Power Flow

Maria Agazio is a sustainability and renewable energy professional who serves the rocky mountain region. She is the Co-founder of Equitable Solar Solutions(TM), a nonprofit program that reallocates discarded solar panels that still have a useful life by installing them in low income communities in an effort to close the gap in access to solar. She was awarded the Forbes 30 under 30 class of 2022 for her efforts.

She is passionate about preserving and restoring diverse, resilient communities that fit the needs of both the landscape and its inhabitants. She has a B.A in Environmental Sustainability a B.A in Business Administration and a minor in art from Western Colorado University. She is a LEED Green Associate, EcoDistrictsAP, and Post landfill Action Network certified Zero Waste Lead, and is pursuing a TrueAdvisor Zero waste certification.

Maria has worked with the global leader in waste diversion, Terracycle, on their zero waste box team and industrial design team. She has also worked with the second largest manufacturing company in America, Goodman, as a Sustainability and Energy Efficiency Lead for their multifamily and student housing division. Along side her role at ESS(TM) she currently works for a sustainability consulting and energy engineering firm called Iconergy. In that role she helps commercial and multifamily developers, architects and owners reduce their energy consumption through on-site renewable installations, energy modeling, commissioning, design review, and many other services centered around creating healthy, sustainable low polluting buildings. 

In her free time, she enjoys crafting pottery and cruising in her bio-fueled 1969 Chevelle.

Quotables

“It’s crucial that we are very delicate with our resources right now and that we are ensuring we are using every piece of the raw material that we pull out for good.” – Maria Agazio

“I just hope that we as a collective put a focus on the beginning processes of innovations where we are gathering raw materials and also the end process of innovations because its so crucial we are taking a holistic view of these wonderful innovations… because in twenty years, where is it going to go?” – Maria Agazio

“That’s the cultural shift that has to happen towards sustainability: We have to start thinking about where things go when we’re done with them – whether that’s the banana peel you just put in the garbage or a solar panel.” – Amy Simpkins

“A new solution can be built every day, so take the opportunity to really push those boundaries and challenge what traditional renewable energy looks like.” – Maria Agazio

 You can connect with Maria on LinkedIn.

If you enjoyed the conversation, please share the episode with other innovators. Leave us a positive review and subscribe to Power Flow on Apple podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. 

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Thank you for listening. See you at the whiteboard!

Nancy LaPlaca, J.D., is a regulatory policy consultant who has worked at the cutting edge of regulatory policies that affect clean energy. In 2006, Nancy challenged the permit for a so-called “clean” coal plant with carbon capture and sequestration. Nancy and colleagues helped to stop that boondoggle, as well as other “clean” coal boondoggles around the U.S. Nancy served as Policy Advisor to an AZ Public Utilities Commissioner for 4 years, helped to promote policies that increase solar, energy efficiency and other clean energy solutions. Nancy has worked on natural gas supply and reserve issues, natural gas pipelines, methane leakage, GHG accounting, rate design, renewable portfolio standards, transmission and distribution, power plant permits, Integrated Resource Planning and ethics issues.

Nancy offers a webinar series on the regulatory system for energy and how it affects the clean energy transition at Clean Aire NC.

Nancy has worked extensively with Leslie Glustrom of Clean Energy Action, featured on episode 1.05 of Power Flow ("On Citizen Power for the Climate Crisis.")  Leslie's episode inspired Power Flow listener Kelly to create 15minutesaweek.com - to support regular folks getting involved in energy policymaking with a commitment of just 15 minutes per week.  Check it out!  And get inspired by what the Power Flow community can do!

Quotables:

“They [utility companies] get away with it because so few people know how to access critical but extremely understandable information.” - Nancy LaPlaca

“The reason why I think the utilities are getting away with – literally with murder when you consider how we are murdering the future and killing the planet – is because we need this data. As far as I’m concerned, it’s a due process violation to not make this information available.” - Nancy LaPlaca

“Knowledge is power and data is knowledge.” – Amy Simpkins

“I still remember Leslie [Glustrom] getting escorted out of the room for saying the words ‘climate change.’” - Nancy LaPlaca

“It’s the regulators’ role to be watch dogs, not lap dogs.” - Nancy LaPlaca

If you enjoyed the conversation, please share the episode with other innovators. Leave us a positive review and subscribe to Power Flow on Apple podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Check out our awesome merch! And hey, we’re new, so you can even apply to be a sponsor or a guest.

