Chad Hughes invites James Thurston, a longtime friend and experienced land agent, to the show to discuss insights on their generation and its alignment with the industry. James Thurston reflects on his journey, emphasizing the importance of networking and building relationships during his time in the land agent program. He shares how chance and curiosity led him to the field, working on the Alliance pipeline and later in various locations across Western Canada.

James explores the unique characteristics of his and Chad’s generation, shaped by a lack of parental presence during childhood, fostering resilience, self-sufficiency, and a nomadic mindset. He highlights the generation's ability to adapt to industry changes, particularly during the boom in coal bed methane, and how they navigated through subsequent challenges like the 2008 financial crisis and the fracking revolution. Despite the positive traits, James acknowledges the downsides, such as reluctance to ask for help and potential loneliness.

Chad and James touch on the evolution of the land agent role, from individual well projects to centralized pad locations and a shift to Crown land. James emphasizes the importance of adaptability and problem-solving in the ever-changing industry. Their conversation reveals the unique characteristics of their generation and its impact on their successful navigation through the dynamic landscape of land agency.

“... if I didn't know the answer, I really made a conscious effort to seek it out. And it was a lot harder back then. As you remember, we didn't have the internet like we do now. We didn't have access to information, but I did have a large network of friends from Olds. And, you know, I leaned on that. … we had to all kind of learn from each other, you know, there was a lot of talk. There was a lot of consensus. There was a lot of sitting at a table and working things out and bouncing ideas off each other and really being open to that idea that not every problem has a simple solution.” - James Thurston

About James Thurston:

For nearly 23 years, James has journeyed through Western Canada acquiring land and overseeing large-scale acquisitions.

His path started in Camrose, Alberta, where he joined a small but busy land broker. Over the course of five years, he dedicated himself to acquiring hundreds of upstream projects. It was a time of growth and development, both personally and professionally. But when the call of opportunity beckoned, James found himself in Calgary. There, he took on the role of an in-house landman at Penn West overseeing large-scale drilling programs in West Central Alberta. As the company underwent transitions, James recognized the need for a new path and that journey brought him to Shell in 2014. He’s been able to leverage his skills and knowledge and enjoy a successful career at Shell during an ever-changing time.

James is also a proud husband and father of four young children who keep him on his feet and have helped him grow as a person and as a project manager and landman.

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Chad Hughes | CEO, Entrepreneurial Leader, Author: website |linkedin

James Thurston | Discipline Lead, Surface Land, Shell Canada: website | linkedin

Host Chad Hughes welcomes Blandon Granger, Supervisor of Real Estate Services for the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD), to the show. Blandon has been in the energy industry at SMUD for the past seventeen years and supervises asset management and complex acquisitions. He talks with Chad about the impacts of EV charging and urban development on his role. 

Blandon explains that SMUD has a “very aggressive” zero carbon plan and by 2030 wants all their energy to be from clean sources. He talks about how SMUD approaches that goal by developing themselves as well as partnering with developers with similar goals. Renewable energy and green initiative projects come with their own challenges that Blandon describes for Chad.

Chad and Blandon discuss how the real estate development deals are made, how SMUD is a public agency with an elected board of directors, how the green energy shift comes with decarbonization and the impacts of urban and residential growth on how his department operates. EV charging especially has come with its own challenges and Blandon addresses this and more with Chad in this eye-opening interview. 

“So, you know, a big concern, I think, anywhere is wiping out [agriculture] lands for these solar projects. Agriculture is a big customer for us. I mean, you know, we've got agricultural customers, it's a part of our heritage in the valley here. I don't think SMUD really wants to be going out there and just decimating significant farmlands and so forth. So the thought is you would bring in compatible type of AG uses. So what we've seen so far is mainly grazing. Sheep are great. They don't bother or destroy the facilities.” - Blandon Granger

About Blandon Granger:

At SMUD, Blandon Granger manages all real estate activities of the nation’s sixth-largest publicly owned electric utility. With an annual budget of $1.6 billion, SMUD is a leader in renewable technologies and developing energy projects. Blandon’s group provides services for acquisition, management and disposition of all land rights necessary to operate an electrical utility with generation, transmission, distribution, retail, and administrative facilities. Blandon has also served on the City of Roseville Public Utilities Commission since 2012 and is responsible to the city council for recommendations on policies concerning evaluation, operations, and compliance with state and federal rules and regulations relating to the city's utilities within the city limits. Blandon has achieved the International Right of Way Association's (IRWA) Senior Agent (SR/WA) designation and serves on IRWA's International Electric and Utilities Committee and is the past chair of the Asset Management Committee. 

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Chad Hughes | CEO, Entrepreneurial Leader, Author: website |linkedin

Blandon Granger | Supervisor of Real Estate Services at SMUD: website | linkedin

Host Chad Hughes welcomes Jennifer Tidmarsh, Vice President of Indigenous Relations & Partnerships with Ontario Power Generation, to the show. Jennifer talks about the development of small modular reactors in the nuclear space and the challenges surrounding presenting those solutions to the community.

Jennifer explains some of the public perceptions around nuclear power that have been shaped by events like Three Mile Island, Fukushima, and Chernobyl, and even pop culture references like the nuclear power plant in The Simpsons. Her work involves a lot of education around changing those perceptions and explaining the new initiatives in place for nuclear waste management. 

Chad and Jennifer discuss the Indigenous community's concerns about the storage and handling of nuclear waste, specific facts about nuclear waste, the complex regulatory process for it, and the value of nuclear energy for the future. Jennifer sheds light on the environmental assessments that go into nuclear power generation and how the OPG works to alleviate negative perceptions of nuclear overall and educate the public on safeties in place.

“But really the perception has been we want more information about nuclear as a whole, not just those little snippets of, okay, here's the permit we need for this, for the reactor. It's where does nuclear fit into the Ontario grid, and why are you doing this? So we've spent a lot of time really talking about, you know, pathways to decarbonization, which was a report that was put out by the IESO. And you know what, the fact that we need generation and why do we need generation and what's the plan going forward. And so that's been, you know, us doing a lot of that groundwork. And we have had pushback. You know, I can't sugarcoat it all, right?” - Jennifer Tidmarsh

About Jennifer Tidmarsh:

With a strong background in the energy sector, Jennifer has worked with various organizations, associations, regulated and unregulated businesses, Indigenous communities, governments, and ministerial departments. Prior to becoming the Vice President of Indigenous Relations and Partnerships at Ontario Power Generation, Jennifer was the President of Transmission in Canada for NextEra Energy, the largest renewables developer in North America. 

In addition to business development in Canada, Jennifer also led the development and construction of the East West Tie transmission project in Northwestern Ontario, which went into service in March 2022.  The East West Tie project is proud to have an equity partner in six First Nations communities, as well as training and employing a large Indigenous workforce in the region.

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Chad Hughes | CEO, Entrepreneurial Leader, Author: website |linkedin

Jennifer Tidmarsh | Vice President, Indigenous Relations & Partnerships: website | linkedin | opg instagram