Best Energy Podcasts (2024)

1
385. The Energy Innovation Challenge searching for solutions to integrate solar, wind, and EVs 5:42

2d ago5:42

5:42

It's been described as a ticking time bomb. Our electricity grids were designed to accommodate a few giant power plants. But what happens when millions of solar, wind, EVs, heat pumps and other Decentralized Energy Solutions come online? The Energy Innovation Challenge was created to find new and creative solutions to not only integrate these new e…

1
The key takeaways from NY Climate Week, with Climate Group CEO Helen Clarkson 41:56

3h ago41:56

41:56

The Energy Gang wraps up Climate Week in New York, after six days of debates, discussions, initiatives and pledges. Scheduled alongside the UN General Assembly, Climate Week brought together leaders from business, policy, finance, academia and activism to share ideas and push forward real solutions for climate change. Host Ed Crooks sits down with …

1
Climate Week NYC special: Entrepreneurs in cleantech tell their stories 1:07:47

5d ago1:07:47

1:07:47

The transition to a low-carbon energy system will need a lot of people with bright ideas for how to do things differently. It is the greatest business challenge of our time, and also the greatest opportunity. In this latest special edition of the Energy Gang for Climate Week NYC, Ed Crooks and Amy Myers-Jaffe host a live taping of the show in front…

1
Climate Week NYC special: Can the US electricity system meet the challenges it faces? 1:14:38

6d ago1:14:38

1:14:38

The US is entering a new era of electricity demand growth, after two decades of flatlining consumption. It is a shift that has huge implications for consumers, the industry and climate goals. Ed Crooks hosts a special live edition of the podcast, recorded at NYU for NY Climate Week, to debate the risks and opportunities in this new world for US pow…

1
What is the role that the oil and gas industry should play in the energy transition? Does it have one? 50:35

7d ago50:35

50:35

We kick off our series of podcasts at Climate Week, by looking at the role that the oil and gas industry can play in the energy transition. Host Ed Crooks is joined by Bjorn Otto Sverdrup, who chairs the executive committee of the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative, a group backed by 12 of the world’s largest oil companies that works on ways to reduce …

1
How to stop America’s outdated grid holding back the deployment of clean energy 1:00:00

14d ago1:00:00

1:00:00

There’s no transition without transmission, they say. It’s a cliché because it’s true. The US Department of Energy says that the nation will need to expand transmission capacity by 60% by 2030 to meet growing clean energy demand. A recent study found that delays in transmission development are adding $2.5 billion annually in additional costs to con…

1
The rise of AI means surging investment in electricity supply. What will that mean for customers? 1:08:00

29d ago1:08:00

1:08:00

The need to meet increased demand while cutting emissions is exposing some fundamental issues in the industry. It’s common knowledge that data centers use a lot of energy, and will use even more in the future as AI applications develop. One thing is not clear, though: who will end up paying for all that extra electricity? US utilities typically use…

1
The next stage of the IRA: permitting reform 1:01:16

1M ago1:01:16

1:01:16

The (shrewdly named) Inflation Reduction Act has been called the most significant climate legislation ever passed in the US. When it did pass, in 2022, the critical vote was cast by senator Joe Manchin from West Virginia. Now in office as an independent, he and Republican senator John Barrasso from Wyoming came together to put forward a bill which …

1
Can America build new energy projects faster? Should it? 1:01:16

1M ago1:01:16

1:01:16

Proposed permitting reforms could accelerate both renewable energy projects and new fossil fuel infrastructure. Is that a good deal for the climate? The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) is seen as the most significant climate legislation ever passed in the US, because of the array of new, expanded and extended tax credits it offers for low-carbon ener…

1
The extraordinary resurgence of concentrated solar power 56:46

2M ago56:46

56:46

Complex, outdated, expensive: concentrating solar power used to be a clunky way of harnessing the sun. What’s changed to now make it viable? Concentrating Solar Power, or CSP, takes energy from the sun, converts it to heat, and uses it to drive a turbine to provide renewable electricity. It has more moving parts than photovoltaic (PV) solar – which…

