WEBVTT
00:00:14.640 --> 00:00:21.519
Hello and welcome to this week in CleanTech, a 15-minute-ish roundup of the biggest stories in climate and clean energy this week.
00:00:21.679 --> 00:00:24.399
Today is Friday, September 25th, 2026.
00:00:24.559 --> 00:00:28.079
We have first-time guest David Fickling from Bluebird joining us shortly.
00:00:28.160 --> 00:00:35.359
I'm Clarion Events Director, Content Director, Jeremiah Karpowitz, and I'm joined again by Clean Tech commentator Mike Casey of TigerCom.
00:00:35.520 --> 00:00:38.159
Mike, I'm here today because Paul Gurky is out sick.
00:00:38.240 --> 00:00:40.320
So when was the last time you took a sick day?
00:00:40.640 --> 00:00:41.840
Uh when's the last time?
00:00:42.000 --> 00:00:46.240
I I think last year I got my hip replaced, so I took a few days off then.
00:00:46.719 --> 00:00:50.960
That uh that that counts, but just a couple days and you were back back up and at it, right?
00:00:51.119 --> 00:01:01.039
Dude, I real for real, I did I did I have both my hips replaced and I did this week in clean tech the day after surgery, both days.
00:01:01.119 --> 00:01:05.920
I I'm really I don't have any claims to badassery anymore, but that's my one claim.
00:01:06.159 --> 00:01:06.719
Just saying.
00:01:07.200 --> 00:01:08.239
Well, that's that's pretty good.
00:01:08.319 --> 00:01:10.079
So Paul better be back next week.
00:01:10.239 --> 00:01:14.239
Um so you know, we always appreciate hearing from viewers and listeners.
00:01:14.319 --> 00:01:16.640
Uh, so make sure you make your opinions part of the show.
00:01:16.719 --> 00:01:22.719
If you have a story that you want to see covered, email us at TWIC at tigercom.us.
00:01:23.040 --> 00:01:24.239
So, Mike, let's get into it.
00:01:24.319 --> 00:01:25.920
What's the first story that we're covering this week?
00:01:26.159 --> 00:01:26.560
All right.
00:01:26.799 --> 00:01:29.280
Story number one, Coco Liu from Bloomberg.
00:01:29.359 --> 00:01:31.599
You know, this is like a Bloomberg fest this episode.
00:01:31.760 --> 00:01:36.959
Um, the new cleantech meta and Google are turning to power AI.
00:01:37.280 --> 00:01:43.280
So AI power demand has already pushed billions of investment into next generation geothermal and advanced nuclear.
00:01:43.519 --> 00:01:50.239
Now, the hyperscalers are turning to long-duration storage, which means batteries that can hold power for many hours or even days.
00:01:50.400 --> 00:01:54.159
More than lithium-iron batteries, which only get get they only get you a few hours.
00:01:54.319 --> 00:02:04.640
Uh, Google's working with Italy's energy dome in Arizona on batteries that compress carbon dioxide into liquid and then expand it back to gas to release power, storing energy for up to 10 hours.
00:02:04.959 --> 00:02:19.439
Crusoe teamed up with Form Energy on iron air batteries that can discharge for several days, and Meta signed a deal with New Energy, which stores power by splitting and then recombining CO2 molecules for systems that store renewable energy for 100 hours.
00:02:19.599 --> 00:02:20.800
So, Mike, a lot there.
00:02:20.879 --> 00:02:21.280
What do you think?
00:02:21.439 --> 00:02:32.639
Yeah, Bloomberg New Energy Finance, they estimate that at least 150 gigawatt hours of new long-duration energy storage projects have been announced, permitted, or financed in the U.S.
00:02:32.719 --> 00:02:34.319
since the start of 2025.
00:02:34.560 --> 00:02:40.080
That's more than five times the country's total plant installations as of late 24.
00:02:40.479 --> 00:02:42.960
And most of that new demand is coming from AI data centers.
00:02:43.039 --> 00:02:45.919
So two years ago, Noon Energy had almost no data center business.
00:02:46.000 --> 00:02:47.759
Today it's almost half their pipeline.
00:02:48.319 --> 00:02:54.000
Many of these technologies also skip critical minerals like graphite, which have been caught up in geopolitical fights.
00:02:54.240 --> 00:03:01.680
So while the Chinese suppliers dominate lithium-ion, industry watchers say leadership in long-duration storage is still up for grabs.
00:03:01.840 --> 00:03:06.479
There's plenty of time for the current administration to throw that one away as well, Jeremiah.
00:03:07.199 --> 00:03:10.319
Well, never, never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity.
00:03:10.400 --> 00:03:13.439
I I think it just it just speaks to how much is as changing.
00:03:13.520 --> 00:03:19.759
Even a couple like you said, a couple, a couple of years ago, there was so much different with data centers and how energy storage is changing.
00:03:19.919 --> 00:03:24.960
Like there's uh there's a lot that can that can take shape over the next couple of years or even sooner.
00:03:25.120 --> 00:03:30.479
So our second story is by past Twick guest, Valerie Volka Bukovici.
00:03:30.719 --> 00:03:31.120
I got that right.
00:03:31.199 --> 00:03:31.680
Didn't I, Mike?
00:03:31.759 --> 00:03:32.159
Bulkovici.
00:03:32.400 --> 00:03:32.719
Good job.
00:03:32.800 --> 00:03:32.879
Yes.
00:03:33.199 --> 00:03:33.439
Thank you.
00:03:33.680 --> 00:03:37.120
And Richard Cohen at Reuters titled Senate Inches Closer to U.S.
00:03:37.120 --> 00:03:38.560
Infrastructure Permitting Reform Bill.
00:03:38.800 --> 00:03:40.080
So, Mike, what's what's in this one?
00:03:40.400 --> 00:03:41.919
Yeah, this place you might not have heard of.
00:03:42.000 --> 00:03:42.240
The U.S.
00:03:42.319 --> 00:03:54.960
Senate is close to a permitting deal meant to speed up infrastructure projects after the Trump administration gave ground on renewables, according to the top Democrat on the Environment Public Works Committee, Seldon, Sheldon White House.
00:03:55.199 --> 00:04:02.479
So permitting talks have been stalled since December when Trump halted construction of a f of five near-complete East Coast offshore wind farms.
00:04:02.639 --> 00:04:08.319
Senator Whitehouse says the administration has given assurances to improve how wind and solar projects are handled.
00:04:08.479 --> 00:04:14.400
A vote before the midterms is still uncertain, but uh something tells me that uh Mr.
00:04:14.479 --> 00:04:16.079
Trump will want his name on all these things.
00:04:16.319 --> 00:04:16.800
Jeremiah.
00:04:17.360 --> 00:04:18.959
That's that's always a safe assumption.
00:04:19.040 --> 00:04:28.720
But you know what else jumped out to me that they halted this construction on five near-term or nearly complete East Coast offshore wind farms, like and then also tearing down the East Wing.
00:04:28.800 --> 00:04:31.759
Does he just have something against the East, uh, the direction?
00:04:31.920 --> 00:04:32.480
I don't I don't know.
00:04:32.720 --> 00:04:33.839
Sensing a pattern here.
