All language subtitles for years.of.living.dangerously.s02e01.1080p.web.h264-cbfm_track4_[eng]

Oh, my God!
Look at this down here!

That looks like I did it!

"Dave, you want an electrician?"

"No, I'll take care of it."

I've always been
fascinated by India.

But what I hear
more and more these days,

is how it will soon be
the most populous nation on Earth.

For me the question is,

"What's that gonna mean
for climate change?"

-Excuse me.
-Yeah.

Could you go a little faster?

No, I'm joking.

It's a joke. Just...
No, please, don't go faster.

-What is that?
-Those are electricity wires.

There is electricity
going through there now.

Right now, yeah.

One snarl is worse than the next.

Honest to God,
what are you gonna do?

Look, this infrastructure
has to be modernized, right?

Oh, you think?
You wanna modernize this a little.

What? Just maybe a coat of paint.

Here's what's happening, look.

All this power's coming
from the grid, right?

60% of that power capacity is coal,

but this infrastructure's
not been upgraded

-for a very, very long time.
-Right.

Right? So about 30%
of what we're generating

is getting lost in transmission.

So when we lose the electricity
in the transmission

we're having to burn more coal
for the same amount of electricity.

-And that affects the climate.
-That affects the climate.

But that's not all.
The economy is also booming here.

India is already
the third largest consumer of coal,

right behind the US and China.

And to feed its growth, India
plans to burn twice as much of it.

Coal is the single biggest
contributor to climate change.

This is a problem
not only for them,

but for the entire planet.

That's interesting.

The Prime Minister, Narendra Modi,

seems determined to find a solution
using solar power.

But can he pull it off
before it's too late?

Okay, so I'm not really supposed
to be up here,

but I was told
there's something I have to see.

Oh, wow.

My God.

I'm on the roof
of the Mandalay Bay resort

in Las Vegas.

You would never know
this was up here.

Ever since I first learned
about solar energy,

I've loved the idea

that the sun could provide us
with all the electricity we need.

But in Nevada, where solar
has been growing rapidly,

there's actually a huge battle
unfolding over rooftop solar,

a battle that could affect
the rest of the country.

Don't block the sun!

Don't block the sun!

Don't block the sun!

Don't block the sun!

So what's going on here?
Who's trying to block the sun?

My first clue came from an insider,
a former CEO in the energy industry.

Nationwide there's less
than a million American homes

that have solar
on their roof right now,

and people say there's

roughly 55 million American homes
that should.

Why is that? What's stopping it?

Well, if you think about it,

energy worldwide is
a 6-trillion-dollar-a-year business,

and the first goal
of the people in that industry

are to make sure it continues to be
a 6-trillion-dollar-a-year business.

-So their economic interest is huge.
-Wow.

Now some states
have started to do solar.

-Others aren't doing it at all.
-Why?

The powers that be
in those states are resisting.

They don't want it.

If he's right, what does this mean
for solar's future?

Goddamn it!

-Hello.
-Good afternoon, Mr. Letterman.

-Pleasure to see you.
-How may I assist you?

I was in my room a moment ago.

I was using the hair dryer.
I was drying my... beard.

And all of a sudden,
everything stopped.

-Yes.
-And then everything comes back on.

Unfortunately, we do have
frequent power outages.

-So that was a power outage?
-Yes.

And when you say "frequently,"
how often?

Well, at least,
about four to six times a day.

-4 to 6 times a day?
-But you don't need to worry.

We have a full power backup.

-And I...
-What is the power backup?

We do have a generator.

A generator?

Powering a big hotel
on a daily basis?

Well, that's something
I didn't expect.

Today I'm meeting
Indian filmmaker Iqbal Kidwai.

And he's taking me
on a tour of New Delhi,

to show me all the problems

that come
with the use of generators.

-What neighborhood is this?
-This is Connaught Place, sir.

-Huge commercial center.
-Huge commercial center.

So as we're walking around,

I see a tailor shop and I think,
"This is the perfect opportunity

to try to get one
of those long shirts

that I see people in India wearing."

Well, what I'm interested in
are the long...

-Kurta.
-It's uniform for the politicians.

-The prime minister would wear...
-Yes.

Modi is a big trendsetter,
actually, into fashion.

The Modi jacket and the Modi kurta
has become a fashion statement.

-You wanna measure me?
-Measure.

-You're gonna do the measuring?
-Yeah.

-Is there any disrobing?
-No, not at all.

Forty-one.

Have you ever seen
a more powerfully-built man?

Thirty-seven.

