Podcasts Factor This! episode list— a podcast for the solar energy industry 12.22.2023 Share Factor This! is a weekly podcast designed for the solar energy industry. Every Monday, Factor This! takes on solar’s top stories with industry leaders who actually move the needle. The podcast debuted with a four-part, deep-dive series on the Auxin Solar tariff petition, which brought the industry to a complete halt over the threat of retroactive tariffs on modules imported from Southeast Asia. The series is available wherever you get your podcasts. Factor This! is hosted by Renewable Energy World’s John Engel. Connect with us on LinkedIn and Twitter. Beginning Friday, July 21, Factor This! will add a weekly clean energy and climate news roundup episode, “This Week in Cleantech,” airing every Friday. Hosted by Renewable Energy World senior content director John Engel and Tigercomm president Mike Casey, “This Week in Cleantech” will provide listeners with news and analysis of the biggest headlines from the week in 15 minutes or less. Episodes of “This Week in Cleantech” will publish in the Factor This! podcast feed. Below is a list of episodes and links to individual show notes. Factor This! episode list Texas grid survives, thwarting NIMBYs, and companies turn to ‘greenhushing’ — This Week in Cleantech This Week in Cleantech is a new, weekly podcast covering the most impactful stories in cleantech and climate in 15 minutes or less. This week’s episode features Grist reporter Kate Yoder, who breaks down a new trend of corporations “greenhushing,” or limiting what they say about sustainability efforts.This Week in Cleantech — Jan. 19, 2024This week’s “Cleantecher of the Week” is Rondo Energy’s Helen Sweet. Nominate your picks for “Cleantecher of the Week” by emailing the show.1. Winter storm tests Texas green grid upgrades — The Washington Post2. Octopus Energy Has Texas-Size Ambitions — The Wall Street Journal3. States with big climate goals strip local power to block green projects — AP News4. California Has Dealt a Blow to Renewable Energy, Some Businesses Say — The New York Times5. Companies are hiding their climate progress. A new report explains why. — GristWatch the full episode on YouTube Episode 72: We need a lot more transmission. Here’s why it isn’t getting built Aired Jan. 15, 2024 Three decades ago, FERC recommended implementing independent entities to manage regional power markets and system planning. The resulting seven RTOs and ISOs have largely been successful. But now experts believe they’ve become part of the problem, exacerbating the country’s woefully inadequate supply of transmission, allegedly by pandering to utility interests. Episode 72 of the Factor This! podcast features Ari Peskoe, an expert on transmission policy and the director of the Electricity Law Initiative at Harvard. Peskoe shares his recent research on how regional grid operators have failed to evolve with the advent of clean energy technology, and why a reboot could be the key to realizing an electrified future. Watch the episode on YouTube How utilities get their way, renewables impact home values, and China’s clean energy dominance — This Week in Cleantech This Week in Cleantech is a new, weekly podcast covering the most impactful stories in cleantech and climate in 15 minutes or less. This week’s episode features Floodlight News investigative reporter Mario Alejandro Ariza, who reported on how utilities used money to influence civil rights leaders in the South. This Week in Cleantech — Jan. 11, 2024This week’s “Cleantecher of the Week” is Scott Kubly, who last week shared an introspective post about the challenges and joys of launching, and leading, a cleantech company. Nominate your picks for “Cleantecher of the Week” by emailing the show. 1. The Problem With De-Risking: Transitioning to Clean Energy Requires Trade With China — Foreign Affairs2. Housing wind fall — Semafor3. Smart Energy Use Draws Big Money From Private Equity — Bloomberg4. New York jump-starts the “building decarbonization” trend — Axios5. Power companies paid civil rights leaders in the US south. They became loyal industry advocates — Floodlight News Watch the full episode on YouTube Episode 71: A conversation with solar’s oracle, Jenny Chase Aired Jan. 1, 2024 When Jenny Chase speaks or, more frequently, tweets, the solar industry listens. For nearly 20 years, Chase has chronicled the twists and turns of solar’s meteoric growth as a market analyst for BloombergNEF. Her research is indispensable. Her annual prediction mega-threads are legendary. As much as the moniker makes her squirm, Chase is the closest solar has to an oracle. She joined Episode 71 of the Factor This! podcast to discuss her spiciest predictions for 2024, as well as the release of the second edition of her book, Solar Power Finance Without the Jargon, which is available now. Watch the full episode on YouTube Tesla’s charging dominance, oil’s big year, and Ohio bribery tapes — This Week in Cleantech This Week in Cleantech is a new, weekly podcast covering the most impactful stories in cleantech and climate in 15 minutes or less. This week’s episode features reporter Renee Fox from WOSU Public Media, which launched a new podcast series chronicling the $61 million bribery scandal involving FirstEnergy and former Ohio House of Representatives Speaker Larry Householder. This Week in Cleantech — Dec. 22, 2023This week’s “Cleantecher of the Week” is Julia McPherson, Manager of Community Relations at EDP Renewables. Send your nominations, and story recommendations, to rew@clarionevents.com. 1. What No One at COP28 Wanted to Say Out Loud: Prepare for 1.5 Degrees — New York Times2. Volkswagen, Audi, And Porsche Finally Commit To Using Tesla’s NACS Plug — InsideEV’s3. The United States is producing more oil than any country in history — CNN4. US Treasury unveils rules for clean energy manufacturing subsidy — Reuters5. The Power Grab — WOSU Public Media Watch the full episode on YouTube Episode 70: Battery bubble or boom? It’s complicated Aired Dec. 18, 2023 Battery storage is booming in the U.S., and for good reason. So much intermittent renewable energy on the grid demands flexible resources to fill gaps. And, short of reverting back to fossil fuels, batteries are the best answer to support the energy transition. Investors have poured billions of dollars into battery storage development to cash in, largely based on speculative opportunities. But there’s one problem: markets have been slow to evolve, leading to an uptick in consolidation and growing uncertainty about the path ahead. A battery bubble may be forming. What happens if it pops? Episode 70 of the Factor This! podcast answers that question by taking an intimate look at the two top battery markets in the U.S. — California and Texas — and their diverging trajectories. Guests:Jason Burwen, VP of Policy & Strategy, GridStorCody Hill, SVP, REV RenewablesRenae Steichen, Director of Regulatory Affairs, REV Renewables Watch the full episode on YouTube COP28, transmission win, and Tesla recall — This Week in Cleantech This Week in Cleantech is a new, weekly podcast covering the most impactful stories in cleantech and climate in 15 minutes or less. This week’s episode features science journalist Maddie Stone who reported in Grist about the challenges facing electric vehicle battery repair. This Week in Cleantech — Dec. 15, 2023This week’s “Cleantecher of the Week” is Robin Laine, co-founder and CEO of renewable SaaS company Transect. 1. Transmission rulings pave path for renewable energy — E&E News2. Tesla recalls nearly all vehicles on US roads over lack of Autopilot safeguards — Reuters3. Solar and Wind to Top Coal Power in US for First Time in 2024 — Bloomberg4. Nations at COP28 Agree for First Time to Transition From Fossil Fuels — Wall Street Journal5. EV battery repair is dangerous. Here’s why mechanics want to do it anyway — Grist Watch the full episode on YouTube Episode 69: Dominion CEO Bob Blue on offshore wind, batteries, and the utility’s role in the energy transition Aired Dec. 4, 2023 I first met Dominion Energy CEO Bob Blue at a shipping terminal in Norfolk, Virginia. We stood two years ago at the site that would one day support Dominion’s buildout of the first commercial-scale offshore wind project in the U.S. Since then, Siemens Gamesa, the turbine manufacturer plagued by a billion-dollar quality control flop, has pulled out of that project. And Dominion’s Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind farm is one of only a few to survive (so far) the rough seas facing the nascent industry. Offshore wind’s future, while at times feeling bleak, got me thinking about the evolving role of investor-owned utilities in the energy transition. To be sure, utilities aren’t seen as bastions of innovation, and are often criticized for slow-walking the fight against climate change. But maybe no other entity is equipped to shoulder the risk of incubating the raft of emerging technologies we desperately need for decarbonization. Blue joined Episode 69 of the Factor This! podcast to break down Dominion’s own ambitious carbon reduction plan, offshore wind’s turbulent waters, and why the utility is leaning in on long-duration battery tech. Watch the full episode on YouTube ‘Solar bros,’ lithium jackpot, and a geothermal breakthrough — This Week in Cleantech This Week in Cleantech is a new, weekly podcast covering the most impactful stories in cleantech and climate in 15 minutes or less. This week’s episode features Associated Press green energy reporter Jennifer McDermott who breaks down a monumental achievement for enhanced geothermal energy. This Week in Cleantech — Dec. 1, 2023This week’s “Cleantecher of the Week” is Lisa Jacobson, head of Business Council for Sustainable Energy. Send your nominations for “Cleantecher of the Week” to thisweekincleantech@tigercomm.us. 1. The Biden Energy Slush Fund — Wall Street Journal2. How Solar Sales Bros Threaten the Green Energy Transition — TIME3. BP pays £254mn to take full control of solar joint venture Lightsource — Financial Times4. The Salton Sea has even more lithium than previously thought, new report finds — LA Times5. New Google geothermal electricity project could be a milestone for clean energy — Associated PressWatch the full episode on YouTube Episode 68: Battery powerhouse Powin’s new CEO eyes public markets Aired November 27, 2023 Jeff Waters is always looking for a challenge. He thrives on chasing growth and the rush that comes by solving hard problems. And a maturing market often signals the need for a fresh start. So it may come as no surprise that Waters found his way to battery storage, and one of its darlings, Oregon-based Powin Energy. The company, with 3 GWh of assets in operation, and another 12 GWh in production, is steadily separating itself from a pack of would-be contenders. Waters got his start in semiconductors and later led solar module manufacturer Maxeon in its spinoff from SunPower into public markets. Only a few months into his new role as Powin’s CEO, he’s already positioning the company to be “IPO ready” for the time when the right opportunity arises. And it could be soon. On Episode 68 of the Factor This! podcast, Waters highlights opportunities ahead for battery storage, weighs in on concerns of market saturation, and discusses a potential IPO timeline. Watch the full episode on YouTube Episode 67: Renewables are cleaning the grid. They’re also messing it up Aired Nov. 20, 2023 Solar, wind, and battery projects are displacing fossil fuel assets in an urgent push to address the threats of climate change. But the race to decarbonize has created a new problem: In the absence of clear reliability standards, inverter-based resources are misbehaving and messing up the grid, despite repeated warnings. Episode 67 of the Factor This! podcast features Ryan Quint, who oversees engineering and security integration for the North American Electric Reliability Corporation, which manages the bulk power system. Quint shares why the sprint to deploy clean energy assets is leaving the grid vulnerable to reliability failures, and why the U.S. can’t slow-walk a fix. Watch the full episode on YouTube Nuclear setback, U.S.