00:04:34.079 --> 00:04:41.439
Um so Senator Whitehouse says that he appreciates the move, but still wants more clarity from the administration on their promises for wind and solar.
00:04:41.600 --> 00:04:43.199
Yes, that would be that would be great.
00:04:43.360 --> 00:04:53.519
Uh Democrats have expressed openness to reforming environmental laws like the National Environmental Policy Act and the Clean Water Act, which Republicans blame for lengthy project delays as part of the deal.
00:04:53.680 --> 00:04:58.879
They want to see changes that make it easier to build transmission line, which help get renewable energy where it's needed.
00:04:58.959 --> 00:05:04.240
And I mean, we've covered this in the past, Mike, that building new transmission lines, yes, yes, and yes.
00:05:04.399 --> 00:05:18.079
Uh industry groups representing utilities, renewable companies, and the oil and gas companies are all pushing for some form of permitting reform this year, which again would be would be great because we need more of it, all of it, all of the above, everything.
00:05:18.319 --> 00:05:20.399
Uh Mike, what's our what's our third story?
00:05:20.639 --> 00:05:25.920
Gavin McGuire, Reuters, uh, Reuters and Bloomberg in a race for who gets the most stories this episode.
00:05:26.079 --> 00:05:30.879
Africa's cement boom signals next great shift in global energy use.
00:05:31.279 --> 00:05:32.000
Jeremiah.
00:05:32.399 --> 00:05:33.839
So a lot, a lot with Africa.
00:05:34.000 --> 00:05:35.199
Mike, do you know how big Africa is?
00:05:35.279 --> 00:05:37.920
You can see it behind my head here, but Africa is really big.
00:05:38.079 --> 00:05:46.959
That's always when you see those real maps of like how big the actual continents are, like how many different United States can fit in Africa, it's it's crazy big, but which almost makes it surprising.
00:05:47.040 --> 00:05:50.319
Right now, Africa uses under 5% of global energy.
00:05:50.399 --> 00:05:53.920
Uh, but growth in cement plant production suggests that's about to change.
00:05:54.079 --> 00:06:01.199
Uh, African nations account for 42% of all cement capacity under construction worldwide, according to Global Energy Monitor.
00:06:01.360 --> 00:06:05.519
They hold on, but they only hold uh 8% of what's currently operating.
00:06:05.600 --> 00:06:08.399
Uh Maguire's point is that cement is a leading indicator.
00:06:08.560 --> 00:06:17.519
Before a country uses more steel, chemicals, manufactured goods, and energy, it ports huge amounts of concrete to build the housing, ports, factories, and power infrastructure.
00:06:17.680 --> 00:06:22.639
Uh Egypt has the largest existing capacity, about 88 million tons per year.
00:06:22.879 --> 00:06:28.480
Nigeria has the biggest pipeline under construction, 10 million tons, second in the world only to India.
00:06:28.639 --> 00:06:29.920
So, Mike, what do you think?
00:06:30.240 --> 00:06:33.759
So 16 African countries are building cement kilns right now.
00:06:33.920 --> 00:06:38.879
They they include Libya, Mali, Angola, Uganda, Mozambique, and Cameroon.
00:06:39.040 --> 00:06:40.959
They all rank in the global top 20.
00:06:41.040 --> 00:06:53.120
So Africa currently has 43 million metric tons of cement production capacity under construction, 23 million more planned, which together could raise the continent's total by about 15%.
00:06:53.839 --> 00:06:55.920
Cement is very energy hungry.
00:06:56.000 --> 00:06:59.120
It takes coal, petroleum, coke, and gas to run the kilns.
00:06:59.439 --> 00:07:02.959
McGuire expects fossil fuels to cover most of that demand first.
00:07:03.040 --> 00:07:04.160
But here's the opportunity.
00:07:04.639 --> 00:07:08.399
Modern plants are more efficient, rooftop solar can power some of the processes.
00:07:08.800 --> 00:07:10.560
Electric kilns are increasingly available.
00:07:10.639 --> 00:07:16.879
I'll also say that our friends at Rondo Energy can store uh the heat that can power cement factories.
00:07:17.040 --> 00:07:18.720
Uh cost could be an exciting factor.
00:07:19.040 --> 00:07:23.120
If cleaner options like carbon capture are more expensive, fewer producers will buy them.
00:07:23.199 --> 00:07:29.439
But once these plants are built for they run for decades, so these decisions have long-term influence.
00:07:29.920 --> 00:07:31.199
Jeremiah, fourth story?
00:07:31.600 --> 00:07:38.639
So our fourth story is by Ben German, and he's over at Axios, and it's titled Iran War Causes Global Pain at the Pump.
00:07:38.720 --> 00:07:39.920
And it's another one.
00:07:40.079 --> 00:07:40.800
A lot here, Mike.
00:07:40.879 --> 00:07:41.519
Uh tell us.
00:07:42.000 --> 00:07:46.959
We we I think we do this some version of the story at least every other episode.
00:07:47.120 --> 00:07:50.800
But perhaps you've noticed that fuel prices are going up at the pump.
00:07:51.120 --> 00:07:59.040
Uh the Iran War, it's driving up fuel prices around the world, it's sparking angry protests, it's hurting the economies of countries that have nothing to do with the war.
00:07:59.439 --> 00:08:04.800
Countries that depend heavily on imported fuel, like Pakistan and Myanmar, have seen steep price increases.
00:08:04.959 --> 00:08:10.000
They have set off a wave of electric vehicle purchases, particularly the two-wheel kind.
00:08:10.160 --> 00:08:16.639
But even the US, the world's biggest oil and gas producer, has soaring prices because crude prices are set on global markets.
00:08:16.959 --> 00:08:18.079
And it's not just Iran.
00:08:18.639 --> 00:08:23.439
Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian refineries are also pushing up fuel prices, especially diesel.
00:08:23.759 --> 00:08:26.800
And this is a this is exactly why energy independence matters.
00:08:26.959 --> 00:08:29.759
The sun and the wind are not trading on a global market.
00:08:30.079 --> 00:08:33.840
No terrorist group or hostile country can shut you down once you built it.
00:08:34.240 --> 00:08:37.200
Um, and no overseas war can send their prices through the roof.
00:08:37.360 --> 00:08:41.279
So Pakistan's getting hit at the pump because its cars and trucks run an imported fuel.
00:08:41.600 --> 00:08:48.240
But back in March, we covered how that country's massive solar build-out has given its power sector a cushion against these price shocks.
00:08:48.320 --> 00:08:52.000
It even helped the country cut its LNG imports last year.
00:08:52.159 --> 00:08:52.960
Jeremiah.
00:08:53.519 --> 00:08:55.039
Gosh, just underscores that.
00:08:55.120 --> 00:08:57.440
I mean, what you just said, energy independence matters.
00:08:57.519 --> 00:09:02.879
Like it's easy to say that, but the the bottom line with it, the reality of it, there's just there's just so much there.
00:09:03.039 --> 00:09:08.240
Um so dozens of countries have capped, subsidized, or cut taxes on fuel, according to the IEA.
00:09:08.320 --> 00:09:13.200
Uh, some are also trying to cut demand with more remote work and limits on government travel.
