Is America Halfway to a Zero-Carbon Grid?
The Energy Gang
Wood Mackenzie
4.6 • 1.3K Ratings
🗓️ 22 April 2021
⏱️ 47 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In 2005, it looked like heat-trapping gases from power plants were only going up.
That year, the EIA put out a projection: CO2 emissions from power plants would steadily rise every year, thanks to the incumbency of coal and gas.
Today, they’re half of what was projected. A new report from Lawrence Berkeley National Lab calls it “halfway to zero” -- meaning we are already halfway to a zero-carbon grid.
This week: why the path to net-zero may surprise us once again.
Then: America’s climate image on the world stage is in tatters. What will it take for the Biden team to stitch it back together before COP negotiations this fall?
Finally: a ton of specific policy ideas that can help us expand solar to the people who need it most.
BlocPower CEO Donnel Baird joins Katherine and Stephen as our guest co-host this week.
Looking to grow your career in solar tech? Aurora Solar is the leader in solar design and sales software. Aurora is hiring across multiple roles including customer success, marketing, sales, operations, and more. See open roles and apply to join Aurora, voted one of the best places to work in 2021, at www.aurorasolar.com/energygang.
This podcast is also brought to you by CPower. CPower’s latest book, "Demand-Side Energy Management in the Time of COVID," takes a peek into eight of the biggest commercial industries in North America and reveals key energy management strategies successful organizations executed during the wildest year of the young century. Download it here.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | The Energy Gang is brought to you by Aurora Solar Aurora is the leader in solar design and |
| 0:05.9 | sales software with over 5 million projects designed in the platform to date and guess |
| 0:10.0 | what they're hiring across a lot of different roles including customer success, marketing, |
| 0:14.5 | sales, operations and more. |
| 0:16.4 | If you want to expand your career in solar tech, check out the open roles and apply to join |
| 0:21.2 | Aurora, voted one of the best places to work in 2021, go to AuroraSolar.com. |
| 0:27.4 | And if you need some additional reading, check out Seapower's latest book, Demandside Energy |
| 0:32.1 | Management in the time of COVID. |
| 0:34.4 | Seapower is our sponsor and they're also offering this resource to people who are managing energy |
| 0:39.9 | spend and strategy at corporations. |
| 0:43.1 | It's authored by 19 seapower experts with a combined total of more than 300 years of |
| 0:47.7 | energy experience. |
| 0:49.0 | It's a must have resource for any commercial and industrial organization striving to optimize |
| 0:53.9 | energy use in 2021, visit the Seapower Way slash 2021 to download this new Seapower book. |
| 1:04.0 | This is the Energy Gang, weekly debates and discussions about the fast changing world |
| 1:07.4 | of energy, I'm Stephen Lacey. |
| 1:13.8 | Is the US already halfway to a zero emissions grid? |
| 1:17.2 | 15 years ago it looked like heat trapping gases from power plants were only going up. |
| 1:21.9 | Today, they're half of what was projected. |
| 1:24.6 | This week, by the path to net zero, may surprise us once again. |
| 1:28.6 | Then America's climate image on the world's stages and tatters, what will it take for |
| 1:32.4 | the Biden team to stitch it back together before negotiations this fall? |
... |
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