Podcasts · Government · Science

Energy Policy Now

Kleinman Center for Energy Policy

237 episodes

Energy Policy Now offers clear talk on the policy issues that define our relationship to energy and its impact on society and the environment. The series is produced by the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at the University of Pennsylvania and hosted by energy journalist Andy Stone. Join Andy in conversation with leaders from industry, government, and academia as they shed light on today's pressing energy policy debates.

Episodes page 1 of 5

  1. John Kerry on Climate Diplomacy Without U.S. Leadership

    · 31 min · S11 E4

    Carnot Prize recipient John Kerry on what political will, markets and diplomacy mean for the next phase of climate action. --- John Kerry has served in the U.S. Senate, as Secretary of State and, most recently, as…

  2. Paying More for Less: The Rising Cost of Home Gas

    · 43 min · S11 E3

    As home gas use declines, rising infrastructure costs are pushing consumer gas bills higher. --- Americans are using less natural gas at home, yet their gas bills continue to rise. A growing share of those bills now…

  3. Can PJM Reform Its Own Governance?

    · 1 h 20 min · S11 E2

    PJM is under pressure to overhaul how it makes decisions. The harder question is whether the market can reform itself, and what meaningful change would require. --- The PJM Interconnection, the nation’s largest…

  4. Hormuz and China’s Energy Advantage

    · 34 min · S11 E1

    The Hormuz crisis tests China’s energy security while highlighting its growing clean-tech advantage. --- The closure of the Strait of Hormuz following the outbreak of war between the U.S. and Iran has disrupted about…

  5. From the Archive: The Cost of Pulling Back from China in the EV Transition

    · 56 min · S10 E7

    For the month of August, we’re highlighting episodes from the 2025-2026 season of Energy Policy Now. We’ll be back with new content, and a new season, on September the 8th. John Helveston of George Washington…

  6. From the Archive: When the Last Mile Turns Hot: Delivery Drivers in a Warming Climate

    · 48 min · S10 E8

    For the month of August, we’re highlighting episodes from the 2025-2026 season of Energy Policy Now. We’ll be back with new content, and a new season, on September the 8th. An economic sociologist discusses the…

  7. Agriculture, Energy, and the Challenge of Resilience

    · 41 min · S10 E22

    The modern agricultural system delivers an extraordinary abundance and variety of food at relatively low cost, thanks in part to abundant and affordable energy. Can those benefits be preserved without creating…

  8. Energy and the Economics of Affordability

    · 1 h 07 min · S10 E21

    Can the energy choices we make today influence affordability for decades to come? --- Affordability has become one of the defining issues in American politics. Rising costs for housing, healthcare, groceries, and…

  9. The West’s New Electricity Markets

    · 48 min · S10 E20

    Southwest Power Pool’s expansion into the West marks a major step toward greater regional coordination of the electric grid. --- Earlier this year the Southwest Power Pool, the electric grid operator for much of the…

  10. Is a New Era of Electricity Prices Beginning?

    · 41 min · S10 E19

    For years, electricity prices broadly tracked inflation. New pressures may be changing that. --- Electricity prices have become a major political issue in the United States, with policymakers increasingly focused on…

  11. The Fight Over the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund

    · 19 min · S10 E18

    Clean energy funding under the GGRF remains frozen, with projects on hold and questions over federal spending authority unresolved. --- The $27 billion Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund has become a focal point of the…

  12. From Corporate Standard to Climate Policy: The Greenhouse Gas Protocol

    · 37 min · S10 E17

    The Greenhouse Gas Protocol, the global standard for corporate emissions accounting, is increasingly embedded in policy, drawing new scrutiny of its governance. --- The Greenhouse Gas Protocol is the global standard…

  13. When Geopolitics Disrupts Energy Systems

    · 47 min · S10 E16

    Helen Thompson, a political economist at Cambridge, examines how geopolitical conflict has shaped global oil and gas markets, with implications for the current Gulf crisis. --- Geopolitical conflict has long shaped…

  14. Insurance and the Shifting Boundaries of Climate Risk

    · 46 min · S10 E15

    Insurance is on the front lines of climate risk, and may help shape how we respond to it. --- Insurance is one of the quiet pillars of the modern economy. It underpins where we build, how we invest, and whether…

  15. The Arctic and the Geopolitics of Strategic Minerals

    · 47 min · S10 E14

    The Arctic is emerging as a new front in the global competition over strategic minerals, raising questions about how the supply chains behind the energy transition will be governed. --- In recent months, Arctic…

  16. The Endangerment Finding and the Future of EPA’s Authority

    · 57 min · S10 E13

    Two Penn legal experts discuss the strategy behind EPA’s rescission of the Endangerment Finding and the court challenges ahead. --- On February 12, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency formally rescinded the…

