Today, CleanEcon is launching Energy Frenemies, a new limited podcast series that embraces disagreement in order to solve big problems.
The series is hosted by Aliya Haq, President of CleanEcon, alongside Vijay Swarup, former Vice President at ExxonMobil, and Rich Powell, CEO of the Corporate Energy Buyers Association (CEBA).
Energy policy has no shortage of conversation, but most of it happens in silos. Environmentalists talk to environmentalists. Oil and gas people talk to oil and gas people. Republicans and Democrats have their own panels, conferences, newsletters, and podcasts. Too often, people talk to those who already agree with them and then wonder why it’s so hard to move forward.
We want to create a place where people with different perspectives can challenge each other, find unexpected common ground, and have some laughs along the way.
And that’s the idea behind Energy Frenemies.
As America enters one of the largest periods of energy buildout and demand growth since the postwar era, this podcast is addressing the most urgent challenges we face. Artificial intelligence, advanced manufacturing, electrification, and a changing economy all require enormous amounts of energy. How we meet that energy demand is central to a strong, competitive economy of the future.
On the big-picture goals, there is more agreement than our politics might suggest. At a foundational level, the hosts share the same core belief: America needs more energy, and it needs to be reliable, cheap, and clean. The question is how do we get there?
Aliya, Vijay, and Rich come to that challenge from very different places. Aliya began her career as a self-described environmental crusader at Greenpeace and other NGOs. Vijay spent decades at ExxonMobil approaching energy through the lens of engineering, technology, and scale. Rich came to the issue from the conservative policy world, launching ClearPath and focusing on how markets and the private sector can drive change.
Across six episodes, Aliya, Vijay, and Rich will take on some of the hardest questions facing America’s energy future, from how much energy the country will need to what lessons history can offer for the choices ahead. Along the way, they’ll bring in outside experts and test their own assumptions and each other’s.
The goal is to understand where the real disagreements are, challenge some long-held assumptions, and see whether those conversations can lead to better answers. Meeting America’s growing energy needs will require ideas and participation from across the energy landscape.
The ambition for Energy Frenemies goes beyond the podcast studio. If the series can help make disagreement more productive, maybe those conversations can help shape a new, constructive discourse that America needs to meet this moment.
Energy Frenemies launches September 16th, with new episodes released regularly through the end of the year. Follow us on Apple or Spotify.
