Energy Transition Talk

In 2022, global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reached a high of 53 billion metric tons of CO2 equivalent. To bring that down to net zero, we can either stop emitting GHGs into the atmosphere, or we can pull out CO2 that has already been emitted. In this episode, we focus on two solutions to address areas where energy emissions are hard to abate.  One solution is carbon capture and sequestration, or CCS, which involves capturing CO2 from the air and storing it underground. In the first half of this episode, we speak with Dr. Saro Meguerdijian, a researcher at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, who explains what CCS is and how it works, as well as the crucial role it can play in addressing our growing carbon emissions. Another solution is monitoring methane emissions from oil and gas operations to identify and mitigate leaks and flares. This has become a hot topic lately as methane has accounted for about 30% of global warming since the Industrial Revolution and is 80x more potent at warming than carbon dioxide over a 20-year period. A lot of methane leaks into the atmosphere from oil and gas operations, and recent studies have found much higher rates of leakage from natural gas production than previously known. Thus, methane leaks can make natural gas just as bad as coal in contributing to climate change. In the second half of this episode, we speak with two graduate students, Will Daniels from the Colorado School of Mines and Rachel Day from Colorado State University, about methods for detecting methane emissions from oil and gas production and the role that data might play in reducing these emissions.  00:00 Interview with Dr. Meguerdijian 02:30 Interview with Will Daniels and Rachel Day 01:03:46 Concluding Remarks   Don’t forget to subscribe to our podcast so you can automatically get access to our new episodes – you can find us on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. And we would appreciate it so much if you could leave a rating and review. Special thanks to our guests for today and Abhi, our technical guru, for their important contributions to today’s episode. This podcast is sponsored by the USC Ershaghi Center for Energy Transition.   Disclaimer: The views, information, or opinions expressed during the Energy Transition Talk series are solely those of the individuals involved and do not necessarily represent those of the Ershaghi Center for Energy Transition (E-CET) or the producers of this podcast.  Referenced in this episode and additional resources: Statista, Annual greenhouse gas emissions worldwide from 1970 to 2022 NPR, July 14, 2023, Natural gas can rival coal's climate-warming potential when leaks are counted UNEP, Aug. 20, 2021, Methane emissions are driving climate change. Here’s how to reduce them  Colorado State University Energy Institute, Methane Emissions Technology Evaluations Center (METEC)  Energy Emissions Modeling and Data Lab – Initiative of the University of Texas at Austin, Colorado State University, and Colorado School of Mines to develop transparent models and datasets for accurate GHG emissions accounting across the global oil and gas supply chain https://energy.colostate.edu/metec/  Methane Emissions Technology Evaluations Center (Colorado State University) https://www.eemdl.utexas.edu/  Energy Emissions Modeling and Data Lab (University of Texas at Austin, Colorado State University and Colorado School of Mines)

What are the real costs of going green, and who is going to pay the bill? In Part B of our episode on the cost of going green, Jim chats with a panel of mineral economics students from Ghana at the Colorado School of Mines – Eben, John, Rueben and Felix – who help us better understand the challenges of sustainable development from a sub-Saharan Africa perspective. The group discusses perspectives on the energy transition in Ghana, the need for partnership and collaboration between the Global North and South, the African voice in the global conversation on a just transition, the growth of renewables in Africa, and the opportunity in using local resources to promote energy security. 01:40 Panel Interview 46:59 Concluding Remarks Be sure to check out our last episode, Part A, where we spoke with Brad Handler at the Colorado School of Mines on the topic of private financing – why we’re still investing in fossil fuels, the challenges of redirecting money to developing countries, and the role that Wall Street and industry might play in the energy transition. Don’t forget to subscribe to our podcast so you can automatically get access to our new episodes – you can find us on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. And we would appreciate it if you could leave a rating and review and let us know what you thought of this episode! Special thanks to our guests for today and Abhi, our technical guru, for their important contributions to today’s episode. This podcast is sponsored by the USC Ershaghi Center for Energy Transition. Disclaimer: The views, information, or opinions expressed during the Energy Transition Talk series are solely those of the individuals involved and do not necessarily represent those of the Ershaghi Center for Energy Transition (E-CET) or the producers of this podcast.

