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© David Roberts
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Volts is a podcast about leaving fossil fuels behind. I've been reporting on and explaining clean-energy topics for almost 20 years, and I love talking to politicians, analysts, innovators, and activists about the latest progress in the world's most important fight. (Volts is entirely subscriber-supported. Sign up!)
www.volts.wtf
www.volts.wtf
377 Episodes
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1Energy strategist Kingsmill Bond joins me to explain why the transition to “electrotech” is unstoppable, whether or not politicians care about climate change. It’s not the reduced emissions, it’s physics (electrotech is more efficient) and economics (it’s cheaper). Despite political headwinds in the US, China and emerging economies are racing ahead with electrification and sector after sector is seeing peak fossil fuel consumption. There’s no stopping it: electrons will triumph over This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.volts.wtf/subscribe
Environmentalism has typically focused on outdoor air quality, but climate change is pushing more people indoors more of the time, even as airborne pathogens and wildfire smoke challenge indoor air quality. I discuss the fight for better indoor air with Dr. Georgia Lagoudas, who recently coordinated a global pledge declaring it a basic human right. We dig into what pollutes indoor air, the technologies that can keep it clean, and the enormous social and economic benefits clean air in schools. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.volts.wtf/subscribe
Distributed energy resources are everywhere, but connecting buyers and sellers is a coordination nightmare; I talk with James Johnston, whose company Piclo is tackling that problem head-on. He explains how they’ve built a transparent, open marketplace where utilities and other buyers can procure flexibility as a simple commodity from a wide range of sellers. We discuss how this model is already working in the UK and how it could allow data centers to pay for faster grid access in the US — potentially unlocking billions in private investment for VPPs. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.volts.wtf/subscribe
In this episode, I welcome back Caroline Spears from Climate Cabinet for a post-election debrief that, unlike last year’s, is full of good news. We explore how a slate of pro-climate candidates defied expectations in tough districts across the country, driven by a powerful backlash against the Trump administration. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.volts.wtf/subscribe
In this episode, I chat with Nick Chaset, CEO of Octopus Energy US, about bringing the company’s customer-focused, tech-forward model to America. We get into the details of how Octopus simplifies home energy management for its retail customers and its plan to help regulated utilities do the same. We also touch on ambitious ideas like the “Zero Bills” home and how to build gigawatt-scale virtual power plants that benefit both consumers and the grid. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.volts.wtf/subscribe
With the White House actively dismantling clean transportation policy, what can states do to salvage progress? I talk with former DOT policy advisor Liya Rechtman about a little-known authority that lets states transfer highway dollars to fund transit, EV charging, and bike lanes. We explore how governors can use this tool, but only if they act quickly. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.volts.wtf/subscribe
Lately, everyone from Tony Blair to Daniel Yergin is calling for a “climate reset,” so I brought on clean-energy analyst Michael Liebreich to discuss his own, very different version. While others push expensive distractions, Liebreich argues that the inexorable growth of cheap renewables is already on track to displace fossil fuels, a “tortoise” strategy that will win without the need for crisis politics. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.volts.wtf/subscribe
In this episode I’m joined by Wilson Ricks and Killian Daly, who are involved in the process of updating the Greenhouse Gas Protocol that governs (among other things) corporate clean-energy procurement. We explore the proposed shift to requiring hourly, local matching for Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs), a change designed to end the “race to the bottom” where companies buy cheap, low-impact RECs to paper over the fact that being “100 percent clean” is genuinely difficult. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.volts.wtf/subscribe
Redwood Materials has long dominated EV battery recycling, but what if they could drain every last drop of energy from those batteries before recycling them? I talk with the company’s CTO, Colin Campbell, about Redwood Energy, a new division doing just that by deploying used batteries as grid-scale storage at a massive scale. This isn’t just a side project; it’s a plan to turn a massive wave of incoming used batteries into a key resource for the grid. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.volts.wtf/subscribe
I chat with Sarah Goodyear and Doug Gordon, the hosts behind the unapologetic podcast “The War on Cars,” about their new book and the fight to reveal our car-dominated world as a political choice, not an inevitability. We explore the many ways automobiles suck, from the “motonormativity” that makes us angrier and more isolated behind the wheel to the devastating impact on children’s freedom and development. We also get into the positive, radical vision that animates their work: a future with fewer cars, where our streets are reclaimed for human connection and community. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.volts.wtf/subscribe
New York passed one of the most ambitious climate laws in the country, but is now struggling to meet its goals. I’m joined by Doreen Harris, president of NYSERDA, the agency on the front lines of implementing the law. We explore what’s working, from community solar to new transmission lines, and what isn’t, including the slow pace of scaling up renewables and decarbonizing transportation. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.volts.wtf/subscribe
