The Global Impact of Local Energy with Bill Nussey

The World Changing Podcast

Bill had an impressive career as a tech entrepreneur and businessman before he turned his sights (back to) energy. He started his first company in highschool - a graphics software company when personal computers were still text based. He has started and sold several tech companies. He joined one startup as CEO, grew the company to nearly $100 million in revenue, and then sold it to IBM. He then served as an advisor to the C-suite on at IBM on strategy.

But even before all of this success, his first love was electricity and the power grid. After graduating from NC State University, Bill traveled all over North Carolina to inspect power plants - climbing down into dams and up towers - literally touching the vast infrastructure of the power grid.

So what does this technology and business guru think about the future of energy?

Looking through the lens of his technological and business experience, he began his career transition to renewable energy with a TED talk about accelerating the shift to clean energy. Then, he created the number one ranked renewable energy podcast called the Freeing Energy podcast and, ultimately, used his research to publish a best selling book called Freeing Energy at the end of 2021 - “how innovators are using local scale solar and batteries to disrupt the global energy industry from the outside.” Bill is now a Department of Energy clean energy champion. He co-founded a company called Solar Inventions, whose mission is to commercialize a set of scientific breakthroughs for improving silicon photovoltaics. He is again a venture capitalist, but for the energy transition.

We talk about the power of networked technologies, the monopolistic nature of current utilities and discuss parallels between the mobile phone revolution and the future of local, on-site clean power. We even get to hear Bill's personal story of what has fueled his entrepreneurial career from high school to this very day. This is a good one guys.

Outline

Chapter 1: Introduction

Timestamp: 00:00-01:07

Description: Introduction to the podcast and its focus on decentralized and carbon-free energy solutions. Introduces the host and producer.

Chapter 2: Bill's Background and Freeing Energy Journey

Timestamp: 01:29-06:37

Description: Discussion about Bill's background as a tech entrepreneur and his transition into the energy industry. Mention of his book "Freeing Energy" and the research journey behind it.

Chapter 3: Sparking the Journey

Timestamp: 08:29-10:28

Description: Bill shares a pivotal moment that sparked his interest in transforming lives through local energy systems.

Chapter 4: Exploring Local Energy

Timestamp: 12:56-15:37

Description: Highlights the importance of small, local energy systems and their potential to disrupt the global energy industry.

Chapter 5: Parallels with Computing Industry

Timestamp: 16:45-18:35

Description: Discusses the parallels between the electricity industry and the computing industry, particularly in terms of scalability and technological advancements.

Chapter 6: Challenges and Opportunities

Timestamp: 21:16-24:49

Description: Explores the challenges and opportunities in transitioning to decentralized energy systems, including interconnection processes and the potential for global utility.

Chapter 7: The Energy Internet

Timestamp: 25:38-27:35

Description: Introduces the concept of the "energy internet" and the need for a globally scalable tech platform in the energy industry.

Chapter 8: Transforming Lives

Timestamp: 36:28-39:31

Description: Bill shares a conversation with a utility executive that highlights the transformative power of decentralized energy systems.

Chapter 9: Fun Facts and Statistics

Timestamp: 48:38-50:47

Description: Presents interesting facts and statistics related to energy, including the impact of solar and battery technologies.

Chapter 10: Conclusion

Timestamp: 55:58-56:13

Description: Wraps up the podcast episode and encourages listeners to tune in to future episodes.