Ensuring Electricity With Long Duration Storage – Julia Souder, Long Duration Energy Storage Council

·54 min·5 clips

How do we provide 24/7 clean electricity when the sun doesn't shine and the wind doesn't blow?

The episode begins with host Joan Michelson framing the challenge of ensuring 24/7 clean electricity when renewable sources are intermittent. She introduces guest Julia Souder, CEO of the Long Duration Energy Storage Council, a nonprofit guiding governments and grid operators. Souder defines long-duration energy storage as eight hours or more, capable of filling gaps for days, weeks, months, or seasons. She outlines four technology families: thermal (using rocks, salts, bricks), electrochemical (batteries like lithium-ion, flow batteries), chemical (hydrogen, ammonia), and mechanical (pumped hydro, compressed air). Souder emphasizes the diversity of storage methods, including repurposed salt caverns, mines, containers, and above-ground tanks. She addresses safety, noting many technologies are environmentally friendly and non-flammable. The discussion covers the council's report projecting a $4 trillion global market by 2040 and the need for 8 terawatts of deployment, contrasting with current gigawatt-scale deployment. Souder explains key challenges: awareness of value, updating energy models, and reforming market criteria to properly compensate storage. She highlights financial incentives like the U.S. 30% tax credit and mentions six companies building gigawatt factories in states like Oregon and Kentucky. Regulatory issues are discussed, including the role of FERC and state-level initiatives in Minnesota and California. Souder touches on mineral sourcing, noting efforts to ensure ethical supply chains and ESG compliance. The conversation shifts to career advice, where Souder recommends women seek board roles, ask for opportunities, and request executive coaching. She also shares insights on the Global Renewables Alliance, a coalition of clean energy industry groups. The episode concludes with a call to action for utilities, governments, and regulators to adopt long-duration storage.

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