The Top 3 by E3: Recent Episodes
E3 Consulting
Welcome to E3 Consulting's The Top 3 by E3! We are delighted that you are taking the time to check out our series on the profession of Independent Engineering. Our podcast aims to introduce listeners to the world of project finance and engineering. During each episode, we will examine a topic that we come across in our daily lives as technical advisors. Topics will range from the profession of Independent Engineering to hydrogen, wind, solar, and energy storage, among many others. While we can't touch on everything about a topic during our series, we will provide listeners with the "top three" takeaways. We would like to thank Joseph McDade for allowing us to use his music, Elevation, as our theme. Mr. McDade is an outstanding musician, audio engineer, and podcast lover, who allows podcasts such as ours to benefit from his talents. Please check him out at https://josephmcdade.com.Again, thanks for listening and if you have any suggestions for upcoming topics, please reach out to us at e3co@e3co.com. The E3 Crew
Join the conversation as we sit down with Francis Willberg, a Photovoltaic Analysis Engineer with E3, who discusses the challenge of solar panel retirement. As we approach a staggering 1 million metric tons of photovoltaic waste by 2030, discover how the industry is grappling with the financial and technological puzzles that come with recycling the complex "panini-like" layers of PV modules. In this episode, Frances and Al Rettenmaier, host of the Top 3 by E3 podcast, reveal how the development of bifacial modules and the reuse of still-functional panels can play pivotal roles in propelling us toward less waste. Learn about the proactive measures that are being taken to design new modules that are easier to recycle and how efficiency, reuse, and advanced recycling methods are steps helping with this effort.
E3's Managing Director, Ginger Elbaum, and Energy Storage Owner's Engineer, Jason Han, discuss Electric Vehicles in this first episode in the EV series. During this podcast, Jason and Ginger talk about the different types of electric vehicles: light- and heavy-duty, and the opportunities and challenges of adopting electric vehicles and the associated infrastructure.
Since this is a podcast about the top three takeaways, Jason provided his top three:
1) EVs are coming and so is the charging infrastructure and there's gonna be a lot of opportunities for us to improve on that.
2) As part of that infrastructure, there will be a lot of new ideas and innovations coming in that we'll have to adopt to keep up with the industry.
3) EVs provide a huge benefit to the United States and local hometowns in terms of air quality and sound in our local neighborhoods.
Join Ginger Elbaum, E3's Managing Director, and Chris Wright, E3's Executive Director and head of the Energy Storage Practice, as they look at the trends impacting the renewable energy sector.
In the most recent episode of The Top 3 by E3, E3's Managing Director, Ginger Elbaum, discusses the changing regulatory landscape for participants in the power industry with John Schmoker, Project Manager for NAES NERC Services. John specializes in NERC protection and modeling standards and joins Ginger to talk about some recent grid reliability trends and what those could mean for the power industry.
For an accompanying document showing highlights of the podcast, please go to: https://www.e3co.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/E3-Podcast-Grid-Disturbance-Trends_5.18.pdf
For additional information about E3 or NAES NERC Services, please contact Ginger Elbaum at ginger.elbaum@e3co.com.
Increasingly, shareholders and stakeholders want to know that the companies they are investing in share their values of sustainability and equity, and do not have ties to corruption, environmental destruction, or human rights abuses. These are not only ethical and humanitarian issues but pose financial risks as well. In this podcast, E3 dives into the context and anticipated regulatory changes in this area, with Carol Ho, E3’s environmental engineer.
One of the most compelling developments is the movement toward standardizing ESG metrics, which will be further solidified by the release of proposed rules from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regarding climate disclosures from public companies. Listen as Carol and Ginger discuss the SEC rules, reaction to the proposed rules, and ESG trends in other parts of the world.
In this episode of The Top 3 by E3, Ginger Elbaum, host of the podcast, and Chris Wright, E3's Energy Storage Executive Director, discuss highlights from the Energy Storage Summit held in Austin, Texas on March 23-24, 2022. E3 Consulting was proud to be a sponsor of the event and honored that Chris participated in two of the Summit's panels.
In this fast-moving discussion about energy storage, E3's Ginger Elbaum and Chris Wright talk about the trends that E3 is seeing in the marketplace, particularly with regard to lithium-ion batteries. Chris notes that the top three trends he sees are the following:
1) The Age of Energy Storage is here. Market structures (i.e. state incentives - ISO RTO are changing, FERC is changing the grid and the way we interact with the grid and the way we consume energy, etc.).
2) We're going to start seeing battery shortages and developers are going to have to look to other suppliers, not just tier one players. This will be the subject of an upcoming podcast.
