July 16, 2025

Welcome to TRC Energy Talks, a podcast about ‘All Things Energy.’ Produced and hosted by the staff of TRC’s Advanced Energy practice, this podcast is a discussion forum for current trends in the energy industry, from decarbonization, to resiliency, to energy equity and the responsible transition to a low-carbon future.

TRC Podcasts are available on Apple, Spotify, Google, iHeart and Stitcher.

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Episode 9 – Equitable Workforce Development

The skilled trades are at a crossroads: demand is rising, but the workforce isn’t keeping up. Our episode on equitable workforce development explores why, looking at labor shortages, outdated perceptions, and barriers that limit who enters the field. At the same time, it highlights how mentorship, training, and equity-driven recruitment can reshape the trades into accessible, rewarding careers. Tune in for a conversation about the challenges and the big opportunities shaping the future in the energy industry.

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Cameron Starr – Customer Experience Operations Lead, Energy Trust of Oregon. Cameron has 13 years of experience in the energy efficiency industry and manages Energy Trust of Oregon’s contractor and creative services team. He has led the implementation of Energy Trust’s contractor development pathway offer, which is designed to help small businesses complete projects and energy trusts.

James Metoyer – Founder and Executive Director, EnerCity Collaborative. James has nearly 20 years in the energy sector and is the founder and executive director of EnerCity Collaborative and principal at Advanced Energy Inspections. He is committed to breaking down barriers for BIPOC communities by creating access and career pathways in weatherization, residential energy auditing and deep energy retrofitting.

Tina Pham – Principal Owner, Pham Construction Group and Iconic Tile. Tina has nearly a decade of experience in the construction industry and runs two businesses, Iconic Tile, which installs custom tile and residential and commercial spaces and Pham Construction Group which performs energy audits and retrofits.

Josh Williams – Founder and President, BW Research. Josh has worked in the applied research industry for over 20 years as an analyst, project manager, and research director, and founded BW Research in 2006. Josh’s work is focused on understanding and measuring how the world of work is changing and what it means for households, students, workers, and businesses.

Nicole Wroblewski – Director of Communications and Energy Equity Services, TRC. Nicole leads the integration of diversity, equity, and inclusion in energy services at TRC. She specializes in developing and delivering equitable, just, and effective engagement strategies for advanced energy services, with a focus on empowering customers who have historically been left out of the conversation.

Episode 8 – Program Evaluation for Demand Side Management

Program Evaluation is the process of measuring and assessing the performance of demand side energy efficiency and load management programs, with the goal of continuous improvement. In this episode, our panel of energy industry experts discusses why performance measurement matters, and how evaluations improve programs. 

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Dr. Meghan Bean, Principal Market Research & Evaluation Scientist, Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (NEEA)

Matt Rife, C.E.M., Senior Analyst, Product Research & Evaluation, Consumers Energy

Angel Moreno, Associate Director, Advanced Energy, TRC

Episode 7 – Utility Carbon Data Management

Carbon accounting is of growing importance as utilities focus on reducing their own emissions, as well as the emissions of their suppliers and customers. In this podcast, our guest speakers discuss the state of carbon data management and the standards guiding consistency in carbon accounting across utility organizations. We explore how utilities can better help customers on their decarbonization journey.

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Eli Gerson – Manager of Innovation, Ameren. Eli oversees Ameren Innovation’s project portfolio, managing Ameren’s sustainable growth efforts related to: Affordability, Economic Development, Efficient Electrification, Integrated Grid, and New Product & Service Development. Eli has an MBA from Washington University in St Louis and a B.A. in secondary education and teaching from the University of Michigan.

Karl Breustedt – Senior Director of Business Development, Singularity Energy. Singularity’s platform provides an end-to-end carbon data management solution for electric utilities. Prior to joining Singularity, Karl worked at Bain & Company, where he consulted on strategy, operations, and commercial excellence for industrial and financial services clients. He graduated from the University of Minnesota with a degree in Finance.

McGee Young – Founder, WattCarbon. McGee developed a platform that’s scaling the transition by making high impact clean energy accessible to any organization. The WattCarbon Energy Attribute Tracking System is the first ever registry designed specifically for distributed energy resources, enabling buying for any hour, from any clean energy resource.

Patrick Hosty – Sr. Business Development Manager, Constellation Navigator. Patrick was on the founding team of Dynamhex, a carbon accounting software as a service start-up acquired by Constellation in 2022. Mr. Hosty guides Constellation Navigator’s Carbon Accounting channel partnerships. For more information, visit constellationnavigator.com/carbon-accounting or contact patrick.hosty@constellation.com.

Maddie Emerson – Strategy & Regulatory Manager, TRC. Maddie leads initiatives within TRC’s Advanced Energy practice to drive decarbonization and energy efficiency in the commercial, industrial and residential sectors for our utility client partners. Based out of St. Louis, MO, Maddie is the host of the TRC Energy Talks Podcast, an open discussion forum for “all things energy.”

Episode 6 – Monetizing Environmental Attributes of Building Decarbonization Programs

How are utilities and states that are administering building decarbonization programs currently valuing the environmental attributes generated by their programs? Join industry experts with experience in wholesale energy and environmental commodity markets as we discuss energy attribute certificates (EACs), including RECs, as a key mechanism for enabling a more rapid and inclusive transition to a decarbonized built environment.

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Lisa Barrett– Director, Advanced Energy United.  Lisa’s work focuses on removing barriers and expanding opportunities for advanced energy technologies to participate in wholesale energy markets, focusing on the Midcontinent ISO and Southwest Power Pool. She has over 15 years of experience in the energy industry, including representing distributed generation projects in renewable energy certificate, forward capacity, and real-time energy markets in New England.

