Guess where I am? Well, still in the U.S. but definitely at the airport if you, like me, read your favorite newsletters as they hit your inbox. Europe, here I come!
Just a reminder that you won’t hear from me next week, but I will be back in your inbox with stories to tell on May 8th!
This week’s must read: What I’ve learned after 25 years leading a clean energy advocacy organization in Utah (Deseret News)
“Utah has the potential to become the conservative state that leads the nation on climate solutions,” writes Sarah Wright, the founder and departing CEO of Utah Clean Energy, a non-partisan nonprofit driving innovative clean energy and climate solutions in Utah since 2001.
“When I founded Utah Clean Energy in 2001, around 94% of the state’s electricity generation came from coal; that share is now down to 45%. Back then, talking about zero-emissions buildings or communities powered by wind, solar and energy storage was like speaking a different language. Today, Utah ranks sixteenth in the nation in solar deployment, with enough solar, wind and storage to power a million homes with homegrown energy while bringing billions of dollars in investment to rural communities. Utah is also leading new energy innovation with next-generation geothermal technology. One new geothermal power plant is expected to generate hundreds of millions of dollars in economic activity while delivering clean power to thousands of households around the clock. If we can make this kind of progress in a place like Utah, we can do it anywhere.”
This is exactly why we love Utah!
Affordable, accessible solar? Tell us more…
Residential solar has a number of barriers to entry, one of the biggest being cost. But what if you could run to IKEA, buy a portable panel that plugs into your home, and immediately save on power bills?
That future is coming.
As we discussed in 2025’s conversation with Utah Rep. Raymond Ward, who spearheaded changing the law in his state to allow so-called balcony solar, this is a widely popular appliance in Germany that can and should be commercialized in the U.S. Cora Stryker and Bright Saver have been working to advance policies like Utah’s and there is now action in over 30 states to pave the way for balcony solar.
A serial founder of several mission-driven organizations and the co-founder of Bright Saver, an organization whose mission is simply to help Americans save on electricity bills by making plug-in solar affordable and accessible to all, Cora is a strong believer that market-driven solutions to climate change will enable the transition to a clean and equitable economy. She works tirelessly to make clean energy solutions better, faster, and cheaper than the dirty fossils that drove the energy economy of the past.
Feel helpless and now sure how to engage: check out the status of balcony solar in your state and join/spark the movement!
Coming up next week, we continue the theme by exploring the potential of geothermal energy with Project Innerspace founder Jamie Beard. If, like me, you’ve been reading about the prospects for geothermal, you won’t want to miss this riveting episode.
Quote of the week
“If we are going to successfully meet this surge in demand for power while maintaining affordability and reliability, we’re going to need every available electron,” former FERC chairman Neil Chatterjee said at the CCL Conservative Caucus’s recent lobby day. “We’ll need energy efficiency, demand response, grid-enhancing technologies… There’s a real opportunity to do smart energy policy here, and it does really start with federal energy permitting reform.”
Bob in the wild
I love this photo of Bob Inglis addressing a small class at Anderson University in South Carolina. You can feel Bob engaging with the room of college students on the topic of climate change, but also, the pizza box in the lower left corner reminds us that they are students, the next generation of leaders.
Seen on the Hill
Speaking of the next generation of leaders, our friend, prolific op-ed writer, and lawns-to-meadowns advocate William Sweet was in Washington, D.C. this week meeting with lawmakers on this conversation-minded approach to our front (and back) yards.
“It is encouraging to see these market-based conservation ideas resonating at this level,” William said of his experience on Capitol Hill.
William and the Connecticut state lawmakers working on lawns-to-meadows legislation in their state will be future podcast guests, for sure!