Experts Only

This week on the pod, Jon Powers sits down with Katherine Hamilton, co-founder and chair of 38 North Solutions, to discuss current climate culture and the challenges political leaders face with clean energy innovation. It’s a fascinating discussion on how policy makers influence new technologies, resilience and clean energy, and the role of innovation as a marketforce. Katherine has had a dynamic career advancing federal clean energy policy. She has served in advisory roles for the Energy Storage Association and Good Energies, Inc.; advocated for the development of renewable portfolio standards in New Jersey and Maryland as Co-Director for the American Bioenergy Association; and worked in buildings research and government relations at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. In addition to her policy experience, Katherine spent a decade at a utility, designing electrical systems for commercial and residential developments. Katherine is also a co-host of The Energy Gang podcast through Greentech Media. Experts Only is made possible by CleanCapital. Learn more: http://www.cleancapital.com/expert-only Follow on Twitter: @CleanCapital_ Learn more about 38 North Solutions: https://38northsolutions.com/

Thomas Byrne sits down with Terry Tamminen, CEO of the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation, to discuss climate change solutions, updates on progress from #California, and Terry’s journey to CEO of Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation (and of course what it’s like working with Leo). Terry has an impressive and expansive history working on environmental causes for more than 20 years in state government, universities, and the private sector. He founded the Santa Monica BayKeeper, served as the Executive Director of the Environment Now Foundation, and co-founded the Frank G. Wells Environmental Law Clinic at the School of Law, University of California Los Angeles. After helping Arnold Schwarzenegger win the historic recall election and become Governor of California in 2003, Terry was appointed to a position as Secretary of the California Environmental Protection Agency, and later as Cabinet Secretary, the Chief Policy Advisor to the Governor. During his time in government, Terry was the architect of many groundbreaking sustainability policies, including California's landmark Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, the Hydrogen Highway Network, and the Million Solar Roofs initiative. Terry joined the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation as CEO in 2016. Experts Only is made possible by CleanCapital. Learn more: http://www.cleancapital.com/expert-only Follow on Twitter: @CleanCapital_ Learn more about Terry Tamminen and his work: https://www.leonardodicaprio.org/team/ or on his LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/terry-tamminen-b8523ab3/

This week, Thomas Byrne sits down with Gretchen Bakke, cultural anthropology professor at McGill University, to discuss her most recent book “The Grid: The Fraying Wires Between Americans and Our Energy Future.” In the last century, America’s electrical supply has evolved from a series of smaller, distributed energy sources to mostly monopolized large utility companies. And still the energy systems of America and other countries continue to evolve. On this week’s episode of Experts Only, our guest, Gretchen Bakke, shares insights from her book on the electrification of America, the development of the modern grid, and her thoughts on the future of utilities. Experts Only is made possible by CleanCapital. Learn more: http://www.cleancapital.com/expert-only Follow on Twitter: @CleanCapital_ About Gretchen: Gretchen Bakke is a cultural anthropologist and author of The Grid: The Fraying Wires Between Americans and Our Energy Future. She is an Assistant Professor of Anthropology at McGill University and currently holds a position as a Guest Professor at the Integrative Research Institute on Transformations of Human-Environment Systems, Humboldt University in Berlin, Germany. Learn more about Gretchen Bakke and her work: http://bakkeconsolidated.org/Welcome.html

This week’s episode was recorded in front of a live audience at the NY Green Innovation Showcase, hosted by New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA). Jon Powers sits down with Alicia Barton, President and CEO of NYSERDA, to talk about New York’s current and future roadmap in the energy transition. This conversation features insights from Alicia on the state of clean energy technology, storage and innovation; the US and global energy systems transition and market growth; and the role of companies, regulators, investors, governments, and utilities in building a clean energy economy. Alicia brings a wealth of experience and knowledge on the industry to share with you. Experts Only is made possible by CleanCapital. Find more episodes: http://www.cleancapital.com/expert-only Follow on Twitter: @CleanCapital_ The NY Green Innovation Showcase attracted leading cleantech investors and strategic partners from around the globe to help drive deal flows and help improve the environment for co-investment and syndication. For those who don’t know NYSERDA, they are leading the way in the US energy transition and setting the standard for many other states to follow. NYSERDA, promotes energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy sources. Since 1975, NYSERDA has worked with stakeholders throughout New York including residents, business owners, developers, community leaders, local government officials, university researchers, utility representatives, investors, and entrepreneurs to develop, invest, and foster the conditions that expand the state’s clean energy economy. Learn more about NYSERDA: https://www.nyserda.ny.gov/About

