The Role of Energy Storage Systems in Combating Climate Change with Mike Wietecki of Powin and John Thomas of ESS

Hardware to Save a Planet

Welcome to this special episode of Hardware to Save a Planet. Today, we are at the Wings Conference in Portland, Oregon, where Dylan is joined by Mike Wietecki of Powin and John Thomas of ESS for a live panel discussion. Both Powin and ESS are engaged in deploying battery energy storage systems on the grid.

Join us as we delve into the crucial role of energy storage in combating climate change as Mike and John share their insights about their innovative battery energy storage systems and the challenges they face in scaling the industry. We also explore the impact of incentives and regulations on the market and gain valuable insights into the future of clean energy.

Mike is responsible for the commercial negotiation and closing of hundreds of millions of dollars of battery energy storage contracts globally. He is an experienced general counsel and chief operations officer with a diverse background in renewable energy, securities, litigation and risk management, M&A, sustainability, regulatory compliance, and operations. His work history includes advising both public and private businesses, ranging from start-ups to multi-billion dollar multinationals.

John is involved in weaving integrated infrastructure and mobility solutions that meet customer requirements while being sustainable, resilient, and economically viable. His fields of play include renewable power generation through microgrids, energy storage, V2X, virtual power plants (VPP), green hydrogen supply and distribution, renewable biofuel supply and distribution, serving passenger and commercial vehicles—both human-driven and autonomous. He is working on optimizing the intersection of user experience, site operations management, and smart energy management.

Episode Resource

• Mike Wietecki on LinkedIn
• Powin Website
• John Thomas on LinkedIn
• ESS Website
• Dylan Garrett on LinkedIn
• Synapse Website

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Hardware to Save a Planet is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so
Previous guests include: Peter Reinhardt of Charm Industrial, Carlos Araque of Quaise, Noah McQueen of Heirloom, Areeb Malik of Glacier, Jeff Satwicz of Bigbelly, Abe Schneider of Natel Energy, Insiya Jafferjee of Shellworks, Paul Gross of Remora, Erika Boeing of Accelerate Wind and Daniel Betts of Blue Frontier.
Check out our three most downloaded episodes:

• A Sustainable Approach to Direct Air Capture with Noah McQueen, Head of Research & Co-Founder of Heirloom
• Innovative Waste Recycling: AI and Robotics with Areeb Malik, Co-founder of Glacier
• Developing an Environmentally-Friendly and Fish-Saving Hydropower Turbine with Abe Schneider, Co-founder and CTO of Natel Energy

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