00:09:13.360 --> 00:09:22.879
Uh the IMF is worried about what all that support costs, especially since a lot of these so-called temporary measures don't have end dates or cost estimates, which makes them maybe they're not so temporary.
00:09:22.960 --> 00:09:25.759
Uh Kenya is a good example of how bad it can get, though.
00:09:25.840 --> 00:09:31.919
Uh higher fuel costs are piling onto inflation, public debt, public debt, and youth unemployment there.
00:09:32.000 --> 00:09:37.759
Uh the country's also getting hit with higher fertilizer fertilizer costs, and it saw major protests in May.
00:09:37.919 --> 00:09:49.679
Uh scholars at the Carnegie Endowment say that Kenya is a warning for the rest of the region, and they're calling for measures that make countries less vulnerable to outside shocks, which again, just energy independence, it's it's essential.
00:09:49.840 --> 00:09:51.519
Uh so, Mike, what's our last story?
00:09:51.840 --> 00:09:56.399
It is by David Fickling, a columnist with Bloomberg, who's making his first appearance on the show.
00:09:56.559 --> 00:10:01.519
Are your$30 genes are running out of cheap power in Bangladesh?
00:10:01.759 --> 00:10:03.919
So, um, David, how are you?
00:10:04.080 --> 00:10:04.879
Welcome to the show.
00:10:05.039 --> 00:10:11.360
I'm sorry, we're not a more mature and serious bunch, but you're gonna have to navigate these all the way from Australia.
00:10:11.519 --> 00:10:12.000
Welcome.
00:10:12.240 --> 00:10:16.720
If people haven't read this piece, which I thought was really cool, um, what is its big takeaway?
00:10:17.519 --> 00:10:24.399
I mean, look, I think the crucial thing to remember is that um Bangladesh is completely crucial to uh the global fashion industry.
00:10:24.480 --> 00:10:32.720
Something like uh, you know, a third of um uh genes in Europe and a similar proportion in uh in the US uh imported come from Bangladesh.
00:10:32.799 --> 00:10:36.320
It's got this massive garment industry which has really transformed the economy.
00:10:36.399 --> 00:10:41.759
And actually, like the economy these days uh on some measures performing better than like bigger neighbors like India.
00:10:42.080 --> 00:10:46.080
But um the whole thing that depends on uh cheap energy.
00:10:46.240 --> 00:10:51.759
Uh historically, Bangladesh had a lot of cheap domestic gas, uh, but those gas fields are running out very fast.
00:10:51.840 --> 00:10:54.240
By some measures, they run out by 2031.
00:10:54.480 --> 00:10:58.399
Uh and so you you mentioned Pakistan um just a moment ago.
00:10:58.559 --> 00:11:00.720
Uh Bangladesh is like the opposite of that.
00:11:00.799 --> 00:11:08.559
But Pakistan, after 2022, after the Ukraine um gas crisis, uh invested very, very heavily in uh in solar.
00:11:08.639 --> 00:11:17.360
Um and Bangladesh uh basically didn't, and the government put a lot of uh a lot of uh roadblocks in the way of developing uh clean energy.
00:11:17.600 --> 00:11:26.000
And now I would say Bangladesh of major countries is probably suffering the the worst effects from the current Hormost gas crisis.
00:11:26.080 --> 00:11:30.720
Uh there is uh, you know, some parts of the country are having power cuts for 16 hours a day.
00:11:30.879 --> 00:11:31.440
Uh crucially.
00:11:33.120 --> 00:11:39.440
That's probably that's mostly in rural areas, but in urban areas, if you're a garment factory, it's four to six hours a day.
00:11:39.600 --> 00:11:52.879
And this matters a lot because you have you have um customers in Europe and the US who want you to be just in time, you they want you to be following the latest fashions, and you can't actually do it anymore because you don't have the power at the right time.
00:11:53.120 --> 00:12:04.480
Um they're losing uh, you know, there have been recent surveys like they're losing 60% of them are losing orders, 90% of them are um are having um, you know, problems fulfilling orders in time.
00:12:04.720 --> 00:12:24.480
Uh and there have been surveys of sort of gas stations in the sort of suburbs of Dhaka and places like that, where um they're they're selling like five times as much diesel as they normally as they would normally sell, because of course these uh these garment factories are having to buy diesel to run generators as backup because the normal grid supply is just gone.
00:12:25.679 --> 00:12:29.519
So, David, what was the what was the bigger upshot from you out of out of this piece?
00:12:29.679 --> 00:12:41.360
Does it go back to what we were just talking about, about the importance of energy independence, or is it more about getting getting in front of some of these energy challenges, kind of seeing where where things are going and then having to scramble because of that?
00:12:41.519 --> 00:12:44.399
Like what uh what were the biggest lessons learned for you?
00:12:44.720 --> 00:12:48.639
Yeah, I I mean I think uh Bangladesh has been lulled into a bit of a false sense of security.
00:12:48.720 --> 00:12:55.519
It did it did have historically these big gas fields, which you know, if you have domestic gas fields, it is very, very cheap energy.
00:12:55.600 --> 00:13:03.919
And if you wanted to sort of design in a lab a country that is really bad for clean energy, you would probably design something that looks like Bangladesh because it's a very small country.
00:13:04.080 --> 00:13:07.279
There's 175 million people in a country the size of England.
00:13:07.440 --> 00:13:09.679
So it's about as densely populated as Chicago.
00:13:09.840 --> 00:13:12.799
The whole country is about as densely populated as Chicago.
00:13:12.960 --> 00:13:19.039
Um, it's very low-lying, it's basically the delta of the Ganges, so you can't um you can't really use hydro very much.
00:13:19.200 --> 00:13:21.840
Uh it's very Bacalm, so you can't really use wind.
00:13:22.080 --> 00:13:25.600
Uh so naturally they have depended a lot on fossil fuels.
00:13:25.679 --> 00:13:30.960
Um, but I would argue it's actually not quite as uh as desperate a situation as as it seems.
00:13:31.120 --> 00:13:38.240
I've seen uh estimates that their their rooftop soil has potential to supply about like 40% of current um grid demand.
00:13:38.399 --> 00:13:44.879
Uh if you put uh if you put solar on some of their fish farms, they have a lot of fish farms there um to feed this big population.
00:13:45.039 --> 00:13:46.000
That's another 30%.
00:13:46.399 --> 00:13:50.320
They are building a nuclear um power plant, so there are things that could be done.
00:13:50.399 --> 00:13:53.840
Uh but generally uh Bangladesh has actually blocked these things.
00:13:53.919 --> 00:14:01.279
They have extremely high tariffs of um uh and taxes on on renewable equipment and much lower ones on fossil fuel equipment.
00:14:01.759 --> 00:14:03.519
And is that like tariff?
00:14:03.600 --> 00:14:05.840
There's their there's our one of our favorite words, Mike.
00:14:06.000 --> 00:14:09.759
Like, would would dropping the the tariffs really really tangibly change it?
00:14:09.840 --> 00:14:12.480
Is that is that where your head is after kind of digging into this?
00:14:12.879 --> 00:14:17.440
Yeah, I I think in a lot of countries, I mean you see the contrast between uh Bangladesh and Pakistan.
00:14:17.519 --> 00:14:23.039
Uh Pakistan has built um you know 35 gigawatts or so of solar in a in a couple of years.
