The Clean Energy Revolution

This time on the Clean Energy Revolution from National Grid, Max La Manna is finding out how we can learn from science and nature to come up with solutions for a cleaner, greener future.

We’ve come a long way from the days of windmills and watermills, with our oceans becoming vast sources of wind power, and development along our coastlines allowing us to process and transport renewable energy around nations.

But how can we look at natural processes to better lock away carbon, and how important is it to make sure that when we’re building for the future, nature and habitats still have their place?

Reporter, Physicist and Oceanographer Helen Czerski takes to the road to discuss kelp restoration and the truth about ocean carbon capture with Marine Ecologist Dr Ian Hendy from the University of Portsmouth. Cirhan Truswell is Climate Change Manager at National Grid. She joins Max in the studio to discuss how future-proofing our energy infrastructure also means considering and caring for the environments it exists in.

We take a tour around BioteCH4, an anaerobic digestion plant in Lincolnshire that’s powering a local industrial estate on food waste alone!

Still puzzled about what biogas actually is and how it works for our energy? Monica Kabel from National Grid joins Patrick Serfass from the American Biogas Council to talk about how the US is making this kind of energy a big part of their fossil-free vision for the future.

If you’d like to keep track of it all, you can visit nationalgrid.com to follow our world’s clean energy story as it happens and find out how it’s part of your world right now. You can start your own conversation by sharing this podcast on social media or with a friend.

You can find out more about the organisations and initiatives involved in this podcast episode via the links below:

Dr Ian Hendy discusses Sea Kelp restoration in the Solent

The Sussex Kelp Restoration Project

The American Biogas Council

BioteCH4

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In season 2 of The Clean Energy Revolution podcast from National Grid, Max La Manna takes a look at the role energy plays in tackling the negative effects of climate change, and discovers how our world will be powered in the next 30 years.

This time Max is looking at transport; asking how travel is embracing clean, green and renewable energy.

We all know that change is happening around us. So how do we get on-board? And how long will it be before planes, ships, cars and vans are all clean and green?

EVs (electric vehicles) continue to grow in popularity.But is the infrastructure ready to support your commute, your road trips, your family holidays?

To find out, we join a convoy of 50 electric vehicles on the Great British EV rally. Electric vans, cars, HGVs and trucks are driving 1300km from John O’Groats to Land’s End. Paul and Frankie Clifton are making the journey for us, to test the charging stations to the limit. Is the UK ready for mass EV adoption?

We discuss the latest developments in the US, where a $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill has just been passed.Will it mean that EV pickups and SUVs will be able to drive coast to coast? Rishi Sondhi from National Grid gives us the latest.

And what about the future of flight? Engineer Dr Shini Somara visits Cranfield Aerospace Solutions, to get inside the planes of the future –aircraft being converted to hydrogen power. These planes will produce zero harmful emissions, and they’ll be with us in just a couple of years.Shini meets Director of Engineering Rob Marsh, and Chief Strategy Officer Jenny Kavanagh.

Finally, at Rockingham Racecourse we meet people testing out the performance and handling of electric cars and vans.Amongst them, President of the AA (Automobile Association)Edmund King, and National Grid’s Fleet Manager Lorna McAtear.

Useful information:

If you want to use cleaner energy for charging your EV or using your home appliances, National Grid’s When To Plug In app (https://www.nationalgrid.com/cop26/when-to-plug-in-app) tells you when the electricity coming into your home will be at its cleanest. (Available in the UK only)

https://www.nationalgrid.com/

www.cranfieldaerospace.com

www.gbevrally.co.uk/home

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See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In Season 2 of The Clean Energy Revolution podcast, Max La Manna takes a look at the role energy plays in tackling the negative effects of climate change.

As countries around the world aim to reach net zero emissions, Max discovers how the world will be powered in the next 30 years as we work towards a future that doesn't contribute to global warming.

Along the way we’ll meet inspiring people who are embracing new technology to make their lives, homes and businesses cleaner and greener, as well as the experts developing the technology, who explain how our lives will be transformed and how we can get involved.

From the electricity we use in our homes and offices, to our transport, shops, schools, hospitals and factories, the energy we use to fuel our everyday life is getting greener and cleaner.

National Grid has a crucial role to play, as they supply energy to homes across the UK and the Northeast United States -meaning they’re at the heart of connecting all of us to a greener future.

Are you ready to be part of the revolution? Join Max for your definitive guide to the net zero energy transition.

