Overhead power lines transmit the vital electricity that our homes and businesses, schools and hospitals need. They’re exposed to all the elements - storms, winds, hail and snow - so someone needs to make sure they can withstand whatever is thrown at them. Thankfully there’s a team of people who do this 24/7 – lineworkers.

The UK’s transmission network has 7000km of overhead lines - lay the cables end-to-end and you’d get halfway to Australia. Laura Young, a.k.a Less-Waste Laura, chats to training instructor Thomas Norris, about how he leads his teams through extreme weather to keep the power on. Tom talks a day in the life of a lineworker, the training process and what it takes to climb the pylons and keep the network resilient.

In the US, Carolyn Kissane talks with Amy Broz, one of only two women lineworkers at National Grid in New York State. Her work involves emergency response, keeping electricity systems live in storms, after disasters and accidents. Amy talks role models, how the work has changed since the 1990s, and explains how mentorship is crucial for encouraging women in trades, community service and utilities.

If you think you have what it takes to serve the community by keeping power on through emergencies, you’ll find everything you need to know here: https://www.nationalgrid.com/about-us

There’s an ongoing struggle for balance between the usefulness of AI and its energy demands. Generative AI and large language models are highly energy-intensive, with ChatGPT consuming up to 10 times more electricity than a standard Google search, and the energy consumption of data centres projected to double by 2026.

But at the same time, AI has the potential to significantly improve energy efficiency. Co-host Laura Young Laura speaks with Ben Sigrin, Senior Product Manager at GridBeyond, about how the company uses AI to manage energy behind-the-meter (on the consumer side), optimising energy use in buildings and reducing carbon emissions.

AI is also transforming sectors like transportation and agriculture by enhancing overall energy efficiency. Digital twins - virtual models that replicate real-world conditions—could eliminate 5-10% of global greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. NVIDIA, which you my know as the maker of the graphic processors that are used to train AI, has built its own version of these digital twin models. Director of Product Marketing Shar Narasimhan talks to Carolyn about Earth2, a mammoth digital replica of Earth used to model the extreme weather and climate change that affect our energy networks, and about how AI energy demands are being addressed in the industry.

In this special edition of The Clean Energy Revolution, we bring you highlights from a panel discussion, ‘Women Leading the Energy Transition’, hosted at New York University during Climate Week.

The discussion is moderated by Sandy Grace, Vice President of US Policy and Regulatory Strategy for National Grid, who sits down to talk with women working in various roles addressing the clean energy transition.

You’ll hear from panellists including Naomi Boness (Stanford University), Hadia Sheerazi (Rocky Mountain Institute), Amy Myers Jaffe (NYU), and one of this podcast’s co-hosts Dr. Carolyn Kissane (NYU), as they share their career journeys, current challenges, and opportunities needed to ensure a robust, equitable and sustainable energy transition.

Be sure to tune in to hear about the impactful work happening in policy, academia, NGOs, and startups, as well as the incredible and inspirational stories of some of the women at the forefront of the energy transition. This special episode is not to be missed.