  17. When Oil Sanctions Meet Dark Shipping

    · 1 h 02 min · S10 E12

    Oil sanctions have given rise to dark shipping, reshaping global energy flows and producing far-reaching economic consequences. --- In recent years, oil export sanctions have become a central tool of U.S. foreign…

  18. How PJM Is Grappling With Data Center Power Demand

    · 1 h 04 min · S10 E11

    The nation’s largest electric grid operator outlines its plan to manage rapid growth in data center electricity demand. --- PJM Interconnection, the nation’s largest grid operator, is preparing to file a wide-ranging…

  19. Planning the Grid in an Age of Uncertain Demand Growth

    · 41 min · S10 E10

    AI data centers are driving rapid demand growth, exposing the limits of traditional electricity forecasting and planning. --- Electricity demand in the United States is rising fast, fueled in large part by the rapid…

  20. Why a New Gas Power Boom Is Putting Methane Emissions Back in the Spotlight

    · 51 min · S10 E9

    Gas-fired power is back in favor in the United States, but methane emissions threaten its credibility. --- Methane is one of the most potent greenhouse gases, and global efforts to curb methane emissions are…

  21. When the Last Mile Turns Hot: Delivery Drivers in a Warming Climate

    · 47 min · S10 E8

    An economic sociologist discusses the growing heat dangers facing last-mile delivery drivers, and why federal protections remain stalled. --- E-commerce has transformed the way goods move through the American…

  22. The Cost of Pulling Back from China in the EV Transition

    · 56 min · S10 E7

    John Helveston of George Washington University discusses why a U.S. pullback from China on EVs is risky, and why engagement could strengthen America’s auto industry. --- China has rapidly become the center of global…

  23. How the Trump Administration Is Reshaping Nuclear Oversight

    · 45 min · S10 E6

    The Trump administration’s nuclear ambitions raise new questions about safety, speed, and regulatory independence. --- The Trump administration has made nuclear power a centerpiece of its energy agenda, launching the…

  24. U.S. Offshore Wind at an Impasse

    · 47 min · S10 E5

    What the U.S. offshore wind power crisis says about energy megaprojects, risk, and political resilience. --- After a surge of optimism, the U.S. offshore wind industry faces its most serious challenges yet. Just a…

  25. Why Energy Inequities Could Persist in the Clean Energy Transition

    · 51 min · S10 E4

    A live discussion with Sanya Carley and David Konisky, authors of the new book Power Lines, on the inequities that define America’s energy system—and how they could carry into the clean energy future if left…

  26. Union Leaders Push Clean Energy Jobs Agenda in Pennsylvania

    · 1 h 13 min · S10 E3

    With federal funding being pulled back, leaders of Pennsylvania’s top labor unions push state policy to deliver clean energy jobs. --- For generations, union members have mined Pennsylvania’s coal, run its power…

  27. The Conflicted Role of Auditors in Carbon Markets

    · 42 min · S10 E2

    Auditors are billed as carbon market watchdogs. But conflicts of interest may undermine their credibility. --- The voluntary carbon market is poised for rapid growth, with airlines soon required to use offsets for…

  28. U.S.–China Competition in the Age of Trump’s Energy Law

    · 40 min · S10 E1

    Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act reorients U.S. energy policy, redefining its rivalry with China and the global transition. --- Once, climate and clean energy were common ground between the United States and China,…

  29. From the Energy Policy Now Archive: How Virtual Power Plants Could Strengthen the Electrical Grid

    · 26 min · S9 E24

    For the month of August, we’re highlighting episodes from the 2024-2025 season of Energy Policy Now. We’ll be back with new content, and a new season, on September the 9th. Virtual power plants can help electric grid…

  30. From the Energy Policy Now Archive: Bridging the Partisan Climate Divide

    · 46 min · S9 E23

    For the month of August, we’re highlighting episodes from the 2024-2025 season of Energy Policy Now. We’ll be back with new content, and a new season, on September the 9th. Former Republican U.S. congressman Bob…

  31. Why This Energy Transition is Different

    · 45 min · S9 E22

    Though today’s energy transition is often framed as new, it follows patterns we’ve seen before. Cutler Cleveland of Boston University’s Institute for Global Sustainability explores the historical context of today’s…

  32. Will Interconnection Reform Unlock the Grid?

    · 50 min · S9 E21

    Thousands of clean energy projects are waiting to connect to the grid. How many will make it through, and will it be soon enough to keep the grid reliable? --- Electricity demand in the U.S. is rising fast, fueled by…

  33. Will "Big Beautiful Bill” Derail Clean Energy Growth?

    · 43 min · S9 E20

    BloombergNEF’s Derrick Flakoll discusses the outlook for U.S. clean energy development under the House version of Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill.” --- On May 22, the House of Representatives passed its version of what…

