DER Task Force

Buckle up, this is a long one. But when we’re talking about a revolution of this magnitude, how could it not be?We couldn’t help ourselves once we sat down with Daan Walter, principal of Ember, to unpack how solar and batteries are fueling the electrotech revolution, why it’s happening faster than anyone expected, and what this looks like far beyond the U.S.This disruption is all about cheaper, better technology winning the day across the entire stack, from generation and storage to how we consume energy. It’s particularly interesting in emerging markets, where energy is evolving like smartphones did—leapfrogging traditional infrastructure.As global oil supply disruptions have reclaimed the front page because of the war in Iran, this episode is a refreshing deep dive into the inevitable future where solar is the dominant supply of energy.And if you need some visuals to dig into, check out the Ember team’s post for us on the electrotech revolution in 10 charts and not too many numbers. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.dertaskforce.com/subscribe

We’re back! This time with a solo pod. We continue our tradition of talking about New Year’s resolutions, unpacking DERVOS ‘25, and looking ahead to DERVOS ‘26 and beyond. We feel we’re at the start of a new epoch—rather, DERcade—so we try to tee up the key themes and what we’re interested in exploring for the next 10 years.We get into what’s up at Scale and David Energy, permissionless DERs, scalability, affordability and electricity being the super topic on the national stage in ‘26 for the first time, how it’s going to be real weird and messy, electrostates being The Thing, institutional decay in the US and on the grid, nimbyism and how some states are going to get left behind, building mainstream narratives, AI and data centers, and so much more! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.dertaskforce.com/subscribe

Our final discussion of DERVOS 2025 was a panel on the ramifications of electricity becoming the primary lever of economic and geopolitical might.If you’re listening to this as a podcast, keep in mind that the full video is available on our website www.dertaskforce.com and Youtube channel.This year James solidified the newfound tradition of saving the arguably wonkiest discussion for the end of the day. It did not disappoint. The topic at hand is the emergence of electrostates, where electricity is the dominant energy input to a nation’s power and security. There is no question that China will likely be the first electrostate. In the first half of 2025 alone, for instance, it built about 250 GW of solar, more than twice as much solar capacity as the rest of the world combined (in May alone, it built an eye-popping 93 GW).It’s not just about renewables build out. China owns and has mastered the electrotech stack, argues Impluse’s Sam D’amico, which includes lithium-ion batteries, magnets and electric motors, power electronics and embedded computing. But that doesn’t mean it’s not happening in the U.S. Here it is unsurprisingly messier, slower, and certainly hampered by our fossil fuel riches. Grab some popcorn for hot takes on how this plays out here and around the globe.Speakers:* Drew Baglino, Founder and CEO, Heron Power* Tristan Doherty, Chief Product Officer, LG Energy Solution Vertech* Sam D’Amico, Founder and CEO, Impulse* Daan Walter, Principal, Ember Futures* James McGinniss - Founder and CEO, David Energy This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.dertaskforce.com/subscribe

Our third discussion of DERVOS 2025 was a panel on how the hell we’re going to deploy and orchestrate a massive new fleet of distributed energy systems to fill a rapidly growing electricity demand gap.If you’re listening to this as a podcast, keep in mind that the full video is available on our website www.dertaskforce.com and Youtube channel.DERs are kind of having a moment. Whether you call their orchestration virtual power plants, distributed power plants, or think both those descriptions suck, the reality is that there’s a convergence of technology and need for energy assets that can be deployed quickly.No longer a cute side show (duh), DERs are being deployed at scale. This discussion brings together folks with the battle scars of early days of DER deployment who are leading the charge now that affordability and capacity constraints are the calling card of the day. Come for the deep dive on program design, stay for the shade thrown at California.Speakers:* Ryan Long, Executive Vice President, Xcel Energy* Seth Frader-Thompson, Co-Founder and CEO, EnergyHub* Dana Guernsey, co-founder and CEO, Voltus* Chris Rauscher, VP of Grid Services & Electrification, Sunrun* Moderator - Colleen Metelitsa, Senior Director, Strategy, Scale Microgrids This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.dertaskforce.com/subscribe

Our second discussion of DERVOS 2025 was a panel on a revolutionary new class of distributed energy systems that require little to no permission to install.If you’re listening to this as a podcast, keep in mind that the full video is available on our website www.dertaskforce.com and Youtube channel.We’ve been talking about permissionless DERs on the pod for a long time, so it seemed only right to bring together some of the folks on the forefront of this class of technology to talk about who wants it, how to get it to them, and what it means for the grid.While this may be new fangled technology here, Germans have been plugging in solar panels into wall sockets for the past few years. So many Germans, in fact, that there’s more than 4 million households who have one of these units.Oddly, the permissionless revolution started in earnest in the U.S. in Utah, which was the first state to codify the rules for these DERs. But that’s just the beginning. Check out the discussion on which states are next, what utilities and standards organizations think about it, and why you should think of plug-in solar and storage as just another appliance in your home, and how these systems are relevant to commercial and indstrial energy users as well.Speakers:* Cole Ashman, Founder & CEO, Pila Energy* Bala Ramamurthy, Co-Founder and CEO, Critical Loop* Stephan Scherer, co-founder, Craftstrom Solar* Kevin Chou, Co-founder & Executive Director, Brightsaver* Moderator, Duncan Campbell, VP, Data Center Solutions, Scale Microgrids This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.dertaskforce.com/subscribe

