Meet the modern-day heroes powering us toward a carbon-free energy future.
For years we’ve been inundated with the frightening facts — the burning of fossil fuels is destroying our planet. And it has seemed like an audacious goal to eliminate the use of fossil fuels in our energy system. Thankfully, brilliant minds across industries have been diligently working toward achieving this shared goal for decades. Because of the innovation and will of these scientists, inventors, entrepreneurs, and policymakers, we now have the tools to take control of our energy future. And that energy is more affordable, reliable, and clean.
It all starts with electricity.
We can create our electricity with renewable energy and then electrify the transportation, industry, and buildings sectors. We can also use that electricity to make carbon-free liquid or gas fuels like hydrogen.
“That whole sector is going through a once-a-century change. That’s the magnitude we’re talking about.”
We will take you to cities and states that generate electricity using carbon-free renewables like solar, wind, and hydro.
We are revolutionizing and reimagining our electrical delivery system. For more than a century, our utility grid has moved electricity from large power generators across high voltage power lines and delivered it to customers where that electricity is used. This is a centralized system. This works well to bring electricity to cities from distant windmills and large solar fields. But it has its problems. It is not as reliable and resilient as we need it to be. It is not standing up to extreme weather or threats of fire.
Today, homeowners and businesses are also generating their own energy with solar and wind. No longer just “consumers” of energy, they are also producers. This is necessitating a new distributed energy system where energy generators, energy storage, and energy users are all connected. We will introduce you to individuals who have created digital tools that connect distributed energy resources and help the grid operate more efficiently. Their technology is enabling customers to play a vital role in creating and maintaining a safe, efficient and reliable system.
EPISODE 1
AN HOUR OF SUNLIGHT
The energy that hits the earth in an hour of sunlight is equivalent to all the energy the entire planet uses in one year. Our host Chloe Goshay visits a microgrid in Sonoma, California where she meets researchers who show her how we can use the sun to get all the energy we need.
EPISODE 2
THE GRID
Grid failures due to extreme weather events are causing deadly situations around the country. Chloe explores how the grid was designed to work over a hundred years ago and the challenges it faces today. A microgrid in the South Side of Chicago keeps the lights and the heat on during the worst winter storm. Batteries and fuel cells replace backup generators to keep the power on during blackouts in California.
EPISODE 3
WINDS OF CHANGE
Chloe goes to Somerset, Massachusetts to explore the history of our national energy policy. Somerset was once home to the largest coal-burning power plant in New England. The low cost of gas put the plant out of business in 2017. The town’s state representative Pat Haddad wrote a bill to bring offshore wind to Massachusetts and revitalize her small town. Thanks to her, Somerset will be home to North America’s first offshore wind manufacturing plant.
EPISODE 4
WORKIN’ WITH WHAT YOU’VE GOT
Vermont generates all of its electricity without burning fossil fuels. The innovative leaders of three utilities show Chloe how they create energy using Vermont’s own natural resources and empower their customers to share energy resources. Now the state has a plan to use that clean electricity to remove fossil fuels in all of the energy the state uses.