You can follow Power Flow Podcast on LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Tik Tok. 

Thank you for listening. See you at the whiteboard!

Melanie Santiago-Mosier is an award-winning energy expert and thought leader, implementing a vision for diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice in and through clean energy. 

She is the Deputy Director for Clean Energy Group & Clean Energy States Alliance, sister nonprofits who provide technical expertise and independent analysis in support of communities and government leaders working for an equitable clean energy transition.  Melanie ensures the organizations pursue their highest strategic goals while embedding principles of equity into all areas of work.

Before joining CEG & CESA, she was the Managing Director for Access & Equity for Vote Solar, where she managed Vote Solar’s work to build equitable partnerships with frontline communities; oversaw collaboration with those communities to design and advocate for programs that open up solar’s opportunities and benefits; and supported the organization’s internal work to grow as an organization that welcomes and supports people from all races, genders, backgrounds, and identities.

She has advanced clean energy policy for over a decade, including leading the government affairs efforts for organizations such as the Maryland Public Service Commission and Washington Gas Energy Services, after serving as counsel and policy analyst for the MD General Assembly. She also served as a regional policy director for SunEdison.

In 2015, Melanie was named one of Maryland’s “Leading Women” by The Daily Record, MD’s premier business and legal news publication. In 2019, she was awarded a WRISE Honor for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion by Women in Renewable Industries and Sustainable Energy.  In 2020, she was named one of “MD’s Top 100 Women” by The Daily Record.  Melanie is an attorney licensed to practice law in Maryland. She holds her JD from the University of MD School of Law and her BA from St. John’s College.  She serves on a number of volunteer boards and is a volunteer mentor for law students.

Quotables

“We’re all rowing in the same boat. We’re going in the same direction. It’s all about how do we best build out the clean energy system of the future and help different people get there.”     
– Melanie Santiago-Mosier

“We are rebuilding the way that we do energy in this country, in the world. We are also simultaneously rebuilding the way we do work and the way we do business and doing that from a more equitable perspective, from a more justice-oriented perspective.” 
– Amy Simpkins

“Centering communities doesn’t mean coming and giving handouts to communities. Centering communities means being in a listening posture first and foremost.” 
– Melanie Santiago-Mosier

“Environmental racism is a real thing.”
 – Melanie Santiago-Mosier

Resources

Melanie recommends that you check out Vote Solar to find out how you can get involved in creating inclusive and expansive renewable energy policies.

Check out the Initiative for Energy Justice for more information on important energy equity and energy justice principles. And you'll also want to spend some time with the Jemez Principles, which according to Melanie are "foundational for climate justice work!"

Also mentioned: Emergent Strategy by adrienne marie brown

Thank you for listening. See you at the whiteboard!

An experienced and highly motivated business leader, Darryl Parker’s work in 57 countries makes him a leader in driving innovation across global, matrixed organizations and developing and executing strategies for complex organizations. He brings a strong entrepreneurial mindset, business acumen, passion for innovation and a true commitment to developing the talent around him to every role. He also designs sales and marketing programs that achieve financial targets and deliver beyond customer expectations.

Darryl shifted to renewable energy - specifically solar - from other high growth industries: high tech information systems and communications, leveraging the skills of guiding and growing organizations for his current role at Clean Energy Associates.

Prior to joining Clean Energy Associates, Parker held the role of Vice President, Sales and Marketing for Ampt, a PV power electronics business where he oversaw the global sales and field application engineering team, delivering significant customer value and 10X sales growth over the past five years.

He holds undergraduate degree in electrical engineering and an MBA in global management.

Quotables

“The grid has always been an amalgamation of multiple types of energy generation.” – Darryl Parker 

“It’s so interesting to watch the evolution as people start to transform their knowledge from one form of energy generation to another.” – Darryl Parker

“You know when the ‘go big or go home’ guys are getting involved that the industry has real momentum.” – Amy Simpkins 

“It’s just power. It’s just electrons running on a wire that helps us run our daily life. And how we get it the fastest, cheapest, most economical way- whatever. Let’s just do that! And make it available to everyone.” – Darryl Parker

If you enjoyed the conversation, please share the episode with other innovators. Leave us a positive review and subscribe to Power Flow on Apple podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Check out our awesome merch! And hey, we’re new, so you can even apply to be a sponsor or a guest.

