Smart Energy Voices

In this episode of Plugged In, host Chuck Hanna welcomes Brian Smith, Director of Nuclear Reactor Development at Idaho National Laboratory (INL), for a wide-ranging conversation on the role of advanced nuclear in meeting growing energy demand. Drawing on Smith’s career across the U.S. Navy, Department of Energy and now INL, they explore why nuclear is both a current backbone of the U.S. grid and a...

In this episode of Smart Energy Voices, host Debra Chanil brings together three industry leaders from SED’s Advisory Board to examine how shifting policies, rising demand, and rapid technological change have reshaped energy and sustainability strategies across sectors in 2025 and what 2026 may bring. Tom Kelly, Senior Energy Manager, SUNY Purchase College, offers a higher education perspective, ou...

In this episode of Plugged In, host Chuck Hanna sits down with Kevin Rabinovitch, Global VP of Sustainability at Mars, to discuss the company’s journey toward maintaining their environmental goals, with a special focus on Scope 3 emissions. The conversation covers insights from Rabinovitch’s 31-year career at Mars, the evolution of their strategy, how it’s integrated into business operations, and...

In this episode of Smart Energy Voices, we bring you a conversation from SED Forum Fall featuring Chris Pennington of Iron Mountain and Brett Thompson of CMC and moderated by Debra Chanil, Editorial & Research Director at Smart Energy Decisions. They explore a major shift underway in energy strategy, moving from a focus on procurement to optimizing how and when energy is used. As renewable generat...

In this episode of Plugged In, we bring you a panel discussion at the recent SED Forum Fall on the growing importance of energy resiliency as a strategic imperative. The panel, moderated by Melissa Heim, Principal of Commercialization and Development at Constellation, features Levi Love, Manager of Energy Procurement and Analytics at Sheetz, Scott Czubkowski, National Director of Energy and Facili...

In this episode of Smart Energy Voices, host Debra Chanil presents a special double header from the recent SED Forum Fall, examining how recent U.S. policy changes are reshaping the clean energy landscape. Stanley Reynolds, Professor Emeritus of Economics at the University of Arizona, unpacks the “One Big Beautiful Bill” (OBBB) and its reversal of key Inflation Reduction Act incentives. He outline...

In this episode of Plugged In, Raj Bazaj, Vice President of Sustainability Solutions at Constellation, sits down with Ryan Kelley, Global Carbon Footprint Reduction Champion at WL Gore & Associates, a global materials science company spanning thousands of products including high-performance fabrics. Kelley shares Gore’s path to achieving 100% renewable electricity by 2025, their early success in e...

In this episode of Smart Energy Voices, host Debra Chanil sits down with Glade Gunther, Market Manager at Syensqo, to explore the fast-growing field of advanced air mobility and its sustainability impact. Gunther shares how Syensqo’s high-performance composites and specialty materials are enabling breakthroughs in lightweighting, energy efficiency, and the design of next-generation aircraft. He hi...

In this episode of Smart Energy Voices, host Debra Chanil welcomes Elaine Franklin, Environmental Sustainability Coordinator for the City of Hollywood, Florida. Franklin shares how the city is advancing its sustainability action plan through clearer accountability, innovative digital tracking tools, and regional collaboration to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. She discusses Hollywood’s emissio...

In this episode of Smart Energy Voices, host Debra Chanil introduces a keynote session from the Smart Energy Decisions Summer Forum featuring Dr. Wolfgang Bauer, where he tackles two vital questions: How much will it cost to replace all fossil fuels, and how much will we gain? With compelling data and economic analysis, Bauer outlines the feasibility of a complete global transition to renewable en...

In this episode of Plugged In, host Chuck Hanna welcomes Brian Janous, Co-founder of Cloverleaf Infrastructure and former leader of Microsoft’s global energy team. They explore the energy sector’s changing dynamics, driven by skyrocketing demand from data centers and a shift in emphasis from buying energy to securing capacity. Janous shares insights from his 25-year career in the power and utiliti...

In this episode of Plugged In, Abhinav Krishna talks to Joe Hayden, Executive Vice President for North America at GridBeyond, to explore the evolving opportunities and challenges of energy flexibility in today’s world. As the conversation dives into how commercial and industrial customers can unlock new revenue streams and support grid stability through demand response programs, Hayden shares why...