00:14:23.120 --> 00:14:25.519
Uh and Bangladesh has about one gigawatt of solar.
00:14:25.679 --> 00:14:28.320
And some of that is that Pakistan has more space.
00:14:28.399 --> 00:14:29.360
But it's not just that.
00:14:29.519 --> 00:14:53.519
These these um uh these taxes are so high, they're so much higher than for fossil fuels, and there's a lot of other regulations like defining how much energy you're allowed to um you're allowed to put in, making it hard for financing, and all these regulations interlock to make it almost impossible that they have dropped in the midst of this crisis um a lot of these taxes on solar, rooftop solar, to to 1% from uh from I think um 29%.
00:14:54.240 --> 00:14:56.080
Um but just for six months.
00:14:56.320 --> 00:15:00.799
Uh so at the moment, maybe they're gonna change that regulation again.
00:15:00.960 --> 00:15:05.840
But at the moment, if you don't get it installed by March, you're back up to uh you know 17 or 18%.
00:15:06.240 --> 00:15:10.159
And there's still other regulations making it very, very hard for you to do this.
00:15:10.320 --> 00:15:20.960
And that's that's a problem for the country as a whole, because the country is running out of electricity, it's got these power cuts, the you know, there's no near-term recovery from this sort of LNG crisis that it's suffering.
00:15:21.120 --> 00:15:27.279
And meanwhile, every year the domestic gas, which is still the sort of backbone of the system, is disappearing very, very fast.
00:15:28.240 --> 00:15:31.679
Well, I mean, in six months they'll have this problem solved, don't you think, David?
00:15:31.840 --> 00:15:33.840
I mean, it's just fine.
00:15:33.919 --> 00:15:37.519
Like you just go to the wall switch, flick the switch, you're good to go.
00:15:38.159 --> 00:15:39.200
I mean, yeah.
00:15:39.919 --> 00:15:54.559
But but I mean, the the lesson of Pakistan, and I think we saw it in South Africa when a couple of few years ago it was having similar um you know crises in the grid, is that the the um the solar, particularly solar and batteries can come in incredibly quickly if you get the policy settings right.
00:15:54.639 --> 00:16:07.039
And as I say, Pakistan installed 27 gigawatts in two years, um, or uh which is uh which will be enough to substantially solve most of um Bangladesh's problem if it could could have that same scale of boom.
00:16:07.919 --> 00:16:28.399
So last question is I I don't want to lead the witness too much, but you wrote about this as you needed to because it's a bit you could define it as kind of a bespoke problem, but a friend of mine, Jigger Shaw, who um has uh has a podcast himself, it's much inferior to ours, of course, but we'll set that aside.
00:16:28.639 --> 00:16:57.840
But he made this case when when um when the war kicked off, he said, you know, if you really need things that you order from Amazon, you want might want to order about a six-month supply, because at some point in the arc of this war, half the stuff on Amazon is gonna become way less available in no small measure because the packaging on all this is made from fossil fuels.
00:16:58.159 --> 00:17:18.559
So his point was that there was this there's a general ripple effect across global supply chains because the oil and gas industry has engineered a much greater dependence on its products, not just to propel things or to produce electrons, but to make stuff.
00:17:18.880 --> 00:17:26.559
And how much of this problem that you wrote about do you think ties into the global supply chain challenge?
00:17:27.039 --> 00:17:29.200
Oh it's I mean it's it's it's immense.
00:17:29.279 --> 00:17:32.960
And I mean, just to give one other example, of course, um polyester.
00:17:33.440 --> 00:17:38.559
Um the the you know natural fibers in uh in clothing have not really grown.
00:17:38.640 --> 00:17:41.359
The supply of natural fibers has not really grown in 20, 30 years.
00:17:41.440 --> 00:17:45.920
Um about 80% of all fibers in in the fashion industry are essentially polyester.
00:17:46.240 --> 00:17:47.839
Um and that's made from oil.
00:17:47.920 --> 00:17:52.880
Um there's there's a there is recycled polyester, and that's actually quite a big thing in the fashion industry these days.
00:17:53.119 --> 00:17:59.680
But uh, you know, probably I can't I can't see the fleece top you're wearing in in a lot of detail, but it's probably it's probably polyester.
00:18:00.079 --> 00:18:15.839
Uh and that has, you know, we we saw quite early on in this crisis the uh the supply chain in China, where which um, you know, there's a couple of countries, uh, companies that produce, you know, 20% of there's there's one company I know, Tong Kun, which produces about 20% of the polyester in the global market.
00:18:16.079 --> 00:18:28.079
Um, it really immediately, you immediately saw impacts because the uh you know polyester production in China collapsed, because of course it depends on the availability of of uh petroleum to be to be made.
00:18:28.240 --> 00:18:30.640
So there are a lot of effects that you'll see on this.
00:18:30.799 --> 00:18:35.839
Of course, the fashion industry also depends on jet fuel because it's it's um it's all flown around the world at high speed.
00:18:36.000 --> 00:18:39.599
That's just going to affect the uh the price rather than the availability.
00:18:39.759 --> 00:18:41.839
But but all these things compound.
00:18:41.920 --> 00:18:45.359
So yeah, I think that the point uh JR made is absolutely right.
00:18:46.000 --> 00:18:47.680
Jeremiah, we're about out of time.
00:18:47.759 --> 00:18:52.400
We need to go to our clean checker of the week, even though uh we could talk to David for another 20 minutes.
00:18:52.799 --> 00:18:54.160
If only, if only.
00:18:54.240 --> 00:18:56.559
Uh so this week's clean checker of the week is Dr.
00:18:56.640 --> 00:19:01.119
Joe Rom, a physicist and one of the most influential voices in the flight against climate change.
00:19:01.279 --> 00:19:03.839
And fortunately, he passed away unexpectedly this month.
00:19:03.920 --> 00:19:04.480
Uh, Dr.
00:19:04.559 --> 00:19:11.440
Joe served at the Department of Energy under President Clinton and turned his focus to climate after his brother lost his home in Hurricane Katrina.
00:19:11.599 --> 00:19:22.160
He founded the blog Climate Progress, which Time called the web's most influential climate change blog, and he was chief science advisor of the Emmy Award-winning series Years of Living Dangerously.
00:19:22.240 --> 00:19:23.440
Uh rest in peace, Dr.
00:19:23.519 --> 00:19:23.839
Joe.
00:19:24.319 --> 00:19:24.960
Amen.
00:19:25.519 --> 00:19:35.200
Folks, we uh want to thank David Fickling for joining us and uh Jeremiah for you pinch hitting for Paul, who um was also child sitting tonight with a sick kid.
00:19:35.279 --> 00:19:39.119
So he uh he couldn't he couldn't make it in the time that it was available.
00:19:39.200 --> 00:19:48.720
But David, thanks for joining us from halfway around the world, and we want to thank our wonderful producer Brian Mendez, as well as Alex Peterson and Claire Queerin for helping gather these stories.
00:19:49.039 --> 00:19:52.720
So please subscribe, give us feedback, share your story suggestions.
00:19:52.799 --> 00:19:58.000
Uh, you can also read all the articles that we discussed this week by clicking on the links in the episode description.
00:19:58.400 --> 00:19:59.119
Be good.
