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Order Jason's new book, The Great Campaign Against the Great Reset on Amazon https://a.co/d/6yiOk5sand on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/osu4491Visit Movie to Movement @ www.MovieToMovement.comAnd the Vulnerable People Project: www.vulnerablepeopleproject.com
A decade ago, Zach Borton had a lightbulb moment when studying energy economics at Ohio State University: the grid was trending toward decentralization. That realization set him on a path that would eventually lead him to Colorado, where he now serves as DER services manager at Platte River Power Authority.Platte River's 2024 integrated resource plan includes an ambitious goal: 30 megawatts of virtual power plant capacity by 2030. But building a VPP across multiple utility territories isn't just about technology -- it's about coordination, customer engagement, and breaking down organizational silos.This week on With Great Power, Zach explains the technical architecture behind Platte River's VPP strategy, which relies on two interconnected systems: grid derms and edge derms. He also discusses the challenges of aligning five different organizations, the importance of seamless customer enrollment, and why he believes curiosity-driven leadership is his superpower in the energy transition.With Great Power is a co-production of GridX and Latitude Studios. Subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or anywhere you get podcasts. For more reporting on the companies featured in this podcast, subscribe to Latitude Media's newsletter.Credits: Hosted by Brad Langley. Produced by Erin Hardick and Mary Catherine O'Connor. Edited by Anne Bailey. Original music and engineering by Sean Marquand. Stephen Lacey is executive editor. The Grid X production team includes Jenni Barber, Samantha McCabe, and Brad Langley.TRANSCRIPT:Brad Langley: Back in the early 2010s, apps skyrocketed in popularity. Apple had just launched its famous "There's an app for that" commercial, and within a few years, more than a million apps were available for download in the app store.Commercial clips: Ever wish you could really read people's emotions? Well, now there's an app for that. Don't have a great voice or any real musical talent? Well, there's an app for that too. You want to get the potholes filled? Well, there's an app for that. There's an app for that...Brad Langley: Zach Borton's family was right there with the rest of America, feverishly downloading apps to manage finances or track the weather or achieve personal fitness goals.Zach Borton: Fitbits were becoming popular and my mom and dad would all compete against different steps, and we wanted to bring that kind of competitive element to the energy space.Brad Langley: At the time, Zach was studying business and sustainability at The Ohio State University.Zach Borton: Most of my classmates were going down the road of corporate social responsibility, sustainability reporting, but I took an energy economics course and that kind of shifted my path.Brad Langley: As part of that course, Zach was presented with some graphics of the power system. One showed the traditional energy value chain with big centralized generation. Another showed the declining cost of rooftop solar and an upward trend for installations.Zach Borton: I realized at that moment we're going from this horse and buggy to car event. Every few generations will have that shift, and I wanted to be a part of that shift.Brad Langley: After graduation, Zach and two friends decided to launch their own energy-focused app, the idea was to show people the impact of their environmentally focused investments.Zach Borton: What we were trying to build is a visualization tool to track environmental metrics such as carbon saved or trees planted, and also kind of that competitive nature of seeing what your friends were investing, what types of projects they were investing in, and then competing with your friends or tracking that with your friends to drive that competitiveness.Brad Langley: Unfortunately, for Zach and his friends, their app didn't make millions, but it did motivate Zach to keep working on some of the big complex problems unfolding in the power sector. So he took a job at American Municipal Power in Columbus, Ohio.Zach Borton: I was a power supply engineer. There was learning kind of the nuts and bolts on how to serve a community with generation, really how to stack those assets for energy, capacity, and transmission. But really despite everything I was learning, I kept going back to those two graphics from that energy economics course.Brad Langley: He just couldn't get one question out of his head. How would the legacy power system interact with all these new DERs? And he wasn't the only one thinking about it.Zach Borton: There was utility of the future white paper coming out of MIT, and so we were really going through that and understanding rather than a centralized approach from these large generators, how can we hedge against energy, capacity, and transmission from within the load?Brad Langley: Once Zach locked into this problem, he just couldn't let it go. So he headed west to Colorado where he now works at a public power utility helping build a virtual power plant.Zach Borton: My job is to take distributed energy resources and make use of them as we transition to a non-carbon grid.Brad Langley: This is With Great Power, a show about the people building the future grid, today. I'm Brad Langley. Some people say utilities are slow to change, that they don't innovate fast enough, and while it might not always seem like the most cutting edge industry, there are lots of really smart people working really hard to make the grid cleaner, more reliable and customer centric. This week I'm talking to Zach Borton, the DER service manager at Platte River Power Authority, a public power utility that serves the communities of Estes Park, Fort Collins, Longmont, and Loveland in Colorado. Platte River provides wholesale electricity generation and transmission for its member communities, each of which has its own local electric utility. So a major part of Zach's job is figuring out how to build a VPP across all of those different utilities.Zach Borton: So each have their own technology suite, which makes integrations maybe a little bit more difficult. So we're all at different paths in this integration and technology suite, but getting there is going to require more collaboration and breaking down those silos.Brad Langley: I wanted to dive into the mechanics of building this kind of VPP, but first I asked Zach how the initiative came about and how Platte River planned to break down those utility silos. So let's dig into your work at Platte River. Platte River's 2024 Integrated resource plan includes 32 megawatts of VPP by 2030, which is a significant amount. Tell us about that project. How did the initiative come about?Zach Borton: Yeah, so it can all kind of go back to the 2018 resource diversification policy. In that policy, there's a few things that line out how we can get to a non-carbon future, but it really suggests better integration and coordination across the systems from the generation transmission system down to the distribution. So senior managers, utility directors, and a few different public engagement sessions really sparked this vision and guiding principles for a DER strategy. Next came kind of a gap analysis, so we tried to understand what systems we have today and what we need, and so this really showed us where we need to go with how to make this technology work. Finally, we got to that potential study, which you saw in the 2024 IRP. This showed us kind of the market size and the potential and really gives us a goal to hit. It tells us what types of programs we should run and where we should head into that 2030 mark that you said, 30 megawatts.Brad Langley: And what is your role as DER services manager on the project? What are you specifically tasked with?Zach Borton: It's really trying to coordinate and develop these programs with our owner communities. We can think about our strategy in two different approaches. It's really that best thinking available today, which you can see in the SEPA article Decoding DERMS. It's going to require two different systems, and that's the grid DERMS and the edge DERMS. But really I want to circle back to VPP isn't just a piece of software, it's a utility strategy. It's a system level approach that brings together people, technology and data to orchestrate this cleaner and more flexible grid.Brad Langley: So we've established there's two main components to this. There's the grid DERMS and there's the edge DERMS. Talk me through specifically what the grid DERMS is doing as well as what the edge DERMS is doing.Zach Borton: Absolutely, yeah. So we can think about the grid DERMS as the brain of the future utility operation. It's going to hold our network model. It's going to monitor the state of the distribution in real time, say watching for those stress points and identifying where flexibility could be made available. Some of this technology is in place today, but a lot of this needs to be developed over the next several years, whereas the edge DERMS manages the customer side. It's going to help us enroll devices into the programs, optimize them, and then deliver those optimized energy shapes, load shapes or blocks into the grid DERMS as kind of like, here's a block at this hour. Here's the shape that you can use here for this stress point, and together these two systems kind of coordinate those individual devices into actionable blocks.Brad Langley: Can you go into more detail in terms of what those components are? I assume it's a mix of hardware and software, but any specific technologies you're able to call out.Zach Borton: When we think about our owner communities, they're kind of laying the foundation for the grid DERMS for that distribution system awareness, whether that's smart metering, switching, things like that. We need to build out that process with our owner communities to bring in those data points and make that distribution grid a little bit more intelligent. We can think about the future of advanced distribution management. When we think about the edge DERMS, there's a lot of processes and people involvement: enrolling customers and engaging with those customers. Obviously there's a lot of software optimization on the backend, but that's where we lean on our partners.Brad Langley: So two distinct yet connected systems for owner communities. What kind of challenges are you either experiencing or do you foresee in making this program a reality?Zach Borton: There's quite a bit of challenges. I'd say one of our biggest challenges is aligning across the five organizations. It's sometimes hard enough to break down the department silos, but then breaking down the five organization department silos is really complicated. So everyone might agree on this goal of a functional customer friendly VPP, but getting there in sync is the hard part, which