Supercool

The San Francisco Giants grounds crew is the first in Major League Baseball to use autonomous, self-propelled, zero-emission lawn mowers. These electric robots can't mow down batters or cut a fastball. But every time they take the field at Oracle Park to manicure the outfield grass, the ball players nod their approval. In time for Labor Day, Supercool host Josh Dorfman delves into autonomous mowing and its cost, comfort, and quality benefits for the $60 billion landscaping industry, an industry that's notoriously resistant to new technology, and how companies like Greener are convincing it to embrace the low-carbon future. Listen to the episode here: https://getsuper.cool

On Supercool this week, we visit Martha's Vineyard, only to discover it's ground zero for the robotic future. Across America, a silent revolution is underway; autonomous, self-propelled, electric lawnmowers are gliding quietly across our ballfields, parks, and backyards. Companies like Husqvarna Group, Segway, Mammotion Tech, and Gardena GmbH make autonomous mowers. Advancements in hardware, software, and guidance systems over the past two decades have vastly improved their capabilities. These zero-emission mowers have arrived just in time; greenhouse gas emissions from lawn care and gardening account for 4-5% of the U.S. total, a staggering amount for a single industry. How these climate-warrior robots find their way into suburban backyards falls to Adam D. Sloan and his company, Greener. Frustrated with his unsightly backyard lawn in Martha's Vineyard, Adam became a fan of whisper-quiet autonomous mowers the first time they did the job for him. Greener now provides autonomous mowers to landscaping companies that install them in customers' backyards. Hundreds are in the field, and more are on the way. Landscapers love them because they free up labor to perform higher-skilled tasks. Homeowners love them because their lawns look fantastic. Everyone in the neighborhood loves them because they finally get their serene Saturday mornings back. Adam joins host Josh Dorfman on the Supercool podcast to discuss the rise of robots and the future of zero-emission lawn care. Listen to the podcast: https://lnkd.in/ejRYVBkQ

Geothermal energy offers unique capabilities to strengthen U.S. national security, bolster energy resilience, and curb carbon emissions. Geothermal provides the military with three strategic advantages. 1. Local Energy Generation -- geothermal eliminates the vulnerabilities of fossil fuel supply lines. 2. Capable in Harsh Conditions -- like in Alaska, where startup TEVERRA has a military contract to determine the feasibility of pulling heat from deep underground in winter. 3. Minimal Above-Ground Footprint -- geothermal is easier to protect than other renewable energy sources such as solar power. The Pentagon’s Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) is pursuing multiple paths to tap the benefits of geothermal. In the past year, it has awarded contracts to five other next-generation geothermal companies: Fervo Energy, Eavor Technologies Inc., GreenFire Energy Inc, Sage Geosystems Inc., and Zanskar Geothermal & Minerals, Inc. These companies are now developing advanced geothermal energy systems on Airforce, Army, and Naval bases in Arizona, California, Idaho, and Texas. The military also views climate change as a security threat in its own right, so tapping an energy technology that is both a climate solution and a security solution is welcome. “The Army must adapt across our entire enterprise and purposefully pursue greenhouse gas mitigation strategies to reduce climate risks. If we do not take action now, across our installations, acquisition and logistics, and training, our options to mitigate these risks will become more constrained with each passing year." - Christine Wormuth, Secretary of the Army For more on geothermal innovation and other supercool climate solutions, subscribe to the Supercool newsletter: https://lnkd.in/eg24FY7n

Students daydreaming out the window in Fargo, North Dakota, will see the future before their eyes this school year. Roving the grounds at Fargo Public Schools is a fleet of autonomous EVs: self-driving lawnmowers. Whisper-quiet, low-maintenance, and zero-emissions, robotic mowers are excellent at cutting the grass - and costs and carbon, too. "This thing doesn't work eight hours. It doesn't worry about going to the lake on the weekends. It doesn't have a birthday party to get to. Its sole purpose is to mow and to mow all the time." — Kevin Heggeness, Fargo Public Schools Heggerness and his team project that the EV mowers made by Husqvarna Group will save the school $62,000 annually in labor, maintenance, and other expenses. Yet, the new equipment didn't replace anyone's job. Instead, groundskeepers are now freed up to focus on more highly skilled tasks to maintain school campuses. Greenhouse Gas emissions from gas-powered engines like lawn equipment account for 4-5% of all U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, according to the EPA. Other school districts across America, from Juneau, Alaska, to Orange City, Florida, are quitting gas-powered mowers and switching to autonomous electric lawnmowers to enjoy the convenience, cost, and carbon benefits, too. Link to article about Fargo schools: https://lnkd.in/eKCcZatA

In Fort Worth, Texas, 4,000 new wells are in the ground, but they weren't drilled for oil. Instead, they're tapping underground water for a newly opened, Texas-sized high school that's heated and cooled by geothermal energy. In Framingham, Massachusetts, the first district geothermal energy system in the U.S. ever built by a fossil fuel company is about to deliver heating and cooling to thirty-seven residences and commercial buildings. Eversource Energy, New England's largest natural utility, is showing the industry how it can participate in and profit from the transition to a clean energy economy. Geothermal is on the rise in America, but its arrival dates back to the late 1800s. Before the Wright Brothers invented flight or the first Ford Model-T rolled off an assembly line, the people of Boise, Idaho, enjoyed the cost-effective comfort of heating their homes with geothermal energy. Today, the City of Boise's geothermal system provides space and water heating to over six million square feet of indoor space and one hundred buildings in its downtown core. Geothermal also performs supercool feats, like melting snow off sidewalks. Tina Riley spent two decades in the oil and gas industry working for ExxonMobil as a geologist. She now applies those highly transferable skills to run Boise's geothermal energy system, the largest in America. Tina joins host Josh Dorfman on this week's episode. Listen: https://lnkd.in/eRxJyNaA

