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Columbia Energy Exchange

Columbia Energy Exchange features in-depth conversations with the world’s top energy and climate leaders from government, business, academia and civil society. The program explores today’s most pressing opportunities and challenges across energy sources, financial markets, geopolitics and climate change as well as their implications for both the U.S. and the world.
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Now displaying: July, 2016
Jul 25, 2016

The National Academy of Engineering has called the American power grid the “supreme engineering achievement of the 20th century.” A network of generation, transmission and distribution, the grid brings reliable and affordable electricity virtually all the time to virtually all Americans, providing a service essential to the nation’s economy, security and wellbeing. But the structure and management of the grid are both changing rapidly. Information technology and increasingly networked systems, distributed generation and more intermittent energy sources, smart grids and new technologies that link our appliances, cars, and smartphones to the grid, provide great benefits but also pose potential risks. Threats of cybersecurity, physical security, natural disasters must be addressed, as well as local opposition to new infrastructure and simply aging infrastructure and limited resources. All of these make maintaining the reliability and affordability of electricity services a daunting challenge.
 
On this episode of Columbia energy Exchange, host Jason Bordoff sits down with Cheryl LaFleur, Commissioner at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to discuss the challenges and opportunities facing the grid today. Among the topics of they address: 

  1. What is the state of the US electric grid today?
  2. What is the role of FERC and the federal system in terms of electricity regulation?
  3. How do changes in information technology and networked systems impact cybersecurity risks? What role is FERC playing to improve the security of a digital grid?
  4. How is the penetration of renewable energy in the resource mix changing the economics of electricity?
  5. Are there new or different reliability issues as a result of the increased use of natural gas in the power sector?
  6. What role can or should the Federal government play to mitigate physical risks to the grid, whether from natural disasters, extreme weather or simply aging infrastructure?
  7. And many more.

 

Jul 18, 2016
China is the world’s largest energy producer, energy consumer and greenhouse gas emitter. Many analysts believe that this year, China will surpass the US to become the world’s largest oil importer. China has the world’s largest shale gas resource and leads the world in the deployment of solar panels. 
 
On this episode of Columbia Energy Exchange, host David Sandalow sits down with Fu Chengdu, who recently retired as Chair of Sinopec, a Chinese state-owned oil and gas company and the second largest company in the world according to Fortune Magazine. Among the topics they discussed: 
  • What impact will China have on global oil markets in the months ahead?
  • Can China develop its enormous shale gas resource?
  • What steps is China taking to clean the air in its cities and address climate change?
  • And many more.

 

This conversation was originally recorded on July 1, 2016.

Jul 14, 2016

One year ago, the United States and its partners concluded their negotiations with Iran on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), an agreement intended to reduce the threat from Iran's nuclear program in exchange for economic sanctions relief. Implementation of the agreement began in January 2016. Richard Nephew, program director for economic statecraft, sanctions and energy markets at the Center on Global Energy Policy, who was the lead sanctions negotiator for the United States from 2013-2014, has written a report on six months' implementation of the nuclear deal, particularly with respect to sanctions relief. He concludes that sanctions relief has been stalled as much by concerns over residual sanctions as domestic regulatory factors and low oil prices globally.

On this episode of Columbia Energy Exchange, host Bill Loveless sits down with Nephew to discuss his report and the status of the Iran agreement's implementation at 6 months. Among the topics they discuss are:

  • Is the agreement delivering to all sides the benefits it provided for?
  • How has Iran’s oil sector responded to the lifting of nuclear sanctions?
  • What impediments face oil companies looking for business opportunities in Iran?
  • What’s in store for the next president when it comes to the Iran agreement?

 

 

Jul 11, 2016

U.S. energy policy has gone through many twists and turns over the past 40 years, as the nation transitioned from gasoline lines to an abundance of oil, natural gas and renewable energy. No one has been more involved in shaping and analyzing energy policy than Phil Sharp, having spent 20 years as one of the leading lawmakers on the topic and the last 11 as the President of Resources for the Future, Washington D.C.’s oldest think tank devoted exclusively to analysis of energy and the environment. Sharp recently joined the Center on Global Energy Policy as a Fellow.

On this episode of Columbia Energy Exchange, host Bill Loveless talks with Sharp about his time as a lawmaker in D.C., when Congress worked on a bipartisan basis to enact policies addressing concerns over the production of energy and how we consume it. During the conversation Sharp recalls some of the biggest battles over energy policy on Capitol Hill, the dramatic changes in U.S. energy fortunes, and what we can learn from these experiences, including:

  • The oil shortages of the 1970s, and how they drove the development of legislation;
  • The politics of energy, and how regions, more than party identify, influenced votes;
  • His close relationship with former Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.), one of the most powerful figures in energy policy; and
  • How the landscape for energy has changed in the U.S., with less concern over supply and more focus on the environment.
  • And more.
Jul 5, 2016

Global energy markets are in the midst of a historic transition, from the Paris climate agreement and rapidly falling renewable energy costs to the collapse of oil prices and the US shale boom. The changing dynamics highlight why collecting and analyzing the fundamentals of the global energy market is critical for developing sound energy and economic policy. This task has only become more difficult with the pace of technological change in the energy sector, growing climate policy efforts, and the shifting dynamics of geopolitics.
 
On this episode of Columbia Energy Exchange, host Jason Bordoff sits down with Adam Sieminski, Administrator of the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), to discuss future trends in energy and the way EIA collects and analyzes data. Among the topics they discussed:

  1. What will oil and gas production and price volatility look like in the short- and medium-term? What is the role of the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve in terms of energy security concerns in the oil market today?
  2. Why hasn't the US experienced a significant economic benefit from low oil prices?
  3. Has the alleged “golden age of gas” been stalled and does it make sense to consider natural gas as a bridge toward a cleaner energy system?
  4. How does EIA incorporate technological innovation and changing cost structures in its projections?
  5. How important is policy – e.g. the Clean Power Plan — to the outlook of the US energy mix compared to market fundamentals?
  6. What are the key highlights of EIA’s International Energy Outlook 2016?
  7. And many more.

 

This podcast was originally recorded on June 9, 2016. 

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