Transcript 0:00 [on-hold music] Electrification is one step in many steps, and when we talk about inequalities, we start to say, "Well, there are so many." But EVs are all of us. I would love to have an EV. 0:16 We need to understand how do we move. It's not gonna happen overnight, but we have to take this journey together, and it all starts with innovation. 0:29 [on-hold music] Welcome to The Peggy Smedley Show, the podcasting voice of IoT and digital transformation, with your host, Peggy Smedley. 0:50 Hello, listeners, and welcome to today's edition of The Peggy Smedley Show. As always, I'm your host, Peggy Smedley. So this month on my show I'm talking all about electrification. 1:01 So this segment I'm gonna be looking at a couple of recent reports to see if we are headed in the right direction. We're going to start by looking at electrification in general, which I think it's really interesting. 1:16 But the first report looks at electrification in the United States and electricity systems. The second looks at electrification in our transportation in general. 1:29 So we're gonna narrow into those two key areas for today's episode. Also, I think it's going to be important to talk about this as if it relates to systematic change, and I think more on that in a minute. 1:44 But later on in the show, let's talk about who our guests we're gonna have, because I think we've got some amazing guests today. 1:50 We're going to be talking to Dmitri Kunetsov, who's the former Deputy Undersecretary for Artificial Intelligence and Technology. He still works at the US DOE. 2:02 I think you're gonna love our conversation because he's really very interesting. Then I'm gonna wrap up the show with Scott Schroer, who's the President CEO of Berkeley Varitronic Systems. 2:14 I love talking to Scott, and he's gonna talk about a whole host of things. So I hope you'll stick around for today's show. So let's get started. 2:22 Electrification is defined as the substitution of electricity for direct combustion of non-electricity-based fuels used to provide similar services. 2:35 So earlier this year, the Nation- the National Renewal Energy Laboratory released the most recent electrification future study. 2:45 Now, this is the fifth in a series that examines the impact of electrification and how it could have on the energy, the actual impact, I should say, on the energy systems. 2:57 And what's important is it pre-presents scenarios of the U.S. electricity and energy systems through twenty fifty, and it presents a wide range of future conditions. 3:11 And I think the importance of this is that the fifth report narrows in on potential impacts of widespread electrification on the evolution of the U.S. electricity systems. And here's what it found. 3:28 The number one electrification drives the sustained deployment of renewable energy and natural gas generation in all regions, and in turn increases the generation from these sources. 3:43 This means corresponding expansion of long-distance transmission capacity is correlated with the growth, uh, in renewable energy sources. 3:56 Number two, electrification increases the reliance on demand sectors on electricity. 4:04 Now, it could also offer enhanced opportunities for more active participation from flexible loads in the planning and operations of the electricity system. Now, here's the number three idea. 4:18 It says there are abundant resources in the United States with similar costs to meet potential electrification-driven growth in electricity b- demand. Now, here's the fourth one. 4:33 So electrification reduces direct energy consumption and emissions in the demand sectors, and it shifts them into the power sector, so the net effect is energy system-wide reduction in both. So it's kind of interesting. 4:51 So here's number five. The net system cost impact of elect- electrification depends on, now wait for it, future advancements in the cost and the efficiency of electric end-use technologies. 5:08 Yes, you heard me right. This all depends on technology and innovation. What do we talk about here? I want to narrow in on this one just for a minute. 5:21 This report shows electrification can result in net energy system savings when it occurs together with w- more rapid advancements in the cost and efficiency of electric technologies, or extends primarily to more cost-effective technologies and circumstances. 5:46 Here is where this gets interesting. In contrast, when end-use electric technology advancements are limited, electrification results in net energy system cost increases due to se-several factors. 6:04 So this includes higher capital expenditures needed for demand sectorEquipment. Direct operational savings of such equipment are more limited. 6:17 Greater electric sector expenditures are required in if efficiency improvements are slow to materialize. So basically, you get the idea. 6:30 In my books, Sustainable in a Circular World, I explain how the world needs to move from gray to green, and this needs to be fueled by design techniques that are sustainable in a circular economy. 6:48 We need the next generation of innovators who are really committed to this. So consider these numbers just for a minute, because I think this is really important. 7:00 In the U.S., EIA's report of energy use for twenty nineteen found about forty-six percent of U.S. 7:09 energy-related CO2 emissions came from burning petroleum fuels, thirty-three percent came from burning natural gas, and twenty-one percent came from burning coal. 7:22 Here is where it gets really, really interesting, and I want you to understand this. 7:27 While the industrial sector is the largest consumer of energy, the transportation sector emits more th- more CO2 because of its near complete dependence on petroleum fuels. Enter electric vehicles. 