We kicked off the first discussion of DEROVS 2025 with a panel titled “Big DERs Energy”.If you’re listening to this as a podcast, keep in mind that the full video is available on our website www.dertaskforce.com and Youtube channel.The AI-power nexus isn’t just the domain of energy nerds these days, but we brought some together anyway to go deep about what role DERs play as data centers proliferate. Google’s Hallie Carrao noted speed to power is essential, and that’s where behind-the-meter and distributed solutions come in. Can the regulatory system adapt fast enough for smarter and faster planning? Given the load volatility of data centers, is there any way that batteries don’t have a large role to play? To what extent will data center load itself act as a DER? What role might direct current play? Watch the whole panel to get into the weeds on the energy topic even normies are talking about.Speakers:* Hallie Carrao, Technical Program Manager, Advanced Energy Labs, Google’s Advanced Energy Labs* Sean Jones, Sr Staff Business Development Manager, Megapack for Data Centers, Tesla* Tyler Norris, James B. Duke Fellow, Duke University (now at Google)* Vic Shao, Founder & CEO, DC Grid* Moderator - Duncan Campbell, VP, Data Center Solutions, Scale Microgrids This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.dertaskforce.com/subscribe

Note: This presentation has been distributed in video and audio-only versions. We reccomend watching the video version on our website or Youtube to see the visuals.We’ll be releasing all the DERVOS content soon, and what better teaser than Jesse’s incredible keynote.Jesse’s presentation makes the case that solar energy isn’t just growwing and abundant — in the long run, everything other than solar is simply a rounding error, and thus harnessing solar energy is the key unlock for advanced civilization.Jeese makes his case methodically and quantitatively, walking through the logic step by step, and addressing common counter-arguements. By the end of this presentation we promise you that, even if you don’t fully agree, you’ll walk away with a thorough understanding of solar energy and will be glad you spent the 13 minutes listening.Take the solar pill… we think you’ll like it. And stay tuned for the rest of the DERVOS content coming your way!About the speaker: Jesse Peltan is on a quest to help humanity unlock a Type 1 civilization. For those who aren’t familiar, Type 1 refers to the Kardashev scale, a way of benchmarking a civilization’s technological prowess based on the amount of energy it harnesses. Type 1 specifically refers to a point on this scale where a civilization controls all of the energy flows available on its home planet, whereas Type 2 and Type 3 start to get very science fiction.About DERVOS: If you want to learn more about what went down this October, we just posted a long recap of the event written by DERTF OG John Atkinson that you can read here. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.dertaskforce.com/subscribe

We’re back (minus Colleen who was on vacation), this time with Seth Frader-Thompson, the CEO and co-founder of EnergyHub. Many don’t realize that EnergyHub has built what may be the largest VPP platform in North America, nearly entirely with vertically integrated utilities.In addition to getting the inside scoop on how they pulled this off, we discuss EnergyHub’s intriguing VPP capabilities framework called the Huels Test, how VPPs can at times be better than a traditional power plant, why they focused on vertically integrated markets, and a whole lot more.We also spent a ton of time getting into the weeds of starting companies in our industry, finding PMF, pivoting, leadership styles, etc. Anyone building in this space should take notes.Btw, if you’re enjoying this episode you should definitely check out DERVOS 2025, our annual event that’s all about distributed energy and the energy industry broadly. Rumor has it Seth with be making a special appearance. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.dertaskforce.com/subscribe

Strap in for an episode where DERs go almost entirely unmentioned. Instead, we talked about nuclear, degrowth, climate change, communication over the internet, AI, and the future broadly with Isabelle Boemeke.Isabelle is the creator of Isodope and founder of Save Clean Energy, and new book Rad Future is about to be released on August 12th. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.dertaskforce.com/subscribe