This week’s episode was recorded in front of a live audience at Clean Energy Leadership Institute’s (CELI) EMPOWER conference in DC. EMPOWER is the first conference dedicated to young professionals driving change in the clean energy sector, which says a lot about CELI’s mission as an organization. For those who don’t know CELI - the organization dedicated to developing and connecting the next generation of diverse clean energy leaders. Jon Powers sits down with Liz Dalton (new Executive Director) and Thomas Biddinger (New Board Member and VP at Bay4Energy) about the organization and its future. This conversation features insights from Liz and Thomas on the importance of diversity and inclusion in the clean energy workforce, and technology trends in energy and climate change. They both bring a wealth of experience and knowledge from multiple dimensions of the industry to share with you. Experts Only is made possible by CleanCapital. Learn more: http://www.cleancapital.com/expert-only Follow on Twitter: @CleanCapital_ Learn more about CELI: https://www.cleanenergyleaders.org/ With programs operating in Washington, DC and San Francisco, CA, the Clean Energy Leadership Institute (CELI) is dedicated to developing the next generation of diverse, pragmatic clean energy leaders. Over the last five years, CELI has trained nearly 400 young professionals across 200+ organizations in clean energy policy, finance and technology. Learn more about CELI: https://www.cleanenergyleaders.org/ Applications for CELI's 2019 Fellowship will open on November 30th. More information can be found here: www.cleanenergyleaders.org/fellowship CELI is hosting a Clean Energy Advocacy + Deep Decarbonization event in SF on December 8th. A great opportunity for folks in the Bay who are thinking about applying to the Fellowship. RSVP: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/clean-energy-advocacy-101-workshop-achieving-deep-decarbonization-tickets-51568186835

Thomas Byrne joins us this week with an interesting conversation with Rob Day, Founder and Partner at Spring Lane Capital. Rob has been a sustainable resources private equity investor since 2004, and acts or has served as a Director, Observer and advisory board member to multiple companies in the energy tech and related sectors. Rob also serves on the Board at the New England Clean Energy Council. Today’s conversation features lessons learned from Rob’s 15 years of experience in clean energy investing. He's witnessed the growth and challenges of the clean energy space and has a wealth of experience to share with you. Experts Only is made possible by CleanCapital. Learn more: http://www.cleancapital.com Follow on Twitter: @CleanCapital_ Learn more about Spring Lane Capital: https://www.springlanecapital.com/ Spring Lane Capital partners with strong management teams who are selling or using distributed assets with compelling customer economics in the energy, water, food and waste sectors. Learn more about Spring Lane Capital: https://www.springlanecapital.com/

On the pod this week, Jon sits down with Kelly Speakes-Backman, the CEO of the Energy Storage Association, the national trade association dedicated to energy storage, working toward a more resilient, efficient, sustainable and affordable electricity grid. The organization represents a diverse group of companies, including independent power producers, electric utilities, energy service companies, financiers, manufacturers, and more involved in deploying energy storage systems. Kelly joined ESA with more than 20 years working in energy and energy efficiency, sustainability, renewables, and environmental business strategies. Her direct technology experience includes power generation from solar, wind, biogas and biomass, distributed generation, natural gas, smart grid and fuel cells. She joined the public sector in 2010 as the Clean Energy Director at the Maryland Energy Administration, where she led a team to implement programs aimed at meeting the Administration’s goal of increasing Maryland’s renewable energy portfolio to 20 percent by 2022. With her rich experience across sectors, and throughout the energy industry, we are excited to hear Kelly’s insight on the growth of storage and the transformative potential of this emerging technology. We hope you enjoy the conversation today as much as we did. Experts Only is made possible by CleanCapital. Learn more: http://www.cleancapital.com Follow on Twitter: @CleanCapital_ Learn more about the Energy Storage Association: http://energystorage.org/ 2025 Report for Energy Storage: http://energystorage.org/vision2025 McKinsey on the declining costs of storage: https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/electric-power-and-natural-gas/our-insights/the-new-rules-of-competition-in-energy-storage

