Episodes

Electric cars are fast and efficient and produce no local emissions. But they're also expensive, with issues around the metals for their batteries. Here to discuss these issues with Dr. Scott Tinker is: - Dr. David Rapson, Economic Policy Advisor for the Federal Reserve Bank and Professor of Economics, University of California - Dr. Beia Spiller, Director of the Transportation Program, Resources for the Future Originally aired 10/08/2023 on PBS. FOLLOW ENERGY SWITCH ▷ FACEBOOK: https://www.faceb...

Two advanced energy students share their thoughts on the future of nuclear, carbon capture and storage, solar and wind, batteries, energy reliability, climate change and their hopes for the future. Joining Dr. Scott Tinker this episode is: - Shadya Taleb, a graduate research assistant in carbon capture and storage at the Bureau of Economic Geology - Grace Stanke, a nuclear engineering student and Miss America 2023 Chapters: 00:00 – Teaser 00:36 – Intro 01:40 – Topic 02:04 – Guests 02:37 – What d...

While China continues to build coal plants, they intend to reduce their use, to manage local air pollution and meet peak CO2 and net zero goals, while prioritizing their energy security. Can it be done? Continuing their discussion with Dr. Scott Tinker is: - Dr. Wei Peng, Assistant Professor, Princeton University - Dr. David Sandalow, Founder & Director of Columbia's US-China program Originally aired 10/05/2023 on PBS. FOLLOW ENERGY SWITCH ▷ FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/theenergyswitch ▷ T...

China is the world’s largest energy producer and consumer, the largest exporter of solar, the current leader in nuclear, and emits 1/3 of global CO2. This makes China’s energy and climate policies of vital concern to all nations. Discussing with Dr. Scott Tinker is: - Dr. David Sandalow, Founder & Director of Columbia's US-China program - Dr. Wei Peng, Assistant Professor, Princeton University. Originally aired 10/04/2023 on PBS. FOLLOW ENERGY SWITCH ▷ FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/theenerg...

One solution to reducing carbon emissions is to capture and store them underground. But there are challenges in capturing, transporting and storing the CO2, and determining who will pay for it. Joining Dr. Scott Tinker to discuss current projects and how carbon capture storage could contribute in the future is: - Dr. Sallie Greenberg, formerly with the Illinois State Geological Survey - Dr. Julio Friedmann, Chief Scientist at Carbon Direct Originally aired 10/03/2023 on PBS. FOLLOW ENERGY SWITCH...

80% of the world lives in developing nations, but uses just 20% of global energy. To provide them access to a modern life, we’d need to double energy production globally. Can we do it affordably, while reducing energy’s environmental impact? Joining Dr. Scott Tinker on this episode is: - Ashvin Dayal from The Rockefeller Foundation, - Robert Stoner, Deputy Director at the MIT Energy Initiative Originally aired 07/09/2023 on PBS. FOLLOW ENERGY SWITCH ▷ FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/theenergy...

Energy and water are tightly linked. We use extraordinary amounts of energy for municipal water systems and irrigation. And we use huge volumes of water in energy too. How could we use less energy and water to make more of both? Examining these systems with Dr. Scott Tinker is: - Afreen Siddiqi, research scientist at MIT - Newsha Ajami, the Chief Development Officer for Research at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab Originally aired 07/02/2023 on PBS. FOLLOW ENERGY SWITCH ▷ FACEBOOK: https://www.fac...

What are the potential new materials to make batteries more affordable, safer and less environmentally impactful? What could this mean for the future? Tackling these tough questions with Dr. Scott Tinker is: - Lynden Archer, Dean of Engineering at Cornell University - Shirley Meng, Chief Scientist at Argonne National Laboratory and Professor of Molecular Engineering in the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering at the University of Chicago Originally aired 06/18/2023 on PBS. FOLLOW ENERGY SWIT...

Battery technology has already made incredible leaps, making electric vehicles commercially viable and attractive to consumers. Could it also revolutionize the electric grid itself? Joining Dr. Scott Tinker on this episode is: - Shirley Meng, Chief Scientist at Argonne National Laboratory - Lynden Archer, Dean of Engineering at Cornell University Originally aired 06/11/2023 on PBS. FOLLOW ENERGY SWITCH ▷ FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/theenergyswitch ▷ TWITTER: https://x.com/theenergyswitch ...

All energy facilities must be sited somewhere. All energy requires extracting something from Earth– fuel must be drilled for and materials must be mined. Transmission lines and pipelines cover many miles. What are the impacts of energy on land, and how could we reduce them? Discussing with Dr. Scott Tinker is: - Mark Mills, Senior Fellow at the Manhattan Institute - Gurcan Gulen, Principal at G2 Energy Insights Chapters: 00:00 – Teaser 00:36 – Intro 01:41 – Topic 02:09 – Guests 02:45 – How does ...

Artificial intelligence and machine learning could improve energy efficiency and allow for better prediction of electricity resources. Are the algorithms and computing power sufficient to realize these promises? Dr. Scott Tinker is joined by: - Pamela Isom, Director of the Artificial Intelligence and Technology Office for the US Department of Energy - Anima Anandkumar, Director of Machine Learning Research at NVIDIA Chapters: 00:00 – Teaser 00:34 – Intro 01:37 – Topic 02:00 – Guests 02:35 – What...