3) Lithium-ion is king for the next five years or so while other longer duration options are developed.
We hope you can take a few moments out of your day to listen to our podcast. And let us know what else interests you and whether you have any questions. Write to us at e3co@e3co.com.
In the third episode of the hydrogen series that is part of The Top Three by E3, Ginger Elbaum, managing director of E3, and Al Rettenmaier head of E3's oil, gas, and chemicals practice, discuss hydrogen as a vehicle fuel.
During this episode, Al and Ginger look at the use of hydrogen as a vehicle fuel, discussing where the market is at, where the market is expected to go, and what types of vehicles are available at this time.
Please join Al and Ginger for their discussion!
In this second episode of the Hydrogen Series, Al Rettenmaier and Ginger Elbaum discuss green hydrogen--how it is made, how it is used, what the economics are, and why it is considered the most valuable of the three classifications of hydrogen. We hope you can join Ginger and Al for their continuing discussion of hydrogen.
Join Ginger Elbaum, E3 Managing Director, and Jim Langel, Head of E3's Solar Practice, for a discussion of what's trending in the solar market and what headwinds the industry is facing.
One of the top trends we are seeing is that costs are going down, which hopefully put some money in everyone's pocket at the end of the day
The second trend is the challenge that everyone's facing at home: COVID-19. The pandemic has impacted the solar industry over the last year and a half by slowing down the supply chain and causing a labor shortage.
Thirdly, we are looking at the impact of having a new administration that is supportive of renewable energy and has already extended the ITC for a couple of years.
We hope you'll join us for this episode!
In this episode of The Top 3 by E3, Al Rettenmaier, practice leader of E3's Oil, Gas, and Chemicals Sector, and Ginger Elbaum, E3's Managing Director, discuss the reasons that hydrogen, particularly green hydrogen, has been on the tip of everyone's tongue lately. It's almost impossible to miss the myriad conferences, articles, and podcasts about hydrogen generation and markets. But why is that? During this episode, Al will provide an introduction to the topic, explaining some of the reasons that the project finance community is waking up to the opportunities and challenges of this emerging market.
Listen as Al Rettenmaier explains how hydrogen works, why it's such an exciting new opportunity and why there are challenges to developing these types of projects. During this episode, Al outlines three takeaways including:
- Green hydrogen is a 100% renewable source of fuel
- There are three grades of hydrogen: green, blue, and gray
- Hydrogen can be stored in a number of ways, as compressed gas, liquids, or solids, leading to a number of storage techniques.
For additional information about hydrogen or to discuss E3's hydrogen project capabilities, please contact Al at ar@e3co.com. And listen for additional episodes on this topic! There's a lot to explore, and Al is just getting started.
Welcome to E3's first episode of The Top 3 by E3! In this episode hosted by Ginger Elbaum, E3's Managing Director, Paul Plath, takes listeners inside the world of Independent Engineering. Paul is E3's President and one of the original founders of E3 Consulting over 22 years ago.
With more than 30 years of experience and hundreds of project-financed projects under his belt, Paul has seen a lot. He discusses the myriad reasons that lenders, sponsors, and other stakeholders hire Independent Engineers (IE) and the ways that IEs are able to benefit a project. As part of the "Top Three" series, Paul provides his top three takeaways on the profession, including:
- Timing to hiring an IE is important. Talk to us, at the beginning of your project, to learn when you should bring us in. If it's too early, it is inefficient, but if it is too late, it can be very expensive to make changes in the project. As they say, Time is Money.
- IEs cost money, but we can help you save money by uncovering risks and offering solutions to mitigate those.
- Look to us as a partner. We want our clients and their stakeholders to be successful. We can help you navigate the project financing process.
For additional information about E3 Consulting, or the subject of Independent Engineering, reach out to Paul Plath at paul.plath@e3co.com or to Ginger Elbaum at ginger.elbaum@e3co.com.
In this episode of The Top 3 by E3, Ginger Elbaum, E3's Managing Director, interviews Carol Ho, an E3 Senior Director and environmental engineer, about the impact that wind turbines have on wildlife. Carol provides an overview of the top three ways developers are attempting to minimize harm to wildlife, including:
- Installation of GPS/Radar
- New Technology, such as DTBird
- Bat Deterrent Technology
Carol's article on this topic is available by going to Wind Power and Its Impact on Wildlife: A Look at Current Efforts to Minimize Harm - E3 Consulting. If you are interested in learning more about this subject or would like to discuss mitigation strategies with Carol, please contact her at carol.ho@e3co.com.