Mapping Electricity Prices Across the Country, with Zehra Khan and Lauren Sidner

In this episode of the podcast, host Kristin Hayes invites Zehra Khan and Lauren Sidner to discuss their work on the Electricity Price Hub, a collaboration that involves Heatmap News, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the Clean Economy Project. The Hub visualizes national, state-level, and regional electricity prices—a feat that previously has been elusive due to the fragmentation of data across many sources. By putting prices in comparison for ZIP codes across the country, Khan, Sidner, and their colleagues are able to illuminate broad nationwide trends and the differences among states and regions when it comes to changing electricity prices and key drivers of that change. They discuss the role of data centers in electricity rate increases; what’s behind the notable price spike in Washington, DC; considerations for state regulators and policymakers; and more. References and recommendations: “How to Fix the Fastest-Rising Electricity Prices in the U.S.” by Zehra Khan, Lauren Sidner, and Steven Berit; https://heatmap.news/ideas/pepco-exelon-prices Electricity Price Hub data tool from Heatmap News, MIT, and CleanEcon; https://electricity.heatmap.news/ “The Affordability and Climate Agendas Run Through State Regulators. It’s Time to Rethink Their Roles.” by Arjun Krishnaswami and Megan Husted; https://fas.org/publication/rethinking-state-regulators-climate/ The Kyoichiro Kaga series of mystery novels by Keigo Higashino; https://us.macmillan.com/series/thekyoichirokagaseries “A Bad, Bad Place” by Frances Crawford; https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/803124/a-bad-bad-place-by-frances-crawford/ Subscribe to stay up to date on podcast episodes, news, and research from Resources for the Future: https://www.rff.org/subscribe/

This week, host Daniel Raimi brings Gabrielle Wong-Parodi on the podcast to discuss how people connect climate change to their personal experiences with extreme weather events—and whether these experiences impact their willingness to take action. As a social scientist at Stanford University with a psychology background, Wong-Parodi offers a glimpse into the complicated, and often unpredictable, path between experiencing a consequence of climate change and deciding to contribute to solutions. Research has shown that extreme weather events can lead to increased desire to take adaptation measures (like making homes more resilient) and mitigation actions (like purchasing electric vehicles or solar panels). However, translating these cognitive responses to behavior isn’t always straightforward; Wong-Parodi explains how psychological biases and political affiliation can affect the actions that result from observed attitudinal trends. References and recommendations: “Personal experiences matter for climate action” by Gabrielle Wong-Parodi; https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-026-02640-x “Households’ Perceived Personal Risk and Responses in a Multihazard Environment” by Michael K. Lindell and Seong Nam Hwang; https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1539-6924.2008.01032.x “The effects of weather experiences on climate change attitudes and behaviors” by Matthew Ryan Sisco; https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1877343521001160 “Experience of extreme weather affects climate change mitigation and adaptation responses” by Christina Demski, Stuart Capstick, Nick Pidgeon, Robert Gennaro Sposato, and Alexa Spence; https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32355377/ “All That Breathes” documentary; https://www.allthatbreathes.com/ Subscribe to stay up to date on podcast episodes, news, and research from Resources for the Future: https://www.rff.org/subscribe/

This week, host Daniel Raimi brings Ishan Sharma on the podcast to discuss the beginnings of the geologic hydrogen industry. Sharma, director and founder of a fund at Renaissance Philanthropy that seeks to grow hydrogen into a competitive energy provider, draws upon the trajectories of sectors such as oil and gas—and newer additions, like geothermal energy—to argue that with enough investment, the abundant hydrogen gas trapped beneath the Earth’s surface could be a major player in the energy game. As hydrogen is a natural output of common chemical reactions, such as the interaction of iron and water, there’s no shortage of the resource; the issue is how to find it. While interest in geologic hydrogen is ramping up, the industry faces feasibility issues related to incomplete public information, lack of understanding about the subsurface world, and regulatory voids—however, Sharma believes this low-carbon source has a bright future. References and recommendations: Chimaera Fund; https://www.renaissancephilanthropy.org/chimaera-fund “Designing a Life That Matters” episode of the “Hidden Brain” podcast; https://www.hiddenbrain.org/podcast/designing-a-life-that-matters/ “Odd Lots” podcast from Bloomberg; https://www.bloomberg.com/oddlots “Ministry for the Future” book; https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/kim-stanley-robinson/the-ministry-for-the-future/9780316300162/ Subscribe to stay up to date on podcast episodes, news, and research from Resources for the Future: https://www.rff.org/subscribe/

