Energy

Richard Kauffman is leading New York State's ambitious effort to transform energy delivery. As chair of energy & finance for Governor Cuomo and chair of the board at the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, Kauffman is deeply involved in reforming regulations, as well as "changing the paradigm" of how government supports renewable energy and energy efficiency projects. VX News sat down with him to glean lessons learned that can inform related efforts in California and across the nation.

VX News presents an edited transcript of the panel “Peak Oil and Green Energy: Both Fossils?” from the Milken Institute’s Global Conference, April 26-29 in Santa Monica. Moderated by Greg Dalton, host of the podcast ClimateOne, the panel features Ian Wright, CEO of Wrightspeed and co-founder of Tesla; Cathy Zoi, director of the Energy Transformation Collaborative at Stanford and incoming CEO of SunEdison’s Rural Electric Company; and Scott Jacobs, CEO and co-founder of Generate Capital. They discuss the death of the “peak oil” issue, the challenges facing the popularization of clean energy technology, and whether the renewable energy industry really needs a technological breakthrough—or just a change in the way it does business.

Governor Jerry Brown appeared at the “Navigating the American Carbon World” conference in Los Angeles on April 29, 2015 to speak about his executive order on greenhouse gas reduction. The most ambitious reduction goal in North America, it calls for reducing emissions to 1990 levels by 2030. VX News offers an edited transcript of his remarks here. In the face of national skepticism and scattered international priorities, Gov. Brown calls on California business leaders to respond to the climate change crisis by innovating, creating, and cooperating. By rising to the challenge he has set, Gov. Brown says California can show the world that fighting climate change is good business, good government, and good economics.

On October 6, Richard Kauffman, Chairman of Energy and Finance at the New York State Office of the Governor, and Mary Nichols, Chairman of the California Air Resources Board, spoke with Dr. JR DeShazo of UCLA’s Luskin School of Public Affairs at the GloSho 2014 opening plenary titled, “Fireside Chat: Two Clean Economy Titans.” While Nichols has background in government policy and environmental advocacy, Kauffman brings decades of experience in clean technology and innovation in the private sector to the conversation. VerdeXchange News presents edited excerpts from the panel, including answers to audience questions. The conversation focuses on the public sector’s catalyzing role for innovation in both the California and New York clean-technology private sector.

As California seeks to meet greenhouse-gas emissions reduction goals set out by AB32, utilities are grappling with the intermittence of renewable resources like solar and wind. George Minter, Senior Director of Policy and Environment at the Southern California Gas Company, works on SoCalGas’s electrolysis commercialization and expansion program, which aims to address this challenge. In the following interview with VerdeXchange News, Minter discusses power-to-gas—how it works, precedents for its use in the European Union, and its potential as a solution to excess power on the grid. Minter also discusses natural gas’ impact on transportation, the “hydrogen highway,” and efforts to decarbonize the pipeline—lowering the carbon content of California’s natural gas supply.

Lennar Corporation is the second-largest homebuilder in the US. As President of Lennar Ventures and CEO of SunStreet Energy Group, David Kaiserman is pioneering a new model for residential developers: including solar systems as standard features on new homes. Kaiserman spoke with VerdeXchange News in the midst of SunStreet’s market-by-market deployment about the intersection of homebuilding and alternative energy, explaining SunStreet’s innovative approach and its potential impact on the solar industry if adopted more widely.