Is it possible to get my name
across the back?

-That'd be good.
-Have it embroidered.

-That would be very nice.
-Should I write "David Letterman"?

Just "D. Letterman."

-Okay.
-Wait, you know what? "Letterman."

You know what? I'm sorry, "Dave."

-Okay, only "Dave." That's...
-Yes, thank you.

I'm excited to get my kurta
in a couple of days,

but meanwhile Iqbal gets me back
to the task at hand.

-We have a bit of a climb up, sorry.
-It's all right.

Yep, this way.
Turn right, and up the stairs there.

All right.

Oh, my. What are these giant things?

That sir, is what we need
to power ourselves.

Any of those green things?

These are all generators, right?
Yeah, there's several over there.

Green ones? The yellow ones.

As far as you can see
for 360 degrees.

That guy's got his car horn
hooked up to a generator.

Back home, we use generators
when a tree falls on a line,

but here power failures
seem to be pretty routine.

The power, when it goes,

it can come back
in two minutes or in 20.

-Sure.
-So when you're not sure,

you need a backup.

Iqbal tells me these generators
are all powered by diesel

and pour huge quantities
of carbon dioxide

into the atmosphere.

And here's the really scary thing.

India has enough backup generators
to power all of Australia.

A grid, powered by coal,

inefficiently run,
with power outages left and right,

all requiring more coal,

and on top of that,
these diesel generators

are warming the planet even more.

But why can't India's power come

from a cleaner and more efficient
source, like solar?

That's actually
what India is trying to do.

-Thanks, guys.
-I will.

-Be good, baby. I love you.
-Yeah.

Take care of yourself, okay?

-You be Teddy. Don't change.
-I won't.

Be good, dude. Bye, guys!

-I'm gonna miss you guys.
-I'm gonna miss you too.

You were amazing.

I'm learning that SunRun had been

one of the top performing
solar companies in Nevada.

And now it's in the process
of shutting down

most of their operations here.

So this entire warehouse
was filled with solar panels?

Solar panels and all the components
you'd ever need to build them.

We were actually installing
more solar from this warehouse

than any warehouse
in the company.

-Nationwide, this was...
-Nationwide?

This was the top-performing
warehouse nationwide.

-How many states are you in?
-We're in about 15 states.

To see it as a ghost town like this
is terribly sad.

How could a thriving company
disappear virtually overnight?

What's going on here in Nevada?

Some say it's a no-brainer
to get solar energy,

but some of the biggest players
say their industry could collapse.

Customers of solar power companies
may see a more expensive bill soon.

NV Energy proposed
increasing their service fee...

Now I'm starting to get the picture.

This fight
is about residential rooftop solar.

It's been taking off
all over the US,

and Nevada had been
one of the fastest growing markets.

Thousands of people here
were installing

solar panels on their roofs

and saving money
on their electric bills.

But the utility company NV Energy
claimed rooftop solar customers

were benefiting at the expense
of non-solar customers.

The utility got approval
to cancel incentives for solar

and tack
on new and substantial fees.

This made rooftop solar
suddenly far too expensive.

The three members of the PUC

are at the center
of a solar firestorm.

...angered thousands of customers
who'd invested in solar.

Now this whole thing
is shot out of the water.

I mean, talk about betrayal.

My name is Teddy Stanowski.

I am a solar customer, homeowner,

and until last Wednesday,
I was a solar employee for SunRun.

And, commissioner, you claimed

that you have not seen any evidence
of hardship or job loss.

Well, truth is I am the evidence.
We are the evidence.

Yeah!

What these guys
are doing is wrong.

These people have been laid off
by the extreme actions

of the commissioners
that are inside.

They've eliminated these jobs

and the jobs of thousands of others
across this state.

We want freedom!

So what happened
with solar in Nevada?

How does this end up
an empty office?

The Public Utilities Commission,
who just wrote the recent decision,

what that decision did
was it made it completely uneconomic

for anyone to go solar.

So the next day after that decision,
there was simply nothing to sell.

And that's why we've seen layoffs,
not just our company,

but every solar company
in the state.

So who is this commission?
What's the name of it?

It's the Public Utilities
Commission.

And their job is to look out for...?

Their job
is to look out for all ratepayers.

-It's for people.
-It's to look out for every Nevadan.

And what they did in this case

is they only looked out
for the utility.

So, how many...? Who are they?

There's a lot of sordid ties here.

Maybe we could draw it out
on something if we could...

We could draw
on a cardboard box, right?

All right, listen.