We’re back! This time with Cole Ashman, Founder and CEO of Pila Energy. Permissionless DERs are one of most exciting new categories for us. With all the focus on permitting challenges, high soft costs, and long interconnection cues, what if we could just install DERs without all of that nonsense?In the ep, we talk about Cole’s journey from experiencing Hurricane Katrina awakening him to the need for resilience to working at Tesla, Span, and now Pila, Ben Franklin shocking people at parties, whether permissionless batteries have actual physical advantages over grid-tied batteries, how backfeeding into circuits works and what permitting reform could look like, balcony solar, storage manufacturing and supply chains, and so much more!Note: we had a bad connection between our recording device and computer, leading to a bunch of skips. Our fearless editor did his best to clean these up, but some may remain. This also means we can’t post the video because it messed with the timecodes. Sorry! We’ll do better next time. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.dertaskforce.com/subscribe

We’re still laughing that we actually did this pod. Why it seemed like a good idea to book two of our favorite (outspoken) people, Jigar Shah (most recently led the DOE LPO) and Tim Hade (co-founder Scale Microgrids), at the same time continues to confound us.With two legends on the couch that each have a wealth of knowledge, it was basically impossible to ask them everything we wanted. It was probably one of the most fun recordings we’ve ever done, so we’re psyched to share it with everyone.We usually list everything we talked about, but its was way too wide ranging to even begin summarizing. Just sit back and enjoy the ride. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.dertaskforce.com/subscribe

We’re back with our longest pod ever! And deservedly so. When you get Lisan al Gaib on the couch, you use all the time you have to pick his brain. Jesse Peltan is one of our favorite thinkers in the entire space, and his brilliant insights are endless. We probably need another 3 hours with him to get even more out!In it, we discuss: the fundamental resource availability of various energy sources, what 24/7 solar + storage at $3/w means, China’s explosive solar installation and manufacturing growth, the real rate limiters on nuclear and solar, opportunities for DC (versus AC) power use, and much much more. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.dertaskforce.com/subscribe

After a brief haitus to focus on 2025 planning, we’re back! Last week we sat down with Astrid Atkinson, CEO and co-founder of Camus Energy. We talked about all kinds of fun stuff: how this moment of grid expansion is like the expansion of cloud services, how it isn’t, how we can connect large loads faster via flexibility, where Astrid sees the grid going, how Camus started, what cool new stuff Camus is working on today, the nuance between distributed systems versus decentralized systems, and more. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.dertaskforce.com/subscribe

Last week we sat down with Dana Guernsey, co-founder and CEO of Voltus. There was A LOT to talk about in this one. As you’d expect we went deep on Dana’s backstory, the history of DR, new DER participation models, and where we think the future is headed. But also, Voltus just went through a settlement with FERC and this was Dana’s first podcast appearance since, so we did our best to understand what happened and what the Voltus position on it all is. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.dertaskforce.com/subscribe

We’re back! And this time, we’re starting a holy war. Duncan launched an amazing paper on solar (wow, total sleight of hand! Don’t you mean GAS BACKUP?) microgrids for data centers with Stripe’s climate team and other DERTF OGs like Kyle Baranko, and some big names on Twitter lost their s**t.Tune in to hear about the churches of Matt Yglesias, Mark Z Jacobson, and Alex Epstein, who our maud’dib is, how heat DERvos was, what ‘25 is all about, and so much more! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.dertaskforce.com/subscribe

DERVOS, 10/25/24, NYCDemand growth has returned to the US electricity sector for the first time in two decades and the cracks are showing in the system. Reindustrialization, electrification, and the AI juggernaut have catapulted us into a new era. New loads are suddenly having trouble getting grid connections, interconnection times for new generation keep growing with no end in sight, and transmission and distribution costs are escalating faster than ever. And yet, technology costs continue to plummet. Will the demand growth story of the 2020s look radically different than that of the 1950s?Speakers: Ari Matusiak (Rewiring America), Astrid Atkinson (Camus), Jesse Pelton (Type 1 & Abundance Institute), Andy Lubershane (EIP)Moderator: Duncan Campbell (DER Task Force & Scale Microgirds) This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.dertaskforce.com/subscribe

DERVOS, 10/25/24, NYCNew energy technologies can thrive or die due to regulatory policy. This unbelievable policy panel will feature regulators who have actually supported new technologies and advocates who have successfully fought for paradigm-shifting policies. We know we have great technologies--this panel will explore how we get them to scale.Speakers: Allison Clements (FERC), Marissa Gillett (CT PURA), Arushi Sharma Frank (Luminary Strategies, former Tesla)Moderator: Allison Bates Wannop (DER Task Force) This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.dertaskforce.com/subscribe

Where else can you witness a pot of water boil in just a few seconds, learn about a micro nuclear reactor that skips boiling water altogether, insane AI-powered electro-cartography, and SpaceX-caliber EV charging infrastructure?Tons of companies applied to showcase their products at DERVOS and DER Task Force selected these four because, well, they are badass.* 0:00 - Impulse Labs* 6:10 - Westinghouse eVinci* 15:50 - Paces AI* 27:20 - Electric EraIf you’re listening to this as a podcast, we highly suggest going to www.dertaskforce.com to watch the video version!And don’t forget about tomorrow’s NYC meetup at 6:30 @ 200 Varick Street. See the meetup calendar here for always up to date info. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.dertaskforce.com/subscribe

