x

75% of people globally want unbiased news (Pew Research) but are concerned they're not getting that.

Get balanced coverage with Symby. See how stories are covered across diverse outlets and spot when one side covers a story the other skips.

PODCAST

Energy Changemakers Podcast

Energy Changemakers

As the energy grid faces unprecedented changes, local energy solutions are increasingly needed. Hosted by Elisa Wood, an experienced energy journalist, The Energy Changemakers Podcast brings you into the heart of these transformations. Each episode features in-depth discussions with industry leaders pioneering the move toward a decentralized grid. From technological innovations to policy changes — discover actionable insights to help your company leverage emerging opportunities. Join us at The

news tech news

All Episodes

00:16:02

Distributed Energy Is Misunderstood and...

Energy Changemakers Podcast ·

2025/03/19

Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) are often overlooked, misunderstood, or underrepresented in discussions about the future of the electric grid. In this episode, host Elisa Wood explores why DERs—like rooftop solar, batteries, small wind turbines, and community energy projects—are so critical to building a decentralized, resilient, and equitable energy system.Elisa shares why she founded Energy Changemakers and how this platform fosters meaningful conversations with industry leaders about the

en

00:35:57

What it Took to Build one of the US’ Largest...

Energy Changemakers Podcast ·

2025/03/05

How do you make an ambitious clean energy goal a reality that benefits an entire community? In this episode, we sit down with Cody Hooven, principal and co-founder of Evolution Affairs, to explore how she led the charge in creating San Diego Community Power—now the second-largest Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) in the U.S.From navigating policy and financial hurdles to engaging local stakeholders and launching during the turbulence of COVID, Cody shares the behind-the-scenes story of what it

en

00:43:20

How Should the Power Industry Think about the...

Energy Changemakers Podcast ·

2025/02/06

AI is driving up power demand, but how much and how fast remains under debate. Bulls warn we’ll need far more electric power than we’re poised to produce. Bears say utilities inflate the numbers and don’t account for the efficiencies technology tends to achieve over time.The debate heightened recently when DeepSeek, a Chinese AI company, announced that it had developed a more efficient AI large language model. This model purports to perform as well as US models but uses far less computing power

en

00:30:06

What Utilities and DER Companies Don't Get about Each...

Energy Changemakers Podcast ·

2025/01/29

Bill Prindle, principal of Better Energy Advisors, told us what distributed energy resource (DER) companies don’t get about utilities in episode 1 of this two-part series. Now he looks at the other angle — what utilities don’t get about distributed energy players. It’s a clash of business cultures: Utilities have historically operated as monopolistic, cautious, heavily regulated entities. DER companies are innovative, often disruptive, scrappy and highly competitive. And they have to work

en

00:25:37

Equal Pay for Equal Work: Treating Energy Efficiency...

Energy Changemakers Podcast ·

2025/01/15

With an expensive push underway to build large power plants and transmission to meet growing electric demand, energy efficiency is gaining new importance. Creating more negawatts (energy reduction) reduces the need to build new energy infrastructure, saving everyone a lot of money.Despite its benefits, energy efficiency has always been a “little engine that could” technology trying to overcome market obstacles. Now it faces problems collecting fair compensation in wholesale markets because of a

en

00:36:54

Incorporating Non-Energy Benefits in Energy Planning:...

Energy Changemakers Podcast ·

2024/12/18

In this episode of the Energy Changemakers podcast, host Elisa Wood discusses the concept of non-energy benefits with Roger Lin, Senior Attorney for the Center for Biological Diversity. They explore the importance of valuing the social, environmental, and community impacts of energy decisions, which are often overlooked in traditional energy planning. California's efforts to incorporate non-energy benefits into energy resource planning are highlighted, including the ongoing proceedings and potential

en

00:35:33

Why this Energy Changemaker is Trying to Bring...

Energy Changemakers Podcast ·

2024/12/04

In this episode of the Energy Changemakers podcast, host Elisa Wood interviews Russell Lowes from Arizonans for Community Choice. They explore the potential of Community Choice Energy (CCE) programs in transforming local energy. Russell shares his journey from high school activism to becoming an author who influenced the fate of a nuclear power plant in Arizona. The conversation delves into the mechanics of CCE, their benefits over traditional utility models, and the specific efforts to bring CCE to

en

00:54:07

Off Grid and Urban: An Apartment Building that...