Governor Sandoval... is in charge.

He is at the top of the pyramid.

Okay, now, Governor Sandoval himself

used to be a lawyer

for the very utility interest
we're talking about.

So, this a Berkshire Hathaway
owned utility.

Okay, at the same time,

he appoints the regulators,
the commissioners.

There's three of these folks.

-Just three?
-Just three.

And Sandoval
appoints these commissioners.

The people that link it all together

are the utility lobbyists,
who are sitting in the middle,

and they are connected to everyone.

These...
The two top utility lobbyists

are actually Sandoval's
closest political advisors.

They've been friends since college.

They convinced him
to run for office.

They served on his campaigns.

-That's pretty powerful people.
-Yeah.

It turns out before he was elected,

Governor Sandoval did indeed work

for the utility shareholders
of Nevada,

supporting NV Energy's bids
to raise electricity rates.

And two of NV Energy's
top lobbyists,

Peter Ernaut and Greg Ferraro,

have made no secret
about their close relationships

with the governor.

But Bryan tells me
what's happening in Nevada

is just the half of it.

There's a much bigger campaign

to slow down the rise
of rooftop solar across the US,

and I need to know about it.

We are heading
into the more rural, more poor...

less developed areas of the world.

The place we are going to...

We will find villages
completely off-grid,

like this village here.

-Completely, and off-grid.
-Wow.

And sure there were power lines
going past them,

but they're not connected.

It's becoming clear,
when it comes to energy,

there's another side of India
I need to see.

People without money
don't come by generators,

so they have to depend on all kinds
of kindling and firewood,

or kerosene lamps,
like this village here.

After a long drive,

we come to a small village
in the state of Uttar Pradesh.

Oh, my.

One, two, three, four, five,
six, seven, eight, nine, ten.

Hello? Excuse me. Hello?
You mind if I sit down?

Okay, please.

I want you to...
First of all, names.

-What is your name?
-Komen.

-Beautiful name. Your name?
-Bisal.

-And your name?
-Agancha.

Hey. My Name is Dave.

How old are you?

-He's about 12 years old.
-12 years old.

I have a son 12 years old.

It looks to me like you're studying.
You're doing schoolwork?

-Yes.
-And you're doing it

with this for light. What is that?

-It's called a deepee.
-And what is it burning?

-They burn it with kerosene oil.
-Do we have electricity here?

In the village,
in the house, anywhere?

We never had electricity

and I've been here
for a long time.

That's why we use
that kerosene lamp.

The children use it to study,
but it's bad.

Does it bother you,
the three of you to...

to breathe the fumes?
Does that bother you?

-Yes.
-After a while, your throat hurts.

My children always have
like a black soot in their noses.

When people see my youngest son,
no one believes he's 12 years old.

Children don't grow up
normal here.

How long will this go on?
When will you get electricity?

Another year? Another five years?

How long do you think it will be?

I don't know.
We hope it comes soon.

What do you wanna do
when you grow up?

-She wants to become a teacher.
-A teacher?

-How about you?
-Police.

Good, and then you?

A dancer.
I'd like to dance in films.

She wants to become
a dancer in the movies.

Very nice.

Those are all wonderful thoughts,
hopes, and ideas for your lives.

Before coming here,
I never imagined

kids having to breathe in
toxic kerosene fumes

just to do their homework.

But there are
300 million others in India

that live just like this,
with no access to any power at all.

300 million people, basically,
the population of the United States.

It's not just an energy problem.
It's a human problem.

Something has to change.

It's shocking to learn
that rooftop solar

has so many enemies here in Nevada,

but Bryan Miller says there are
even bigger forces at play.

Let me tell you what this fight
is about in one word.

This fight is about competition.

Rooftop solar
is the first form of competition

that utilities have ever faced

and so the utility's strategy
is to quietly go to the legislators

and get them to kill solar
under the cover of darkness.

Well, how do you know all of that?

I used to work at the largest
utility in the country

when these modern
rooftop solar wars started, and...

-Really?
-Yeah, I did.

I was at the time in a progressive
forward-thinking utility

that was actually trying
to develop solar,

and then they got bought
by an even bigger utility.

Became the largest in the country.

And my new bosses
came to me one day and said,

"Listen, I know you think your job
was to promote renewables.

Your new job
in this newly formed company

is to eliminate all renewables
at all costs

and specifically rooftop solar."

-That's crazy.
-It was a pretty surreal experience.

And I said,
"Well, I'm sort of accidentally

in the middle
of the Death Star here.