DERVOS, 10/25/24, NYCDavid Roberts (Volts podcast) and Mary Powell (CEO of Sunrun and DER legend) will sit down in a “fireside chat” style session to review the past year and chart a course for the future of DERs as two giants in our space.Speakers: David Roberts (Volts) and Mary Powell (Sunrun) This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.dertaskforce.com/subscribe

DERVOS, 10/25/24, NYCRenewables have been breaking many of the mechanisms in our power markets, irrespective of structure. Across energy only, IRP, and capacity markets, we have been seeing "weirdness" in price action and regulatory responses as solar and wind continue to dominate new installs. It’ll be an acronym stew: from PCM and RUC buying in ERCOT, adjusting ELCCs in PJM leading to capacity prices 10x'ing, to NEM 3.0 in CAISO. We want to contend with what this means today and then try to map a path into where it all leads tomorrow. Will these existing structures adapt, or will something new emerge?Speakers: Jacob Mays (Cornell), Brian Bartholomew (REV Renewables), Eric Goff (Goff Policy), Andy Reger (PA Consulting)Moderator: James McGinniss (DER Task Force & David Energy) This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.dertaskforce.com/subscribe

DERVOS, 10/25/24, NYCTim Hade is the co-founder of Scale Microgrids and the godfather of DER Task Force. He’s been an inspiration to so many in our community, so we couldn’t think of a better person to kick us off at DERVOS this year.After this keynote we heard someone say “I’m ready to run through a wall for Tim” and we can’t claim to have felt any differently. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.dertaskforce.com/subscribe

A truly wild story is unfolding in Pakistan. Over the past few years the country has become the globe’s third largest importer of Chinese solar panels, and yet none of the resulting projects are operated by, or even visible to, the national utility.Simultaneously, demand from the grid has dropped 9.1% over the past 12 months, which has many scared of a potential utility death spiral.Here’s a recent story in the Financial Times on what’s been going on that’s good background.To unpack this, we sat down with Jenny Chase of Bloomberg New Energy Finance. She has been chasing down this story since 2021, when she was the first to report on it.Jenny is also the OG solar analyst and knows more about this space than pretty much anyone. We highly suggesting scrolling through her annual “Opinions About Solar” megathread on twitter.On an unrelated note, DERVOS tickets are selling fast. There’s less than 15 left at the discounted price, so snag yours quickly. Final speakers, sessions, demo-day participants, and more to come out shortly. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.dertaskforce.com/subscribe

We’re back! This time with Nic Freschi, Senior Associate at Gable Associates and all around PJM wizard. Nic is a friend and OG member of the DERTF. Almost a year ago, Nic’s models began predicting the ~10x increase in PJM capacity prices we saw in the recent auction. How did he know?In this ep, we go deep on every acronym you could ever imagine: ELCC, ORDC, PCM, LSERO, UCAP, ICAP, and so much more. Tune in to learn how ELCCs work, how prices clear in the PJM auction, if renewables can ever proliferate in capacity markets, the future of PJM, whether private traders or public bureaucrats should have their hands on the “ELCC dials”, comparing and contrasting ERCOT to PJM, James getting PJM-pilled, and so much more! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.dertaskforce.com/subscribe

Last week we were lucky enough to sit down with Arushi Sharma Frank, the policy wizard who while at Tesla Energy helped turn Texas into one of the DER capitals of the world. She gives us the in depth history of of how ERCOT’s VPP program was forged — a story our co-host James was also a part of. We also talk about the rest of her time at Tesla, case studies in Australia and the UK, how regulators still don’t understand organic consumer adoption patterns, the Obamacare of power markets, where residential DERs are headed, and what Arushi is focusing on now with Luminary Strategies. Recording this episode was super fun, so we hope you enjoy it as well. Pretty sure Arushi re-DER-pilled the three of us during this one. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.dertaskforce.com/subscribe

We’re back! This time with Charlotta Holmquist, President and Co-Founder of Blixt. Blixt is based in Sweden and just closed a fundraise led by Union Square Ventures. Their solid state circuit breaker and x-verter technology have the potential to fundamentally change how we approach building the grid.We’ve never left a conversation so excited about what the future could look like. We discuss everything from transformers for data centers, what the benefits of solid state power electronics are, the implications of them, the possibility of “flexible” interconnections, and so much more. Tune in for one of our favorite episodes in recent memory! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.dertaskforce.com/subscribe

We’re back for our first solo pod in months! We talk about what everyone is talking about these days… VPPs and load growth from AI. Is all this hype and talk about our space a good thing? Tune in to hear the Task Force unpack and set the narrative straight. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.dertaskforce.com/subscribe

