Columbia Energy Exchange - Short Circuiting PolicyPolitics is critical to understanding the development of climate policy in the United States, particularly the interest groups influencing the process and the feedback that new laws and regulations experience once they have been enacted. That’s what political scientist Leah Stokes tells us in her new book, “Short Circuiting Policy,” whose subtitle is “Interest Groups and the Battle Over Clean Energy and Climate Policy in the American States.” In this edition of Columbia Energy Exchange, host Bill Loveless talks with Leah about her book and its look at climate policies in different states. The discussion is particularly timely now in the aftermath of a scandal in Ohio, one of the states she writes about in the book. Bill and Leah delve into the situation in Ohio, where an FBI investigation involving a state law providing aid to struggling nuclear and coal power plants led to the arrest of a prominent state legislator and others in an alleged bribery scheme. They also discuss the ebb and flow of climate policies in states as utilities and other interest groups vie over proposals to implement policies that would reduce greenhouse gas emissions from power plants. MEI is currently reading this book as part of our MEI Book Club. Farnam Street: The Knowledge Project - Today on The Knowledge Project I’m talking with musician, writer and founder of CD Baby, Derek Sivers. Derek is the philosopher king and so thoughtful about his approach to everything as you’ll hear. We discuss the benefits to being naïve to the ways of the world, how to decide what to work on, who to spend your life with, delegation, the value of execution over ideas, mental models and the biggest mistake he’s ever made.GTM Energy Gang - The Economic Case for Electrifying Everything“Electrify everything” isn’t just a good slogan. It’s the fastest way to decarbonize and create tens of millions of jobs — and it can be done using off-the-shelf technology. A respected squad of researchers did the math on a swap-out of every aging boiler, truck and power plant in the U.S. — and replacing it with equipment that won’t burn fossil fuels ever again. We’ll dig into a new analysis from Rewiring America. GTM Interchange Show - The Summer of Battery StorageThe title of this podcast rings true to the team at MEI, as we are implementing our first few battery storage projects this summer and learning a lot along the way. We may be facing one of the worst economic downturns in American history, but it hasn’t stopped the surge in battery storage development. We’re constantly hearing phrases like “world’s largest” and “record-breaking” as new gigawatt-scale projects are unveiled weekly. Small-scale batteries are being attached to more than one-third of residential solar systems for leading installers, making distributed batteries a staple of home energy offerings. New markets such as Texas are heating up. And utilities are putting batteries front and center in their 100% clean energy plans. TOP ARTICLES MOST POPULAR MOST COMMENTS Loanpal launched its solar loan origination platform in December 2017, bringing in SolarCity expertise. Loanpal Rockets to Second-Largest Solar Loan Provider in the US Many loan providers reported profitable growth in the first half of 2019. Loanpal Now No. 1 in the Booming Solar Loan Market California may see rolling blackouts for weeks to come, grid operator CAISO warns. California’s Shift From Natural Gas to Solar Is Playing a Role in Rolling Blackouts WHITE PAPERS Empowering Grid Modernization: A Complete GIS DOWNLOAD > Powering Good for a Sustainable Energy Future DOWNLOAD > As a result, we will likely see a fourteenfold increase in batteries deployed on the grid in the U.S. over the next five years, according to the analysts at Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables.