All Episodes
Volts — 449 episodes
Building a big, abundant, clean grid
Is there way more conventional geothermal than we thought?
Best of August 2026
How to respond to disinformation about clean energy, at scale
Could we use Trump's tricks to make good green policy?
Making data centers flexible so they can serve the grid rather than stress it out
Why can't utilities innovate?
He helped Uruguay decarbonize. Can he help other countries do the same?
Can public EV chargers be as reliable as gas stations?
Another bipartisan housing miracle, this time in Idaho
Grid cybersecurity: how big is the threat & what should we do about it?
What should state policymakers do about data centers?
Best of July 2026
Silicon anodes for batteries unlock greater energy density and faster charging times
Should we feel good about the trajectory of clean energy post-Trump?
The US is terrible at building public transit. Here's how to get better.
Making sense of the data center backlash
Spreading the good news about electrification
Want less sprawl and more urban infill? Try a land value tax!
Forcing utilities to justify their distribution-system spending
A key Arizona race will test clean energy's electoral power
How to keep people cool without making the planet even hotter
America's flagship automaker enters the home energy market
Can the UK stay the course with its climate plans?
Why is NERC so worried about data centers?
This oil shock won't be like the others
Are plug-in DERs going to spark a grid revolution?
Giving clean electricity a political voice of its own
A limited defense of Biden's everything-bagel industrial policy
How to phase out residential gas equitably
Sooner than you think, electricity is going to be cheap, abundant, and boring
Telling the story of the grid
Electrifying industrial steam with heat pumps
The case for using prices rather than VPPs to coordinate distributed energy
Streamlining the difficult work of whole-home retrofits
Enabling ordinary people to invest in renewable energy projects
The big stories from the last year in electricity
Life as a clean energy journalist in an age of madness
Climate finance, interrupted
Doing data centers the not-dumb way
Ruggedized solar power for the hard places
Why climate funders don't fund housing policy, and why they oughtta
Rethinking climate regulation from the ground up
Using more of the grid we’ve already built
Should we block some sunlight to cool the planet?
For data centers, a little flexibility goes a long way
The high-stakes battle over energy affordability in New York
A Tesla vet tries to master the VPP market
How to design a brand-new city
Is the brand new city in California for real?
The fate of fossil fuel systems in the "mid-transition"
Volts/Catalyst pod crossover: the biggest questions in clean energy
What is PJM and why is everyone so mad about it?
Can fake meat help solve climate change?
Are utilities making too much money?
So, how's the climate doing?
Taiwan's energy dilemma
All about "reactionary centrism"
How to make rooftop solar power as cheap in the US as it is in Australia
Let's dig a little deeper into virtual power plants (VPPs)
Making the electricity grid work like the internet
What's the deal with closed-loop geothermal?
NYC's congestion pricing has been running for a year now. How's it doing?
Sen. Brian Schatz wants permitting reform, but not like this
What's the real story with Australian rooftop solar?
The cure for misinformation is not more information or smarter news consumers
Sen. Ruben Gallego has a new energy plan
Advocating for decarbonization in 2026
California warms up to a larger Western energy market
How Illinois passed its third big clean-energy bill in a decade
What's going on in electricity world?
What's the deal with balcony solar?
Clean electrification is inevitable
What's the deal with indoor air quality?
How to make a market for distributed energy flexibility
So, there were some elections. How'd they go?
Octopus extends its tentacles into America
Hey governors: you can salvage sustainable transportation, but you need to do it quick!
Michael Liebreich on a "pragmatic climate reset"
The escalating battle over renewable energy certificates (RECs)
Can "second life" EV batteries work as grid-scale energy storage?
Yes, you weenies: a war on cars
How to get New York back on track toward its climate targets
Seattle mayoral candidate Katie Wilson on governing a blue city in 2025
Super-deep geothermal drilling ... with microwaves
Pay attention to the most important political race of 2025
Can advance market commitments jumpstart climate’s hardest sectors?
Could we get hyperscalers to buy heat pumps for households?
How to clean up beer brewing and other low-temperature industries
How can Africa benefit from the critical-minerals rush?
Are we finally getting 3D-printed batteries?
The debate over renewable energy certificates (RECs)
How inverters can stabilize a renewables-heavy grid
What's the deal with sodium-ion batteries?
Climate philanthropy in a time of Trump
What does clean energy activism look like?