00:00:14.640 --> 00:00:21.519
Hello and welcome to this week in CleanTech, a 15-minute-ish roundup of the biggest stories in climate and clean energy this week.
00:00:21.679 --> 00:00:24.399
Today is Friday, September 25th, 2026.
00:00:24.559 --> 00:00:28.079
We have first-time guest David Fickling from Bluebird joining us shortly.
00:00:28.160 --> 00:00:35.359
I'm Clarion Events Director, Content Director, Jeremiah Karpowitz, and I'm joined again by Clean Tech commentator Mike Casey of TigerCom.
00:00:35.520 --> 00:00:38.159
Mike, I'm here today because Paul Gurky is out sick.
00:00:38.240 --> 00:00:40.320
So when was the last time you took a sick day?
00:00:40.640 --> 00:00:41.840
Uh when's the last time?
00:00:42.000 --> 00:00:46.240
I I think last year I got my hip replaced, so I took a few days off then.
00:00:46.719 --> 00:00:50.960
That uh that that counts, but just a couple days and you were back back up and at it, right?
00:00:51.119 --> 00:01:01.039
Dude, I real for real, I did I did I have both my hips replaced and I did this week in clean tech the day after surgery, both days.
00:01:01.119 --> 00:01:05.920
I I'm really I don't have any claims to badassery anymore, but that's my one claim.
00:01:06.159 --> 00:01:06.719
Just saying.
00:01:07.200 --> 00:01:08.239
Well, that's that's pretty good.
00:01:08.319 --> 00:01:10.079
So Paul better be back next week.
00:01:10.239 --> 00:01:14.239
Um so you know, we always appreciate hearing from viewers and listeners.
00:01:14.319 --> 00:01:16.640
Uh, so make sure you make your opinions part of the show.
00:01:16.719 --> 00:01:22.719
If you have a story that you want to see covered, email us at TWIC at tigercom.us.
00:01:23.040 --> 00:01:24.239
So, Mike, let's get into it.
00:01:24.319 --> 00:01:25.920
What's the first story that we're covering this week?
00:01:26.159 --> 00:01:26.560
All right.
00:01:26.799 --> 00:01:29.280
Story number one, Coco Liu from Bloomberg.
00:01:29.359 --> 00:01:31.599
You know, this is like a Bloomberg fest this episode.
00:01:31.760 --> 00:01:36.959
Um, the new cleantech meta and Google are turning to power AI.
00:01:37.280 --> 00:01:43.280
So AI power demand has already pushed billions of investment into next generation geothermal and advanced nuclear.
00:01:43.519 --> 00:01:50.239
Now, the hyperscalers are turning to long-duration storage, which means batteries that can hold power for many hours or even days.
00:01:50.400 --> 00:01:54.159
More than lithium-iron batteries, which only get get they only get you a few hours.
00:01:54.319 --> 00:02:04.640
Uh, Google's working with Italy's energy dome in Arizona on batteries that compress carbon dioxide into liquid and then expand it back to gas to release power, storing energy for up to 10 hours.
00:02:04.959 --> 00:02:19.439
Crusoe teamed up with Form Energy on iron air batteries that can discharge for several days, and Meta signed a deal with New Energy, which stores power by splitting and then recombining CO2 molecules for systems that store renewable energy for 100 hours.
00:02:19.599 --> 00:02:20.800
So, Mike, a lot there.
00:02:20.879 --> 00:02:21.280
What do you think?
00:02:21.439 --> 00:02:32.639
Yeah, Bloomberg New Energy Finance, they estimate that at least 150 gigawatt hours of new long-duration energy storage projects have been announced, permitted, or financed in the U.S.
00:02:32.719 --> 00:02:34.319
since the start of 2025.
00:02:34.560 --> 00:02:40.080
That's more than five times the country's total plant installations as of late 24.
00:02:40.479 --> 00:02:42.960
And most of that new demand is coming from AI data centers.
00:02:43.039 --> 00:02:45.919
So two years ago, Noon Energy had almost no data center business.
00:02:46.000 --> 00:02:47.759
Today it's almost half their pipeline.
00:02:48.319 --> 00:02:54.000
Many of these technologies also skip critical minerals like graphite, which have been caught up in geopolitical fights.
00:02:54.240 --> 00:03:01.680
So while the Chinese suppliers dominate lithium-ion, industry watchers say leadership in long-duration storage is still up for grabs.
00:03:01.840 --> 00:03:06.479
There's plenty of time for the current administration to throw that one away as well, Jeremiah.
00:03:07.199 --> 00:03:10.319
Well, never, never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity.
00:03:10.400 --> 00:03:13.439
I I think it just it just speaks to how much is as changing.
00:03:13.520 --> 00:03:19.759
Even a couple like you said, a couple, a couple of years ago, there was so much different with data centers and how energy storage is changing.
00:03:19.919 --> 00:03:24.960
Like there's uh there's a lot that can that can take shape over the next couple of years or even sooner.
00:03:25.120 --> 00:03:30.479
So our second story is by past Twick guest, Valerie Volka Bukovici.
00:03:30.719 --> 00:03:31.120
I got that right.
00:03:31.199 --> 00:03:31.680
Didn't I, Mike?
00:03:31.759 --> 00:03:32.159
Bulkovici.
00:03:32.400 --> 00:03:32.719
Good job.
00:03:32.800 --> 00:03:32.879
Yes.
00:03:33.199 --> 00:03:33.439
Thank you.
00:03:33.680 --> 00:03:37.120
And Richard Cohen at Reuters titled Senate Inches Closer to U.S.
00:03:37.120 --> 00:03:38.560
Infrastructure Permitting Reform Bill.
00:03:38.800 --> 00:03:40.080
So, Mike, what's what's in this one?
00:03:40.400 --> 00:03:41.919
Yeah, this place you might not have heard of.
00:03:42.000 --> 00:03:42.240
The U.S.
00:03:42.319 --> 00:03:54.960
Senate is close to a permitting deal meant to speed up infrastructure projects after the Trump administration gave ground on renewables, according to the top Democrat on the Environment Public Works Committee, Seldon, Sheldon White House.
00:03:55.199 --> 00:04:02.479
So permitting talks have been stalled since December when Trump halted construction of a f of five near-complete East Coast offshore wind farms.
00:04:02.639 --> 00:04:08.319
Senator Whitehouse says the administration has given assurances to improve how wind and solar projects are handled.
00:04:08.479 --> 00:04:14.400
A vote before the midterms is still uncertain, but uh something tells me that uh Mr.
00:04:14.479 --> 00:04:16.079
Trump will want his name on all these things.
00:04:16.319 --> 00:04:16.800
Jeremiah.
00:04:17.360 --> 00:04:18.959
That's that's always a safe assumption.
00:04:19.040 --> 00:04:28.720
But you know what else jumped out to me that they halted this construction on five near-term or nearly complete East Coast offshore wind farms, like and then also tearing down the East Wing.
00:04:28.800 --> 00:04:31.759
Does he just have something against the East, uh, the direction?
00:04:31.920 --> 00:04:32.480
I don't I don't know.
00:04:32.720 --> 00:04:33.839
Sensing a pattern here.
