A note to subscribers on Volts' third anniversary

The first Volts post went up on Dec. 7, 2020. Believe it or not,
that was almost three years ago. I want to mark Volts’ third
birthday with a few reflections, a couple of fun announcements,
and a request. I hope you will indulge me.


Volts is subscriber-supported


There have been a lot of new subscribers since the last time I
sent out one of these notes and it occurs to me that some of you
more recent arrivals — or some of you who have only heard the pod
through Apple or Spotify or whatever — might not know what the
basic deal is around here. So here’s the short version.


I left Vox to start Volts three years ago with three goals in
mind.


First, I want to be useful. Clean energy is getting tons of
attention these days and lots of people are curious about it, or
want to get involved, or are involved and are curious what’s
going on in other parts of it. I want to arm those folks with
ideas and information. I’ve read and seen enough dire warnings
about climate change; I want to show what people are doing about
it, and by proxy, all the things you can do about it. The
clean-energy transition is a vast puzzle made of many, many
smaller puzzles, and they all need people working on them.


Second, I want to keep myself (and my subscribers) from spiraling
into climate doom, and I’ve found that the No. 1 best way to do
that is to highlight all the clever, thoughtful, ambitious,
good-hearted people out there trying to help. It’s like Mr.
Rogers said: when you’re feeling down about looming fascism and
climate chaos, look for the helpers.


And third, I want to remain independent, to do this work without
being obligated to or constrained by any big media organization,
or the hedge-fund bros who own so many of the media
organizations, or advertisers, or think tanks, or NGOs, or
wealthy patrons. I don’t want to owe anything to anyone except
you, the readers and listeners.


So I don’t take advertising and I have no sponsors. Volts
operates, and I survive, entirely thanks to the income I receive
from paid subscribers. This is, I have been reliably informed
more than once, a bonkers way to do things from a financial
perspective, but I’m a stubborn old Gen Xer and this is how I
wanna do it.


But I’ll be honest: while the number of Volts subscribers has
risen with gratifying consistency — there are more than 53,000 of
you now and I love each and every one of you as individuals! —
the number of paid subscribers not kept pace.


So this is my once-annual direct ask to everyone reading or
listening: if Volts has helped inform or inspire you over the
last three years, consider paying to support it, and me, so that
it can continue. A subscription is $6 a month or $60 a year (or
you can make a one-time donation). For the price of one night out
with your family or friends, I’ll give you a whole year’s worth
of podcasts! It’s like a dollar a podcast! That’s an amazing
price for a free podcast.


Why should you pay to subscribe? The main reason is simple: pay
if you find the work valuable, you want me to be able to continue
doing it, and you’re in a financial position to do so. Pay so
that those who aren’t in a position to pay can still benefit from
it, so the ideas and information can reach the broadest audience.


But just to sweeten the pot a bit, let’s discuss some changes in
the works!


Ch-ch-ch-changes


We’re giving Volts a few little upgrades in the coming year.


Why do I say “we”? Because I’ve brought on Sam — a longtime Volts
subscriber and climate professional — to advise and help with
these upgrades so I can continue to focus on the main work.
You’ll be seeing his name around in the comments and on emails
coming from Volts. Be nice to him!


I mentioned looking for the helpers. We also want the helpers to
find one another. So we’re going to do more to help subscribers
connect with, learn from, and collaborate with one another.


We also want to add some benefits for paid subscribers. I’m
pretty militant about all the pods and essays being free to
everyone — as I said, I want to be as useful as possible — but
that doesn’t mean we can’t have some goodies for my beloved inner
circle.


So what does all this mean in practice?


All subscribers, paid and free, will receive the
following upgrades:


We’re opening up the comment sections to all subscribers. I know
first-hand that subscribers have a ton of knowledge and insight
to share. Moving forward, each new podcast will be an opportunity
for all of you to share with one another.


In the same vein, there will be monthly community threads in
which subscribers can share what they’re working on or particular
challenges they’re facing. I’m always getting questions from
subscribers that I can’t answer but I suspect someone else in the
Volts audience can. I want to get y’all connected to one another.


For newcomers, we’re developing a Jumpstart series. If you want
to quickly get up to speed on transmission, or thermal storage,
or state-level energy politics, we’ll gather all the podcasts and
writing you need in one place.


Paid subscribers will receive the following
upgrades:


We’re starting monthly mailbag pods for paid subscribers only.
You ask questions, I attempt to answer them. Ask about energy
stuff, or political stuff, or how I work, or why I own so many
damn jackets. Anything is fair game.


️ When Volts attends and/or hosts an event, we’ll offer a handful
of free or discounted tickets to paid subscribers whenever
possible.


Other paid upgrades to come …


These are all subscriber-requested changes. As we get going, we
may add other things — revisiting past content in other ways,
contests, maybe some merch. Who knows what could happen! (We’ll
be asking you soon what you’d like to see.)


Sign up as a paid subscriber, become a legend


So that’s my yearly plea. If you would like to help me keep doing
this work, you can help in any of the following ways:


* Sign up for a monthly or yearly subscription.


* Substack subscriptions auto-renew unless you tell them not to.
Some people really don’t like that! Those folks may make a
one-time donation here, outside the Substack system. For those
who donate $60 or more, Sam will hook you up with a year’s
subscription.


* You can also give a Volts subscription to a friend or loved one
as a green holiday gift. Why, it would make anyone merry!


* And finally, even if you don’t pay, you can rate and review
Volts on Apple or whatever podcast platform you use — there’s a
reason every podcaster says this; it’s enormously helpful — or
you can just mention Volts to friends or colleagues. Word of
mouth is how we’ve grown so far!


Finally, I want to conclude by expressing my endless, unbounded
gratitude. Volts is the work of a lifetime for me, not only the
best job I’ve ever had but the best one I can imagine. And it’s
only possible because of you. So to everyone who has read it,
listened to it, or otherwise engaged with or supported it: thank
you, thank you, thank you.


This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other
subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit
www.volts.wtf/subscribe