Trump's latest attempt to save coal
What the FEOC?
A fireside chat with Jigar Shah
US transit costs and how to tame them
Ann Arbor's experiment with a new kind of utility
What's going on with electric boats?
Solar+storage is so much farther along than you think
Trump's big bill: How bad is it and what comes next?
A closer look at Montana's housing "miracle"
PG&E tries to prove that a big utility can innovate
Can data centers be good grid citizens?
Reducing the climate impacts of food and farming
The fight to build faster in California
Rep. Mike Levin reflects on the Republican budget bill
A win for transit-oriented development in Washington state
Sen. Martin Heinrich on the fight over clean energy in the Senate
Making electric motors better
A journey from clean-energy wonkery to influencer fame
How to reduce the impact of mining
What the F is happening? Part 3
Parking reform in Washington, parking reform everywhere!
The past and future of community choice aggregation
A "Google Maps for electrons"
Embedding intelligence at the edge of the grid
Taming the hydrogen hype
Trying to bring geothermal heat pumps to scale
How is public transit doing in the US?
The coolest new home electrification widget
The governor of Illinois discusses decarbonization in the era of Trump
Me, on the Climate Papa podcast
What's up with hydrogen-electric aviation?
What the F is happening? Part 2
How is decarbonization going in the UK?
What in tarnation is going on in Texas?
What's up with clean energy in Finland?
How is clean electricity doing globally?
What's up with clean-energy supply chains and global trade?
The view from inside DC, with Rep. Sean Casten
Mailbag episode - March 2025
What's going on with public power in New York?
Canada's largest sustainable community takes shape
Making sure smart devices can talk to each other and the grid
Who is paying for all that data center power?
Why housing is a pass/fail question for climate
The fate of the EV tax credits
What the F is happening?
Pakistan's solar boom
The Massachusetts utility regulator trying to orchestrate a shift away from gas
What YIMBYs are learning from their victories across the country
Austin's quest to reach net zero
Catching up with enhanced geothermal
What's the deal with enhanced rock weathering to store CO2?
The cybersecurity implications of a clean-energy grid
Chris Hayes on the attention economy
What's the deal with pumped-hydro energy storage?
Assembling diverse resources into super-powered "energy parks"
Organizing local support for clean energy projects
Thermal energy networks are the next big thing
The promise of residential VPPs
Should we put utilities in charge of distributed energy?
Time to stop taking hydropower for granted?
Can we avoid the enshittification of clean-energy tech?
Climate change and insurance: a growing fustercluck
Checking in on local and state climate races
Electrifying big trucks
Dan Savage on blue America in the age of Trump
Residential solar is becoming residential solar + storage + VPP
How railroads could boost the US energy transition
How is electrification going?
Tying utility profits to actually doing a good job
The Department of Energy has gotten serious about technology commercialization
Digging into one of this year's most important-but-overlooked clean energy elections
What Allison Clements thinks about the grid
What's the deal with the Texas Railroad Commission?
A closer look at Pennsylvania, the swingiest of swing states
A new way to retrofit old buildings ... from the outside
How the Biden investments are changing America
A tool that enables solar-first home electrification
This new organization wants to remake PUCs for the energy transition
Developing a supply chain for American-made batteries
How to activate climate voters
EV charging for urban neighborhoods
How is new clean-energy manufacturing affecting red & purple states?
The prospects for offshore wind in California
Free the smart-meter data!
Colorado governor Jared Polis on recent climate, energy, & housing wins
How to cram EV fast chargers into tight urban spaces
What's the deal with perovskite solar?
What's the deal with burning wood pellets for energy?
What's the deal with Passive House?
EV charging for those without a garage
How are we going to decarbonize shipping?
Electrolyze everything!
What's up with solid-state batteries?
A clever new way to distribute storage on the grid
Hey schools, go get your IRA tax credits!
Heat pumps with thermal batteries
New York's congestion pricing fiasco
What's up with electric aviation?
Washington Governor Jay Inslee on his last big climate fight
Are markets the right tool for decarbonizing electricity?
Wrapping our heads around AI and climate
Making mini-grids work in sub-Saharan Africa
Making carbon-free steel with clean electricity
FERC's new rule and other exciting transmission news
Using a Moneyball approach to elect state & local climate champions
Making heat pumps better, easier, and a little sexier
Envisioning a more democratic, bottom-up energy system
How climate change is portrayed in popular culture
What you need to know about the new EPA power plant standards
The energy transition's 5 supervillains and 5 superheroes
Making geothermal heat pumps work for big buildings
Rising electricity demand requires new gas plants? Not so fast.