You can follow Power Flow Podcast on LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Tik Tok. 

Thank you for listening. See you at the whiteboard!

Puja Vohra is the Director of Business Strategy at Slipstream, where she focuses on leading the expansion of Slipstream's clean energy programs and services in the Northeast. Puja has twenty years experience in energy efficiency and sustainability in the built environment, strategic planning for utility program design, green building technology research and energy policies.

Prior to Slipstream, she was a principal analyst overseeing the commercial and industrial energy efficiency portfolio planning for National Grid’s Rhode Island programs. Prior to her utility experience she worked as an energy and sustainability consultant. 

She currently serves as a board member at MA Climate Action Network and serves a member of City of Newton’s Energy Commission, where she contributed her expertise towards Newton’s Citizens Climate Action Plan. Puja has a bachelor’s degree in Architecture and a Master of Science degree in energy and climate. 

Also referenced in this episode:

 https://www.amysimpkins.com/podcast/episode-1-14/

Quotables

“So much market transformation has to happen in order for us to start thinking about electrification that we are pretty much starting from scratch.” – Puja Vohra

“How do you change the mindset of the whole supply chain?” – PV

“How do you focus on clean energy that is affordable? Does it take into account the people who are actually going to be using that energy? Are we bringing their voices into the discussion when we’re designing policies and programs to serve clean energy to these people?” -PV

“Is it all just lip service that these working groups are finding out? Or will the states and the cities and the local governments actually take action - and be able to fix or at least address energy justice or energy equity - in a way that they haven’t done in the past?” -PV

“Reducing your utility bills should be the economic incentive that’s driving behavior toward reducing consumption.” – Amy Simpkins

“Your utility wants you to be happy. For real.” – AS


If you enjoyed the conversation, please share the episode with other innovators. Leave us a positive review and subscribe to Power Flow on Apple podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Check out our awesome merch! And hey, we’re new, so you can even apply to be a sponsor or a guest.

You can follow Power Flow Podcast on LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Tik Tok. 

Thank you for listening. See you at the whiteboard!

Here on Power Flow we do a lot of thinking about the future of energy. For Ahlmahz Negash, PhD, it's what she does every day for the City of Tacoma in her job as a long range resource planner. She's helping the city not only plan for clean sources of energy (which they already have in spades) but also plan for electrification - enabling vehicles, buildings, and industrial processes to move to those clean sources of energy. 

As a futurist, Ahlmahz is passionate about designing for agility and adaptability and counting on the fact that we'll have new knowledge available in the future and should expect our solutions to evolve along with that knowledge. 
 
 Ahlmahz is also a self-proclaimed "heart and mind" person and encourages us all to leverage the power of compassion to motivate us to create impact and build a better world.

Note: We discuss Episode 1.10 with Janette Freeman on the need to make personal change to find more impactful work.

Quotables

"We don't have any shortage of technology or economists, but what we could use a whole lot of are people committed to humanity, who want to see a future for everybody and not just themselves.”

“Can costs become a constraint and not just the objective all the time?"

"There is no greater compassion than worrying about the people that are going to be here that you'll never meet."

"We're sitting on this stockpile of clean energy. The best way we can move the city forward in its climate action plans is to electrify."

“It’s critical that we get a lot more input from the folks that are actually being impacted by the decisions that the utility makes.”

All above quotes by Ahlmahz Negash

This week’s guest

Ahlmahz Negash is currently a Senior Power Analyst at Tacoma Power in the Long-Term Resource Planning and Analysis group. Her role encompasses a wide range of activities including, leading cross functional teams, resource modeling, evaluating policy impacts, and developing innovative demand-side solutions. 

Prior to joining Tacoma Power, Ahlmahz was a research fellow at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim, Norway. She received her BS and PhD degrees in Electrical Engineering from the University of Washington in 2010 and 2015, respectively.

If you enjoyed the conversation, please share the episode with other innovators. Leave us a positive review and subscribe to Power Flow on Apple podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Check out our awesome merch! 

You can follow Power Flow Podcast on LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Tik Tok. 

Thank you for listening. See you at the whiteboard!