1
383. Virtual Power Plants - Make money, save the grid 4:00

2M ago4:00

4:00

Virtual power plants are simply networks of small energy producers (solar, wind, backup generators etc.) and energy storage devices that can provide power to the grid when needed.It's the digitization of the grid. It's very efficient, costing 40% less than speaker power plants and it's absolutely essential to start managing the millions of distribu…

1
382B. Agrivoltaics - Saving the family farm by integrating solar and farming 4:00

2M ago4:00

4:00

Farmer Shawn Morton just said "no" the first time he was approached by solar developers. But Morton found an ally in Claude Mindorff a farmer who was working for the solar company. So he cut a deal to lease 300 acres to a solar project and to keep grazing and farming that land in the lease. It's called Agrivoltaics, or the integration of solar with…

1
How global trade can help build the clean energy economy 1:09:10

2M ago1:09:10

1:09:10

As the world struggles to co-operate on the energy transition, international trade rules can be a foundation for the new low-carbon economy. Ed Crooks is joined by regular guest Amy Myers-Jaffe, Director of New York University’s Energy, Climate Justice, and Sustainability Lab, and new guest on The Energy Gang: Dan Esty, who is the Hillhouse Profess…

1
382A. Agrivoltaics, Keeping the farm in the solar farm 4:00

3M ago4:00

4:00

Solar plus farming, called Agrivoltaics is helping farmers generate new sources of income, keep the family farm viable and keep farming in the solar farm. We meet up with farmer, former oil and gas guy and current renewable energy developer Claude Mindorf at the Joffre Solar Farm in Alberta to talk about agrivoltaics. It turns out Canada could prod…

1
Are low profits to blame for the energy transition lagging? 57:45

3M ago57:45

57:45

Author of ‘The Price Is Wrong’, Brett Christophers, joins the show to discuss the theories in his book. On a recent episode of the show, host Ed Crooks was joined by Melissa Lott and Joseph Majkut to discuss two books that were generating a lot of interest in energy circles. One of those, The Price Is Wrong, argues that inadequate profitability is …

1
381B. The End of Coal-fired Generation in Alberta - Now What? 4:00

3M ago4:00

4:00

Alberta phased out its coal-fired electricity in record time representing the largest single action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Canada. The trouble is a lot of the coal was replaced by natural gas which produces 60% of the emissions of coal. Can the fossil fuel-infatuated province also capitalize on its amazing renewable energy resources …

1
How can we finance the energy transition? Discussions from the final day of the Reuters Global Energy Transition Conference 2024 1:08:25

3M ago1:08:25

1:08:25

In this third special episode of the Energy Gang from the Reuters Global Energy Transition 2024 conference in New York, we focus on the crucial theme of financing the energy transition. We discuss how various stakeholders are addressing the financial challenges and opportunities presented by the shift to renewable energy. Our first guest is Utopia …

1
Day Two: The Energy Gang at The Reuters Global Energy Transition Conference 2024 1:16:41

3M ago1:16:41

1:16:41

In this second special episode of Wood Mackenzie's The Energy Gang, recorded at the Reuters Global Energy Transition 2024 conference in New York, we speak with leaders at some of the key companies shaping the energy transition. We hear about how they are tackling the challenge of meeting rising demand for electricity while at the same time reducing…

1
381A. King Coal is Dead - Alberta's last coal-fired power plant 4:00

3M ago4:00

4:00

Alberta's last coal-fired power plant stopped burning coal on June 16, 2024 at 10:57 pm. The coal phase-out was originally proposed for 2061, but in 2015 a new target was set for 2030. On June 16 the last lump of coal was burned to produce electricity six years ahead of schedule. The phase-out represents the largest reduction in greenhouse gas emis…

1
380B. Cracking the Geothermal Nut -EAVOR building in Germany 4:00

3M ago4:00

4:00

This is huge! EAVOR believes they've cracked the geothermal nut. Using closed-loop technology they have pioneered a new kind of Geothermal that can be built almost anywhere without uncertainty. We look at EAVOR's pilot project in Alberta and their full-scale geothermal plant in Germany that will provide electricity for 8,000 homes and district heat…

