Clean Energy Today

With Voltpost, an electric vehicle (EV) driver can park in front of a utility pole or lamppost and, using a phone app, lower a charger from it.

The company says the Voltpost system can cut charging infrastructure costs for communities by up to 70% because it requires no construction or trenching.

Voltpost won the 2026 Electric Innovation and Discovery Award from the Electric Innovation Initiative.

About the guest:

Jeff Prosserman is CEO and co-founder at Voltpost, which aims to democratize charging access, decarbonize mobility and lower the footprint of charging infrastructure.

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Visit host Lisa Cohn at https://cleanenergywriters.com/

A report from the research and consultancy group Wood Mackenzie found that, as the Middle East conflict creates volatility in global oil markets, three factors could drive EV sales higher.

In fact, total EV ownership costs could reach parity with total gasoline vehicle ownership costs by 2031, the report said.

But the U.S. is falling behind in EV deployment, the report said. What bold steps are needed to ensure the U.S. improves its position in the global EV market?

My guest is David Brown, director, Energy Transition Practice at Wood Mackenzie.

Background information:

Michigan's managed charging program

Trump administration rolls back fuel economy standards

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Utilities are struggling to provide enough capacity to meet the needs of data centers and other large loads. To address this challenge, GridCARE performs an "MRI" of the grid and finds unused capacity in utility systems, cutting utility costs and helping avoid building fossil-fired plants. For example, for Portland General Electric, GridCARE identified 400 MW of existing infrastructure to meet the needs of five data centers, and the data centers signed flexible interconnection agreements with the utility. GridCARE is also working with National Grid.

Data centers, large loads and developers pay GridCARE, which partners with utilities and doesn't charge them.

About the guest:

Cariana Morales is chief of staff at GridCARE.

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The Sunrise Toyota dealership on Long Island achieved 55% energy savings and reduced peak demand by 101 kW with a microgrid comprised of energy storage and solar, and is expected to ultimately cut utility costs by 90%.

Guests Maria Fields and Dennis Quinn, co-founders at Sprocket Power, describe the "unpredictable and shocking" demand charges car dealerships and other businesses experience when they install electric vehicle charging, and how to lower those charges with clean energy. They also share their thoughts on how more utilities are open to using distributed energy resources to help address their power shortages.

Partners in the project include Sprocket Power, which installed the microgrid, Evo Power , which provided the battery energy storage and Ranial Systems ,which supplied the controller.

Background information

Evo Power and Ranial Systems recently formed a partnership to provide battery storage and controls to commercial and industrial sites like the Toyota dealership.

Sprocket is taking advantage of New York State's Value of Distributed Energy Resources program to lower energy costs.

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What makes disruptive new energy technologies succeed or fail?

Mathias Schlecht, president and CEO at ColdStream Energy for over 27 years, has built and scaled disruptive energy technologies from lab to field. He answers the question: How to scale these technologies while grappling with water, capital and grid constraints?

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At The Great Transformation conference in Bend, Oregon in July, a panel addressed the question: How much will the creation of the new grid be in the hands of utilities versus the customers?

Moderated by Elisa Wood, founder and Editor at Energy Changemakers, the panel included Cameron Brooks, executive director, Think Microgrid, Greg Castle, commercial leader, power & grid segment, Schneider Electric and Michael Grenier, president at Elexity.

The panel also discussed how the energy industry can help address opposition to data centers by delivering community benefits.

Moderator: Elisa Wood, founder, editor and publisher at Energy Changemakers.

Panelists:

Cameron Brooks, executive director at Think Microgrid.

Greg Castle, commercial leader, power and grid segment at Schneider Electric.

Michael Grenier, president at Elexity.

Also discussed in this episode is a separate panel about creative interconnection ideas. David Namura, Google's government affairs and public policy manager for the Pacific Northwest, described the company's Clean Transition Tariffs.

Send podcast episode ideas to Lisa@CleanEnergyWriters.com.

Learn about Lisa's energy writing at CleanEnergyWriters.com.

A report from consultant Wood Mackenzie pointed to the dangers of bursts of power demand in AI data centers.

ZincFive says it has an answer. The company's nickel-zinc energy storage provides short, high-power dischages for data centers to address AI power surges and also provides outage backup. The Oregon-based business has deployed 2 GW of its product, saw its annual revenue doubling from 2024 to approximately $66.9 million in 2025 and has plans to go public.

Tod Higinbotham, CEO of ZincFive, explains the company's technology, describes its partnership with Spark I Acquisition and says why the company believes ZincFive's storage is less expensive than lithium-ion based batteries.

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Learn about host Lisa Cohn's energy writing at https://cleanenergywriters.com/

Email Lisa with podcast episode ideas: Lisa@CleanEnergyWriters.com

In Iceland, which has vast geothermal resources, Syntholene Energy, with support from Idaho National Laboratory, is testing synfuel production that combines geothermal heat with high-temperature electrolysis. The company says its synfuel is 70% less expensive than synfuels produced using other clean energy options and could reach price parity with fossil fuels in about 10 years.