-China climate talks, EV dealer hesitations — This Week in Cleantech This Week in Cleantech is a new, weekly podcast covering the most impactful stories in cleantech and climate in 15 minutes or less. This week’s episode features Washington Post climate reporter Shannon Osaka, who reports why car dealer skepticism could be one of the biggest threats to electric vehicle adoption. This week’s “Cleantecher of the Week” is Sarah Chatterjee, Director of Electrification Strategies and Programs at Electric Power Engineers. Send your nominations for “Cleantecher of the Week” to thisweekincleantech@tigercomm.us. This Week in Cleantech — Nov. 17, 2023 1. Is advanced nuclear in trouble? What’s next after NuScale cancellation — E&E News2. Alarmed’ By Climate Change, U.S. And China Forge New Partnership To Tackle Fossil Fuels — HuffPost3. Plug Power Shares Tank Most in a Decade on Hydrogen Crunch — Bloomberg4. China’s Spending on Green Energy Is Causing a Global Glut — Wall Street Journal5. Electric vehicles are hitting a road block: Car dealers — Washington Post Watch the full episode on YouTube Episode 66: How solar survived: SEIA’s outgoing chair on COVID, Auxin, and the path forward Aired Nov. 13, 2023 George Hershman’s term as chair of solar’s leading trade group began with optimism and excitement. He stepped into the role with the Solar Energy Industries Association, or SEIA, in January 2020, when the industry’s meteoric rise was all but cemented. Today, we know the tumultuous stretch that quickly followed. A pandemic, supply chain constraints, and a potentially existential tariff fight made even the “solar coaster” moniker appear ill-equipped to describe the moment. But his tenure also featured a legacy-defining legislative victory in the Inflation Reduction Act. Hershman joined Episode 66 of the Factor This! podcast to take us inside the critical behind-the-scenes deliberations that helped save solar. As he prepares to vacate his chairmanship at the end of the year, Hershman defended SEIA’s not-so-subtle spat with the Biden administration in the Auxin Solar tariff fight, shared the organization’s own battle to stay afloat, and laid out his vision for the sector’s renewed growth trajectory. Watch the full episode on YouTube ‘Motown’ for EVs, wind turbine tech, and public power’s setback — This Week in Cleantech This Week in Cleantech is a new, weekly podcast covering the most impactful stories in cleantech and climate in 15 minutes or less. This week’s episode features The Hill energy and environment reporter Zack Budryks for a deeper look at Maine’s public power referendum. This Week in Cleantech — Nov. 10, 2023This week’s Cleantecher of the Week is Karl Shinn, the Site GM at Soluna’s Project Dorothy. Karl has led Soluna’s operations team in the company’s flagship green data center, which is helping set the foundation for renewable energy’s future. Project Dorothy has already used and monetized over 4,000 GWh of green energy that would otherwise have been wasted through curtailment. Congratulations to Karl Shinn, our Cleantecher of the Week. 1. Can America’s south-east unseat Detroit as ‘Motown’ of the EV age? — Financial Times2. This wind turbine looks like nothing you’ve ever seen before — Fast Company3. Who Will Pay For All the Carbon Removal? — WSJ Climate and Energy Newsletter4. How the fossil-fuel lobby weaponized Julia Child’s gas stove — Vox5. Mainers vote down ballot measure to create consumer-owned utility — The HillWatch the full video on YouTube Episode 65: AI in clean energy: This company wants you to be able to talk with your projects Aired Nov. 6, 2023 What does AI really mean for clean energy? These days, the answer is increasingly hard to find. The AI craze, fueled by the popularization of tools like ChatGPT, has produced a frothy layer of contenders and pretenders. But under it all are applications that could have a big impact on the energy transition. And we need all the help we can get. To make sense of what’s what, Albert Hofeldt, the senior vice president of technology for solar and battery storage software provider Stem, joins Episode 65 of the Factor This! podcast. Hofeldt has spent a career analyzing and developing AI tools, and he explains how to separate meaningful technology from marketing hype. He also shares why Stem thinks you should be able to talk to, and with, your projects, and what they’re building to make that a possibility very soon. Watch the full episode on YouTube Historic grid investments, offshore wind’s rough seas, and how clean are hydrogen hubs? — This Week in Cleantech This Week in Cleantech is a new, weekly podcast covering the most impactful stories in cleantech and climate in 15 minutes or less. This week’s episode features Semafor climate and energy editor Tim McDonnell. This Week in Cleantech — Nov. 3, 20231. Why some of the ‘clean’ hydrogen hubs in the U.S. plan to use natural gas, a fossil fuel — CNBC2. US commits $1.3 billion for power lines in West, Northeast — Reuters3. Ørsted cancels N.J. project in major blow to offshore wind — E&E News4. Toyota more than doubles investment and job creation at North Carolina battery plant — AP News5. A referendum on Biden’s climate agenda is coming — SemaforWatch the full episode on YouTube Episode 64: A ‘new normal’ for clean energy capital markets Aired Oct. 23, 2023 Corporate demand for renewables, and the urgency of fighting climate change, fueled a decade of meteoric growth in clean energy. But the facilitator of that surge — cheap capital — has all but disappeared. Inflation, high interest rates, and insufficient tax equity now call into question whether the growth trajectory can continue. Episode 64 of the Factor This! podcast features Thomas Byrne, CEO of CleanCapital, a clean energy financier, developer, and asset owner. Byrne shares how CleanCapital is navigating a “new normal” in clean energy capital markets, and breaks down the impact of macroeconomic headwinds on the speed of the energy transition. Watch the full episode on YouTube Hydrogen hubs, AZ’s solar slash, and a record battery deal — This Week in Cleantech This Week in Cleantech is a new, weekly podcast covering the most impactful stories in cleantech and climate in 15 minutes or less.This week’s episode features Bloomberg senior reporter for climate Akshat Rathi, author of the forthcoming book Climate Capitalism.This Week in Cleantech — Oct. 20, 20231.The Great Cash-for-Carbon Hustle — The New Yorker2. Why Arizona is threatening to pull the plug on solar — Semafor3. These seven U.S. regions will receive $7 billion in federal funding to produce hydrogen — CNBC4. Plus Power Raises $1.8 Billion for US Battery Projects — Bloomberg5. Climate Change Can’t Overcome Capitalism, and That’s OK — BloombergWatch the full episode on YouTube Episode 63: 100 years ago, industrials built the electric grid. Now they’re leaving it Aired Oct. 16, 2023 More than 100 years ago, the electric grid was built by, and for, large industrial companies. What started with on-site power supply evolved into a network of factories that would later extend to nearby homes. But along the way, the focus, at least for utilities, changed. Expensive upgrades, prolonged timelines, and reliability shortfalls are now fueling a trend of industrials taking back their power. Episode 63 of the Factor This! podcast features Jereme Kent, CEO of One Energy, a C&I developer and asset owner pouncing on the opportunity to serve the nation’s 53,000 largest energy consumers. Kent takes us inside the shifting dynamic between industrials and utilities and One Energy’s $300 million push into public markets. Watch the full episode on YouTube Battery giveaway, capturing carbon, Cali climate laws — This Week in Cleantech This Week in Cleantech is a new, weekly podcast covering the most impactful stories in cleantech and climate in 15 minutes or less. This Week in Cleantech — Oct. 13, 20231. Vermont Utility Plans to End Outages by Giving Customers Batteries — The New York Times2. Saudi oil giant Aramco announces pilot project to suck CO2 out of the air, but some scientists are skeptical — CNBC3. Siemens Energy considers factory, office closures at wind division — Reuters4. What does the transition to EVs mean for workers? — The Hill5. Three New California Climate Programs to Watch — Heatmap NewsWatch the full video on YouTube Episode 62: The tax equity rule with ‘dire’ consequences for clean energy Aired Oct. 9, 2023 Monetizing clean energy tax credits is already tough enough. Critical to clean energy deployment, tax equity financing is both inefficient and undersupplied. And it could get a lot worse. A rule proposed by banking authorities could have big impacts on the few remaining tax equity financiers by upending how they weight project risk. Simply put, the rule would quadruple capital requirements for banks holding tax equity investments. Episode 62 of the Factor This! podcast features Hilary Lefko, a partner at the law firm Norton Rose Fulbright. Lefko shares why the “Basel III” ruling could lead to “dire consequences” for the tax equity market and clean energy goals. Watch the full episode on YouTube Green hydrogen unicorn, renewables popularity, and clean stocks collapse — This Week in Cleantech This Week in Cleantech is a new, weekly podcast covering the most impactful stories in cleantech and climate in 15 minutes or less. This week’s episode features Wall Street climate finance reporter Amrith Ramkumar who breaks down a major fundraising deal for green hydrogen startup Electric Hydrogen. This Week in Cleantech — October 6, 20231. Americans don’t hate living near solar and wind farms as much as you might think — The Washington Post and Renewable Energy Is Reckoning With Its Perception in Rural America — CNET2. The US power grid quietly survived record summer heat waves without outages — Vox3. Renewable energy stocks hit hard by higher interest rates — Financial Times4. Underground thermal energy networks are becoming crucial to the US’s energy future — MIT Technology Review5. The Secret Behind the First $1 Billion Green Hydrogen Startup — The Wall Street Journal Watch the full episode on YouTube Episode 61: Digesting RE+: IRA pain, financial turmoil, and unmissable optimism Aired Sept. 25, 2023 40,000? 