1
The Energy Gang at the Reuters Global Energy Transition Conference - Day One 34:55

3M ago34:55

34:55

This is a special episode of Wood Mackenzie's The Energy Gang, recorded at the Reuters Global Energy Transition 2024 conference in New York. It has a great lineup of speakers from the worlds of business, finance, and government, giving us an opportunity to talk to some of the key people who are driving the energy transition. One of the panellists o…

1
380A. Geothermal breakthrough - heat and power anywhere 4:00

4M ago4:00

4:00

EAVOR has pioneered a new kind of geothermal that can provide heat and power almost anywhere on the planet. This could be the missing link in the energy revolution that could not only help electricity get to net-zero. It also helps solve the even bigger challenge of how to heat buildings with zero emissions.We talk to Jeanine Vany of EAVOR, a compa…

1
Can capitalism save the planet? 51:55

4M ago51:55

51:55

Two books that are essential reading for energy wonks give contrasting views on how to tackle climate change. The hot book in the energy world right now is Brett Christophers’ The Price Is Wrong: Why Capitalism Won’t Save the Planet. It’s a detailed look at the structural issues in electricity markets and the challenges of generating returns on ren…

1
379B. Green Infill - A 16-Unit Passive House Ready for Northern Climates 4:00

4M ago4:00

4:00

Here's what Green Infill looks like!Built to the super energy efficient Passive House standard this 16-unit townhouse style infill project replaced two underutilized single-family homes in Edmonton, Alberta. The homes require just 10% of the heating energy of a regular home, and have no natural gas or bills.We take a tour of this amazing project wi…

1
379A. Green Infill - Creating desperately needed housing and building community 4:00

4M ago4:00

4:00

This project checks all the boxes. T5M Connect replaced two single-family homes with 16 new units of desperately needed housing and the kicker is it was built to the passive house standard in the mostly northerly city in North America.GreenEnergyFutures.ca CKUA.com PodcastBy David Dodge

1
There’s no transition without transmission. How can we make it easier to build? 1:02:25

4M ago1:02:25

1:02:25

Regulators are trying to clear the path to the grid that clean energy needs. To go from an electricity system based on coal and gas to one based on solar and wind, the US needs a very different power grid. On some estimates, annual installations of new transmission capacity need to double. To help build the grid that a new clean electricity system …

1
378B. Gregor Robertson now helping 13,000 cities take action on climate change 4:00

4M ago4:00

4:00

Part 2 - Gregor Robertson, Vancouver's longest-serving mayor set out to create the greenest city in the world. Now he's the Global Ambassador of the Global Covenant of Mayors helping 13,000 other cities take action on climate change.GreenEnergyFutures.ca CKUA.com PodcastFull story GreenEnergyFutures.ca…

1
Google’s demanding goals for decarbonization 1:04:07

5M ago1:04:07

1:04:07

AI is driving up demand for electricity. How can we meet that demand with clean energy? It has been a big theme on the Energy Gang this year: the massive additional demand for energy that could be created by data centers for artificial intelligence. It’s an emerging issue that threatens to cause new challenges for the world’s attempts to achieve ne…

1
378A. Vancouver's former Mayor Gregor Robertson on Creating the Greenest City in the World 4:00

5M ago4:00

4:00

When Gregor Robertson came up with his campaign slogan of creating the greenest city in the world who knew it would be his most popular focus? He went to become Vancouver's longest-serving Mayor, and although they may not have reached the coveted top spot, they got pretty close. They created a very green building code, increased non-car transportat…

1
Jigar Shah returns to the Energy Gang 51:29

5M ago51:29

51:29

The Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office has a grandstand view of the energy transition. Where is it going next? Jigar Shah, one of the originators of the Energy Gang, now runs the Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office, playing a key role in advancing clean energy projects. By helping to bridge the gap between R&D and large-scale deplo…