What are the real costs of going green, and who is going to pay the bill? In Part A of our episode on the cost of going green, we bring expert guest Brad Handler onto the show. Brad is Program Manager for the Sustainable Finance Lab at the Payne Institute for Public Policy at the Colorado School of Mines, and a former Wall Street Equity Research Analyst with 20 years of experience covering the oil sector. He breaks down why we are still investing so much in fossil fuels, the investments that might be needed to support the growth of renewable energy, and how we might redirect investments towards developing countries that will play a large role in the energy transition. We also dive into why oil companies have been so profitable, whether divesting from fossil fuels is a good idea, and the role that Wall Street and the fossil fuel industry might play in the energy transition. 01:21 Interview with Brad Handler 56:00 Concluding Remarks Stay tuned for Part B next week, where we chat with a panel of mineral economics students from Ghana at the Colorado School of Mines, who help us better understand the challenges of sustainable development from a sub-Saharan Africa perspective. Don’t forget to subscribe to our podcast so you can automatically get access to our new episodes – you can find us on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. Also, please leave a rating and review and let us know what you thought of this episode! Special thanks to our guests for today and Abhi, our technical guru, for their important contributions to today’s episode. This podcast is sponsored by the USC Ershaghi Center for Energy Transition. Disclaimer: The views, information, or opinions expressed during the Energy Transition Talk series are solely those of the individuals involved and do not necessarily represent those of the Ershaghi Center for Energy Transition (E-CET) or the producers of this podcast. Referenced in this episode and additional resources: IMF, Aug. 24, 2023, Fossil Fuel Subsidies Surged to Record $7 Trillion  UNCTAD (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development), July 5, 2023, UNCTAD calls for urgent support to developing countries to attract massive investment in clean energy  Reuters, Jan. 31, 2023, Exxon smashes Western oil majors' profits with $56 billion in 2022  IRENA (International Renewable Energy Agency), Aug. 29, 2023, Renewables Competitiveness Accelerates, Despite Cost Inflation ExxonMobil, Oct. 11, 2023, ExxonMobil announces merger with Pioneer Natural Resources in an all-stock transaction  ExxonMobil, Jan. 18, 2022, ExxonMobil announces ambition for net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050  Shell net zero commitments

We often take our energy for granted – as long as the lights turn on, the stove works, and the A/C is running, we’re happy. What we may not realize is that the electrical grid is a large and complex system — it has been called the largest machine in the world! How does the electric grid actually work and deliver the energy that we rely on, and does when we use energy matter? (Spoiler alert: Yes!) That’s what we’ll be diving into in this interactive episode.  Our expert guest is Stephen Collins from Southern California Edison, one of the largest electric utilities in the U.S. He explains what the duck curve is and the challenges that utilities face as they look to increase renewables in the electricity mix. The intermittency of renewable energy can be a problem, given that when we use the most energy isn’t always when the sun is shining or the wind is blowing. Stephen speaks with us about the role of utilities in the energy transition, the behind-the-scenes of how a grid operator works to balance energy supply and demand in real time, the barriers to grid decarbonization, solutions to address the misalignment between when we have the most renewable energy available and when we use the most energy, and the utility business model.  We then do something a little different for our student segment – we go “on-the-road” around the USC campus to ask people about their understanding of the duck curve and seek out some practical tips on ways to reduce energy usage during the peak demand hours.   02:18 Interview with Stephen Collins 47:30 “On the Road” Interviews 57:27 Concluding Remarks Don’t forget to subscribe to our podcast so you can automatically get access to our new episodes – you can find us on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. And we would appreciate it so much if you could leave a rating and review. Special thanks to everyone who kindly agreed to speak with us and as always, to Abhi, our technical guru. This podcast is sponsored by the USC Ershaghi Center for Energy Transition. Additional Resources:  SCE Paper, Countdown to 2045  CAISO app, ISO Today  CAISO home page  CAISO, How Power Flows in California  Council on Foreign Relations, How Does the U.S. Power Grid Work?   EIA: As solar capacity grows, duck curves are getting deeper in California CNET, Peak and Off-Peak Energy Explainer: Here's the Cheapest Time to Use Electricity Disclaimer: The views, information, or opinions expressed during the Energy Transition Talk series are solely those of the individuals involved and do not necessarily represent those of the Ershaghi Center for Energy Transition (E-CET) or the producers of this podcast.

