More Power To You®️

This is the fifth and final episode recorded at last week’s 2017 International Offshore Wind Partnering Forum, or IPF, in Annapolis, Maryland.

This session is called “BOEM’s Path Forward.” It builds on the previous day’s remarks from Dr. Walter Cruickshank, Acting Director of the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, or BOEM. You can hear those remarks in episode 8 of More Power To You.

This episode gets into a lot more detail about BOEM’s activities and its approach for supporting the anticipated growth in offshore wind in the near future.  The session is moderated by Ross Tyler, Strategy and Development Advisor for the Business Network for Offshore Wind. The panelists are three senior BOEM leaders:

• Jim Bennett is BOEM’s Renewable Energy Program Manager and also supervises BOEM’s offshore wind leasing activity in the Atlantic
• Joan Barminski is BOEM’s Regional Director for the Pacific Outer Continental Shelf (OCS)
• Mike Celata is BOEM’s Regional Director for the Gulf of Mexico

Recorded April 21, 2017

Published April 28, 2017

We bring you this special episode of More Power To You from the 2017 International Offshore Wind Partnering Forum (IPF) held last week in Annapolis, Maryland. This session is all about power purchase agreements for renewable energy, with an emphasis on offshore wind. The session covers different ways in which PPAs are structured, how the corporate clean energy commitments are resulting in a spike in corporate PPAs, how regulators and policy makers are seeking to accommodate corporate PPAs, and what new developments may be on the horizon.

The panel is moderated by Mary Ann Christopher, Special Counsel, Energy Industry Team at Foley & Lardner LLP, and includes:

• Klair White, SVP, Ernst & Young Infrastructure Advisors
• Malcolm Woolf, SVP, Policy and Government Affairs, Advanced Energy Economy
• Ryan Hodum, Vice President, David Gardiner & Associates

Recorded April 20, 2017

Published April 27, 2017

This special episode of More Power To You brings you the presenters' opening remarks from the Financing Green Infrastructure session at the 2017 International Offshore Wind Partnering Forum (IPF) in Annapolis, Maryland. The three presenters are:

• Nick Gardiner, Head of Offshore Wind, UK Green Investment Bank
• Nigel Slater, Managing Director for Offshore Wind, UK Green Investment Bank
• Chris Moscardelli, Director, Energy Project Finance Group, Société Générale

The presenters discuss the challenges of meeting early wind farm financing needs and their view of the investor readiness to meet the future financing needs of the growing U.S. market. The presenters share their different investment perspectives, from the government mandated goals of the UK Green Investment Bank to the private energy lending goals of SocGen. This session took place just a few hours after Macquarie's purchase of the Green Investment Bank was announced.

A brief technical note about the audio: after the presenters finished their opening remarks at the podium, the session continued with a panel discussion which unfortunately was not captured on microphone. Therefore this podcast episode ends at the conclusion of the opening remarks.

Recorded April 20, 2017

Published April 25, 2017

In this special episode of More Power To You, we bring you the opening session from Day 2 of the International Offshore Wind Partnering Forum (IPF) in Annapolis, Maryland. Walter Cruickshank, Acting Director of the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management presents an overview of BOEM's activities and future outlook for offshore wind.

Recorded April 20, 2017

Published April 24, 2017

On this special episode of More Power To You, we bring you the full panel discussion from today's opening session of the 2017 International Offshore Wind Partnering Forum (IPF) hosted by the Business Network for Offshore Wind. The conversation is broad and deep, and covers the current offshore wind landscape from technology to politics to economics. The panel is moderated by José Zayas, Director of the U.S. Dept. of Energy's Wind Energy Technologies Office and includes these five thought leaders from Europe's leading offshore wind energy companies:

• Thomas Brostrøm, General Manager North America at Dong Energy Wind Power
• Gunnar Groebler, Sr. Vice President of Business Area Wind at Vattenfall
• Michael Hannibal, CEO of Offshore at Siemens Wind Power and Renewables
• Markus Rieck, Commercial Executive for Offshore Wind at GE Renewable Energy
• Peter Stabell, Managing Director for wpd offshore Denmark A/S

Recorded April 19, 2017

Published April 20, 2017

On this episode we cover the current landscape for nuclear energy and its prospects for the future. Matt Wald, Senior Communications Advisor at the Nuclear Energy Institute, joins the podcast to discuss the benefits of nuclear energy; how nuclear's economics and environmental aspects compare with other power sources; and the context and implications for Westinghouse's recent financial troubles and the recently announced closures of the Indian Point and Diablo Canyon reactors in New York and California. We close the podcast with a discussion about the future of Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) and the new politics of Yucca Mountain.

Recorded April 17, 2017

Published April 18, 2017

There’s no question that the way Americans produce and consume electricity is upending how utilities and large users are purchasing their current energy needs and planning for the future. 

Joining us to talk about this aspect of the energy transition is Eric DeVito, a principal at Stone, Matthies, Xenopoulos & Brew, a private lawfirm specializing in energy law. We discuss how distributed generation such as rooftop solar and electric vehicles are leading to electricity rate cases and industry debates about pricing; what impact the Trump administration may have on utilities' investment planning; what the long-term prospect is for new coal, natural gas and nuclear generation; and close with Eric's prediction about how long it will be before utilities and public utility commissions will need to grapple with changing their pricing structures.

Record date: April 6, 2017

Publish date: April 10, 2017

On this episode of the podcast we're heading down to the islands! Well, figuratively speaking, at least. Our guest is Christopher Burgess, Director of Projects for the Islands Energy Program, an initiative of the Rocky Mountain Institute and Carbon War Room. We discuss what the Islands Energy Program is and the challenge that spawned it; cover the current energy landscape in the Caribbean; discuss what types of renewables the islands are pursuing and how the Program is working to bring about that transition; discuss what this shift means for the future of local islanders and their economies; and close with Chris' prediction about renewable usage in the islands by 2025.

Record date: March 31, 2017

Publish Date: April 3, 2017

In this episode of More Power To You we're getting real about climate. Hal Connolly, Senior Vice President for Programs at the Climate Reality Project, joins the podcast to discuss the climate crisis and reasons for both pessimism and optimism about the current political dynamic. Hal discusses some of Climate Reality's key programs such as Climate Reality Leadership Training and the 100% Committed initiative; shares his perspective on what the new Congress and Administration may mean for climate funding and regulations such as the Clean Power Plan; covers some ways in which climate action and clean energy are gaining traction in communities around the country; and mentions Vice President Al Gore's next inconvenience. We close with Hal's prediction about achieving the emission targets set at the 2015 Paris Climate Conference.

Recorded: March 22, 2017

Published: March 27, 2017

Liz Burdock, Executive Director of the Business Network for Offshore Wind, joins the podcast to discuss the current landscape (or seascape) for offshore wind power. We cover the latest activity including lease auctions and awards up and down the East and West Coasts; speculate on the impact the Trump Administration and new Dept. of Energy secretary Rick Perry may have on wind power; preview the annual IPF (International Offshore Wind Partnering Forum) next month in Annapolis; and conclude with Liz's prediction about U.S. offshore wind capacity five years from now.

Recorded March 16, 2017 Published March 20, 2017