I should figure out
how the thing works before I leave."

And I was in internal discussions,

where they plotted
the campaigns on these issues.

And what were some of the...?

What were
some of the tactics discussed?

Well, specifically, the idea was
that all of our team of lobbyists

would go and fan across the country

and lobby
against renewable energy policy,

specifically
rooftop solar policies, so...

-You were asked to.
-I was asked to do that too.

What surprised me the most

is being in a fossil fuel company
that was that big,

I was like awed at their extent
of political influence.

I mean, it was just stunning.

I remember
at one point in a state capital

that the utility
had dozens of paid lobbyists

on retainer in this little capital.

What they would actually do,

utilities across the country do
this, we run into it all the time,

is they will go to lobbyists in town

and give them a retainer
of 10, 20, 30 thousand dollars

and say, "We are paying you
not to work.

We are just gonna give you
this money.

As long as you agree not to work
for renewable interests against us,

we will pay you to do nothing

and be conflicted out
from representing clean energy."

If you've got unlimited resources,

those are the kind of tactics
you deploy.

The energy company that Bryan
used to work for is Exelon,

which operates in 48 states.

I asked them
about their lobbying practices.

They responded in an email saying,
"We have never employed a strategy

to prevent other stakeholders

from finding adequate representation
or having their voices heard."

And Governor Sandoval

claims that lobbyists
have no influence on him.

There's no bigger champion

of rooftop solar
and renewable energy than me.

So how can he stand by

and watch his appointees
engineer the industry's demise?

They're my appointees,
but it's very important to emphasize

they're an independent board,
a quasi-judicial board.

It would be improper
and perhaps illegal

for me to interfere
with their process.

But we need to back up.

I spoke to a woman
named Rida Rizvi,

who also worked at Exelon
the same time Bryan did,

but in the sales division.

Correct. We were both there.

She confirmed Bryan's story.

What stood out to me
was just the scale.

How they would hire
tons of lobbyists

to lock solar
out of entire states.

I remember a large omnibus
energy bill out of Illinois.

And Bryan's story about buying up
lobbyists in a state capital?

That was Springfield, Illinois.

I spoke to a lobbyist
who was there at the time.

He asked to remain anonymous.

Oftentimes, the utility will hire

a number of lobbyists to do
a very, very small amount of work.

And what that means is
it becomes difficult

for renewable energy companies
to find a lobbyist

who isn't already conflicted out.

And that hamstrings the industry.

Bryan said he was awed at the extent
of Exelon's political influence.

How is solar supposed
to compete with that?

And how are we all supposed
to beat back climate change

if people in places like this

can't afford to put solar panels
on their roofs?

So much of India
lives the way we did

before our own
industrial revolution.

But that's changing fast.

This country is becoming
an economic powerhouse,

running headlong
into the 21st century,

and there's no stopping it.

Iqbal introduces me to a company

trying to bring light
to the 300 million Indians

living without power.

OMC is a private company,
and we generate power.

And we sell this
to businesses and to families,

the homes
that you see around here.

And we use mostly solar.

-This is not a very big solar array.
-No, it's not.

But it is actually enough
to power about 200 homes.

You know, we need all the energy
we can get in India.

How many of these
do you have around the country?

Right now, we have about 70 of them
in and around this state.

And we're building at the rate
of one such plant every day.

-One a day?
-Yeah.

-Well, you're very busy then.
-We're pretty busy.

You know, the entire community
around here is deprived, right?

There is pretty much no power.

You've become
a neighborhood utility.

I like that term,
the "neighborhood utility."

That's exactly what we are.

We can talk
about you using that later.

You know,
45 days after we started,

we signed up our first customer.

If that's it,
if that's all it takes, sign me up.

Did you bring
some stuff that I can sign?

-Did you get your checkbook?
-Yes, I do.

Next they show me
how they store power at night,

when the sun goes down.
And they have plans for expansion.

And they tell me business
was the inspiration, not charity.

For years, Anil worked
in the telecom business,

where he had the idea
to power cell towers

with solar instead of diesel.

It worked so well,

he ended up
with surplus electricity,

and then he realized

he could also start bringing
solar power to the people.

It's not a high-tech operation,
but it gets the job done.

Hundreds of other companies
have similar operations,

mini power plants
not connected to the grid,

which bring solar power to villages

that for decades have had
to rely on dirty forms of energy.

So she's saying
this has been a transformation.

Because earlier she used to run
her life on a little kerosene lamp,

and when the power finally came
to her home, it changed her life.