kind of brings us to the next challenge, which is a unified vision and consistency. Like I said, we have incredibly talented people working on this from all sides, but aligning on a common path with consistency is critical. We may ask, why is that so important? Well, we risk confusing the customer if we're changing things as we go or sending mixed messages. So we need to really build that trust and participation with our customers and our own communities. That brings us kind of to the third point, which is the customer patience and experience.We're building something new and with that comes unavoidable, really growing pains. So making the enrollment and engagement process as smooth as possible in that first year is going to be so important for us to scale to that 2030, 30-megawatt goal. And that's the last piece is that OEM maturity and industry coordination. Like OEMs are learning how to build and design for flexibility, but it's a learning curve and everyone's taken their unique approach. Whereas the utilities, I can call up a utility that has a similar goal to us and they'll share the lessons learned where I feel like some of the OEMs aren't sharing those lessons learned with each other.Brad Langley: It's an interesting point. We're big believers in partnerships in this space. I think partnerships are super important. Are you encouraging the OEMs to talk to each other? Because it's tricky, they might be competitive, but they're implementing similar programs, so lessons shared can be important. How do you navigate that? Are you finding openness for OEMs to be more collaborative or is it kind of a walled garden so to speak?Zach Borton: It seems like a walled garden, but I would like for all of us utilities to try to break that down and share like, Hey, we're trying to get to this non-carbon future and open up all of these opportunities for flexibility. And so I think if a lot of us will say that to the OEMs, maybe they'll start listening. So I think if we can band together and really get the OEMs to listen, we can get to this non-carbon flexibility future.Brad Langley: You mentioned you'll start enrolling customers early next year. Does that mean the project is complete? What are some of those stages or milestones that kind of happen before or after that? Maybe give us the one to two year look into the various stages of the program following customer enrollment?Zach Borton: Yeah, so I mentioned the two types of DERMS and there's kind of different working paths for each of those, but I'll kind of talk about the edge DERMS really enrolling customers there early next year. So I think we're breaking this strategy out into three different years. First year we really want to boost up the enrollment and awareness of these programs. So enrolling customers, boosting up satisfaction and increasing that program awareness. It's going to take many actions to get there, like streamlining that DER onboarding process and establishing incentive structures and engagement methods with our customer base. That's going to be critical for scaling the VPP all testing in that first year dispatches with a small number of megawatts and devices. In that next year, we're really going to be looking for analytics and post-event insight, so leveraging event data to better understand how we're forecasting and modeling DR.So we're going to lay out the infrastructure needed to capture dispatch data and analyze that across the systems, whether it's on the distribution or the generation transmission system. And then that third year is going to be building out scale. To get to that 2030 goal in the third year, we're really going to be trying to grow those legs and pick up our speed, and it's all going to be about scalability of the dispatch and optimization. I think this is where the edge DERMS becomes integrated with the grid DERMS. So as the grid DERMS is getting intelligent and connecting to all of those devices in the field, we'll build out that integration to kind of build this full VPP fully integrated using those historical insights. And really in that year, we start to see the real time grid data and the integrations.Brad Langley: How did the customers react to the VPP announcement? Are they excited about the prospect of integrating this type of technology? What was their overall sentiment towards the program when it was announced?Zach Borton: Yeah, absolutely. There's a lot of excitement around this. When we think about our customer base, they love technology. We have a lot of EVs in our service territory. We have a lot of solar. We're starting to see that solar being paired with storage. So I think there's a lot of interest in helping us get to that non-carbon goal. And it's really the foundation we've built over the past 50 years, our community ownership, our collaborative mindset, and a long-term vision. We're not just building it alone, we're building it with our members, our partners, and every customer who chooses to be part of the solution. And it's really great to see a lot of those customers show up to the stakeholder meetings and suggest really great ideas to get to this VPP.Brad Langley: How many customers are you initially targeting and what's the scale of that look like over time?Zach Borton: Yeah, so the first few years, our big focus is on seamless integration, enrollment and engagement with those customers. We're going to most likely start within three different program groups, so EVs, batteries and thermostats and expand offerings from there. We hope to have roughly one megawatt in that first year, but again, I want to focus mostly on building out the seamless enrollment process and engagement. We can't build that 30 megawatts by 2030 without the customers and the devices, so having that poor engagement or poor enrollment process isn't going to help us scale. So we really need to build out the processes we have and kind of scale up to that 30 megawatt number by 2030.Brad Langley: Well, hey, we call this show With Great Power, which is a nod to the energy industry. It's also a famous Spider-Man quote. With great power comes great responsibility. So Zach, what superpower do you bring to the energy transition?Zach Borton: That's a really great question. I would say that curiosity-driven leadership. I'm highly adaptable and I have this ability to connect with all types of people, meet them where they're at, and build that real trust through kind of empathy, curiosity. I find common ground and help bring out the best in others, whether it's a technical person, strategic customer focus, I know how to relate and inspire those folks and share a sense of purpose. The ability to connect with folks is key when bringing together a diverse team with the single vision that we have.Brad Langley: And I'd add a great sense of fashion. I know our listeners can't see it, but I love the VPP hat you're rocking. It's right on point. So nicely done with that. Well, Zach, thank you so much for coming on the show and we wish you the best of luck with the program.Zach Borton: Yeah, thank you. I appreciate you having me, Brad.Brad Langley: Zach Borton is the DER service manager at Platte River Power Authority. With Great Power is produced by GridX in partnership with Latitude Studios. Delivering on our clean energy future is complex. GridX exists to simplify the journey. GridX is the enterprise rate platform that modern utilities rely on to usher in our clean energy future. We design and implement emerging rate structures and we increase consumer investment in clean energy all while managing the complex billing needs of a distributed grid. Our production team includes Erin Hardick and Mary Catherine O'Connor. Anne Bailey is our senior editor. Steven Lacey is our executive editor. Sean Marquand composed the original theme song and mixed the show. The GridX production team includes Jenni Barber, Samantha McCabe, and me, Brad Langley.If this show is providing value for you and we really hope it is, we'd love it if you could help us spread the word. You can rate or review us on Apple and Spotify, or you can share a link with a friend, colleague, or the energy nerd in your life. As always, we thank you for listening. I'm Brad Langley.
Order Jason's book, The Great Campaign Against the Great Reset on Amazon https://a.co/d/6yiOk5sand on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/osu4491Visit Movie to Movement @ www.MovieToMovement.comAnd the Vulnerable People Project: www.vulnerablepeopleproject.com
Why haven't more homeowners installed batteries—despite growing outages and rising rates? I tend to agree with Vinnie Campo, co-founder and CEO of Haven Energy, who believes the answer lies in who owns the asset. But beyond who owns the asset (and assuming, then, that it should not be the homeowner?), is there a way to deliver a truly zero-cost, fully managed battery system that benefits both homeowners and the grid?In this episode, Vinnie shares how Haven is flipping the script on residential energy storage. Backed by strategic investors (and co-founded by former Casper Mattress execs), Haven is creating a seamless path for utilities and CCAs to deploy batteries at scale—without burdening customers with financing complexity or upfront costs.We explore Haven's creative partnership with one of those CCAs, Clean Power Alliance, helping deliver batteries to their base of 3 Million homeowners. We also learn just how they make it possible to deploy “zero cost” batteries, and why Vinnie's background in energy trading helped bring this vision to reality.
Since her first power sector job with Pacific Gas & Electric, Hannah Bascom knew she wanted to focus on people and clean energy — not on what she calls “the pipes and wires part of the business.”That interest led her to Nest in early 2014, just a few months after Google had acquired it. Almost a decade later, she moved on to SPAN and then Uplight, a technology partner for energy providers. Today, as Uplight's chief growth officer, Hannah thinks more than ever about how people interact with energy — and how to better manage that demand.This week on With Great Power, Hannah talks with Brad about the vital role of demand side management, also known as DSM, for managing load growth, and why she thinks leveraging the demand stack can help utilities to better manage that growth. They also discuss how Puget Sound Energy is using a VPP and rate program to reduce peak demand. And she talks about the important role that rate design can play in encouraging consumers to electrify their homes.With Great Power is a co-production of GridX and Latitude Studios. Subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or anywhere you get podcasts. For more reporting on the companies featured in this podcast, subscribe to Latitude Media's newsletter.Credits: Hosted by Brad Langley. Produced by Erin Hardick and Mary Catherine O'Connor. Edited by Anne Bailey. Original music and engineering by Sean Marquand. Stephen Lacey is executive editor. The Grid X production team includes Jenni Barber, Samantha McCabe, and Brad Langley.
