Catalyst with Shayle Kann

• Tumult in residential solar

  Residential solar has had a rough couple of years. In 2024, the market contracted 31% and major companies like Sunpower and Titan went bankrupt. Now, only halfway through 2025, Sunnova and Mosaic have filed for bankruptcy, too. The market has suffered from low demand, high interest rates, and major policy changes like California’s cuts to net metering.  So now that the One Big Beautiful Bill phases out key tax credits, what’s next for the battered industry? In this episode, Shayle talks with Julien Dumoulin-Smith, who leads equity research for power, utilities, and clean energy at Jefferies. Shayle and Julien cover topics like: Why the IRA eased — but didn’t solve — the troubled market’s key challenges, like high interest rates, tax equity challenges, and intense competition How debt prevented companies from weathering rising input costs How the final version of the One Big Beautiful Bill avoided the worst case scenarios for residential solar Whether the bill will impact utility or residential solar more How the shift toward leasing will benefit  larger companies over small, local installers The impact of rising electricity prices Resources: Latitude Media: Sunnova’s debt problem Latitude Media: Is residential solar poised for a comeback? Open Circuit: Does residential solar have a bad product? Catalyst: Could VPPs save rooftop solar? Latitude Media: SunPower is bankrupt. Competitors see opportunity Credits: Hosted by Shayle Kann. Produced and edited by Daniel Woldorff. Original music and engineering by Sean Marquand. Stephen Lacey is executive editor. Catalyst is brought to you by Anza, a solar and energy storage development and procurement platform helping clients make optimal decisions, saving significant time, money, and reducing risk. Subscribers instantly access pricing, product, and supplier data. Learn more at go.anzarenewables.com/latitude. Catalyst is brought to you by EnergyHub. EnergyHub helps utilities build next-generation virtual power plants that unlock reliable flexibility at every level of the grid. See how EnergyHub helps unlock the power of flexibility at scale, and deliver more value through cross-DER dispatch with their leading Edge DERMS platform by visiting energyhub.com. Catalyst is brought to you by Antenna Group, the public relations and strategic marketing agency of choice for climate and energy leaders. If you're a startup, investor, or global corporation that's looking to tell your climate story, demonstrate your impact, or accelerate your growth, Antenna Group's team of industry insiders is ready to help. Learn more at antennagroup.com.

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• Fresh intel from state utility regulatory filings

  You’ve probably heard about Nat Bullard’s massive decarbonization slide decks, filled with charts and insights into decarbonization drawn from climate and energy data.  This time he's waded through piles of utility regulatory filings — countless PDFs that hint at the inner workings of utilities and large customers — to find clues about everything from gas plant costs to new large-load tariffs.  In this episode, Shayle and Nat, cofounder of the climate tech market research firm Halcyon, cover topics like: How utilities — especially small ones — are handling eye-popping interconnection requests New tariff structures that utilities are developing for large-load customers like data centers Historical precedents for this level of change on the power grid, like the 2000s Enron bubble and the 1930s buildout of the West How factories and other large-load customers are battling against data centers for sites Shayle’s greatest fear about energy in the next few years: That electricity rates will rise dramatically unless we tackle large-load requests and the cost of new infrastructure What industries to bet on in a world of rising rates What filings reveal about the cost of new gas generation Resources: Catalyst: The US power demand surge: The electricity gauntlet has arrived Catalyst: Making DERs work for load growth Latitude Media: High costs, delays prompt withdrawal of five more Texas gas plants Latitude Media: In Georgia, stakeholders still can’t agree on data center load growth numbers Credits: Hosted by Shayle Kann. Produced and edited by Daniel Woldorff. Original music and engineering by Sean Marquand. Stephen Lacey is executive editor. Catalyst is brought to you by Anza, a solar and energy storage development and procurement platform helping clients make optimal decisions, saving significant time, money, and reducing risk. Subscribers instantly access pricing, product, and supplier data. Learn more at go.anzarenewables.com/latitude. Catalyst is brought to you by EnergyHub. EnergyHub helps utilities build next-generation virtual power plants that unlock reliable flexibility at every level of the grid. See how EnergyHub helps unlock the power of flexibility at scale, and deliver more value through cross-DER dispatch with their leading Edge DERMS platform by visiting energyhub.com. Catalyst is brought to you by Antenna Group, the public relations and strategic marketing agency of choice for climate and energy leaders. If you're a startup, investor, or global corporation that's looking to tell your climate story, demonstrate your impact, or accelerate your growth, Antenna Group's team of industry insiders is ready to help. Learn more at antennagroup.com.