While Iceland has plenty of water resources, the company says water management will be critical as it rolls out its product commercially to other, less water-rich regions.

About the guest:

Dan Sutton, co-founder and CEO at Syntholene Energy.

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Learn about Lisa's energy writing at https://cleanenergywriters.com/

In December 2023, a winter storm hit Highland Park, Michigan, and the ensuing power outage lasted four days – a common occurrence in the community, which has a high poverty rate.

Partially in response to the outages, Juan Shannon created Parker Village, with plans to provide clean, low-cost local energy to the residents, including net zero homes, two solar microgrids and an electric transportation loop.

Another goal is to keep wealth in Highland Park, which covers three square miles close to Detroit and ranks in the 94th percentile for low-income status in the U.S., with 45% of the population living at or below the poverty line.

About the Guest:

Juan Shannon, executive director, Parker Village Foundation

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Under the first-of-a-kind Oregon Power Act, data centers served by the state's two investor-owned utilities can't drive up utility bills or undermine Oregon's clean energy goals. The law has attracted interest from other states considering similar measures.

While Portland General Electric and PacifiCorp are required to follow the provisions of the law, the state's public utilities do not, and in Umatilla Electric Cooperative territory--home to many data centers--emissions have increased by about 570% over the last 15 years, said Joshua Basofin, Oregon clean energy program director at Climate Solutions.

Oregon is attracting data center development because it has relatively low energy costs, access to undersea data cables and offers incentives to draw businesses to the state. Data centers hae been a major factor in driving up utility rattes by 50% since 2021, said Charlotte Shuff, communications director at the Oregon Citizens' Utility Board.

Ideas for helping Oregon meet clean energy goals include asking data centers to deploy energy storage during peak hours. Another proposal offered by Rewiring America: Require data centers to pay for residential customers' heat pumps and rooftop solar to free up capacity on the grid for data centers.

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Learn about host Lisa Cohn's energy writing at https://cleanenergywriters.com/

Temperatures, altitude, snow, wind, sunshine and road surfaces can significantly shorten or lengthen how far an electric vehicle (EV) driver can go on a charge.

Lasse Lumiaho, head of automotive at Vaisala Xweather, which provides weather data and intelligence for many Fortune 500 companies, describes a recent study about the factors that affect EV range.

Read the study here.

About the guest:

Lasse Lumiaho leads automotive product development and strategic initiatives at Vaisala Xweather. He has experience working with autotive OEMs and technology suppliers, including Audi, BMW, Bosch, Cerence, Hyundai, KIA, Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen to integrate weather intelligence solutions that make roads safer. He focuses on developing innovative solutions that enhance vehicle safety and optimize routing.

Send questions, comments or podcast episode ideas to Lisa@CleanEnergyWriters.com

Learn more about host Lisa Cohn at https://cleanenergywriters.com/

With oil prices at the time of this interview–April 2026–close to $100/ barrel because of the war in Iran, will we see higher deployment of renewable energy and electric vehicles (EV)?

Wesley Herche, co-founder of Sustainability Decoded and director of energy and sustainability solutions at Prologis, where he deploys solar, battery storage and commercial EV charging infrastructure for the world's largest companies, provides a global perspective on the status of clean energy and the effects of high oil prices.

Topics discussed include:

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Why large U.S. companies are investing in renewable energy and how high oil prices could affect them.

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EV purchases make up 80% to 90% of new car sales in certain parts of the world. Will this trend continue?

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How China's aggressive deployment of solar will impact oil prices there.

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How Pakistan is insulated to some degree by its solar deployment.

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Why gasoline prices have jumped so quickly in the U.S.

Learn more about host Lisa Cohn at https://cleanenergywriters.com/

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Enel North America's Blue Jay Agrivoltaics project in Grimes County, Texas spans 2,700 acres, produces 270 megawatts (MW) of solar and includes a 59-MW battery storage system. It uses sheep for vegetation management and includes pollinator habitat, veteran-managed apiaries and drone maintenance. Jesse Puckett, director of sustainability projects and community affairs at Enel North America describes how the project helps improve the company's business, bottom line, the environment and the local community.

Learn more about the Blue Jay project and Jesse Puckett Subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts Check out host Lisa Cohn's energy writing at https://cleanenergywriters.com/

Millions of people are driving electric vehicles (EV) which, with bidirectional charging, can provide value to the electrical grid and back up homes and businesses during outages.

What's standing in the way of unlocking these benefits? Steve Letendre, an energy economist, senior advisor to the Vehicle-Grid Integration Council and the founder and editor of V2G News, says bidirectional charging technology is trapped behind one-way rules. He offers policy ideas that could advance bidirectional charging.

About the Guest:

Steve Letendre's work centers on unlocking the value of distributed energy resources, especially bidirectional EVs to accelerate the clean energy transition. He has led regulatory affairs at two leading V2G companies (Fermata Energy and Nuvve), where he developed and executed cross-functional strategies to shape state and federal policy, influence regulatory proceedings and align market rules with emerging technologies.