Follow Jason on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/osu4491Visit Movie to Movement @ www.MovieToMovement.comAnd the Vulnerable People Project: www.vulnerablepeopleproject.com
Follow Jason on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/osu4491Visit Movie to Movement @ www.MovieToMovement.comAnd the Vulnerable People Project: www.vulnerablepeopleproject.com
Forgive Douglas Murray, For He Knows Not What He Doeshttps://crisismagazine.com/opinion/forgive-douglas-murray-for-he-knows-not-what-he-does Follow Jason on Locals: https://jasonjones.locals.com/and on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/osu4491Visit Movie to Movement @ www.MovieToMovement.comAnd the Vulnerable People Project: www.vulnerablepeopleproject.com
Esta semana ha estado marcada por la llegada de la nueva Specialized Turbo Levo 4, una e-bike que era muy esperada y que ha generado muchos debates, opiniones encontradas y comparaciones más o menos afortunadas (sobre todo con el sistema DJI Avinox M1). En esta ocasión, en lugar de repasar las características técnicas (que están más que detalladas en el Primeras Pedaladas que hemos publicado en la web y el vídeo de nuestro canal de YouTube) hemos analizado ese debate y esas comparaciones para ver cuánto de justas y acertadas son y cómo es, realmente, la nueva Turbo Levo 4. También hablamos, rápidamente, de la Unno Mith, una de las primeras bicis que equipa, precisamente, el DJI Avinox M1; también de la llegada de la nueva Cannondale Moterra Carbon y Moterra Carbon LT, la renovación de un nombre mítico en el eMTB; y de la nueva Santa Cruz Bullit (estas últimas e-bikes apuestan por el BOSCH CX Gen 5) que hace una apuesta arriesgada por el e-enduro más manejable al montar la batería de 600 Wh (más range extender) y abandonar su mítico sistema de suspensión VPP por un four-bar. Por último, repasamos de forma más rápida las otras novedades que ha tenido la semana en forma de nuevos neumáticos de Continental (que suponen también el adiós a unos nombres míticos) de Good Year, de aros y bujes DT Swiss, Marzocchi... Este programa ha sido posible gracias a FOCUS, que recientemente ha presentado la SAM2, su e-bike de enduro y quizá algo más, ya que es una eMTB ideal para los amantes de las emociones fuertes y del DH con un cuadro robusto, mucho recorrido de suspensiones y el apoyo del BOSCH CX. Descubre más sobre la SAM2 en https://www.focus-bikes.com/es_es/ Enlaces de interés: Primeras Pedaladas Specialized Turbo Levo 4: https://www.mtbpro.es/afondo/primeras-pedaladas-con-la-nueva-specialized-turbo-levo-gen-4-hasta-111-nm-de-par Nueva Unno Mith: https://www.mtbpro.es/actualidad/nueva-unno-mith-para-e-enduro-con-el-sistema-dji-avinox-m1-y-21-kg-de-peso Nuevas Cannondale Moterra Carbon y Moterra Carbon LT: https://www.mtbpro.es/actualidad/nuevas-cannondale-moterra-carbon-y-moterra-lt-2025 Nueva Santa Cruz Bullit: https://www.mtbpro.es/actualidad/nueva-santa-cruz-bullit-ahora-con-motor-bosch-cx-dos-flip-chip-y-sistema-de-suspension La actualidad en MTBpro: https://www.mtbpro.es/actualidad La actualidad en Maillot Mag: https://www.maillotmag.com/actualidad
Valentyna Pavsyukova, Founder of Chalice of Mercy https://chaliceofmercy.orgImagine Treating Ukrainians as Ends in the Themselves - https://stream.org/imagine-treating-ukrainians-as-ends-in-the-themselves/Follow Jason on Locals: https://jasonjones.locals.com/and on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/osu4491Visit Movie to Movement @ www.MovieToMovement.comAnd the Vulnerable People Project: www.TheGreatCampaign.org
This week's EYE ON NPI is trendy and buzzy, it's Boréas Technologies' BOS1931 High-Efficiency Piezo Driver (https://www.digikey.com/en/product-highlight/b/boreas/bos1931-high-efficiency-piezo-driver). This chip is a compact way to add powerful high-voltage piezo drive to any product, combining three chips: power supply, waveform generator and driver. With a complete I2C/I3C interface that you can connect to any microcontroller/processor it's the most advanced all-in-one piezo driver we've seen! Piezo (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piezoelectricity) discs are multi-use devices that convert mechanical movement to electrical signal, and vice-versa. They're most often seen as electrical-to-mechanical converters such as piezo beepers (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piezoelectric_speaker) where an AC signal, usually 3 to 6V peak-to-peak square wave, is applied across the disk. The frequency of the wave is translated into a sound frequency. It doesn't have the same fidelity as a magnetic speaker but its much thinner, less expensive for the component and driving circuitry, and for 2 to 4 KHz beeps it's just fine. Piezos can also be used the opposite way, where mechanical stress on the crystal is translated into an electrical signal. In this way it can be used as a switch or force sensor (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piezoelectric_sensor), again usually a few microamperes' worth of current is generated. For these basic uses, your standard microcontroller pin, or at best an H-Bridge will work just fine: you can drive piezo's differentially to get more Vpp across the disc but essentially we're still talking about only a few Volts. There are some times when you want to make a piezo really 'loud' - that is, putting 100+ Volts across the crystal to generate a big mechanical response. This is often not for audible use cases, after all if you wanted to do that you'd just use a magnetic speaker (https://www.adafruit.com/product/1732) that can get to many many Watts of output efficiently. FYI there's two variants of the chip: the BOS1931 (https://www.digikey.com/short/w9tz9tbj) and the BOS1921 (https://www.digikey.com/short/nnb0r29r). The '31 can only do piezo driving. The '21 can do sensing as well as driving, so it can be used for force-feedback products. In this particular EYE ON NPI we'll just be chatting about the driving capabilities of both. So, while we can do basic sensing/beeping with a few Volts - when we want to have significant motion for blasting sonar or moving fluid around we can only increase the movement by increasing the peak-to-peak voltage. Each piezo you buy will have a voltage rating - and you will need a boost converter to generate that peak-to-peak. For the BOS19 series of chips, you can get +-95V so 190Vpp max, which will drive any piezo you find, and you only need 3~5V input thanks to a built-in DC/DC boost converter. Boréas didn't stop there. Not only do you get a booster, but also a full waveform manager with I2C/I3C control. You can can fill up a FIFO buffer with waveform bytes to generate different shapes. There's a sine generator you can control with an envelope creator. Or, you can piece together waveform shapes for different pump/haptic behavior, giving you the customizability of a byte-wise waveform generator with the simplicity of a sine generator. They even have a Haptics Studio' to help you craft the waveform you want (https://www.boreas.ca/pages/haptic-studio). The BOS1931 (https://www.digikey.com/short/w9tz9tbj) and the BOS1921 (https://www.digikey.com/short/nnb0r29r) come in two packages: an easy-to-layout-and-solder QFN and a tiny-and-advanced BGA. Both have the same core so just pick whether you need simplicity or small size. Since its a pretty serious boost converter and driver - the piezo connects directly to the output pins - you'll need to watch your layout. Check the datasheet for their recommended setup to make sure you don't have excessive power loss or EMI. IF you want to get started quickly, the BOS1921-KIT-B01 (https://www.digikey.com/short/v9hn8mcd) evaluation board will let you use their configuration software to quickly determine how your piezo actuator or sensor response to the waveform generator and booster before you start laying out the components on a prototype PCB. If you have some serious piezo-ing you need to get moving, the Boréas Technologies' BOS1931 High-Efficiency Piezo Driver (https://www.digikey.com/short/w9tz9tbj) can do everything from voltage generation, waveform shaping, and differential driving. And best of all it's in stock right now at Digi-Key for immediate shipment! Order today and DigiKey will pick and pack your order in an instant so that you can be vibin' with your fancy new piezo controller by tomorrow afternoon.
