Episode 9: How to dramatically reduce our emissions by electrifying everything, with Saul Griffith

Driving Net Profit with Zero Emissions

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“Rewiring a community means electrifying the majority of the households, the vehicles, the water heaters, the space heaters, the kitchens, and powering it with a mix of rooftop solar, community renewables, and grid-based renewables, all backed up by batteries everywhere. This is a pathway to zero emissions, better public health, household savings, and perhaps most importantly, community economic renewal”, explains Dr Saul Griffith.

In this podcast episode, we speak with Dr Saul Griffith, co-founder and chief scientist at Rewiring Australia and Rewiring America, nonprofits dedicated to decarbonising those countries (and the world) by electrifying everything.

We talk about what it will take to transform our infrastructure, update our grid and adapt our households to an all-electric future. Saul’s new book, ‘The Big Switch’ lays out a detailed blueprint for fighting climate change while creating millions of new jobs and a healthier environment.

Using the example of Austinmer, a suburb with 1000 households, Saul shows how that community could save close to five million dollars a year if everything was electrified with technology that is available today. He also provides three steps that we can each take to access those savings in our own community, eliminate emissions and create jobs locally.

About Saul Griffith
Saul is the co-founder and chief scientist at Rewiring Australia and Rewiring America, nonprofits dedicated to decarbonising those countries (and the world) by electrifying everything. Saul received his PhD at MIT. Prior to MIT, he studied in Sydney and at UC Berkeley. Since graduating in 2004, Saul started numerous technology companies based in the Bay Area. These include Makani Power, which was acquired by Google, Instructables, which was acquired by Autodesk and Squid Labs. Saul had been a principal investigator and project lead on research projects for agencies, such as NASA.

And above all, Saul is a fabulous storyteller.

Saul's new book, ‘The Big Switch’ lays out a detailed blueprint for fighting climate change while creating millions of new jobs and a healthier environment. It sets out a roadmap for how we can dramatically cut emissions with technologies that are available right now, while saving Australian households over $300 billion dollars by 2035, without sacrificing the lifestyle we are used to. If you want to get in touch with Saul, you can email him at [e-mail].

Meet the host
Barbara Albert is the Co-CEO of 100% Renewables. She is passionate about business and works to make organisations’ transition to net-zero emissions simpler and profitable. Barbara is the award-winning author of ‘Energy Unlimited – Four Steps to 100% Renewable Energy‘, one of the world’s most important books on renewable energy, as ranked by peers and experts in the industry.

About 100% Renewables:
In 2015, we developed one of the first organisational plans to achieve 100% renewable energy. It was the first time we had an opportunity to look holistically at a whole business to see how 100% renewables could be achieved. Since then, we have helped over 100 organisations develop their net zero plan and have grown the business to a national team of net zero specialists. We are known for developing strategies that are pragmatic, based on sound business cases, and have organisational buy-in.

• Visit our Youtube channel for many net zero explainer videos: Driving Net Profit with Zero Emissions
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Chapter

1. Episode 9: How to dramatically reduce our emissions by electrifying everything, with Saul Griffith (00:00:00)

2. Introduction (00:03:00)

3. Current situation – urgency and emissions (00:06:04)

4. Current situation – urgency and emissions (00:09:03)

5. What should we do – Australia’s energy options, bigger picture (00:27:00)

6. What should we do – Australia’s energy options, bigger picture (00:32:33)

7. How can state governments and the federal government support us to reach zero emissions (00:59:43)

8. Key takeaway message (01:15:47)