In this episode of Energy Transition Talk, we explore a hot topic – the future of oil and gas! First, Paulina leads a lively conversation with Dwayne Purvis and Michael Edwards, two experts on the Future of Oil and Gas. They discuss the environmental and social impacts of orphan, or abandoned, wells; new technologies being developed in oil drilling and production; how communities that depend on the oil and gas industry might adapt to the energy transition; and advice for young energy professionals who are entering a changing industry. Jim then chats with Balnur Mindygaliyeva, a PhD student in Petroleum Engineering at the Colorado School of Mines, on how the energy transition is perceived in her home country of Kazakhstan, a major oil & gas producer, and the critical role that petroleum engineering plays in the energy transition. 01:51 Interview with Dwayne Purvis and Michael Edwards 35:35 Interview with Balnur Mindygaliyeva 01:01:02 Concluding Remarks Don’t forget to subscribe to our podcast so you can automatically get access to our new episodes – you can find us on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. And we would appreciate it so much if you could leave a rating and review. Special thanks to our guests for today and Abhi, our technical guru, for their important contributions to today’s episode. This podcast is sponsored by the USC Ershaghi Center for Energy Transition. Disclaimer: The views, information, or opinions expressed during the Energy Transition Talk series are solely those of the individuals involved and do not necessarily represent those of the Ershaghi Center for Energy Transition (E-CET) or the producers of this podcast.

In this episode of Energy Transition Talk, Justine speaks with Professor Jacobs, an energy law professor at Berkeley Law, about all things energy law – what it is and why it matters. Professor Jacobs walks us through some of the most important energy laws that affect our daily lives, from the Inflation Reduction Act at the national level to the myriad of laws California, as the nation’s leader in energy legislation, is implementing to electrify buildings and transportation, clean up our electricity grid, and reduce energy demand. Professor Jacobs also explains the hurdles to building clean energy infrastructure, the need to consider the community in permitting decisions, and the role we can each play in shaping energy regulations and policies.  Justine then chats with Christen Richardson, a law student at USC Gould, about her experience working on renewable energy at a law firm and the state of the energy industry as seen through the lens of a law firm. Christen shares her thoughts on the role of energy law in the energy transition, the challenges and opportunities, and what excites her about the energy transition. 1:36 Interview with Professor Jacobs 46:00 Interview with Christen Richardson 1:04:35 Concluding Remarks We hope you enjoy these conversations! Be sure to subscribe to our podcast so you can automatically get access to our new episodes – you can find us on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. And we would appreciate it so much if you could leave a rating and review. Special thanks to our guests for today and Abhi, our technical guru, for their important contributions to today’s episode. This podcast is sponsored by the USC Ershaghi Center for Energy Transition. Suggested Resources:  Inflation Reduction Act calculators https://www.rewiringamerica.org/app/ira-calculator  https://www.ecowatch.com/solar/ev-appliance-solar-tax-credit-calculator  Inflation Reduction Act credits: https://www.irs.gov/inflation-reduction-act-of-2022  Berkeley Law Center for Law, Energy, & the Environment: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/research/clee/ Legal Planet: https://legal-planet.org/ UCLA Emmett Institute on Climate Change & the Environment: https://law.ucla.edu/academics/centers/emmett-institute-climate-change-environment Energy Institute at Haas, Energy Institute Blog: https://energyathaas.wordpress.com USC Ershaghi Center for Energy Transition: https://ecet.wpengine.com/  Law Students for Climate Accountability: https://www.ls4ca.org/  The Guardian, “Fossil fuel companies paying top law firms millions to ‘dodge responsibility’”  LA Times, “Newsletter: Meet the law firms helping fossil fuel companies heat the planet” LA Times, “Here are all the climate and environment bills that California just passed” (Sept 2023)  Disclaimer: The views, information, or opinions expressed during the Energy Transition Talk series are solely those of the individuals involved and do not necessarily represent those of the Ershaghi Center for Energy Transition (E-CET) or the producers of this podcast. 