Why "transferable" tax credits are such a big deal
What's going on with China these days?
Fashion's climate impact and how to reduce it
How much can urban land use policy do for the climate?
How the EPA will spend $27 billion in carbon-reduction funds
Now is the time for distributed energy
Biden sets out to supercharge industrial decarbonization
What's the deal with these methane satellites?
What's the deal with "scope 3" emissions?
Getting ready for IRA 2
How's IRA doing?
Industrial policy: what it is, how Biden's doing it, and how it could be done better
The obscure but extremely important battle over building codes
So you want to electrify your home
Nuclear? Perhaps!
The Democrats' new consensus bill would supercharge transmission
The current state of unions in America
Another hot rocks company gets in the storage game
One easy way to boost the grid: upgrade the power lines
Electrifying battery recycling
Michigan targets clean electricity and faster permitting
Transitioning off of fossil gas in Australia
The Chevron Doctrine: what it is and why it matters that the Supreme Court might kill it
A Connecticut reformer is shaking up utility regulation
Decarbonizing a sprawling university system
Volts podcast: Will Toor on Colorado's burst of clean energy policy
We are closing in on zero-carbon cement
Getting better at mining the minerals needed for clean energy
What's going on with offshore wind?
Getting local communities on board with renewable energy, Australia edition
The Farm Bill is the most important climate bill this Congress will pass
A note to subscribers on Volts' third anniversary
Checking in on solar power
Managing a distributed grid
FERC is about to make some very important decisions about transmission
An insider's view of the Biden years in clean energy policy
The cheapest way to permanently sequester carbon involves ... fizzy water
What rural people actually think about clean energy
The Volts/Catalyst pod crossover you didn't know you were waiting for
What? The sun isn't always shining?!
What's the deal with district energy?
What's the deal with Iceland?
Reflecting on 20 years in political journalism
A super-battery aimed at decarbonizing industry
Minnesota forces transportation planners to take climate change seriously
The campaign for public power in Maine
How climate activists can help get things built
How to accelerate rooftop solar & household batteries in the US
Getting more out of the grid we've already built
Volts podcast: the immense promise of a federal green bank, with Reed Hundt
Grid-scale batteries do not currently reduce emissions. Here's how they could.
The progressive take on the permitting debate
Discussing disinformation and media with Matt Sheffield
Me, on an Australian pod
A conversation with Saul Griffith
What's the deal with Australian climate politics?
Volts podcast: the challenges of building transmission in the US, and how to overcome them, with Liza Reed
What's the deal with interconnection queues?
Voluntary carbon offsets are headed for a crash
Enhanced geothermal power is finally a reality
What's next for clean energy and climate mitigation
The depthless stupidity of Republicans' anti-ESG campaign
How can AI help with climate change?
Making shipping fuel with off-grid renewables
Steps toward a unified electricity market in the western US
Will the US have the workforce it needs for a clean-energy transition?
Everyone agrees Democrats suck at messaging. How can they do it better?
Transcripts and a live event
Maryland finds a more just & politically durable way to fund offshore wind
California's coming transit apocalypse
How to make small hydro more like solar
The trouble with net zero
It's up to states to implement IRA. Are they ready?
A clean energy transition that avoids environmentally sensitive land
Washington state Democrats are tackling the housing crisis
Getting rooftop solar onto low- and middle-income housing
Building a movement that can take full advantage of the IRA
The wonky but incredibly important changes Biden just made to regulatory policy
What's going on with hydropower?
The importance of upcoming EPA regulations on power plants
The many social and psychological benefits of low-car cities
What's going on with biofuels?
What's going on with geothermal?
We're about to give billions of dollars to clean hydrogen. How should we define it?
Why electrifying industrial heat is such a big deal
What the midterm elections mean for climate & energy
Putting more climate philanthropy toward economic and racial justice
How big business sold America the myth of the free market
Clean energy's yearly report card
Taking carbon out of the air and putting it into concrete
How to think about solar radiation management
Meet the author of Biden's industrial strategy
The digital circuit breaker and why it matters
Minnesota sets out for zero-carbon electricity by 2040
Utilities are lobbying against the public interest. Here's how to stop it.