00:04:34.079 --> 00:04:41.439
Um so Senator Whitehouse says that he appreciates the move, but still wants more clarity from the administration on their promises for wind and solar.
00:04:41.600 --> 00:04:43.199
Yes, that would be that would be great.
00:04:43.360 --> 00:04:53.519
Uh Democrats have expressed openness to reforming environmental laws like the National Environmental Policy Act and the Clean Water Act, which Republicans blame for lengthy project delays as part of the deal.
00:04:53.680 --> 00:04:58.879
They want to see changes that make it easier to build transmission line, which help get renewable energy where it's needed.
00:04:58.959 --> 00:05:04.240
And I mean, we've covered this in the past, Mike, that building new transmission lines, yes, yes, and yes.
00:05:04.399 --> 00:05:18.079
Uh industry groups representing utilities, renewable companies, and the oil and gas companies are all pushing for some form of permitting reform this year, which again would be would be great because we need more of it, all of it, all of the above, everything.
00:05:18.319 --> 00:05:20.399
Uh Mike, what's our what's our third story?
00:05:20.639 --> 00:05:25.920
Gavin McGuire, Reuters, uh, Reuters and Bloomberg in a race for who gets the most stories this episode.
00:05:26.079 --> 00:05:30.879
Africa's cement boom signals next great shift in global energy use.
00:05:31.279 --> 00:05:32.000
Jeremiah.
00:05:32.399 --> 00:05:33.839
So a lot, a lot with Africa.
00:05:34.000 --> 00:05:35.199
Mike, do you know how big Africa is?
00:05:35.279 --> 00:05:37.920
You can see it behind my head here, but Africa is really big.
00:05:38.079 --> 00:05:46.959
That's always when you see those real maps of like how big the actual continents are, like how many different United States can fit in Africa, it's it's crazy big, but which almost makes it surprising.
00:05:47.040 --> 00:05:50.319
Right now, Africa uses under 5% of global energy.
00:05:50.399 --> 00:05:53.920
Uh, but growth in cement plant production suggests that's about to change.
00:05:54.079 --> 00:06:01.199
Uh, African nations account for 42% of all cement capacity under construction worldwide, according to Global Energy Monitor.
00:06:01.360 --> 00:06:05.519
They hold on, but they only hold uh 8% of what's currently operating.
00:06:05.600 --> 00:06:08.399
Uh Maguire's point is that cement is a leading indicator.
00:06:08.560 --> 00:06:17.519
Before a country uses more steel, chemicals, manufactured goods, and energy, it ports huge amounts of concrete to build the housing, ports, factories, and power infrastructure.
00:06:17.680 --> 00:06:22.639
Uh Egypt has the largest existing capacity, about 88 million tons per year.
00:06:22.879 --> 00:06:28.480
Nigeria has the biggest pipeline under construction, 10 million tons, second in the world only to India.
00:06:28.639 --> 00:06:29.920
So, Mike, what do you think?
00:06:30.240 --> 00:06:33.759
So 16 African countries are building cement kilns right now.
00:06:33.920 --> 00:06:38.879
They they include Libya, Mali, Angola, Uganda, Mozambique, and Cameroon.
00:06:39.040 --> 00:06:40.959
They all rank in the global top 20.
00:06:41.040 --> 00:06:53.120
So Africa currently has 43 million metric tons of cement production capacity under construction, 23 million more planned, which together could raise the continent's total by about 15%.
00:06:53.839 --> 00:06:55.920
Cement is very energy hungry.
00:06:56.000 --> 00:06:59.120
It takes coal, petroleum, coke, and gas to run the kilns.
00:06:59.439 --> 00:07:02.959
McGuire expects fossil fuels to cover most of that demand first.
00:07:03.040 --> 00:07:04.160
But here's the opportunity.
00:07:04.639 --> 00:07:08.399
Modern plants are more efficient, rooftop solar can power some of the processes.
00:07:08.800 --> 00:07:10.560
Electric kilns are increasingly available.
00:07:10.639 --> 00:07:16.879
I'll also say that our friends at Rondo Energy can store uh the heat that can power cement factories.
00:07:17.040 --> 00:07:18.720
Uh cost could be an exciting factor.
00:07:19.040 --> 00:07:23.120
If cleaner options like carbon capture are more expensive, fewer producers will buy them.
00:07:23.199 --> 00:07:29.439
But once these plants are built for they run for decades, so these decisions have long-term influence.
00:07:29.920 --> 00:07:31.199
Jeremiah, fourth story?
00:07:31.600 --> 00:07:38.639
So our fourth story is by Ben German, and he's over at Axios, and it's titled Iran War Causes Global Pain at the Pump.
00:07:38.720 --> 00:07:39.920
And it's another one.
00:07:40.079 --> 00:07:40.800
A lot here, Mike.
00:07:40.879 --> 00:07:41.519
Uh tell us.
00:07:42.000 --> 00:07:46.959
We we I think we do this some version of the story at least every other episode.
00:07:47.120 --> 00:07:50.800
But perhaps you've noticed that fuel prices are going up at the pump.
00:07:51.120 --> 00:07:59.040
Uh the Iran War, it's driving up fuel prices around the world, it's sparking angry protests, it's hurting the economies of countries that have nothing to do with the war.
00:07:59.439 --> 00:08:04.800
Countries that depend heavily on imported fuel, like Pakistan and Myanmar, have seen steep price increases.
00:08:04.959 --> 00:08:10.000
They have set off a wave of electric vehicle purchases, particularly the two-wheel kind.
00:08:10.160 --> 00:08:16.639
But even the US, the world's biggest oil and gas producer, has soaring prices because crude prices are set on global markets.
00:08:16.959 --> 00:08:18.079
And it's not just Iran.
00:08:18.639 --> 00:08:23.439
Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian refineries are also pushing up fuel prices, especially diesel.
00:08:23.759 --> 00:08:26.800
And this is a this is exactly why energy independence matters.
00:08:26.959 --> 00:08:29.759
The sun and the wind are not trading on a global market.
00:08:30.079 --> 00:08:33.840
No terrorist group or hostile country can shut you down once you built it.
00:08:34.240 --> 00:08:37.200
Um, and no overseas war can send their prices through the roof.
00:08:37.360 --> 00:08:41.279
So Pakistan's getting hit at the pump because its cars and trucks run an imported fuel.
00:08:41.600 --> 00:08:48.240
But back in March, we covered how that country's massive solar build-out has given its power sector a cushion against these price shocks.
00:08:48.320 --> 00:08:52.000
It even helped the country cut its LNG imports last year.
00:08:52.159 --> 00:08:52.960
Jeremiah.
00:08:53.519 --> 00:08:55.039
Gosh, just underscores that.
00:08:55.120 --> 00:08:57.440
I mean, what you just said, energy independence matters.
00:08:57.519 --> 00:09:02.879
Like it's easy to say that, but the the bottom line with it, the reality of it, there's just there's just so much there.
00:09:03.039 --> 00:09:08.240
Um so dozens of countries have capped, subsidized, or cut taxes on fuel, according to the IEA.
00:09:08.320 --> 00:09:13.200
Uh, some are also trying to cut demand with more remote work and limits on government travel.
00:09:13.360 --> 00:09:22.879
Uh the IMF is worried about what all that support costs, especially since a lot of these so-called temporary measures don't have end dates or cost estimates, which makes them maybe they're not so temporary.