50,000? More? Whatever the number, there were a lot of people at this year’s RE+ in Las Vegas. While the event’s exhibits are a focal point of the event — especially for pros sourcing solar modules, inverters, and batteries — the real action takes place in the side rooms, restaurants, and bars. Episode 61 of the Factor This! podcast features Standard Solar president and CEO Scott Wiater, who takes us inside those critical conversations. Wiater offers a look into the headaches linked to Inflation Reduction Act implementation and financial market turmoil, as well as the unmissable sense of optimism that the industry will continue its meteoric growth. Watch the full episode on YouTube EV forced labor ties, battery recycling, and carbon tariffs — This Week in Cleantech This Week in Cleantech is a new, weekly podcast covering the most impactful stories in cleantech and climate in 15 minutes or less. This week’s episode features Washington Post business reporter Evan Halper who shares insights from his reporting on forced labor concerns linked to electric vehicle supply chains. This Week in Cleantech — September 22, 2023 1. New battery recycling rules could be a game-changer in the EU’s search for EV minerals — Grist2. As Climate and Trade Become Intertwined, a Bipartisan Push for Carbon Tariffs is Emerging — TIME Magazine3. How To Build A Climate-Friendly Skyscraper: Start Small. Petri-Dish Small. — Forbes4. Inside Exxon’s Strategy to Downplay Climate Change — Wall Street Journal5. EV makers’ use of Chinese suppliers raises concerns about forced labor — Washington Post Watch the full episode on YouTube RE+, lithium discovery, and battery fires — This Week in Cleantech This Week in Cleantech is a new, weekly podcast covering the most impactful stories in cleantech and climate in 15 minutes or less. This week’s episode features Bloomberg energy reporter Mark Chediak who breaks down solar’s growing pains and experiencing RE+ for the first time. This Week in Cleantech — September 15, 2023 1. A Huge Lithium Discovery That Economists Were Expecting — Bloomberg2. Carbon-free grid? There may not be enough workers to build it. — E&E News3. Big Batteries Are Booming. So Are Fears They’ll Catch Fire — WIRED4. Update needed for 1872 mining law to boost clean energy, report says — Washington Post5. US Solar’s Extraordinary Boom Brings Growing Pains — Bloomberg Watch the full episode on YouTube Episode 60: Green hydrogen is ‘under attack,’ Plug Power boss says Aired Sept. 11, 2023 The stakes couldn’t be higher. The Inflation Reduction Act launched a market for green hydrogen. But more than a year later the Treasury Department is still working out the details for critical tax incentives. The delay has provided room for a multi-million-dollar battle to flare up between trade groups and environmentalists. And nothing less than a pillar to achieving the Biden administration’s ambitious climate goals hangs in the balance. Episode 60 of the Factor This! podcast features Andy Marsh, CEO of Plug Power, which wants to become the everything green hydrogen company, from manufacturing electrolyzers, to producing, storing, and transporting green hydrogen itself. Marsh believes the U.S. could become a green hydrogen superpower. Or it could squander the opportunity of a lifetime. Watch the full episode on YouTube Texas’ battery betrayal, the billionaires behind climate denial, and Biden’s EV boost — This Week in Cleantech This Week in Cleantech is a new, weekly podcast covering the most impactful stories in cleantech and climate in 15 minutes or less. This week’s episode features MIT Tech Review climate and clean energy reporter Casey Crownhart, who shares insights around the Biden administration’s $400 million loan to alternative battery maker Eos Energy. This Week in Cleantech — September 8, 2023 1. Texas fracking billionaire brothers fuel rightwing media with millions of dollars — The Guardian2. Batteries helped keep Texas grid afloat, but operators worry ERCOT rules could ‘chill’ the industry — San Antonio Express-News3. Powered by wind, this $10B transmission line will carry more energy than the Hoover Dam — Associated Press4. White House launches billion-dollar effort to speed EV production — Axios5. Zinc batteries that offer an alternative to lithium just got a big boost — MIT Tech Review Watch the full episode on YouTube Episode 59: Interconnection and permitting get their moment. Is it enough? Aired Sept. 4, 2023 Clogged interconnection queues and an inefficient permitting process have the attention of federal policymakers. At last. But even big recent wins leave much work to be done.The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s Order 2023 is a positive first step, advocates say, despite its favoring utility interests. Siting guidelines for transmission and clean energy projects on federal land, meanwhile, remain cumbersome and require immediate overhaul to achieve sustainability goals. Episode 59 of the Factor This! podcast features Luigi Resta, a clean energy industry veteran and president of rPlus Energies, a developer of utility-scale solar, wind, battery storage, and pumped hydro projects. Resta breaks down the impact of FERC’s interconnection reform plan and shares his vision for the policy battle still ahead. Gulf offshore wind dud, Google’s solar AI, and Las Vegas Sphere goes green — This Week in Cleantech This Week in Cleantech is a new, weekly podcast covering the most impactful stories in cleantech and climate in 15 minutes or less. This week’s episode features Reuters correspondent Nichola Groom, who shares insights from a lackluster offshore wind auction in the Gulf of Mexico. This Week in Cleantech – September 1, 2023 1. Google to begin selling maps data to companies building solar products, hopes to generate $100 million in first year — CNBC2. Tennessee secured $7B in clean energy business this past year — representing nearly 80% of new investments — WPLN News3. MSG Sphere announces plan to power 70% of Las Vegas arena with renewable energy, pending approval — USA Today4. Chemical fertilizer is a climate disaster. Can high-tech biology fix it? — Canary Media5. First US offshore wind auction in Gulf of Mexico attracts paltry interest — Reuters Watch the full episode on YouTube Episode 58: How Utah—yes, Utah—found itself at the cutting edge of the energy transition Aired Aug. 28, 2023 On a quest to find the cutting edge of the energy transition, Utah is unlikely to be the first stop. It may not even make the itinerary. A Republican governor and supermajority legislature lead the state. Rocky Mountain Power, a historically conservative, vertically integrated utility, supplies most of its electricity (and the biggest source is coal). But the Beehive State has laid out an improbable blueprint for clean energy and resilience. Here, more than 3,000 home batteries are intelligently managed to serve seven critical grid functions. Every single day. And, no, it’s not a pilot. Episode 58 of the Factor This! podcast features Blake Richetta, CEO of the American division of sonnen, a German battery manufacturer and provider of the virtual power plant software that makes Rocky Mountain Power’s innovative program tick. Richetta breaks down the nuances behind the ambiguously named VPP and shares the fascinating story of how unlikely collaborators helped launch one of the most sophisticated programs in the country. Solar tariffs, grid tech, and wind-powered cargo ships — This Week in Cleantech This Week in Cleantech is a new, weekly podcast covering the most impactful stories in cleantech and climate in 15 minutes or less. This week’s episode features Bloomberg energy and environmental policy reporter Jennifer Dlouhy for a breakdown of the Commerce Department’s final ruling in the Auxin Solar tariff case.This Week in Cleantech – August 25, 2023 1. Fixing our failing electric grid … on a budget – NPR2. Europe’s Gas-Guzzling Days Are Fading – Wall Street Journal3. Pioneering wind-powered cargo ship sets sail – BBC4. Solar panels to surround Dulles Airport will deliver power to 37,000 homes – Associated Press5. Chinese Solar Makers Face New Tariffs After US Says They’re Dodging Duties – Bloomberg Watch the full episode on YouTube Notes:Mike Casey will be participating in a discussion at RE+ in Las Vegas titled: “From NIMBYs to Neighbors: Emerging Patterns in Developer Experiences and the Views of Rural Americans the Clean Energy Industry Needs to Win Over” in Veronese 2405, Level 2, The Venetian from 2:30-3:00 p.m. PT on Sept. 13. Episode 57: Perovskites: Solar power revolutionary or cleantech fad? Aired August 21, 2023 In the year since the Inflation Reduction Act supercharged clean energy manufacturing, rarely does a week go by without a new solar factory notice. Rich incentives have led to unprecedented investments. But making solar panels is really hard. Not only does it require a lot of energy, but complicated global supply chains leave profit margins razor thin. And existing technology is bumping up against theoretical efficiency limits. Industry heavyweights see perovskite solar cells as the heir apparent to the crystalline chemistries that currently dominate global supply. They’re betting that perovskites will offer a domestically produced, higher-efficiency, flexible, and cheaper alternative. The perovskite revolution is not without its detractors, though. Sizeable achievements are needed to take perovskites from labs to commercial viability. Episode 57 of the Factor This! podcast features Joseph Berry, a Senior Research Fellow at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, and Paul Warley, the CEO of Ascent, a company working to commercialize perovskites for agriculture and space applications. Perovskites could be the missing link as terawatt-scale solar and broad decarbonization are pursued. Or, they could end up on the proverbial ash