Missed Solar Power International and Energy Storage International in Anaheim this year? Experts Only hosted our podcast in front of a live audience to discuss the Economics of Microgrids with Miranda Ballentine (Constant Power), Sachu Constantine (Vote Solar), David Rubin (PG&E) and Mike Wu (Converge Strategies). Today’s episode is a bit longer than our typical podcast as we discuss the evolving microgrid business models from third-party projects to utility-initiated projects. In between, a hybrid, “unbundled” model based on public-private partnerships is emerging which could offer more flexibility and opportunities for collaboration. This episode examines the state of microgrids, using the discrete business models that are supporting build-out and specific use cases to highlight how microgrids best contribute to the electric grid’s steady evolution toward aggregating and integrating distributed energy resources (DERs), flexible loads, and increased resilience and security. Experts Only is made possible by CleanCapital. Learn more: http://www.cleancapital.com Follow on Twitter: @CleanCapital_ Details about SPI: https://www.solarpowerinternational.com/

Happy Birthday Experts Only! Thanks to all our listeners so far, it’s been a big year for our podcast, we’ve released 30 episodes with leading experts ranging from investors, industry visionaries, and innovators across the cleantech space and financial markets focusing on the intersection of energy, innovation and finance. We’ve invited back our first Experts Only guest, Abby Ross Hopper, President and CEO of Solar Energy Industries Association. It’s been quite the year for the solar industry and we’ve invited Abby back to discuss the state of solar, how the industry has responded to a challenging political climate from the international trade case to international climate agreement withdrawals and federal regulations intended to favor fossil fuels. It’s been a busy year. As many of our listeners will be headed to Solar Power International in Anaheim, we hope today’s conversation will help give you a sense of where the industry is and where it’s headed before you head out to this year’s show. For those headed to Anaheim, we’ll be doing a live recording of Experts Only focused on Business Opportunity of Microgrids on Wednesday from 2:30-4, you can find more details below. I hope you enjoy today’s conversation as we discuss that the state of solar is strong. Experts Only is made possible by CleanCapital. Learn more: http://www.cleancapital.com Follow on Twitter: @CleanCapital_ Details about Experts Only Live at SPI on Wed, Sept 26 from 2:30-4pm: https://www.eventscribe.com/2018/SPI/fsPopup.asp?Mode=presInfo&PresentationID=403418 Details about SPI: https://www.solarpowerinternational.com/ Details about SEIA: https://seia.org ICYMI Abby’s first interview 1 year ago: https://cleancapital.com/2017/09/understanding-the-solar-trade-case-my-conversation-with-seia-ceo-abigail-ross-hopper/

Today we are speaking with Ilan Gur, the Founder and Executive Director of Cyclotron Road, a fellowship program that supports hard science and technology innovators as they advance a project with the potential for global impact. Ilan founded Cyclotron Road in order to provide entrepreneurial scientists and engineers with access to support and infrastructure that he noticed was lacking during his time directing research and technology projects in academia, startups, and corporate labs. The program is based at Berkeley Lab and fellows collaborate with scientists from the lab and from UC Berkeley. Cyclotron Road’s initial focus has been on advanced energy and materials technologies, and they have supported 41 innovators coming from some the world's top research institutions since their launch in 2014. Prior to founding Cyclotron Road, Ilan served as program director at the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), where he managed a $50 million portfolio spanning energy storage, solar energy, and advanced materials. Prior to ARPA-E, he launched two energy startups based on materials and manufacturing innovations, including Seeo, an advanced lithium battery company that was acquired by Bosch in 2015.