The Energy Gang

There are just two weeks left of 2016. And you know what? We're tapping out early. This is the last podcast of the year. It’s been such a crazy 12 months for news that we’re packing it up and saving our energy for 2017. Throughout the year, we've discussed every big story impacting the industry -- bankruptcies, acquisitions, legal challenges, the bloodbath in the public markets, new products, and, yes, the election of Donald Trump. Before we call it a year, we are strapping on our seat belts one last time and taking you with us on a ride through the twists and turns of 2016. We'll kick off with a look at Trump's picks of ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson for Secretary of State, former Texas Governor Rick Perry for Energy Secretary, and Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt to lead the Environmental Protection Agency. And then we'll discuss our other top stories in federal policy, state policy, international developments, business deals and technological improvements. Finally, we'll launch our Predict-O-Meter for 2017. Endless thanks to our devoted listeners. We'll be back in early January.

It's often said that electric vehicles are the key to bringing back load growth for utilities in the U.S. But maybe there’s another way: Marijuana. After the November election, seven states and the district of Columbia have now legalized marijuana for recreational use. In the early states that legalized, energy use is already growing. In Washington State and Colorado, where marijuana has been legalized for years, utilities are seeing a spike in electricity consumption. In Denver, for example, cannabis growers account for 2 percent of electricity use. In Washington State, grow operations could suck up more electricity than electric cars over the coming decades. This may pose challenges to utilities, which are seeing increased outages and may have trouble addressing cannabis head-on because of the conflict between state and federal laws. It also presents an opportunity for serving a new class of customers. This week’s guest has been watching all of this play out. This week, we're talking with Tim Hade, the co-founder of Scale Energy Solutions, about the energy impact of marijuana legalization. He'll also talk about the financial opportunity -- and risks -- in managing that energy use. In the second half of the show, we’re going to discuss the legal, cultural and environmental motivations behind the Dakota Access pipeline protests that are rocking North Dakota. We’ll end with a quick discussion about what comes next for Tesla now that it has acquired SolarCity. Thanks to our sponsor, Mission Solar Energy: http://www.missionsolar.com/

Two weeks after the election, we have more clues about how president-elect Donald Trump may form a domestic energy policy and position America against the rest of the world on climate. But mostly we're dealing with speculation -- bits of insider information from the transition team, some new hires, and some deeper portraits of the people guiding Trump’s early energy policy. There are way more unknowns than knowns. That doesn’t mean there’s a lack of things to talk about. There's been a lot of compelling reporting over the last couple of weeks on the new world for energy, cleantech and the environment. Like last week, we're going to focus only on Trump’s energy and climate policy. The Gang was joined by Lisa Friedman, the editor of E&E Publishing’s ClimateWire, who helps us sift through the Trump's transition team picks, his statements about climate diplomacy, and the role of the business community in the next administration. Thanks to our sponsor, Mission Solar Energy. Find out more about Mission's American-made solar cells and modules: http://www.missionsolar.com/

This week, we're coming to you live from General Motors' world headquarters, where we'll talk about how corporate renewable energy deals are structured, and what's motivating companies to keep investing. GTM's Stephen Lacey and Shayle Kann are joined by Hervé Touati, managing director of the Rocky Mountain Institute and co-manager of the Business Renewables Center. They're also joined by Rob Threlkeld, the general manager of renewable energy at General Motors. Thanks to Mission Solar for sponsoring this show. Find out more about the company's American-made solar cells and modules: www.MissionSolar.com And don't forget to come to our Storage Summit on December 7 in San Francisco. Energy Gang listeners get 15% off by using the promo code ENERGYGANG: https://www.greentechmedia.com/events/live/u.s.-energy-storage-summit-2016

Whether or not you agreed with the top-down, government-centric, executive-level strategy of the Obama Administration -- it was, arguably, America's only federal political path forward on decarbonization. President-Elect Donald Trump plans to rip up that path as soon as he enters the White House. So how and where will he create a new one? This week, we’re trying to figure out what Trump's win means for the energy industry broadly – and what it means for the business of clean energy specifically. We fielded many questions from our listeners on Twitter yesterday. They asked about the Paris climate deal, domestic carbon regulations, renewable energy tax credits, coming legislation, and the role of states. So we’re going to break from our traditional format and try to address as many of them as possible. Thanks to our sponsor, Mission Solar Energy. Find out more about Mission's American-made solar cells and modules: http://www.missionsolar.com/

