Welcome to our November newsletter! Estimated read time: 3m30.

This month: a short and sweet newsletter looking back at DERVOS 2025, our first major event. Plus a survey, a must-read report on clean energy implementation, and a free family game for the holiday season (yes, really).

Wishing a very Happy Thanksgiving to our US friends!

Susan Kish, CEO & Jonah Wagner, President

Recap: DERVOS 2025

A month after DERVOS, we’re still digesting what felt like a real inflection point for distributed energy - and for Constructive.

For their fourth annual convening, the DER Task Force wanted to scale up, build out, and make the most of a spectacular new location on Governors Island - while staying true to the irreverent spirit and tight-knit community that define DERVOS. We couldn’t have asked for a more exciting first large-scale partnership. A few highlights:

• Together, we launched the inaugural Leadership Summit held on Thursday October 16th. Over 60 energy and industry leaders gathered at Newlab Brooklyn, birthplace of the original DERTFest, for a series of raucous wargames exploring how distributed energy can deliver affordability, resilience, and reliability.

• The main conference on the 17th drew a record 750+ attendees across the ecosystem and featured a full day of programming: four “ThunDERdome” panels, startup showcases – including a live unboxing of plug-in solar panels – rapid-fire pitches in the chapel, and a fireside chat with Octopus Energy, all fueled by delicious local food and coffee.

• Saturday the 18th brought the New Energy Festival, with Eartheater, Doss, Gift, and others lighting up the stage and sharing the promise of clean, distributed energy with a broader audience.

• The event was net-zero and received zero waste certification. With both days on Governors Island powered by a microgrid of solar-charged batteries and subject to tight waste controls, we proved that large scale can be low-impact.

“#DERVOS has been the most interesting and thought provoking gathering of the year so far. Governors Island was magical”

“Every conversation felt like a spark. You could feel the ideas moving.”

“Constructive & DER Task Force accomplished magic this year. Thank you for your incredible work weaving each of our stories into a common tapestry”

“Exactly the recharge I needed. Every conversation felt easy, welcoming, and full of optimism. We all see different paths to decarbonization, but the shared belief is that every path needs support and every one is feasible now”

“DERVOS was pure signal.”

“750 renewable energy geeks outside on Governors Island. Picnic lunch on the grass. No posturing, just builders growing the DER ecosystem. It felt real, not a dead indoor conference with artificial light and recycled air. The vibe was electric, had priceless conversations and made new friends.”

“I thought I was going to a conference. I walked into a movement.”

“It really was the most fun and best put together conference of the year.”

Across it all, flexibility emerged as the central theme: DERs as the fastest, most scalable tool for meeting rising demand, high prices, and interconnection delays.

For deeper takeaways read the CTVC write-up, and stay tuned for a full report from DER Task Force coming soon.

Out and About

Susan, Krysta, Jigar, and Mike (introduced below) will be in Brussels on December 1-4 for the Cleantech for Europe Summit. If you’ll be around and would like to connect, let us know by replying to this email.

We’re excited to introduce another new team member - welcome Mike!

Takeaways from DERVOS 2025

CTVC by Sightline Climate published an in-depth recap of DERVOS, focusing on how flexibility surfaced as the key theme at this year’s summit. Thanks to Benjy Hansen-Bundy and co. for the great write up!

More reflections came from Nathan Twardock at West Monroe, who called DERVOS an “optimistic vision of a solarpunk, distributed energy future”.

Take the International Energy Agency’s survey

The International Energy Agency published their first State of Energy Innovation report in April 2025, sharing the latest global data and industry insights.

The writers have asked us to share a survey with our network to help them develop a second edition of the report, to be published in the first quarter of 2026.

If you are an energy expert or practitioner please take a moment to fill it out – it’s a great opportunity to inform and shape the IEA’s work. Access the survey here.

Congratulations to our partners at the Center for Public Enterprise

The Center for Public Enterprise have received an award from Giving Green to stand up a new geothermal consortium in the Mountain West.

We're proud to be partnering with CPE on this program, convening leaders across state governments, investment, and industry to unlock geothermal power through new financing tools and regulatory alignment.

To get in touch and learn more about the challenges we are seeking to address with the consortium, head to CPE's website and read about the award here.

• We’re all taking notes from the Clean Energy Implementation Report, written by Constructive’s own Louise White alongside two other former DOE staffers. The report investigates the Biden admin’s efforts to deploy record clean energy investment following the landmark passage of the IRA and BIL. It contains critical lessons – and a blueprint – for the US and governments around the world looking to deliver on their climate ambitions. 

• David is enjoying Stellar: A World Beyond Limits, and How to Get There, an expansive book which “explores how abundant clean energy will completely transform society and move us from an extraction economy to a new ‘stellar’ economic system.”

• Susan is reading Breakneck: China’s Quest to Engineer the Future, which contrasts America’s “lawyerly” mindset with China’s “engineering” mindset.

• Rosie is a big fan of Patagonia’s Work in Progress Report — a great example of accountability and transparency in a world with too much greenwashing.

• Take a moment to experience Beethoven’s Egmont Overture – Susan says “sometimes it’s those breath stealing classics that have the most impact. Beethoven really uses the power of silence to capture his audience.” 

Finally, we recently created a set of “conversation sparks” to get dialogue flowing at Constructive events and workshops. But these aren’t just for banishing small talk - they’re a wonderful way to learn something you didn’t know about your friends, family, and community! Please feel free to download the PDF here and print it yourself. 

Thanks for reading! Please send this on to a friend or colleague - and if you were forwarded this email, you can sign up for future Constructive updates below.

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