A virtual power plant (VPP) is a network of decentralized, small- to medium-scale power generating units, flexible power consumers, and storage systems that are aggregated and operated as a single entity through sophisticated software and control systems. Unlike a traditional power plant that exists in a single physical location, a VPP is distributed across multiple locations but functions as a unified resource. VPPs are important to power grid operations because they provide grid flexibility. VPPs help balance supply and demand on the grid by coordinating many smaller assets to respond quickly to fluctuations. This becomes increasingly important as more intermittent renewable energy sources—wind and solar—are added to the grid. “A virtual power plant is essentially an aggregation of lots of different resources or assets from the grid,” Sally Jacquemin, vice president and general manager of Power & Utilities with AspenTech, said as a guest on The POWER Podcast. “As a whole, they have a bigger impact on the grid than any individual asset would have on its own. And so, you aggregate all these distributed energy resources and assets together to create a virtual power plant that can be dispatched to help balance the overall system supply to demand.” VPPs provide a way to effectively integrate and manage distributed energy resources such as rooftop solar, small wind turbines, battery storage systems, electric vehicles, and demand response programs. VPPs can reduce strain on the grid during peak demand periods by strategically reducing consumption or increasing generation from distributed sources, helping to avoid blackouts and reducing the need for expensive peaker plants. Other benefits provided by VPPs include enhancing grid resilience, enabling smaller energy resources to participate in electricity markets that would otherwise be inaccessible to them individually, and reducing infrastructure costs by making better use of existing assets and reducing peak demand. VPPs enable consumers to become “prosumers,” that is, both producers and consumers of energy, giving them more control over their energy use and potentially reducing their costs. “Virtual power plants are becoming important, not only for utilities, but also in the private sector,” Jacquemin explained. “Because of the commercial value of electricity rising and the market system rates, it's now profitable for these virtual power plants in many markets due to the value of power that they can supply during these periods of low supply.” AspenTech is a leading industrial software partner, with more than 60 locations worldwide. The company's solutions address complex environments where it is critical to optimize the asset design, operation, and maintenance lifecycle. AspenTech says its Digital Grid Management solutions “enable the resilient, sustainable, and intelligent utility of the future.” “At AspenTech Digital Grid Management, our software is in control rooms of utilities around the world,” said Jacquemin. “All utilities know they need to be investing in their digital solutions and modernizing their control room technology in order to meet the demands of the energy transition. So, utilities need to be focusing more time and more money to ensure that their software and their systems are capable of enabling that utility of the future.”
Vince Ambrose, CCO of Franklin Whole Home, explores advanced energy storage solutions, including AC/DC coupling, grid-forming capabilities, and VPP integration. He gets into battery chemistries, installation processes, and the advantages of Franklin's products for homeowners and installers. Topics covered: Overview of Franklin Whole Home Comparison to Tesla Powerwall Functionality of the Energy Storage System (ESS) Whole-Home Backup Energy Cost Savings Virtual Power Plants (VPPs) & Grid Interaction Future of Energy Storage & EV Growth Franklin Whole Home's VPP Participation EV Integration with Energy Storage Future of EV and Grid Integration Microgrid Interconnect Devices Battery Chemistry & Safety Battery Type & Construction Franklin's AC & DC Coupled Battery Systems Compatibility with Inverters FranklinWH's Distribution & Certification Requirements System Connectivity & Networking Learn more about Franklin WH at: www.franklinwh.com Learn more at www.solarSEAN.com and be sure to get NABCEP certified by taking Sean's classes at www.heatspring.com/sean
Order Jason's new book, The Great Campaign Against the Great Reset on Amazon https://a.co/d/6yiOk5sand on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/osu4491Visit Movie to Movement @ www.MovieToMovement.comAnd the Vulnerable People Project: www.vulnerablepeopleproject.com
Your EV is so much more than a car to take you from point A to point B. The energy it stores in its battery is a whole world of possibilities when you are not using the car. Which, let's face it, for most of us, is the vast majority of the day. During these times, your EV is a ‘decentralised energy resource' - one that can help the grid in a variety of ways.One of the most interesting ways in which EVs are accelerating the mobility-energy convergence is through virtual power plans, or VPPs. On the one hand, EV fleets aggregated as a VPP provide value to the grid by offering flexibility and balancing services. On the other, it allows fleet owners, operators and vehicle owners to benefit financially, reducing their charging bills or their lease payments. But how does this come to life, and what role does AI play in this orchestration?In this episode of the AI in Automotive Podcast, I invited Johanna Izett from Hive Power, a Swiss software startup that is making our grids smarter by connecting energy assets like EVs to offer grid services and unlock value for all stakeholders. Johanna shared her insights about VPPs, what makes them tick and how traditional automotive OEMs must rethink the proposition that they offer to their customers.Hive Power is one of those fascinating companies at the intersection of automotive, energy and tech that are accelerating the convergence of the mobility and energy industries. Hive Power's Flexo platform orchestrates the delivery of flexibility and grid balancing services, making the grid smarter and more resilient, while enabling fleet owners and operators to generate additional revenue from their EV fleets. Hive Power's software suite also allows OEMs to offer so much more than metal, which I believe is going to be an important differentiator in the EV age.If you want a sneak peek into the possibilities EVs hold, then this is the interview you don't want to miss. If you enjoyed my chat with Johanna, please do share the AI in Automotive Podcast with a friend or colleague.#ai #automotive #mobility #technology #podcast #energy #evcharging #smartcharging #gridbalancing #flexibilityhttps://www.ai-in-automotive.com/aiia/502/johannaizettAI in Automotive Podcast
In this episode of the EV Ready podcast, host Chris Nihan interviews Paul Nie, CEO of AISPEX, discussing the future of energy in the U.S., the challenges facing the utility grid, the importance of open standards, and AISPEX's innovative solutions in energy management, particularly in Texas. Paul shares insights on the company's role in the evolving energy landscape and their upcoming products at CES 2024, emphasizing the need for collaboration and sustainable practices in the industry. Texas has a unique energy system that allows for more flexibility in how electricity is used and shared. Companies like AISPEX are developing technologies to take advantage of this system, potentially making energy use more efficient and cost-effective. The name AISPEX represents Advanced Integrated System for Power Exchange. Paul has a background in manufacturing and energy management services. The U.S. utility grid needs significant infrastructure updates. Open standards facilitate innovation and interoperability in energy systems. Texas operates under a deregulated energy market, allowing for more competition. AISPEX has obtained a retail electrical provider license in Texas. Virtual power plants (VPP) can optimize decentralized energy resources. The EV charging demand is a bottleneck for grid interconnections. Partnerships are crucial for advancing sustainable energy solutions. CES 2024 will showcase AISPEX's innovative technologies and solutions. Visit AISPEX's website Learn About EVready Simplify at CES 2025 Schedule a Meeting with EVready EVready on LinkedIn Evready's Website
Stand with the vulnerable: www.VulnerablePeopleProject.comOrder Jason's new book, The Great Campaign Against the Great Reset on Amazon https://a.co/d/6yiOk5sFollow Jason on Locals: https://jasonjones.locals.com/and on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/osu4491Visit Movie to Movement @ www.MovieToMovement.comAnd the Vulnerable People Project: www.vulnerablepeopleproject.com
Editor's note: For the holiday break, we're bringing you one of our most popular episodes of the year — a conversation about Tesla's Master Plan 3 with Drew Baglino, who stepped down as the company's senior vice president for powertrain and energy in April. Tesla's Master Plan Part 3 lays out the company's model for a decarbonized economy — and makes the case for why it's economically viable. It outlines a vision for extensive electrification and a reliance on wind and solar power. In this episode, Shayle talks to one of the executives behind the plan, Drew Baglino, who was senior vice president for powertrain and energy at Tesla until April when he resigned. In his 18 years at Tesla he worked on batteries, cars, and even Tesla's lithium refinery. Shayle and Drew cover topics like: Why Drew isn't sure that AI-driven load growth “is going to be as dramatic as people think” Drew's optimism about the U.S.' ability to build out enough transmission for decarbonization How to deal with the high rates of curtailment and what to do with that excess power Meeting the material requirements of decarbonization and Drew's experience with permitting Tesla facilities Recommended Resources: Tesla: Master Plan Part 3 CNBC: Tesla execs Drew Baglino and Rohan Patel depart as company announces steep layoffs The Carbon Copy: AI's main constraint: Energy, not chips Catalyst: Understanding the transmission bottleneck Catalyst is brought to you by EnergyHub. EnergyHub is working with more than 70 utilities across North America to help scale VPP programs to manage load growth, maximize the value of renewables, and deliver flexibility at every level of the grid. To learn more about their Edge DERMS platform and services, go to energyhub.com.
