Switched On

Grid operators in California face increasingly frequent decisions to abandon their operational commitment to 24/7 availability and cut service to retail customers in regions threatened by wildfires. This week Switched On speaks with Logan Goldie-Scot, head of clean energy research at BloombergNEF, and Yayoi Sekine, who leads decentralized energy coverage, about the challenges of maintaining the utility mission in the face of climate change.

This episode is based on a report titled Pandemics and Power Networks, and another titled Policy Responses to California's Wildfires. BNEF clients can access these reports on bnef.com or BNEF Mobile, or at BNEF on the Bloomberg Terminal.

Switched On is hosted this week by Dana Perkins.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Many issues are at stake in the November U.S. election, including energy and climate. This week Switched On speaks with Head of Americas Ethan Zindler, and Stephen Munro, senior policy analyst for BloombergNEF, about what wins on the Republican or Democratic side could mean for these issues. Their wide-ranging conversation speculates on the Paris Climate Agreement, the Green New Deal, coal, electric vehicles, and the two trillion dollars former Vice President Joe Biden has pledged for climate initiatives should he win.

BNEF clients can access ongoing U.S. and energy transition coverage on bnef.com or BNEF Mobile, or at BNEF on the Bloomberg Terminal.

Switched On is hosted this week by Dana Perkins.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Generous policy support in in a handful of markets has led to a rush to deploy energy storage projects. But the eagerness to deploy quickly resulted in shortcuts with alarming outcomes. There have been 29 fires at battery storage facilities in South Korea since 2017. Whether or not this should raise red flags for players is a bit more complicated. This week Switched On speaks with decentralized energy analyst Yayoi Sekine and energy storage analyst James Frith.

This episode is based on a report titled Ensuring Safe Use of Lithium-Ion Batteries. BNEF clients can access this report on bnef.com or BNEF Mobile, or at BNEF on the Bloomberg Terminal.

Switched On is hosted this week by Dana Perkins.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Food delivery services have an impact on vehicle miles traveled, at least right now. But will food delivery services be around long enough to make a dent in this metric in the long term? This week Switched On speaks with intelligent mobility analyst Andrew Grant about food delivery and the market dynamics in that sector. He'll also tell us more about why food delivery is important for BNEF to understand, how he's thinking about it, and what it could mean for our long-term transport forecast.

This episode is based on a report titled Can Food Delivery Services Deliver Profits? BNEF clients can access this report on bnef.com or BNEF Mobile, or at BNEF on the Bloomberg Terminal.

Switched On is hosted this week by Mark Taylor and Dana Perkins.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For universal electrification to become reality by 2030, some 238 million households will need to gain electricity access in sub-Saharan Africa, Asia and island nations. Mini-grids can serve almost half of this total – an estimated 111 million households. This week, Switched On speaks with Takehiro Kawahara, head of Frontier Power for BloombergNEF, and senior modeling analyst Ulimmeh Ezekiel, about a report they did in collaboration with the Sustainable Energy for All initiative on the global mini-grid market -- the challenges, drivers, opportunities, and potential impact on electrification.

This episode is based on a report titled State of the Global Mini-Grids Market 2020. BNEF clients can access this report on bnef.com or BNEF Mobile, or at BNEF on the Bloomberg Terminal. Listeners can also find this report at seforall.org.

Switched On is hosted this week by Dana Perkins and Mark Taylor.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We all know wind and solar are intermittent -- at some point the sun stops shining and the wind stops blowing. But is wind and solar power reliable? The answer seems to be that at least with a battery, yes, it is. This week Switched On speaks with Nat Bullard, chief content officer for BloombergNEF, about the future of renewables on the grid. We discuss renewables reliability, competitiveness of gas peakers in a renewables-plus-storage world, and what to do with old wind and solar farms.

This episode is based on the weekly Sparklines series from Bloomberg Green, by Nat Bullard.

Users can access this series on bloomberg.com, or on Bloomberg Anywhere at NI BULLARD. 

Switched On is hosted this week by Mark Taylor.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mexico became one of the hottest markets for clean energy development. Newly open Mexico attracted billions in investment driven by three highly successful auctions that are tied to more than 8GW of new wind and solar capacity. But policy under president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, or AMLO, has taken a U-turn. Since taking office in late 2018, AMLO has cancelled Mexico’s renewable energy auctions and sidelined national clean energy targets. And recent regulation goes further, asserting that renewables threaten Mexico’s power grid, placing at risk over 4.5 gigawatts of wind and solar currently under development.  

This episode is based on a report titled No Winners in AMLO's Clean Energy Feud. BNEF clients can access this report on bnef.com or BNEF Mobile, or at BNEF on the Bloomberg Terminal.

Switched On is hosted this week by Mark Taylor.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lower manufacturing costs, innovative launch vehicles, miniaturized sub-systems and new sensor technologies have resulted in a surge in the number of satellites orbiting earth. The more than 1,300 small satellites orbiting earth means we can now scan any given location on the planet multiple times per day -- and not just with cameras, but with sensors that measure atmospheric pressure, temperature, and more. This week, Switched On speaks with technology analyst Sarrah Raza about the rapid growth in the industries that make these small satellites, send them to space, and analyze the data they send back.

This episode is based on a report titled Tiny Satellites – Space’s Next Frontier. BNEF clients can access this series on bnef.com or BNEF Mobile, or at BNEF on the Bloomberg Terminal.

Switched On is hosted this week by Mark Taylor.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The European Commission on 27 May proposed 1.85 trillion euros in stimulus spending over the next seven years, 25% of which must go to things classified as ‘green’. Notable parts of the proposed spending include building renovations to improve efficiency, a massive roll-out in electric vehicle charging infrastructure, and enough spending on hydrogen to make it competitive a lot sooner than it would be otherwise. This week, Switched On speaks with energy transition analyst Dario Traum about the proposed spending, what it means to be 'green', and the questions that need to get answered before the money can be spent.

This episode is based on a report titled How Green is the EU's Trillion-Euro Recovery Plan? BNEF clients can access this series on bnef.com or BNEF Mobile, or at BNEF on the Bloomberg Terminal.

Switched On is hosted this week by Dana Perkins and Mark Taylor.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A higher carbon price and cheaper gas have made coal-fired power less competitive in Europe. Reduced demand from the pandemic have made it almost impossible for coal to keep up. This week, Switched On speaks with energy transition analyst Katherine Poseidon, and power analyst Andreas Gandolfo about how several countries have gotten away from coal entirely since the pandemic started -- a trend that is likely to continue even after things get back to normal.

This episode is based on a series of reports titled the EU Power Weekly. BNEF clients can access this series on bnef.com or BNEF Mobile, or at BNEF on the Bloomberg Terminal.

Switched On is hosted this week by Dana Perkins and Mark Taylor.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.