Daniel Woldorff

Durham

Producer at Latitude Media

Producer at Catalyst with Shayle Kann

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latitudemedia.com

Articles

A former concentrated solar CEO on why the industry failed to launch

Nov 20, 2024 | latitudemedia.com | Daniel Woldorff

In 2011, BrightSource Energy was in the middle of building a $2.2-billion, first-of-a-kind concentrated solar power project in the Mojave Desert. Ivanpah was a 440-megawatt CSP plant that then-CEO John Woolard and his team hoped would be the first of many large-scale, commercial deployments. At the time, CSP appeared to be on the verge of a breakout moment, and BrightSource planned to lead the charge. But then, everything changed. The cost of photovoltaics was falling fast, and CSP couldn’t keep up.
Scaling DAC? It's complicated, says Climeworks CFO

Oct 7, 2024 | latitudemedia.com | Daniel Woldorff

Listen to the episode on:It’s a precarious moment for scaling direct air capture, and carbon removal more broadly. The sector has had a few successful deployments but is very much still proving the technology. And the hurdles on the path to full commercialization are many. But startups will lose the public’s trust if they aren’t transparent about the challenges of scaling their technologies, said Andreas Aepli, chief financial officer of Climeworks, on an episode of the Catalyst podcast.
The case for using AI to refine existing materials

Sep 22, 2024 | latitudemedia.com | Daniel Woldorff

Despite high hopes that artificial intelligence will transform materials discovery, Google DeepMind researcher Ekin Dogus Cubuk said the technology may be better at optimizing known materials. Non-AI approaches to materials discovery, such as combinatorial materials science, excel at making predictions from known data — but venture outside of that data and accuracy drops off. AI may run into those same challenges, Cubuk said.
Drew Baglino: AI load growth won’t be “as dramatic as people think”

Jun 6, 2024 | latitudemedia.com | Daniel Woldorff

Listen to the episode on:Anxiety about the energy demands of AI persist — and Tesla’s latest strategic shift to autonomy probably won’t help matters. The EV juggernaut’s renewed focus on autonomous robotaxis may eventually add to the pressure data centers place on the power grid. Meanwhile, the company has thrown its weight behind a particular vision of a decarbonized global economy, known as the Master Plan Part 3.
Four ways to move big, heavy things

Jun 5, 2024 | latitudemedia.com | Daniel Woldorff

Listen to the episode on:When thinking about decarbonizing any industry, Andy Lubershane always starts with the question “why not electrify?” As the partner and head of research at Energy Impact Partners, he sees plenty of electrification plays. And across most sectors of the economy, it’s his first choice for decarbonization because of the relatively low cost of power and the high efficiency of electric drivetrains.
Ten ways to use carbon dioxide

May 12, 2024 | latitudemedia.com | Daniel Woldorff

The global supply of carbon dioxide could grow to thousands of times larger than it is today, if carbon removal grows as dramatically as the International Panel on Climate Change says is needed to reach net zero. And according to Julio Friedmann, chief scientist at Carbon Direct, all that carbon will either go into permanent storage or new products.
The challenging economics of battery recycling

Apr 21, 2024 | latitudemedia.com | Daniel Woldorff

Listen to the episode on:Dan Steingart is all for battery recycling, in theory. In practice, through, he’s skeptical that there’s enough of a business case, at least until there are more used batteries to recycle. The researcher, who is the chair of the earth and environmental engineering department at Columbia University, spoke on a recent Catalyst episode about the challenging economics of recycling lithium-ion cells.
Four technologies for surviving the grid's ‘electricity gauntlet' | Latitude Media

Apr 7, 2024 | latitudemedia.com | Daniel Woldorff

For the past year, it’s been clear to Andy Lubershane that the U.S. is entering what he calls the “electricity gauntlet.” Like many people who are immersed in the power sector, he saw the early signs — and now the rest of the world is starting to wake up to it.
Labor shortages pose 'serious challenges' to U.S. battery supply chain | Latitude Media

Mar 19, 2024 | latitudemedia.com | Daniel Woldorff

Listen to the episode on:Editor’s note: This is part four of a five-part feature series on global battery supply chains. The reporting borrows from a new season of The Big Switch called “The Great Battery Boom,” produced by Columbia’s Center on Global Energy Policy and Latitude Studios. Listen to episode four below, or find the show anywhere you get your podcasts.
Indonesia’s nickel industry is the ‘poster child of tradeoffs’ for the battery economy

Mar 12, 2024 | latitudemedia.com | Daniel Woldorff

Editor’s note: This is part three of a five-part feature series on global battery supply chains. The reporting borrows from a new season of The Big Switch called “The Great Battery Boom,” produced by Columbia’s Center on Global Energy Policy and Latitude Studios. Listen to episode three below, or find the show anywhere you get your podcasts.