The electric grid, and all its attached generators and transformers, has been called the largest machine in the world. In part 1, we’ll discuss how it powers our lives and the modern world, and as our electricity demands grow, how it could better meet them in the future. Discussing with Dr. Scott Tinker is: - ERCOT CEO, Brad Jones - Southern California Edison CEO, Steven Powell Originally aired 04/23/2023 on PBS. FOLLOW ENERGY SWITCH ▷ FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/theenergyswitch ▷ TWITTER...

Liquifying natural gas and shipping it around the world in tankers could make it available to all at a global market price. While this could boost industry and help developing nations choose gas as an alternative to coal, some say LNG import terminals are too expensive and its trade may increase emissions. Joining Dr. Scott Tinker to discuss is: - Octávio Simões, CEO of Tellurian - Jake Schmidt, Senior Climate Director at NRDC Originally aired 04/16/2023 on PBS. FOLLOW ENERGY SWITCH ▷ FACEBOOK: ...

​​The oil and gas industry provides 10 million US jobs and billions to the economy. But investors are fleeing due to CO2 concerns and declining returns. Could a system built on low carbon energies replace the benefits of oil and gas? Approaching the question with Dr. Scott Tinker is: - Dr. David Victor, a Professor of Innovation and Public Policy at UC San Diego - Matt Gallagher, former CEO of Parsley Energy Originally aired 09/04/2022 on PBS. FOLLOW ENERGY SWITCH ▷ FACEBOOK: https://www.faceboo...

Carbon-based fuels provide more than 80% of global energy. To reduce emissions will take time and money. What are the benefits of a carbon tax? Or would it be more effective to encourage carbon-reducing technologies? Joining Dr. Scott Tinker to discuss is: - Dr. Billy Pizer, the Vice President of Research and Policy Engagement at Resources for the Future - Sasha Mackler, the Executive Director of the Bipartisan Policy Center Originally aired 09/04/2022 on PBS. FOLLOW ENERGY SWITCH ▷ FACEBOOK: ht...

Energy sustainability can be grouped into three areas: Environmental: can an energy resource operate in equilibrium with the environment? Sociopolitical: do its benefits enrich broad society? Economic: can it operate profitably to support itself? Discussing with Dr. Scott Tinker is: - Dr. Bridget Scanlon, Senior Research Scientist at the Bureau of Economic Geology - Sean O’Donnell, Partner at Quantum Energy Originally aired 09/04/2022 on PBS. FOLLOW ENERGY SWITCH ▷ FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook...

The world is changing - and so is the world of energy. Many experts think coal, oil and natural gas will remain our largest global energy sources. Meanwhile, solar and wind become more affordable, encouraging their growth worldwide. Dr. Scott Tinker discusses the new geopolitics of energy with: - Sec. Ernie Moniz, the 13th United States Secretary of Energy - Dr. Dan Yergin, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author Originally aired 09/04/2022 on PBS. FOLLOW ENERGY SWITCH ▷ FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.c...

Hydraulic fracturing made gas abundant, which made it cheap. This allowed gas to replace coal in our power sector. Though gas has lower carbon emissions, it’s still not carbon free. Joining Dr. Scott Tinker to discuss is: - Dr. Naomi Boness, Managing Director of the Natural Gas Initiative at Stanford University - Rachel Fakhry, Analyst for the Climate & Clean Air programs at the National Resources Defense Council Originally aired 09/04/2022 on PBS. FOLLOW ENERGY SWITCH ▷ FACEBOOK: https://www.fa...

Subsidies support energy infrastructure and development to benefit consumers. And we pay for them. In tax credits for producers and investors. Direct payments and mandates for low carbon technology. Accelerated expense schedules for oil and gas. And R&D funding. We explore with Jonathan Lesser, President of Continental Economics, and Ryan Kellogg, Professor at the University of Chicago.

Large-scale batteries on our power grid could balance the intermittency of wind and solar, along with the normal irregularities of the grid. And they’re becoming ever more affordable. I’ll discuss the potential benefits and challenges with John Zahurancik, President of the Americas for Fluence, a battery storage company, and Paul Denholm, a Senior Energy Analyst at National Renewable Energy Lab.

Energy is so intertwined with the functioning of society that it’s a basic need. Yet not all Americans have equal access to safe, reliable, affordable energy. We’ll discuss energy justice initiatives that aim to spread the benefits of energy to more Americans, with Margo Weisz, Executive Director of Texas Energy Poverty Research Institute, and Monisha Shah from the EPA’s Solar For All program.

Using water to generate power has been a staple in our electricity system for a century. We look at conventional reservoir dams and pumped hydro storage; the state of hydropower in the US, Canada and internationally; and challenges that hydro faces. With expert guests Malcolm Woolf from the US National Hydropower Association, and Debbie Gray of the International Hydropower Association.

In part 1, we explored compliance and voluntary markets. Now we look at brokers and traders, market forces that help set prices, the emissions reduction potential of low vs. high price credits, and the importance of better regulation and verification. Expert guests again are Kaya Axelsson, Head of Policy and Partnerships at University of Oxford Net Zero, and Jamie Keech of Vida Carbon.

Carbon markets were created to try to reduce CO2 emissions. There’s a compliance market, in which governments set emission limits and companies comply, often by trading credits. And a voluntary market, where companies and consumers voluntarily buy credits. We’ll explore both with Jamie Keech, Executive Chairman of Vida Carbon, and Kaya Axelsson from University of Oxford Net Zero.