About five years ago, we reached the tipping point where it became cheaper to build a new wind farm than to build a conventional thermal power plant. Now we’re staring down the barrel of a second tipping point, where it will be cheaper to build a new wind farm than it will be to operate an existing conventional power plant.

In this episode, Dave speaks with the VP and CTO of GE Renewable Energy, Dr. Danielle Merfeld, about the current state of renewables. 

You’ll hear valuable advice about following your passions from an executive at one of the largest technology corporations on the planet who is both young and an electrical engineer. From her decision to pursue her Ph.D. to the role of company culture in finding the right people to work with, Dr. Merfeld humanizes the engineering processes that are driving the future of renewables.

Learn about where we stand on the key concepts of energy diversity, storage, and transmission. Hear the challenges of educating people on a subject that’s often misunderstood and also evolving rapidly. And listen in as an executive truly nerds out about “imminently manageable” power electronics in renewables.

A Big Thank You to This Episode's Sponsor

Meet Dr. Danielle Merfeld

Danielle Merfeld is the Vice President and Chief Technology Officer at GE Renewable Energy. After she completed her undergraduate studies in Electrical and Electronics Engineering at the University of Notre Dame, she went on to get her EE Ph.D. at Northwestern University, where she chose wide-bandgap semiconductors as the focus of her thesis.

While her work with GE began in solar, she has since become a leading expert in renewables. For the past three years, she’s served at an executive level as the VP and CTO of GE Renewable Energy. She also leads a global GE initiative in the company’s Women’s Network program.

Dr. Merfeld recently participated in the Leaders Summit on Climate, a global meeting facilitated by the White House to discuss global carbon emissions and decarbonization.