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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!)
Site URL: www.volts.wtf/podcast
Feed URL: api.substack.com/feed/podcast/193024.rss
Posts: 13
Followers: 2
The promise of residential VPPs
https://www.volts.wtf/p/the-promise-of-residential-vpps
Published: December 20, 2024 17:00
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…
Should we put utilities in charge of distributed energy?
https://www.volts.wtf/p/should-we-put-utilities-in-charge
Published: December 18, 2024 17:02
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…
Time to stop taking hydropower for granted?
https://www.volts.wtf/p/time-to-stop-taking-hydropower-for
Published: December 13, 2024 17:02
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…
Can we avoid the enshittification of clean-energy tech?
https://www.volts.wtf/p/can-we-avoid-the-enshittification
Published: December 11, 2024 17:02
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…
Climate change and insurance: a growing fustercluck
https://www.volts.wtf/p/climate-change-and-insurance-a-growing
Published: December 4, 2024 17:02
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…
Checking in on local and state climate races
https://www.volts.wtf/p/checking-in-on-local-and-state-climate
Published: November 27, 2024 17:02
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…
Electrifying big trucks
https://www.volts.wtf/p/electrifying-big-trucks
Published: November 22, 2024 17:02
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…
Dan Savage on blue America in the age of Trump
https://www.volts.wtf/p/dan-savage-on-blue-america-in-the
Published: November 20, 2024 17:02
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…
Residential solar is becoming residential solar + storage + VPP
https://www.volts.wtf/p/residential-solar-is-becoming-residential
Published: November 13, 2024 17:02
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…
How railroads could boost the US energy transition
https://www.volts.wtf/p/how-railroads-could-boost-the-us
Published: November 6, 2024 17:02
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…
How is electrification going?
https://www.volts.wtf/p/how-is-electrification-going
Published: November 1, 2024 16:02
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,…
Tying utility profits to actually doing a good job
https://www.volts.wtf/p/tying-utility-profits-to-actually
Published: October 23, 2024 16:26
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…
The Department of Energy has gotten serious about technology commercialization
https://www.volts.wtf/p/the-department-of-energy-has-gotten
Published: October 16, 2024 16:02
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…