Energy Changemakers Podcast ·

2024/11/20

In an interview with Elisa Wood, veteran energy innovator Steve Pullins, CEO of ResSET, unveils his latest venture, a highly unusual sustainable apartment building in Ann Arbor, Michigan, set to be entirely off-grid. While foregoing a grid connection isn’t typical, especially for a city building, Pullins maintains it’s time to think of the electric grid as just one of several energy options, not the default.Called South Town, the project strives to reduce housing costs using several novel

en

00:42:50

Making the crush of utility data usable: Awesense

Energy Changemakers Podcast ·

2024/11/06

At one point in Awesense’s history, CEO and Founder Mischa Steiner was in a serious accident when riding his bike. While he was still recovering, his company was named in a lawsuit, lost investors, and faced an audit. It was a dark period, but the company made it through and navigated its way into a key energy transition market. Using its “digital twin on steroids,” Awesense helps make utility data — of which there is a proliferation — usable. In this interview, Steiner describes how Awesense made a

en

00:42:51

What Utilities and DER Companies Don't Get about Each...

Energy Changemakers Podcast ·

2024/10/23

In this episode of the Energy Changemakers podcast, host Elisa Wood engages in a rich discussion with Bill Prindle, a senior energy and climate leader. Bill brings over 40 years of industry experience and provides a unique perspective on the evolving roles of utilities and distributed energy resource (DER) companies in the modern grid. They delve into the financial models that govern investor-owned utilities, the complexities of grid regulation, the state's role in energy policy, and the

en

00:57:54

An Entrepreneur's Journey from Russia and Oil to the...

Energy Changemakers Podcast ·

2024/10/09

In this episode of the Energy Changemakers podcast, host Elisa Wood interviews Alex Bazhinov, founder and president of Lumin, a smart panel company. Alex shares his remarkable journey from working in the mining industry in Russia to pioneering smart home energy solutions in Charlottesville, Virginia. Like so many entrepreneurs, he began in his garage developing a prototype. Now, partnering with clean energy giants, Lumin offers a smart panel that gives homeowners more control over specific household

en

00:27:30

A Campaign to Create a Distributed Energy Utility in...

Energy Changemakers Podcast ·

2024/09/25

Voters in Ann Arbor, Michigan, will be asked to approve a ground-breaking new kind of utility on November 5, one run by the city that provides local, distributed energy to those who choose to participate. Missy Stults, Ann Arbor’s Sustainability and Innovations Director, joins host Elisa Wood to explain why the city decided to pursue the creation of the Sustainable Energy Utility (SEU), how it will work, its relationship to the local investor-owned utility, and what it brings to the city’s

en

00:40:35

The Economics of Community Solar: How Profits are...

Energy Changemakers Podcast ·

2024/09/11

In this episode of the Energy Changemakers Podcast, financial expert Rob Hong of Sapling Financial Consultants explains how community solar can provide both profits for developers and cost savings for consumers. He presents the financials of a real project, explains the risks and rewards, compares various community solar approaches, and describes the pros and cons of community solar over other solar business models. “This discussion provides valuable finanicial insight for any community

en

00:53:27

Are We Expecting Too Much from Virtual Power Plants?

Energy Changemakers Podcast ·

2024/08/28

In this episode of the Energy Changemakers podcast, host Elisa Wood talks to three big thinkers in the electric power industry: Lorenzo Kristov, Kay Aikin, and Mark Paterson, who explain what it will take to create a democratized electric grid. Our guests also take on common grid fictions, such as the belief that virtual power plants provide an “easy button” to manage distributed energy. They offer a vision for a decentralized grid and describe programs in Colorado, Maine, and Australia paving the

en

00:26:04

What’s Next for Community Solar?

Energy Changemakers Podcast ·

2024/08/14

Elisa Wood interviews Nate Owen, CEO of Ampion, who provides an inside view of the US community solar market following a regulatory ruling in California that left many in the industry unhappy. Owen dives into the history that brought the industry to this point and explains why he’s bullish on its future. He delves into problems, like interconnection, that slow projects and market mechanisms and social benefits that drive its growth. Owen also details why it used to be hard for community solar

en

00:01:53

Energy Changemakers: Trailer

Energy Changemakers Podcast ·

2024/06/05

As the energy grid faces unprecedented changes, local energy solutions are increasingly needed. Hosted by Elisa Wood, an experienced energy journalist, The Energy Changemakers Podcast brings you into the heart of these transformations. Each episode features in-depth discussions with industry leaders pioneering the move toward a decentralized grid. From technological innovations to policy changes — discover actionable insights to help your company leverage emerging opportunities. Join us at The

en

36 results

Similar Podcasts

Expres Ráno

Expres FM

PBS News Hour - Full Show

PBS News

CD Voice

China Daily

Israel Today: Ongoing War Report

Noa Levi

Jeffrey Epstein: The Coverup Chronicles

Bobby Capucci