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In the final episode of the series, Helen Skelton hears from people who are working to make the clean energy future fair and representative for everyone.

She chats with National Grid's Fleur Callender who shares the view from the United States and Alice Cross from the UK’s Sustainability First. Alice outlines how they’ve been working with activists, artists, policymakers and communities to understand people’s concerns and needs for the energy revolution.

Then it’s off to Sheffield City Centre where councillor Douglas Johnson tours us around the innovative Grey to Green project. This urban redevelopment scheme has combined arts, sustainable drainage, biodiversity planting and wellbeing spaces to create a model for the cities of our future. Could this sort of scheme be the answer to making our cities cleaner, safer, more environmentally-friendly places? It’s surely part of the puzzle as we work out how to fit clean energy into communities and towns.

Fergus Hynd oversees National Grid’s social initiative Grid for Good. He introduces the scheme which partners with charities to bring talent from under-represented and diverse backgrounds forward. Then the inspirational Taniya Bukhari, an Engineering Assistant, shares her experiences of overcoming challenges to shine in a placement she loves at National Grid.

If you’d like to keep track of it all, you can visit nationalgrid.com to follow our world’s clean energy story as it happens. You can start your own conversation by sharing this podcast on social media or with a friend.

You can find out more about the organisations and initiatives involved in this podcast episode via the links below:

Grey to Green Sheffield

Grid for Good

Sustainability First

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In The Clean Energy Revolution from National Grid, Helen Skelton talks to brilliant individuals for inspiring ideas on how we can make sure the energy we use is clean and green.

A huge part of transitioning our energy system is making sure that we stop emitting carbon dioxide and harmful greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. But we also need to think about how we can remove it too.

This time Helen’s chatting with experts from the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (UKCEH) and finding out about the East Coast Cluster project – the UK’s model for decarbonising energy in our most heavily industrialised areas.

And we travel to a peat bog in South Wales to find out how this restoration project is setting a course to limit further carbon emissions and even lock it away for the future.

Dr Jeanette Whitaker from UKCEH and Bilal Ahmed from the Northern Endurance Partnership discuss the different approaches to tackling carbon in our atmosphere, from land-based natural solutions to technical and engineered approaches, even repurposing under-sea mines and aquifers for storage!

Dr Rob Low from Rigare Ltd. takes us for a squelchy walk around the Hirwaun peat bog in South Wales, to explain how this National Grid restoration project is adding biodiversity to a heavily industrialised area.

And Katharine Kerr chats to wetland scientist Annette Burden to find out how “Blue Carbon” research and restoration projects could hold the key to locking away carbon long-term.

Useful links:

https://www.nationalgrid.com/stories/journey-to-net-zero-stories/working-smarter-get-net-zero

https://www.nationalgrid.com/powerofall

https://www.ceh.ac.uk

https://eastcoastcluster.co.uk

https://www.netzeroteesside.co.uk/northern-endurance-partnership/

https://twitter.com/rigareltd

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In this special episode of The Clean Energy Revolution from National Grid, we’re finding out how people like you and me are doing their bit to live more sustainably and help support our planet's resources.

Helen Skelton explores how individuals are playing their part in one of the most incredible revolutions in human history.

Energy connects and enables the way we live, work and play, and making it greener also means looking at all the day-to-day ways we can help. Looking for inspiration? You'll find it here!

Alongside their day jobs working at National Grid, these people are walking the walk in terms of sustainability! We hear from Brianna and Julia in the Northeast US who are passionately raising animals, growing food and running their farms with sustainable practises.

Whether they’re driving EVs, campaigning for issues they care about or nabbing their colleagues by the water cooler to share what they’ve learned about sustainable living, these inspiring individuals prove it’s possible to make everyday changes to play our part in our climate future.

In the UK, Helene loves to run and hike in nature to stay in touch with her rural Yorkshire roots, but is passionate about challenging misinformation around all the supposedly sustainable choices available to us.

Meanwhile Nicolle shares how it all came together for her on a woodland education day for families. She’s now studying an Environmental Science degree alongside her job at National Grid.And what do our everyday heroes hope for the next generation? Find out as they share candid stories in their own words.

We'll be back next time as we dive into how our natural world can meet with technical innovation for Carbon Capture and Storage.

