Sell Every Megawatt: Sustainable Computing with Renewable Energy - with John Belizaire, Soluna
Release Date: 01/31/2022
Zero-Carbon Industry: Transformative Technologies and Policies to Achieve Sustainable Prosperity - with Jeffrey Rissman
AWESome EarthKind
The entire world is transitioning from fossil fuels to clean energy sources for our electricity, heating, cooling and transportation. Technologies such as energy efficient light bulbs and appliances, solar and wind powered electricity, air and ground source heat pumps, and electric vehicles are transforming our lives. Communities, schools, and workplaces are adopting zero-carbon technologies that will also reduce costs and improve our health and safety. But did you know that the industrial sector is responsible for one third of global greenhouse gas emissions and that industry is...
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Durable Change Only Happens at the Speed of Trust - with Erik Wohlgemuth, Future500
AWESome EarthKind
Quantum Quote: "We build too many walls, and not enough bridges." - Isaac Newton We live in an incredibly polarized world. Every day, we witness the widespread, massive distrust of almost everything and everyone. How can we overcome the escalating anger and mistrust that pervades close to every aspect of our society? Well, in today's episode, we meet Erik Wohlgemuth of Future 500 (www.future500.org) with over two decades of experience in stakeholder engagement and corporate sustainability. Erik is trusted by diverse leaders across industries, sectors, and political...
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Robison’s Evolution - from Fossils to Clean Energy – with Dan Singer
AWESome EarthKind
Quantum Quote: “It is not the critic who counts, not the one who points out how the strong man stumbled or how the doer of deeds might have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred with sweat and dust and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause; who, if he wins, knows the triumph of high achievement; and who, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold...
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University Sustainability with UB Chief Sustainability Officer Ryan McPherson
AWESome EarthKind
Quantum Quote: "The peacemaker taught us about the seven generations. He said, when you sit in Council for the welfare of the people, you must not think of yourself or your family, not even of your generation. He said, make your decisions on behalf of the seven generations coming, so that they may enjoy what you have today." - Oren Lyons "It's not the critic who counts; nor the man or woman who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and...
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Saving the Climate with Sustainable & Profitable Ocean Wave Energy - with Jan G. Skjoldhammer, NoviWave
AWESome EarthKind
Quantum Quote: “Save the climate with profitable wave power.” – Jan G. Skjoldhammer Each and every year, uwe are burning more fossil fuels, ruining our children’s futures and all of our lives. What we’ve been missing is a more cost-effective and climate-saving solution that’s been around since the very beginning of time. Wave power—about three times more stable than wind—has the potential to provide energy equal to all the electric consumption of everyone in the world right now! Jan’s message is that wave power alone could provide most of our...
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Climate-Smart Agriculture: How Eco-Friendly Farming can Protect You & Mother Earth - with Sara Waldner
AWESome EarthKind
Quantum Quote: “Save our soil in the hopes that the soil might just save us.” - Woody Harrelson We all have to eat - but agriculture is something we often don’t think about And, even when we do, we don’t think much about how it affects our environment. But climate smart grants, carbon credits, and goals to become “net zero” have now made agriculture a hot topic in the mainstream media over recent years. Sustainable agriculture provides a fast and direct path to the eco-friendly changes we want, and climate smart farming can create more resilient crops and healthier...
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Organic Batteries to Power IoT using Electricity from Paper and Enzymes - with BeFC’s Marie Berthuel and Jules Hammond
AWESome EarthKind
Quantum Quote: “Luck is when preparation meets opportunity.” –Jules Hammond “To learn to succeed, you must first learn to fail.” –Michael Jordan Batteries may be just shrugged off as something small - but did you know that 15 billion batteries end up in landfill or are incinerated every year? The power of science and technology is now creating a change in how we produce batteries - using only paper and enzymes. Today’s podcast explains this new sustainable energy solution and how it will pave the way for a cleaner and brighter...
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Why Homeowners & HVAC Contractors are Switching to Geothermal - with Emily Ostrander, ClimateMaster
AWESome EarthKind
Geothermal heating and cooling systems are no longer new in the market. Contractors and homeowners are recognizing that cash and tax incentives reduce both upfront investments and monthly operating costs - while creating quiet, sustainable and & more comfortable indoor air environments. Truth be told, some geothermal systems have a price tag that at first appears to be a lot more than a conventional system. But with a 30% federal tax credit, additional local tax credits and utility rebates, that number can make a geothermal HVAC system cost only slightly more than a conventional...
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A Cheaper, Warmer, Cooler, & Cleaner Way to Heat and Cool our Buildings - New York’s Effort to Provide High-Efficiency Clean Heating & Cooling Systems, with Donovan Gordon,NYSERDA
AWESome EarthKind
Quantum Quote: “Passion and commitment. You got to be passionate about what you do and committed to accomplish what you’re passionate about. That’s how I live my life.” – Donovan Gordon How can we save money and help create a better future by transitioning from heating our buildings with fossil fuels to heating and cooling with clean and renewable resources? When we say that we’re going to heat and cool our buildings from the earth, more often than not, people scratch their heads and question how it’s possible to get 72 degrees from dirt. By running...
