[Episode #189] – Financing the Transition
According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), almost all of the growth in global clean energy spending is happening in advanced economies and China, while the two-thirds of the global population...
View Article[Episode #190] – Financing Utility Scale RE in Developing Countries
Multilateral development banks (MDBs) like the World Bank are increasingly under pressure to invest more in renewable energy projects in emerging markets. The lack of financing for such projects is a...
View Article[Episode #191] – Shale’s Swan Song
Since 2007 the US transitioned from an oil production has-been that was more than four decades past its previous peak, to the world’s top oil and gas producer, and the top exporter of liquefied natural...
View Article[Episode #192] – When is Hydrogen ‘Clean’?
The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 introduced two tax credits to encourage the development of a domestic clean hydrogen industry in the United States. These tax credits can potentially be worth...
View Article[Episode #193] – Harmonizing EU and US climate policies
As the European Union and the United States work toward stronger climate policies, their two divergent approaches are creating tension. The EU has opted for a mix of rewards and penalties to...
View Article[Episode #194] – Materials Requirements of the Transition
Energy transition skeptics continue to argue that certain critical minerals and materials, such as “rare earth” metals, place a fundamental limitation on scaling up wind, solar, storage and EVs. But is...
View Article[Episode #195] – Permafrost and climate ‘tipping points’
Is the Arctic permafrost in a warming feedback loop that will unleash a methane bomb, pushing the planet past a tipping point and into inevitable climate doom? Not precisely. But the warming permafrost...
View Article[Episode #196] – Unglamorous Solutions
Most energy transition reporting narrowly focuses on technology stories. When journalists do occasionally write about energy transition policy and politics, they tend to limit the framing to a...
View Article[Episode #197] – Virtual Power Plants (VPPs)
The time may have arrived for Virtual Power Plants (VPPs) to fully realize their potential. In a VPP, groups of distributed energy resources (DERs) like EVs, batteries, and heat pumps can be managed to...
View Article[Episode #198] – The Coal Trap
Why have coal-mining communities continued to white-knuckle their interests in coal long after it was clear the industry was well into decline and would never come back? How were politicians able to...
View Article[Episode #199] – India Update Part 1
This is part one of our interview with Mohua Mukherjee, a Senior Research Fellow at the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies. Previously, she was a development economist and project manager with the...
View Article[Episode #200] – ETS Retrospective
To mark the milestone of our 200th episode, we’re taking a look back at how the energy transition has progressed since we launched this podcast in 2015. We revisit the “war on coal”, the concept of the...
View Article[Episode #201] – India Update Part 2
This is part two of our interview with Mohua Mukherjee, a Senior Research Fellow at the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies. Previously, she was a development economist and project manager with the...
View Article[Episode #202] – UK’s Green Day
On March 30th, in what some have dubbed its ‘Green Day,” the UK government released a package of plans to advance its action on climate and the energy transition. A centerpiece of the package detailed...
View Article[Episode #203] – The Case for Climate Optimism
Why does so much media coverage of climate change emphasize the worst-case scenarios and the slow speed of the energy transition? Why don’t more stories highlight how the energy transition is working...
View Article[Episode #204] – Regulatory Reform
Whose job is it to lead the energy transition? In previous episodes, we’ve talked about how markets can guide the transition, especially after targeted reforms. We’ve considered the role of regulators,...
View Article[Episode #205] – Rebuilding the Grid from the Bottom-up
A tsunami of distributed energy resources (DERs) is starting to arrive on the grid. Customers are adopting millions of EVs, rooftop solar systems, battery backup units, and other devices that can...
View Article[Episode #206] – Regulatory Capture in Texas
As we have discussed in previous episodes of the show (like Episodes #73, #177, and #198), state regulators and legislators can be ‘captured’ by the industries they are supposed to regulate and wind up...
View Article[Episode #207] – 8th Anniversary Show
For the Energy Transition Show’s eighth anniversary, we welcome back energy researcher Jonathan Koomey, a veteran guest who shares invaluable insights with us in our annual reviews. We kick off the...
View Article[Episode #208] – Vernacular Architecture
Can ancient architectural and building techniques help us create comfortable spaces without consuming energy in today’s world? Our guest in this episode thinks so. Dr. Sandra Piesik is an award-winning...
View Article[Episode #209] – End of the Nuclear Age
If we genuinely need nuclear power—be it older conventional designs or new, unproven small modular designs—to make the energy transition a success, then that case has not been demonstrated. Instead,...
View Article[Episode #210] – Transportation Transition Update
Are EV sales about to hit an inflection point and rapidly take majority market shares for new vehicles? And if they are, does that portend a peak in global oil demand before the end of this decade? The...
View Article[Episode #211] – Doomers vs. Transitionistas
Should our response to global warming focus on technologies that reduce emissions, or on embracing simpler lifestyles? Why do some believe that deploying more renewables and accelerating the energy...
View Article[Episode #212] – Transition in Eigg
Twenty-six years ago, on a wee island with just 65 residents off the west coast of Scotland, the seeds of a fascinating energy transition project were planted. That began a long process which...
View Article[Episode #213] – Offshore Wind in the UK
It’s been a difficult year for the offshore wind sector, with numerous projects and power purchase agreements getting canceled. Contracts and incentives simply haven’t kept pace with rising costs,...