The Last Christmas in Bethlehem: https://movietomovement.givingfuel.com/vpp-last-christmas-in-bethlehemFather Munther Isaac- https://bethbc.edu/Faculty/munther-isaac/ Order Jason's new book, The Great Campaign Against the Great Reset on Amazon https://a.co/d/6yiOk5sFollow Jason on Locals: https://jasonjones.locals.com/and on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/osu4491Visit Movie to Movement @ www.MovieToMovement.comAnd the Vulnerable People Project: www.TheGreatCampaign.org
On episode 121 of the Squeaky Clean Energy Podcast, we speak with Mark Duda, a board member of Solar United Neighbors, about the benefits of virtual power plant programs across the country. We outline what defines a virtual power plant program, the successful characteristics of a VPP program, and also dig in to the model VPP tariff developed by Solar United Neighbors. Additional Resources: Solar United Neighbors VPP Model Tariff: http://bit.ly/4gRl2eY Canary Media Story on VPPs: https://bit.ly/4gujNT8 NCSEA's End of Year Fundraising Campaign: https://www.energync.org/2024-annual-giving-campaign-2 Presented by NC Sustainable Energy Association. Hosted and produced by Matt Abele (Twitter: @MattAbele) Be sure to follow us on Instagram at @squeakycleanpodcast.
In this episode, I speak with Ben Brown, CEO of Renew Home, about the company's groundbreaking 1-gigawatt virtual power plant deal with NRG Energy in Texas. It will be the nation's largest VPP, leveraging existing smart thermostats to control millions of residential HVAC systems. We discuss customer experience, data privacy, and the ability of VPPs to rapidly scale to meet rising electricity demand. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.volts.wtf/subscribe
A mismatch between suppliers and buyers is making it hard to grow the supply of low-carbon products like cement, steel, and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). If you want to produce a product like SAF, you want to find the cheapest place to do it — someplace where there's cheap, low-carbon hydrogen, for example. But the buyers who have the incentive and money to pay for those products might be halfway across the world. Or say you're a supplier of a low-carbon building material. Risk-averse contractors with tight margins may hesitate to pay a green premium — even if the final buyer of the building might be willing to pay extra to cut emissions. So how do you bridge the gap between the buyers and sellers of low-carbon products? In this episode, Shayle talks to Adam Klauber, vice president of sustainability and digital supply chain at World Energy, a low-carbon fuels company. They talk about book and claim, a system to separate the environmental attribute (avoided emissions) from the physical good (e.g. fuel). It's a system that developed in the power sector as renewable energy credits (RECs) and is now spreading to SAFs and other industries. Shayle and Adam cover topics like: Book and claim versus other systems of tracking environmental attributes, such as mass-balance and physical chain-of-custody Lessons from the most mature book and claim systems, like RECs and SAF Key challenges like double counting the interoperability of digital registries and certification Other industries where book and claim may develop like maritime, trucking, steel, cement, and chemicals Recommended resources Roundtable On Sustainable Biomaterials: RSB Book & Claim Manual World Economic Forum: The Clean Skies for Tomorrow Sustainable Aviation Fuel Certificate (SAFc) Framework Sustainable Supply Chain Lab: Decarbonizing the Air Transportation Sector: New greenhousegas accounting and insetting guidelines for sustainable aviation fuel Maersk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping: MaritimeBook & Claim RMI: Structuring Demand for Lower-Carbon Materials: An Initial Assessment of Book and Claim for the Steel and Concrete Sectors Catalyst: The complex path to market for low-carbon cement Catalyst is brought to you by EnergyHub. EnergyHub is working with more than 70 utilities across North America to help scale VPP programs to manage load growth, maximize the value of renewables, and deliver flexibility at every level of the grid. To learn more about their Edge DERMS platform and services, go to energyhub.com.
Northvolt's ambition was to become a European batterymaker to rival Chinese battery behemoths like CATL and BYD. They wanted to offer a homegrown supply chain to western automakers. But in November, the company announced its bankruptcy. So what went wrong? In this episode, Shayle talks to Sam Jaffe, principal at 1019 Technologies. They walk through Northvolt's timeline from founding to bankruptcy, including the loss of a $2B deal with BMW. They discuss lessons learned and cover topics like: What went well — from fundraising billions of dollars to securing major off-takers What didn't go well — like trying to build multiple types of batteries, in multiple factories, on multiple continents How venture capital investors may have pushed the company to be too ambitious The tradeoffs of choosing NMC over LFP Challenges with their equipment supplier Wuxi LEAD The upside: Sam's belief that Northvolt's factory will ultimately make batteries Recommended resources Latitude Media: What Northvolt's bankruptcy means for Europe's battery ambitions Intercalation: Battery production is genuinely difficult Bloomberg: Northvolt Has Major Obstacles Ahead Even With Bailout In Reach Catalyst is brought to you by EnergyHub. EnergyHub is working with more than 70 utilities across North America to help scale VPP programs to manage load growth, maximize the value of renewables, and deliver flexibility at every level of the grid. To learn more about their Edge DERMS platform and services, go to energyhub.com.
Every data center company is after one thing right now: power. Electricity used to be an afterthought in data center construction, but in the AI arms race access to power has become critical because more electrons means more powerful AI models. But how and when these companies will get those electrons is unclear. Utilities have been inundated with new load requests, and it takes time to build new capacity. Given these uncertainties, how do data center companies make the high-stakes decisions about how much to build? How sustainable is the rate of construction? And how much will these data center companies pay for electricity? In this episode, Shayle talks to Brian Janous, co-founder and chief commercial officer at data center developer Cloverleaf Infrastructure. Brian recently explained how he thinks about these questions in a LinkedIn post titled “The Watt-Bit Spread,” which argues that the value of watts is incredibly high right now, and the cost of those watts is too low. Shayle and Brian cover topics like: The unclear data center demand and high costs that are making data center companies hesitant to build How the skills required for data center development have shifted from real estate and fiber to energy Why higher power prices are needed to incentivize new generation Potential solutions for better pricing electricity and speeding up the construction of new generation Recommended resources Latitude Media: AES exec on data center load: 'It's like nothing we've ever seen' Latitude Media: Mapping the data center power demand problem, in three charts Latitude Media: Are we thinking about the data center energy problem in the right ways? Catalyst: Can chip efficiency slow AI's energy demand? Catalyst: Under the hood of data center power demand Sequoia Capital: AI's $600B Question Catalyst is brought to you by EnergyHub. EnergyHub is working with more than 70 utilities across North America to help scale VPP programs to manage load growth, maximize the value of renewables, and deliver flexibility at every level of the grid. To learn more about their Edge DERMS platform and services, go to energyhub.com.
In the next five years, Arizona Public Service estimates peak demand will grow by 40%. In order to meet that peak, the utility is increasingly turning to demand-side flexibility. A few years ago, APS started working with EnergyHub to experiment with smart thermostats as a resource to manage peak demand. The initial resource was modest – a few megawatts, and then 20 megawatts. That program eventually turned into a 190-megawatt virtual power plant made up of smart thermostats, behavioral demand response, commercial and industrial demand response, and some batteries. And the APS operations team now treats the VPP as a valuable resource. “We had to really build trust in this as a real resource. As it got bigger and you could see a noticeable difference when we called on these devices, that trust really began to build,” explained Kerri Carnes, director of customer-to-grid solutions at APS. This week, we're featuring a conversation about the value of VPPs with APS' Kerri Carnes and Seth Frader-Thompson, co-founder and president of EnergyHub. It was recorded as part of Latitude Media's Frontier Forum series. What does APS' experience tell us about what is working in VPP program design? How do we convince utilities that VPPs are reliable? And what is their role as load growth rises? “A VPP is actually more capable in some ways than a traditional power plant,” explained Frader-Thompson. “My guess is that over the next few years we'll probably come up with some more nuanced things to call VPPs.” This is a partner episode, produced in partnership with EnergyHub. This is an edited version of the conversation. You can watch the full video here that includes audience questions about VPP design and implementation.