heap of history. Which is it? IRA anniversary, NIMBYs target offshore wind, and carbon removal cash — This Week in Cleantech This Week in Cleantech is a new, weekly podcast covering the most impactful stories in cleantech and climate in 15 minutes or less. This week’s episode features The Hill energy and environment reporter Rachel Frazin for a breakdown of the Inflation Reduction Act’s impact after one year. This Week in Cleantech – August 11, 2023 1. Big Oil’s Talent Crisis: High Salaries Are No Longer Enough – Wall Street Journal2. The U.S. Government Will Pay to Remove Carbon From Atmosphere – Heatmap News3. The future of East Coast wind power could ride on this Jersey beach town – Washington Post4. A Republican 2024 Climate Strategy: More Drilling, Less Clean Energy – New York Times5. Year after Biden’s climate bill sees spike in renewable energy investment, industry says – The Hill Watch the full episode on YouTube Episode 56: Can the Northeast fix its interconnection slog? Aired Aug. 7, 2023 A simple mention of the word can send shivers down a developer’s spine. Interconnection. It’s the bogeyman of the energy transition. Long delays and steep upgrade costs can doom projects before they ever get off the ground. The interconnection slog may be the single biggest threat to national and local clean energy and climate goals. And the people critical to improving the process — developers, utilities, and regulators — don’t always get along, to say the least. In Episode 56 of the Factor This! podcast, we head to the Northeast for a deeper insight into why this single issue has grown to be such a problem and how they just might fix it. We’ll have the help of, you guessed it, a developer, a utility, and a regulator. This episode features National Grid’s distributed generation ombudsperson Michael Porcaro; Convergent Energy and Power regulatory affairs manager Emma Marshall-Torres, and Rhode Island PUC Commissioner Abigail Anthony. By the way, they’ll also each be speaking at the GridTECH Connect Forum – Northeast in Newport, Rhode Island, October 23-25. Listeners can get 20% off admission to the event by clicking this link. New interconnection rules, a nuclear milestone, and concrete batteries — This Week in Cleantech Voltage transmission lines above city (Courtesy National Grid ESO) This Week in Cleantech is a new, weekly podcast covering the most impactful stories in cleantech and climate in 15 minutes or less. This week’s episode features Reuters correspondent Valerie Volcovici for a deep-dive on FERC’s monumental interconnection ruling. This Week in Cleantech – August 4, 20231. The U.S. Clean-Energy Company That Hit the Subsidies Jackpot — Wall Street Journal2. Vogtle Unit 3 nuclear reactor, long delayed, starts delivering powerVogtle Unit 3 nuclear reactor, long delayed, starts delivering power — CNBC3. MIT engineers developed a new type of concrete that can store energy — Fast Company 4. Deep-sea mining could help fuel renewable energy. Here’s why it’s been put on hold. — USA Today5. US moves to link more wind and solar projects to electric grid — Reuters Watch the full episode on YouTube Episode 55: Inside scaling a national residential solar company Aired July 31, 2023 Kyle Udseth helped media giants like DIRECTV and Netflix craft their customer experiences. Now, he’s working to scale a new national player in residential solar and storage with that same focus. After stints with Sunrun and Sunnova, Udseth founded Pineapple Energy believing that the crowded field of residential solar providers was still ripe with opportunity. His company is scaling through strategic acquisitions of successful regional installers with established brands and pipelines in an attempt to compete with industry heavyweights. Udseth joined Episode 55 of the Factor This! podcast to share how the residential solar market is adapting to policy uncertainty and macroeconomic headwinds, and why he believes the sector is primed for consolidation. Is there room for another national residential solar provider? Solar manufacturing, IRA rollout, and clean energy in Coal Country — This Week in Cleantech — 7/28/23 Courtesy: Canadian Solar This Week in Cleantech is a new, weekly podcast covering the most impactful stories in cleantech and climate in 15 minutes or less. This week’s episode features Axios climate deals reporter Alan Neuhauser for an inside look at the making of Kentucky’s largest solar farm. This Week in Cleantech – July 28, 20231. Solar Manufacturing in the US Is Facing a Bleak Future, Analysts Warn – Bloomberg2. Small-town GOP officials are torn over Biden’s clean energy cash – Washington Post3. These moisture-sucking materials could transform air conditioning – MIT Tech Review4. There’s not enough land to solve climate change with wood buildings and biofuels – Semafor5. Rivian anchors BrightNight solar plant at former coal mine – Axios Watch the full episode on YouTube Episode 54: Form Energy’s 100-hour battery is almost here Aired July 24, 2023 Battery storage deployment is surging to fill the gaps left by intermittent renewable energy resources. And, sometimes, those gaps extend days beyond what lithium-ion can handle. For the past six years, Form Energy has positioned itself as the company to solve for the multi-day challenge. What started with splashy renderings and nearly $1 billion in fundraising announcements has evolved into real contracts with utilities like Xcel and Southern Company, and a commercial-scale iron-air battery plant under construction in West Virginia. Episode 54 of the Factor This! podcast features Form Energy CEO Mateo Jaramillo, a former Tesla executive pushing for deep decarbonization on the grid. Jaramillo breaks down the technology behind Form Energy’s 100-hour battery, how the company was able to convince risk-averse utilities to buy in, and the challenges still ahead for multi-day energy storage. Geothermal 2.0, offshore wind, and ‘Bidenomics’ — This Week in Cleantech — 7/21/23 Fervo Energy’s full-scale commercial pilot, Project Red, in northern Nevada. (Courtesy: Fervo Energy) This Week in Cleantech is a new, weekly podcast covering the most impactful stories in cleantech and climate in 15 minutes or less. This week’s episode features Volts author and podcast host David Roberts, who breaks down his reporting on enhanced geothermal in light of a major breakthrough. This Week in Cleantech – July 21, 20231. How Biden’s climate law will — and won’t — transform America – The Washington Post2. US announces first offshore wind rights sale in Gulf of Mexico – Reuters3. Conservation concerns mean some environmentalists say no to solar projects – NPR4. New Land Grab by Oil Giants Is Deep Underground – WSJ5. Enhanced geothermal power is finally a reality – Volts Watch the full episode on YouTube Episode 53: Will the U.S. get green hydrogen right? One decision has big climate implications Aired July 17, 2023 Green hydrogen could be a key tool to meet climate goals. It could also make things a lot worse, if we get this one critical step wrong. The U.S. is developing rules for green hydrogen incentives as part of the Inflation Reduction Act, and the options are up for grabs. The Biden administration faces pressure from developers, trade groups, and environmentalists over how to phase in zero carbon requirements for green hydrogen production, and new research suggests the direction it chooses could have a major impact on the climate. Episode 53 of the Factor This! podcast features Jesse Jenkins, assistant professor and ZERO Lab lead at Princeton University, who is calling out a leading clean energy trade group for a piece of its green hydrogen agenda. Jenkins shares how one recommendation from the American Clean Power Association could result in $200 BILLION in taxpayer subsidies responsible for 700 million metric tons of CO2 emissions. Will the U.S. get green hydrogen right? Episode 52: Fintech arrives to streamline clean energy project finance Aired July 3, 2023 Amanda Li found herself in the thick of the arduous and disorganized project finance lifecycle. It was 2014, and she had been hired as Generate Capital’s first employee. Li was responsible for all aspects of the deal: originating and underwriting, closing, portfolio management, you name it. Each stage had its own litany of documents, and required endless hours to maintain. It was obvious to Li that the process needed a major upgrade for trillions of dollars to efficiently flow into clean energy, and our climate goals would depend on it. Episode 52 of the Factor This! podcast features Amanda Li, the co-founder and COO of Banyan Infrastructure, a fintech company streamlining clean energy project finance by digitalizing and housing each step in a single platform. Li shares how technology is activating fresh capital for distributed energy projects and bringing new players to the table. Just in time. Episode 51: Underperformance. Extreme weather. Labor shortages. Solar’s bright outlook faces big risks Aired June 26, 2023 The U.S. solar industry is primed for significant growth in the coming years, emboldened by big federal incentives and even bigger demand for renewable energy. But asset owners are increasingly talking about extreme weather, underperformance, and labor shortages as growing risks to solar’s growth prospects. These are some of the uncomfortable issues in opposition with the industry’s rosy public outlook. Episode 51 of the Factor This! podcast features Jason Kaminsky, CEO of clean energy insurance provider kWh Analytics, which just dropped its fifth annual Solar Risk Assessment. And it’s loaded with valuable insights. Kaminsky shares the data behind solar’s biggest risks, along with pathways to avoid potholes down the road. Episode 50: Battery storage is booming. Now what do we do with it? Aired June 19, 2023 In the spring of 2016, Jeff Bishop was developing wind projects when he came across an analyst chart that caught his eye. Battery storage, the analysts forecasted, would follow a similar cost curve as solar. Costs would plummet as deployment ramped up to support a grid ever more dependent on intermittent renewable energy resources. Bishop quit his job by the summer, and launched Key Capture Energy, a developer, owner, and operator of grid-scale battery storage projects. Turns out, the analysts were right. Seven years later, battery storage deployment is booming. But the industry is still finding its way. Developers and regulators face questions around how to best use batteries, and what policy structures are needed to facilitate deployment. Moreover, the industry is learning on the fly about how these assets will perform under various state and utility demands. Bishop joined Episode 50 of the Factor This! podcast to break down how states should, and shouldn’t, go