1
377B. Summerside from Zero Energy to 62% Renewable Energy 4:00

5M ago4:00

4:00

PART 2 - Summerside PEI had no electricity generation capacity a decade ago and then did some amazing things. First (in part 1) they added wind power, a smart grid and energy storing furnaces. Then they added AI-powered solar microgrids and a solar and battery farm right in the City. The little City with no generation capacity has achieved 62% loca…

1
377A. Summerside little city with no energy now a leader in renewable energy 4:00

5M ago4:00

4:00

PART 1 - Summerside like the province of PEI had no energy production except expensive backup diesel generators just a decade or so ago. Something had to change. So in an amazing transformation, they set up their own utility, built a wind farm in the city, installed a smart grid and thermal energy storing appliances and got to 42-46% renewable ener…

1
Is there an energy transition? 57:06

5M ago57:06

57:06

Fossil fuels still dominate the world’s energy supplies. Do we need different terminology to talk about what’s happening? We talk about “the energy transition” all the time. But is that language misleading? 20 years ago fossil fuels were 85% of the world’s energy, today they’re just a few percentage points less. If there is a transition to low-carb…

1
376. EVs are driving down the price of electricity for all consumers 4:00

5M ago4:00

4:00

This sounds counterintuitive, but a new study has found Electric Vehicles (EVs) are driving the price of electricity down and increasing net profits for utilities. Thanks to time-of-use pricing EV owners are shifting their charging habits to non-peak times thus making much more efficient use of existing grid resources. GreenEnergyFutures.ca CKUA.co…

1
Rising electricity demand in Texas: the canary in the coalmine for the rest of the US? | Bonus Episode 1:02:41

5M ago1:02:41

1:02:41

Conversations from the Gulf Coast Power Association conference. This bonus episode of the Energy Gang was recorded live during the spring meeting of the Gulf Coast Power Association in Houston, Texas. Host Ed Crooks is joined by Beth Garza, President of the Gulf Coast Power Association, Frank O'Sullivan, Managing Director for Clean Energy at S2G Ve…

1
375. The Energy Mix - 30,000 stories on climate change - interview wth Mitchell Beer 4:00

6M ago4:00

4:00

Mitchell Beer started The Energy Mix, a media service dedicated to covering climate change 10 years ago long before the conventional media took it seriously. We talk to Beer about climate change, journalism, and his media service which has published 30,000 stories on climate change and climate solutons. GreenEnergyFutures.ca CKUA.com Podcast…

1
2024 is a year of elections. What will they mean for clean energy? 54:48

6M ago54:48

54:48

As half the world heads to the polls, how important will the results be for efforts to cut emissions? Over half the world lives in a country that will be holding an election this year. The votes come at a time when resistance to the energy transition is building in many parts of the world, as concerns around energy security grow and some of the cha…

1
374. EV Lifecycle Emissions - lower, here, there and everywhere 4:00

6M ago4:00

4:00

EVs produce fewer lifecycle emissions than ICE vehicles in countries with dirty grids or clean grids. A study looked at emissions in five countries including China, the US, UK, Germany and Japan and found EVs produce much lower emissions throughout the life of the vehicle.GreenEnergyFutures.ca CKUA.com Podcast…

1
Everyone is worrying about rising demand for electricity. Do Microsoft and Google have an answer? 1:03:42

6M ago1:03:42

1:03:42

Big power users are getting together to accelerate the development of advanced clean energy technologies. The hottest topic in energy right now is the expected surge in demand for electricity. Data centers for AI, new factories, and electric vehicles are driving power consumption higher in the US, after about 15 years of stagnation. Solar and wind …

1
373B. Alberta's new renewable energy rules - $14 billion in projects at risk? 4:00

6M ago4:00

4:00

In part 2 of our series on Alberta's new renewable energy rules we learn that 57 projects worth $14 billion are potentially at risk. We talk to Jason Wang of the Pembina Institute which just prepared a map overlay showing the potential impact of new restrictions. We also talk to Vittoria Bellissimo of the Canadian Renewable Energy Association about…

1
373A. Alberta's new renewable energy rules - a red tape solution in search of a problem? 4:00

