Experts Only

This week’s guest is John Chaimanis, co-founder and managing director of Kendall Sustainable Infrastructure. At Kendall, John works on all aspects of business, including deal sourcing, financial structuring, and asset management. Prior to Kendall, Mr. Chaimanis worked for Edison International, where he developed over $500M of energy projects, installing 250MW of renewable assets. Host Jon Powers digs into John’s past and present experiences in the finance and renewable sectors as well as where the industry has been, and where it is headed in the next few years.

This week’s guest is Bill Weihl, Executive Director of ClimateVoice. At ClimateVoice, Bill focuses on mobilizing the influence of the corporate world to aid in addressing the climate crisis we are facing today. ClimateVoice works to use the power of companies to prioritize climate change, by vocalizing and mobilizing the corporate sphere to go #AllinOnClimate. Prior to ClimateVoice, Bill worked as Google’s Green Energy Czar, and as the Director of Sustainability at Facebook. Host Jon Powers discusses Bill's past experiences and his current role in working to assemble the corporate sphere to help decarbonize our country. They discuss what is needed to reach our climate goal of keeping warming below 1.5℃, and how the corporate sector is a key player in achieving those goals.

This week's episode is in collaboration with NECEC or the Northeast Clean Energy Council's first Navigate Program webinar. Navigate is a program that leverages the connections and power of NECEC to provide resources and support to clean energy startups. Host, Jon Powers discusses with three panelists; Matthew Nordan, Managing Director of Prime Impact Fund, Marnie LaVigne, CEO of Launch NY, and Hudson Gilmer, CEO of LineVision. These leaders in the industry discuss venture capital, fundraising, and entrepreneurship within the clean energy sector, and answer a series of questions.

This week's guest is Chris Archer, Senior Managing Director and Head of Americas at Macquarie’s Green Investment Group. Under Chris' leadership the Green Investment Group has commercialized over 1 gigawatt of renewable energy projects in North America, playing a key role as an investor, advisor and project manager and furthering our transition to a clean energy economy. Host Jon Powers digs into Chris's deep experience in infrastructure & renewable energy investing and explores his thoughts on the opportunities for the continued growth of clean energy as well some of the complex challenges that remain barriers for investors in the sector.

This week's guest is Joe Bonfiglio, President of EDF Action. EDF Action is the Environmental Defense Fund’s 501(c)4 sister organization, advocating to protect the environment and the health of American families. Under Bonfiglio’s leadership, EDF Action has successfully fought against budget cuts for the EPA and other agencies, lobbied against unqualified nominees for important protective roles, and launched a new campaign training program for political candidates. Host Jon Powers explores the role climate and the environment will play in the upcoming presidential election, both before and after the Covid-19 outbreak.

This week's guest is Marilyn Waite, Program Officer in Environment at the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and author of the book 'Sustainability at Work: careers that make a difference'. Marilyn manages the foundation’s grantmaking on climate and clean energy finance with the ambitious goal of addressing climate change by accelerating the transition to a climate-friendly economy. Her book, now used in higher education curricula in the United States and China, is a compelling guide for everyone who wants to have both a successful career and a career that makes a positive difference in society. Host Jon Powers explores Marilyn's innovative work on clean energy finance and sustainability in the U.S. and on the international stage.

On this episode of Experts Only, host Jon Powers moderates a special live recording at the Energy Storage Summit USA conference in March 2020. Entitled "Accelerating US Storage: Unlocking Hybrid Projects", the panel discussion features Ken-Ichi Hino, Director of Energy Storage at Geronimo Energy; Holly Christie, General Counsel for Hecate Energy; and Gary Dorris, CEO & Co-Founder of Ascend Analytics. Their discussion explores the unique dynamics of standalone storage and solar + storage projects.

On this special episode of Experts Only, host Jon Powers talks with Lisa Jacobson, President of the Business Council for Sustainable Energy (BCSE)and Ethan Zindler, head of Americas at Bloomberg NEF. Bloomberg NEF produces and BCSE underwrites the Sustainable Energy in America Factbook, which provides up-to-date, accurate market intelligence about the broad range of industries that are contributing to the country’s move towards cleaner energy production and more efficient energy usage. Hear why they call 2010-2019 "a decade of profound transformation" for renewable energy in America and highlight some of the insights contained in the 2020 Factbook.

This week's guest is Mona Dajani, partner and global leader of the Energy, Infrastructure & Water team at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman. As an international known deal maker in the renewable energy industry for over 20 years, Mona has advised on multiple acquisitions, dispositions, financing, tax equity, leasing and project development transactions involving energy and infrastructure facilities. In this engaging episode, host Jon Powers explores Mona's two decades of experience in the renewable energy space along with market trends and investor appetite for energy storage.

This week we speak with David Sandalow, Inaugural Fellow at the Center on Global Energy Policy and co-Director of the Energy and Environment Concentration at the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University. He founded and directs the Center’s U.S.-China Program. David has served in multiple senior positions in the government at the White House, State Department, and most recently the U.S. Department of Energy. Prior to his role at the Department of Energy, he was a Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution. This conversation centers around David’s 2019 Guide to Chinese Climate Policy and the pivotal role China plays in the solution to climate change.