about procuring battery storage, and why software is a crucial piece of the puzzle. Plus, stick around for the inside story of how Key Capture went from thebrink of insolvency to raising $100 million. Episode 49: Solar’s biggest risk? Too few works to deliver the massive project pipeline Aired May 22, 2023 Praise for the solar industry’s meteoric growth often shines on developers and their multi-gigawatt pipelines and portfolios. Seldom does the limelight extend to the construction crews putting steel in the ground.But clean electrons aren’t generated by hope, targets, and schematics. It’s the engineering, procurement, and construction firms that are executing the vision for a clean energy transition.Therein lies an overlooked hurdle on the horizon: There simply aren’t enough qualified EPCs, and workers, to meet the booming demand for solar projects. And rich incentives in the Inflation Reduction Act only stand to magnify the glut in supply.Episode 49 of the Factor This! podcast features Chris Dunbar, CEO of Blue Ridge Power, for an inside look at how one of the industry’s leading utility-scale solar and storage EPCs is navigating a chronic labor shortage and a tumultuous market plagued by supply chain constraints, trade disputes, and the interconnection slog.Sure, gigawatts of solar projects are in motion. But who’s going to build them? Episode 48: He started solar’s preeminent advocacy group. Now, Adam Browning is all in on EVs Aired May 15, 2023 For more than 20 years, Adam Browning was solar’s biggest cheerleader. There was 165 MW of interconnected solar in the U.S. in 2002 when Browning founded Vote Solar. The organization quickly evolved into the industry’s preeminent advocacy group. When he stepped down as executive director in 2021, that figure stood at 122 GW. Today, Browning has his sights set on the next big decarbonization story, using lessons learned from solar’s twists and turns to take on a “biblical” challenge. Episode 48 of the Factor This! podcast features an old friend to many in solar. Browning, now the executive vice president of policy and communications for the startup Forum Mobility, looks back on his storied career leading Vote Solar, reacts to the controversial NEM 3.0 ruling in California, and shares why he’s starting over to take on fleet electrification. Episode 47: Auxin Solar tariff petition: What’s next for solar’s dark cloud Aired May 8, 2023 Hurry up and wait. We launched the Factor This! podcast one year ago — May 9, 2022 — to share a fresh and introspective account of the Auxin Solar tariff petition. It’s been a dark cloud hanging over the solar industry ever since—delaying projects and dampening enthusiasm around the Inflation Reduction Act. May 2023, for better or worse, was supposed to restore certainty at last with a final determination from the Commerce Department. But that ruling was punted to August, yet again drawing out the industry’s prolonged panic attack. Episode 47 of the Factor This! podcast features an interview with Tim Brightbill, a partner and co-chair for the international trade practice at DC law firm Wiley Rein. He’s also an adjunct international trade law professor at Georgetown. Brightbill broke down the latest in the Auxin case and where it goes from here. Plus, a look back on the exclusive interview with Auxin Solar CEO Mamun Rashid that established the Factor This! as a must-listen for the solar industry. Episode 46: A rosy future for agrivoltaics (without the thorns) Aired May 1, 2023 Agrivoltaics — solar PV paired with livestock or crops — make for rich marketing materials. Good luck finding a developer brochure free of grazing sheep. But the project segment is far more than a kitschy niche. While the concept is well-understood in Europe, the U.S. is still finding its way with agrivoltaics. Early iterations lacked scalability due to added costs and irrational system requirements established by policymakers. Lucy Bullock-Sieger wants you to forget everything you think you know about agrivoltaics. As the vice president of strategy for Boston-based developer Lightstar Renewables, Bullock-Sieger is on a mission to prove that agrivoltaics is ready for primetime with a new approach. In addition to establishing a cost-neutral agrivoltaics development process, Lightstar has experienced improved community relations, expedited permits, and a mitigant to the interconnection nightmare. Bullock-Sieger joined Episode 46 of the Factor This! podcast to break down the rosy future for agrivoltaics. Episode 45: The long-duration energy storage dilemma Aired April 24, 2023 A decarbonized grid, powered primarily by solar and wind, will require a lot of energy storage. Lithium-ion batteries, while the technology du jour, won’t come close to solving the impending problem on their own. The long-duration energy storage dilemma is multi-pronged: today’s market structures don’t adequately reward energy storage of longer than four hours, and potential solutions are mired in technical challenges and steep capex costs. But one company may have cracked the code. Episode 45 of Factor This! features Robert Piconi, CEO of Energy Vault, a company well on its way to deploying long-duration gravity storage systems at scale. Energy Vault first made its splash with towering cranes lifting and lowering blocks under the guiding principles that have made pumped hydro the world’s most significant energy storage resource. Now, with a redesigned concept, the company is deploying its systems in partnership with major players like Enel… and even landed a green hydrogen deal with Pacific Gas & Electric, California’s largest utility. Can long-duration energy storage finally break through? Episode 44: Why this gas-heavy utility is going (really) big on solar Aired April 17, 2023 The news from Entergy Louisiana may have required a second reading. And a third. The utility wants to go (really) big on solar. Why now? Entergy Louisiana asked state regulators in March to approve 3 GW of new solar resources. That’s on top of its request from a few weeks earlier for 225 MW of new solar, which would have nearly doubled the state’s existing capacity. Louisiana isn’t known as the friendliest to solar. What led to the sudden change of heart? Entergy Louisiana CEO Phillip May joined Episode 44 of the Factor This! podcast to share an inside look at a Southern utility’s view on the energy transition. May shared his outlook for solar, energy storage, green hydrogen, offshore wind, and more. That’s all next on Factor This! Episode 43: Sunnova’s John Berger is hell-bent on upending the status quo Aired April 10, 2023 More than a decade since John Berger founded Sunnova, the company is one of the largest residential solar and storage providers in the country. That would be enough for a lot of people. But success hasn’t stopped Berger from pushing the envelope. He recognized early on in his career, from his time at Enron and then the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, that the way we viewed and consumed energy was broken. He didn’t necessarily know the answer then but knew he would do whatever he could to fix it. From Sunnova’s push to create a micro-utility in California, to the aggregation of tens of thousands of residential solar and battery systems to compete with the monopolistic utility model, the company, and Berger, have set out to upend the status quo. In Episode 43 of the Factor This! podcast, Berger gives his unvarnished take on decarbonization and taking on Goliath. Episode 42: Green hydrogen, recycling, and next-gen batteries: Checking in on ‘Cleantech 2.0’ Aired April 3, 2023 A new era of cleantech innovation is here. And it’s a good time to take stock of what’s in the pipeline. Green hydrogen, circular economies, and next-gen batteries are at the heart of “Cleantech 2.0.” These innovations could take the clean economy to new heights when paired with fresh federal incentives for fighting climate change. Alok Sindher, a partner at the venture capital firm Fifth Wall, joined Episode 42 of the Factor This! podcast to break down what’s on the way and who’s positioned to cash in.Fifth Wall is one of the largest VCs driving cleantech innovation with $2.9 billion raised for cleantech startups. The firm recently led the $30 million Series A round for solar module recycling startup SOLARCYCLE. Episode 41: Dan Shugar is just getting started Aired March 27, 2023 How do you measure the impact of someone like Dan Shugar? He’s been a mainstay in the solar industry since the early days. Before the solar coaster defined the twists and turns of the evolving industry. He led PowerLight to a $335 million dollar acquisition. Helped grow SunPower into the behemoth it is today. And was the CEO of solar module manufacturer Solaria, before co-founding Nextracker, one of the world’s leading tracker manufacturers. Dan Shugar is solar. Undeniably the face, and voice, driving the industry to heights unthinkable when he started out nearly 30 years ago. In Episode 41 of the Factor This! podcast, Dan Shugar returns fresh off Nextracker’s $638 million IPO that is, so-far, this year’s biggest. Not just for a clean tech company— for any company. What’s left for the industry leader affectionately known by so many as Shug? Episode 40: A fresh start for concentrated solar power? Aired March 20, 2023 Concentrated solar power has had a rough go in the US. But that’s not because it’s a poor resource. Using mirrors and towers, CSP can cleanly generate electricity, provide long-duration thermal energy storage, and decarbonize heavy industry by producing heat. Still, solar PV deployment dwarfs installed CSP capacity 113 GW to 2. Why hasn’t it caught on here? Episode 40 of the Factor This! podcast features Craig Wood, CEO of the Australian next-gen CSP company Vast, which thinks it can change CSP’s fortunes in the US. Vast is planning to list on the New York Stock Exchange at a valuation of more than a half-billion dollars to deploy its next-gen CSP technology. Wood breaks down CSP’s less-than-sunny history, why it’s getting a fresh look, and its role in the energy transition. That’s all next on Factor This! Episode 39: Data: The energy transition’s next big thing Aired March 13, 2023 While the energy transition is well underway, the power dynamics that have ruled the industry for generations are still largely the same. Kiran Bhatraju, founder and CEO of Arcadia, is upending that paradigm by taking control of energy data and using it to fuel the rapid deployment of distributed energy assets. Arcadia manages more community solar subscribers than almost anyone else, and its software platform, Arc, uses data from thousands of utilities to pinpoint where, and when, to build and use DERs. Still commonly referred to as a startup, Arcadia is now a