Best Decentralised Renewable Energy Podcasts (2025)

1
Moisture: the bane of all buildings (also breathability, sweatability, and vapour), with Valentina Marincioni (UCL) and Toby Cambray (Greengauge) 1:24:46

12d ago1:24:46

1:24:46

We are joined by Valentina Marincioni (UCL, UKCMB) and returning guest Toby Cambray (Greengauge) to talk about the bane of all buildings: moisture. Recently, they they’ve produced a simple explainer video about "breathability" in buildings for the UK Centre for Moisture in Buildings. Given Jeff's proclivity for referring to the 'sweatability' of bu…

1
Battery storage, lancing boilers, and decentralised energy grids: a Decent way to manage your electricity, with Tom Cox and Sally Sattary (Decent Energy) 1:09:16

26d ago1:09:16

1:09:16

By Jeff and Dan

1
Translating retrofit for normal people, with retrofit influencer Judith Leary Joyce (Eco Home Retrofit) 1:27:38

1M ago1:27:38

1:27:38

This episode is a window into the consumer side of domestic retrofit that’s full of lessons for everyone involved in the retrofit sector. We speak with retrofit influencer Judith Leary Joyce about the experience of undergoing a deep retrofit and learning how to communicate about the subject with normal people. She talks us through her journey from …

1
Embodied carbon and how sustainable is MMC? With Richard O'Hegarty (RKD, UCD) and Oliver Kinnane (UCD) 1:26:46

2M ago1:26:46

1:26:46

Returning champions Richard O'Hegarty and Oliver Kinnane join us to discuss a recently co-authored paper: Understanding the embodied carbon credentials of modern methods of construction (MMC). Get ready for a long meandering discussion that gets into what they learned and what they think about accounting practices for embodied carbon, as well as pl…

1
Can we meet the skills gap the way we currently deliver training and what is the purpose of education? With Nathan Gambling (BetaTalk and BetaTeach) 1:12:15

2M ago1:12:15

1:12:15

For this episode we were joined by Nathan Gambling. For those that are new to him, he's heating engineer of some repute, a renowned educator, and a fellow podcaster. The episode revolves around the nature of education and learning, the skills gap—specifically focusing on heat pump and retrofit education—and a post that Nathan put up a few weeks ago…

1
Direct Air Capture In Africa: Octavia Carbon’s Journey to a $5M Seed Round 42:22

3M ago42:22

42:22

Register for the Included VC Africa Reimagined: VC & Beyond Summit Join Diana Maranga, Head of Commercialization at Octavia Carbon, as she shares her unique journey from growing up inspired by environmental hero Professor Wangari Mathai to leading a pioneering direct air capture and storage company in Kenya. In this episode, Diana discusses Octavia…

1
There is methodology for defining what ‘net zero carbon’ means for buildings in the UK and it looks great, with Jess Hrivnak (RIBA), Jane Anderson (ConstructionLCA), and Julie Godefroy (CIBSE) 43:13

3M ago43:13

43:13

This time around we're talking about the UK Net Zero Carbon Buildings Standard (UKNZCBS) with three of its architects: Jess Hrivnak (RIBA), Jane Anderson (ConstructionLCA), and Julie Jodefroy (CIBSE). The UKNZCBS is the first cross-industry standard for net zero carbon-aligned buildings, albeit in a pilot form. The standard has been developed to en…

1
A 'global' standard for residential retrofit? With Paul Bagust (RICS Head of Property Standards), Steven Lees (RICS Senior Specialist - Residential Survey), and Robert Toomey (RICS Senior Public Affairs ... 1:22:50

3M ago1:22:50

1:22:50

Last year the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) released its residential retrofit standard. Given that they're one of the construction industry's oldest, largest, and most influential institutions this felt significant. Importantly, the RICS organisation has a global footprint, so it has the potential to influence good behaviour far a…

1
Can we address the decarbonisation of homes by focusing on health? With Jenny Danson (Healthy Homes Hub) 1:06:04

4M ago1:06:04

1:06:04

Can we address the decarbonisation of homes by focusing on health? That's the mission that Jenny Danson has set for herself in establishing Healthy Homes Hub, and it's a question that manages to subvert Betteridge's Law of headlines, too. Healthy Homes Hub is a network, built around an online platform, that's dedicated to transforming the way peopl…

1
Blended Finance for Impact: How GreenMax Capital is Energizing Emerging Markets 43:16

4M ago43:16

43:16

In this episode, Ifechukwude 'Chude' Uwajeh, Managing Director of Blended Finance at GreenMax Capital Group, shares his professional journey from large-scale thermal power projects to clean energy advisory and fund management. He discusses the challenges of electrification in Africa, the importance of creative financing models, and the implementati…

