Renewable Energy SmartPod – Details, episodes & analysis

Sponsored by KPMG

More resources from KPMG
Transferable Tax Credits
Energy & Chemicals
Energy Institute 2024 Statistical Review of World Energy

As the financial landscape for the renewables industry continues to evolve, Luis Silva, the chief financial officer at EDF Renewables, joins the show to offer his perspective on what lies ahead for the energy transition. Luis delves into areas of focus like the Inflation Reduction Act, the cost of capital and emerging trends around how projects are being financed. We also spend a great deal of time talking about transferable tax credits. In fact, when asked to share his bold predictions … the first one Luis mentions is very much related to transferable tax credits.

Key highlights
How the financial landscape for renewables has evolved - (3:21)
Operating in the current interest rate environment - (5:06)
What are the biggest financial risks to the renewables industry right now? - (6:40)
New players in the transferable tax credit market - (8:10)
Key questions being asked around tax deals - (10:19)
Luis' views on the Inflation Reduction Act - (13:47)
Policy moves that could help the renewables industry - (17:05)
Top concerns around deal finance - (17:51)
Luis' bold predictions - (19:26)

More resources from EDF Renewables
What we do - Solar

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Sponsored by: EDF Renewables

The Inflation Reduction Act has revolutionized how the energy transition is being financed. The IRA is chock full of tax credits and other incentives designed to spur investment in renewables and one key aspect of the IRA pertains to the transferability of those tax credits. Alfred Johnson, the co-founder and CEO of Crux, joins the show to discuss how the market for transferable tax credits is taking shape. The team at Crux recently released their Mid-Year Market Intelligence Report, which details how the market for transferable tax credits is faring so far this year.

Alfred also offers his insights on how the market for transferable tax credits is set to grow -- regardless of political uncertainty -- and what firms can do to make their tax credits 'highly transactable' in a rapidly evolving market.

And finally, Alfred tells the remarkable story of how part of his inspiration to co-found Crux came from a source that is VERY familiar to listeners of this podcast.

Key highlights
Background information at Alread and the founding of Crux - (3:34)
How Crux's 2024 Mid-Year Market Intelligence Report was compiled - (6:41)
The 6 key takeaways from the Mid-Year Market Intelligence Report - (9:31)
What's driving growth in the market for transferable tax credits - (11:18)
Participation in the market expands beyond big banks and Big Tech - (14:27)
How long it takes deals to close - (15:46)
Regions where deals are originating - (17:55)
How the market is coping with political uncertainty - (19:13)
Possible headwinds the market might encounter - (20:28)
How big will the market be by 2030? - (21:56)
How organizations can make their tax credits highly transactable - (23:43)
Where Alfred got some of his inspiration to co-found Crux - (28:05)


More resources from EDF Renewables
What we do - Solar

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Sponsored by: KPMG

It's time to talk about sustainable fuels; specifically sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). Dr. Patrick Gruber is the Chief Executive Officer of Gevo, where he and the team are at forefront of sustainable fuel development. Patrick is here to outline the basics of those fuels, how they fit into a wider energy ecosystem, what it will take for those fuels to see wider adoption, and the hurdles that might be standing in the way. He also explains how some fuels can be carbon negative.

Patrick is a no-nonsense executive who is passionate about growing the sustainable fuel sector in an effort to fight climate change, so enjoy the energy he brings to this episode.

More resources from KPMG
The Hydrogen Horizon
Energy & Chemicals
Energy Institute 2023 Statistical Review of World Energy

Highlights from Patrick Gruber
The basics of what Gevo does - (2:14)
Gevo's supply chain and feedstocks - (3:23)
Overview of various markets for sustainable fuels - (8:53)
Guidelines for SAF and CORSIA eligible fuels - (11:32)
How SAF fits into existing aviation fuel infrastructure - (15:32)
A2J: Alcohol to Jet fuel - (17:16)
Current SAF production capacity - (18:00)
Uncertainty surrounding the Inflation Reduction Act - (20:52)
Growing bi-partisan support for sustainable fuels - (21:43)
Paying farmers more for using better agriculture practices - (24:29)
The impact of climate change on feedstocks - (29:01)
The concept of carbon negative fuels - (30:11)
The share of the global aviation fuel market SAFs can capture - (33:35)

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Sponsored by Deloitte

Environmental liability (E-liability) introduces a simple, accurate, and verifiable calculation for the total cradle-to-gate emissions of any product or service.  Karthik Ramanna is the Co-founder and Principal Investigator at the E-liability Institute . He's also the Professor of Business & Public Policy and Director of the Master of Public Policy Program at the University of Oxford’s Blavatnik School of Government. (3:17) Karthik explains the basics of E-liability and makes the case for why companies, standards setters and regulators all around the world should be familiarizing themselves with the concept of E-liability.

