Archive - Volts

Are utilities making too much money?

Joe Daniel on why trimming utility profits is good governance.

Feb 11 • David Roberts

1:15:39

So, how's the climate doing?

Dr. Sarah Kapnick on the "fuzzy crystal ball" of modern climate science and the reality of a hotter world.

Feb 6 • David Roberts

1:04:51

Taiwan's energy dilemma

Yeh-Tang "Ricky" Huang and I discuss the struggle to build renewables, the nuclear debate, and the promise of geothermal power.

Feb 4 • David Roberts

1:09:45

January 2026

All about "reactionary centrism"

Michael Hobbes joins me to diagnose the pundit class's obsession with scolding the left while the right burns down the house.

Jan 30 • David Roberts

1:48:12

How to make rooftop solar power as cheap in the US as it is in Australia

Nick Josefowitz and Andrew Birch join me to explain how slashing red tape can bring Australian solar prices to the US.

Jan 28 • David Roberts

1:08:20

Volts community thread #26

Open to all free & paid subscribers.

Jan 26 • David Roberts and Samuel R (Volts team)

Let's dig a little deeper into virtual power plants (VPPs)

EnergyHub CEO Seth Frader-Thompson joins me to distinguish between old-school demand response and true virtual power plants (VPPs).

Jan 21 • David Roberts

1:15:18

Making the electricity grid work like the internet

Jonas Birgersson joins me to explain how "packet-switching" for electrons can lead to energy abundance and grid resilience.

Jan 14 • David Roberts

1:29:10

What's the deal with closed-loop geothermal?

I talk to Eavor’s Jeanine Vany and Mark Fitzgerald about the engineering breakthroughs that could finally make geothermal geography-agnostic.

Jan 9 • David Roberts

1:05:03

NYC's congestion pricing has been running for a year now. How's it doing?

Kate Slevin joins me to break down the almost unqualified success of the controversial program's first year.

Jan 7 • David Roberts

59:21

December 2025

Sen. Brian Schatz wants permitting reform, but not like this

Hawaii's senator on the Trump "solar ban," the pivot to energy affordability, and the hard lessons of the IRA.

Dec 31, 2025 • David Roberts

56:41

Volts 5 year anniversary! + community thread #25

Open to all free & paid subscribers.

Dec 29, 2025 • David Roberts and Samuel R (Volts team)

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