The combination of a booming population and an accelerating business sector, as well as the desire to "de-carbonize" creates a real challenge. In this episode we talk with Bill McCamley, the Executive Director at Transit Forward and Christy Cardenas, the Managing Partner at Grit Ventures.  The discussion delves into the diverse and rapidly changing world of energy generation, the role of transportation in energy consumption, and how Austin’s power grid will change over the next five years.

Episode Highlights

• Texas has a unique and diverse generation mix with a strong focus on natural gas and coal, but a growing interest in renewables like wind, solar, geothermal, and hydrogen.
• The advancements in battery storage technology, government funding for better batteries, and the emergence of new business models for mature battery technologies.
• The shift from gas stations to electric vehicle (EV) charging points and the challenges in figuring out the infrastructure for EV charging points.
• The impact of individual decisions on power consumption in a city like Austin and the role of transportation in energy consumption.
• The impact of housing development on the generation, distribution, and usage of power, with a focus on ETOD, multi-use development near transit lines, and reducing compatibility restrictions.
• What’s next Austin - Bill believes that building more density around transit corridors, changing housing ordinances to allow for multi-use development, and reducing compatibility restrictions will be key in the next four to five years for the generation, distribution, and usage of power in Austin.
• What’s next Austin - Christy “There is so much money and so much brain power chasing these solutions, whether it's fusion, nuclear fusion, better forms of generation, better forms of storage that we, as a state, with a huge component of our economy tied to oil and gas, best get in front of it and be a part of that energy revolution.”

Episode Links

Bill McCamley: Linkedin, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram 

Christy Cardenas: Linkedin, Twitter

Grit Ventures: Website, Linkedin, Twitter

Transit Forward: Website, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube

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Austin Next Links: Website, X/Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn
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