Decarbonizing US transportation with an eye toward global justice
Getting electric school buses in the hands of school districts
What's the deal with electrolyzers?
On the abuse (and proper use) of climate models
Fine, we're doing gas stoves
Me, talking about fusion and clean energy revolutions
On writing an ambitious and terrifyingly realistic novel about climate change
An energy provider attempts to achieve 24/7 clean energy
Which technologies get cheaper over time, and why?
Cute pictures of my pets! (And also a fundraiser)
Reflecting on the work of the soon-to-retire House climate committee
The right-wing groups behind renewable energy misinformation
Induction stoves with batteries built in, and why they matter
The state of the lithium-ion battery recycling market
Working on the cheapest possible lithium-ion battery
Life as a traveling musician in the 21st century
Me, interviewed by Brits
Lessons from a life in progressive PR
Germany's current energy situation & its past energy choices
Coal plants are still getting financed, despite pledges otherwise
What to think about deep-sea mining for clean-energy minerals
Why social change is so excruciatingly difficult
Making sure electric vehicles help rather than hurt electricity grids
Making it easier to build distributed energy in the places where it's most needed
Me, talking about my story and my takes on perennial climate debates
Puerto Rico's electricity crisis
The extraordinary potential value of enhanced geothermal power
Learning curves will lead to extremely cheap clean energy
Volts podcast: David Hsu on the grassroots policy that lets communities control own energy supply
Volts podcast: Jack Lienke & Kirti Datla on the ridiculous (but extremely important) EPA case before the Supreme Court
Volts podcast: Erin Mayfield on the massive consequences of Build Back Better
Focusing on the climate actions that can make a real difference
The long, sordid (ongoing) tale of California's biggest utility
What's up with Manchin's plan to reform energy permitting?
Talking through the Inflation Reduction Act with Don't Look Up director Adam McKay
Diving further into the Inflation Reduction Act: Part Two
Diving further into the Inflation Reduction Act: Part One
Some thoughts on the Inflation Reduction Act
Volts podcast: how to get urban improvements done quickly
Volts podcast: when transmission planning actually goes well
Volts podcast: what to make of the Democrats' last-minute climate bill
Volts podcast: a music festival that treads lightly on the earth
Volts podcast: how Biden can address climate change through executive action
Volts podcast: David Wallace-Wells on the ravages of air pollution
Volts podcast: Lori Lodes on climate activism and the path forward
Volts podcast: Jay Duffy on the Supreme Court's EPA decision
Volts podcast: Charles Marohn on unsustainable suburbs
Another note to readers
Volts podcast: Kimberly Nicholas on the best ways to get cars out of cities
Volts podcast: Dan Pfeiffer on the Democratic Party's megaphone problem
Volts podcast: Johannes Ackva on effective climate altruism
Volts podcast: Dr. Ye Tao on a grand scheme to cool the Earth
Volts podcast: Chris Hayes on how his politics have changed since 2015
Volts podcast: Danny Cullenward on California's shaky climate plans
Volts podcast: Abigail Hopper on the trade case that is crushing the US solar industry
Volts podcast: Lauren Melodia and Kristina Karlsson on energy inflation and how to tame it
Volts podcast: Jesse Morris on building an operating system for distributed energy
Volts podcast: Doug Thompson defends the deep state
Volts podcast: Andy Frank on how to sell whole-home retrofits to skeptical consumers
Volts podcast: Fran Moore on how to represent social change in climate models
Volts podcast: Nan Ransohoff on how (and why) Stripe is kick-starting the carbon-removal market
Volts podcast: Michael Terrell on Google's pursuit of 24/7 clean energy
Volts podcast: Horace Luke on decarbonizing the world's two-wheelers
At long last, I have an EV
Volts podcast: Elizabeth Popp Berman on the "economic style of thinking" that consumed US policy
Volts podcast: Paulina Jaramillo on the IPCC's new climate-solutions report
Me, on the Some More News podcast
Me, interviewed by Noah Smith
Volts podcast: Matthew Metz & Janelle London on gasoline superusers & smarter EV subsidies
Volts podcast: Audrey Schulman and Zeyneb Magavi on how to replace natural gas with renewable heat
Volts podcast: Rob Harmon on how to scale up energy efficiency
The lovely Ford Mustang Mach-E and the danger of electric cars
A note to readers
Volts podcast: Gerald Butts and Catherine McKenna on Canada's carbon tax
Volts podcast: Rebecca Dell on decarbonizing heavy industry
The minerals used by clean-energy technologies
Volts podcast: using DOE loan guarantees to accelerate clean energy, with Jigar Shah
Volts podcast: Panama Bartholomy on decarbonizing America's buildings
Do dividends make carbon taxes more popular? Apparently not.
