Fueling the Energy Future: Unlocking the Hidden Power of Aluminum
Schweitzer Drive
Peter Godart, co-founder of , visits Schweitzer Drive to discuss a novel approach to energy: using aluminum as a high-density, carbon-free fuel. Learn how this technology works, why it’s 40x more energy dense than batteries, and how it could transform everything from long-duration storage to container ships and coal plant retrofits.
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Timing Is Everything: How Grid Technology Is Transforming Emergency Communications
Schweitzer Drive
What do electric power and emergency response have in common? More than you might expect. In this episode, host Dave Whitehead talks with radio engineer Jordan Coreson and communications and cybersecurity expert Ryan Bradetich about how precision timing—originally developed for the electric grid—is now helping solve big challenges in 911 systems.
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AI Meets the Grid: Driving Innovation at Avista
Schweitzer Drive
In this episode, host Dave Whitehead sits down with Wayne Manuel, Chief Information and Security Officer at Avista, to explore how artificial intelligence is reshaping the utility industry. From predictive maintenance to customer service enhancements, Wayne shares how Avista is leveraging AI and machine learning to optimize operations across its Pacific Northwest service area.
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New Nuclear: A Candid Conversation with Robert Bryce
Schweitzer Drive
Author and journalist Robert Bryce returns to Schweitzer Drive for a candid conversation with host Dave Whitehead about the president’s bold plan to expand nuclear power in the United States. Drawing on decades of energy research, Bryce explains why the goal of quadrupling nuclear capacity by 2050 is unlikely, but offers a realistic view of the challenges ahead and how we can make meaningful progress.
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Safety, Reliability, and Innovation: PG&E’s Wildfire Mitigation Strategy
Schweitzer Drive
In this episode, we continue our exploration of how utilities are working to mitigate the threat of wildfires with a look at how PG&E is transforming its grid to reduce ignition risk throughout its 70,000-square-mile service area. Host Dave Whitehead is joined by James Tuccillo, manager of distribution and asset planning, to discuss PG&E’s multi-pronged strategy, which includes an ambitious plan to underground 10,000 miles of power lines. James also shares insights into how advanced, staged-fault testing and high-impedance fault detection technology are reshaping how utilities detect...
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Protecting People, Property, and Power: Avista’s Wildfire Mitigation Strategy
Schweitzer Drive
As the wildfire threat has grown across the western U.S., utilities have stepped up to protect communities and critical infrastructure. In this episode, host Dave Whitehead talks with Josh DiLuciano, vice president of Energy Delivery at Avista, about how the utility is tackling wildfire risk head-on. From grid hardening and vegetation management to advanced technologies and community partnerships, Josh shares how Avista’s Wildfire Resiliency Plan is designed to safeguard people, property, and the power that keeps the region running.
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Fortifying the Power Grid: The Role of IEC 62443 and Cybersecurity Standards
Schweitzer Drive
As our reliance on electric power continues to grow, so does the need to protect the grid from cyber threats. In this episode, guest host Frank Harrill, VP of Security at SEL, talks with cybersecurity expert Andre Ristaino about how industry standards, specifically IEC 62443, are shaping the future of industrial cybersecurity, including their impact on the electric power grid.
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The Resilient U.S. Power Grid: One Hundred Forty-Five Years and Going Strong
Schweitzer Drive
In this episode, Dave Whitehead talks with power systems experts Gerardo Urrea and Bryan Fazzari about the U.S. power grid and some of the reasons why it enjoys an impressive 99.95% reliability, despite often being described as an old, cobbled together system. They also discuss the new technologies they are most excited about.
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New Nuclear: Thinking Big with Westinghouse
Schweitzer Drive
As the demand for clean energy and the push for decarbonization intensify, there's a renewed focus on large-scale nuclear reactors in the United States. In this episode, host Dave Whithead sits down with Dr. Luca Oriani, President of Long-Term Operations at Westinghouse, a company that has been leading nuclear power innovation for over a century. Dr. Oriani shares insights into the latest advancements in nuclear technology, the challenges and successes of the AP1000 reactors, and the future of nuclear power in the United States, globally, and potentially beyond.
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The Data Center Challenge: Build Faster, Be Efficient, and Keep the Data Flowing
Schweitzer Drive
Data centers face big challenges, from processing trillions of search queries and storing billions of emails and photos to serving countless hours of video every day, while at the same time developing ways of decreasing their energy usage and carbon footprints and increasing data security. In this episode, Angad Sandhu, director of data center infrastructure at Google, talks with Dave Whitehead about how the company continues to keep the internet humming 24/7 while building, maintaining, and powering its fleet of data centers around the world.
info_outlineIf you’ve ever tried out a new technology and thought “Wow, that was easy!”—chances are a user experience (UX) designer played a part in your delight. Join Dave Whitehead as he talks with UX expert Bryan Foutch about the origins of UX and the hard work that goes into making products that are easy to use.