602: Public Utilities Can Turbo Charge Clean Energy And People Power, with Eric Williams of Omaha Public Power District

Is it possible to keep an electricity grid fueled by renewable energy stable every minute of every day, given the variability of wind and sunlight? Eric Williams, a clean energy advocate and board member of one of the nation's largest publicly owned electric utilities, thinks it is.

In a conversation with Nico Johnson, Eric explains his role as one of eight elected directors overseeing the Omaha Public Power District (OPPD), which serves 855,000 people in Omaha and 13 surrounding counties in southeast Nebraska. 

He clarifies how and why public power benefits the energy transition and shares what we can learn from the nation's only 100% public power state. Noting that "intermittent does not mean unreliable," he explains the importance of electing clean energy allies to the governing boards that create the electricity grids of today and tomorrow. 

Eric has worked to advance clean energy since 2009 as a community organizer, coordinator for a city-operated project and founder of a biofuels cooperative before being elected to the OPPD in 2018. Join us to learn practical insights about advancing clean energy in your community and strategies to ensure your elected officials adopt the right policies to increase clean, reliable, affordable electricity for all.

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