In this episode of Smart Energy Voices, Trevor Joelson, Enterprise Energy Services Account Executive at Trane, explores how organizations can secure funding for energy and sustainability projects by aligning proposals with business priorities and stakeholder needs. He outlines several innovative funding sources and strategies and the impact of stacked incentives from federal, state, and utility pr...

This episode of Smart Energy Voices features a live conversation exploring the unique sustainability challenges and opportunities within sports and entertainment venues with Bill Squires, Board Member of Green Sports Alliance and Chief Venues and Operation Officer for FIFA Men’s World Cup 2024/New York & New Jersey Host Committee, and Danielle Doza, Senior Director of Sustainability for the Clevel...

In this episode of Plugged In, Chuck Hanna welcomes Rich Powell, CEO of the Clean Energy Buyers Association (CEBA), to discuss the future of grid infrastructure and associated emerging technologies. Powell highlights the importance of enhancing the current grid through innovative technologies like dynamic line rating, advanced conductors, and virtual power plants. He emphasizes the need for better...

In this episode of Smart Energy Voices, host Debra Chanil speaks with Andrew Dempsey, Director of Climate at REI, about the cooperative’s evolving approach to sustainability. Andrew shares REI’s commitment to local and accessible renewable energy and how the co-op is working to ensure its energy procurement has meaningful community impact. They explore the growing convergence of energy and climate...

In today's episode of Plugged In, host Chuck Hanna speaks with Kyle Tafuri, Vice President of Sustainability at Hackensack Meridian Health, about the organization’s ambitious sustainability initiatives. Kyle shares perspectives on balancing long-term environmental goals with the immediate challenges of operating a healthcare system, emphasizing the importance of strategic partnerships, incremental...

In this episode of Smart Energy Voices, host Debra Chanil sits down with Matt Howard, Vice President of Water Stewardship at The Water Council, for perspectives on the evolving landscape of water stewardship and its critical role in corporate sustainability. From record-breaking droughts to new regulations, Matt unpacks the challenges companies face, strategies to build resilience, and why water s...

In this episode of Plugged In, Chuck Hanna speaks with Pat Lynch, Executive Managing Director at CBRE Data Center Solutions, about the evolving data center and AI landscape. They discuss the rapid growth of AI and its significant impact on data centers, including the shift from large training models to inference-based AI and private AI, which demands more distributed, latency-sensitive facilities...

In this episode of Smart Energy Voices, host Debra Chanil speaks with Shannon Carroll, AVP of Global Environmental Sustainability at AT&T, about the company’s innovative approach to sustainability and its commitment to achieving a carbon-neutral future. Shannon highlights AT&T’s ambitious goal to reach carbon neutrality by 2035 and reduce their business customers' emissions by one gigaton by 2035...

In this episode of Plugged In, Constellation’s Managing Director Melissa Zimmerman speaks with Ed Socia, Director, North America at datacenterHawk, about the evolving energy demands and sustainability challenges of data centers. Ed discusses trends such as the growing influence of AI, increasing rack densities, and the adoption of liquid cooling to optimize energy use. He highlights the role of re...

In this episode of Smart Energy Voices, host Debra Chanil speaks with Mike Van Brunt from ReWorld and Sean Trambley from the Circular Economy Coalition about the integration of circular economy principles in the energy sector. Both guests emphasize the economic and environmental benefits of circularity, including waste reduction and energy efficiency, and offer advice for businesses starting to em...

In this episode of Plugged In, host Chuck Hanna talks with Chris Pennington, Director of Energy and Sustainability for Iron Mountain Data Centers, about the company's ambitious decarbonization efforts and commitment to 24/7 carbon-free energy. They dive into the challenges and solutions of tracking and achieving hourly energy matching, the changing landscape of clean energy products, and the impor...

In this episode of Smart Energy Voices, Peter Kelly-Detwiler delves into the latest advancements and challenges in decarbonization and clean energy across the U.S. He highlights progress in geothermal energy, nuclear energy, and long-duration storage solutions while addressing efficiency hurdles. Kelly-Detwiler explores the rising energy demands of AI-driven data centers and their implications for...

In this episode of Plugged In, Host Chuck Hanna from Constellation talks with Adrian Anderson, General Manager of Carbon-Free Electricity, Renewable Energy & Carbon Dioxide Removal at Microsoft, about advancing carbon-free energy and data-driven sustainability. Adrian shares Microsoft’s sustainability goals, including their 100% renewable energy targets and the crucial role of data granularity for...