And the kids can study
to 12 and to 1 o'clock at night.

It's an amazing story
because she's a widow,

and she's supporting,
you know, this entire family,

putting her kids through school.

And that was the motivation
to get the solar hook up.

-That's right.
-So her children could study.

-Could I ask her a question?
-Yes.

Did it give you more confidence

when you realized
at night you could read and study?

It was a really good.

And are things easier?
Easier now in school?

-Yes.
-It's a lot easier.

What can you say about this? It's...

The transformative power
of a single light bulb.

Yeah. Well, yes.

And never better illustrated
than here, I think.

The family gets
12 hours of power each day,

at a price they can afford,

just two dollars a month.

I'm wondering,
if every village in this country

had its own solar array,

then maybe India
could simply bypass new coal plants.

I met up again with David Crane,

the former head
of a huge dirty energy company,

who developed a passion for solar.

All right, so, I went to Nevada.

-You did?
-And it was... it was terrible.

I wanted to talk to him
about the ruling in Nevada

that just shut down
the growing rooftop solar market.

So, how big of a setback
is this

to the solar movement
in Nevada and in the country?

Well, this is a huge setback
because in one way...

'cause it provides a blueprint
for the opponents at the utilities.

"Okay, we rolled it back in Nevada,

we can roll it back
in other states,"

which of course puts
the solar industry on its back heels

'cause these are young companies,
and to spend their resources

fighting these utilities
is a drain on them.

But the other thing is,
is that Wall Street

then loses confidence in them

because Wall Street doesn't like

industries that are subject
to regulatory whims,

that you have a business
in one state one day

and the next day it's gone.

That's terrible,
from your investor's perspective.

So, you were the head
of a major energy company

and you fought
for solar power, right?

That's right. I don't know
exactly why I got fired,

but I think the reason I'm sitting
at this bar today not working

is because what we were doing
in home solar,

there is still a concern
on Wall Street

that it's really a viable industry
because of some of these issues,

which is just shockingly ironic
to me.

Because if you can put solar
on the roof of your house,

make your own electricity cheaper
than you could buy it from the grid,

have a bit of grid independence
for when the wires go down,

and enhance
the property value of your house

while keeping the globe
from melting,

what informed American homeowner's
not going to do that?

It is the game changer
in the power industry,

and that's why it's so important
to the consumer

and such a threat
to the powers that be.

And the way that the utilities
fight these battles

is just old-fashioned NRA type.

If you're with me,
I will give you money

and if you're against me,
I will fund your opponent

-and you'll lose your job.
-Pry my utilities

from my cold dead hands.

Where is it the worst?

The absolute worst?

Well, there's only one place
you can...

You have to go
to the Sunshine State.

-You have to go to Florida.
-What?

The utility down there,
Florida Power & Light,

is the undefeated reigning
heavyweight champion

of preventing solar
from coming into their territory.

-Wow. In the Sunshine State.
-In the Sunshine State.

You'll have to see for yourself.
It's quite remarkable.

So, I took his advice
and went to Florida.

Oh, a snowman.

Oh, well, who says
the climate isn't changing?

The good thing about a country
with a booming economy

is that many people
finally have access

to the things
that we take for granted.

The bad thing
is that it all comes at a price,

and in the case of India,
it means the need for more energy.

A lot more energy.

What is the government's plan
for all this?

Today I get to ask India's
Minister of Energy, Piyush Goyal.

Minister Goyal. Dave Letterman.

-Nice to meet you.
-Great pleasure.

Let me just say,
you are immaculately dressed.

-This is...
-Oh, is that so?

This is beautiful.
You are one slick dude.

-Yeah.
-My wife would like to hear that.

-Oh, thank you very much.
-Come.

-You want some of these?
-No. You can give it to...

The idea
of a one and a half billion people,

will they receive their electricity
to be solar,

or will we still be using coal here?

Of course we'll be using coal.

-Still using coal.
-That's our basic load.

-Right.
-So the power will flow from coal,

and all renewable sources
will supplement it.

But if coal is used
parallel to the other goals,

solar renewable sources,

how do we improve the climate?

Well, you know, for starters,
we could have the developed world

very seriously look
at their consumption of electricity

and possibly stop having
all that waste that we are seeing.

I can show you some pictures
from around the world.

You name the city,
and I'll show it to you.

Look at office buildings.

This is at maybe midnight
or two o'clock in the night.

Every light is on,
not a single person working.

I live in New York City.
I know this to be true.

-You wanna see Manhattan?
-No, I see it every day.

