A WattCarbon Podcast

And more to come in 2023

A couple of weeks ago, I sat down with James Dice for his Nexus Labs podcast #120. We talked about the intersection between smart buildings and energy decarbonization. Here’s my pull quote from the interview:

“They're doing the same thing they did last year, but [this year] it's called decarbonization. But the reality is, is that they are decarbonizing buildings. The work that we've been doing for 20 years is the right work to be doing; we just don't have a metric to measure ourselves against and a way to value that work."

On Finding the Right Metrics

Reflecting on this a few weeks later, I think James and I hit on something important. Most of what is required for decarbonizing energy we already know how to do. It’s really just a matter of building more renewables, getting rid of appliances that burn fossil fuels, and then making things a little easier on ourselves by optimizing energy consumption to match renewable energy production.

But when it comes to measuring ourselves or valuing this work, we tend to forget about why we are trying to do it in the first place. We suddenly shift into MBA mode. We start talking about ROI, about wholesale market arbitrage, about contracts for differences. In other words, we try to justify this work using metrics developed by and for the fossil fuel industry.

But the main reason to go through all of the work of decarbonizing our energy systems isn’t primarily because of the potential for lower bills, or PPA profits, or peak load reduction payments. It’s because a decarbonized energy system avoids the devastating pollution that accompanies fossil fuel combustion. And now that we have a better understanding of how greenhouse gasses contribute to global warming, the urgency of the task is manifest.

On Offsetting Emissions

James and I also talked about carbon offsets. There are a lot of reasons to be skeptical of net-zero claims that rely on offsets. I get most annoyed at the offsets that are claimed for “not making things worse.” We see this mostly with nature offsets where, for example, a forest won’t be cut down and some big polluter calls themselves net zero for “paying” for the offsets.

But energy decarbonization is a little bit different and actually fits the offset use case pretty well. Decades ago, Amory Lovins coined the concept of a “negawatt” or a unit of avoided energy consumption. In many ways, the concept of net zero is just an extension of the negawatt. You may not be able to avoid the carbon emissions associated with your electricity consumption, for example, but you might be able to pay someone else to avoid using energy at the same time; or to electrify their home to eliminate gas consumption; or to add solar panels to their roof.

The rationale for offsetting energy consumption is even more clear when considering the preternatural foot-dragging of utilities and (captured) state regulators. There’s little chance that we’ll reach decarbonization goals if we move at utility speed.

Next-generation carbon free energy procurement initiatives, developed by organizations like the Clean Energy Buyer’s Institute and the United Nations, provide a framework for thinking about how to use energy offsets to play offense against recalcitrant utilities. By rejecting the idea that we have to passively accept whatever energy is delivered to us (under whatever specious claims of “green”), procurement initiatives put the power back in the hands of the energy buyer. We can use our energy budgets as a force for good.

The WattCarbon CFE marketplace that will roll out in the coming weeks embraces this concept. We can all net out the carbon emissions of the energy we consume by purchasing energy from renewables, helping to fund electrification projects, and matching our remaining energy consumption with demand reductions delivered by others. Doing so will drive energy decarbonization faster, more democratically, and more universally than any other proposed pathway. And unlike nature offsets, the exact emission reductions can be quantified.

More Podcasts

We had fun doing James’ podcast, but too often these podcasts are focused on big ideas, policy debates, and “thought leadership.” Frankly, they’re boring. I hardly ever listen to them.

We think we can do it better. We want to talk to the people on the front lines of the energy decarbonization movement. And we want you to get to know them too. This week we welcomed Kelli Littleton to our team. She and I are going to work on putting a podcast together. We don’t know what we’re doing, and it may not work, but if we can figure it out, we’ll aim to feature the stories of the people who are doing so much to make a difference. Stay tuned!