In this episode, host Kristin Hayes invites Sara Baldwin-Griffin to give her perspective on Utah’s growing renewable energy sector—a product of the state’s abundant resources, increasing energy demand, and collaborative policy landscape. Baldwin-Griffin, as chief executive officer of Utah Clean Energy, is supporting the industry’s boom as solar, wind, geothermal, and battery power have grown from less than 5 percent to approximately 20 percent of Utah’s energy generation within just two decades. Not only do sustainable sources of energy offer solutions for affordability and reliability issues, which have been exacerbated by the state’s emerging data center projects, but renewable energy can inject vitality back into struggling local economies. Baldwin-Griffin elaborates on the factors that have led to Utah’s clean-energy success so far, including bipartisan support and community engagement, and speculates on next steps to increase renewable energy adoption across the Western United States. References and recommendations: Utah Clean Energy; https://utahcleanenergy.org/ Subscribe to stay up to date on podcast episodes, news, and research from Resources for the Future: https://www.rff.org/subscribe/

This week, host Daniel Raimi welcomes Shoshannah Lenski, executive director of the Ann Arbor Sustainable Energy Utility (SEU), a municipal energy utility that is fully powered by renewable sources, optional for residents, and supplemental to the existing electricity grid. Over the past few months, the SEU has been installing solar energy systems in households to scale back dependence on carbon-intensive infrastructure, focusing on underserved communities that historically have lacked reliable, affordable electricity. Providing renewable energy as a public utility—with no up-front costs to residents—offers creative solutions for problems such as stress on the electric grid due to data center build-out, low access to renewable energy for property renters, and repealed federal assistance for solar installations. Lenski walks through the SEU’s ambitious next steps, including constructing neighborhood-scale geothermal systems that provide heating and cooling, and building “microgrids” of interconnected sites that share the energy generated by their solar systems. References and recommendations: Ann Arbor Sustainable Energy Utility; https://www.a2gov.org/sustainable-energy-utility/ “The Ice at the End of the World” by Jon Gertner; https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/239762/the-ice-at-the-end-of-the-world-by-jon-gertner/ Subscribe to stay up to date on podcast episodes, news, and research from Resources for the Future: https://www.rff.org/subscribe/

In this week’s episode, host Margaret Walls brings Mark Brown and Jason Brooks on the podcast to discuss their work facilitating fire-resilience efforts among the residents of Marin County, California. As the executive officer of the Marin Wildfire Prevention Authority—the agency tasked with coordinating the county’s fire-prevention activities—Brown relies on data and strategies created by Fire Aside, a software company co-founded by Brooks. Together, the pair have contributed to an evolution in how the county approaches fire mitigation and response, promoting collaboration among homeowners, local fire services, and insurers. Brown and Brooks relate key takeaways from five years of their public-private partnership, including how to effectively advocate for behavior change, enable homeowners to improve their insurance plans, and unite communities to protect one another against the growing threat of wildfire. References and recommendations: Fire Safe Marin; https://firesafemarin.org/ Fire Aside; https://www.fireaside.com/ “The British Are Coming” by Rick Atkinson; https://rickatkinson.com/british-are-coming/ “The Death of Expertise” by Tom Nichols; https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-death-of-expertise-9780197763834 Subscribe to stay up to date on podcast episodes, news, and research from Resources for the Future: https://www.rff.org/subscribe/

This week, host Kristin Hayes invites Liz Moyer on the podcast to break down the history of US energy use in commemoration of the country’s 250th year of independence. Moyer is an associate professor at the University of Chicago, and along with research collaborators, she created an animated Sankey diagram—a chart that quantifies and depicts the flow of volume from one stage or category (in this case, different energy sources) to another (economic sectors in which the energy is used)—to visualize the evolution of US energy over time. In this episode, Moyer explains the mechanisms behind past US energy transitions, from the expansion of railroads in the 1860s to the oil crisis of the 1970s, and provides insights on the current energy transition toward electricity. References and recommendations: “US Energy History Visualization” by Robert Suits, Nathan Matteson, and Elisabeth Moyer; https://us-sankey.rcc.uchicago.edu/ “Energy Transitions in US History, 1800–2019” by Robert Suits, Nathan Matteson, and Elisabeth Moyer; https://static1.squarespace.com/static/54dcfad0e4b0eaff5e0068bf/t/5fbeba6ffa04221c71019ccc/1606335091993/Suits_Matteson_Moyer_2020_Energy_Transitions.pdf “Charting the evolution of U.S. energy since 1800—from horsepower to renewables” by Rob Mitchum; https://news.uchicago.edu/story/charting-evolution-us-energy-1800-horsepower-renewables “Infrastructure: A Guide to the Industrial Landscape” by Brian Hayes; https://wwnorton.com/books/9780393349832 Subscribe to stay up to date on podcast episodes, news, and research from Resources for the Future: https://www.rff.org/subscribe/

