Decarbonize: The Clean Energy Podcast

Fresh Energy

Fresh Energy is speeding Minnesota’s transition to a clean energy economy, which will ensure that our region enjoys good health, a vibrant economy, and thriving communities today and for generations to come. Working purely in the public interest, Fresh Energy’s team of scientists, economists, policy analysts, and educators develops and advances solutions that secure a clean energy future where all can thrive. Sign up for our monthly listserv focused on clean energy issues in Minnesota here: https://fresh-energy.org/

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Top 10 Decarbonize: The Clean Energy Podcast Episodes

Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best Decarbonize: The Clean Energy Podcast episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to Decarbonize: The Clean Energy Podcast for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite Decarbonize: The Clean Energy Podcast episode by adding your comments to the episode page.

The state of coal in Minnesota

Decarbonize: The Clean Energy Podcast

12/14/21 • 54 min

Join Fresh Energy for a two-part episode as we discuss the state of coal in Minnesota.
Part 1:
Fresh Energy's Allen Gleckner and Isabel Ricker lay out the details on changes to coal plant operations, scheduled closure dates, utilities importing coal power from other states, and important ways listeners can get involved at home and with their utilities.
Part 2:
Fresh Energy's Anjali Bains and Justin Fay discuss what a just and equitable energy transition looks like in coal plant communities and across the state.
Resources:
Throughout the episode, we mention a few web pages and resources for listeners to check out.

Minnesota Coal Countdown (https://coalcountdownmn.org) for keeping tabs on coal plants in and serving Minnesota.
What's up with Integrated Resource Planning? blog post.
Isabel's interview with FOX News's Tom Lyden about coal plant operations.
Making sense of your clean energy options blog post about opting into wind and solar programs, and more.

Fresh Energy’s mission is to shape and drive bold policy solutions to achieve equitable carbon-neutral economies. Together we are working toward a vision of a just, prosperous, and resilient future powered by a shared commitment to a carbon-neutral economy. Learn about Fresh Energy's work and our bold "Vision 2030: Fresh Energy's Strategic Framework" at our website fresh-energy.org.
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Discussing the Evolution of Energy Access and Equity at Fresh Energy

Decarbonize: The Clean Energy Podcast

09/03/21 • 53 min

At Fresh Energy, equity is a central pillar of our mission and a priority across the organization. Our Energy Access and Equity department is where the organization and the staff on today's podcast focus specifically on policies and programs that reduce the energy burden on under-resourced communities, increase opportunities for and access to clean energy jobs, and ensure our policy-based solutions—and Fresh Energy operations—are equitable in both process and outcome. And we're pleased to share that our Energy Access and Equity department is evolving!
In today's podcast, we're joined by Fresh Energy's outgoing lead director of Energy Access and Equity Ben Passer, incoming director Anjali Bains, our new director of Culture and Partnerships Janiece Watts, as well as Mari Ojeda, policy associate on the Energy Access and Equity Team.
Throughout our conversation, we reference a few blog posts on the Fresh Energy site, here they are:

And don't forget to register and join us for our October 14 Virtual Benefit Breakfast! We wanted to thank a few of our Benefit Breakfast sponsors for their support!

Thank you to our title sponsor: Parable Wealth Partners
And to our Innovation and Technology sponsor: Mortenson
And thank you also to Atomic Data, Ever-Green Energy, District Energy St. Paul, Impact Power Solutions, Apex Clean Energy, Climate Generation, Conley Family Foundation, Design 45, Minneapolis Foundation, Chuck and Candice Nadler, Old National Bank, and Sunrise Banks.

Electricity Instead of Gas: How can communities embrace efficiency and electrification and avoid new fossil gas infrastructure?

Decarbonize: The Clean Energy Podcast

07/29/21 • 69 min

Tune in to Part 4 of Fresh Energy's "Intersection of Energy and Community" webinar series!
The transition to an equitable, carbon-neutral economy will bring big changes to our communities. State and federal policies, utility programs, and the overall evolution from a world powered by oil and gas to a clean electricity-powered future, play out in our neighborhoods, workplaces, and homes. But it’s not just communities adapting to change. Cities, counties, and local institutions are often leading through model projects and Climate Action Plans to shape a new reality.
In summer 2021, Fresh Energy hosted a webinar series to raise the question: How can we dramatically reduce carbon emissions in a way that improves our communities and benefits everyone?
Panelists:

