The Clean Energy Revolution

• Meet the unsung heroes of the electricity grid | Behind the scenes with overhead lineworkers

  Overhead power lines transmit the vital electricity that our homes and businesses, schools and hospitals need. They’re exposed to all the elements - storms, winds, hail and snow - so someone needs to make sure they can withstand whatever is thrown at them. Thankfully there’s a team of people who do this 24/7 – lineworkers. The UK’s transmission network has 7000km of overhead lines - lay the cables end-to-end and you’d get halfway to Australia. Laura Young, a.k.a Less-Waste Laura, chats to training instructor Thomas Norris, about how he leads his teams through extreme weather to keep the power on. Tom talks a day in the life of a lineworker, the training process and what it takes to climb the pylons and keep the network resilient. In the US, Carolyn Kissane talks with Amy Broz, one of only two women lineworkers at National Grid in New York State. Her work involves emergency response, keeping electricity systems live in storms, after disasters and accidents. Amy talks role models, how the work has changed since the 1990s, and explains how mentorship is crucial for encouraging women in trades, community service and utilities.If you think you have what it takes to serve the community by keeping power on through emergencies, you’ll find everything you need to know here: https://www.nationalgrid.com/about-us

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• AI and energy: the new power couple?

  There’s an ongoing struggle for balance between the usefulness of AI and its energy demands. Generative AI and large language models are highly energy-intensive, with ChatGPT consuming up to 10 times more electricity than a standard Google search, and the energy consumption of data centres projected to double by 2026.But at the same time, AI has the potential to significantly improve energy efficiency. Co-host Laura Young Laura speaks with Ben Sigrin, Senior Product Manager at GridBeyond, about how the company uses AI to manage energy behind-the-meter (on the consumer side), optimising energy use in buildings and reducing carbon emissions.AI is also transforming sectors like transportation and agriculture by enhancing overall energy efficiency. Digital twins - virtual models that replicate real-world conditions—could eliminate 5-10% of global greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. NVIDIA, which you my know as the maker of the graphic processors that are used to train AI, has built its own version of these digital twin models. Director of Product Marketing Shar Narasimhan talks to Carolyn about Earth2, a mammoth digital replica of Earth used to model the extreme weather and climate change that affect our energy networks, and about how AI energy demands are being addressed in the industry.

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• Women Leading the Energy Transition

  In this special edition of The Clean Energy Revolution, we bring you highlights from a panel discussion, ‘Women Leading the Energy Transition’, hosted at New York University during Climate Week.The discussion is moderated by Sandy Grace, Vice President of US Policy and Regulatory Strategy for National Grid, who sits down to talk with women working in various roles addressing the clean energy transition.You’ll hear from panellists including Naomi Boness (Stanford University), Hadia Sheerazi (Rocky Mountain Institute), Amy Myers Jaffe (NYU), and one of this podcast’s co-hosts Dr. Carolyn Kissane (NYU), as they share their career journeys, current challenges, and opportunities needed to ensure a robust, equitable and sustainable energy transition.Be sure to tune in to hear about the impactful work happening in policy, academia, NGOs, and startups, as well as the incredible and inspirational stories of some of the women at the forefront of the energy transition. This special episode is not to be missed.

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• Geothermal energy is opening up a world of possibilities

  It’s an exciting time for geothermal energy. The US Department of Energy predicts geothermal power generation capacity to grow by 26 times by 2050, potentially providing almost 10% of the US’ total power needs. To talk about the policy and technology that’s needed to achieve this goal is Kevin Jones, enhanced geothermal program manager at the DOE. He speaks to Carolyn Kissane about pilot projects in the US and the pioneering work they are doing. What makes geothermal so exciting is its reliability as it’s available 24/7, whatever the weather. Enhanced geothermal systems are also revolutionising the field, allowing for the extraction of heat from deeper, previously unreachable rock formations. This cutting-edge technology opens up vast new areas for geothermal development, even in regions without traditional geothermal activity. Michael Webber is a professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Texas in Austin, and he also joins the show to talk Carolyn through the technology that could unlock enough power to meet 3-5% of the world’s demands by 2050. It's not only electricity generation that geothermal energy can provide. It has use as a heat source too, and co-host Laura Young finds out how the UK’s only geothermal plant works as she talks to Eden Geothermal CEO Gus Grand. The views expressed in this podcast are those of the participants and do not reflect the activities of National Grid

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• Innovating for a clean energy transition | Part 2: the technology that’s driving change

  The role of technology in the energy transition has been talked about for years. In a speech at the Leaders Summit on Climate in 2021, International Energy Agency Director Fatih Birol said:“IEA analysis shows that about half the reductions to get to net zero emissions in 2050 will need to come from technologies that are not yet ready for market. This calls for massive leaps in innovation. Innovation across batteries, hydrogen, synthetic fuels, carbon capture and many other technologies.”So what major advances in technology have we seen in the industry since that speech? And what role does current technology have in driving innovation in the industry?From Google’s AI-driven efficiency programs to cutting-edge technologies improving grid performance, this month we’re looking at the tech that’s needed to accelerate the path to net zero.Carolyn and Laura are joined by Neil Osborne, Google’s Chief Energy Evangelist (yes that’s the real title), as he shares how the company is using AI to optimise energy usage. As Carolyn explains, data centres are energy-hungry. So at the same time they’re saving energy with AI optimisations, they’re using it. How are companies like Google addressing this dilemma?Other key technologies discussed in this episode are: Dynamic Line Ratings (DLR):This technology is already helping National Grid to unlock up to 40% extra capacity for electricity to flow safely through their power lines. We speak to Alex Houghtaling from DLR operator LineVision to find out more.Smart Conductors: Jason Huang from TS Conductor joins Laura and discusses revolutionary smart conductor technology that measures temperature and sag in real time. This can help utilities push more power through the grid safely and optimise capacity, aiding the global transition to renewables.Battery Storage Safety: Eric Stein from Viridi explains how advanced lithium-ion battery storage systems, initially developed for NASA, are making grid storage safer and more reliable.AI for Grid Maintenance: National Grid uses AI to monitor and maintain the condition of its infrastructure, from predicting the impacts of climate change on vital assets to analysing the network via autonomous drones. Gary Stockdale, National Grid’s Net Zero Innovation Manager, discusses how innovation is helping them to work smarter in the mission to net zero.

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