billion-dollar cleantech unicorn. Bhatraju joined Episode 39 of the Factor This! podcast to discuss Arcadia’s climb and the energy transition’s next big thing. Episode 38: Solar’s legal risks are changing. Here’s what to watch out for Aired March 6, 2023 As the renewable energy industry has grown up, its legal risks have too. Sure, we as an industry talk all the time about NIMBYism. But what about zoning and permitting litigation? What happens when a project produces stormwater runoff that damages a neighboring property? And how about all of these new incentives in the Inflation Reduction Act… who’s on the hook if a project falls short of its obligations? Episode 38 of the Factor This! podcast features two attorneys working really closely on these issues. Matthew Karmel is the principal and chair of the Environmental and Sustainability Practice Group at the national law firm Offit Kurman. Yana Spitzer is in-house counsel at ENGIE North America. Karmel and Spitzer take us inside the courtroom for a look at the legal risk plaguing project developers today, and they point out the potholes to watch out for in the future. Episode 37: Clean energy’s long road to diversity Aired Feb. 27, 2023 The proverbial light bulb that sparked Tasha McCarter’s interest in energy was an actual light bulb. A third grade experiment using a hand crank to produce electricity led to an accomplished career developing power plants for SunPower, Silicon Ranch, and most recently RWE as their vice president of solar engineering. For McCarter, who is Black, the rise to become one of the energy industry’s foremost engineering leaders was anything but easy. While the industry’s well-known diversity problem is slowly improving, there’s still a long way to go. McCarter joined Episode 37 of the Factor This! podcast to talk about her career, Black History Month, and the energy industry’s pursuit of a more diverse workforce. Episode 36: New solar manufacturers are rushing to meet U.S. demand. Are they up to snuff? Aired Feb. 20, 2023 There’s a press release almost every week. Increasing demand for solar modules, paired with supply chain constraints and trade disputes, have some new players eyeing the US market. Some module manufacturers are building new factories to capitalize on fresh federal incentives to boost the domestic solar supply chain. Others are hoping to import their products into the US. Both have created a set of new, largely unknown players for buyers to make sense of. And standard certifications don’t go far enough to determine a module’s long-term performance and reliability. Episode 36 of the Factor This! podcast features Tristan Erion-Lorico, VP of sales and marketing for PV Evolution Labs. The firm helps manufacturers prove themselves to new markets, and offers investors and asset owners an extra level of certainty over long-term performance. Episode 35: Talking energy storage with Yann Brandt Aired Feb. 13, 2023 It’s time that we talk about energy storage. Not just because solar-plus-storage is a natural fit, but more and more developers will soon be branching out into the world of batteries, emboldened by new federal incentives. That transition could be overwhelming for some. Energy storage deployment comes with its own unique set of nuances and challenges. What differentiates one energy storage company from another? How do investors view the nascent sector? What are some of the risks to avoid? Yann Brandt, CCO of the energy storage solution provider FlexGen, joined Episode 35 of the Factor This! podcast to answer those questions and more. If you’ve worked in solar long enough, you probably know Yann— either from his various stops throughout the industry or SolarWakeup, his must-read daily newsletter that has become a staple for industry insiders. Fresh off his election as the first-ever chair of the Energy Storage division at the Solar Energy Industries Association, Yann answers your burning questions about energy storage. Episode 34: The grid is fragile. Is distributed energy the answer? Aired Feb. 6, 2023 Our grid is vulnerable to disruption and even failure. Wildfires, floods, and more frequent extreme weather events routinely highlight the imperative of adding distributed energy not just for resiliency, but to reach our climate goals. But incumbents, purposefully or not, are delaying the transition. And markets still don’t fully value the qualities of distributed energy resources. Will we come to embrace DER’s myriad benefits before it’s too late? Episode 34 of the Factor This! podcast features Tim Hade, the co-founder and COO of Scale Microgrid Solutions. This wide-ranging conversation covered the role of distributed energy for the grid of the future, the perils of scaling a climate tech hardware company, and what’s holding back the Inflation Reduction Act. Hade shared how his time in the military mobilized him to fight climate change, why he’s so optimistic that DERs will one day breakthrough, and his five tips for anyone starting a clean energy company. Spoiler alert: get smart on tax equity. Or find someone who is. Episode 33: Community solar: Can California get it right this time? Aired Jan. 30, 2023 California is a leader in the energy transition. There’s no doubt about it. But even the most mature solar market in the country hasn’t always gotten it right. A community solar program implemented in 2013 never really panned out. And while the community solar sector grew rapidly in other states, California watched as few projects got built. Episode 33 of the Factor This! podcast features Aaron Halimi, CEO and founder of the California-based community solar developer Renewable Properties. Halimi breaks down the state of community solar, the impact of the Inflation Reduction Act, and California’s second attempt to craft a successful program. Can they get it right this time? Episode 32: In North Carolina, a lesson on the pitfalls of the energy transition Aired Jan. 23, 2023 The pitfalls of the energy transition are on full display in a Southeast state. A 2021 law set North Carolina on its way to slashing carbon emissions by 70% by the end of the decade and reaching carbon neutrality by 2050. HB 951 represented an unprecedented, bipartisan effort for a state to tackle climate change and deploy clean energy. But clashes between Duke Energy, the utility governed by the law, and clean energy developers showcase that historic policy is only part of the equation. Execution is just as challenging. Episode 32 of the Factor This! podcast features Steve Levitas and Tyler Norris, who both work on clean energy policy for utility-scale solar and storage developers. They share why what’s happening in North Carolina should be a warning to the rest of the country. Episode 31: Toledo Solar’s founder on the ‘untruths’ of American solar manufacturing Aired Jan. 16, 2023 Episode 31 of the Factor This! podcast features Aaron Bates, the CEO and founder of Toledo Solar, a manufacturer of cadmium telluride thin-film solar modules. Bates cares deeply about who is making solar modules and, just as importantly, where. And he has strong opinions about the direction the solar industry is heading. In response to the Inflation Reduction Act, Toledo Solar is scaling its production capacity to 2.3 gigawatts by 2027. It’s bringing the technology that made First Solar a household name to the commercial and residential sectors, and doing it right down the street from First Solar’s factory in Ohio. Bates discusses Toledo Solar and its ties to Ohio’s rich history of manufacturing, silicon vs. CadTe modules, tariffs, and what he calls the “untruths” behind Made in America solar. Episode 30: Why 2023 is about to be the biggest year yet for C&I clean energy Aired Jan. 9, 2023 Corporate demand for clean energy couldn’t be hotter. And it’s not just for far-away solar and wind farms anymore. In a year plagued by trade disputes, supply chain constraints, and missed targets, onsite commercial and industrial deployment of solar, batteries and EV charging grew in 2022 when other areas sank. Leaders in the C&I space say it’s about to explode. That growth doesn’t come without its own challenges for grid reliability. Episode 30 of the Factor This! podcast features Raphael Declercq, CEO of the C&I solar, storage, and EV charging developer PowerFlex. Owned by EDF Renewables, PowerFlex is a leader in the C&I space, recently raising $100 million to expand its onsite energy management hardware and software offering. Declercq weighed in on the impact of the California net metering decision, intelligent EV charging, and the outlook for an often overlooked segment of the industry. Episode 29: Will solar energy’s challenges finally ease in ’23? Aired Dec. 19, 2022 It was a best-of-times, worst-of-times sort of year for solar: long-awaited federal policy support tempered by ongoing trade disputes involving some of the industry’s biggest suppliers. As the year closes, giving new meaning to the term ‘solar coaster,’ we invited Paula Mints, who has been tracking the industry for more than two decades, to shed some light on what 2022 means to the solar industry and what to watch out for in the new year. She joined Episode 29 of the Factor This! podcast to break down everything from the Auxin Solar petition to the Inflation Reduction Act and to discuss the industry’s path forward amid mounting headwinds. Episode 28: Europe wants its own Inflation Reduction Act moment Aired Dec. 12, 2022 When the American clean energy industry met at RE+ in September, seemingly every conversation exuded an optimistic tone about the future. Historic incentives for clean energy in the Inflation Reduction Act, paired with a generational industrial policy, brought U.S. climate goals within reach at a point when their prospects appeared bleak at best. Now, billions of dollars of investment is flowing into American clean energy manufacturing. The outlook couldn’t be more different in Europe, where industry leaders recently came together at Enlit Europe in Frankfurt, Germany. