The ZENERGY Podcast: Energy Leadership, Finance, and Technology

Welcome to The Zenergy Podcast! Today, Karan has the pleasure of sitting down with Jacyln Presnal, VP of New Energy Ventures at Williams. Jacyln and Karan discuss how she first got connected with Williams 20 years ago, what inspired her to work in the energy field, and the advice she’d give herself back in university. She currently leads the New Energy Ventures team and shares the ends and outs of the projects her team works on. They discuss where natural gas fits into the energy transition, the lead time of gas turbines compared to demand, and how gas suppliers plan for uncertainty. Finally, Karan asks Jacyln about the major news Williams recently announced regarding reviving the NESE pipeline project. Thanks for tuning in!

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Editing/Graphics: Desta Wondirad, Wondir Studios

Welcome to The Zenergy Podcast! Today host Karan Takhar has the honor of speaking with Andrew Wheeler. Andrew was one of the EPA Administrators during President Trump’s first term and is current Partner and Head of Federal Affairs at Holland & Hart. They discuss what drew Andrew to working in environmental policy and what experiences and decisions guided him to land his role at the EPA. Andrew shares his leadership style, what it takes to lead a large organization, and the value of being present, taking questions, and listening. They then go on to discuss more current affairs and Andrew's philosophy on balancing economy and jobs with climate needs. They also chat about the opportunities for bipartisan progress on energy and environmental policy today.

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Editing/Graphics: Desta Wondirad, Wondir Studios

Welcome to The Zenergy Podcast! On this episode, host Karan Takhar is joined by Mike Kramer, Vice President of Data Economy Strategy at Constellation. As the AI boom takes shape, the demand on data centers to have 24/7, reliable power is increasing. Karan and Mike discuss how nuclear power could be part of the solution to increasing this supply. They chat about how nuclear has evolved over the past few decades and where it is today as well as why it hasn’t taken off in the ways some hoped it would. They also discuss the trajectory of AI-related energy demand, how the recent tax bill could affect nuclear power, and what excites Mike most about Constellations role in shaping the future of clean energy in the U.S. If you’re curious about where we might get the energy needed to power the latest and the upcoming AI tools, this is the episode for you.

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Editing/Graphics: Desta Wondirad, Wondir Studios

Welcome to The Zenergy Podcast! On this episode, Karan chats with Derrick Flakoll, Senior Policy Associate for BloombergNEF. They sit down for a timely conversation about the tax reconciliation bill. As you may know, the reconciliation bill (colloquially referred to as the “Big Beautiful Bill”) has passed through the House and is now being deliberated in the Senate, and it could have major effects on some of the provisions provided in the I.R.A. Derrick helps us understand what’s at stake by breaking down the bill, first giving us an overview of how the bill looks in its current form and then explaining each of the changes to clean energy policy Congress is attempting to make. Plus, Derrick gives his prediction for what will ultimately happen with the bill. If you’d like to read Derrick’s full analysis it is available at Bloomberg.com.

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Editing/Graphics: Desta Wondirad, Wondir Studios

Welcome to The Zenergy Podcast! As we conclude our DC Climate Week series, it seems only fitting that we end with an interview by one of the founders and organizers of the event, C’pher Gresham. C’pher and Karan sit down to discuss the genesis of DC Climate Week, how it aims to bring the DC community together for a great cause, and how it all started with a question: What does DC need? C’pher breaks down the logistics of putting together such a big event and we learn how the decentralized structure of DC Climate Week works. We chat about learnings when creating a brand new event and we peer into C’pher’s future hopes for climate conferences.

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Editing/Graphics: Desta Wondirad, Wondir Studios

Welcome to The Zenergy Podcast! Today, Karan has the honor of speaking with Former Deputy Secretary at the U.S. Department of Energy, Dave Turk. Dave and Karan reflect on Dave's time at the DOE where he led the design and rollout of some of the most ambitious clean energy policies in U.S. history. They discuss his day-to-day schedule, leadership takeaways, and the power of hiring the right people in the right jobs. They also chat about H.R.1 (commonly referred to as the ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’) and how the rollback efforts of the Trump administration on clean energy could play out. They discuss how the U.S. should approach China’s role in the current global energy system and how long it might take for the U.S. to be in a position where it would not have to rely on China’s supply chain considering how reliant we currently are on rare earths, critical minerals, and batteries. Finally, Dave shares what keeps him optimistic even among challenging political times.