Few companies produce as many household products as Colgate-Palmolive. Vance Merolla is the Senior Vice President of Global Sustainability at Colgate-Palmolive and he joins the show (28:28) to discuss how the company tackles sustainability across all its products and brands.  The initiatives Vance outlines include advancements in recyclable toothpaste tubes, what the company learned from getting certain aspects of its Sustainability and Social Impact Strategy approved by the Science-Based Targets initiative and how Colgate-Palmolive recently went about signing a virtual power purchase agreement to help Colgate-Palmolive power its operations.

From Deloitte
Power, Utilities & Renewables services
Start charting your decarbonization path today
Sustainability SmartPod episode featuring Deloitte's John Mennel

More resources about E-liability
Harvard Business Review: Getting a Clearer View of Your Company’s Carbon Footprint
Harvard Business Review: Accounting for Climate Change
Harvard Business Review: Accounting for Carbon Offsets

Highlights from Karthik
What is E-liability? - (3:26)
Mobile phones as an example of how E-liability would work - (5:27)
The impact E-liability could have on supply chains - (9:33)
Pilot program with Giti Tire - (11:34)
How E-liability is better than standard carbon measurement approaches - (14:24)
Bringing more supply chain companies into the process - (15:51)
Eliminating "inspirational disclosure" for Scope 1-3 reporting - (20:34)
What's preventing wider adoption of E-liability - (22:21)
How many companies will adopt E-liability in 3-6 years - (25:52)

Highlights from Vance
The details of Colgate-Palmolive's VPPA - (28:40)
Key points in the VPPA decision-making process - (32:43)
Collborating with other market participants - (34:42)

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Sponsored by: KPMG

Much-anticipated guidance coming down the pipeline from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and Treasury Department is set to define how clean hydrogen can be produced in the US. Amid furious lobbying efforts, the release of this guidance has already been delayed once. With potentially hundreds of billions of dollars on the line, Adi Bhashyam, a hydrogen analyst for BloombergNEF, joins the show to share what he describes as a framework that should be followed for thoughtfully crafting and effectively implementing the hydrogen piece of the Inflation Reduction Act.

From BloombergNEF
Adi's recent article: "US Hydrogen Guidance: Be Strict or Be Damned"

More resources from KPMG
The Hydrogen Horizon
Energy & Chemicals
Energy Institute 2023 Statistical Review of World Energy

Highlights from Adithya Bhashyam
The basics of the 45V hydrogen tax credit - (3:43)
Possible timeline for when to expect the guidance - (5:31)
How is 'clean energy' defined within this guidance? Which colors? - (6:25)
$70 billion in potential tax credits - (7:28)
Not the normal lobbying battle lines - (8:27)
Criteria for qualifying for the 45V tax credit: additionality, time-matching, deliverability - (9:40)
The ideal framework for US hydrogen guidance - (11:23)
Potential timeline for implementation - (14:13)
Outside factors and headwinds to consider - (17:45)
Adi's bold predictions about how it all plays out - (21:32)

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Sponsored by: ExxonMobil

Climate Week is about to kick off in New York, so Lauren Collins and Michael Joyce, who are both partners at the law firm of Vinson and Elkins, join the show to talk about what to expect from Climate Week, what kinds of news and announcements they will be keeping an eye on and how the overall conversation about Climate Week -- and climate coverage in general -- has evolved over the years.

We also mark the one year anniversary of the Inflation Reduction Act with a deep dive on the impact that legislation, particularly the tax credits it contains, has had on the energy sector. Lauren and Michael discuss  how the IRA will continue to reshape the energy mix and what to watch for as US government agencies continue to release related tax and regulatory guidance. They also share insights about Basel III and other headwinds that might slow the momentum of the IRA. Finally, Lauren and Michael offer their bold predictions about what lies ahead for the IRA in the next few years.

Check out the Sustainability SmartPod

Highlights

How the conversation around Climate Week has evolved - (3:14)
News to watch for coming out of Climate Week - (6:09)
How and where firms are investing in renewables - (10:21)
The IRA's impact on specific energy sectors - (16:24)
Headwinds the IRA is facing - (20:23)
The threat Basel III poses to tax equity and renewables investing - (21:38)
US Treasury's much-anticipated guidance on hydrogen - (25:53)
Questions developers are asking before closing deals - (29:09)
The need for more talent throughout the industry - (30:46)
Tax issues that continue to fly under the radar - (33:05)
'Stacking' tax credits takes off - (37:09)
Biggest takeaways from the first year of the IRA - (38:11)
Lauren and Michael's bold predictions - (41:44)

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Sponsored by: ImpactAISummit

It's time for Part 2 of our back-to-back episodes focused on trends that are shaping the solar sector. On our last episode, Daniel Cruise from Lium Research discussed what's going on in the solar market here in the United States. Today, we hear from Harald Overholm, the co-founder and CEO of Alight Energy. Alight is a solar energy development and consulting company based in Stockholm, Sweden, so Harald is going to walk us through current solar trends in the Nordics and the rest of Europe. During our conversation, Harald and I will touch on the rise of solar-as-a-service, the role power purchase agreements (PPAs) are playing in Europe, and how Alight is working with companies like Toyota and Swedbank to help organizations optimize the potential of both on site and off site solar.

