087: The Democratization of Energy - Understanding your power bill, energy regulation, and the shift to decentralized clean energy with Seth Mansur
A Sustainable Mind - environment & sustainability podcast
Marjorie Alexander
4.6 • 588 Ratings
🗓️ 8 January 2022
⏱️ 63 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Seth Mansur is a longtime sustainability advocate and Marine Corps veteran, and over the last decade, he has developed a deep understanding of a multitude of energy management solutions. Seth's work serves the energy needs of Commercial, Industrial, and Non-Profit Organizations and his primary objective is to help organizations take a proactive approach to evaluating and taking action on their energy needs.
Today's Sponsor:
Climate Talks is a new podcast exploring sustainability and the ways that we communicate about the climate. Catch season one now as host Sophia Li interviews climate optimists, investigating the steps we can take to work towards a more sustainable future. Listen here: https://pod.link/1592523204
In this episode Marjorie and Seth discuss:
- What exactly is energy management, why does it matter, and how does it differ between residential to commercial buildings
- Why are energy bills so difficult to read!
- The role of energy audits and energy monitors and determining if your situation would benefit from these tools
- What peak energy means and why it's so expensive
- Community choice aggregation or deregulated energy options
- What the energy grid of the future could look like and what happens to energy monopolies when a majority of users switch to renewables
Resources mentioned in today's episode:
- Ecovillage Findhorn in Scotland
- Station A - the first AI-powered clean energy marketplace
- Seth's mentor Dr. John Gerber, Professor of Sustainable Food and Farming at the University of Massachusetts
- William McDonough, founder of Cradle to Cradle design
- Book: Cradle to Cradle: Remaking The Way We Make Things
- Solar Ready Vets program
Connect with Seth Mansur:
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sethmansur/
Connect with Marjorie Alexander:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/asustainablemind/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/SustainableMind
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/asustainablemind/
- Website: http://www.asustainablemind.com
Interested in sponsoring or supporting A Sustainable Mind? Visit our sponsorship page at ASustainableMind.com/sponsor!
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | The fact is that the utility bill itself is so complex. |
| 0:05.1 | There is literally 10,000 of thousands of rate structures out there. |
| 0:08.9 | They're constantly changing, being updated, tweaked, and manipulated on the back end by the utility. |
| 0:14.7 | And on the one hand, it's evolved organically over the last 120-plus years, where it's just a fragmented system, |
| 0:25.6 | and therefore, frankly, our electric bills are all over the place. |
| 0:28.7 | You look at one electric bill in PG&E versus Southern California Edison versus national grid on the East Coast. |
| 0:37.0 | They're generally structured similar, but boy, there are some different terminology. |
| 0:43.1 | And so when I think about energy management, it's a spectrum of opportunities and solutions |
| 0:49.9 | one can take to take an act, more active or a significantly active role in how one or how an |
| 0:57.7 | organization uses energy. This is a sustainable mind where we delve into the minds behind |
| 1:05.0 | today's most impactful environmental campaigns, organizations, and startups, inspiring the environmental change makers of tomorrow. |
| 1:14.3 | I'm your host, Marjorie Alexander. |
| 1:18.4 | Today's episode is sponsored by Climate Talks, a new podcast series exploring sustainability |
| 1:24.3 | and the ways that we communicate about climate. In season one, Sophia Lee, journalist, film director, and self-described climate optimist takes on topics from watered stewardship and the circular economy to climate justice and communication. |
| 1:41.3 | We'll be hearing a bit about climate talks later on in today's episode. |
| 1:47.7 | This is episode 87, and today we are joined by Seth Mansour, a longtime sustainability advocate, |
| 1:55.8 | Marine Corps veteran, and business development consultant in the energy industry for over 10 years. |
| 2:02.7 | Seth has developed a deep understanding of a multitude of energy management solutions, |
| 2:07.7 | and his work serves the energy needs of commercial, industrial, and nonprofit organizations. |
| 2:13.3 | His primary objective being to help organizations take a proactive approach to evaluating and taking action on their energy needs. |
| 2:21.7 | Seth, welcome to the show. |
| 2:23.9 | Thank you, Marjorie, for having me. |
... |
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