In this episode, host Daniel Raimi invites podcast guest Amy Townsend-Small, a professor at the University of Cincinnati, to illuminate the history, environmental impact, and cultural significance of gas-powered streetlights. These functional fixtures lend old-time ambiance to historic districts in cities like Boston and Cincinnati, but their aesthetic comes at a cost: gas lamps leak methane at a wasteful rate, and these charming relics can drain cities of hundreds of thousands of dollars in fuel and maintenance. By integrating her field research on streetlights with cultural and historical context, Townsend-Small localizes the numbers behind gaslight emissions—and sheds light on the sentiments that might have allowed them to persist, even as fuel-efficient electric alternatives become more affordable and available. References and recommendations: “Gas streetlights, methane emissions, and the cultural resistance to climate change mitigation” by Amy Townsend-Small, Sacha Brewer, and David Stradling; https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13412-026-01113-z “Quantification of methane and carbon monoxide from natural gas streetlights in Boston: a ‘low-hanging fruit’ for emissions reduction” by Amy Townsend-Small, Sacha Brewer, Nathan Phillips, and Ania Camargo; https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/2515-7620/ae60cb/meta “Hacks” television show; https://play.hbomax.com/show/67e940b7-aab2-46ce-a62b-c7308cde9de7 Subscribe to stay up to date on podcast episodes, news, and research from Resources for the Future: https://www.rff.org/subscribe/

This week, host Margaret Walls welcomes Celso Ferreira and Elizabeth Van Dolah on the podcast to talk about building resilience in coastal communities that are vulnerable to sea level rise. Ferreira, a professor at George Mason University, and Van Dolah, an environmental anthropologist and community engagement expert, were members of an interdisciplinary research team that aimed to construct nature-based solutions to flooding problems in the rural municipality of Pocomoke City, Maryland. Throughout the process, the team consulted with an advisory committee of community members who weighed in on the project—and the local input shaped the researchers’ conclusions in surprising ways. In this episode, Ferreira and Van Dolah reflect on how continuous engagement with impacted communities can help identify overlooked ecosystem values and result in improved outcomes for people and the surrounding environment. References and recommendations: “Building coastal resilience in Pocomoke City, Maryland” by Celso Ferreira, Andre de Souza de Lima, Diana Veronez, Elizabeth Van Dolah, Joseph Galarraga, Ayanna Healy, Margaret Walls, Emma DeAngeli, and Nicole Carlozo; https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/0638e5e7beea4a11ba7e277ce87ef7e2 “Recreation and Resilience: When Parks Do Double Duty” by Emma DeAngeli and Margaret Walls; https://www.rff.org/publications/reports/recreation-and-resilience-when-parks-do-double-duty/ “Nature-Based Solutions 101” by Emma DeAngeli, Brandon Holmes, and Margaret Walls; https://www.rff.org/publications/explainers/nature-based-solutions-101/ “A World Appears: A Journey Into Consciousness” by Michael Pollan; https://michaelpollan.com/books/a-world-appears/ “Goat” movie; https://www.netflix.com/title/82710848 Subscribe to stay up to date on podcast episodes, news, and research from Resources for the Future: https://www.rff.org/subscribe/

In this week’s episode, host Daniel Raimi brings in Margaret Walls and Yanjun (Penny) Liao to discuss why homeowners insurance prices and nonrenewals are increasing in the United States—and how insurers, homeowners, and state and federal governments are responding. Walls is a senior fellow at Resources for the Future (RFF), director of RFF’s Climate Risk and Resilience Program, and co-host of Resources Radio, while Liao is an RFF fellow. Together, they elaborate on data they shared in the most recent issue of Resources magazine that links areas with previous weather-related property loss to higher premiums and policy nonrenewal rates. As a result, while climate change increases the severity and frequency of extreme weather, many homeowners are left without insurance plans that provide adequate coverage, especially in vulnerable regions such as California and Florida. Walls and Liao analyze why solutions such as “insurance of last resort” plans in the residual market fail to keep up with heightened risk, and where policymakers and communities might look next to support households that are impacted by wildfires, floods, storms, and other disasters across the country. References and recommendations: “Weather Extremes Disrupt Insurance Markets” by Margaret Walls, Yanjun (Penny) Liao, and Emily Joiner; https://www.resources.org/archives/weather-extremes-disrupt-insurance-markets/ “From Risk to Reward: Insurance Discounts for Wildfire Mitigation” by Evan Ludington, Yanjun (Penny) Liao, and Margaret A. Walls; https://www.rff.org/publications/working-papers/from-risk-to-reward-insurance-discounts-for-wildfire-mitigation/ “Property Insurance and Disaster Risk: New Evidence from Mortgage Escrow Data” by Benjamin J. Keys and Philip Mulder; https://www.nber.org/papers/w32579 Insurance for Good; https://www.insuranceforgood.org/ “Listers: A Glimpse Into Extreme Birdwatching” documentary film; https://www.imdb.com/title/tt38023177/ eBird phone app; https://ebird.org/about/ebird-mobile “American Emergency: The Movement to Kill FEMA” podcast series from On the Media; https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/american-emergency-movement-kill-fema Subscribe to stay up to date on podcast episodes, news, and research from Resources for the Future: https://www.rff.org/subscribe/