Margaret Garascia, Associate Director, Research and Innovation at Elevate Energy
Margaret Garascia is Senior Manager for Research and Innovation at Elevate Energy, a nonprofit organization dedicated to designing and implementing programs that lower costs, protect people and the environment, and ensure the benefits of renewable energy reach those who need them most. As part of the Elevate research team, Ms. Garascia conducts research on whether low- and moderate-income households are equitably served by renewable energy programs. In addition, she coordinates Elevate’s research, policy, and demonstration projects on building decarbonization with a focus on the affordable housing sector. She also conducts quantitative and qualitative research on topics including energy insecurity, water affordability, and residential energy use. She was lead author of a report on the multifamily building stock in Chicago and the potential for energy savings. She has presented and written on the relationship between energy efficiency, health, and wellbeing in forums including Electricity Journal, Retrofit Magazine, American Public Health Association Annual Meeting, and others.
Keith Kinch, Co-founder and General Manager at BlocPower
Keith Kinch serves as General Manager and co-founder at BlocPower. Keith received his undergraduate degree at John Jay College and his graduate degree at American International University. He spent eight years as a community organizer, and two years as Deputy Field Director in New York State for the Democratic National Committee under President Obama’s grassroots arm Organizing for America. He helped advance key pieces of legislation such as the Affordable Healthcare Act.
In the summer of 2016, Keith led the Solarize Brownsville campaign where more than 200
homes were outfitted with solar panels. Solarize Brownsville brought together community
Margaret Cherne-Hendrick, Lead Director, Energy Transition at Fresh Energy
Margaret Cherne-Hendrick steers Fresh Energy’s work to decarbonize our economy through the trans

Reckoning in Coal Country: Facing the future in Wyoming and Appalachia

Decarbonize: The Clean Energy Podcast

04/22/21 • 61 min

Appalachia and Wyoming are dramatically different places, but they also offer each other cautionary tales, success stories, and reasons for resilience and hope. Last year, the Energy News Network and WyoFile captured this complex story in a six-part investigative series, Reckoning in Coal County, now available as an ebook or paperback.
Fresh Energy, Energy News Network, and WyoFile hosted this virtual panel discussion on April 22, 2021. Throughout the conversation, we explore the cultural, political, and economic obstacles faced by rural communities hoping to survive and thrive in a world without coal.
Featuring:
Mason Adams, journalist, Floyd County, Virginia
Shannon Anderson, Powder River Basin Resource Council, Wyoming
Heidi Binko, Just Transition Fund, Virginia
Dustin Bleizeffer, journalist, Casper, Wyoming
Moderator:
Ken Paulman, Senior Director, Energy News Network
Listeners can stay up to date on Fresh Energy's work via our once monthly email list, blog at www.fresh-energy.org, or by following us on Facebook and Twitter. You can support Fresh Energy’s work for a clean energy Minnesota by making a donation today!
Stay informed on what's happening regionally and nationally in the transition to clean energy with the Energy NewsNetwork. Subscribe to the Energy News Network's daily email digests and original reporting, covering the U.S., the Midwest, Southeast, Northeast, and Western regions. Support ENN's work with a donation.

MISO 101 with Mike Schowalter

Decarbonize: The Clean Energy Podcast

05/24/22 • 81 min

When we hear about the electric grid, it’s common to think of our local electric utility. They’re the ones we pay for our electric service after all, and it’s our utility’s trucks that we see repairing downed electricity lines. But, as explained in our “What’s up with the grid?” blog, the grid is much bigger than any single utility. It is instead a web of utilities, each interconnected with each other in a giant electric transmission and distribution system that covers the entire nation. In our region, an entity called MISO, or the Midcontinent Independent System Operator, holds the role of managing or operating our portion of that transmission and distribution system—our portion of the grid.

But what exactly is MISO? How and why was it created? Who has a say in its decision-making processes? And how is Fresh Energy involved? Sit down with Fresh Energy’s Mike Schowalter for answers to these questions and more!

