Jigar Shah’s Surprising Stand on This Utility Program

About this episode

Jigar Shah discusses his unexpected support for a utility battery program and outlines a policy blueprint for reducing electricity bills.

Jigar Shah is one of clean energy's most influential — and outspoken — figures. In this episode, he takes a surprising stand on a utility battery program that has the distributed energy world divided, makes the case that the solar industry is now the battery industry, and lays out a policy blueprint for new governors that starts with one bold number: cut electricity bills 20% by 2030. In this episode: Why Shah is defending Xcel Energy's controversial utility-owned battery program in Minnesota — and why he thinks the critics are fighting the wrong battle The $50 billion math: how strategically placed batteries could meet all U.S. load growth through 2030 at a fraction of the cost of new utility infrastructure His blunt advice for half the clean energy industry: adapt your cost structure or shut your doors The "controlled experiment" between Xcel Minnesota and Xcel Colorado that could settle the utility ownership debate A three-point energy platform for governors, anchored in grid-enhancing technologies and massive battery deployment Shah's personal journey from a village in India with barely any electricity to overseeing the largest clean energy lending program in U.S…

People in this episode

Guest: Jigar Shah

Topics covered

• utility battery program
• clean energy
• solar industry
• energy policy
• electricity bills
• grid-enhancing technologies

Keywords

• utility program
• battery deployment
• electricity costs
• clean energy industry
• energy policy
• Xcel Energy
• solar industry

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Xcel Energy, Sparkfund, Generate Capital, SunEdison, Common Charge, Institute for Loc

Places: Minnesota, Colorado

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