7:45 We have been talking about this all month long, but I want to quickly mention a new report because it lends a fresh perspective, a very interesting one. 7:57 The American Council on Energy Efficient Economies states transportation electrification scorecard shows California is leading the charge, I guess so to speak, of EVs, if you want to... 8:11 no pun intended, but it is, is setting deadlines for electrifying transit buses, heavy trucks, and commercial vehicles. And here's where it gets interesting again. 8:23 I'm using that word interesting a lot, but I'm trying to make a point. 8:27 And what I want to s- kind of spend our discussion for the next couple of minutes is, is on only a few states offer assistance for lower income drivers, replacing older, high polluting cars with zero or near zero emission vehicles. 8:45 So California also plans to deploy chargers in economically dis- distressed communities. And here is where my opinion comes in for today, because I think we have to focus on things like this. 9:00 I think it's going to be important to talk about electrification as it relates to systematic change. Again, we're talking about systematic change. California can't do it alone. Not one area can do it alone. 9:14 But low income communities are more likely to experience the harmful health impacts from gas and diesel vehicles. 9:23 If we don't make a change, if we don't include these groups in EV incentives, if we don't target infrastructure deployment plans in these areas, we could reinforce existing racial and economic inequalities. 9:41 We need to address how to proceed in a way that is environmentally safe and equitable for all. Now, I know all of my listeners get it, and I want to mention this before we go on with the show. 9:56 We need to make our EVs more affordable and accessible to all of us, not just one part of the country, but to all of us. We need to understand the importance that we all need EVs. 10:10 But what can you do to move electrification forward? That's really important. Don't just sit there right now and say, "Well, we all need it, but it's not my job in the industry. It's somebody else's job." 10:25 As a society, we are at a crossroads. We need to understand we are all in this together. We all need to do our part. As I said in my book, you know, one fork leads to continued environmental destruction. 10:42 The other fork leads to taking responsibility for our individual actions. Every government, every city, and yes, every single individual must decide which fork in the road they will take. 10:58 This will determine the outcome for future generations, and the time is now. If we don't make a move, the repercussions could be extreme. 11:11 And so I ask you again, what are you going to do to move from gray to green? You hear me talk about this a lot, but we do need to do something. What step will you take today? 11:26 And I think it's really important for all of us to think about this. 11:29 Electrification is one step in many steps, and when we talk about inequalities, we start to say, "Well, you know, there are so many," but EVs are all of us. I would love to have an EV. 11:43 We need to understand, how do we move? 11:45 It's not gonna happen overnight, but we have to make this-- take this journey together, and it all starts with innovation, and that's what I love about this, is we have the tools, we have the technology, and we have the young minds, the, the experienced individuals who can take us there, and that's where we need to start investing in the time and the commitment to go from the next journey. 12:15 I wrote the book Sustainable in a Circular World to get us all thinking about how we need to make change, how we need to think differently about what the future's going to be. 12:28 And I know we might not all agree, and we might disagree, but if we don't start thinking about the future, we're going to be left in the past, and the destruction is going to be greater. 12:39 So it's all about thinking differently, and that's where we can all come together to figure out how to leave our world in a better place than it is now. 12:49 And I know right now we're sheltering in place, and it's really been tough, but think about the positive good we can make, and that's where we're at. Okay. 12:57 Well, I know that I'm out of time, and we've got some amazing guests who are gonna come on the show, and I really am excited to have Dimitri on. He's gonna, uh, talk about so many things. 13:07 So as always, if you have thoughts, here's what I want you to do. I want you to tweet at me at ConnectedWMag, or personally, I want you to tweet at me where we're talking about sustainability at Peggy_Smedley. 13:18 Let's engage in a dialogue. Let's make change. Or on, on LinkedIn. I wanna hear your thoughts on LinkedIn. Let's get that dialogue going. 13:27 So get up on connectedworld.com, check out The Peggy Smedley Show, and if you haven't been up there, that's really important. 13:33 We want you to get up there and put your thoughts up there, and we think that once we continue to have these conversations... All right, we're out of time. 13:41 As always, this is The Peggy Smedley Show, the podcasting voice of IoT and digital transformation. And remember, with great technology comes great responsibility. We'll be right back after this commercial break.
