Grounded: a Podcast by the Oregon Department of Energy

On our latest episode of Grounded, we’re talking solar energy and virtual net metering in Ashland, Oregon. Stu Green, the City of Ashland’s Climate and Energy Analyst, talks about the city’s bold strategy for expanding access to renewable solar electricity to more Oregonians.

Ashland is committed to fighting climate change, and was an early adopter of solar policies in the 1980s – they are walking the talk to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve community resilience.

Visit energyinfo.oregon.gov for photos and helpful links.

Learn more about our work at www.oregon.gov/energy.

Music: “If” by Broke for Free.

freemusicarchive.org/music/Broke_For_Free/Layers/If

For our latest episode of Grounded, we are in Southern Oregon at Rogue Disposal and Recycling. This episode was a fun one to record on site at Rogue’s White City transfer station – so don’t be surprised if you hear a collection truck or two traveling by!

It might seem unusual to be talking garbage and landfills on an energy podcast, so get ready to geek out about some of the amazing things this company is working on to improve its services, harness energy, and protect its environment.

Visit energyinfo.oregon.gov for photos and helpful links.

Learn more about our work at www.oregon.gov/energy.

Music: “If” by Broke for Free.

http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Broke_For_Free/Layers/If

On our latest episode of Grounded, Alan Johnston, Senior Engineer for the City of Gresham Wastewater Treatment Plant, is with us to talk about the plant’s operations (everybody poops!), and how they’ve implemented energy projects onsite that end up producing more electricity than the plant can even use. Gresham has also become the first certified facility for Renewable Energy Certificates for thermal energy. ODOE REC expert Rebecca Smith joins the episode later to talk about what that means.

Visit https://energyinfo.oregon.gov for photos and helpful links.

Learn more about our work at https://www.oregon.gov/energy.

Music: “If” by Broke for Free.

http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Broke_For_Free/Layers/If

We’re in Northeast Portland this week, talking to Carolina Iraheta Gonzalez, Verde’s Community Energy Advocate. Verde is part of the Living Cully collaborative, an effort to boost sustainability as an anti-poverty strategy in the Cully neighborhood. Living Cully released its Community Energy Plan earlier this year – Carolina tells us about in this week’s episode.

Visit https://energyinfo.oregon.gov for helpful links.

Learn more about our work at www.oregon.gov/energy.

Music: “If” by Broke for Free.

http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Broke_For_Free/Layers/If

We are in Lebanon, Oregon this week, interviewing Brian Trice, Executive Director for the Columbia Willamette Clean Cities Coalition, a nonprofit focused on boosting alternative fuels in our state.

Brian dives in to the Coalition’s work in Oregon, how the Advanced Transportation Technology Center at Linn-Benton Community College plays a role in alternative fuels, and his upcoming Green Transportation Summit & Expo. Not to mention: an epic race battle between Ford F-150 and a Nissan Leaf.

Visit https://energyinfo.oregon.gov for photos and helpful links.

Learn more about our work at www.oregon.gov/energy.

Music: “If” by Broke for Free.

http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Broke_For_Free/Layers/If

Grounded is back with a new season – and we are jumping right in with the fascinating, innovative work NuScale Power is doing in Corvallis, Oregon.

NuScale was borne from research funded by the U.S. Department of Energy through Idaho National Environment & Engineering Laboratory, with support from Oregon State University. Today, the company is nearing certification from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for its small modular nuclear reactor technology.

Dr. Jose Reyes, NuScale co-founder and Chief Technology Officer, joins us for today’s episode to talk about NuScale’s work and what it means for worldwide energy – and what it could mean for Oregon.

Visit http://energyinfo.oregon.gov for helpful links.

Learn more about our work at www.oregon.gov/energy.

Music: “If” by Broke for Free.

http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Broke_For_Free/Layers/If

When you flip on your light switch at home, do you ever think about where that electricity came from? Energy facilities like wind farms and power plants are spread out among our communities, producing energy to keep our state running.

The birth of an energy facility – and its lifespan – is dependent on a governor-appointed body by called the Energy Facility Siting Council. Their complex work is supported by staff at the Oregon Department of Energy.

On this latest episode, ODOE Siting Division Administrator Todd Cornett gives us an energy facility siting 101 lesson.

Visit http://energyinfo.oregon.gov for helpful links.

Learn more about our work at www.oregon.gov/energy.

Music: “If” by Broke for Free.

http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Broke_For_Free/Layers/If

For 18 years, Coyote Trails has been helping Oregon families – and beyond – reconnect with nature. In 2015, Coyote Trails became powered by the sun, thanks to a large solar pavilion installation at the School of Nature in Medford, Oregon.

On this episode of Grounded, Coyote Trails Nature Center Director Molly Kreuzman and True South Solar Owner/Sales Manager Shawn Schreiner tell us about Coyote Trails’ solar pavilion, and how it has helped the nonprofit achieve “net zero” electricity while offering important educational opportunities to Coyote Trails students.

Learn more and see photos of Coyote Trails Nature Center: energyinfo.oregon.gov

Learn more about us: www.oregon.gov/energy

Music: "If" by Broke For Free, freemusicarchive.org/music/Broke_For_Free/

The Cascadia Subduction Zone runs 700 miles along the Pacific Northwest coast – from northern California up to Vancouver Island. The Juan de Fuca plate is shoved up against the North American tectonic plate – eventually, the plates will give way, and North America will spring back with an earthquake anywhere from an 8.0 on the Richter Scale to higher than a 9… it’s known as a megathrust earthquake.

On this week’s podcast, Oregon Department of Energy Emergency Preparedness Manager Deanna Henry talks to us about Oregon’s Fuel Action Plan – and the steps we have in place to get much-needed fuel into the state for emergency responders and other essential services in a post-Cascadia Subduction Zone world.

Learn more about the Fuel Action Plan: energyinfo.oregon.gov

Learn more about us: www.oregon.gov/energy

Music: "If" by Broke For Free, freemusicarchive.org/music/Broke_For_Free/

On this week’s podcast, we continue our multi-part series on the Hanford Nuclear Site near Richland, Washington. Oregon Department of Energy Assistant Director for Nuclear Safety, Ken Niles, is back to talk to us about Hanford’s biggest cleanup challenge: millions of gallons of radioactive and chemically hazardous waste stored in underground tanks at Hanford.

Tune in to hear Ken talk tank waste, vitrification (mixing waste with glass-making materials), and the new dream of Hanford: to start the vitrification by 2036.

Learn more and see photos: energyinfo.oregon.gov

Learn more about us: www.oregon.gov/energy

Music: "If" by Broke For Free, freemusicarchive.org/music/Broke_For_Free/