1
Meet The Team: Bonus Episode 6:55

4M ago6:55

6:55

Quick and casual check with the team behind the podcast on our plans for the year. Sign up for our newsletter (we have not yet changed the name): https://mailchi.mp/dc168bd41a97/sign-up-here

1
Innovating and maturing: Loco Home Retrofit is an "emerging" retrofit one-stop-shop, with co-founder Chris Carus 1:08:28

4M ago1:08:28

1:08:28

Joining us on Zero Ambitions this week is Chris Carus co-founder of Loco Home Retrofit, a Glasgow-based 'emerging one-step shop'. Loco Home Retrofit is a retrofit operation that's most interesting for its approach to developing a viable retrofit offer, focused on building trust in communities and with its supply chain as a means to catalysing the d…

1
The Earthbond Approach: Transforming Energy Access Through Innovation 44:29

4M ago44:29

44:29

In this episode of The Energy Talk, we sit down with the CEO of Earthbond, Chidalu Onyenso, to explore the company’s innovative approach to solving Nigeria’s energy crisis through solar energy solutions tailored for SMEs. We explore Earthbond's mission, financing models, and the challenges of scaling renewable energy solutions in underserved region…

1
Eliminate construction waste – Loop Your Spare instead: circular thinking and platform technology that reduces the cost of construction for everyone, with Jay Stuart 1:13:11

5M ago1:13:11

1:13:11

The first episode of January 2025 marks the long overdue, first appearance of Jay Stuart, a long-time friend and colleague of Jeff and a firm fixture of the green building scene in Ireland. Jay joined us to talk about his latest project: Loop Your Spare. It’s a SaaS platform designed to match 'spare' construction materials with projects that need t…

1
Speeding up external wall insulation installation and preparing a retrofit start-up for scale, with Max Bloomfield (VundaHaus) and Alex Whitcroft (KIN; VundaHaus) 1:11:18

6M ago1:11:18

1:11:18

What's it like trying to scale a retrofit start-up? This episode welcomes Max Bloomfield and Alex Whitcroft, two of the folks from VundaHaus, to talk about their product, its ongoing design and development, and their preparations to scale the business as they raise funds from investors. VundaHaus designs and manufactures a rapid-fit insulation solu…

1
Experiments in low-carbon retrofit for a high-status building (with a basement), with Natalie Black (Enbee Architecture + Design) and Toby McLean (Allt Environmental Structural Engineers) 1:22:39

6M ago1:22:39

1:22:39

This week's episode is all about the lessons learned in carrying out a low-carbon retrofit. Natalie Black (Enbee Architecture + Design) and Toby McLean (Allt Environmental Structural Engineers) joined us to talk through their experiments and experiences on the renovation of a derelict house in Muswell Hill, London that was shortlisted for the Archi…

1
Why we need to tell better stories about the built environment, with Liz Male (LMC) 1:15:35

7M ago1:15:35

1:15:35

Our guest, Liz Male has been on our radar for a while. She is a figure who has been working in the construction sector since the 1990s, an ally to the sustainability sector, a great communicator, and an experienced thinker. When we met earlier in the year we talked about a lot of things, but the consistent theme of our conversation was 'why we need…

1
Don't Waste Buildings, which means retrofitting them and building them better. With Leanne Tritton (Ing Media), Will Hurst (Architect's Journal), and Richard Nelson (Abyss Global) 1:25:56

7M ago1:25:56

1:25:56

Apologies for the delay, the lost podcast has been returned and is ready for release. 'Don't Waste Buildings' should be a straightforward proposition. It seems obvious. Especially so in the face of the climate crisis. Unfortunately, the business of the built environment is not yet on board completely. Our guests for this episode are the founders of…

1
Asset Financing: How Payhippo is making solar products affordable 38:51

7M ago38:51

38:51

Dami Olawoye joins us as we explore his remarkable career as a finance veteran turned clean energy champion and his role in revolutionizing solar energy financing in Nigeria as the CEO of Payhippo. From a big four-chartered accountant to leading a startup, our guest shares how his organization has raised $5 million to tackle Nigeria's electricity c…

1
Performance guarantees, measuring what works, and EPC reform, with Steven Heath (Knauf Insulation) 1:27:43

8M ago1:27:43

1:27:43

This week we're speaking with Steven Heath, technical director at Knauf Insulation (UK and Ireland) and a really interesting and experienced person in the sector. So while we had him, we ran through a bunch of our favourite hoary subjects: measuring performance, performance guarantees, and what we think about EPCs. Knauf is a firm that's done some …