McGee Young – Founder, WattCarbon. McGee developed an energy procurement platform that’s scaling the transition by making high impact clean energy accessible to any organization. The WattCarbon Energy Attribute Tracking System is the first ever registry designed specifically for distributed energy resources, enabling buying for any hour, from any clean energy resource.

Maddie Emerson – Strategy & Regulatory Manager, TRC. Maddie leads initiatives within TRC’s Advanced Energy practice to drive decarbonization and energy efficiency in the commercial, industrial and residential sectors for our utility client partners. Based out of St. Louis, MO, Maddie is host of the TRC Energy Talks Podcast, an open discussion forum for “all things energy.”

Episode 5 – What’s Next for the Clean Energy Transition?

What is the Clean Energy Transition, and where is it headed next? We posed this question to three energy industry veterans, all of whom launched their careers in the 1990s at the New York State Energy Research & Development Authority (NYSERDA), and who’ve remained friends in the decades since. Join this engaging conversation to hear how our industry’s priorities have evolved over the last 30 years, and some predictions on what’s coming next.

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William M. Flynn – Harris Beach, PLLC. Bill leads the Harris Beach Energy Industry Team and advises clients on local, state and federal governmental affairs. Previously, Bill served as Chairman of the New York State Public Service Commission (NYS PSC), and was President of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA).

Michael Colgrove – Executive Director, Energy Trust of Oregon. Previously, Mike spent 15 years with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) where he was director of the New York City office and multifamily programs. In that role, he led a national working group that developed ENERGY STAR® standards for multifamily high-rise buildings.

Mark Coleman – Director, Advisory & Innovation, TRC. Mark works with agencies and utilities to transform energy usage. Mark launched his career at the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority.

Maddie Emerson (Moderator) – Strategy & Regulatory Manager within TRC’s Advanced Energy practice. Maddie leads initiatives to drive decarbonization in the commercial, industrial and residential sectors.

Episode 4 – Carrots and Sticks of Building Decarbonization

In this episode, we discuss two large-scale tools to advance the decarbonization of buildings in the United States: 1) incentive-driven building efficiency and electrification programs, and 2) building energy codes and standards . These are “carrots and sticks” of market transformation, and they have an interesting and complex relationship. How do these tools interact in the market? Find out with our team of guest experts.

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Kelly Cunningham – Codes & Standards Program Manager at Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E). Kelly supports the evolution of energy policy in California at both the state and local level.

Jay Madden – Codes & Standards Senior Engineer at Southern California Edison (SCE). Jay also supports energy policy evolution in California and has a background as a “customer” of energy codes, working in HVAC system design.

Farhad Farahmand – Senior Project Manager, TRC. Farhad leads reach code adoption and Title 24 Building Energy Efficiency Standard improvements for utility and community-based projects in California.

Ian Metzger – Director of Program Design and Innovation, TRC. Ian works with utilities to design, implement, and verify performance of demand side management (DSM) incentive programs across the country.

Maddie Emerson (Moderator) – Strategy & Regulatory Associate Manager within TRC’s Advanced Energy practice.

Episode 3 – Residential Heat Pumps

In this episode, we discuss residential heat pumps, and how they represent a huge opportunity for decarbonizing energy use in the U.S. and globally. By replacing fossil-fired space and water heaters with electric heat pumps, utilities and states can fulfill climate or GHG emissions reduction goals – especially if this equipment replacement is scaled up to millions of homes and buildings.

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Dana Fischer – Manager of Utilities and Electrification, Eastern Region at Mitsubishi Electric Trane HVAC U.S. Dana supports the transition of building heating infrastructure to renewable energy with the use of high performance heat pumps.

Matthew Christie – Director of Energy Efficiency at TRC, Matthew focuses on advancing the residential building sector towards a decabonized future, including engaging with heat pump manufacturers, distributors and contractors.

 

Maddie Emerson – Strategy & Regulatory Associate Manager within TRC’s Advanced Energy practice. Maddie supports initiatives to drive decarbonization in the commercial,  industrial and residential sectors.

Episode 2 – Transportation Electrification

This discussion focuses on one of the biggest market shifts occurring on a global scale: transportation electrification. Join three experts from TRC as we review the opportunities, benefits, and challenges of electrifying passenger, non-road, and commercial fleet vehicles on a mass scale. We talk about implications including grid impacts, funding and the role of incentive programs.

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Brenda Enos – Vice President, Energy Transition Solutions at TRC. She specializes in helping large energy users including airports, ports and transit agencies in their electrification and energy transformation strategy, planning and technology deployment, helping to transform these industries from a fossil-fuel based model to a resilient and net zero carbon future.

Cal Silcox – Senior Consultant in TRC’s Advanced Energy practice. Cal specializes in transportation electrification, utility strategy, and policy analysis.

Maddie Emerson – Strategy & Regulatory Associate Manager within TRC’s Advanced Energy practice. Maddie supports initiatives to drive decarbonization in the commercial,  industrial and residential sectors.

Episode 1 – FERC Order 2222

In this episode, we talk about “the good, the bad, and the ugly” of FERC Order No. 2222, an important piece of energy legislation that opens the wholesale market for Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) and represents an industry-transforming opportunity for decarbonization and innovation in the power industry.

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Angela Gordon – TRC’s Regulatory & Policy Director, with 30 years of experience in the electric, natural gas, and water industries. Angela focuses on rates and regulatory issues, industry reforms and demand side management program design.

Scott Steiner – Vice President of TRC’s Advanced Energy practice. Scott manages a broad portfolio of demand side management programs including efficiency, demand response and electrification.

Maddie Emerson – Strategy & Regulatory Associate Manager within TRC’s Advanced Energy practice. Maddie supports initiatives to drive decarbonization in the commercial,  industrial and residential sectors.