Useful links:

https://www.nationalgrid.com/stories/journey-to-net-zero-stories/working-smarter-get-net-zero

https://www.nationalgrid.com/powerofall

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In The Clean Energy Revolution from National Grid, Helen Skelton explores how we’re all part of one of the most incredible revolutions in human history.

This time Helen’s looking at what clean, green and renewable energy looks like in the most important place of all: home!

We all know we need to make some changes to reduce carbon emissions and fight global warming and climate change. So what’s the score for the next decade, twenty years and beyond? And what kind of decisions are you going to have to make about the place you and your family live?

Helen gets the lowdown on what the government’s Heat and Buildings Strategy means for homeowners and tenants and asks how we can make the energy transition a fair one.

She’ll be hearing about Smart home innovation with Fflur Lawton from Smart Energy GB and talking to Jinmi MacCaulay about National Grid’s research to hear what consumers think.

Richard Smith from the NHBC Foundation talks to us about designing homes fit for the future, for all of us.

And if you’re confused about finding the best energy option for your home, we’ll also be looking into some of the other options on the table. Adam Chapman, Director of Heat Geek and all-round heating myth-buster will be taking us through the fact and fiction of heat pumps.

And we’ll head to the Balcombe Estate in Sussex to meet Jamie Kirkman and find out how excess woodchip from a local sawmill is being used to power homes and businesses sustainably.

Useful links:

https://www.nationalgrid.com/stories/journey-to-net-zero-stories/working-smarter-get-net-zero

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/heat-and-buildings-strategy

https://www.smartenergygb.org

https://www.youtube.com/c/HeatGeek

https://www.nhbcfoundation.org/publication/nf80-futurology-the-new-home-in-2050/

https://twitter.com/_heatgeek

https://www.balcombesawmill.co.uk

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In The Clean Energy Revolution from National Grid, Helen Skelton explores how we’re all part of one of the most incredible revolutions in human history.

In this special episode Helen’s reviewing the commitments and pledges made by nations at COP26 earlier this month.

The global climate change conference saw world leaders, organisations, businesses and citizens meet in Glasgow to discuss the next actions in reaching net zero carbon emissions.

So what does this mean for deforestation, resource use, fairness and international collaboration? And how does the energy we use in buildings, homes, infrastructure and transport have a crucial role to play in making it all possible?

Find out why limiting global warming is key in protecting our world from the devastating impacts of climate change and hear how we can all play our part.

Helen speaks to guests from Hitachi, Reckitt, SSE, Scottish Power and Natwest for their takes on what big business is doing to make a difference.

And we hear from the public on their impressions of the conference too.

Useful links:

https://www.nationalgrid.com/stories/journey-to-net-zero-stories/working-smarter-get-net-zero

https://ukcop26.org

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In The Clean Energy Revolution from National Grid, Helen Skelton explores how we’re all part of one of the most incredible revolutions in human history.

The way we heat our homes, businesses and communities can hugely change our carbon footprint.

In this episode, National Grid guests from the UK and US will explain how insulation, greener tech and carbon-neutral resources mean your home is set to get greener.

Jess Ralston from the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit and Rob Cheesewright from Smart Energy GB will look at the road ahead of UK businesses in the face of the government’s latest strategy.

Plus Helen will be finding out about the smart cities that are looking at the big picture of green living thanks to clever data, analytics and technology. She’ll meet @NathanPierceUKfrom Sharing Cities.

Useful links:

https://www.nationalgrid.com/stories/journey-to-net-zero-stories/working-smarter-get-net-zero

https://www.nationalgrid.com/uk/stories/journey-to-net-zero/future-home-heating-net-zero-uk

Find out more about the Green Light Signal:

https://www.nationalgrid.com/greenlightsignal

What is the UK government’s Heat and Buildings Strategy 2021?

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/heat-and-buildings-strategy

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In this episode of The Clean Energy Revolution from National Grid, Helen Skelton looks at the future of energy, and how we harness the huge potential of offshore energy.

Offshore is just one of many important energy sources that will shape our future, and National Grid is working to explore various options to find the right mix.

So what IS offshore? What’s its potential for getting to net zero? And what innovations are taking place right now to get us there? 

Helen is joined in the studio by Graeme Cooper, Head of Future Markets at National Grid, Morris Bray, the man leading the charge to deliver multi-purpose interconnector “pathfinder” projects and connect the UK with clean energy around the world, and Kerri Maddock, Head of National Grid Ventures Strategy who will tell us about the international vision for offshore. 

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