Highlights from Harald Overholm

How did Alight get started?  (3:29)
How has the solar market matured? (6:03)
The trend of industry verticals moving to solar together  (11:22)
Headwinds solar is facing (13:21)
Investment trends in the Nordics  (16:10)
The benefits of agrivoltaics  (18:37)
Bold predictions for the future of solar (23:32)

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Sponsored by Deloitte

According to a recent report from the Solar Energy Industries Association, US solar and storage companies have announced more than $100 billion in private sector investments since the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act in August of 2022. So while there's certainly momentum (and capital) flowing in the right direction for solar, the forecast is not entirely sunny.

Daniel Cruise, partner and Head of Renewables at Lium Research, joins the show to discuss which segments of the solar sector are looking bright ... and which segments might have a cloudy future.

From Deloitte

Power, Utilities & Renewables services

Start charting your decarbonization path today

Discover what’s sustainable, renewable, and possible in the future of energy. Deloitte’s Renewable Energy Seminar is back September 27-29, 2023! Register today!

Sustainability SmartPod episode featuring Deloitte's John Mennel

Highlights from Daniel Cruise

Current trends in the renewables sector - (5:06)
Clouds in the forecast for residential solar - (6:46)
Utility-scale solar looking bright - (11:36)
SOLARSAT insights - (14:11)
Battery storage moving slow, but remains crucial - (17:18)
Big-picture risks for the renewable sector - (18:09)
Daniel's bold predictions - (19:56)

More resources from Lium Research

Utility-scale solar analysis

Residential solar analysis

Daniel's previous appearance on this podcast

Learn more about SOLARSAT from Lium Research

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CDMSmith.com/Energy
ImpactAISummit.com

When you think of the company 3M, you probably think of Post-it notes. But 3M produces a lot more products than Post-it notes. In fact, 3M is very active in the energy sector.

Terry Collier, Vice President of Research and Development for 3M's Electrical Markets Division, joins the show to spend some time talking about the grid. Transmission queues are a well known problem for the energy sector, with some new projects expected to take years before the power they generate can be integrated into the grid. But as you all know, we need more power now. So Terry shares some of the solutions that 3M is developing to help get the most out of existing grid infrastructure.

With events like extreme weather putting a strain on grids, Terry also outlines technologies already in the marketplace that aim to enhance grid stability and resiliency. We also discuss cutting-edge innovations to help wind farms, utilities and distributed energy resources (DERs) control their costs, reduce downtime, and optimize performance.

More resources from 3M

The Future of Our Grid
3M.com/Forward

Highlights from Terry Collier

Challenges to electrifying everything - (5:13)
3M's activities surrounding EVs - (6:43)
Addressing the problem of lengthy transmission queues - (7:47)
Deplying sensors to boost grid performance and resiliency - (9:03)
More solutions to enhance grid resiliency - (15:41)
The role of AI in modern grid management - (18:55)
3M's activities in the wind and solar sectors - (21:42)
Terry's bold predictions about the movement to electrify everything - (24:10)
The 'One Thing' related to energy that Terry spends the most time thinking about - (26:30)

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This episode will put you ahead of the curve on some key conversations taking place these days in the renewables sector.

Numerous companies are striving to match their energy consumption – on a daily, intraday or evenly hourly basis – with renewable energy sources. It’s an ambitious goal, so today's guests are Gridmatic Founder and CEO Matt Wytock and VP of Business Development David Miller. Their team leverages artificial intelligence to make that matching a reality.

And speaking of AI … the rise of ChatGPT and other generative AI solutions has propelled the technology to the top of the headlines. Not a day goes by when we don’t hear about how some company is using AI in a new way … or how many jobs AI is going to make obsolete. But you know what we don’t hear much about? How much energy it takes to power the computers that are cranking thru those AI algorithms. In fact, This story arch is eerily similar to cryptocurrency. Crypto had been on the scene for a while before people started asking hard questions about how much energy all those crypto mining computers were pulling from the grid. AI is no different. 

Matt and David are going to share their insights on how AI can help solve an energy consumption conundrum created by the popularity of AI. 

We will also discuss developments in the market for Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) and the impact the Inflation Reduction Act has had on the entire energy industry. 

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