You wanna see the streetlights
outside the White House?

I can show it to you.

Streetlights running
in the day hours.

-Imagine the angst I feel.
-I understand.

And I am being told, you know,

-"You stop using coal."
-Right.

But we have a right
to waste electricity.

Sure. By the way,
is this an active runway?

Oh, yeah, uh...

Just a thought.

-I don't know, um...
-Yeah, it is. It should be.

-There's nobody.
-We're fine.

I'm not worried about it.
You don't worry about it.

-Let's have a look at this.
-Let's take a look. Here we go.

The minister says we're out here

to see how India is implementing
a big push on solar energy.

If all countries in the world
helped with capital to invest,

help us with modern technology,

help us keep these costs low...

In the last two years alone,

we've been able to bring down
the price of solar power

-by about 35 to 40%.
-Yes.

-If the whole world joins that...
-Right.

...we can bring it down further.

And it will be a win-win
for everybody.

Well, see, now here I see this,
and my pessimism diminishes.

We plan to replace
770 million incandescent bulbs

with LED bulbs.

And 35 million street lamps.

It's going to reduce
carbon dioxide emission

by 80 million tons a year.

-Eighty million tons.
-Million tons.

-You'll get that done...
-In three years.

Oh, I thought like a weekend.

2019.

It's not all that difficult

if people work together,
support each other's initiatives.

I don't see any difficulty
making it happen.

The minister tells me
this solar installation

is just one small part
of a much bigger plan.

They're trying
to squeeze solar fields

on every available
plot of land possible.

And back in the hotel,
I see he's not kidding.

Modi is planning to build

the largest solar array
in the world.

He intends
to increase India's solar capacity

ten times over
in just the next six years,

installing everything
from large scale to rooftop,

to solar covering everything
from canals to cricket fields.

Wow, this country
has the will to go solar.

Back home it feels like all we do
is argue about renewable energy.

Is it really possible
that the Sunshine State

could be worse than Nevada
when it comes to rooftop solar?

Turns out, yes.

Here in Florida,
people are only allowed

to buy their power from utilities,

not from independent
solar companies.

I'm super excited we're all here.
This is about choice,

consumers having the right

-to choose solar power.
-Fill this out with your name.

I see that there are people here
fighting to change that.

Do you have a second
to sign a petition?

So, this is to give Floridians
more access to solar power.

We're trying to get on the ballot.
Thank you so much.

I set up a meeting
with Alissa Jean Schafer,

a young activist
from Floridians for Solar Choice.

Maybe she can explain to me
what's happening.

So, you guys as this coalition,

you're collecting signatures
on a pro-solar ballot initiative.

And the energy companies,
how has the response been?

Have they started...
going after you?

Yes. I was actually
at a solar conference,

and all of the sudden,
my phone started blowing up,

and it was like, "What's going on?"

The power companies,
a whole group of them,

had posted a link on Twitter

basically announcing
at this press conference

that "Well, we're gonna do
a ballot initiative too."

And it was...

They took part of our name,

and they called themselves
Consumers for Smart Solar.

Basically, the whole point of that
is to confuse people.

The utility-backed initiative
talks about solar choice,

but doesn't actually give people
any choices.

So, just to be super clear,

you guys started
a pro-solar petition,

and the energy companies
created an anti-solar petition

that looks
like a pro-solar petition.

-Exactly.
-And its sole purpose

-is to trick people.
-Yes. I have them.

Just looking at these side-by-side,
which one would you sign?

The green one,
sponsored by the utilities,

looks pro-solar,
but actually does nothing

to open up the market
to solar companies like SunRun.

It would keep everything the same.

Could this actually be
fooling people?

I asked Alissa to take me
canvassing for some signatures,

so I could see for myself.

We're gonna show you
two ballot initiatives.

So, which one would you sign
to see more solar in Florida?

-I've seen the green one.
-You've seen that?

-Do you know who's behind this?
-No clue.

-The energy companies.
-FPL?

-Yeah.
-Yeah.

'Cause they don't want more solar.

So they created this
to trick people,

and then they're paying people
to talk to you,

-like, outside of buildings.
-It's happening. I saw it.

You're just standing there
looking at it,

and it sounds something positive,
so I would just do it.

-Did you?
-Yeah.

-That's so crazy.
-It's eye-opening.

Even a Florida Supreme Court justice

wrote that the utility-backed
petition

was masquerading as pro-solar.

I tried numerous times
to reach Florida Power & Light,

but they declined to speak to me.

Who's gonna win this battle?

