VX News is the editorial voice of the annual VerdeXchange Conference, featuring in-depth interviews with industry leaders and policymakers driving innovation in clean energy, water, transportation, and climate policy.
VX2026 Panel: What's Taking So Damn Long?
Moderator Jim Kelly of S&C Electric begins the "What's Taking So Damn Long? Fixing Energy Project Permitting" VX2026 panel by naming the stakes plainly: California is trying to build electrical infrastructure fast enough to meet record demand growth while the state already carries the highest electricity rates in the continental U.S. The panel brought together CEC Commissioner Noemí Gallardo, CPUC Commissioner Christine Harada, Stantec Senior Principal Brianna Pilkinton, and LADWP Interim COO Jason Rondou. To check out the full panel click here.
The Cost of Waiting: Larry Kosmont on PCH, Disaster Recovery Districts, and the Infrastructure Gap
Recovery does not begin with rebuilding structures. It begins with rebuilding the infrastructure that makes communities worth returning to – streets, sewers, water, power, and the systems that make a place livable and investable.
That is the argument Larry Kosmont, Chairman & CEO of Kosmont Companies, brings to VX2026. With the debris removal phase of the January 2025 Palisades and Eaton Fires now complete, and an estimated $76 to $131 billion in property and capital losses still looming over Pacific Palisades, Malibu, and Altadena, the question is no longer whether to rebuild…it is whether the financing infrastructure can move fast enough to make rebuilding possible.
The Extended Day-Ahead Market Goes Live: EDF’s Michael Colvin
Building on past VX coverage of Western grid integration and governance reform, including the Pathways Initiative and California’s legislative efforts to enable a regional market, we reconnected with Michael Colvin, Director of the California Energy Program at Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), to assess where things stand today and what comes next. In conversation, Colvin outlines the launch of the Extended Day-Ahead Market for Western Energy, the role of independent governance in enabling multi-state participation, and the broader infrastructure challenges shaping the energy transition.
Noel Hacegaba’s Bullish Vision: New CEO Outlines the Port of Long Beach’s Future
In this VX News interview, Port of Long Beach CEO Noel Hacegaba discusses how the Port is adapting to shifting global trade patterns and supply chain disruptions. With manufacturing flows increasingly moving from China toward Southeast Asia, Hacegaba outlines the port’s $3.2 billion infrastructure investment over the next 10 years, including the Pier B On-Dock Rail Support Facility designed to triple rail capacity and accelerate cargo movement across the nation.
Building the Next Phase of California’s Hydrogen Market: FPH2’s CEO Jason Caudle
Hydrogen is not new to California. It has long served industrial users, refineries, and critical infrastructure. What is new, and what CEO Jason Caudle (First Public Hydrogen or FPH2) is focused on, is the deliberate expansion of hydrogen into new, scalable market segments, including: public transit, distributed energy, and stationary power.
LADWP’s New Ratepayer Advocate — Meet Tim O’Connor
Tim O’Connor, newly appointed Executive Director and Ratepayer Advocate for the Office of Public Accountability (OPA) at LADWP, outlines his vision with VX News for modernizing the role to meet today’s affordability, climate, and infrastructure challenges.
Seattle's DOT Director Greg Spotts on Financing, Maintaining & Modernizing City’s Infrastructure
This VXNews interview, Greg Spotts, Director of Seattle's Department of Transportation (SDOT), focuses on the recent passage of Seattle’s Proposition 1—an 8-year $1.55 billion transportation levy that received 66% voter approval. T
Accelerating Water Resilience through Infrastructure Finance in California
Watch this panel discuss instruments that exist for providing supplemental, flexible, low-cost credit assistance to public and private borrowers for various types of wastewater, stormwater, and drinking water projects.
LADWP’s New CEO & Chief Engineer Janisse Quiñones on Accelerating LA’s Clean Energy Transition
In this timely VXNews interview, LADWP’s new CEO & Chief Engineer Janisse Quiñones addresses LADWP’s critical role in Los Angeles’ transition to 100% clean energy by 2035 and highlights significant investments underway to increase capacity of transmission infrastructure to ensure reliability.
Christine Harada on Deploying Public & Private Investment in Grid Infrastructure
In this exclusive interview with Christine Harada, former Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council Chair and current overseer of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy, Harada shares her experiences and knowledge gained from managing two critical and complex federal portfolios.