After a 10 year term at the National Renewable Energy Lab, Dr. Julieta Giraldez is working at the edge of technology and regulatory issues, at the edge of the utility, the energy policy, and the energy consumer. She is a facilitator of conversations that move clean energy projects forward. 

We talk about a lot of edges in this episode: between research and implementation, between the public and private sectors, between complexity and opportunity, and between the data and decision making.

Quotables

"Where the technical meets the regulatory is a very exciting space, because it means we are advancing societal good."

“The way we used to plan before was an extremely simple set of assumptions. Now, just to even answer a question, you need to consider twelve other things times ten other scenarios to actually understand the impact of what you’re trying to look at. It’s a complex space now and that excites me.”

-          All above quotes by Dr. Julieta Giraldez

“Complexity can feel scary or frustrating, but there’s also a ton of opportunity in complexity.”

“The way that we model things is still just a model. It can tell us important things about reality, but it’s never going to perfectly reflect reality.”

-          Amy Simpkins

This week’s guest

A leader in the renewable energy sector, Julieta Giraldez is a Principal of Customer Solutions at Kevala, where she focuses on solving the challenges facing energy market participants interacting with the evolving electricity grid. Prior to joining Kevala, Dr. Giraldez worked for the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) where she led Distributed Energy Resources (DER) grid integration related projects. 

Most recently, she focused on understanding how customer-sited resources such as solar, electric vehicles, and battery storage, can best be leveraged and safely integrated into distribution systems. She brings a holistic view of grid integration related issues, acknowledging the importance of including multiple perspectives in the evaluation of new emerging technologies, from developers and customers to technology providers, regulators and utilities.  

Dr. Giraldez holds a Ph.D. in Systems Engineering from Colorado State University, an M.S. in Electrical Engineering from the Colorado School of Mines and a B.S in Technical Mining and Energy Resources from the Polytechnic University of Madrid, Spain.

Resources:

Connect with Julieta on LinkedIn.

Check out Kevala’s website.

If you enjoyed the conversation, please share. Leave us a positive review and subscribe to Power Flow on Apple podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. 

You can follow Power Flow Podcast on LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Tik Tok. 

Thank you for listening. See you at the whiteboard!

Lori Wright is helping to solve tomorrow's problems today. She is a lawyer working in technology - often energy technology - and helping developers, designers, and innovators build systems that will stand the test of time. 

She focuses on issues of cybersecurity and interoperability, topics that are often hard for implementers to stop and think about. Lori brings a long-game perspective on how the decisions we make today help or hinder the clean energy future, and we'd all do well to pay attention.
 Also discussed in this episode: Episode 1.03 On the Future of Transactive Energy with Kay Aikin
Episode 1.06 On the Power of Holistic, Incremental Transformation with Liana Cassar(on Energy Policy)

Quotables

“Just because we can't solve it to the end doesn't mean we shouldn't start solving.”

“What's going to move solar into the future is market certainty.”

“Energy, like anything, is powered by data. Everything is going to be interoperable and we should just plan for that.”

“How do you predict the future? You look to the current and you look to the past.”

- Lori Wright

This week’s guest

Lori Wright is a partner and chair of AGG’s Technology practice. She represents buyers and sellers of technology and helps clients navigate the legal, business, and practical issues that arise in the course of the development, commercialization, procurement, and deployment of technology.

Lori’s practice includes representing domestic and international clients in transactions involving software development and licensing, digital transformation and complex global technology, and business process outsourcing. She frequently negotiates an array of complex sourcing relationships, including strategic alliances, business process outsourcing (BPO), IT outsourcing (ITO), and other strategic sourcing and revenue sharing arrangements. Lori has extensive experience restructuring and renegotiating legacy or otherwise unfavorable transactions, as well as advising clients through the process of termination, resourcing, or insourcing.

Resources:

Connect with Lori on LinkedIn.

Check out AGG’s website.

If you enjoyed the conversation, please share the episode with other innovators. Leave us a positive review and subscribe to Power Flow on Apple podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Check out our awesome merch!

You can follow Power Flow Podcast on LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Tik Tok. 

Thank you for listening. See you at the whiteboard!