1
The African Mini-Grid Program: Mobilizing Catalytic Finance Episode 2 36:06

8M ago36:06

36:06

Subscribe to our Clean Energy Africa newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/dc168bd41a97/sign-up-hereRecorded live during the Energy Access Investment Forum in May, this 2 part mini-series covers the African Mini-Grid Program (AMP). The AMP is a USD 50 million country-led technical assistance program designed to stimulate the solar-battery mini-grids marke…

1
Sustainability, sufficiency, and sequestration – the language we use and what it means, with Lloyd Alter 1:08:21

8M ago1:08:21

1:08:21

A long-overdue episode with friend of the show, Lloyd Alter, about a blog he wrote and his book "The Story of Upfront Carbon". We get into the language of sustainability, carbon, and lots of the words that are ubiquitous in this space (sustainability and the built environment, obviously). We get into the sustainability of travel, to some extent too…

1
Investing Equity in African Infrastructure: InfraCo Africa’s $300M Journey 33:26

9M ago33:26

33:26

Subscribe to our Clean Energy Africa newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/dc168bd41a97/sign-up-here InfraCo Africa is one of the few financiers that provides equity investments in large-scale infrastructure projects in Africa. Typically investing in projects in the early stages of their development, all the way through construction and operational stages…

1
Developers can build sustainably and at scale, if they want to. With Nicola Cronin and Stephen O'Shea (Cairn Homes Plc) 1:11:20

9M ago1:11:20

1:11:20

A wise woman once said: "sustainability is the doing, ESG is the talking about it". Today an Irish house-building giant has made a major move on Passive House — publishing a positioning paper and announcing the ongoing construction of over 1,700 homes to the standard. Joining us to talk about this are Nicola Cronin (Senior Sustainability Analyst) a…

1
The African Mini-Grid Program: Mobilizing Catalytic Finance Episode 1 40:15

9M ago40:15

40:15

Subscribe to our Clean Energy Africa newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/dc168bd41a97/sign-up-hereRecorded live during the Energy Access Investment Forum in May, this 2 part mini-series covers the African Mini-Grid Program (AMP). The AMP is a USD 50 million country-led technical assistance program designed to stimulate the solar-battery mini-grids marke…

1
How can we embed sustainable design into the construction process? With Mhairi Grant (Paper Igloo) 1:10:01

9M ago1:10:01

1:10:01

Jeff invited Mhairi Grant, co founder of award-winning architectural practice Paper Igloo, to join us to talk about the challenges of ensuring that one's ideas for sustainable design actually make their way through to the construction phase. The subject was sparked by a conversation she and Jeff had about lessons learned from a flawed project (that…

1
Why is making UK homes more efficient so difficult? Leyla Boulton (Green Conservation; Financial Times) 1:06:44

10M ago1:06:44

1:06:44

Why is making UK homes more efficient so difficult? So asked journalist Leyla Boulton earlier this year in the pages of the Financial Times. Seeing a retrofit article in the FT piqued our interest, even more so once we realised Leyla is a senior editor with an esteemed background in political and environmental reporting. She was reporting on Kyoto …

1
What can we do about waste in construction? Diversion from landfill isn't enough and there's money to be made. With Chris Clarke (SCAPE) 1:05:50

10M ago1:05:50

1:05:50

In the UK every day the construction industry produces enough waste to fill a football stadium. Rightly, former guest, Chris Clarke (SCAPE) has got a bee in his bonnet about construction waste and is making efforts to draw attention to the issue. He's not just concerned with the profligate use of resources and the impact on carbon emissions, it's t…

1
State of The African Minigrid Business: INENSUS GmbH 36:19

10M ago36:19

36:19

Nico joins us this week to share from his two decades of experience deploying Decentralized Renewable Energy projects, consulting governments on off-grid electrification policy, and what the emerging trends mean for financiers looking into Sub-Saharan Africa.This episode has already been published on "The Mini-Grid Business" podcast hosted by Nico.…

1
Creating an African Clean-Tech Unicorn: Arnergy Solar Company 48:32

11M ago48:32

48:32

Arnergy is a renewable energy company providing solar solutions to residential and commercial customers. Combined, Arnergy has raised $12M in a Series A and bridge round and is now gearing up for a big Series B fundraiser. In this episode, we speak with the company's CFO, James Fabola Jr., about operating in a difficult market and exciting growth o…