In this episode of the Energy Transition Talk, we explore our relationship with critical minerals. First, Paulina chats with Lauren Bridges, who researches industrial scale computing at Harvard University, and Zane Cooper, who researches digital media infrastructure and rare earth mineral extraction at the University of Pennsylvania. Lauren and Zane have also formed a research collaboration on critical minerals and e-waste. They talk about what critical materials are and why they matter for the energy transition, the relationship between the energy transition and the digital transformation, reframing energy as a dynamic process and a relationship rather than a material that we need to produce, rethinking the infrastructure design in our society and shifting energy demand, the e-waste feedback loop, and more. Justine then speaks with Prachotan Bathi, a Master’s student in computer science at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering, who works for a cleantech startup that identifies sustainable lithium mining sites for the EV supply chain. They discuss the importance of lithium as a critical mineral for the energy transition, the environmental footprint of lithium mining and EVs compared to gas vehicles, the ways companies are working to make lithium mining more sustainable, and the biggest challenges and opportunities of lithium mining. 01:54 Interview with Lauren Bridges and Zane Cooper 52:06 Interview with Prachotan Bathi 1:11:00 Concluding Remarks Don’t forget to subscribe to our podcast so you can automatically get access to our new episodes – you can find us on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. And we would appreciate it so much if you could leave a rating and review. Special thanks to our guests for today and Abhi, our technical guru, for their important contributions to today’s episode. This podcast is sponsored by the USC Ershaghi Center for Energy Transition. Referenced in this Episode and Additional Resources: Cara New Daggett, The Birth of Energy: Fossil Fuels, Thermodynamics, and the Politics of Work, https://www.dukeupress.edu/the-birth-of-energy Josh Lepawsky, Reassembling Rubbish: Worlding Electronic Waste, https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262535335/reassembling-rubbish/ Josh Lepawsky and Max Liboiron, Discard Studies: Wasting, Systems, and Power, https://direct.mit.edu/books/oa-monograph/5337/Discard-StudiesWasting-Systems-and-Power Max Liboiron, Pollution Is Colonialism, https://www.dukeupress.edu/pollution-is-colonialism U.S. Department of Energy, Critical Minerals and Materials Program, https://www.energy.gov/cmm/critical-minerals-materials-program U.S. Department of Energy, “What are Critical Materials and Critical Minerals?”, https://www.energy.gov/cmm/what-are-critical-materials-and-critical-minerals#:~:text=DOE%20has%20determined%20the%20final,silicon%2C%20silicon%20carbide%20and%20terbium Sierra Club Working Group on Lithium Mining, “Guidance on Lithium Mining and Extraction” (Aug. 23, 2021), https://andthewest.stanford.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Lithium-Mining-Guidelines_approved_13Nov20214.pdf Disclaimer: The views, information, or opinions expressed during the Energy Transition Talk series are solely those of the individuals involved and do not necessarily represent those of the Ershaghi Center for Energy Transition (E-CET) or the producers of this podcast.