In this episode, I talk with Seattle mayoral candidate Katie Wilson, a longtime transit and housing organizer who scored a surprise primary victory against the city’s establishment-friendly incumbent. Wilson makes the case for why her deep experience as a community organizer and coalition-builder is precisely the kind of leadership needed to restore faith in government and get big things done. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.volts.wtf/subscribe
In this episode, I chat with Quaise CEO Carlos Araque about unlocking geothermal energy on a planetary scale by drilling miles into the Earth’s crust. He explains how his company’s technology vaporizes rock with microwaves to reach depths where intense heat sends the water supercritical, packing ten times the energy density of conventional geothermal. The ultimate goal: persuading the oil and gas industry to put its capital and expertise toward mining heat rather than fuels. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.volts.wtf/subscribe
Why should you care about a utility commission race in Georgia? Because it’s a national bellwether, a sign of how voters are going to react to skyrocketing power prices and a test of whether Democrats can get their act together. I talk with candidate Peter Hubbard and activist Brionté McCorkle about the state’s Public Service Commission, its coziness with utilities, and what reform would look like. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.volts.wtf/subscribe
In this episode, I chat with investor Clay Dumas of Lowercarbon Capital about the growing use of “advance market commitments” (AMCs). We discuss how this simple idea — a group of buyers commits to purchasing a set amount of a product if it can be produced — can derisk investment and jumpstart innovation in the climate economy’s toughest sectors. Clay explains what makes for a well-designed AMC and how it can accelerate the path to commercialization for everything from carbon removal to green steel. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.volts.wtf/subscribe
Data centers are creating a grid crunch, so what if they paid to solve it by upgrading our homes? I chat with Rewiring America’s Ari Matusiak and PG&E’s Carla Peterman about a new report proposing that hyperscalers fund household electrification to free up the grid capacity they desperately need. We explore how this reframes households as crucial energy infrastructure and creates a win-win-win for tech companies, utilities, and everyday people. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.volts.wtf/subscribe
High-temperature industrial heat for things like steel gets a lot of attention in clean energy world, but its somewhat less sexy cousin low-temperature industrial heat could use a little more. In this episode, I talk with Teresa Cheng (Industrious Labs) and Richard Hart (ACEEE) about how industries like beer, milk, and paper can decarbonize with industrial heat pumps and thermal storage. We dig into how electrified industry could help the grid, confront the hidden costs of sticking with gas, and talk through how grants and financing can tip the scales. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.volts.wtf/subscribe
In the past, Africa's natural resources have often proven to be a curse, leading to exploitation, corruption, and immiseration of indigenous people. Now it finds itself at the center of another resource boom, this time around the critical minerals that will fuel the clean energy transition (lithium, copper, etc.). Will this time be different? Patrick Kipalu argues that indigenous land rights and informed community consent are not barriers to investment, but the only way to ensure stable, equitable development. We explore how African nations can leverage their resources to benefit their own people. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.volts.wtf/subscribe
Dry printing of battery electrodes can avoid the toxic solvents and industrial ovens involved in the conventional wet process, which means a smaller physical and environmental footprint, but engineers have struggled to make it work at the needed scale and speed. Now a company called Sakuu says it has cracked the code. It is selling machines it claims will be able to print multiple battery chemistries, at competitive costs and speeds. I talk with CTO Karl Littau about the details and what 3D printing could enable in future batteries. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.volts.wtf/subscribe
In this episode, I dig into the debate over reforming renewable energy certificates (RECs), the instruments that allow companies to claim they're "100% renewable." I'm joined by Michael Leggett of Ever.green and Peggy Kellen of the Center for Resource Solutions to discuss the push for a "24/7" system that matches RECs to the exact time and place of consumption. We explore whether this seemingly intuitive change is the best path forward or if going too far, too fast could drive buyers from the market and slow decarbonization This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.volts.wtf/subscribe
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a brilliant episode. it stands out even against the other excellent ones.
A bad idea on any account.
brilliant episode. so much incisive commentary with great nuanced perspective.
I've listened :) great info, thank you! could you please address one more question: are there plans included in this IRA, or elsewhere, how to supply quality engineers to the new green technologies ( invention, production, etc). i'm especially interested in (well, worried) that this new enthusiasm might be single-focused and sometimes won't have time to evaluate 360 impact. Just one example: dams had to be destroyed because we found out they were not friendly to salmon. anyhow: are the plans to train (obtain) engineers and workforce in this hurry that is smart enough to not make such mistakes.