On PBS NewsHour this week, there was an interesting and hopeful interview with Jigar Shah and Bill McKibben.

If you’re paying attention to environmental matters, I imagine you already know who Bill McKibben is—prolific author, founder of 350.org and Third Act, and one of the most prominent climate advocates of the last few decades.

But you may not know who Jigar Shah is. He is a solar entrepreneur who went on to be a key environmentalist in the Biden administration, running the group at the Department of Energy that made loans and grants for hundreds of renewable energy and efficiency projects. Throughout his career, he has been a tireless, articulate advocate for renewable energy. He also happens to be my favorite solar expert.

The PBS interview with Shah and McKibben is well worth watching. It is upbeat and optimistic about the future of renewable energy. It makes the case that the current war with Iran will bring home to the whole world the limits of relying on fossil fuels. At the same time, it does not discount the climate trouble we are in and the work it will take to get out of it.

The fundamental conclusion: renewables (solar, wind, and batteries) will inevitably take over our energy systems because the economic case for renewables is now so strong. The current administration can slow the process down a bit, but can’t reverse it. And the war in the Middle East can only accelerate it.

The video of the interview is here: