process, or through a power costs adjustment mechanism.
I think rate-basing could make sense because I would like EV batteries to be competitive with them purchasing and rate-basing their own batteries. In essence it could be a fractional ownership, giving them returns on assets they crave while more efficiently using capital and incenting EV ownership. I would like to speak with someone familiar with details of rate cases to develop a proposal.
--- CLIMATE EVENTS & MEETUPS ---
We are working in partnership with a number of other organizations to organize Climate Career Week from March 25-29. There are already >1000 unique attendees across 20+ virtual panels / events and in-person meetups around the country. https://www.climatecareerweek.org
Solarpunk Conference 2024: Rays of Resilience! This year, we are gathering remotely on June 29th to delve into the depths of sustainable innovation, community resilience, and envisioning a brighter future together.
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/solarpunk-conference-2024-rays-of-resilience-tickets-832233933097
I don't run this but I went last year and it was great. Plus I might be submitting some panels for this year's conference.
I am lost on how to buy tickets.
Sorry, it is a bit confusing. It's a "pay what you can" model, which is a common solarpunk thing. Here's what they say: "March 8th Ticket Sales: Additionally, starting today you can secure your spot at the conference by purchasing your tickets early! Like last year we have Regular Tickets, Supporter Tickets and Supported (Pay-What-You-Can) Tickets."
The 17th Annual STAR-TIDES Capabilities Demonstration will take place on April 15th-16th, 2024 at George Mason University’s Mason Square campus in Arlington, VA. The Demo will showcase products and activities of the STAR-TIDES (Sharing To Accelerate Research – Transformative Innovation for Development and Emergency Support) global knowledge-sharing network. This year’s theme is “Adapting to Climate Change,” emphasizing collaborative cross-sector approaches (such as energy + communications) to help communities adapt to the “new normal” of climate change in their region. As Thomas Friedman has pointed out, “it’s not the strongest, fastest, or smartest that survives, but rather the most adaptable.”
Attendee registration is free. We are seeking sponsors and exhibitors. For more information, see https://star-tides.net/events/tech-demos-field-experiments/2024-demo/. To register as attendee, exhibitor, or sponsor, go to http://go.gmu.edu/s-treg20
Please join experts from Coltura, RMI and the Greenlining Institute to learn about the light duty vehicle drivers using the most gasoline (“Gasoline Superusers”). We’ll explore who Superusers are, and how helping them switch to EVs can accelerate emission cuts and provide more equitable access. In this hour, we’ll provide an overview of Coltura’s recent report analyzing the nation’s gasoline consumption in granular detail for the first time ever, and how governments can use this gasoline data to target EV deployment for maximum environmental, economic and equity impact.
When: March 15th, 2024, 11 am PT, 12 noon MT, 1 pm CT, 2pm ET
Who: Janelle London/Matthew Metz - Coltura
Roman Partida-Lopez - Greenlining Institute
Molly Freed- RMI
Register: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_vMhpLMzVRZ63CpcSDPG8LQ
This sounds good. I wonder if there's a different descriptor/framing than "Superuser"?
It sounds... well, super! (in the way that "hypermiler" has a positive connotation) when I think you want to suggest that the move to EV would be the positive option.
I'm wondering if there's a framing that still conveys the opportunity of the EV switch.
--- DAVID'S NOTES ---
--- EVERYTHING ELSE ---
Just want to share that after consuming dozens of written and podcasted nuclear energy explainers, I thought David's recent discussion with Jigar was hands-down the best I have run across. Just outstanding. Hope he finds a way to get the material in front of a wider audience.
Apple Podcasts seems to support subscriber-only episodes in some manner. It would be neat to see Volts' subscriber-only episodes in the same feed, so that I could listen to them there. But I understand if Apple makes it too difficult to be worth it. Keep up the good work!
Working on it, hopefully by April or May!
We figured this out, answer will be in David's Notes in the upcoming community thread.
I've read about solar storms before, but this New Yorker article was the first one I've read since listening to Volts and all the discussions about long distance transmission. Would love to hear an episode from someone about how transmission planning could take this into account and reduce the tail risk in the energy transition - the article actually calls for *less* long distance because it's more vulnerable. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2024/03/04/what-a-major-solar-storm-could-do-to-our-planet
Please tell me we're getting a podcast episode on HB 1589.
Ooh, I second this, thank you! For others: HB 1589: "Supporting Washington's clean energy economy and transitioning to a clean, affordable, and reliable energy future"
https://app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary?BillNumber=1589&Year=2023&Initiative=false
I'm just about done reading "The Ministry for the Future" by Kim Stanley Robinson. If a 566 page novel is not your thing, the author is *still* doing interviews discussing the 2020 book. A podcast from MCJCollective just dropped in my feed, today. And I've heard another a few months ago on the "Energy vs Climate" (Canadian) podcast. I think he is a great interview.