This is a free version of the Interchange. For more on how to access all our premium content, visit GTM Squared: https://www.greentechmedia.com/squared Back in August, Elon Musk broke into SolarCity's earnings call to make a surprise announcement: Tesla and SolarCity were designing a building-integrated solar product. "It's a solar roof as opposed to a module on a roof," said Musk. Just a few weeks earlier, Tesla went public with its intentions to acquire SolarCity. The solar roof was seen as an example of what the combined companies could create, market and sell. "We don't want to show all of our cards right now, but I think people are going to be really excited about what they see," said Musk. Their cards are now on the table after Musk unveiled the solar roof last Friday. The product was stunning -- but Tesla failed to release any substantive details about cost, performance, financing, or its business model for deploying solar roofs. (Given that very few building-integrated PV companies have actually succeeded, the lack of details was particularly fishy.) In this week's podcast, we dig into all the knowns and unknowns about Musk's mysterious solar roof. Does this represent a radical new business opportunity? Or is it just glitzy PR designed to convince investors of Tesla's plan to buy SolarCity?

Dreaming, designing, building and deploying new kinds of hardware is tough in any business. But in the energy business, where change comes particularly slow, developing new tech is an especially hellacious undertaking. All of our segments tie into this theme. We’ll start off by talking with Emily Reichert, the CEO of Greentown Labs, a hardware-specific cleantech incubator. We’ll talk about where entrepreneurs tackling this space are finding the financial and human capital to get them to scale. Then we’ll turn to the ongoing saga of SolarCity. The company made a big bet on solar manufacturing last year – and new developments suggest that the decision to make its own solar panels was the wrong one. Finally, the solar industry in general is undergoing a lot of turmoil – particularly in manufacturing. We’ll broaden the discussion to talk about why solar producers are struggling, and why the solar industry may be facing a bloodbath in 2017. Thanks to our sponsor, Mission Solar Energy. Find out more about Mission's American-made solar cells and modules: http://www.missionsolar.com/

In November, Washington State voters have the chance to pass the most ambitious carbon tax ever proposed in the U.S. But there’s one problem: Virtually every major green group in the state is against it, or afraid to support it. What is going on? We'll talk with David Roberts, a writer with Vox, about the strange battle within the environmental left over carbon pricing. Then, we'll turn to the hacked emails from Hillary Clinton’s campaign. They also show a tense relationship between left-leaning environmentalists and centrists like Clinton. And finally, we’ll discuss a landmark global treaty to slash HFCs. It’s another win for global diplomacy and the Obama Administration. But will a Republican Senate ratify it? Read David Roberts' piece on the carbon tax fight: http://www.vox.com/2016/10/18/13012394/i-732-carbon-tax-washington This podcast is sponsored by Mission Solar Energy, a producer of American-made solar cells and modules. Find out more at: http://www.missionsolar.com/

We are at the beginning of one of the greatest economic and consumer behavior experiments ever seen in the energy sector. How do we refine pricing in order to rapidly transition our aging, centralized grid to a clean, decentralized one? And can we do it so that we limit the economic losers, pay for the fixed costs of operating the grid, and make everyone whole? It’s a complicated question. The range of actual rate design options – decoupling, minimum bills, demand charges, fixed charges, and time-of-use – offer so many varying benefits and drawbacks. Everyone agrees that we’re moving to a distributed grid. But there’s a lot of disagreement on how to pay for it. That is what we’re tackling in the show this week. We’re joined by Lisa Wood, the executive director of the Edison Institute for Electric Innovation, and Ralph Cavanagh, a senior attorney with the National Resources Defense Council. Their perspectives on rate design are featured in a new report from the Lawrence Berkeley Lab, called "Recovery of Utility Fixed Costs: Utility, Consumer, Environmental and Economist Perspectives." This podcast is sponsored by Mission Solar Energy, an American solar cell and module manufacturer: http://www.missionsolar.com/ This is a complimentary episode of our premium podcast, The Interchange. Find out more about GTM Squared: http://www.greentechmedia.com/squared

This week, we present our live conversation from SXSW Eco. We're really sorry for the audio quality. There were some technical difficulties, and we did our best to clean up what we had. We'll be back with a normal show next week.