1
Net zero neighbourhoods and financing change, with Cat Magill (Living Places) 1:10:55

11M ago1:10:55

1:10:55

Something-like twelve months on from inception we thought we'd catch up with what's happening at Living Places, the multi-disciplinary, impact-focused consultancy co-founded by this week's guest Cat Magill. Where last year Rufus Grantham came on the podcast to tell us all about the organisation he was in the midst of founding, this year Cat joined …

1
Running a successful retrofit one-stop-shop isn't easy but it can be done, with Caroline Ashe Brady (KORE Retrofit) 1:16:22

11M ago1:16:22

1:16:22

This week's guest is Caroline Ashe Brady of KORE Retrofit in Ireland, one of the objectively successful one-stop-shop retrofit providers to have emerged over the past few years. Caroline is a business leader who we’re a proper fan of, so apologies in advance for our ‘so Caroline please tell us, why are you so great’ style questioning. That said, yo…

1
The challenging life of a retrofit coordinator: problems with process, products, and performance, with returning champion Lisa Pasquale 1:13:50

12M ago1:13:50

1:13:50

Returning champion Lisa Ann Pasquale rejoins us on Zero Ambitions to talk about dogs and retrofit. Mainly retrofit though. Informed by Lisa's experiences as a retrofit coordinator, technical lead at RetrofitWorks, and Technical Manager at The Retrofit Academy she knows an awful lot about the challenges faced by retrofit practitioners. Windows, vent…

1
What should we do to get more women into retrofit? Well, we should get behind 'Her Retrofit Space', with Ellora Coupe (Her Own Space and now Her Retrofit Space) 1:29:10

12M ago1:29:10

1:29:10

Returning champion Ellora Coupe joins us to talk about the recent report that Her Own Space has published about the place of women in the retrofit sector, which is heartening, insightful, and damning in equal measure. A great piece of work that everyone interested in the sector should heed. Perhaps more importantly, she's with us to promote the inc…

1
Building better performance: raising construction standards on site and in education, with Joseph Little (TUD) 1:22:39

12M ago1:22:39

1:22:39

This week we're going by Joseph Little, Head of Construction & Building Performance in the School of Architecture, Building and Environment at TU Dublin. He joined us to talk about the journey he's been on leading the MSc in Building Performance over the last seven years, but we got into a lot more. Joseph has been deeply involved in the promotion …

1
Retrofit as a movement for social change (there's more to it all than fabric and finance), with Dan Hill (Dark Matter Labs) 1:13:09

1y ago1:13:09

1:13:09

This week we're thinking about retrofit differently with Dan Hill from Dark Matter Labs (DML). Or rather, we're talking about retrofit's potential to become a movement for social change. In reality, retrofit is about much more than fabric and economics, it's about people and how they live. With that in mind we should be thinking much more about eng…

1
Place-based hybrid finance to rebuild Ukraine and catalyse better building standards everywhere, with Iva Merheim Eyre (SMARTER4EU) 1:11:08

1y ago1:11:08

1:11:08

This week we're joined by Iva Merheim Eyre from SMARTER4EU to talk about her recently published report the Catalogue of Good Practices, a document that details a variety of place-based hybrid finance models that have been used to rebuild and renovate homes in locations as wide-ranging as the postwar Balkan states to London's own Westminster. This i…

1
Peter Rickaby returns to ZAP: a lot of words about energy, retrofit, and natural building materials, all the way from South Africa 1:20:52

1y ago1:20:52

1:20:52

Jeff and Dan are joined by Dr. Peter Rickaby again. We were due a catch up so we recorded the conversation because he's always interesting. Peter should need little introduction, so we'll just say he's our favourite retrofit expert (sorry everyone else) and our most frequent guest on the show. He's only returned to the pod, not to the UK. In princi…

1
The UK has a weird relationship with heat pumps: under appreciated influencers, wild pricing, and bad vibes. With Andrew Sissons (Nesta) 1:21:03

1y ago1:21:03

1:21:03

This week we're joined by Nesta's Deputy Mission Director, Andrew Sissons, to discuss his take on why the UK has such a weird relationship with heat pumps. It was inspired by an excellent Twitter thread on the subject that gained quite a bit of attention the other week. We talk through it all so you might as well listen, or just take a look at the …

1
Building with straw on a continental scale and experiencing retrofit as a resident. With Cypren Edmunds (European Straw Building Association) 1:16:34

1y ago1:16:34

1:16:34

The other week we had a chance to have a conversation with Cypren Edmunds, President of the European Straw Building Association about building with straw, experiences in retrofit, and the meandering path that led him to the green building trade. For us, it was a really interesting chat because we got to talk about how he got into greed building via…

