In December, the Los Angeles City Council passed the Zero Waste LA program, a new public-private waste hauling franchise partnership designed to address the 3 million tons of waste. In advance of VerdeXchange 2017's discussion on the future of the waste sector, Vice President of the Board of Public Works Heather Repenning joined VX News.

Caltech Professor Nate Lewis explores the cutting-edge clean technologies that will build and run our cities in the near future.

Regional smart grid leaders (including Hawaiian Electric's Rich Barone, pictured) discuss how the rollout of distributed generation, renewables, and electric and autonomous vehicles are shifting in relationships among energy customer, utilities, and municipalities.

California State Senator Wieckowski opines on his SB 246's work to improve statewide resiliency coordination, as well as other accomplishments as Chair of the Senate Environmental Quality Committee.

Seleta Reynolds joins VX News to discuss LADOT’s recently released Urban Mobility in the Digital Age report, which addresses the future of transportation in the city.

At the recently officially opened La Kretz Innovation Center (the home of the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator), leaders from the California Air Resources Board (CARB) co-hosted a valuable roundtable discussion event focusing on how state policies are driving technological innovation in California.

The City of Santa Monica has been awarded $1.5 million by the California Energy Commission to plan and permit a microgrid at their City Yards location, spurring a transformative upgrade to the enclave's energy infrastructure.

The California Air Resources Board’s most recent quarterly cap-and-trade auction was the first to result in only a fraction of available permits sold. Detractors used the weak auction results to highlight the program’s uncertain future, whereas advocates touted the state’s success in cutting carbon emissions quicker than expected. To CARB Chair Mary Nichols, who has overseen the leadership of the program since its inception, the auction showed that industries were keeping a lid on carbon emissions rather than buying permits to emit more. Nichols speaks to ongoing efforts to extend California’s carbon cap-and-trade system, and to expand the model to other states. Nichols also addresses the historic enforcement action and settlement with Volkswagen, which CARB led on negotiating.

Pacific Gas & Electric’s recently announcement it would shut down the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant highlighted California’s rapidly shifting approach to the electric power grid. To California Energy Commission Chair Robert Weisenmiller, the decision was significant, but was just one of a multitude of tidal forces moving California towards a diverse, dynamic, and resilient renewable energy portfolio. In an exclusive interview with VX News, Weisenmiller explains the growth and importance of the regional Energy Imbalance Market, as well as the Energy Commission’s efforts to invest research dollars to advance community-scale microgrids and renewables.