Energy Empire

Leah Stokes on Why the Climate Movement Thinks Too Small, and How to Take the Power Back

You know what a carbon footprint is because BP spent $100 million making sure you would. It worked. Two decades of climate advice came down to shrinking yourself: drive

This Lithium Plant Would Double US Production | The New Industrialists

The United States produces almost no lithium of its own. Not for lack of the stuff. There’s lithium in groundwater almost everywhere. But most of the industry’s growth o

Introducing The New Industrialists

Building clean energy industries has become an industrial strategy problem as much as a climate one. Batteries, steel, critical minerals, grid equipment. Someone has to

Hydropower: America's Forgotten Clean Energy Giant

Hydropower runs in 48 of 50 states and makes nearly a quarter of U.S. renewable power. It also stores power. Pumped storage, which works like a giant water battery, hold

Trump’s Former FERC Chair on the Midterms, Selling Ted Cruz on Solar, and Why He’s Nervous About the Permitting Bill | Energy on the Ballot

Election Day is tomorrow, and energy is on the ballot. Neil Chatterjee, who chaired the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission during President Trump’s first term, joins Ji

Turning America’s Waste Heat Into 15 Gigawatts of Power

Factories and gas pipelines vent heat into the air every day. Captured, that heat can produce clean electricity around the clock. Today, the US gets less than 1 gigawatt

Who Benefits From $6 Diesel? Sen. Tina Smith Says Follow the Money | Energy on the Ballot

Gas is up more than a dollar a gallon since the Iran war began, and diesel set an all-time record in September. Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN) says the president’s donors are pro

Is Venture Capital the Wrong Tool for Clean Energy?

In the first half of this year, 86% of U.S. venture money went to AI. Climate venture funds have raised less than $1 billion, down from more than $10 billion in 2021. Th

A Third of Australian Homes Have Solar. Why Is the U.S. So Far Behind? | Energy on the Ballot

About one in three homes and businesses in Australia have solar on the roof. The state governments there made it simple, with incentives, certified installers, and quick

The Utility CEO Who Wants to Cut Your Bill | Recorded Live at Future Currence

Demand on ComEd’s grid barely moved from 2009 to 2022. Now the utility expects about 10 gigawatts of data centers to connect by around 2030, against an all-time peak of 2

Semafor’s Tim McDonnell on Covering Russia’s Energy War From Kyiv

Ukraine has learned how to keep a power grid running while someone is trying to destroy it. Every country that imports oil now needs the same lessons. Last winter Russia

Gov. Spanberger on Making Data Centers Pay Their Fair Share | Energy on the Ballot

Northern Virginia is the biggest data center market in the world, and pushback is growing. So are power bills. A typical Dominion bill is now about $180 a month, $20 mor

Voltus Just Raised $225 Million to Pay You to Use Less Electricity

When a warehouse turns its freezers down for two hours, it looks to the grid like a power plant switching on. Voltus pays thousands of businesses to do exactly that, ever

Senator Whitehouse on Why Democrats Need a Climate Villain | Energy on the Ballot

"Little Red Riding Hood is kind of a dumb story without the wolf." That's how Senator Sheldon Whitehouse thinks Democrats have been telling the climate story. His wolf i

NVIDIA on Whether AI Can Fix Its Own Power Problem | Recorded Live at Climate Week NYC

AI data centers are straining the grid. NVIDIA and Phaidra say part of the fix is more AI: software that runs the cooling, data centers that ease off when demand peaks, a

The Permitting Bill Is Out. Senator Heinrich Walks Us Through It.

Four senators introduced the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act on September 30. One of them recorded this episode with Jigar the day before. The bill puts d

Energy on the Ballot: Who Do You Blame for Your Electric Bill?

Electricity bills are rising across America, and for the first time in years, they're a campaign issue. Candidates on the left and the right are promising to cut your pow

Balcony Solar Costs $285. Why Is It Still So Hard to Get?

In Germany you pick up a solar panel at IKEA or the grocery store and plug it in at home. Here you order online, the cheapest kits can take four months to arrive, and in

Power Prices Have Barely Moved in 10 Years. So Why Is Your Bill Going Up?

In most of America, the cost of generating electricity has barely moved since 2015. But, over the same 10 years, residential rates are up 37% (EIA). Lee Taylor has spent

Will Sustainable Aviation Fuel Ever Take Off?

The jet fuel that could replace kerosene is made from used cooking oil. It costs two to six times more, and there isn't enough of it. This week's guest is Lauren Riley,