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Since 2021, Public Service Electric & Gas (PSE&G), New Jersey's largest utility, has added 30,000 electric vehicles (EV) to its system, in part by offering rebates and other incentives. Before January 2026, the growth rate was double-digit, but is now flat, because of the loss of the federal EV tax credit and changes in the market.

Dawn Neville, senior manager of electric transportation at PSE&G, describes the program's successes and challenges. How to get more chargers installed at multi-family housing complexes? How much do demand response programs for EV drivers help out in the summer? And how might a new time-of-use rate that varies from 9 cents/kWh (off peak) to 60 cents/kWh (on peak) help save money for people who charge at home?

About the guest:

Dawn Neville, an environmental engineer who transitioned from working on hazardous waste sites to transportation electrification at PSE&G's EV charging program

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Elliott Steele, a researcher at the UC Davis Wild Energy Center, is now studying how a floating solar array at the Nelson Family Vineyards in Mendocino County, Calif. affects birds. He's also studying how a 6-MW floating solar array–Califronia's largest– in Sonoma County is influencing wildlife. In Florida, he says, alligators and other animals hang out on the solar systems.

Wildlife can also affect the floating solar panels, by defecating on them, for example, and lowering the solar output.

This is a follow up to my last podcast episode about Nelson Family Vineyards' floating solar array.

Guest:

Elliott Steele, Ph.D, solar postdoctoral scholar, Wild Energy Center

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Nelson Family Vineyards in Mendocino County, Calif., will soon power up its floating solar system, deployed on pontoons on an irrigation pond, expecting to cut utility costs, which jumped 180% over the last three years, by about $90,000 annually.

Researchers at the University of California Davis are studying how the system will affect wildlife–the focus of our next podcast, which will touch on how songbirds at the farm are affected by the system–and how alligators in Florida climb onto these systems.

The Nelsons are looking into selling or transferring a 30% investment tax credit to help pay for the system.

Guests

Tyler Nelson, vice president, Nelson Family Vineyards

Tate Tussing, business development manager at Noria Energy.

Email host Lisa Cohn at Lisa@CleanEnergyWriters.com with podcast episode ideas.

Learn more about Lisa at https://cleanenergywriters.com/

Itanna and Yosafe Murphy are working to use agrivoltaics--co-locating solar PV energy production with agricultural activities on their 160-acre farm--to provide healthy, fresh and tasty food to their community, along with STEM education and energy resilience.

In addition to agrivoltaics, the project, located in Oregon's Willamette Valley, will integrate vertical farming and hydroponics. Oregon State University, Ecotrust, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and others have joined the effort as technical partners.

Despite the loss of funding sources from the federal government under the Trump administration, the pair are moving forward with a "blank canvas and a really big idea," hoping to create a model for other farmers.

Visit Sheba Farm to learn more.

Background:

Hay Farming Doesn't Pay the Bills. Agrivoltaics Does

Oregon Agrivoltaics-Based Microgrid Tackles Crop Warming from Climate Changge--and May Improve the Taste of Lettuce.

Visit host Lisa Cohn at https://cleanenergywriters.com/

Byron Kominek, founder of Jack's Solar Garden in Boulder, Colo., an agrivoltaics site that attracts thousands of visitors annually, says hay farming doesn't pay the bills. But installing solar panels above crops and selling the solar to the utility is a revenue generator for the solar garden. Not only can agrivoltaics--the practice of co-locating solar panels with agricultural activities-- generate revenue, but it can also address climate warming by providing shade. Kominek educates students and community members about the benefits of agrivoltaics as director of the Colorado Agrivoltaics Learning Center. It's important to think long-term about how to adapt to climate change, said Kominek, who received an Ashoka Fellowship for his work as a social entrepreneur. Learn more about Jack's Solar Garden here. Send podcast episode ideas to Lisa@CleanEnergyWriters.com Visit host Lisa Cohn at https://cleanenergywriters.com/ Subscribe to and rate this podcast on Apple Podcasts.

A virtual power plant (VPP) is a collection of small-scale energy resources that, aggregated and coordinated with grid operations, can provide the same reliability and economic value to the grid as a traditional power plant, according to the nonprofit organization RMI.

And VPPs can help utility customers earn money. Large energy users can earn up to $100,000 a year through CPower Energy's program, said Mike Smith, CEO of CPower.

A recent report from RMI identified some of the gains VPPs have made recently. For example, 10 legislatures introduced VPP bills and four states passed VPP legislation in 2024. But more action is needed to meet the organization's goal of ensuring all US electricity consumers have access to VPP programs by 2035. Action is also needed to accelerate VPP adoption to meet booming energy demand.

Guests:

Gabriela Olmedo, head of policy and regulatory affairs at EnergyHub.

Mike Smith, CEO at CPower.

Background Reading:

RMI progress report, "From Awareness to Action."

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Send podcast episode ideas to host Lisa Cohn at Lisa@CleanEnergyWriters.com

Learn more about Lisa's energy writing at CleanEnergyWriters.