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How Sustainable Investing Can Help Solve Climate Change with Zach Stein, Carbon Collective
AWESome EarthKind
Quantum Quote: “You can't climb a mountain if it's smooth." -Andre Iguodala Investing is one of the primary ways to secure a better financial future for you and your family. But, did you know that where we bank and how our investments are managed can greatly impact our carbon footprints? Our finances, including our retirement funds, are not charity. Ensuring that these are properly invested is a must. Carbon Collective provides the opportunity to ensure that our investments not only build a better future for us, but also for our planet. As part of its...
info_outlineQuantum Quote: “An idea that is developed and put into action is more important than an idea that exists only as an idea.” – Edward de Bono
There is exponential growth in new clean energy production, with numerous companies creating solar & wind power plants across the globe. Clean energy is now the least cost source of new electricity virtually everywhere on Earth, and renewable energy was 87% of all new electric power plants in the US in 2021.
Unfortunately, a lot of that energy doesn’t reach the grid due to a mismatch of consumer demand with nature’s power.
Clean energy growth is exponential - and so is the increase in the world’s information consumption and processing needs.
Enter Soluna Computing. Soluna was founded to bring flexible data centers that are powered by clean energy - maximizing the value of solar & wind plants when they aren’t being used for general electric capacity.
As Soluna CEO John Blizaire says “the renewable energy industry needs more flexibility; the computing industry needs more green power. It’s a perfect match”.
Join us today as we see how information technology and renewable energy can be combined and dive into the potential to make renewable energy the world’s superpower resource for the information age.
John Belizaire is the CEO of Soluna Computing Inc. He is on a mission to reimagine the renewable energy grid to make renewable energy more efficient and environmentally friendly. Soluna is currently focused on some of the biggest unsolved problems for the economics of renewable energy: sustainable computing, sustainable data center spaces, and wasted energy.
Since his days of selling floppy discs in high school, John has had an entrepreneurial spirit and interest in technology. He was a recipient of the Intel Scholarship Program and he went on to receive a computer science and engineering degree from Cornell University. When he was 28 years old, he sold his first start-up company for $150 million. He is a versatile CEO and serial entrepreneur who has successfully founded and scaled several more multi-million dollar technology companies.
Today, he is CEO of Soluna, a company helping to shape the future of renewable energy development. His expertise as both a highly effective business leader and technology strategist has led his new venture to operational success by steering complex initiatives from concept to funding, launch, and growth.
Today’s podcast is being brought to you by EarthKind Energy and the Ampion-Clearpoint Community Solar program.
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SuperNova #1. Most people want more green power but they don’t understand the challenges with getting it. I don’t think people understand the challenge with renewables. The grid has this very structured way in which to build that infrastructure, and at the heart of it is this concept of dispatchability. With renewables, Mother Nature is deciding dispatchability, and most people don’t know that. This creates the wasted energy issue.
SuperNova #2. There’s a lot of renewable energy that’s being built, but what most people don’t realize is that up to one-third of that green energy never actually makes it to the grid. That’s because the grid here in the US - and just about everywhere - suffers from an architecture problem. It was originally designed to synchronize the production of the power to the consumption of the power. But as we start to change those power plants and replace them with intermittent green power resources that are really controlled by Mother Nature, that synchronization no longer exists.
SuperNova #3. Most people don’t know how powerful storytelling is, and they aren’t very good at storytelling. But stories are at the heart of how you get action, and how you turn ideas into execution. You have to get people to buy into a vision of the future that they can all believe. Then, they can see a path to creating that vision of the future.
Worst Career Moment: “We were developing a power plant. To develop a power plant, you have to be on the ground. You’ve got to be meeting with the government officials and you’ve got to have local interaction with the local communities. In March 2020, that was totally shut down. We had to sit down and really think about what our business is going to be. We hunkered down. We made time to really think broadly and laterally. One of the things we’re able to do was to get this big renewable energy agency to talk to us over the phone. In cracking that code to deliver them a firm set of power, firm price, firm delivery, the computing was actually the answer.” – John Belizaire
Most Energized About Today: “Today, I’m most energized about building our team. We’ve been attracting some fantastic people from different industries - from the renewable energy industry to financial expertise. We’re forming new partnerships with some of the largest infrastructure companies in the world.” – John Belizaire
Parting Advice: “Keep pushing. No matter what happens, just keep pushing. Never stop. That’s how you get to success.” – John Belizaire
Connect:
- Website: www.solunacomputing.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/solunaholdings
- Twitter: @solunaholdings; @jbelizaireCEO
We have a climate change problem, and if we don’t do something drastically different – bring some new ideas and put those ideas into action – we’re in big trouble.