Minerals and the clean-energy transition: the basics
Volts podcast: me and Adam McKay in an exciting podcast crossover event
Volts podcast: Jason Bordoff & Meghan O’Sullivan on the geopolitics of clean energy
Volts podcast: "Don't Look Up" director Adam McKay on the challenges of making movies about climate change
Climate legislation and Congress: the current state of play
Volts podcast: how the left can suck less at messaging, with Anat Shenker-Osorio
The year in federal climate politics and what lies ahead
Don't Look Up: the first good movie about climate change
Volts one-year anniversary: a letter to readers
24/7 carbon-free energy: everything in one place
The long-term promise of 24/7 carbon-free electricity
Is 24/7 carbon-free energy the right goal?
Don't get too bummed out about COP26
An introduction to energy's hottest new trend: 24/7 carbon-free electricity
Volts podcast: Amy Westervelt on disinformation and propaganda
Can the US reach Biden’s climate goal without the CEPP?
Volts podcast: the good news about clean energy, with Kingsmill Bond
A rant about economist pundits, and other things, but mostly economist pundits
Volts podcast: all about methane, with Sarah Smith of the Clean Air Task Force
Taking an Uber or Lyft just makes everything worse
Illinois' brilliant new climate, jobs, and justice bill
Volts podcast: 20 years of solar advocacy, with Adam Browning of Vote Solar
A close look at the clean energy legislation offered by House Democrats
Volts (guest) podcast: an episode of Know Your Enemy on living with climate change
Volts podcast: Sen. Tina Smith on the promise of a Clean Electricity Payment Program
West Virginia needs the Biden energy agenda
Economists have quantified the economic risks of climate "tipping points." It's grim.
Crunch time: this is America's last chance at serious climate policy for a decade
There's real long-duration energy storage now. Can it find a market?
Subsidies really do matter to the US oil & gas industry -- one in particular
Volts podcast: Rep. Sean Casten on Hot FERC Summer
Volts podcast: rampant environmental rule-breaking and how to fix it, with Cynthia Giles
On climate policy, there's one main thing and then there's everything else
Volts podcast: treating fossil fuels like nuclear weapons, with Tzeporah Berman
There is no "moderate" position on climate change
Volts podcast: Saul Griffith and Arch Rao on electrifying your house
Long-duration storage can help clean up the electricity grid, but only if it's super cheap
Volts podcast: Adam Jentleson on how to make the US Senate work
Rooftop solar and home batteries make a clean grid vastly more affordable
Volts podcast: Will Wilkinson on libertarianism, pluralism, and America's political crisis
Volts podcast: Sunrun CEO Lynn Jurich on the promise of electrification
Battery Week: everything in one place
Volts podcast: battery analyst Chloe Holzinger on the possible futures for lithium-ion
Competitors to lithium-ion batteries in the grid storage market
Volts podcast: Washington Rep. Joe Fitzgibbon on the Evergreen State's excellent new climate laws
Washington state now has the nation's most ambitious climate policy
US electricity emissions are halfway to zero
The many varieties of lithium-ion batteries battling for market share
A primer on lithium-ion batteries: how they work and how they are changing
Why lithium-ion batteries are so important
Biden's tax plan goes after the little fossil fuel subsidies, but not the big ones
The coolest parts of Biden's expansive infrastructure plan
The most important job ahead for Democrats
Voltscast: Jesse Jenkins on energy modeling
Lessons from the Texas mess
Transmission month: everything in one place
Transmission month: two more ideas to quickly boost the transmission grid
Transmission month: how to make the existing grid work better
Transmission fortnight: burying power lines next to rail & roads to make a national transmission grid
Transmission week: how to start building more big power lines
Transmission week: why we need more big power lines
A few interesting bits of news
Voltscast: How to decarbonize the electricity sector through budget reconciliation
What the Georgia Senate wins do (and don't) mean for climate policy
Why I am a progressive
The first Volts podcast!