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Editing/Graphics: Desta Wondirad, Wondir Studios

Welcome to The Zenergy Podcast! This is the third interview in a series of interviews host Karan Takhar has been conducting at D.C. Climate Week. Today, he has the pleasure of speaking with Alan Young. Alan is the Senior Advisor on Extractives Strategy and the World Circular Economy Forum for the Circular Economy Leadership in Canada. He is also the Director of MERG (Materials Efficiency Research Group). Karan and Alan speak about the intersection of extractives and sustainability in Canada and North America, what the biggest barriers are to getting more processing capacity, and Alan provides a helpful overview of the mining industry in Canada. Finally, they touch on Canada’s recent election and Alan shares one policy that he believes could be a gamechanger in the mining industry if implemented. Thanks for tuning in!

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Editing/Graphics: Desta Wondirad, Wondir Studios

Welcome to The Zenergy Podcast! As mentioned on last week’s episode, host Karan Takhar recently had the pleasure of attending DC Climate Week where he sat down with several climate leaders. One of these leaders was Francesco Maria Graziani, Climate and Energy Counsellor and Delegation of the European Union to the United States. In this episode, they discuss Europe’s clean energy goals, its take on critical materials and healthier supply chains, and its transatlantic partnership with the U.S. Francesco provides insight into the drafting of the European Commission’s new renewable energy directive. They discuss how the energy approach in Europe has shifted since the Russia/Ukraine conflict and how Europe is filling in the gap in energy Russia used to supply. They also talk about how the geopolitical shift between the U.S. and the EU has impacted the approach to critical materials as well as how Europe is building and refining its own critical minerals processes. In fact, if you’d like to learn more about the European Commission’s recent selection of 47 projects to support domestic raw critical materials, you can click on the link above or visit ec.europa.edu and search for the March 24, 2025 press release. Finally, we end with an optimistic outlook on where Europe is headed in its climate journey. Thanks so much for listening. Don’t forget to hit that subscribe button!

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Editing/Graphics: Desta Wondirad, Wondir Studios

Welcome to The Zenergy Podcast! Karan recently had the pleasure of attending DC Climate Week where he sat down with today’s guest, John Holm. John is Senior Vice President of Partnership Development at Pyxera Global, a company aiming to solve big problems one community at a time. They discuss what drew John into this line of work and how he transitioned to Pyxera Global. Then, Karan and John chat about the company’s mission, how they have been able to engage the private sector in meaningful and effective ways, and how they are helping companies to unlock the mantra “reduce, reuse, repurpose” within their supply chain. We lean into the topic of critical minerals and discuss what changed in recent years to bring critical minerals to the forefront of policy and corporate strategy conversations. Then, we touch briefly on the role of tariffs and conclude with John’s perspective on what success looks like for companies genuinely committed to circularity in 2030. Thanks for listening!

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Editing/Graphics: Desta Wondirad, Wondir Studios

Welcome to The Zenergy Podcast! On today's episode, host Karan Takhar sits down with Dan Thompson. Dan is a Principal Research Analyst covering datacenter services and sustainability at S&P Global Market Intelligence. Dan explains what datacenters are, how they have evolved over the years, the large impact they play in running the world, and how they will help take us into the future. Karan and Dan discuss the impact AI will have on datacenters and where the additional power needed to run them will come from. Then, they touch on the ways utility companies and grid operators can help and how hyperscalers contract supply. They delve into the criteria hyperscalers and datacenter developers look for when evaluating where to build new datacenters and assess what the most important considerations are for a new datacenter location and the data each facility will house. This is an immensely informative episode that we hope you'll love. Thanks so much for tuning in!

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Editing/Graphics: Desta Wondirad, Wondir Studios