Links referenced and additional resources:

Read our MISO explainer blog post for additional context on MISO.
Curious about Locational Marginal Pricing (LMP)? Check out this map showing real-time prices.
For more context on long-range transmission planning (LRTP), reference this blog post explaining the process.
An example of LRTP is the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) recent approval of the big tariff change Mike discusses in this episode. Read more about it. The MISO Board of Directors is slated to approve this first set of projects in July, after which state Public Utilities Commissions (PUCs) will likely kick off their own approval processes.
Get a visual on the coal plants in and serving Minnesota that have retired or have retirement dates. Fresh Energy is using data-based research and policy to set as-soon-as-possible closure dates for coal plants that meet the urgent challenge of our climate crisis while ensuring that utilities, workers, and communities have the time and resources necessary to plan a successful transition. Read more at coalcountdown.org.

Looking ahead to COP29 with J. Drake Hamilton

Decarbonize: The Clean Energy Podcast

11/19/24 • 60 min

The 2024 U.N. Climate Conference, also known as COP, will be held in Baku, Azerbaijan from November 11 through November 22. J. Drake Hamilton, senior director, science policy at Fresh Energy, will be one of the more than 40,000 participants from around the globe to attend.
On November 1, J. sat down with Fresh Energy's Isak Kvam to unpack what she sees as some of the biggest goals for COP29. You can stay up to date with J.'s experience at COP via her daily blog here.
Register to join us for a post-COP29 webinar debrief with J. on December 3 at 11 a.m. Participants will join J. to debrief outcomes from COP29 and ask questions about the event after her return to the United States.
Give to the Max Day is November 21! Schedule your donation to Fresh Energy today.

Unpacking climate finance—Fresh Energy at COP27 in Egypt

Decarbonize: The Clean Energy Podcast

10/11/22 • 37 min

What is climate finance and its related areas of climate mitigation and adaptation? How is Fresh Energy involved in driving progress on climate finance at COP27, the United Nations (U.N.) Climate Change Conference?
In this discussion, Fresh Energy’s J. Drake Hamilton and Bri Kerber sit down to talk through J.’s seven-year legacy at the global climate change convening, the importance of climate finance, and how Minnesotans can support this critical progress on climate and clean energy.
Plus, send your COP27 questions to J.! J. will answer most of your questions about COP27—from her travels before, during, and after, to the members of the U.S. climate delegation she gets to meet, to her favorite moments interacting with members of Minnesota’s own COP27 delegation—with everyone at a special post-COP27 live, virtual webinar event happening after she returns to Minnesota from Egypt toward the end of November. Submit your questions to J. via email at [email protected].

Where does the water go? Stormwater management in the solar energy future

Decarbonize: The Clean Energy Podcast

09/28/22 • 85 min

Are solar farms a threat to water quality or a community asset? How can we create a solar-friendly permitting process that also enhances water and ecosystem services for the host community?
Thanks to the PV-SMaRT project funded by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Solar Energy Technology Office, we are excited to debut the first solar-specific national study on stormwater dynamics and modeling. Project members include Great Plains Institute (GPI), DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Fresh Energy, and the University of Minnesota.
The team used field research on five existing ground-mounted photovoltaic (PV) solar sites across the United States, three-dimensional hydrologic modeling, and feedback from solar developers, site managers, state and local regulators, and other stakeholders to assess the opportunities. And results are flooding in!
Based on the project’s findings, researchers have now developed a stormwater runoff calculator tool and best practices recommendations for local and state permit officials and solar industry practitioners. Tune in to this webinar, recorded on September 28, 2022, for more details from hosts Fresh Energy, GPI, and NREL and special guests for the inside scoop on how the tool has worked so far.
Meet the speakers:
Brian Ross, GPI
Dr. David Mulla, University of Minnesota
James McCall, NREL
Todd Smith, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency
Robert L. Goo, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Water
Lee Strait, EOR
Moderator: Briana Kerber, Fresh Energy

Energy + Health: Part 3 of Fresh Energy's 2022 Summer Webinar Series

Decarbonize: The Clean Energy Podcast

07/21/22 • 71 min

Energy and climate issues play out across our society—in books and film, institutions of higher learning, our democracy, and in the very air we breathe.

Once again this July, Thursdays are Fresh Energy summer webinar series days! Register here to join Fresh Energy and special guests for four fun and engaging discussions about the many facets of energy in our lives.
From tailpipe emissions, to natural gas in our homes, to other reliance on fossil fuels, air quality across Minnesota is impacted. How can we incorporate health impacts of energy decisions? Fresh Energy's Margaret Cherne-Hendrick, senior lead for innovation and impact, sat down with Emma Hines from RMI, Theresa "Tee" McClenty from MN350, and Jessie Carr Shmool from the Minnesota Department of Health to discuss.
P.S. Register to join us at the Fresh Frolic on August 24 at The Market at Malcolm Yards!
Meet the Panelists:
Emma Hines | she/her | RMI

Emma Hines is an Associate in RMI’s Carbon-Free Buildings program, where she works on the climate, health, and air quality co-benefits of building electrification. Prior to joining RMI, Emma participated in a two-year fellowship with the Climate and Health Program at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). She also previously served as a member of the teaching faculty for the Climate Change and Health Online Certificate Program with the Yale School of Public Health.