Editor's note: In honor of all the frying oil we'll be using this Thanksgiving, we're re-running an episode on biowaste. There's also increasing investment in biofuels from oil majors, especially for sustainable aviation fuel. So we're revisiting an episode with Julio Friedmann, chief scientist at Carbon Direct, on the possibilities and perils of using biowaste for biofuels. Biomass. It's the organic matter in forests, agriculture and trash. You can turn it into electricity, fuel, plastic and more. And you can engineer it to capture extra carbon dioxide and sequester it underground or at the bottom of the ocean. The catch: The world has a finite capacity for biomass production, so every end use competes with another. If done improperly, these end uses could also compete with food production for arable land already in tight supply. So which decarbonization solutions will get a slice of the biomass pie? Which ones should? In this episode, Shayle talks to Julio Friedmann, chief scientist at Carbon Direct. They cover biomass sources from municipal solid waste to kelp. They also survey the potential end-uses, such as incineration to generate power, gasification to make hydrogen, and pyrolyzation to make biochar, as well as fuel production in a Fischer-Tropsch process. In a report from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Julio and his co-authors propose a new term called biomass carbon removal and storage, or ‘BiCRS', as a way to describe capturing carbon in biomass and then sequestering it. Startups Charm Industrial and Running Tide are pursuing this approach. Julio and his co-authors think of BiCRS as an alternative pathway to bioenergy carbon capture and storage (BECCS). They then zoom in on a promising source of biomass: waste. Example projects include a ski hill built on an incinerator in Copenhagen and a planned waste-to-hydrogen plant in Lancaster, California. Shayle and Julio also dig into questions like: How to procure and transport biomass, especially biowaste, at scale? How to avoid eco-colonialism, i.e. when wealthy countries exploit the resources of poorer countries to grow biomass without meaningful consent? If everyone wants it, when is biowaste no longer waste? And when there's a shortage of waste—like corn stover, for example—what's the risk of turning to raw feedstocks, like corn? How to pickle trees? (yes, you read that right) Catalyst is brought to you by EnergyHub. EnergyHub is working with more than 70 utilities across North America to help scale VPP programs to manage load growth, maximize the value of renewables, and deliver flexibility at every level of the grid. To learn more about their Edge DERMS platform and services, go to energyhub.com.
In this episode of The Climate Stack, Mansi sits down with Vish Ganti, a visionary product leader at the nexus of clean energy, AI, and fintech. Together, they explore the transformative potential of virtual power plants (VPPs) in reducing reliance on carbon-intensive peaker plants and stabilizing the grid. Vish sheds light on how VPPs integrate distributed energy resources (DERs) and the critical need for open standards to create a frictionless ecosystem.VPPs are a prime example of how smart software optimizations can revolutionize the deployment and utilization of physical energy assets. By leveraging software to orchestrate diverse DERs, VPPs enable more efficient energy management, reducing waste and enhancing grid reliability. Discover why simplifying communication between DERs is essential for advancing sustainable energy solutions and making power management through VPP aggregators a reality.Our Guest Vish GantiVish is currently serving as Senior Director of Product Management for Virtual Power Plants (VPPs) at Qcells, Vish specializes in developing scalable energy platforms that integrate first-party hardware with industry-leading solutions from partners like Enphase, Tesla, and SolarEdge. His expertise lies in transforming distributed energy resources into bankable grid assets through advanced edge AI technologies, enabling smarter energy systems and sustainable revenue models.Previously, Vish held leadership roles at AutoGrid, where he spearheaded the development of AutoGrid Flex, a SaaS platform for VPPs and 24x7 Carbon-Free Energy solutions, and contributed to the company's acquisition by Schneider Electric. He also worked with renowned organizations such as CPower Energy, Johnson Controls, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, focusing on demand response, DER optimization, and energy system innovation.Vish holds a Master of Science in Electrical & Energy Systems from San Francisco State University and a Bachelor of Science in Electronics & Communications from Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University. A thought leader in the clean energy space, Vish has co-authored industry-recognized publications and continues to drive impactful solutions that advance the global transition to renewable energy.https://www.linkedin.com/in/vishganti/Your Hosts Mansi Shah - Joshua Marker ClimateStack
Shayle and his team at Energy Impact Partners (EIP) review a lot of climate-tech pitches. The best kind of pitch uses a solid techno-economic analysis (TEA) to model how a technology would compete in the real world. In a previous episode, we covered some of the ways startups get TEAs wrong — bad assumptions, false precision, focusing on parts instead of the system, etc. So what does a good TEA look like? In this episode, Shayle talks to his colleagues, Dr. Melissa Ball, EIP's associate director of technology, and Dr. Greg Thiel, director of technology. They apply their TEA chops to two technology pathways — green ammonia and synthetic methane. EIP hasn't invested in either area yet because both struggle with challenging economics. Shayle, Greg, and Melissa talk about what would have to change to make those economics work, covering topics like: The basics of ammonia and methane production The cost stack of ammonia production and the surprisingly large role transportation plays The challenges of integrating ammonia production with renewables, like buffering hydrogen Novel approaches to ammonia synthesis, including scaling down the existing process, lower temperature, and pressure Recommended resources U.S. Department of Energy: Clean Hydrogen Commercial Liftoff Catalyst: Ammonia: The beer of decarbonization Catalyst: Climate tech startups need strong techno-economic analysis Catalyst is brought to you by EnergyHub. EnergyHub is working with more than 70 utilities across North America to help scale VPP programs to manage load growth, maximize the value of renewables, and deliver flexibility at every level of the grid. To learn more about their Edge DERMS platform and services, go to energyhub.com. On December 3 in Washington, DC, Latitude Media is bringing together a range of experts for Transition-AI 2024, a one-day, in-person event addressing both sides of the AI-energy nexus: the challenges AI poses to the grid, and the opportunities. Our podcast listeners get a 10% discount on this year's conference using the code LMPODS10. Register today here!
Oh, the heat pump — a climate tech darling that still hasn't hit the big time yet. One challenge for heat pumps is that the customer experience can be difficult, involving a complex installation process, poor installation jobs, and even technicians that don't want to sell you one. What's it going to take to get heat pumps right? In this episode, Shayle talks to Paul Lambert, founder and CEO of the heat-pump company Quilt. They talk through the nuts and bolts of the customer experience and how to improve it. (Shayle and Energy Impact Partners invest in Quilt). They cover topics like: Why many technicians are ambivalent or resistant to selling heat pumps The cost stack for heat pumps, including the surprising cost of materials The complex labor involved that ratchets up the total price of installation Lessons from other industries, such as solar and auto Whether users actually save money on heat pump installations The challenges of vertical integration of the value chain Recommended resources Latitude Media: We have more data on the energy benefits of heat pumps — and they're big Catalyst: Ramping up the pace of home electrification Catalyst: Unleashing the magic of heat pumps Catalyst is brought to you by EnergyHub. EnergyHub is working with more than 70 utilities across North America to help scale VPP programs to manage load growth, maximize the value of renewables, and deliver flexibility at every level of the grid. To learn more about their Edge DERMS platform and services, go to energyhub.com.= On December 3 in Washington, DC, Latitude Media is bringing together a range of experts for Transition-AI 2024, a one-day, in-person event addressing both sides of the AI-energy nexus: the challenges AI poses to the grid, and the opportunities. Our podcast listeners get a 10% discount on this year's conference using the code LMPODS10. Register today here!
https://www.fightingspiritfilm.com/Order Jason's new book, The Great Campaign Against the Great Reset on Amazon https://a.co/d/6yiOk5sFollow Jason on Locals: https://jasonjones.locals.com/and on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/osu4491Visit Movie to Movement @ www.MovieToMovement.comAnd the Vulnerable People Project: www.TheGreatCampaign.org
The bad news: The refrigerants we use in air conditioners, fridges, and vehicles absorb hundreds to thousands of times more heat than carbon dioxide does. The good news: We're in the middle of a global effort to replace them with lower impact alternatives. Will we replace them fast enough to hit climate targets? And in the meantime, can we prevent them from leaking into the atmosphere? In this episode, Shayle talks to Ian McGavisk, senior advisor at RMI for carbon-free buildings. An industry veteran, he recently co-authored a report on recovering residential AC refrigerants in the U.S., which have the carbon equivalent of 1.7 million cars. (Ian also works in business development at Transaera. Energy Impact Partners, where Shayle works, invests in Transaera.). Shayle and Ian cover topics like: The sources of emissions in the refrigerant lifecycle The economics of recovering and reclaiming refrigerants Alternatives with low global warming potential and their tradeoffs, such as efficiency, flammability and concerns about forever chemicals Recommended resources RMI: Refrigerant Reclamation Project Drawdown: Refrigerant Management Project Drawdown: Alternative Refrigerants EPA: Transitioning to Low-GWP Alternatives in Commercial Refrigeration UN Environmental Programme: Montreal Protocol On Substances That Deplete The Ozone Layer, Report Of The Technology And Economic Assessment Panel, May 2024 Catalyst is brought to you by EnergyHub. EnergyHub is working with more than 70 utilities across North America to help scale VPP programs to manage load growth, maximize the value of renewables, and deliver flexibility at every level of the grid. To learn more about their Edge DERMS platform and services, go to energyhub.com. On December 3 in Washington, DC, Latitude Media is bringing together a range of experts for Transition-AI 2024, a one-day, in-person event addressing both sides of the AI-energy nexus: the challenges AI poses to the grid, and the opportunities. Our podcast listeners get a 10% discount on this year's conference using the code LMPODS10. Register today here!