We’re back, this time with Allison Bates Wannop, DERTF’s policy lead! We cover an absolute ton of stuff in this one:* Allison's background and introduction, Mother's Day acknowledgments* Mary Powell's influence, DER advocacy, the significance of FERC v. EPSA in shaping energy policy* Favorite DER categories, Vermont initiatives, impact of extreme weather on policy, details about the Green Mountain Power programs* Differences between RTOs and ISOs, complexities in regulatory work, challenges with vertically integrated states* DER Task Force goals and approach, community-driven policy development, the impact of virtual meeting technology in policy advocacy* Role of trade associations and NGOs, gaps in current DER advocacy, examples of community collaboration innovative solutions* Load flexibility, redefining Virtual Power Plants (VPPs), DERs as non-wires alternatives, peaker plant replacements This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.dertaskforce.com/subscribe

Last week we sat down with Dave Riess, the CEO and co-founder of Wunder. They’re working hard to scale mid-sized commercial solar projects, where they believe the real TAM is in this market. Dave is an awesome guy who’s been grinding in the space for years now, so we naturally had a ton to talk about.* (00:02:55) Introduction and Guest Overview: Introduction of the hosts and the guest, David Reese, co-founder, and CEO of Wonder (formerly Wonder Capital).* (00:07:33) Network-Based Energy Infrastructure: Discussion on evolving energy infrastructure to a more network-based architecture.* (00:40:42) Commercial Solar Market Challenges: Analysis of why the commercial solar market isn't scaling more quickly.* (00:50:25) Pricing and Merchant Exposure: Examination of pricing strategies and the risks of merchant exposure in solar projects.* (00:57:49) Reducing Transaction Costs: Strategies to streamline the underwriting, structuring, and de-risking processes in solar projects.* (01:27:39) DERs and Market Dynamics: Insights on the role of Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) and their impact on the energy market.* (01:34:42) Future of the Grid: Speculations on how the main grid might evolve or shrink in favor of the grid edge.* (01:45:03) Technology Development vs. Deployment: The imbalance between resources allocated to technology development and deployment.* (01:46:06) Solid-State Power Electronics: Potential impact of solid-state power electronics on grid infrastructure.* (01:47:24) Energy Market Evolution: The slow evolution of the energy market and the role of capitalism in driving change.* (01:48:38) Solving Energy Problems: Identifying and addressing the primary constraints in the energy market.* (01:50:15) Transformer and Power Electronics: Discussion on transformers, power electronics, and their role in future energy systems.* (01:50:59) DC Microgrids and EV Charging: Potential benefits of DC microgrids and advancements in EV charging technology.* (01:51:34) Capital and Risk Management: Matching capital with the risk profile of solar assets and the importance of certainty in asset performance.* (02:00:39) Revisiting Past Technologies: Reflection on past technological advancements and their relevance today.* (02:01:25) Deployment Focus: Emphasis on the importance of focusing on the deployment of existing technologies.* (02:12:35) CSP 2.0 for Data Centers: Exploration of CSP 2.0 technology for providing clean power to AI data centers.* (02:14:36) Opinions on Emerging Technologies: Mixed views on the potential success of emerging energy technologies like CSP 2.0.* (02:11:57) Solar and AI Data Centers: Discussion on the announcement of a new project for AI data centers using solar thermal energy. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.dertaskforce.com/subscribe

We’re back! This time with Casey Handmer, founder and CEO of Terraform Industries. Terraform is building a system to turn cheap solar electricity into methane. To pull this off they’ll need to commercialize the most performant and lowest-cost electrolysis, carbon capture, and Sabatier reactors ever seen. Casey had a ton of interesting thoughts about how to pull this off from engineering fundamentals in a manner that is tailored to the capacity factor of solar. We also get into the history of the energy industry, space, incumbency, electricity versus gas distribution networks, utility-scale DERs, and a ton more. This is one for the true energy nerds! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.dertaskforce.com/subscribe

We’re back! This time we sat down with Quincy Lee, CEO and co-founder of Electric Era, an electric vehicle refueling company. Quincy has a super cool background - starting with designing skyscrapers, then moving on to space technology, and now he’s der-pilled.We talk about all kinds of stuff in this one:* what SpaceX and Starlink were like* why EV charging, or whoops, we mean “car refill”* EV charging reliability* grid constraints limiting EV infrastructure* the role of social media in shaping public opinion on energy* the category isn’t ClimateTech or even EnergyTech - its GridTech* and Deep GridTech is here!* solid state power electronics, quantum-level stuff* where the hell are all the transformers we need?* Quincy: Gundo is “okay”, but come to Seattle* innovation at the grid edge* the grid edge strangler figging the grid?This is a free episode for all subscribers, but if you want access to everything we do and would like to support our work broadly, be sure to visit www.dertaskforce.com and become a paid subscriber for just $5/month. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.dertaskforce.com/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.dertaskforce.comWe’re back! This time with a VIDEO POD. We recorded this live at DTECH a few weeks ago and haven’t had time to upload it. But this is a fun one that you don’t want to miss.Not only did we finally find out what a DERMS is, but we also became fully converted distribution utility maxis after walking the show floor. We’re all quitting our jobs and starting hardware companies with the Gundo boys! Tune in to hear why!The is a paid episode for the real DERTF heads. If you appreciate our work and want to support it, all while getting access to exclusive paid content, consider subscribing at www.dertaskforce.com.