View Article[Episode #214] – Countering Climate Doomerism
Renowned climate scientist Dr. Michael E. Mann joins us to discuss his new book, Our Fragile Moment: How Lessons from Earth’s Past Can Help Us Survive the Climate Crisis, and to answer some of the...
View Article[Episode #215] – IEA’s New Oil & Gas Outlook
In December 2023, a landmark declaration emerged from the COP28 climate conference: For the first time, the world’s climate delegates agreed that a global “transition away” from fossil fuels is...
View Article[Episode #216] – COP28 and the Outlook for Oil
Following from the December COP28 climate summit, we find ourselves at a pivotal juncture with the world’s governments clearer than ever about “transitioning away from fossil fuels.” Now, what is next...
View Article[Episode #217] – Passivhaus in Scotland
Discussions about energy transition often overlook the crucial role of reducing the energy consumed to maintain comfortable temperatures in the spaces where we live and work. Remarkably, generating...
View Article[Episode #218] – Accelerating Decarbonization in the US
How can we accelerate the decarbonization of the entire US economy? In this episode, we discuss the energy-related decarbonization strategies outlined in a new report from the National Academies,...
View Article[Episode #219] – Nuclear Illusions
In Episode #209, we peeled back the layers on civilian nuclear power, revealing its history as a facade for the nuclear weapons industry with a corresponding legacy of deception. Yet, the allure of...
View Article[Episode #220] – Climate Capitalism
What is the recipe for an energy transition at the scale needed to limit global warming below the crucial 2°C threshold? Bloomberg journalist Akshat Rathi has identified some of the key ingredients,...
View Article[Episode #221] – Fossilflation
What causes inflation? And how is it connected to the energy transition? Standard business press narratives often discuss inflation as if it has a mind of its own, seldom exploring its root causes....
View Article[Episode #222] – Green Industrial Policy
In this final episode of our three-show miniseries on green industrial policy (Episodes #220, #221 and #222), we look at it from the perspective of an economist who has written a book on the subject...
View Article[Episode #223] – Fiscal Implications of the US Transition
The dialogue surrounding so-called ‘just transition’ initiatives in the US has primarily focused on the workforce: How can communities reliant on well-paying fossil fuel sector jobs find new...
View Article[Episode #224] – US Hydrogen Tax Credits
Clean hydrogen is expected to be an essential pathway to decarbonizing the economy. The US Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 offered a generous tax credit known as “45V” for clean hydrogen production,...
View Article[Episode #225] – Demand Side Solutions
Energy transition is often depicted as a choice between different supply-side technologies such as wind or solar versus oil and coal. However, the demand side of the energy transition — focusing on...
View Article[Episode #226] – Load Growth Shenanigans
In recent months, reports have circulated that data centers, cryptocurrency miners, and AI technologies are suddenly increasing electricity demand, allegedly straining power grids. These declarations...
View Article[Episode #227] – FERC Order 1920
The United States faces significant challenges in deploying enough transmission capacity and interconnections to support a modernized grid. Approximately 2.5 TW of new clean wind, solar, and storage...
View Article[Episode #228] – Public Persuasion
Most climate communicators emphasize the risk of climate change, in the belief that if only people understood how dangerous it is, they would do something about it. But what if terrifying messages...
View Article[Episode #229] – US Distributed Solar Potential
What is the full potential for distributed solar power in the US? Many models have been developed to explore how a decarbonized US energy system could look, consistently finding that solar power would...
View Article[Episode #230] – EV Charging Blues
The transition from oil-burning vehicles to electric vehicles (EVs) has hit a few speed bumps over the past year, sparking widespread media coverage, but not much insight. A confusing tangle of...
View Article[Episode #231] – Five Times Faster
Why have our climate policies failed to significantly reduce carbon emissions? What new strategies could help us decarbonize the global energy system five times faster — as is needed to avoid the worst...
View Article[Episode #232] – Smart Meters and Appliances
Two decades ago, there was a surge of interest to make appliances, buildings, and utility meters smarter. Startups emerged to explore ways to monitor and manage electricity usage and optimize grid...
View Article[Episode #233] – Ending the Monopoly Utility
Can the energy transition happen fast enough if investor-owned utilities (IOUs) continue to operate the US grid under a regulated monopoly business model? Our guest today says no. These profit-driven...
View Article[Episode #234] – Transition in Australia 2024
In August 2024, Chris commenced a three-month research trip across Australia and New Zealand to explore their unique challenges and opportunities in the energy transition, and to conduct interviews...
View Article[Episode #235] – China, India and Australia 2024 Update
The energy transition in China is a complex picture. China is both the world’s largest annual greenhouse gas emitter and the largest market for electric vehicles. It’s the largest user of coal, and it...
View Article[Episode #236] – Zero Carbon Industry
The energy transition is making good progress on several fronts. Renewables are displacing fossil fueled electricity generation. Heat pumps are decarbonizing space heating. Electric vehicles of all...
View Article[Episode #237] – Why Nuclear?
Nuclear power is “having a moment.” Frequently in the news, it is hailed by proponents as a critical part of decarbonizing our economy and meeting rising power demand. But does nuclear truly have a...
View Article[Episode #238] – Transition in Europe 2024
The outlook for energy transition in the US may feel bleak at the moment, but Europe continues to make significant progress. So if you’re ready for a little good news and thoughtful conversation about...
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