Order Jason's new book, The Great Campaign Against the Great Reset on Amazon https://a.co/d/6yiOk5sFollow Jason on Locals: https://jasonjones.locals.com/and on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/osu4491Visit Movie to Movement @ www.MovieToMovement.comAnd the Vulnerable People Project: www.TheGreatCampaign.org
This might be our wonkiest topic yet: Techno-economic analysis, or TEA. Before a startup proves its technology is commercially viable, it models how a technology would work. These TEAs include things like assumptions about inputs, prices, and market landscape. They help investors and entrepreneurs answer the question, will this technology compete? TEAs are important to the success of an early-stage climate-tech company. And a lot of startups get them wrong. As an investor at Energy Impact Partners (EIP), Shayle and his team see a lot of TEAs—and have some pet peeves. So what can startups do to improve their TEAs? This episode is a re-run from October 2023. We're making a new episode on TEAs soon – stay tuned. But to start, we're running this episode as a way to set up our next one. In this episode, Shayle talks to his colleagues Dr. Greg Thiel, EIP's director of technology, and Dr. Melissa Ball, EIP's associate director of technology. They cover topics like: Bad assumptions about things like levelized cost of production Focusing on a component instead of a system Focusing on unhelpful metrics Using false precision—something Shayle calls “modeling theater” Recommended Resources: Activate: Techonomics: Establishing best practices in early stage technology modeling Department of Energy: Techno-economic, Energy, & Carbon Heuristic Tool for Early-Stage Technologies (TECHTEST) Tool National Renewable Energy Laboratory: Techno-Economic Analysis Catalyst is brought to you by EnergyHub. EnergyHub is working with more than 70 utilities across North America to help scale VPP programs to manage load growth, maximize the value of renewables, and deliver flexibility at every level of the grid. To learn more about their Edge DERMS platform and services, go to energyhub.com. On December 3 in Washington, DC, Latitude Media is bringing together a range of experts for Transition-AI 2024, a one-day, in-person event addressing both sides of the AI-energy nexus: the challenges AI poses to the grid, and the opportunities. Our podcast listeners get a 10% discount on this year's conference using the code LMPODS10. Register today here!
Order Jason's new book, The Great Campaign Against the Great Reset on Amazon https://a.co/d/6yiOk5sFollow Jason on Locals: https://jasonjones.locals.com/and on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/osu4491Visit Movie to Movement @ www.MovieToMovement.comAnd the Vulnerable People Project: www.TheGreatCampaign.org
We capture concentrated methane emissions from point sources like dairy barns, landfills, and coal mines. Mitigating methane emissions is essential to hitting net-zero targets, but could we capture diluted gasses straight from the atmosphere, too? In this episode, Shayle talks to Dr. Gabrielle Dreyfus, Chief Scientist at the Institute For Governance & Sustainable Development, about a National Academy of Sciences report on the unexplored area of methane removal. Gabrielle chaired the committee behind the report. Shayle and Gabrielle cover topics like: Why methane removal may be critical to addressing methane from hard-to-abate sources, like enteric emissions and tropical wetlands Key differences between methane removal and carbon dioxide removal How reducing methane in the atmosphere may also reduce its atmospheric lifetime Technological pathways, including reactors, concentrators, surface treatments, ecosystem uptake enhancement, and atmospheric oxidation enhancement The potential for combining methane and carbon dioxide removal in direct air capture Recommended resources Catalyst: Why are we still flaring gas? Catalyst: Mitigating enteric methane: tech solutions for solving the cow burp problem Catalyst: Why methane matters Latitude Media: A look under the hood of EDF's methane detection satellite Catalyst is brought to you by EnergyHub. EnergyHub is working with more than 70 utilities across North America to help scale VPP programs to manage load growth, maximize the value of renewables, and deliver flexibility at every level of the grid. To learn more about their Edge DERMS platform and services, go to energyhub.com. On December 3 in Washington, DC, Latitude Media is bringing together a range of experts for Transition-AI 2024, a one-day, in-person event addressing both sides of the AI-energy nexus: the challenges AI poses to the grid, and the opportunities. Our podcast listeners get a 10% discount on this year's conference using the code LMPODS10. Register today here!
100 Ways John Paul II Changed the World- https://a.co/d/03vN4QA The Writings of St. Maximilian Maria Kolbe - Volume I - Letters- https://a.co/d/4SXHncUOrder Jason's new book, The Great Campaign Against the Great Reset on Amazon https://a.co/d/6yiOk5sFollow Jason on Locals: https://jasonjones.locals.com/and on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/osu4491Visit Movie to Movement @ www.MovieToMovement.comAnd the Vulnerable People Project: www.TheGreatCampaign.org
Virtual power plants can help electric grid operators address supply shortages and reliability concerns, but policy support is needed. --- The U.S. electrical grid is under growing stress, raising concern that recent widescale power outages may signal more grid challenges to come. In recent years, electricity demand has grown at an accelerating pace while, at the same time, power supply has tightened as existing power plants have retired and grid operators have struggled to bring new sources of power online. Yet one promising solution to the grid's challenges may already be in place, if grid operators and regulators can figure out how to use it to full advantage. ‘Virtual power plants' can combine small, distributed energy resources such as rooftop solar and demand response into a single, virtual whole that grid operators can deploy like a traditional powerplant. VPPs hold the promise of delivering large amounts of readily available and reliable energy services, if a number of regulatory and technological challenges can be overcome. On the podcast Ryan Hledik, a principal with electricity market consultancy The Brattle Group, explores the potential of virtual power plants. He explains how VPPs work, discusses hurdles to their development, and considers policy solutions to speed their growth. Ryan Hledik is a principal with electricity market consultancy The Brattle Group. Related Content: Closing the Climate Finance Gap: A Proposal for a New Green Investment Protocol https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/closing-the-climate-finance-gap-a-proposal-for-a-new-green-investment-protocol/ The Untapped Potential of “Repurposed Energy” https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/the-untapped-potential-of-repurposed-energy/ Energy Policy Now is produced by The Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at the University of Pennsylvania. For all things energy policy, visit kleinmanenergy.upenn.eduSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
What are VPP? Virtual Power Plants. What are DER? Distributed Energy Resources?As the grid becomes more intermittent while the load is growing, those VPP/DER platforms provide a critical role by shedding demand, sometimes for a few minutes, to alleviate stress on the Grids.VPPs can avoid starting polluting peakers via pre-agreed and targeted demand reduction, shift consumption via batteries and even act in in Frequency response market. And System Operators are willing to pay a decent price to have access to those resources.That is the mission of Dana Guernsey. Dana is the CEO of Voltus, a Boulder-CO based leading DER technology platform and virtual power plant operator connecting distributed energy resources to electricity markets. As interconnection queues lengthen and capacity cost explode, are we on the dawn of a crazy development of VPPs.Dana explains that while working for Walmart or fleet of Electric School buses, she can reduce Voltus' clients power bills by up to 20% while keeping their core services unchanged. We are going to talk about technology, heating and cooling management, AI… and lasagna.A deep dive into the future.--------------------------------------------------------------VERY IMPORTANT: We are doing a Q&A Episode in NovemberAsk us whatever you want!!! Send your questions: info@redefining-energy.com
Getting the construction industry to try a novel form of cement is like turning a giant ship. It's hard to redirect the immense momentum behind existing ways of doing business, especially involving cement, the most energy-intensive ingredient in concrete. Industry insiders point to tight margins, concerns about messing with the ingredients that literally hold up buildings, and the long list of stakeholders will agree to try a new material. So how do you get a risk-averse construction supply chain to try decarbonized cement? In this episode, Shayle talks to Leah Ellis, CEO and co-founder of Sublime Systems, a company that recently landed its first commercial deployment of decarbonized cement. (Shayle is an investor in Sublime). Shayle and Leah cover topics like: The long list of parties involved in a single pour of concrete Why the green premium is a burden for margin-squeezed contractors but “budget dust” for the building buyer How to align stakeholders, once there's buy-in from financers How a book-and-claim system could work for decarbonized cement How major concrete consumers, like governments, can create demand Why the boom in data center construction creates a window of opportunity for decarbonized construction materials Recommended resources Catalyst: Pathways to decarbonizing steel Catalyst: Fixing cement's carbon problem Latitude Media: With climate venture capital down, industrial investments had a ‘breakout year' in 2023 Catalyst is brought to you by EnergyHub. EnergyHub is working with more than 70 utilities across North America to help scale VPP programs to manage load growth, maximize the value of renewables, and deliver flexibility at every level of the grid. To learn more about their Edge DERMS platform and services, go to energyhub.com. On December 3 in Washington, DC, Latitude Media is bringing together a range of experts for Transition-AI 2024, a one-day, in-person event addressing both sides of the AI-energy nexus: the challenges AI poses to the grid, and the opportunities. Our podcast listeners get a 10% discount on this year's conference using the code LMPODS10. Register today here!