00:09:22.960 --> 00:09:25.759
Uh Kenya is a good example of how bad it can get, though.
00:09:25.840 --> 00:09:31.919
Uh higher fuel costs are piling onto inflation, public debt, public debt, and youth unemployment there.
00:09:32.000 --> 00:09:37.759
Uh the country's also getting hit with higher fertilizer fertilizer costs, and it saw major protests in May.
00:09:37.919 --> 00:09:49.679
Uh scholars at the Carnegie Endowment say that Kenya is a warning for the rest of the region, and they're calling for measures that make countries less vulnerable to outside shocks, which again, just energy independence, it's it's essential.
00:09:49.840 --> 00:09:51.519
Uh so, Mike, what's our last story?
00:09:51.840 --> 00:09:56.399
It is by David Fickling, a columnist with Bloomberg, who's making his first appearance on the show.
00:09:56.559 --> 00:10:01.519
Are your$30 genes are running out of cheap power in Bangladesh?
00:10:01.759 --> 00:10:03.919
So, um, David, how are you?
00:10:04.080 --> 00:10:04.879
Welcome to the show.
00:10:05.039 --> 00:10:11.360
I'm sorry, we're not a more mature and serious bunch, but you're gonna have to navigate these all the way from Australia.
00:10:11.519 --> 00:10:12.000
Welcome.
00:10:12.240 --> 00:10:16.720
If people haven't read this piece, which I thought was really cool, um, what is its big takeaway?
00:10:17.519 --> 00:10:24.399
I mean, look, I think the crucial thing to remember is that um Bangladesh is completely crucial to uh the global fashion industry.
00:10:24.480 --> 00:10:32.720
Something like uh, you know, a third of um uh genes in Europe and a similar proportion in uh in the US uh imported come from Bangladesh.
00:10:32.799 --> 00:10:36.320
It's got this massive garment industry which has really transformed the economy.
00:10:36.399 --> 00:10:41.759
And actually, like the economy these days uh on some measures performing better than like bigger neighbors like India.
00:10:42.080 --> 00:10:46.080
But um the whole thing that depends on uh cheap energy.
00:10:46.240 --> 00:10:51.759
Uh historically, Bangladesh had a lot of cheap domestic gas, uh, but those gas fields are running out very fast.
00:10:51.840 --> 00:10:54.240
By some measures, they run out by 2031.
00:10:54.480 --> 00:10:58.399
Uh and so you you mentioned Pakistan um just a moment ago.
00:10:58.559 --> 00:11:00.720
Uh Bangladesh is like the opposite of that.
00:11:00.799 --> 00:11:08.559
But Pakistan, after 2022, after the Ukraine um gas crisis, uh invested very, very heavily in uh in solar.
00:11:08.639 --> 00:11:17.360
Um and Bangladesh uh basically didn't, and the government put a lot of uh a lot of uh roadblocks in the way of developing uh clean energy.
00:11:17.600 --> 00:11:26.000
And now I would say Bangladesh of major countries is probably suffering the the worst effects from the current Hormost gas crisis.
00:11:26.080 --> 00:11:30.720
Uh there is uh, you know, some parts of the country are having power cuts for 16 hours a day.
00:11:30.879 --> 00:11:31.440
Uh crucially.
00:11:33.120 --> 00:11:39.440
That's probably that's mostly in rural areas, but in urban areas, if you're a garment factory, it's four to six hours a day.
00:11:39.600 --> 00:11:52.879
And this matters a lot because you have you have um customers in Europe and the US who want you to be just in time, you they want you to be following the latest fashions, and you can't actually do it anymore because you don't have the power at the right time.
00:11:53.120 --> 00:12:04.480
Um they're losing uh, you know, there have been recent surveys like they're losing 60% of them are losing orders, 90% of them are um are having um, you know, problems fulfilling orders in time.
00:12:04.720 --> 00:12:24.480
Uh and there have been surveys of sort of gas stations in the sort of suburbs of Dhaka and places like that, where um they're they're selling like five times as much diesel as they normally as they would normally sell, because of course these uh these garment factories are having to buy diesel to run generators as backup because the normal grid supply is just gone.
00:12:25.679 --> 00:12:29.519
So, David, what was the what was the bigger upshot from you out of out of this piece?
00:12:29.679 --> 00:12:41.360
Does it go back to what we were just talking about, about the importance of energy independence, or is it more about getting getting in front of some of these energy challenges, kind of seeing where where things are going and then having to scramble because of that?
00:12:41.519 --> 00:12:44.399
Like what uh what were the biggest lessons learned for you?
00:12:44.720 --> 00:12:48.639
Yeah, I I mean I think uh Bangladesh has been lulled into a bit of a false sense of security.
00:12:48.720 --> 00:12:55.519
It did it did have historically these big gas fields, which you know, if you have domestic gas fields, it is very, very cheap energy.
00:12:55.600 --> 00:13:03.919
And if you wanted to sort of design in a lab a country that is really bad for clean energy, you would probably design something that looks like Bangladesh because it's a very small country.
00:13:04.080 --> 00:13:07.279
There's 175 million people in a country the size of England.
00:13:07.440 --> 00:13:09.679
So it's about as densely populated as Chicago.
00:13:09.840 --> 00:13:12.799
The whole country is about as densely populated as Chicago.
00:13:12.960 --> 00:13:19.039
Um, it's very low-lying, it's basically the delta of the Ganges, so you can't um you can't really use hydro very much.
00:13:19.200 --> 00:13:21.840
Uh it's very Bacalm, so you can't really use wind.
00:13:22.080 --> 00:13:25.600
Uh so naturally they have depended a lot on fossil fuels.
00:13:25.679 --> 00:13:30.960
Um, but I would argue it's actually not quite as uh as desperate a situation as as it seems.
00:13:31.120 --> 00:13:38.240
I've seen uh estimates that their their rooftop soil has potential to supply about like 40% of current um grid demand.
00:13:38.399 --> 00:13:44.879
Uh if you put uh if you put solar on some of their fish farms, they have a lot of fish farms there um to feed this big population.
00:13:45.039 --> 00:13:46.000
That's another 30%.
00:13:46.399 --> 00:13:50.320
They are building a nuclear um power plant, so there are things that could be done.
00:13:50.399 --> 00:13:53.840
Uh but generally uh Bangladesh has actually blocked these things.
00:13:53.919 --> 00:14:01.279
They have extremely high tariffs of um uh and taxes on on renewable equipment and much lower ones on fossil fuel equipment.
00:14:01.759 --> 00:14:03.519
And is that like tariff?
00:14:03.600 --> 00:14:05.840
There's their there's our one of our favorite words, Mike.
00:14:06.000 --> 00:14:09.759
Like, would would dropping the the tariffs really really tangibly change it?
00:14:09.840 --> 00:14:12.480
Is that is that where your head is after kind of digging into this?
00:14:12.879 --> 00:14:17.440
Yeah, I I think in a lot of countries, I mean you see the contrast between uh Bangladesh and Pakistan.
00:14:17.519 --> 00:14:23.039
Uh Pakistan has built um you know 35 gigawatts or so of solar in a in a couple of years.
