We already have many of the climate solutions we need. But scaling them is hard. The Green Blueprint is a show about the people who are architecting the clean e...
In 2009, John Woolard’s team flipped the switch on a first-of-a-kind concentrated solar power project. The pilot paved the way for BrightSource Energy, where John was CEO, to build its first commercial CSP plant, a 440-megawatt project in the Mojave Desert called Ivanpah.
John and his team believed they were far ahead of the competition, including photovoltaics. And they were on the verge of building several large, concentrated solar plants.
That was the plan. But in the middle of building the first commercial plant, the BrightSource team faced a series of unexpected challenges that forced them to ask: “if we stay the course, will we survive?”
In the first episode of The Green Blueprint, host Lara Pierpoint talks to John Woolard, former CEO of BrightSource Energy and current CEO at Meridian Clean Energy, on lessons from the concentrated solar boom and bust.
They dig into how John salvaged a financial deal that collapsed in the middle of a global financial crisis, the unexpected challenges of permitting and environmental regulations, the competitive threat of solar PV, and knowing when to pivot.
The Green Blueprint is a co-production of Latitude Media and Trellis Climate. Subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or anywhere you get podcasts. For more reporting on the companies featured in this podcast, subscribe to Latitude Media’s newsletter.
On December 3 in Washington, DC, Latitude Media is bringing together a range of experts for Transition-AI 2024, a one-day, in-person event addressing both sides of the AI-energy nexus: the challenges AI poses to the grid, and the opportunities. Our podcast listeners get a 10% discount on this year’s conference using the code LMPODS10. Register today here!
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33:38
Introducing: The Green Blueprint
We’ve already invented many of the solutions needed to decarbonize the global economy. But a big chunk of emission reductions will come from technologies that are not yet commercial.
We don’t have decades to get these commercialized – we have years.
So what can we learn from the people who are bringing new technologies from the lab to the market, constructing first-of-a-kind projects, building companies, challenging and transforming incumbents, and finding the right kind of investment to support their scaling?
The Green Blueprint is a new show from Latitude Media and Trellis Climate about the architects of the clean energy economy.
Hosted by Lara Pierpoint, managing director at Trellis, the show profiles the people who are doing the hero’s work of scaling clean technologies: founders, investors, engineers, policymakers, and organizational leaders who are solving a complex set of challenges in the quest to scale quickly.
Every other week, we’ll hear stories about the complexity of building gigafactories, the mind-boggling logistics of mega-clean energy projects, and the risky choices on how fast to scale – plus boardroom disagreements, financial hardships, and moments of failure and redemption.
The Green Blueprint is dropping this fall. You can find it on Latitude Media, or anywhere you get your podcasts.
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2:44
An update on what's ahead for this show, and more
Since we stopped The Carbon Copy, some listeners had questions about what’s next.
Here's a preview of our new podcast, the Transition-AI event in December, and a new newsletter called the AI-Energy Nexus.
Stay tuned to the feed for our new show, dropping later this fall!
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3:04
Frontier Forum: How rates will make or break the energy transition
Dynamic pricing is everywhere – and impacts all of us.
Whether it's the time of day, your location, or the amount of demand, so many of our decisions are driven by real-time pricing changes.
But it's still a relatively new concept in electricity.
This week, we're featuring a conversation with Scott Engstrom of GridX and Economist Ahmad Faruqui on the imperative for good rate design – and the consequences of getting it wrong.
How do we create dynamic rates that are fair, transparent, and effective at valuing distributed resources?
And how do we use technology to design and implement those rates – and perhaps eventually automate them on a real-time basis, as many hope?
This episode was recorded live as part of our Frontier Forum series. Watch the full video here.
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49:24
Our final episode: The top stories of 2024 so far
Some news: this will be our final installment of The Carbon Copy. But don’t go anywhere!
Later this fall, the feed will be transformed into a new show that will profile the people architecting the clean energy economy. We promise it will be a valuable part of your media diet.
For our last episode, we brought back some old friends: Jigar Shah, director of the DOE’s loan programs office, and Katherine Hamilton, chair of 38 North.
Jigar, Katherine, and Stephen dissect some of the biggest storylines of the year in clean energy business and policy. They’ll tackle AI energy demand, grid constraints, geothermal, nuclear, the demise of California's rooftop solar industry, and America’s green bank.
Which trends are overrated, which ones are underrated, and what does it all mean for mass deployment?
The Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund will provide $27 billion for clean energy projects nationwide, potentially mobilizing up to $150 billion in public and private capital. Join Latitude Media and Banyan Infrastructure on July 18th for an in-depth discussion on how we can deploy these billions with the highest impact. Register for free here.
Make sure to listen to our new podcast, Political Climate – an insider’s view on the most pressing policy questions in energy and climate. Tune in every other Friday for the latest takes from hosts Julia Pyper, Emily Domenech, and Brandon Hurlbut. Available on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
We already have many of the climate solutions we need. But scaling them is hard. The Green Blueprint is a show about the people who are architecting the clean economy. Every other week, host Lara Pierpoint profiles the founders, investors, and organizational leaders who are solving complex challenges in the quest to build climate technologies fast.
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