Chinese battery companies are manufacturing the cheapest cells in the world right now, and it's not just because of cheap labor and state subsidies. They've streamlined the process in a way that has industry experts wondering how international competitors can ever catch up. In this episode, Shayle talks to James Frith, principal at the battery investment firm Volta Energy Technologies. He argues that there are multiple factors behind Chinese manufacturers' efficiency and speed, like the know-how to operate plants with high yields, easy access to suppliers, and ability to squeeze margins to near zero. Shayle and James cover topics like: The confluence of overcapacity, softening demand, and low commodity prices that could result in a “bloodbath” of market consolidation in China Why the low cell prices on the spot market hit stationary storage harder than EVs Cost drivers of cell manufacturing, like labor, power, and environmental regulations What Western companies can learn from China's cheap prices Why James is bullish on partnerships between Chinese and Western companies Recommended resources Latitude Media: How Northvolt's bet on lithium metal batteries fell apart Latitude Media: A summer of ups and downs in the battery sector Latitude Media: DOE designates $3 billion for the advanced battery supply chain Catalyst is brought to you by EnergyHub. EnergyHub is working with more than 70 utilities across North America to help scale VPP programs to manage load growth, maximize the value of renewables, and deliver flexibility at every level of the grid. To learn more about their Edge DERMS platform and services, go to energyhub.com. On December 3 in Washington, DC, Latitude Media is bringing together a range of experts for Transition-AI 2024, a one-day, in-person event addressing both sides of the AI-energy nexus: the challenges AI poses to the grid, and the opportunities. Our podcast listeners get a 10% discount on this year's conference using the code LMPODS10. Register today here!
www.mattersmedia.orgOrder Jason's new book, The Great Campaign Against the Great Reset on Amazon https://a.co/d/6yiOk5sFollow Jason on Locals: https://jasonjones.locals.com/and on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/osu4491Visit Movie to Movement @ www.MovieToMovement.comAnd the Vulnerable People Project: www.TheGreatCampaign.org
This podcast episode, Segment 2 of our SolarEdge interview, is for my fellow solar installers who crave the inside scoop on industry TLAs such as IRA, VPP, V2G, PCS and NBT. This is the geeky deeper dive on the latest technologies and policy perspectives from SolarEdge. Segment 1, released a few weeks ago, is a great listen for more of a customer perspective. Today's podcast, the second SolarEdge segment, is focused on interests and needs for contractors -- both residential and commercial. Issues related to fire safety, maximizing energy harvest, commercial cost reduction and UL 3741 are among the topics we are discussing. And if you work in California, techniques to increase system size for existing NEM2 customers will also be covered. Joining us on these two SolarEdge podcast segments are Bertrand Vandeweile, SolarEdge's new GM for North America, and John Ahlman, their Chief Marketing Officer. Please tune into this second of two Energy Show podcasts with SolarEdge at www.energyshow.biz.
本集節目由【泓德能源】贊助 上禮拜在泓德能源(6873)的邀請下,生平首次踏進了台灣國際智慧能源週,也首次瞭解什麼叫「智慧能源業」。運氣實在不錯,第一次就讓泓德的七位專家花了兩個多小時,帶我們完整的認識發電、儲電、充電與賣電這整條歷程。更讓我們印象深刻的是泓德能源「全包」了: ⚡電廠建置 ⚡維運管理 ⚡綠電轉供 ⚡虛擬電廠(VPP) ⚡充電營運
Order Jason's new book, The Great Campaign Against the Great Reset on Amazon https://a.co/d/6yiOk5sFollow Jason on Locals: https://jasonjones.locals.com/and on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/osu4491Visit Movie to Movement @ www.MovieToMovement.comAnd the Vulnerable People Project: www.TheGreatCampaign.org
The world's first large-scale, commercial direct-air capture (DAC) plants are coming online – or are about to. How soon will we see a boom in high-quality, durable DAC supply? In this episode, Shayle talks to Andreas Aepli, chief financial officer of Climeworks, the world's largest provider of DAC. They talk about Climeworks' challenges with its two commercial plants – challenges Andreas argues the industry needs to be transparent about in order to earn the trust of skeptical buyers. Shayle and Andreas also cover topics like: The real-world challenges of building a DAC plant, like extreme weather, supply-chain quality issues, CO2 purity, and more Why Andreas advocates a step-by-step scale-up of progressively larger deployments How to set pricing and and structure a carbon removal contract How to build a capital stack for a carbon removal plant Why Andreas believes the market will become even more supply-constrained in the next few years Recommended resources Latitude Media: Google says it's the first to purchase direct air capture for $100 per ton Latitude Media: Can a new generation of DAC companies overcome the tech's big challenges? Latitude Media: Climeworks begins to offer “PPAs” for carbon removal Catalyst: Fixing the messy voluntary carbon market Catalyst is brought to you by EnergyHub. EnergyHub is working with more than 70 utilities across North America to help scale VPP programs to manage load growth, maximize the value of renewables, and deliver flexibility at every level of the grid. To learn more about their Edge DERMS platform and services, go to energyhub.com. Catalyst is brought to you by Kraken, the advanced operating system for energy. Kraken is helping utilities offer excellent customer service and develop innovative products and tariffs through the connection and optimization of smart home energy assets. Already licensed by major players across the globe, including Origin Energy, E.ON, and EDF, learn how Kraken can help you create a smarter, greener grid at kraken.tech. On December 3 in Washington, DC, Latitude Media is bringing together a range of experts for Transition-AI 2024, a one-day, in-person event addressing both sides of the AI-energy nexus: the challenges AI poses to the grid, and the opportunities. Our podcast listeners get a 10% discount on this year's conference using the code LMPODS10. Register today here!
What's a Vala? How's this new Bosch motor? Wait… a 4-bar bike from Santa Cruz? Is this the end of VPP? Who's Jack Russell, anyways? To hear the answers to these questions, along with many more, press play– there's a lot to know about Santa Cruz Bicycles' new model, the Vala. Questions? Gripes? Please email us at podcast@santacruzbicycles.com. If you enjoy the podcast, you can help others to do the same by subscribing or giving us a 5-star rating. Thanks for listening!
Order Jason's new book, The Great Campaign Against the Great Reset on Amazon https://a.co/d/6yiOk5sFollow Jason on Locals: https://jasonjones.locals.com/and on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/osu4491Visit Movie to Movement @ www.MovieToMovement.comAnd the Vulnerable People Project: www.TheGreatCampaign.org
Order Jason's new book, The Great Campaign Against the Great Reset on Amazon https://a.co/d/6yiOk5sFollow Jason on Locals: https://jasonjones.locals.com/and on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/osu4491Visit Movie to Movement @ www.MovieToMovement.comAnd the Vulnerable People Project: www.TheGreatCampaign.org
Order Jason's new book, The Great Campaign Against the Great Reset on Amazon https://a.co/d/6yiOk5sFollow Jason on Locals: https://jasonjones.locals.com/and on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/osu4491Visit Movie to Movement @ www.MovieToMovement.comAnd the Vulnerable People Project: www.TheGreatCampaign.org
Order Jason's new book, The Great Campaign Against the Great Reset on Amazon https://a.co/d/6yiOk5sFollow Jason on Locals: https://jasonjones.locals.com/and on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/osu4491Visit Movie to Movement @ www.MovieToMovement.comAnd the Vulnerable People Project: www.TheGreatCampaign.org