7M ago4:00

4:00

At first glance, new rules for renewable energy development in Alberta seemed ready to block renewable energy from most of the province. Two weeks on some clarifications have been announced. We talk to Vittoria Bellissimo with the Canadian Renewable Energy Association about restrictions on agricultural land, near so-called "pristine viewscapes" and…

1
How will utilities meet surging power demand? 1:01:22

7M ago1:01:22

1:01:22

AI isn’t just threatening to take our jobs, it’s also draining our electricity. Data centres centers used to have power demand measured in the tens of megawatts. Now they are in the hundreds of megawatts, and the new ones that are being proposed have demand in the thousands of megawatts: gigawatts. At the Distributech conference in Feburary, Harry …

1
372. Floating solar filling important niche around the world 4:01

7M ago4:01

4:01

Ciel & Terre is making a splash with floating solar having installed more than 300 projects around the world. It costs just a little more than mounted solar but its helping utilities, companies and municipalities generate renewable energy where there is no land or roof space. We talk to Chris Bartle of Ciel & Terre US about this growing industry. G…

1
371. Alberta lifts moratorium on renewable energy, but are new rules a poison pill for the industry? 4:00

7M ago4:00

4:00

Alberta lifted it's six-month moratorium on renewable energy projects but some critics say new rules amount to a defacto moratorium. This is ironic since Alberta had a booming industry with up to $33 billion in projects under development at the time of the moratorium. We talk to renewable energy expert Dr. Sara Hastings-Simon of the University of C…

1
Bonus interviews from Distributech 1:04:58

7M ago1:04:58

1:04:58

This bonus episode of Wood Mackenzie’s The Energy Gang is our third from the Distributech conference in Orlando. Distributech is the leading event for the electricity transmission and distribution industry in North America. It gave our host Ed Crooks a fantastic opportunity to talk to many of the leading figures from the industry, including those w…

1
How can we develop new energy technologies and get them deployed at scale? 1:02:08

7M ago1:02:08

1:02:08

On this episode of Wood Mackenzie's The Energy Gang: what the history of innovation in solar power and batteries can teach us about the right ways to support clean energy breakthroughs. As the world moves towards a more sustainable energy future, government support is essential for research to develop new technologies, and for investment to deploy …

1
Bonus Episode: Evolving Power: The Impact of Electric Vehicles on Energy Utilities 20:09

7M ago20:09

20:09

When most people drive electric cars, what does that mean for the grid? This bonus episode of Wood Mackenzie’s The Energy Gang is our second from the Distributech conference in Orlando. Distributech is the leading event for the electricity transmission and distribution industry in North America. It gave our host Ed Crooks a fantastic opportunity to…

1
The Energy Gang at Distributech 2024 in Orlando 57:24

7M ago57:24

57:24

What AI means for the energy transition in the electricity industry Welcome to a special episode of Wood Mackenzie's The Energy Gang, recorded at the Distributech 2024 conference in Orlando. Distributech is the leading event in North America for the electricity transmission and distribution industry. It provides a fantastic opportunity to talk to t…

1
370B. RenuWell - Solar on abandoned oil wells powers irrigation 4:00

7M ago4:00

4:00

Part 2 in Green Energy Futures' series on RenuWell, the idea of transforming abandoned oil wells into small solar farms. In this episode, we talk to Trevor Helwig of St. Mary River Irrigation District, the owner of the two RenuWell solar pilot projects. Irrigation and solar are a good match since they both work hardest when the sun shines. GreenEne…

1
370. RenuWell - Transforming abandoned oil wells into solar farms - Part 1 4:00

7M ago4:00

4:00

Of the 466,000 oil and gas wells in Alberta on third are active and 170,000 are suspended or abandoned. What to do? Keith Hirsche was a farm kid from Taber, Alberta and his company RenuWell wrapped up two pilot projects to transform a couple of long-abandoned well sites into small solar farms which are now owned by St. Mary's Irrigation District. W…

Podcasts Worth a Listen

Energy Podcasts

Podcasts Worth a Listen

Quick Reference Guide