I was told that if I wanted
to see how the US

will play a part
in India's energy future,

I should come here,
a coal power plant,

believe it or not, erected
right in the middle of Delhi.

Mr. Ambassador.

Nice to meet you.

I love the movie set,

apocalyptic on the one side
of the railroad tracks.

On the other side
of the railroad tracks,

this wonderful solar field.

This is the problem
and how we conquer it.

This is now probably
the single biggest pathway

of our cooperation
between US and India

in the years ahead,
the clean energy space.

Over 400 companies,
a lot of companies from US,

are here in India,
working very actively.

I think what's really exciting

is that this has caught hold here
in a way that it never has before.

What are the challenges ahead here?

To meet the target
that India has set just in solar.

The financing challenge

-is about 100 billion dollars.
-Wow.

It's 100 billion dollars
of private capital,

of government money,
of India's resources.

So a huge challenge in getting
that business climate right

to actually attract that investment.

In terms of jobs,

do the equation for us,
what does this represent?

We bring solar panels

from Perrysburg, Ohio,
from First Solar,

and Water Technology
from Colorado, in Denver.

So we end up creating a lot
of manufacturing jobs in the US.

So some of these panels
are made in Ohio.

So some of these
panels are made in Ohio.

The United States is not donating
time, equipment, raw materials.

Everybody makes money.

Absolutely. Look, it's good
for national security reasons.

It's good to combat climate change.

It's good for economic
development reasons

here in India, but also in the US.

When I first got here,
I saw nothing but problems.

And if you start examining
the problems,

-they all become opportunity.
-Absolutely.

I mean, overwhelming opportunity.

We're really optimistic
about this space.

We're optimistic
about the way the US and India

have come together
to tackle this challenge.

It gives me optimism too.

But I can't help but think
of all the billions of dollars

it's gonna take to make this happen.

Tomorrow, I'm meeting
the prime minister.

Perhaps he can tell me the plan.

As rooftop solar
grows in popularity,

utilities continue to fight it
tooth and nail.

There are currently challenges

in over half the states
in the country.

And a lot of these fights
are now taking place

in these obscure
public utility commissions.

I still haven't been able
to talk to anyone

who's been
on one of these commissions.

Then I discovered Nancy Argenziano,

a former Republican chairwoman

of the Florida
Public Service Commission.

She made waves
when she stood up to the utilities.

And I am gonna move
to amend the motion on the floor,

whether it's accepted or it's not.

When Florida Power and Light

asked for a 1.3 billion dollar
rate increase,

Argenziano and her colleagues
voted against it.

Reports surfaced that the utility
was orchestrating a smear campaign.

An ethics complaint
was filed against Argenziano.

FP&L denied involvement.

However, the person
who signed the complaint

later admitted it was bogus.

She had been promised a job

in exchange for her signature
on a blank complaint form.

I've seen some examples

of what Florida Power and Light's
capable of.

And what did they...?
What did they do to you?

I guess I had a reputation
of being a consumer advocate

and they didn't like fair.
Fair wasn't good enough.

So they employed
all kinds of tactics,

hiring attorneys
that filed fake ethics complaints.

They acted like thugs.

Growing up in Brooklyn,
I can tell you what a thug is.

-Yeah.
-Okay.

I couldn't believe
here's a corporation

trying to remove
sitting commissioners

for doing their job.

But that's exactly what they did.

We were gonna go for reappointment
after our four-year term,

and in the history of Florida,
they've been reappointed

over and over and over again,
except for us.

So the public
has no public service commission,

and it's not fair by any means.

I mean, I...

What's so frustrating is,
in Florida, you're ignoring...

You're the sunniest state
ignoring the sun.

Exactly. The Sunshine State,

and you're not allowed
to provide energy through sunshine.

Now, if you had a solar industry
or an alternative industry

that had the money
like these monop...

government-backed monopolies do,

possibly you'd see some change.

I admire so much people I've met
that are not giving up the battle.

-Absolutely.
-Because it's so difficult,

and it just seems like...
How do you...?

Because if you give up,

if you give up,
then we give it all to them.

So you have to stay involved,
give if you can.

If you really want
to do it for the right reasons,

go there and do it.

Sorry.

-It's so silly. I'm sorry.
-It's not silly.

I'm sorry, I'll pull it together.

It just brought back all of that.

You can't go out there and do good.
They won't let you.

I understand the rule of politics
and the bending here and there,

but you don't sell out
to this degree.

You know that solar energy
is good for the state of Florida.

You know that it will bring jobs.