We’re back, this time joined by Jesse Jenkins - professor at Princeton and lead of the Zero Lab. We cover a ton of ground in this one, including:* Jesse’s DERs journey, including skepticism at times and optimism at others.* A ton of discussion on rate design.* Jesse’s recent pod on rooftop solar.* How the hell is rooftop solar so expensive here versus Australia?* Where DERs are unfairly advantaged and disadvantaged.* How we’re going to deal with load growth, transmission buildout, interconnection queues, etc.The is a free episode, but if you appreciate our work and want to support it, and get access to exclusive paid content, consider subscribing at www.dertaskforce.com. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.dertaskforce.com/subscribe

We’re back! This time with Lynne Kiesling, Director of the Institute for Regulatory Law & Economics (IRLE) at Northwestern University.Lynne is an Economist who has been working on power systems issues since the early 2000s, with a focus on power markets, transactive energy, and “quarantining the monopoly” as she says.Lynne was a panelist at DERVOS, as paying subscribers know from our previously released episode. We felt her Hayekian perspective (distributed, emergent, local) rounded out those from Matt Huber (big, planned, federal) and Pier LaFarge (distributed, planned, local), and she graciously agreed to jump on the pod to dig in.This is a free episode for all subscribers, but if you want access to everything we do and would like to support our work broadly, be sure to visit www.dertaskforce.com and become a paid subscriber for just $5/month. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.dertaskforce.com/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.dertaskforce.comBack in November we threw DERVOS, our annual distributed energy summit. It turned out awesome. We really couldn’t be happier or more grateful for how it went. The panels and speakers were great, the crowd that turned up was amazing, and the vehicle to rave afterparty was super fun.Because the talks and panels went so well, we’ve decided to release the r…

We’re back! This time we sat down with Pier LaFarge, co-founder and CEO of Sparkfund. Those who listened to the DERVOS recording released last week may remember Pier pitching a utility-led DER deployment model. It was a pretty interesting idea that we felt deserved its own deep dive on a pod, so we invited Pier on to make the case for what is likely a very counterintuitive DERs approach for many in the space. In the episode he envisions a world where utilities determine the best locations for DERs on the grid, design the systems, provide them via RFP, rate base them, and then use them to make tripling grid throughput cost effective. This of course brought up all sorts of discussion about natural monopolies, emergent outcomes, utility death spirals, price signals, socialization, cost of capital, and more. Hope you enjoy! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.dertaskforce.com/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.dertaskforce.comBack in November we threw DERVOS, our annual distributed energy summit. It turned out awesome. We really couldn’t be happier or more grateful for how it went. The panels and speakers were great, the crowd that turned up was amazing, and the vehicle to rave afterparty was super fun.Because the talks and panels went so well, we’ve decided to release the r…

Tune in for a chat on why ‘24 is TIME TO DER. Duncan and James reflect on the past 5 years before looking ahead at 2024 and beyond—and why the future is so exciting.We re-hash Dervos, retro our ‘23 new years resolutions, state our ‘24 resolutions, look back on the last 5 years in the space and where it is now, the current tech environment, building energy startups vs. thinking about energy, energy tech vs. climate tech, if CA grid failures are a canary in the coalmine for other regions, and so much more!PS Sorry for the hiatus… we’ll be recording frequently in the new year. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.dertaskforce.com/subscribe

We’re back! This time with a perfect warmup for DERvos in a few days with DERTF OG Ben Carron. Ben has not only worked for FERC, Nat Grid, SunRun, E3, and now Enel X, but also was one of the earliest presenters at our original, pre-pandemic “DG Beers” happy hours.We wanted to have Ben on to get back to our energy market wonkery roots, so don’t worry—you won’t hear any stuff about twitter culture discourse on this ep. In it, we talk about the early “DG Beers” days, dunkelflaute, James’ take that maybe market structure doesn’t matter all that much for DERs, Ben’s take how maybe geography is more important than market structure, a reminder that ultimately DERs need to stand on their own merits, different schemes of crediting T&D vs. energy/capacity benefits, if renewables can thrive in a capacity market, trusting the deal-making nature of all governance structures, and so much more about what the hell else who knows! We barely even understand ourselves. Tune in to bathe in the wonkery! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.dertaskforce.com/subscribe

