E029: Engie Executive Sees The End Of Coal, Gas and Nuclear Power – Interview with Thierry Lepercq

Who: Thierry Lepercq, EVP of Research, Development and Innovation at Engie. Member of the executive committee. Engie is a global energy company with $78billion in revenues and 150,000 employees.

What: A discussion about the future of energy regarding the use of traditional power plants, transition to renewables and investing in innovative companies around the world.

Impact to You: Engie has sold its US portfolio of coal and gas power plants. It closed a 45 year old coal plant in Australia and sees mobility as a massive impact to the energy system. If they view the future to be without central power fueled by fossils, what does that mean to your business and your customers? Thierry may be paid to be a futurist but getting Engie to turn its business strategy into this direction matters to you.

Sometimes while in deep conversation with a leading energy executives, they say something extraordinary in such a casual way that unless you are paying attention, you might miss it.

I had that experience the other day when SolarWakeup had an exclusive conversation with Thierry Lepercq of Engie’s Executive Committee and the company’s EVP of Research, Development and Innovation, in which he made a bold prediction: Rotating-machinery electricity production—meaning all fossil-fuel and nuclear plants—are going away.

“That’s a given,” he said matter-of-factly, as if this as if it were common knowledge. I can attest, however, that I had never heard anyone say it out loud before—especially from someone leading the future for an energy company with 150,000 employees and over $75billion in 2016 revenues. After all, the Department of Energy and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission are on a fast-tracked course to bail out failing and dissipative nuclear and coal plants at an enormous cost to taxpayers.

Listen to the episode to hear all of the other forecasts Thierry makes.

Make sure to check out SolarWakeup Live! in New York on 1/31.

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