After a historic flooding event in 2016, which left the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa without power and critical infrastructure, the tribe committed themselves to installing microgrids to ensure clean, resilient power on tribal lands. In May 2021, the tribe commissioned three building level microgrids, incorporating more than 520 kW of solar and over 1MWh of battery storage, the largest battery system to date in the state of Wisconsin. The project is named Ishkonige Nawadide, which means "it catches fire" in Anishinaabemowin. 
 
Dan Wiggins is the visionary who led the team to implement these projects. He's been working for the tribe for over 10 years as a tribal energy manager and air quality technician, with expertise from utility scale infrastructure to residential energy efficiency, and now three tremendously successful microgrids. 
 
It's been my great pleasure to work with Dan on his energy team to plan, design, and realize his vision for resilient tribal energy and energy sovereignty. This conversation is an extension of our professional partnership, and our friendship: fiery, passionate, fun, and very committed to doing projects when they are the right thing to do. 

Referenced in this episode:

Episode 1.06 with Liana Cassar on Energy Policy
Episode 1.09 with Katherine Lucey on Air Quality

Quotables

"We all answer to somebody, whether it's leadership, whether it's our children, or whether it's the community we reside in. Really listening to all of those resources is the right thing to do." 

"The way I approach renewable energy is that you have do first do it because it's the right thing to do. That has to be the #1 goal for any renewable energy project."

"Strategic planning is the fun part of project development. You get to take everybody's ideas, throw them in a blender, and hope something magic comes out." 

This week’s guest

Daniel Wiggins Jr is a Bad River Tribal Member and the Mashkiiziibii (Bad River) Natural Resource Department’s Air Quality Technician (AQT). He has worked for the Tribe for nearly 10 years as the AQT and has had oversight of the Tribe’s Renewable Energy Activities since 2017. 

He was recently tasked as Project Lead for the Ishkonige Nawadide Solar Microgrid Project, which installed over 500 kilowatts of solar and 1,000 kilowatt hours of batteries at three tribal facilities. 

The Tribe’s energy projects are planned and executed on the Tribe’s ability to exercise energy sovereignty, and eventually reach the Tribe’s energy vision, “to empower and enable the community to move towards energy independence.”

Resources:

Connect with the Mashkiiziibii Natural Resource Departmen on Facebook.

Check out Bad River’s website.

If you enjoyed the conversation, please share the episode with other innovators. Leave us a positive review and subscribe to Power Flow on Apple podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Thank you for listening. See you at the whiteboard!

We all know the green benefits of installing renewable energy generation like solar PV, but what happens at the system's end of life? If the panels end up in a landfill, we aren't doing our planet any favors. 

Janette Freeman at FabTech is on a mission to keep panels out of landfills by either reusing or recycling them. In this episode, we talk about what the different paths to reuse and recycling look like and how to shift mindset to prepare for project end-of-life during earlier project phases to create an even greener clean energy future. 
 
Janette is also a deep thinker and sees the connections, as I do, between personal development, business development, and innovation. We talk about the positive feedback loop created by joy and innovation and dream of a future where creativity spurs us on to a brighter future. 

Referenced Often: Episode 1.05 with Leslie Glustrom on how to engage with policymakers

Quotables

"More joy brings more solutions." 

"For most decomissions, those panels are fine and they are an asset." 

"When we keep working on ourselves and keep listening to our intuition, our creativity, our innovation, and let our inside matter, the outside solutions become more evident to us."
-all above quotes by Janette Freeman

This week’s guest

Janette Freeman is passionate about saving the landfill from the millions of solar panels which will be coming to end-of-life in the years ahead.  

She is the Director of Business Development for FabTech Solar Solutions, which does solar panel refurbishing and recycling, giving panels a second life or a proper cremation.  Prior to working in renewables, she worked in personal development training and coaching.  She is the author of three books and has a Doctorate of Consciousness Studies.

Resources:

Books:

Saving Us by Katharine Hayhoe 

Spiral: A Catalyst for Innovation and Expansion by Amy Simpkins

Connect with Janette on LinkedIn.

Check out Fab Tech’s website.

If you enjoyed the conversation, please share the episode with other innovators. Leave us a positive review and subscribe to Power Flow on Apple podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Check out our awesome merch! And hey, we’re new, so you can even apply to be a sponsor or a guest.

You can follow Power Flow Podcast on LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Tik Tok. 

Thank you for listening. See you at the whiteboard!