With over 1 million residential solar systems in the U.S., photovoltaics are entering mainstream. But how do installers sell the next 10 million systems while giving consumers a good experience? This week, we're talking about what consumers are looking for when solar shopping. We'll talk with Vikram Aggarwal, the CEO of EnergySage, about the company's latest Solar Market Intel report that tracks buying habits and sales tactics. We'll explore the trends covered in the report. Then, we discuss South Australia’s state-wide blackout. Was wind power to blame? And finally, New York City’s solar market is taking off. Now it wants to do the same for storage. How did the city turn its solar market around so quickly? This podcast is sponsored by Mission Solar Energy, a producer of American-made solar cells and modules: http://www.missionsolar.com/

Last night, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton squared off on the presidential debate stage -- coming face-to-face for the first time in the campaign. Almost immediately, the candidates debated over energy and climate change. Clinton started the debate with a direct swing at Trump’s climate denial and dismissive comments on renewables. “Some country is going to be the clean-energy superpower of the 21st century. Donald thinks that climate change is a hoax perpetrated by the Chinese. I think it's real,” said Clinton. Trump swung back with an an awkward attempt to conjure up Solyndra, the government-backed solar company that went bust in 2011. “She talks about solar panels. We invested in a solar company, our country. That was a disaster. They lost plenty of money on that one,” said Trump. In the days leading up to the debate, more details emerged on Trump’s energy transition team. And during the debate, voters got a few additional hints at his worldview. This week, we’re going to square Trump’s stances on energy with, well, reality. Then, we’ll have an update on Obama’s signature climate rule that is now stuck in court. Finally, GM is getting ready to roll out its 2017 all-electric car, the Bolt. Is this the affordable EV we’ve all been waiting for? Links: Our sponsor, Mission Solar Energy: http://www.missionsolar.com/ Solar Market Insight conference: http://www.greentechmedia.com/events/live/us-solar-market-insight-2016 (Use the code ENERGYGANG for a 15% discount.) Bill Holmberg obituary: http://www.biofuelsdigest.com/bdigest/2016/09/08/bioenergy-legend-bill-holmberg-dies-at-88/

Renewables like wind and solar are largely not linked to oil prices. But there are markets where the success of renewables is more closely tied to oil: islands. Or, more specifically, small island developing states, which make up 20 percent of UN member countries. These small island states are dangerously dependent on diesel -- causing energy prices to fluctuate wildly and forcing many people into fuel poverty. That makes them perfect candidates for renewables. In this week's show, we talk to Leslie Labruto, director of the islands energy program at the Clinton Climate Initiative, about why opportunities in island markets are expanding, even in the face of low oil prices. Then, a pivotal moment for nuclear. After much scrutiny, the UK government approved the 3.2-gigawatt Hinkley Point C nuclear expansion. We'll discuss this historic test case for the competitiveness of nuclear. Finally, a pivotal moment for America’s solar industry. We’ll dig into a debate about where the country’s biggest solar lobbying group needs to turn its attention. Thanks to Mission Solar for sponsoring the show. Check out Mission's American-made solar panels: http://www.missionsolar.com/

This week, we hop around to a few U.S. states where there’s been a lot of action: Nevada, California and Florida. Julia Pyper, GTM’s senior reporter, joins us for the discussion. In Nevada, we’ll look at the continued fallout after the decision to end net metering last December. In California, we’ll discuss the unprecedented amount of activity on climate and energy at the end of the legislative session. And in Florida, we’ll talk about the ballot initiative battle that has pitted the state’s utilities against a broad coalition of solar supporters. This week's show is sponsored by Mission Solar Energy. Find out more about Mission's solar cells and modules, made in the USA: http://www.missionsolar.com/

Big development banks are pouring billions in energy projects in developing countries. Between 2000 and 2014, the World Bank Group alone invested $63.5 billion in electricity access. But we still have more than 1.5 billion people without access to energy services. What is the disconnect? This week, we'll talk about one of the biggest institutional barriers to energy access –- why multilateral development banks are not set up to solve energy poverty quickly. We'll talk to Aaron Leopold, the deputy director for global advocacy at the Power for All campaign, about how to speed up energy access by changing the way we think about traditional investment. Then, are prominent business journalists willfully ignoring the growth in U.S. clean energy jobs? Finally, America is now dealing with its first set of climate refugees in Alaska and Louisiana. A sign of things to come? This week's podcast is brought to you by SolarEdge and Mission Solar Energy.