Theresa “Tee” McClenty | MN350

Tee has witnessed the impact of the climate crisis first-hand. Her youngest son was born with asthma and continues to experience complications from it as a young adult. This story, she knows, is not unique. Many communities of color are hardest hit by the negative impacts of climate change. Tee joined MN350 in 2022 in a continuation of her career as a servant for all communities. She has dedicated her life to ensuring that all communities have ALL the resources available provided to them. She has worked more than 18 years in emergency medicine, seeing first-hand the impact of climate on people’s health.

Jessie Carr Shmool | she/her | Minnesota Department of Health

Jessie Carr Shmool is an environmental epidemiologist at the Minnesota Department of Health, where she leads the Environmental Health Tracking and Biomonitoring programs. Jessie earned her MPH in environmental health policy from the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University and DrPH in environmental epidemiology from the University of Pittsburgh, where her training focused on air pollution epidemiology, cumulative exposure assessment, GIS and spatial statistics, community-engaged research methods, and environmental health disparities.

This webinar was made possible by Great River Energy (Gold Sponsor) and Sunrun (Bronze Sponsor).

Thank you

Beyond Representation: Equity in climate and energy journalism

Decarbonize: The Clean Energy Podcast

02/09/22 • 59 min

As news organizations focus more attention on environmental justice, what steps can they take to ensure they’re truly serving the communities they cover? In this virtual panel discussion, we talk to both journalists and advocates from Energy News Network, Grist, and the Midwest Building Decarbonization Coalition about what equity in climate and energy journalism should look like, and what steps news organizations can take to move in that direction.
Panelists:

Audrey Henderson, reporter, Energy News Network
Rukiya Colvin, freelance writer
Marnese Jackson, co-director, Midwest Building Decarbonization Coalition
Adam Mahoney, reporter, Grist
Moderator: Ken Paulman, director, Energy News Network

Listeners can stay up to date on Fresh Energy's work via our once monthly email list, blog at www.fresh-energy.org, or by following us on Facebook and Twitter. You can support Fresh Energy’s work for a clean energy Minnesota by making a donation today!
Stay informed on what's happening regionally and nationally in the transition to clean energy with the Energy News Network. Subscribe to the Energy News Network's daily email digests and original reporting, covering the U.S., the Midwest, Southeast, Northeast, and Western regions. Support ENN's work with a donation.

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FAQ

How many episodes does Decarbonize: The Clean Energy Podcast have?

Decarbonize: The Clean Energy Podcast currently has 73 episodes available.

What topics does Decarbonize: The Clean Energy Podcast cover?

The podcast is about Clean, Power, Energy, Podcasts, Green, Education and Science.

What is the most popular episode on Decarbonize: The Clean Energy Podcast?

The episode title 'Unpacking climate finance—Fresh Energy at COP27 in Egypt' is the most popular.

What is the average episode length on Decarbonize: The Clean Energy Podcast?

The average episode length on Decarbonize: The Clean Energy Podcast is 57 minutes.

How often are episodes of Decarbonize: The Clean Energy Podcast released?

Episodes of Decarbonize: The Clean Energy Podcast are typically released every 17 days.

When was the first episode of Decarbonize: The Clean Energy Podcast?

The first episode of Decarbonize: The Clean Energy Podcast was released on Jan 8, 2020.

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Decarbonize: The Clean Energy Podcast

Fresh Energy

Top 10 Decarbonize: The Clean Energy Podcast Episodes

FAQ

How many episodes does Decarbonize: The Clean Energy Podcast have?

What topics does Decarbonize: The Clean Energy Podcast cover?

What is the most popular episode on Decarbonize: The Clean Energy Podcast?

What is the average episode length on Decarbonize: The Clean Energy Podcast?

How often are episodes of Decarbonize: The Clean Energy Podcast released?

When was the first episode of Decarbonize: The Clean Energy Podcast?

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