ENCORE: Solar Power to the People

Climate One

News, Social Sciences, News Commentary, Science, Earth Sciences

4.7 • 583 Ratings

🗓️ 26 December 2025

⏱️ 58 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

At this moment, the cheapest way to create electricity is by pointing a solar panel at the sun. That’s good news for the climate. It’s also good news for communities who want to take control of their own electricity generation. In the heart of Brooklyn, UPROSE is helping to build a solar project that will be owned by the community, provide jobs, and help residents bring down their energy costs. In Puerto Rico, where hurricanes have devastated the power grid, community members are building solar microgrids to provide reliable electricity as the utility has proven they cannot. Meanwhile in conservative rural Virginia, Energy Right is helping farmers and rural communities adopt solar projects, touting a free market message about energy independence and security. Guests: Elizabeth Yeampierre, Attorney; Executive Director, UPROSE Skyler Zunk, CEO and Founder, Energy Right Arturo Massol-Deyá, Executive Director, Casa Pueblo de Adjuntas For show notes and related links, visit ClimateOne.org. Highlights: 00:00 - Intro 4:11 - Elizabeth Yeampierre on the history of UPROSE 10:40 - Elizabeth Yeampierre on Sunset Park Solar 14:31 - Elizabeth Yeampierre on the GRID plan 20:46 - Arturo Massol-Deyá on the Origins of Casa Pueblo 23:43 - Arturo Massol-Deyá on providing solar power to the community 33:04 - Arturo Massol-Deyá on what other communities can learn from Casa Pueblo 38:08 - Skyler Zunk on the importance of reliable energy 47:06 - Skyler Zunk on dealing with resistance to solar projects 50:49 - Skyler Zunk on the Inflation Reduction Act **** Support Climate One by going ad-free! By subscribing to Climate One on Patreon, you’ll receive exclusive access to all future episodes free of ads, opportunities to connect with fellow Climate One listeners, and access to the Climate One Discord. Sign up today at patreon.com/ClimateOne. Ad sales by Multitude. Contact them for ad inquiries at multitude.productions/ads Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	AI is incredible. They can teach you how to fry an egg and even write a poem, pirate style.
0:07.0	But it knows nothing about your work. Slackbot is different. It doesn't just know the facts.
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0:20.0	Because Slackbot isn't just another AI.
0:23.3	It's AI that knows your work as well as you do. Visit Slack.com forward slash meet Slackbot to learn more.
0:30.9	This episode is brought to you by Vanta. Security and compliance done wrong is a headache.
0:36.1	Done right, you build trust and grow faster.
0:38.3	That's Vanta.
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1:01.1	I'm Greg Dalton.
1:02.7	And I'm Cusha Navadar.
1:04.0	And this is Climate One.
1:08.3	Solar power has been around for a while.
1:12.4	1900 computer-controlled mirrors will collect enough solar heat to provide electricity for a small town.
1:20.3	And Kusha, I'm trying to remember the first time I encountered solar.
	...

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