Over a sustained two-year effort, a group of thirty students swayed Denver Public Schools (DPS), one of the nation's largest school districts, to take formal action on climate. Those students learned how to make their case to principals, community leaders, business leaders, city council members, and even the mayor. They gathered 4,000 community signatures in support of their goal. In April 2022, they succeeded. The Board of Education approved a policy with far-reaching implications. It read: "DPS shall be a national leader in establishing an organizational culture anchored in sustainability, climate action, and environmental justice in both the conservation of natural resources and in minimizing the carbon footprint of DPS’ practices." Then, LeeAnn Kittle, Executive Director of Sustainability at DPS, and her team went to work creating the climate action plan that today makes DPS a national leader and model for student action, engagement, and ongoing climate education. Carbon reduction initiatives at DPS also now save $5 million annually on a $1 billion annual budget. Leann joins host Josh Dorfman on the podcast to discuss how the school district is advancing climate action, how students are central to the effort, and what it takes for her and her team to move a giant organization toward greater and greater climate heights. Reilly Loveland, Associate Director at the New Buildings Institute, also joins the conversation to highlight efforts across the country where public school students are disrupting "learning as usual" to create a super cool climate future. For more details and to listen: https://getsuper.cool

Utah is pioneering the future of residential solar energy in America. Four years ago, Rocky Mountain Power, the state's energy utility, rolled out its Wattsmart Program, offering homeowners financial incentives to install intelligent grid-connected batteries alongside solar panels. Over 3,500 residences across the state are enrolled. Rocky Mountain Power weaves those home batteries together to form a "virtual power plant," enabling it to draw power instantaneously when necessary (though not often) and creating numerous benefits. Key among them are: * Keeping energy rates low * Cutting carbon emissions * Avoiding the need to fire up peaker plants * Stabilizing and fortifying the energy grid * Propelling the clean energy shift to electrification Yet, convincing homeowners to purchase solar-plus-battery systems when costs are still expensive and interest rates are high can be tricky. Additionally, a shifting landscape of declining solar incentives in Utah over the past seven years scared many solar companies into fleeing the state altogether. But one solar company stayed and went all-in on solar-plus-battery residential systems. ES Solar learned how to sell solar-plus-battery systems to homeowners and profitably install and maintain them. Today, those installations number in the thousands, and ES Solar is responsible for 96% of all Wattsmart installations. After navigating the steep learning curve of becoming a residential solar-plus-storage company, ES Solar is having its best financial year in company history. It's also expanding across the West, opening new sales territories in California, Idaho, and Wyoming. Zach Randall is ES Solar’s Vice President of Sales and has helped drive ES Solar’s growth from 20 employees when he joined six years ago to 500 employees today. Today, Zach leads a highly motivated and successful sales organization that understands how to entice homeowners to adopt solar-plus-battery systems and usher in a new era of residential solar energy in America. Zach joins host Josh Dorfman on the Supercool podcast. Listen: https://getsuper.cool

Supercool host Josh Dorfman speaks with Gregor Robertson, the former three-term mayor of Vancouver. Robertson now advises other mayors around the globe as they develop, implement, and strengthen their cities' climate action plans. Listen to the full episode wherever you get your podcasts and discover more at https://getsuper.cool.

“The business case was you throw the heat away, I get it for free, and it only costs me 20 cents on the dollar to put it back into your hot water tank, and I can [still] charge you a dollar for it. So the margin was fantastic.” -- Lynn Mueller, Founder of SHARC Energy. Cities are starting to mine their sewers for affordable, carbon-free energy. To understand this trend, we look at Vancouver, where the city installed the largest sewer heat recovery system in North America (using SHARC's technology) over a decade ago and continues to expand it. Gregor Robertson was elected Mayor of Vancouver in 2008, touting a vision to make the City of Glass the greenest city on the planet. Of the many sustainability initiatives Gregor championed, his work with SHARC Energy and its founder, Lynn Mueller, was among the most innovative.

Vancouver has the lowest carbon emissions per capita of any city in North America. It's also perennially ranked as one of the most livable cities in the world—and that's no coincidence. While Vancouver is endowed with abundant greenery and renewable energy, its long-running leadership on sustainability, innovative spirit, and openness to new climate technologies sets it apart. This week, host Josh Dorfman speaks with former Mayor Gregor Robertson, who enacted and led Vancouver's Greenest City 2020 Action Plan during his decade in office. Lynn Mueller of SHARC Energy also joins the show. Upon returning from a global tour of sewers from Albania to Beijing, Lynn invented a novel, closed-loop system for pulling heat from wastewater sloshing in sewer pipes and recycling it into a zero-carbon energy source for space heating and water heating (today, Sharc's systems also provide space cooling). In Vancouver's False Creek neighborhood, the SHARC system provides zero-emission heating to over 6,000 apartments and 2.7 million square feet of building space, with more expansion underway. The system is so successful that the Neighborhood Energy Utility in False Creek is a profit center for the city. It provides a return on investment to taxpayers and keeps energy rates affordable for customers. Derek Pope manages the utility. Mayor Robertson helped champion that project to fruition back in 2010. Today, Robertson represents 13,000 cities in UN global climate negotiations as the Special Envoy for the CHAMP initiative of the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy (GCoM). Listen to the episode here: https://getsuper.cool + everywhere you get your podcasts.