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has exacerbated an already dire energy crisis, and the continent that once led the energy transition is watching its influence slip. Two of Europe’s clean energy leaders joined Episode 28 of the Factor This! podcast from Frankfurt to discuss Europe’s path forward and the prospect for transformational industrial policy. Guests: Axel Thiemann, CEO, Sonnedix Jochen Hauff, Director Corporate Strategy, Energy Policy & Sustainability, BayWa r.e. Episode 27: Climate tech takes on clean energy’s biggest headaches Aired Nov. 28, 2022 Clean energy is in broad agreement: the Inflation Reduction Act is a game-changer for the industry and our goals of staving off the worst effects of climate change. But underneath the optimism is a shared anxiety that significant headwinds still plague the industry. Costly and time-consuming permitting and interconnection processes remain poison pills for projects. On Episode 27 of the Factor This! podcast, we introduce you to two climate tech entrepreneurs who are taking on these challenges. Robin Laine, CEO and co-founder of Transect, used her background as an environmental engineer to shrink the environmental assessment process down from weeks or months to just minutes. James McWalter, CEO of Paces, is developing what he calls the “Google for site selection,” that allows developers to start with a set of criteria, like distance to an interconnection point, to find available parcels for development in just minutes. The platform also tracks ever-changing policies that could impact projects all the way down to the local level. Episode 26: California NEM 3.0: Unpacking rooftop solar’s fate Aired Nov. 21, 2022 After a series of starts, stops, and outright confusion over the future of rooftop solar, California regulators have released their latest proposal to reform the state’s net metering program. The process known as NEM 3.0 has pitted advocates against investor-owned utilities over how customers should be paid for sending excess solar power to the grid. And since it involves the country’s largest solar market, the entire industry is paying attention. Vote Solar’s executive director, Sachu Constantine, returns to the Factor This! podcast to break down the latest proposal, which is drawing fire from both sides. Check out Constantine’s analysis of the original NEM 3.0 proposal in Episode 6 of the Factor This! podcast. Episode 25: Women in renewables: 3 female execs share their stories and recruitment strategies Aired Nov. 14, 2022 A look around one of clean energy’s largest events offered a common sight: There were a lot of men. The challenge is well-known in renewables. Women make up only about a third of the workforce. And they hold an even smaller share of executive positions. On Episode 25 of the Factor This! podcast, three senior female executives weigh in on how to effectively recruit women to clean energy. Guests: Julia Bell, Chief Commercial Officer, CleanCapital Carey Kling, Director, BQ Energy Development Jenn Miller, CEO, Renewable IPP Episode 24: Texas grid braces for winter. What’s changed since Uri? Aired Nov. 7, 2022 It’s been more than 600 days since the lights went out for millions of Texans during Winter Storm Uri. The near-total collapse of the Texas grid can be attributed to a number of culprits— and there has been no shortage of finger-pointing. Promises were made that what happened in February 2021 would never happen again. And a market redesign that’s underway is supposed to be the solution. To better understand what’s happening, and what’s to come, Episode 24 of the Factor This! podcast features Texas Capitol mainstays Caitlin Smith of Jupiter Power, Mark Stover of Apex Clean Energy, and Doug Lewin, host of Renewable Energy World‘s Texas Power Podcast. Episode 23: Interconnection woes make strange bedfellows Aired Oct. 31, 2022 Bringing new distributed energy resources to the grid often comes with delays and costly upgrades. Interconnection woes create a contentious relationship between utilities and developers. That’s why Clarion Energy is launching the GridTECH Connect Forum— a regional event designed to break down industry silos by bringing together DER developers and utilities to find common ground to improve the interconnection process. Registration is now open for the inaugural GridTECH Connect Forum in San Diego, California on Feb. 6, 2023. To learn more, be sure to download Episode 23 of Factor This! featuring GridTECH Connect Forum advisory board members Laurence Abcede, manager of distributed energy resources at San Diego Gas & Electric, and CJ Colavito, the vice president of engineering at Standard Solar. Episode 22: A bright future for brownfield solar development Aired Oct. 24, 2022 More than a decade ago, the proverbial lightbulb glowed over Chad Farrell’s head. Trained as a brownfield remediation engineer, he decided to develop solar projects on otherwise unusable land. His company, Encore Renewable Energy, became a first-mover on brownfield solar development, boosted by federal incentives. Fast forward to today, and Farrell sees an even brighter future for brownfield solar project development due to another big chunk of federal help: the Inflation Reduction Act. On Episode 22 of the Factor This! podcast, Farrell shares how the IRA is impacting brownfield and energy community project bankability, and lays out the challenges that still remain. Episode 21: The climate law is having an impact on PPAs. What’s in store for 2023? Aired Oct. 17, 2022 The market for procuring clean energy is enduring one of the most tumultuous stretches in history. A global pandemic, trade disputes, and federal policy near-misses over the past two years contributed to fears that either side of a power purchase agreement was getting a raw deal. That volatility added pressure on developers, investors, and corporations pursuing net-zero goals. But historic incentives for clean energy baked into the Inflation Reduction Act have shifted the industry’s trajectory, backed by the certainty of 10-year tax credits. What impact is the IRA already having, and what’s in store for 2023? Gia Clark, senior director of developer services for LevelTen Energy, joins Episode 21 of the Factor This! podcast to provide a first look at her company’s Q3 PPA Price Index report and insights from their asset marketplace. Episode 20: Clean energy is popular but NIMBYism remains potent. What gives? Aired Oct. 10, 2022 Solar and wind enjoy broad public support, but the fight in Congress over the Inflation Reduction Act showed that the industry can be held hostage by a single vote, as proven by Sen. Joe Manchin’s nail-bite tactics. And for all the IRA promises to do to fuel clean energy deployment, the law doesn’t cure the industry’s persistent NIMBY problem. On Episode 20 of the Factor This! podcast, veteran clean tech communicator Mike Casey shares his vision for establishing long-term political power to prevent the next Manchin-like holdout. We’re also joined by SOLV Energy CEO George Herschman, whose company is developing the largest solar project in the US, to share strategies that clean energy developers can use to overcome NIMBY opposition. Episode 19: The race is on to meet demand with made-in-America solar modules Aired Oct. 3, 2022 In June, President Joe Biden announced a two-year pause on new tariffs on solar modules imported from Southeast Asia – much-needed relief for the industry that was brought to a standstill. Weeks later, though, the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act took effect and has resulted in the detention of modules believed to have been manufactured in the Xinjiang region of China using forced labor.Vulnerabilities in the solar supply chain have been magnified over the past year. With historic incentives for domestic solar production secured by the Inflation Reduction Act, can the US ramp up manufacturing capacity before new tariffs are potentially imposed as a result of the Auxin Solar petition? On Episode 19 of the Factor This! podcast, leaders from Cypress Creek Renewables, Lightsource bp, and Qcells took on this all-important question live from RE+ in Anaheim. Episode 18: Celebrating clean energy risk takers Aired Sep. 26, 2022 Before the Inflation Reduction Act, working and succeeding in clean energy came with quite a bit of risk. Now with historic legislation in place, it’s time to honor those risk takers for laying the groundwork for the new level of certainty not seen before in the industry. Tom Weirich, who leads marketing efforts in North America for EDP Renewables, chronicles the stories of those clean energy visionaries in his forthcoming book,We Took the Risk. Weirich joins Episode 18 of the Factor This! podcast to share some highlights from the book before it’s released on October 1. Episode 17: Solar’s report card is coming. And a reckoning could follow Aired Sep. 19. 2022 Over the past year, DroneBase, a company that conducts aerial assessments of utility-scale solar projects, drove up and down the western and eastern seaboards of North America to develop what it hopes will become a comprehensive database of every major solar project. A resource like this would give DroneBase the ability to rate developers, EPCs, and asset owners, as well as the manufacturers of modules, trackers, and inverters, based on performance. That report card could bring a new level of transparency, and a reckoning, to the solar industry. Mark Culpepper, the general manager of DroneBase’s solar division, joins Episode 17 of the Factor This!™ podcast to discuss the new platform and the implications for the industry. Episode 16: FERC Commissioner Allison Clements on record heat, resiliency, and smart grids Aired Sept. 12, 2022 As Labor Day weekend came to a close, a sense of dread settled in at the home of Allison Clements, who was appointed to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in 2020. On the cusp of entering fifth grade, Clements’ daughter was tasked with completing a homework assignment over the summer break. And of course, it wasn’t done. Upgrading the U.S. electric grid is akin to the nation’s own summer homework, Clements said on Episode 16 of the Factor This!. And Labor Day weekend has long since passed as an opportunity to complete catch-up work. Clements discussed record heat in the West, resiliency, and FERC’s effort to reform transmission planning and interconnection rules. Episode 15: Beware of the clean energy gold rush Aired Sep. 5, 2022 Factor This! recently featured Pine Gate Renewable CEO Ben Catt, a developer of utility-scale solar and storage projects, who discussed the impact of the Inflation Reduction Act on clean energy capital markets from the perspective of a project owner and developer. Now, in Episode 15, Factor This! flips the script with Leyline Renewable Capital’s CEO Erik Lensch, who shares how the legislation will impact the availability and deployment of capital for clean energy projects. Tune in for insights on changes to growth equity, tax equity, and project debt markets as the clean energy industry sprints to realize the benefits of the landmark law. Episode 14: Building the next-generation solar farm Aired Aug. 29, 2022 With the Inflation Reduction Act’s historic investments in clean energy and climate change in place, U.S. solar power development is expected to explode over the next decade. But meeting lofty decarbonization goals won’t be easy— siting challenges, interconnection delays, and supply chain constraints all stand in the way. In Episode 14 of the Factor This! podcast, Terabase co-founder and CEO Matt Campbell shares how his company is using software and automation to redefine how gigantic solar farms get built and are managed. Episode 13: Going beyond the PPA with Clearloop CEO Laura Zapata Aired Aug. 22, 2022 The power purchase agreement has done wonders for the deployment of clean energy. Corporations can offset their annual energy consumption with long-term offtake contracts for solar and wind farms. But what if that financial model doesn’t work for every business—especially smaller ones that still want to make an impact? And does traditional clean energy procurement offset as much carbon as possible? There’s a new player solar that thinks they can address both of those challenges. In Episode 12 of Factor This!, Laura Zapata explains the mission behind Clearloop. Episode 12: Green hydrogen: What’s next for the energy transition’s secret weapon? Aired Aug. 19, 2022 In this bonus episode of Factor This!