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• GM's big new battery tech push

  Lithium-manganese-rich (LMR) batteries could offer a rare combination in energy storage: high energy density at lower costs. They swap much of the expensive nickel for abundant, affordable manganese. But technical hurdles — like poor cycle life, voltage decay, and long formation time — kept them on the sidelines. Now GM says it’s solved these challenges. In May, it announced plans to mass produce LMR batteries starting in 2028. In energy density, the new chemistry would land between the two major alternative chemistries in the U.S., NMC and LFP. So what does this new entrant mean for the U.S. battery market? In this episode, Shayle talks to Kurt Kelty, VP of battery, propulsion, and sustainability — and a 30-year battery industry veteran who led Tesla’s battery development for over a decade. Shayle and Kurt cover topics like: What parts of the U.S. battery supply chain to on-shore or near-shore The tradeoffs between LFP, LMR, and high-nickel chemistries The roles that Kurt sees for all three in the market  Shifting production lines and supply chains from NMC to LMR Why LFP may still outcompete LMR in the stationary market Resources: General Motors: Why LMR batteries will change the outlook for the EV market AutomotiveDive: GM, LG Energy target commercializing manganese-rich batteries for EVs  WSJ: An Ex-Tesla Engineer Is Turning EVs Into Affordable Family Cars Catalyst: What happened at Northvolt? Credits: Hosted by Shayle Kann. Produced and edited by Daniel Woldorff. Original music and engineering by Sean Marquand. Stephen Lacey is executive editor. Catalyst is brought to you by Anza, a platform enabling solar and storage developers and buyers to save time, reduce risk, and increase profits in their equipment selection process. Anza gives clients access to pricing, technical, and risk data plus tools that they’ve never had access to before. Learn more at go.anzarenewables.com/latitude. Catalyst is brought to you by EnergyHub. EnergyHub helps utilities build next-generation virtual power plants that unlock reliable flexibility at every level of the grid. See how EnergyHub helps unlock the power of flexibility at scale, and deliver more value through cross-DER dispatch with their leading Edge DERMS platform, by visiting energyhub.com.

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• The story of steam

  Addison Stark thinks waste heat is a waste of time. The real opportunity, he argues, is decarbonizing industrial steam, which accounts for roughly 30% of industrial heat in the U.S. But doing that means deploying alternatives to the fossil fuel boilers industry currently relies on. So how do you clean up steam? And why does Addison think waste heat is overhyped? In this episode, Shayle talks with Addison Stark, the CEO — or as he likes to call himself, chief boiler maker — of industrial heat pump startup AtmosZero. They dive into topics like: The difference between saturated and superheated steam — and why it matters Why fuel dominates OpEx in steam generation, and how fuel types vary across regions How the cost of steam affects overall cost of delivered products Why resistive boilers reached maturity ahead of heat pumps Why standardized, air-source heat pumps are emerging as an attractive alternative to resistive boilers The role of thermal storage combined with renewable PPAs Why Addison thinks waste heat is a distraction for decarbonization Resources: Joule: To decarbonize industry, we must decarbonize heat The Green Blueprint: Rondo Energy’s complicated path to building heat batteries Catalyst: Solving the conundrum of industrial heat Credits: Hosted by Shayle Kann. Produced and edited by Daniel Woldorff. Original music and engineering by Sean Marquand. Stephen Lacey is executive editor. Catalyst is brought to you by Anza, a platform enabling solar and storage developers and buyers to save time, reduce risk, and increase profits in their equipment selection process. Anza gives clients access to pricing, technical, and risk data plus tools that they’ve never had access to before. Learn more at go.anzarenewables.com/latitude. Catalyst is brought to you by EnergyHub. EnergyHub helps utilities build next-generation virtual power plants that unlock reliable flexibility at every level of the grid. See how EnergyHub helps unlock the power of flexibility at scale, and deliver more value through cross-DER dispatch with their leading Edge DERMS platform, by visiting energyhub.com.

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• The state of play of data center development

  The future of the grid increasingly hinges on where and how data centers get built. To forecast the kind of power infrastructure we need to meet AI’s growing appetite, we first need to understand a laundry list of variables: data center size, workload type, latency, reliability — even the variety of a data center’s coolant system.  So what’s the state of play in data center development today — and how are the trends shaping grid needs? In this episode, Shayle talks to Chris Sharp, chief technology officer of Digital Realty, a developer, owner and operator of data centers. They cover topics like: How AI inference workloads are clustering in existing regions, driven by latency and throughput requirements “Data gravity” and “data oceans”: how large concentrations of data attract more compute infrastructure What’s driving longer lead times: interconnection delays, equipment bottlenecks, or both? Large-scale builds vs. incremental additions and densification of existing infrastructure “Braggawatts” vs. real demand: separating hype from reality The diverging power needs of training vs. inference, and whether any workloads work with intermittent power The evolving role of “bridge power” and why diesel and gas are still in the mix Resources: Latitude Media: Google’s new data center model signals a massive market shift Latitude Media: The future of energy-first data centers takes shape Latitude Media: Can a new coalition turn data centers into grid assets? Latitude Media: Do microgrids make sense for data centers?  The New York Times: Wall St. Is All In on A.I. Data Centers. But Are They the Next Bubble? Catalyst: The case for colocating data centers and generation Credits: Hosted by Shayle Kann. Produced and edited by Daniel Woldorff. Original music and engineering by Sean Marquand. Stephen Lacey is executive editor. Catalyst is brought to you by Anza, a platform enabling solar and storage developers and buyers to save time, reduce risk, and increase profits in their equipment selection process. Anza gives clients access to pricing, technical, and risk data plus tools that they’ve never had access to before. Learn more at go.anzarenewables.com/latitude. Catalyst is brought to you by EnergyHub. EnergyHub helps utilities build next-generation virtual power plants that unlock reliable flexibility at every level of the grid. See how EnergyHub helps unlock the power of flexibility at scale, and deliver more value through cross-DER dispatch with their leading Edge DERMS platform, by visiting energyhub.com.

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