  34. Renewable Energy’s Land Use Reckoning

    · 44 min · S9 E19

    As renewable power grows, land use decisions will influence its environmental impact. --- Decarbonizing the electric grid will require a dramatic expansion of renewable energy by mid-century, and significantly more…

  35. Consumers on the Sidelines? The Fight Over the Grid’s Future

    · 52 min · S9 E18

    As electrical grid operators move to fast-track gas projects, consumer and environmental advocates raise red flags. --- The U.S. electricity grid is undergoing a dramatic transformation. As coal plants retire, wind,…

  36. Beyond Yield: Climate, Nutrition and the Future of Farming

    · 41 min · S9 E17

    Dr. Lindiwe Majele Sibanda, chair of global food security research network CGIAR, on adapting agriculture for climate and food security. --- Global agriculture changed dramatically during the 20th century as small,…

  37. Planning for Net Zero in an Imperfect World

    · 44 min · S9 E16

    Ambitious climate policies may overlook practical constraints. Kleinman Center Visiting Scholar Niall Mac Dowell explores what deliverable paths to net zero might require. --- The Earth’s average temperature…

  38. Can California’s Emissions Market Survive Past 2030?

    · 40 min · S9 E15

    Danny Cullenward, vice chair of California’s Independent Emissions Market Advisory Committee, explores the legal and policy challenges that threaten the future of the state’s carbon cap-and-trade market. --- For more…

  39. Bridging the Partisan Climate Divide

    · 47 min · S9 E14

    Former Republican U.S. congressman Bob Inglis offers a conservative perspective on climate solutions in discussion with Penn climatologist Michael Mann. --- Politically conservative and concerned about climate…

  40. Carbon Tariffs & Global Trade: Inside the EU’s CBAM Plan

    · 47 min · S9 E13

    The European Union’s carbon border tariff arrives in January. An architect of the plan discusses its impact on trade, competition, and climate. --- On January 1, 2026, the European Union will launch its Carbon Border…

  41. The Midwest's Big Bet on Clean Electricity Transmission

    · 44 min · S9 E12

    Aubrey Johnson, head of transmission planning for Midwest electrical grid operator MISO, explains the $22 billion effort to expand and modernize the grid for clean energy and reliability. --- Last year, the Federal…

  42. The Future of Electricity Demand in the AI Era

    · 39 min · S9 E11

    Grid Strategies’ Rob Gramlich discusses the dramatic increase in electricity demand from data center and manufacturing growth, and the challenges it presents for the grid. --- Electricity demand growth has returned…

  43. North America’s Looming Electricity Supply Shortages

    · 57 min · S9 E10

    North America’s electricity grid faces a shortfall of power. A grid policy expert explores one region’s efforts to ensure reliability and the controversies its proposals have raised. --- In December, the North…

  44. Rethinking Air Conditioning in A Hotter World

    · 47 min · S9 E9

    Two experts discuss the challenge of keeping billions of people cool while minimizing electrical grid and climate impacts. --- Global air conditioner use could triple by the middle of this century, driving a dramatic…

  45. Could Clean Energy Thrive Despite Trump Policy Changes?

    · 41 min · S9 E5

    President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to cut support for clean power. Two guests from Bloomberg NEF weigh the likely impacts on clean energy development. --- President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to reduce federal…

  46. Why Electrical Grid Governance Needs Reforming

    · 1 h 04 min · S9 E7

    Byzantine governance structures and vested interests are slowing the greening of the U.S. electrical grid. Two grid policy experts discuss paths forward. --- The U.S. electrical grid faces declining reliability,…

  47. Empowering Communities for Climate and Energy Justice

    · 32 min · S9 E6

    Carnot Prize recipient Jacqueline Patterson explores how the clean energy transition can drive meaningful progress toward energy and climate justice. --- In 2009 Jacqueline Patterson became the founding director of…

  48. Beyond Labor: The Expanding Scope of the Just Energy Transition

    · 31 min · S9 E5

    Kleinman Center visiting scholar Kirsten Jenkins explores the concept of a just energy transition, and why it must be expanded beyond its labor roots to address broad energy system injustices. --- The term “just…

  49. How Virtual Power Plants Could Strengthen the Electrical Grid

    · 25 min · S9 E4

    Virtual power plants can help electric grid operators address supply shortages and reliability concerns, but policy support is needed. --- The U.S. electrical grid is under growing stress, raising concern that recent…

  50. How Identity Politics Shape U.S. Energy Policy

    · 40 min · S9 E3

    David Spence explores the rise of identity politics in the U.S. and how it has fueled bitter partisanship over the transition to clean energy. --- Throughout American history, opposing political parties have at times…

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