{"podcast":{"title":"Energy Gang","slug":"energy-gang-887131","podcast_index_feed_id":887131,"rss_url":"https://rss.art19.com/the-energy-gang","website_url":"https://art19.com/shows/the-energy-gang","image_url":"https://content.production.cdn.art19.com/images/eb/77/cd/8a/eb77cd8a-67ce-411b-bf0e-c526711bc1aa/3c13de2a603359e3c72edb66785394ca3cd8d31691034f741cce62e4014c8c528ce94e6791256bba4882574c2084270cc5b6d84e7d332025e5434515d4927872.jpeg","author":"Wood Mackenzie","episode_count":579,"summary":"Covering breaking news in clean tech, going deep on global energy policy, and debating the levers that need to move to accelerate the energy transition. Energy Gang is the podcast covering clean energy technology, renewable energy, and the environment. The world of clean energy moves fast, and you need a reliable source to stay on top of the news that matters. You’ll find it on Wood Mackenzie’s Energy Gang . How will changes to the US government affect decarbonisation and energy security? When will hydrogen, nuclear and carbon capture deploy at scale? Where’s the money for the energy transition green finance coming from and how much more is needed? What’s the outlook for EVs? What are the energy predictions for solar energy? What's the latest on climate change? Get answers to questions like these, bi-weekly on Tuesdays at 7am ET. Plus, get special live episodes recorded at the biggest climate and energy events throughout the year, like COP30 and Climate Week NYC. Don’t worry if you can’t make it in person, Energy Gang brings you all the updates on energy policy, energy finance and energy innovation you need to hear. Energy Gang is presented by Wood Mackenzie and hosted by Ed Crook…","last_synced_at":"2026-07-14T18:23:06.292646+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/energy-gang-887131"},"episode":{"title":"Why is it so hard to build big energy projects? The barriers that obstruct new infrastructure development, and how to get past them","slug":"why-is-it-so-hard-to-build-big-energy-projects-the-barriers-that-obstruct-new-infrastructure-development-and-how-to-get-past-them","published_at":"2026-07-07T11:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/energy-gang-887131/why-is-it-so-hard-to-build-big-energy-projects-the-barriers-that-obstruct-new-infrastructure-development-and-how-to-get-past-them","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/energy-gang-887131","url":"https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/rss.art19.com/episodes/7b1aeb69-408e-4e05-8736-f84a6c8612cd.mp3?rss_browser=BAhJIg90cmFuc2NyaWJyBjoGRVQ%3D--952c5701c84ad333c69d5faa668f8177091704f0","audio_url":"https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/rss.art19.com/episodes/7b1aeb69-408e-4e05-8736-f84a6c8612cd.mp3?rss_browser=BAhJIg90cmFuc2NyaWJyBjoGRVQ%3D--952c5701c84ad333c69d5faa668f8177091704f0","summary":"Whoever you ask, you are likely find broad agreement that the world needs more energy infrastructure. Whether you are worried about ensuring secure supplies, powering new data centres, or cutting greenhouse gas emissions, the answer is most often going to be investing in new assets: power plants, transmission lines, factories, pipelines, ports… the list goes on. But all too often, getting big projects built is painfully slow, expensive and unpredictable. It is particularly difficult in high-income countries, and perhaps in the US most of all. For this episode, host Ed Crooks and regular guest Dr. Melissa Lott are joined by Craig Albert, the President and COO of Bechtel, one of the world’s biggest engineering and construction companies. Together, they discuss the critical problems that get in the way of infrastructure projects, and what businesses and governments can do to get past them. First off, Craig acknowledges that the problems in the system all reflect good intentions. Communities, safety, the environment and local impacts all deserve scrutiny. The problem, especially in the US, is that the process used to take all those factors into account when approving large projects is slow, fragmented and uncertain. The result is that it pushes up costs, delays revenue, creates financing risk, and ultimately slows progress towards energy security and a lower-carbon energy system. The conversation digs into the role of trust and certainty in decision-making. Once a project has been assessed and approved, how do you stop it from being endlessly revisited? Craig argues that some aspects of the US system create particular difficulties. Other developed countries have shown that infrastructure projects can be brought in on time and on budget. Craig cites the Western Sydney Inter…","meta_description":"Whoever you ask, you are likely find broad agreement that the world needs more energy infrastructure. Whether you are worried about ensuring secure suppli…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":3977,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/energy-gang-887131/episodes/why-is-it-so-hard-to-build-big-energy-projects-the-barriers-that-obstruct-new-infrastructure-development-and-how-to-get-past-them/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/energy-gang-887131/why-is-it-so-hard-to-build-big-energy-projects-the-barriers-that-obstruct-new-infrastructure-development-and-how-to-get-past-them.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}