We’re back! And this time just Duncan and James to talk about weird twitter discourse again! Sorry… we promise we’ll go back to talking about wonky energy stuff in the next episodes.In this ep, we talk about Duncan’s Dad’s epic utility pole story, James’ other less successful business ventures, announcing the first ever V2R (Vehicle 2 Rave) application at DERvos, Marc Andreesen’s manifesto and Sam Altman on Joe Rogan, their (and the e/acc movement’s) views on energy and environmentalism, comparing that to MMA environmentalism, the religious quality to all of this, our belief in balance, our hopes for new envrionmentalism, the myopic focus of the discourse on carbon, chaos theory, complexity science, and so much more! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.dertaskforce.com/subscribe

We’re back! Well, 2/3 of us are. In the first ever duo episode, Duncan and James wade deep into CDR, degrowth meme analysis, more thoughts on nuclear, and corporate environmentalism.They talk about climate week, CDR, the narrow focus of mainstream environmentalism on carbon and where the tree huggers at, comparing the popular memes of population decline and “we used to build things”, the opportunity cost of raising kids, the opportunity cost of building beautiful things, embedded growth obligations, right wing twitter, an extended meditation on these ideas and on how the hell they connect to power markets and nuclear, SMRs and data centers, and last but definitely not least…. the Apple ad!! And so much more. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.dertaskforce.com/subscribe

We’re back! And this time we peeled away from climate week events to record a late night ep with self-proclaimed Nuclear Bro, Mark Nelson. Grab a drink for this marathon of an episode and sink in as we wax poetic about one of our favorite religions, Nuclear Power. And we mean that in the best way.Tune in as we discuss Mark’s journey into nuclear and James’ journey away from it, early 10’s nuclear reddit, how the nuclear movement has evolved over time, how shutting down nuclear plants is as tragic as chopping down great sequoia trees, frame how to think about the political economy of nuclear and why Lazard LCOEs are bogus, how US power markets are not really markets, why centrally planning nuclear is ok, Mark’s questioning if electricity is even a commodity at all, why nuclear advocates should be dogmatic, how the nuclear dream is something worthy to aspire to, what nuclear’s path back to prominence is in the US, and so much more! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.dertaskforce.com/subscribe

We’re back! And this time with a solo ep, for free! Going forward, we’re un-paywalling all eps and going NPR style: PLEASE think about donating $5 anyways. Here’s why: We are launching a policy team! The policy team will be focusing on enforcing the DERTF Bill of Rights. In order to do that, we need to raise money to pay a part-time or full-time policy lead. We’ll be doing this in two ways: through soliciting sponsorships to DERvos, our summit on Nov 9 (buy your ticket!). And hopefully, through your subscriptions, starting at $5 a month.In an ideal case, we could raise ALL our money through community subscriptions, which would ensure we never get captured by corporate interests, or this or that business model. In classic DERTF fashion, we want the ability to be a bit brash, state what we believe to be true and fair as clearly as possible regardless of what powers that be may not like it… It’s a lot easier to remain truly committed to the cause by getting funding from you all instead of some external interest.It’s worth noting that we’ve never taken a dollar out of this, and if anything we’re significantly in the red. All funds brought into the task force get routed back into the community somehow, and we intend for that to always be true.Anyways, in this ep, we talk about arguing about climate change risk, the cold dimes square event we went to, Steven Donziger, how to think about climate risk as a climate optimist, Tesla being a blackberry at best, where we are in the tech cycle with DERs, why we don’t feel bad reading bad climate headlines anymore or really think about climate, why we don’t like doomery nature shows, a new environmentalism, eating organic before the MMA fight, an extended conversation on things we know little about: pesticides, food, seed oils, oat milk, etc, and so much more! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.dertaskforce.com/subscribe

We’re back! This time with Nick Van Osdol of “Keep Cool”, who is… pretty damn cool himself. Nick has a refreshing perspective and lens on climate reporting: equal parts skeptical, optimistic, empathetic, and rational. If only more people could engage like he does.In this wide-ranging ep we talk nuclear fusion, how to think about climate risk, if we should mess around with geo-engineering, Maersk psyops, gene editing trees to be better at carbon sequestration, whether or not nature is spiritual, God, whether a carbon tax makes sense, and so much more! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.dertaskforce.com/subscribe

