On April 26, 2023, Ashley Nunes testified before Congress about electric vehicles, saying that just because EVs “can lower emissions doesn’t mean that they necessarily will.” In this episode, Nunes, who in addition to his position with the Breakthrough Institute is also a researcher at Harvard Law School, explains why EV prices are rising, why EV makers haven’t demonstrated a “viable path to profitability,” and why the federal government’s lavish support and mandates for EVs are an “unworkable policy.” (Recorded May 2, 2023.)

Ruy Teixeira is the author or co-author of eight books, as well as a prolific writer on politics in America, including his recent essay,  “The Working Class Isn’t Down With the Green Transition.” In this episode, Teixeira talks about how the climate change issue came to dominate Democratic Party politics, how the party lost its connections to rural Americans, the “insularity of the elites” who dominate both parties, the attacks on free speech that are coming from the Left, and why more Hispanic voters are attracted to the Republican Party. (Recorded April 20, 2023.) 

Over the past few years, Helsinki-based Wärtsilä has made inroads into the U.S. power generation market with its huge gas-fired reciprocating engines, including a 190-megawatt deal it struck with the Lower Colorado River Authority in February. In this episode, Karl Meeusen, who directs Wärtsilä’s legislative and regulatory team in the U.S., explains why his company’s fast start-and-stop engines are a good match for grids that need to offset the variability of wind and solar, the ongoing challenges of building high-voltage transmission capacity, and why Texas “is a big focus” for his company.  (Recorded April 17, 2023.)

The Texas Legislature is now in the final days of considering a spate of bills that could change how the state’s electricity market functions. In this episode, Doug Lewin, who has been tracking energy-related legislation at the Texas Capitol for more than 20 years, explains the surge in distributed generation, the huge amounts of solar and storage coming onto the ERCOT grid, the prospects for a Texas capacity market, and why his first priority would be to “weatherize, weatherize, weatherize” the state’s gas plants, homes, and businesses. (Recorded May 5, 2023.)

Xu Chen has spent 15 years in the solar sector, including a stint at GCL, a major producer of polysilicon. In this episode, Chen explains why costs for solar projects are increasing (up 8.5% in the first quarter alone), how enforcement of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act and tariffs are impacting supply chains and prices, the increasing efficiency of solar panels, and why pairing solar with batteries could ease congestion challenges on the electric grid. (Recorded April 19, 2023.)