™, we introduce you to the RENWABLE+ Series™from Renewable Energy World®. Don’t worry, we’ll get back to tackling solar’s biggest stories on Monday. In this +Series discussion, panelists from EDP Renewables, Generate Capital, and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory break down what’s next for green hydrogen— the energy transition’s secret weapon. Bryan Pivovar, Senior Research Fellow I-Materials Science, NREL Ana Quelhas, Managing Director for Hydrogen, EDP Renewables (EDPR) Brandon Moffatt, VP, Generate Capital While green hydrogen’s versatility offers potential answers to some of the energy transition’s most challenging questions, factors such as scale, scope, and affordability remain daunting challenges. Tune into Episode 12 of the Factor This!™ now and check out the RENEWABLE+ Series™ archive here as well as the other RENEWABLE+ Series™️ archives. Episode 11: Taking on solar’s recycling imperative Airing Aug. 15, 2022 Around 70% of solar systems in the U.S. are less than five years old, and with a lifespan of 30 years or more, recycling may not seem urgent. But multi-gigawatt demand for solar recycling awaits the industry in the decades to come. The International Renewable Energy Agency estimates global solar PV waste will reach 78 million tonnes by 2050—with those raw materials worth $15 billion. How do we scale solar recycling to meet the need, and who’s going to capture that market? On Episode 11 of the Factor This! podcast, Suvi Sharma – the solar veteran who co-founded Solaria and Nextracker – shares how his latest startup, SOLARCYCLE, is taking on solar’s recycling imperative. Episode 10: What’s going on in clean energy capital markets? (Pt. 1) Aired Aug. 8, 2022 Think back to June. President Biden had just paused new tariffs on solar modules imported from Southeast Asia—a lifeline for the solar industry after months of tumult caused by the Auxin Solar tariff petition. Shipments resumed. Projects restarted. Stability returned. Then came rising interest rates, record inflation, and recession anxiety, all complicating the buildout of clean energy infrastructure. In Episode 10 of the Factor This! podcast, Pine Gate Renewables CEO Ben Catt breaks down what’s going on in clean energy capital markets, fresh off raising $500 million for his utility-scale solar and storage development company. Plus, Catt shares how clean energy business models are evolving. Episode 9: Breaking down FERC’s interconnection reform plan Aired Aug. 1, 2022 In June, FERC laid out a set of proposed rules to address possibly the biggest threat facing clean energy deployment goals in the US: interconnection delays. The notice of proposed rulemaking (NOPR) identified ways to tackle widespread challenges that have led to years-long interconnection request backlogs across the country. Jeff Dennis, managing director for the advocacy group Advanced Energy Economy, and a former FERC policy staffer, joins Episode 9 of Factor This! to break down what’s in the FERC interconnection NOPR and what comes next. Episode 8: Manchin makes a deal Aired July 28, 2022 (bonus episode) In a shocking turn of events late on the afternoon of July 27th, Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia announced that he had reached a deal with Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on a budget reconciliation package that includes $369 billion. Jose Zayas, EVP of Policy and Programs, American Council on Renewable Energy, joined Episode 8 of the Factor This! podcast for a rapid reaction to the reconciliation news. Episode 7: Why ‘Made in America’ matters Aired July 18, 2022 A global energy crisis, trade disputes, and shipping constraints have magnified the importance of secure supply chains. Maybe no industry has been more exposed to those headwinds over the past two years than solar. Even before the Auxin Solar tariff petition threatened the U.S. solar industry’s survival, Nextracker founder and CEO Dan Shugar bet that ‘Made in America’ would soon matter more than ever. Over the past four months, Nextracker, a leading manufacturer of trackers for utility-scale solar projects, has opened three steel production facilities in the U.S. in pursuit of ramping up 10 GW of domestic capacity. In Episode 7 of the Factor This! podcast, Shugar explains the decision and predicts how the U.S. solar supply chain will continue to evolve. Plus, he gives a sneak peek at Nextracker’s next manufacturing announcement. Episode 6: California NEM 3.0: Rooftop solar’s biggest fight is back on Aired July 1, 2022 In Episode 6 of the Factor This! podcast, rooftop solar’s biggest fight — California’s net energy metering reform process — is back on. The California Public Utilities Commission has reopened the docket for NEM 3.0, which rooftop solar advocates warn could have a devastating impact on the industry nationwide. Vote Solar’s new executive director, Sachu Constantine, takes Factor This! to the front lines of the policy fight and shares how he plans to move one of the leading solar advocacy groups to its next chapter. Episode 5 will air on July 1 ahead of the holiday weekend. Episode 6’s show notes and transcript are available here. Special Edition: Shaping the grid of the future Aired June 27, 2022 How to manage and monetize distributed energy resources is one of the most rapidly changing pieces of the energy transition. Every few weeks it seems a new software startup has raised tens (sometimes, hundreds) of millions of dollars in pursuit of those challenges. Meanwhile, utilities are watching the electricity distribution model that has stood up for a hundred years get turned on its head. In a special edition of Factor This!, Episode 5 is live from DISTRIBUTECH and POWERGEN International in Dallas last May, hear from Jim Walsh, who leads GE Digital’s grid software business, about the enabling forces behind the energy transition. Episode 5’s show notes and transcript are available here. Episode 4: A lifeline from Biden (Pt. 4 of the Auxin Solar series) Aired: June 20, 2022 President Joe Biden has paused for two years any new tariffs on solar modules imported from four Southeast Asian countries that are the subject of a federal trade investigation and issued a wartime emergency declaration to boost domestic manufacturing of solar modules. Experts say it could take about two years to ramp up a domestic solar supply chain that can meet U.S. demand. Will the industry seize the moment? On top of building out domestic manufacturing, how can the industry make sure a trade petition like Auxin Solar’s doesn’t bring the entire industry to its knees again? Solar Energy Industries Association CEO Abigail Ross Hopper answers those questions and tells us what finally led the Biden administration to step in on the trade case in Episode 4 of Factor This!, the final installment in the Auxin Solar series. Plus, Intersect Power CEO Sheldon Kimber, formerly of Recurrent Energy, breaks down the path forward for the solar industry. Episode 4’s show notes and transcript are available here. Episode 3: Supply chain sacrifice (Pt. 3 of the Auxin Solar series) Aired: June 6, 2022 In Episode 3 of the Factor This! podcast, Rhone Resch, the CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association from 2004-16, looks back at solar’s “boom” and his regret as the former head of the industry’s leading trade group of not prioritizing domestic solar manufacturing. He explains why now is the time to invest in a domestic supply chain. Plus, Martin Pochtaruk, CEO of North American solar manufacturer Heliene, joins the podcast to talk about the Solar Energy Manufacturing for America Act and how proposed incentives for domestic manufacturing would impact production in the U.S. Finally, Michael Parr, executive director of the Ultra Low Carbon Solar Alliance discusses how focusing on solar’s carbon footprint could spur domestic manufacturing. Episode 3’s show notes and transcript are available here. Episode 2: Solar’s political risk (Pt. 2 of the Auxin Solar series) Aired: May 22, 2022 In Episode 2 of the Factor This! podcast, Lightsource bp Americas CEO Kevin Smith describes how one of the world’s largest solar developers is approaching the Auxin Solar tariff petition and the threat of additional tariffs on imported modules. Smith is interviewed from London as he prepared to meet with company executives about the political risk materializing in the U.S. solar market due to the petition. Also in this episode, American Clean Power Association CEO Heather Zichal, a former Obama administration climate and energy official, explains why she is taking the lead in a multi-million-dollar campaign to oppose the Biden Administration on tariffs. She knows President Joe Biden well but isn’t holding back in her criticism of the Biden administration’s investigation. Episode 2’s show notes and transcript are available here. Episode 1: Who is Auxin Solar? (Pt. 1 of the Auxin Solar series) Aired May 9, 2022 The first episode of the Factor This! podcast includes an exclusive interview with Auxin Solar CEO Mamun Rashid, who gives his first extensive interview since filing the tariff petition that has rocked the solar industry. Rashid laid out his reasons for filing the petition and why his company could end up closing as a result of taking on this fight. And, for the first time, he addresses allegations that Auxin is a front for a larger tariff campaign. Episode 1’s show notes and transcript are available here. Related Posts Texas grid survives, thwarting NIMBYs, and companies turn to ‘greenhushing’ — This Week in Cleantech We need a lot more transmission. Here’s why it isn’t getting built How utilities get their way, renewables impact home values, and China’s clean energy dominance — This Week in Cleantech A conversation with solar’s oracle, Jenny Chase
