More Than Eight Minutes - Extended Interviews – Détails, épisodes et analyse

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The demand for electricity continues to go up. But instead of relying upon utilities to build more dirtier gas and oil fired power plants, a more novel approach is emerging. These Virtual Power Plants (VPPs) aggregate together a number of residential or commercial buildings and adjust demand in order to keep the grid operating optimally.

Paul talks with Courtney Blodgett, Co-Founder and Director of Strategy at Edo on how VPPs work and how Edo is helping commercial buildings become powerful grid assets.

For further reference:

Courtney Blodgett

"Sector Spotlight: Virtual Power Plants" - Department of Energy

Edo

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In this episode, Paul sits with Stephanie Doyle, the California State Affairs Director for the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), to discuss the changes that California has implemented to their net metering tariff for rooftop solar.

NEM 3.0 (or also known as the Net Billing Tariff (NBT)) has reimagined the solar market in California, dramatically reducing the compensation that homeowners receive for generating excess power while incentivizing investment into battery storage and into disadvantaged communities. One year on from the launch of NEM 3.0 and we have a bit of perspective on how the new tariff is working. Paul and Stephanie dig into what NEM 3.0 is all about and the impact it's having on California's solar market.

For further reference:

Stephanie Doyle

"NEM 3.0 in California: What you need to know" - Energy Sage

"One Year In: Tracking the Impacts of NEM 3.0 on California’s Residential Solar Market" - Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

"The fight over the future of rooftop solar in California" - Canary Media

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In this episode, Paul sits down Ashley Allen, Chief Sustainability Officer of the plant-based company, Oatly, to discuss the food system and the impact food has on climate change. In addition to discussing what Oatly is doing to mitigate their impact on GHG emissions, the two also discuss how the company is helping farmers and suppliers adapt to changing climate conditions as well as how Oatly is supporting consumers in reducing their planetary handprint through more informed product choices.

For more information on Oatly, visit:

https://www.oatly.com

And for more information on Ashley, please visit:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashley-n-p-allen-9483b0b3/

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In this week's episode, Paul sits down with Kathy Loftus of Retail Business Services, the services company for Ahold Delhaize USA which includes supermarkets such as Food Lion, Stop & Shop, The GIANT Company, Hannaford and Giant Food. Kathy, RBS and the local retail brands of ADUSA are doing amazing work in helping to build sustainable supermarkets for the future. In addition to helping reduce operating emissions, ADUSA is also helping to drive down supply chain emissions.  

For more information on Ahold and their brands, visit:

https://www.aholddelhaize.com/en/Sustainability/

And for more information on Kathy:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/kathy-loftus-9105692/

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Not all of the energy challenges facing us are technical in nature. Equally important to scaling clean energy solutions are in lowering costs, investing in novel, newer technologies, and implementing processes that make it easy for consumers to transition.

In this episode, Paul sits with Tom Chase from the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center, MassCEC, to discuss how that organization is helping needed ideas come to market. And they take a bit of a deeper dive into what's needed to promote high performance buildings.

For those wanting to learn more about MassCEC and their programs, please visit:

https://www.masscec.com

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The next decade could be that of battery storage. Boosted by new tax credits in the IRA, batteries are poised to become one of the most powerful tools in our tool belt for shifting to cleaner electricity. But storage isn’t just about storing solar power for use at night. They represent security, resiliency, flexibility and an opportunity for consumers to take advantage of utility programs designed to lessen the overall burden on the grid.

Paul interviews Mike Goldman of Generac Grid Services to dive into behind-the-meter storage, the value stack making these investments ever more affordable, and the policies and regulations enabling this technology.

You can find an Eight Minute overview of the discussion on our sister podcast here

And you can find Mike on LinkedIn

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In this episode, Paul sits down with Greg Stevenson of Consumers Energy to talk about the utility's challenges and opportunities when it comes to helping the small and medium sized business (SMB) market. SMBs are something of a forgotten middle in the energy transition - as so much focus has been on large companies or on residential homeowners, but Greg and his team are putting in the effort to segment and understand this market in order to better serve it.

To find Greg on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gestevenson/

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Not all renewable power projects are alike. A wind project placed next to another wind project may not have the same impact on reducing carbon emissions as one placed near a coal facility. The location and timing of when the renewable power is produced is important in order to truly maximize the impact. 

Enter Resurety, an analytics firm that is providing large commercial & industrial consumers of electricity with the data and insight needed to maximize the value from these renewable projects. Lee Taylor, CEO of REsurety, joins Paul to discuss the importance of an Emissions First perspective on project development.

The following are resources referenced during the episode:

www.resurety.com
https://www.emissionsfirst.com/principles

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The influx of VC money in the 2006-2011 timeframe ignited what is now known as Cleantech 1.0; a boom, and trough, that have some people worried that today's frothy investment cycle may be headed for another sharp correction.

In this extended episode, Paul interviews Jon Guerster of Activate Capital to understand how VC firms are thinking about today's Climatetech 2.0 - and the risks and opportunities of investing into this huge market. 

Activate Capital - https://activatecap.com 

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Paul sits down with Joe Aamidor of Aamidor Consulting to discuss Smart Building Management Systems. The built environment is a huge contributor to global emissions. But energy efficiency and weatherization solutions can only go so far in reducing the carbon from these facilities. Smart Building Management Systems step in to optimize the remaining energy usage and support a further decarbonization.

For those interested in learning more about smart buildings, here is the McKinsey blog referenced in the episode.

https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/industrials-and-electronics/our-insights/laying-the-foundation-for-success-in-the-connected-building-era

And here is Aamidor Consulting's website

https://www.aamidorconsulting.com 

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