1
Empowering The Last Mile: SolarAid’s Unique Model to Scaling Energy Access. 38:57

1y ago38:57

38:57

In this episode, we explore SolarAid's visionary work under CEO John Keane, aiming to deliver sustainable energy solutions to remote African communities. Focused on last mile areas, SolarAid's unique model tackles energy poverty while empowering communities with clean, affordable energy access. Through innovation and strategic partnerships, SolarAi…

1
The energy performance of buildings matters, to me and EU and everyone we know, with Ciarán Cuffe (MEP) 51:04

1y ago51:04

51:04

The Recast Energy Performance of Buildings Directive is now enshrined in EU law, which has big implications for the built environment everywhere. Even the South East of England. To mark the occasion and get the lowdown on what this all means, we invited friend of the show Ciarán Cuffe back on to talk about it. For those who might not remember, he's…

1
A new way to measure performance, negative energy use, and learning from disaster zones, with Kate Crawford (KLH Sustainability) 1:17:08

1y ago1:17:08

1:17:08

Kate Crawford is a building nerd who is obsessed with measuring performance. She's currently, Technical Director at KLH Sustainability, a multidisciplinary consultancy working in the built environment. Kate has a very interesting background in terms of her experience and she's now working on a very fascinating project in which she's researching and…

1
Designing for deconstruction using natural building materials. With Chloe Donovan (Natural Building Systems) 1:12:39

1y ago1:12:39

1:12:39

This week we're talking about modular construction and Natural Building Systems with MD Chloe Donovan. Chloe is a really interesting character with a fascinating product that she's bringing to market. Unusually, she's a farmer who got into building and then found herself as an entrepreneur in the febrile world of modular building and MMC. We talk a…

1
Monitoring will make your buildings be worth more money, Utopi has proved it, with Falk Bleyl (CTO at Utopi) 1:20:21

1y ago1:20:21

1:20:21

Up next we're speaking with Falk Bleyl, CTO at Utopi, about their sensor-based data platform technology. He describes it as an ESG platform which is true but it massively underplays the true value of what their product offers. Heads up, normally, we'll at least try to couch the conversation within a broader context but in this episode, we've barely…

1
“Use less stuff”: embodied carbon, value chains and the potential for change in the Declaration de Chaillot. With Lloyd Alter (Carbon Upfront), Kelly Alvarez Doran (Ha/f Climate Design), and Will Arnold ... 1:16:05

1y ago1:16:05

1:16:05

Lloyd has been in Paris. He came back very enthused and excited by his experience there and wanted to communicate why to our listeners. “In the face of the climate emergency, a swift transition of the buildings sector is a direct requirement to achieve the goals set by the Paris Agreement”. Approximately, 1,400 people from 70 countries gathered in …

1
What do we do about ‘the office’? A retrofit challenge we don't speak about enough. With Harry Browne and Séamus Guidera (RKD) 1:20:03

1y ago1:20:03

1:20:03

This week we got into an area of retrofit that feels neglected: commercial space. It's a subject we definitely touch upon but never really get into , so in order to remedy that we're getting stuck in. First up is a conversation with architects Harry Browne and Séamus Guidera of RKD Dublin who came recommended to us by friend of the show Richard O'H…

1
The GridCrux Story: How one Energy Entrepreneur is Democratizing Energy Access in Nigeria 38:53

1y ago38:53

38:53

In this episode, we speak to Mojola Ola, a Nigerian-based energy entrepreneur about how his company, GridCrux, is channeling its core ethos of value-add to democratize energy access for thousands of Nigerians. We delve into his roots, entrepreneurial journey, innovations, and failures in a bid to uncover what it takes to thrive as an energy entrepr…

1
Fundamental problems in building design and how we manage thermal comfort, with Susan Roaf (Heriot-Watt; ICARB) 1:33:08

1y ago1:33:08

1:33:08

We are delighted to bring you a conversation with Professor Emeritus Susan Roaf, of Heriot-Watt University this week to talk about a bunch of fundamental problems in building design and the management of thermal comfort. She is a wonderful guest and we're looking forward to having her back. Originally, we planned to talk about her article COP 28: N…

1
Fabric fifth: rethinking the hierarchy of retrofit, with Nigel Banks (Octopus Energy) 1:10:20

1y ago1:10:20

1:10:20

This week we're joined by Nigel Banks, Technical Director - Zero Bills & Low Carbon Homes at Octopus Energy. Nigel joined us to discuss his recent article: Fabric Fifth, a slightly polemical riposte to fabric-first dogma, and an interesting philosophy for retrofit. As it turned out, it’s an apposite follow-up to last week's episode with Fionn Steve…

Podcasts Worth a Listen

Decentralised Renewable Energy Podcasts

Podcasts Worth a Listen