We’re back! And this time we hosted OG DERTF Heads James McWalter (the better James) and Kyle Baranko from Paces at the David Energy HQ. They are working on one of the gnarliest problems in the entire clean energy space: permitting and interconnection. We go deeeep on the problem, so you don’t want to miss this. We are massive fans of them and what they’re building, and had so much fun recording this!Tune in if you want to hear us go down memory lane on early DERTF days, Kyle and James’ favorite DERs and how they got DER-pilled, private wires, homesteading, solar grazing, why the permitting and interconnection problem even exists, hosting capacity maps, how Paces can help, the journey to founding climate cos, what it’s like being in YC and if more climate founders should do it, the Fractal Grid, creating the clearing price for virtual wires, Sheldon Kimber, utility scale DERs, and so much more! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.dertaskforce.com/subscribe

We’re back! And this time with THEE GOD Julian Spector. It’s our longest episode ever because we just couldn’t help ourselves going in with a member of the OG GTM Mafia. It’s worth it. Julian just had some super rad reporting on how the South is building a vibrant clean energy manufacturing hub, and we sat down to discuss. We nerd out on this one for the real DERTF heads!So settle in on the Fourth of July and hear all about how AMERICA might be becoming a clean energy industrial powerhouse, Julian’s trip through the south eastern US chronicling the new hub of American clean energy manufacturing, us getting nostalgic about the GTM days, how Canary differs (and is also rad), discuss the difference between munis and public power, Duncan’s crazy idea for the future of distribution infrastructure, defining clean energy abundance, the evolution of da discourse, empathetic DJs, and so much more! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.dertaskforce.com/subscribe

We’re back! And this time with Alfred Johnson, Founder and CEO of Crux. Crux just raised a seed round led by Lowercarbon Capital and is building a marketplace to help climate companies unlock billions in IRA tax credits. If you want to understand the IRA, look no further!We nerd out on everything from the ins and outs of transferability, what the democratization of tax credits means, who stands to benefit, step ups, and how the IRA actually works to more macro musings on the intersection of gov’t, tech, and finance, what the IRA really accomplishes, what the downsides could be, what keeps us up at night, and so much more! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.dertaskforce.com/subscribe

We’re back! And this time with Matt Huber, an absolute legend and advocate for centralized public power. This was a different ep, but one of our favorite in awhile.In it, we talk about Marxist geography, how bizarre peak oil discourse was, the coming shift to electricity from oil, becoming un-DER-pilled, the possibilities of a centrally-planned decentralized grid, comparing (never before built) neolib renewable supergrids to (ole, proven and trusty) socialist nuclear heavy grids, the inability of tech-y “libertarians” to make cogent arguments around nuclear, SMRs vs big old school nukes, bodega batteries, putting the hard sell on Matt to re-derpill him, all before a huge shift in gears to discuss the future of the global petro-industrial complex, labor and industrialization in the US, utilities vs public power, and so much more! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.dertaskforce.com/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.dertaskforce.comWe’re back with a solo ep! And yeah, this one is paid. The NYT wrote an article on decarb bros and we have some thoughts. Tune in to listen to us talk about our first ever eco rave in LA right after we serve up a taxonomy of bros and their varying ethics: the decarb bro, the nuke bro, the bernie bro, the tech bro, the renewable bro, the frat bro, the br…

We’re back! This time on a FULLY SOLAR POWERED POD with absolute legends Corey and Xtina of the Solar Punks Club. We threw the first proper Eco Rave—a solar + storage powered party—at their HQ in LA. Tune in to hear us chat about it the night before the event, and check out more from the day of here.We talked about how they got DER-pilled as non-energy people (big shouts to Saul Griffith!), putting together the largest fully solar powered camp at burning man, using culture as the tip of the spear to DER pill more youths and drive electrification, decarbonizing the entertainment sector, how many millions are spent on diesel to run festivals, how festivals and entertainment have become more about excess than abundance, what abundance mindset really means, the neuroticism of extraction based cultures, solar punk vs cyber punk, creating art with purpose, what punk is in 2023, being optimistic about optimism, and so much more! It’s ultimately just a long discussion on why we think eco raves are so important. Xtina and Corey are GOATed beyond belief, and we plan to do a lot more of these. Enjoy! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.dertaskforce.com/subscribe

We’re back! This time with John Berger, the CEO and Founder of Sunnova. Sunnova is not only one of the largest solar and storage installers in the country, they are also one of the most innovative in their offerings to customers. From VPPS in Texas to free batteries and micro utilities in CA, Sunnova is setting the tone for a distributed future. Tune in to hear how John views consumer choice and deregulation, incentives, the continued progression of the space, VPPs, the value of resilience, private wires, the evolution of the utility model, what customers want from DERs, and so much more!This is a fun one that we’ve wanted to do for some time, and not even a power outage in the middle of a conversation about utilities’ obligation to serve could stop us. Were we angering the utility gods, or was it some sort of divine intervention to illuminate the importance of DERs? Spooky stuff, but we must remain undeterred in our quest to DER-pill more youths. Tune in and decide for yourselves! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.dertaskforce.com/subscribe