“A fundamental principle of innovation is that if you want more diversity of ideas and possibilities, you need to have more diverse brains in the room. That's not a diminishment of anyone. In fact, that's an elevation of everyone.”  -Amy Simpkins

Episode Description: 

Electricity is probably one of the most significant achievements of all time. The biggest industries down to individual residences all rely upon electricity for almost everything. But what if power grids suddenly fail? With the traditional grids getting outdated and less inefficient, this is likely to happen IF interventions keep being delayed. About ⅓ of energy is delivered to end-users; the greater fraction goes to waste. Moreover, outdated traditional grids continue to pose security, safety, and equity issues. How? In this episode, Jennifer sits with MuGrid Analytics CEO, Amy Simpkins to uncover this overlooked problem we have today.  Jennifer and Amy talk about the advantages of shifting from large centralized power plants that we use today to localized, distributed energy using microgrids. Learn how communities can maximize resiliency, advocate for energy equity, and ensure safety and security. The world needs a new way to define sustainability and renewable energy. Tune in and discover effective ways to pattern resilience metrics as Amy shares how to solve wicked problems with math and modeling!

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Highlights:

02:52: Microgrid- Definition and Benefits

06:35: The Danger of Traditional Grids 

14:55: How to Increase Resiliency 

17:52 Security Issues and the Political Landscape

23:42: Modeling Resilience Metrics

30:43: Energy Equity and Environmental Issues

35:11: The Advantages of CHP-Based Solution

41:46: Evolve with the New Energy Economy

43:38: Women Power

50:00: Define Resilience in Your Own Life