00:14:23.120 --> 00:14:25.519
Uh and Bangladesh has about one gigawatt of solar.
00:14:25.679 --> 00:14:28.320
And some of that is that Pakistan has more space.
00:14:28.399 --> 00:14:29.360
But it's not just that.
00:14:29.519 --> 00:14:53.519
These these um uh these taxes are so high, they're so much higher than for fossil fuels, and there's a lot of other regulations like defining how much energy you're allowed to um you're allowed to put in, making it hard for financing, and all these regulations interlock to make it almost impossible that they have dropped in the midst of this crisis um a lot of these taxes on solar, rooftop solar, to to 1% from uh from I think um 29%.
00:14:54.240 --> 00:14:56.080
Um but just for six months.
00:14:56.320 --> 00:15:00.799
Uh so at the moment, maybe they're gonna change that regulation again.
00:15:00.960 --> 00:15:05.840
But at the moment, if you don't get it installed by March, you're back up to uh you know 17 or 18%.
00:15:06.240 --> 00:15:10.159
And there's still other regulations making it very, very hard for you to do this.
00:15:10.320 --> 00:15:20.960
And that's that's a problem for the country as a whole, because the country is running out of electricity, it's got these power cuts, the you know, there's no near-term recovery from this sort of LNG crisis that it's suffering.
00:15:21.120 --> 00:15:27.279
And meanwhile, every year the domestic gas, which is still the sort of backbone of the system, is disappearing very, very fast.
00:15:28.240 --> 00:15:31.679
Well, I mean, in six months they'll have this problem solved, don't you think, David?
00:15:31.840 --> 00:15:33.840
I mean, it's just fine.
00:15:33.919 --> 00:15:37.519
Like you just go to the wall switch, flick the switch, you're good to go.
00:15:38.159 --> 00:15:39.200
I mean, yeah.
00:15:39.919 --> 00:15:54.559
But but I mean, the the lesson of Pakistan, and I think we saw it in South Africa when a couple of few years ago it was having similar um you know crises in the grid, is that the the um the solar, particularly solar and batteries can come in incredibly quickly if you get the policy settings right.
00:15:54.639 --> 00:16:07.039
And as I say, Pakistan installed 27 gigawatts in two years, um, or uh which is uh which will be enough to substantially solve most of um Bangladesh's problem if it could could have that same scale of boom.
00:16:07.919 --> 00:16:28.399
So last question is I I don't want to lead the witness too much, but you wrote about this as you needed to because it's a bit you could define it as kind of a bespoke problem, but a friend of mine, Jigger Shaw, who um has uh has a podcast himself, it's much inferior to ours, of course, but we'll set that aside.
00:16:28.639 --> 00:16:57.840
But he made this case when when um when the war kicked off, he said, you know, if you really need things that you order from Amazon, you want might want to order about a six-month supply, because at some point in the arc of this war, half the stuff on Amazon is gonna become way less available in no small measure because the packaging on all this is made from fossil fuels.
00:16:58.159 --> 00:17:18.559
So his point was that there was this there's a general ripple effect across global supply chains because the oil and gas industry has engineered a much greater dependence on its products, not just to propel things or to produce electrons, but to make stuff.
00:17:18.880 --> 00:17:26.559
And how much of this problem that you wrote about do you think ties into the global supply chain challenge?
00:17:27.039 --> 00:17:29.200
Oh it's I mean it's it's it's immense.
00:17:29.279 --> 00:17:32.960
And I mean, just to give one other example, of course, um polyester.
00:17:33.440 --> 00:17:38.559
Um the the you know natural fibers in uh in clothing have not really grown.
00:17:38.640 --> 00:17:41.359
The supply of natural fibers has not really grown in 20, 30 years.
00:17:41.440 --> 00:17:45.920
Um about 80% of all fibers in in the fashion industry are essentially polyester.
00:17:46.240 --> 00:17:47.839
Um and that's made from oil.
00:17:47.920 --> 00:17:52.880
Um there's there's a there is recycled polyester, and that's actually quite a big thing in the fashion industry these days.
00:17:53.119 --> 00:17:59.680
But uh, you know, probably I can't I can't see the fleece top you're wearing in in a lot of detail, but it's probably it's probably polyester.
00:18:00.079 --> 00:18:15.839
Uh and that has, you know, we we saw quite early on in this crisis the uh the supply chain in China, where which um, you know, there's a couple of countries, uh, companies that produce, you know, 20% of there's there's one company I know, Tong Kun, which produces about 20% of the polyester in the global market.
00:18:16.079 --> 00:18:28.079
Um, it really immediately, you immediately saw impacts because the uh you know polyester production in China collapsed, because of course it depends on the availability of of uh petroleum to be to be made.
00:18:28.240 --> 00:18:30.640
So there are a lot of effects that you'll see on this.
00:18:30.799 --> 00:18:35.839
Of course, the fashion industry also depends on jet fuel because it's it's um it's all flown around the world at high speed.
00:18:36.000 --> 00:18:39.599
That's just going to affect the uh the price rather than the availability.
00:18:39.759 --> 00:18:41.839
But but all these things compound.
00:18:41.920 --> 00:18:45.359
So yeah, I think that the point uh JR made is absolutely right.
00:18:46.000 --> 00:18:47.680
Jeremiah, we're about out of time.
00:18:47.759 --> 00:18:52.400
We need to go to our clean checker of the week, even though uh we could talk to David for another 20 minutes.
00:18:52.799 --> 00:18:54.160
If only, if only.
00:18:54.240 --> 00:18:56.559
Uh so this week's clean checker of the week is Dr.
00:18:56.640 --> 00:19:01.119
Joe Rom, a physicist and one of the most influential voices in the flight against climate change.
00:19:01.279 --> 00:19:03.839
And fortunately, he passed away unexpectedly this month.
00:19:03.920 --> 00:19:04.480
Uh, Dr.
00:19:04.559 --> 00:19:11.440
Joe served at the Department of Energy under President Clinton and turned his focus to climate after his brother lost his home in Hurricane Katrina.
00:19:11.599 --> 00:19:22.160
He founded the blog Climate Progress, which Time called the web's most influential climate change blog, and he was chief science advisor of the Emmy Award-winning series Years of Living Dangerously.
00:19:22.240 --> 00:19:23.440
Uh rest in peace, Dr.
00:19:23.519 --> 00:19:23.839
Joe.
00:19:24.319 --> 00:19:24.960
Amen.
00:19:25.519 --> 00:19:35.200
Folks, we uh want to thank David Fickling for joining us and uh Jeremiah for you pinch hitting for Paul, who um was also child sitting tonight with a sick kid.
00:19:35.279 --> 00:19:39.119
So he uh he couldn't he couldn't make it in the time that it was available.
00:19:39.200 --> 00:19:48.720
But David, thanks for joining us from halfway around the world, and we want to thank our wonderful producer Brian Mendez, as well as Alex Peterson and Claire Queerin for helping gather these stories.
00:19:49.039 --> 00:19:52.720
So please subscribe, give us feedback, share your story suggestions.
00:19:52.799 --> 00:19:58.000
Uh, you can also read all the articles that we discussed this week by clicking on the links in the episode description.
00:19:58.400 --> 00:19:59.119
Be good.