You know it's a whole new industry
and it's the right way to go.

How could you sit back and pretend?

-You know what happens if we don't.
-Exactly.

The biggest cost is to our future.
And time is running out.

I left Nevada and Florida
feeling disillusioned.

But back in my home state
of New York,

where it's cold and grey,
it appears using the sun is okay.

I'm headed to meet
with Richard Kauffman,

New York's energy czar,

and Peter Claro,
the COO of a restaurant supply store

that's powered by solar.

This is all solar.

-It runs about 40% of our building.
-Okay.

How much would you say you've saved?

About 30 to 35%
of our annual spending.

In New York, it's different
than some sunny weather states.

You have facilities in Florida.

We have almost a dozen facilities
in Florida.

You do?
And you can't do this there?

-Because of government policy.
-Exactly.

-It doesn't make sense right now.
-In New York State,

it's one of the fastest-growing
job creators in the state.

And it's also increasingly

what individuals and communities
and businesses want.

How did all this come about?

The governor here, Andrew Cuomo,
made climate change a top priority.

So he created incentives

for the utilities
and renewable companies

to work together.

How have these utility companies
dealt with it?

I give the utilities
a lot of credit.

We want them, and they are, working

in partnership
with the solar industry.

What we tried to do
is to create an opportunity

for, frankly, everybody to win.

It's happening.
It's happening already in New York,

and once we can show
that this is something that works,

we would expect
that other states will support this.

Governor Cuomo hopes
to provide enough solar by 2023

to power 400,000 homes.

But in other places, change is slow.

Alissa's pro-solar group was
handily defeated by the utilities,

which spent millions
on their campaign.

But Alissa is still hopeful,

and so am I.

California, Arizona, North Carolina,
and other states

are going gangbusters
on rooftop solar.

Imagine if every state
could follow their lead.

My last stop in India

is a visit with the leader
of the largest democracy on Earth.

Thank goodness I brought a suit.

Thank you for allowing us this time.

The relationship with India
with United States of America,

what is your view of that?

Today, in the world
no nation can remain isolated.

The whole world is interdependent.

Climate is all
of our collective responsibility.

Tell me more about yourself.

Where did you grow up?
What kind of a kid were you?

Grew up in poverty,

but I was interested
in spiritual activities.

I loved nature

and came to politics very late.

What is fascinating to me

is the combination of politics
and a spiritual motivation.

Mahatma Gandhi

always said
that we are the trustees,

and as trustees

our job is to maintain
all things, nature, environment.

We are not the owners.

What will we give
to our next generations?

Today whatever I use,

I am borrowing
from my future generations.

People have told me,

anywhere
between 300 and 400 million Indians

do not have electricity.

And the population,
over a billion now,

will in a few years be
a billion and a half.

Does it bother you spiritually

that the coal will be used to help
electrify the entire country?

Will they have to get
their electricity from coal

until the entire solar project
is complete?

They need electricity,
they should get it.

Their aspirations
should be fulfilled.

And it is our responsibility too,

but not at the cost of nature.

If the world helps me
with technology,

help me with resources,

I will be the very first person

to switch over
to clean energy completely.

As long as I can't do that,

I have to think of other ways.

Prime Minister Modi is overseeing

one of the greatest
renewable energy plans ever devised.

Yet when it comes to getting
investment capital to build it,

he's coming up short.

And when the prime minister talks
about other ways to provide energy,

he's talking about burning
twice as much coal by 2030.

And that, frankly,
scares the hell out of me.

Will the world help India
get off coal and on to solar?

I wonder how many people back home
know how much is riding for them

on the answer to that question.

-Oh, wow, Dave. You're looking good.
-Yeah. No, I know.

"Hey, how you doin'?
Nice to see ya.

You from around here?"

This is what I'm looking for.

-Thank you again.
-Thank you, sir.

Thank you, Iqbal. Not just for this,

but all of your time
and all of your knowledge.

-Thank you very much.
-It was a pleasure.

Here in America,

we're certainly
not as ambitious as India is

in cleaning up
the way we make energy.

So maybe we need
to get our own house in order,

and also find the political will
to help countries like India

leapfrog fossil fuels
to a cleaner future.

I know it's not much,

but I am trying to shrink
my own carbon footprint.

These things workin'?
Did you ever get them plugged in?

Do we want our children
one day to say to us,

"Wait a minute,
you knew this was a problem,

and you ignored it?"

But to really fix it,
it's gonna require

all of us in every country
to do much, much more.

Subtitles: Lea Espector
plint.com