Volts

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href="https://www.volts.wtf/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&#38;utm_campaign=CTA_2">www.volts.wtf/subscribe</a><br/><br/><p>As affluent homeowners defect to heat pumps, the massive costs of maintaining America’s aging gas pipelines are being concentrated onto a shrinking base of customers who can afford it least. To understand how to prevent an impending utility death spiral, I talk with the Building Decarbonization Coalition’s Kristin George Bagdanov and Panama Bartholomy. We discuss the legal limits of a utility’s “obligation to serve,” the potential for gas companies to transition into geothermal thermal energy networks, and why the US has suddenly become the global leader in heat pump sales.</p>

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href="https://www.volts.wtf/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&#38;utm_campaign=CTA_2">www.volts.wtf/subscribe</a><br/><br/><p>Are data centers and electrification going to break the US power grid, or are they the secret to making it cheaper for everyone? In this episode, I talk with Pier LaFarge of Sparkfund about Minnesota’s landmark decision to let Xcel Energy deploy batteries directly into local distribution networks. We look past the politics and map out how a battery-saturated system can socialize the benefits of load growth, ushering in an era of boringly reliable, low-cost energy by 2030.</p>

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit <a href="https://www.volts.wtf?utm_medium=podcast&#38;utm_campaign=CTA_7">www.volts.wtf</a><br/><br/><p>Ben Eidelson and Anay Shah run the Stepchange podcast, which recently put out a magisterial four-hour (!) episode on the history of the US electricity grid. I talk with them about some of the colorful characters and stories involved, the big fights and broad lessons learned, and how the history echoes in today’s political and technological struggles.</p>

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href="https://www.volts.wtf/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&#38;utm_campaign=CTA_2">www.volts.wtf/subscribe</a><br/><br/><p>Boiling water to make steam for industrial processes consumes an enormous amount energy around the globe, yet it has proven remarkably resistant to electrification. In this episode, I talk with Addison Stark of AtmosZero about why replacing the standard fossil-gas boiler requires an entirely new approach to industrial heat pumps. We discuss the engineering behind his high-temperature system, the challenges of scaling up, and the growing imperative to get free of global LNG markets.</p>

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href="https://www.volts.wtf/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&#38;utm_campaign=CTA_2">www.volts.wtf/subscribe</a><br/><br/><p>Most people think that coordinating the behavior of thousands of distributed energy resources requires some kind of third-party middleman, like an aggregator managing a VPP. My guest today, veteran research scientist Bruce Nordman, believes there’s a better way: dynamic, time- and location-specific retail prices, communicated directly to consumer devices, which would cut out the middleman and leave more value with customers. </p>