In this episode of Energy Transition Talk, we explore the broader topic of energy supply and demand.  Justine and Paulina start by speaking with Dr. Don Paul, an engineering professor at USC and Executive Director of the USC Energy Institute. They talk about energy demand and supply trends globally and in California, what it takes to fully electrify our power grid, the impact of renewable energy on energy prices, the implications of the Russia-Ukraine war and the COVID-19 pandemic for the global energy ecosystem and energy security, the role of intelligent energy, and the behavioral changes that we as a society will be challenged to make in a changing energy landscape.  Jim then speaks with Dr. Junyi Lv, a Postdoctoral Fellow for the Center for the Study of Contemporary China at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Lv describes her comparative study of two communities in eastern Kentucky and northern China whose economies have focused on coal. She explains the challenges that both communities are facing but also the ways they are building resilience as they transition away from their coal-dominated past, and concludes by commenting on the opportunities for cross-collaboration among local communities.  2:12 Interview with Dr. Paul 37:29 Interview with Dr. Lv  1:00:04 Concluding Remarks  Don’t forget to subscribe to our podcast so you can automatically get access to our new episodes – you can find us on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. And we would appreciate it so much if you could leave a rating and review. Special thanks to our guests for today and Abhi, our technical guru, for their important contributions to today’s episode. This podcast is sponsored by the USC Ershaghi Center for Energy Transition.  Disclaimer: The views, information, or opinions expressed during the Energy Transition Talk series are solely those of the individuals involved and do not necessarily represent those of the Ershaghi Center for Energy Transition (E-CET) or the producers of this podcast.  Additional Resources:  IEA: “Where things stand in the global energy crisis one year on,” Feb 2023 IEA 2022 World Energy Outlook, Executive Summary World Nuclear Association, “Where does our electricity come from?” Brookings Institution, “Why are fossil fuels so hard to quit?”, June 2020

In our second episode of the Energy Transition Talk on energy poverty, Paulina and Justine first speak with Dr. Kelly Sanders, a Civil and Environmental Engineering professor at USC who has been recognized in Forbes’ 30 under 30 and MIT Technology Review’s 35 Innovators Under 35. We talk about what energy poverty is, what a “just transition” looks like, the challenges developing economies face in moving towards renewables, the importance of holistic solutions that put people and communities at the center, and the opportunities that abound in the energy transition. Jim then chats with three of Dr. Sanders’ PhD students – Stepp Mayes, McKenna Peplinski, and Andrew Jin – about their research related to renewable energy adoption and heat vulnerability and how the energy transition might help improve the livelihoods of communities, particularly those that lack access to critical services such as heating and cooling. 1:23 | Interview with Dr. Sanders 36:29 | Panel Discussion with Stepp, McKenna, and Andrew Don’t forget to subscribe to our podcast so you can automatically get access to our new episodes – you can find us on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. Special thanks to our guests for today and Abhi, our technical guru, for their important contributions to today’s episode. This podcast is sponsored by the USC Ershaghi Center for Energy Transition. Disclaimer: The views, information, or opinions expressed during the Energy Transition Talk series are solely those of the individuals involved and do not necessarily represent those of the Ershaghi Center for Energy Transition (E-CET) or the producers of this podcast. Additional Resources: https://shorturl.at/cntCO

Welcome to our first episode of the Energy Transition Talk, where we explore the challenges and opportunities of transitioning to a low-carbon future. In this episode, hosts Jim, Justine, and Paulina introduce themselves and set the stage for what the energy transition is and why it matters. They speak with Dr. Ershaghi, Director of the Ershaghi Center for Energy Transition (E-CET), on the history of energy transitions, where we stand in the race to net zero, and the role that governments, private sector, and individuals play in the energy transition. They also hear from Mathew Davis, a Master’s student in petroleum engineering at USC, on how he defines energy transition and the role that petroleum engineering plays in the energy transition. Don’t forget to subscribe to our podcast so you can automatically get access to our new episodes – you can find us on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. Special thanks to our guests for today and Abhi, our technical guru, for their important contributions to today’s episode. This podcast is sponsored by the USC Ershaghi Center for Energy Transition. For our episode sources, please see the description of our Youtube version of this episode (https://youtu.be/jCctVgTTfLA) or view our google doc ( https://shorturl.at/TX012). Disclaimer: The views, information, or opinions expressed during the Energy Transition Talk series are solely those of the individuals involved and do not necessarily represent those of the Ershaghi Center for Energy Transition (E-CET) or the producers of this podcast. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Timecodes: 0:00 Introducing the hosts and podcast 12:38 Interview with Dr. Ershaghi, Director of E-CET 37:18 Interview with Mathew Davis, Master’s student at USC 49:15 Concluding Remarks