Volts
by David Roberts
Latest episode
The federal permitting bill has been updated. What changed?
The federal permitting bill has been updated. What changed?
About this podcast
Volts is a podcast about leaving fossil fuels behind. I've been reporting on and explaining clean-energy topics for almost 20 years, and I love talking to politicians, analysts, innovators, and activists about the latest progress in the world's most important fight. (Volts is entirely subscriber-supported. Sign up!)
www.volts.wtf
Episodes
The newest 50 of 467 episodes
- The federal permitting bill has been updated. What changed? · 1 h 58 minThis is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.volts.wtf/subscribe The Senate’s bipartisan permitting…
- So, how about those midterm elections? · 1 h 25 minThis is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.volts.wtf/subscribe Last week’s election was a blue…
- Best of October 2026 · 14 minThis is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.volts.wtf Volts published eight conversations in October, which is a lot for anyone to listen to. We’ve rounded…
- The transformative potential of solid-state transformers · 1 h 31 minThis is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.volts.wtf/subscribe Power electronics have taken over…
- The (climate) case against (AI) data centers · 14 minThis is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.volts.wtf Volts guests have argued that data centers can be good for the grid if they’re built right. Here I…
- The PAC taking out clean energy opponents · 1 h 8 minThis is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.volts.wtf/subscribe Clean energy is the cheapest…
- Building our piece of the electric stack · 1 h 6 minThis is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.volts.wtf/subscribe Collectively, the electric stack…
- Can distributed energy work around American utilities? · 1 h 2 minThis is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.volts.wtf/subscribe American homes are filling up with…
- What’s up with Denmark? · 1 h 3 minThis is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.volts.wtf/subscribe Denmark gets a large share of its…
- Checking back in with Greenlight America · 1 h 7 minThis is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.volts.wtf/subscribe On this episode, recorded live at…
- What’s up with the new federal permitting reform bill? · 2 h 21 minThis is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.volts.wtf/subscribe The proposed bipartisan federal…
- The grueling fight to pass the Inflation Reduction Act · 1 h 4 minThis is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.volts.wtf/subscribe On September 14, I sat down with…
- Best of September 2026 · 43 minVolts published seven conversations in September, which is a lot for anyone to listen to. We’ve rounded up the highlights into less than an hour. Enjoy! This is a public…
- What’s up with heat-pump water heaters? · 1 h 4 minThis is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.volts.wtf/subscribe Heat pump water heaters use a…
- Do small residential batteries make sense? · 1 h 5 minThis is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.volts.wtf/subscribe Home batteries like the Tesla…
- How energy politics work inside DC · 15 minThis is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.volts.wtf Back in 2011, I wrote that fossil fuel interests had a much better media game than clean energy. My…
- How to build a more flexible, quieter, less obnoxious data center · 1 h 14 minThis is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.volts.wtf/subscribe Verrus is building data centers…
- Building a big, abundant, clean grid · 2 h 0 minThis is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.volts.wtf/subscribe Jane Flegal has worked inside…
- Is there way more conventional geothermal than we thought? · 1 h 4 minThis is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.volts.wtf/subscribe Zanskar argues that the US is badly…
- Best of August 2026 · 45 minVolts published eight conversations in August — with two Idaho state legislators, a grid cybersecurity expert, the architect of Uruguay's energy transition, an EV charging exec…
- How to respond to disinformation about clean energy, at scale · 1 h 11 minThis is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.volts.wtf/subscribe Disinformation about clean energy…
- Could we use Trump's tricks to make good green policy? · 1 h 8 minThis is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.volts.wtf/subscribe Even as he has torn down climate…
- Making data centers flexible so they can serve the grid rather than stress it out · 53 minThis is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.volts.wtf/subscribe Typically, AI data centers are…
- Why can't utilities innovate? · 1 h 11 minThis is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.volts.wtf/subscribe When it comes to innovative new…
- He helped Uruguay decarbonize. Can he help other countries do the same? · 1 h 2 minThis is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.volts.wtf/subscribe Ramón Méndez Galain helped Uruguay…
- Can public EV chargers be as reliable as gas stations? · 1 h 1 minThis is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.volts.wtf/subscribe As the U.S. EV market slows and…
- Another bipartisan housing miracle, this time in Idaho · 1 h 1 minThis is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.volts.wtf/subscribe Last year I did a pod on Montana’s…
- Grid cybersecurity: how big is the threat & what should we do about it? · 1 h 12 minThis is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.volts.wtf/subscribe Could the US grid be brought down…
- What should state policymakers do about data centers? · 1 h 3 minThis is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.volts.wtf/subscribe State legislatures are writing data…
- Best of July 2026 · 46 minVolts published eight conversations in July on subjects with nothing obvious in common: an Arizona utility board election, Minnesota smart meters, land value taxes in Spokane…
- Silicon anodes for batteries unlock greater energy density and faster charging times · 46 minThis is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.volts.wtf/subscribe Materials in lithium-ion battery…
- Should we feel good about the trajectory of clean energy post-Trump? · 1 h 27 minThis is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.volts.wtf/subscribe The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA)…
- The US is terrible at building public transit. Here's how to get better. · 1 h 7 minThis is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.volts.wtf/subscribe America once led the world in…
- Making sense of the data center backlash · 1 h 0 minThis is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.volts.wtf/subscribe Data center opposition has gone…
- Spreading the good news about electrification · 1 h 3 minThis is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.volts.wtf/subscribe Most of the energy decisions that…
- Want less sprawl and more urban infill? Try a land value tax! · 1 h 9 minThis is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.volts.wtf/subscribe Property taxes are two taxes…
- Forcing utilities to justify their distribution-system spending · 1 h 8 minThis is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.volts.wtf/subscribe Minnesota regulators Sydnie Lieb…
- A key Arizona race will test clean energy's electoral power · 55 minThis is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.volts.wtf/subscribe Following a stunning clean energy…
- How to keep people cool without making the planet even hotter · 1 h 5 minThis is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.volts.wtf/subscribe You might have noticed that it’s…
- America's flagship automaker enters the home energy market · 56 minThis is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.volts.wtf/subscribe In this episode, I talk with GM…
- Can the UK stay the course with its climate plans? · 1 h 1 minThis is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.volts.wtf/subscribe The UK has just released its…
- Why is NERC so worried about data centers? · 1 h 13 minThis is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.volts.wtf/subscribe The North American Electric…
- This oil shock won't be like the others · 26 minThis is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.volts.wtf Why is the latest fossil fuel crisis pushing the world toward rapid electrification instead of a…
- Are plug-in DERs going to spark a grid revolution? · 1 h 13 minThis is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.volts.wtf/subscribe In the US, clean energy tends to…
- Giving clean electricity a political voice of its own · 1 h 41 minThis is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.volts.wtf/subscribe Why is clean electrification, the…
- A limited defense of Biden's everything-bagel industrial policy · 1 h 8 minThis is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.volts.wtf/subscribe Conventional punditry loves the…
- How to phase out residential gas equitably · 1 h 7 minThis is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.volts.wtf/subscribe As affluent homeowners defect to…
- Sooner than you think, electricity is going to be cheap, abundant, and boring · 1 h 45 minThis is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.volts.wtf/subscribe Are data centers and…
- Telling the story of the grid · 34 minThis is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.volts.wtf Ben Eidelson and Anay Shah run the Stepchange podcast, which recently put out a magisterial four-hour…
- Electrifying industrial steam with heat pumps · 1 h 4 minThis is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.volts.wtf/subscribe Boiling water to make steam for…