How would a subscriber know that an email they had sent to David's email address was in fact received?
David receives hundreds of emails/DMs a week so he can't personally respond to each one! He also sees most Substack comments, especially comments in the community threads/mailbags.
Climate research fellow position is now posted at UC Berkeley Law! We are looking for law and policy research to support cutting-edge environmental, energy and climate policies, largely focused on California but also global in scope. This is high-impact work involving a range of emerging climate issues, from land use and transit to batteries and zero-emission vehicles. Fellowships are one-year positions with opportunities for renewal. More details and application here: https://aprecruit.berkeley.edu/JPF04351
Job posting: Our Kids' Climate (OKC) is hiring for a Community and Fellowship Manager. https://ourkidsclimate.org/work-for-us/ Deadline to apply 3/18
Have you done a pod on stranded assets?
What is the best way to track all the solar projects in all of Pennsylvaia's 500+ school districts?
SMNRs aren't new, aren't solving any critical problems and are a costly distraction from the energy transition. We must remember that net zeroing the economy is just 1/25th the scale of the larger problem of getting back to 300 ppm CO2. We could and will likely net zero the economy, just a question of how fast. But we will still have run away climate chaos which will suck 5 to 20 percent of global GDP. We must focus on greater visions of returning to 300 ppm and the solutions that are right under our nose like OIF. Please bring Peter Fiekowsky onto the show. Thanks for all you do. - Tim Montague, Clean Power Hour podcast and website
Regarding nuclear power: you are doing a huge disservice by never discussing the cost of NOT having firm dispatchable power. Wind and solar capacity factors can drop to low single digits in much of the country during periods measured in days, especially in winter. If we are trying to run data centers and heat our buildings with electricity, we need uninterrupted service. The peer reviewed journal Science Direct published an analysis in December 2021 showing that we need about 6 full power weeks of stored energy to get through a typical US winter. (link at end of this post). "Capital costs associated with electricity storage at this scale using, for example, batteries and hydroelectric technologies are measured in hundreds of trillions of dollars for the United States alone and thus are not viable."
By not talking about the need for firm dispatchable electricity, and consistently talking about nuclear only through the lens of cost overruns (for a first of a kind in a generation), you are grossly misleading your otherwise informed listeners. Using terms like "dumpster fire" reflects an unscientific bias that will turn off many listeners who understand the nuances of our grid and the role of nuclear. I live in northern Illinois where our electricity generation is over 50% nuclear. We have one of the most stable grids in the country, and electricity prices many areas are jealous of.
The biggest factor impacting nuclear costs is construction time. South Korea and China have this figured out, and so can we.
Regarding nuclear waste, I'd like to simply remind listeners that this is not a safety issue, and not an engineering issue. It is a purely political issue. We have been disposing nuclear waste (from the US weapons program) in the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico for several years. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) certified WIPP for safe, long-term disposal of TRU wastes (essentially the same as spent fuel) in 1998. Why can't commercial nuclear reactors dispose of spent fuel in a similar manner? Opposition for political gain, and opposition by FF funded interests in order to hurt one of their major competitors: nuclear power.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1040619021001330#fig0010
It was 1.5°C in 2024 ... what could we do?
A story for the moment we're living in, to equip people with resources and direction and a vision. You can read at https://pss.pm/1c
I'm thinking about distribution for this, how to get it in the hands of more people. Outlets/publishers with audiences that would find it useful, syndication, other approaches. Any help or collaboration to that end would be greatly appreciated! Somebody has already reached out with interest in adapting it to a graphic novel, and very open to collaboration in different formats as well.
Fascinated by the podcast "Does Rooftop Solar Actually Help the Climate?" featuring some heavyweights in the alternative energy space: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/does-rooftop-solar-actually-help-the-climate/id1728932037?i=1000648186158
Consider:
1. Utility-scale solar power is invariably cheaper to generate than rooftop solar power.
2. As one expert says, "Rooftop solar creates a solar-shaped hole in the demand curve." IOW, rooftop output peaks just when solar farms might be curtailed due to lack of demand.
There are some undeniable advantages to rooftop, for instance the reduction of load on the wide-area power grid.
Listen and judge for yourself!
Important follow-up, Rob!
https://www.dertaskforce.com/p/50-jesse-ira-jenkins-is-on-the-pod
If you want to save the world, Texas is the place to do it. We emit more global warming pollution than any other state, but we also lead the nation in renewable energy. Environment Texas is seeking a Clean Air Advocate to stop pollution from the petrochemical industry, transition to 100% clean energy, and work on other campaigns to ensure clean air for all Texans. https://jobs.publicinterestnetwork.org/en/postings/7342afdf-6c69-40ef-8853-40bde5c0f3c7
Why is no one talking about removing fossil fuel subsidies? Isn't it time??? I know there are many different ways to count these but why aren't we at least tackling the low-hanging fruit here?????