Factor This

Tell us what you think of the show! This Week in Cleantech is a weekly podcast covering the most impactful stories in clean energy and climate in 15 minutes or less featuring Paul Gerke of Factor This and Tigercomm’s Mike Casey. It recently ranked 13th on Feedspot’s 50 Best Solar Energy Podcasts and cracked the top-25 in its 80 Best Energy Transition Podcasts.This week’s episode features special guest Camila Domonoske from NPR, who wrote about how Ford plans to retool an assembly plant to build a more affordable midsize electric pickup truck.This week's "Cleantecher of the Week" is Saad Dara, CEO of Mangrove Lithium. Last week he hosted British Columbia Premier David Eby and several Canadian officials visited their groundbreaking new plant, which will be the first electrochemical refining facility in North America. This Week in Cleantech — August 15, 2025 Suddenly, the Trump Administration Tightens the Vise on Wind Farms – The New York TimesPlastic Waste Is Piling Up, but Alternative Materials Struggle to Get Off the Ground – The Wall Street JournalU.S. Clean Tech Leadership at Risk Due to Trump Policies, Investors Warn – NewsweekThe lessons of Europe’s upside-down power market – Financial TimesFord says it will roll out a cheaper electric pickup truck – NPRWant to make a suggestion for This Week in Cleantech? Nominate the stories that caught your eye each week by emailing Paul.Gerke@clarionevents.com

Ed Baptista, Ethan Winter, and Jesse Robertson-Dubois join the discussion on agrivoltaics, where farming meets solar energy to boost productivity and preserve land. They explore the collaborative potential between farmers and solar developers, emphasizing community engagement and trust. The conversation highlights innovative practices, such as grazing sheep on solar farms, creating win-win scenarios for landowners. Financial insights reveal how solar leases can provide new income streams for farmers while addressing food demands and farmland conservation.

Tell us what you think of the show! This Week in Cleantech is a weekly podcast covering the most impactful stories in clean energy and climate in 15 minutes or less featuring Paul Gerke of Factor This and Tigercomm’s Mike Casey.This week’s episode features special guest Dan Gearino from Inside Climate News, who wrote about how an Ohio utility has won a fight over who foots the costs of grid infrastructure upgrades from the buildout of data centers.This week's "Cleantecher of the Week" is Russ Bates, Founder of NXTGEN Energy Solutions. Russ was asked to testify as an expert witness before the Georgia Public Service Commission. Georgia Power Company imposes size limits on solar-plus-storage and provides little meaningful access to community solar. Russ explained how these concerns are already addressed by inverter technology, export-limiting capabilities, and Georgia’s own interconnection review process. Now, the Commission has expanded access to clean energy across churches, schools and the like. They also put community solar on a clear path forward. This Week in Cleantech — July 25, 2025 Trump administration taking new steps to block wind and solar projects, undisclosed memo says — POLITICOWith One Call, Trump Alters the Fate of a Contested Power Project — The New York TimesWall St. Firms Are Buying Utilities to Tap Into the A.I. Boom — The New York TimesLobbyists spent millions to save green energy. Wins were few. — E&E NewsConsumers (and a Utility) Get a Win in Ohio, While Data Centers Take the Loss — Inside Climate NewsWant to make a suggestion for This Week in Cleantech? Nominate the stories that caught your eye each week by emailing Paul.Gerke@clarionevents.com

Tell us what you think of the show! In the shadow of the ongoing federal dismantling of renewable energy policy, a growing number of states are exploring the benefits of community solar. On this episode of the Factor This podcast, Jorge Vargas, the co-founder and CEO of distributed generation platform Aspen Power, rallies behind his industry at a critical moment, detailing the importance of such projects amid unprecedented electric load growth.Want to make a suggestion for This Week in Cleantech? Nominate the stories that caught your eye each week by emailing Paul.Gerke@clarionevents.com

Tell us what you think of the show! This Week in Cleantech is a weekly podcast covering the most impactful stories in clean energy and climate in 15 minutes or less featuring Paul Gerke of Factor This and Tigercomm’s Mike Casey.This week’s episode features special guest Sam Black, a filmmaker and journalist for More Perfect Union, who began investigating the early impacts of political uncertainty on clean energy sectors following Donald Trump's re-election. This week's "Cleantecher of the Week" is Kevin Doffing, from Project Vanguard, who just shared a post on solar and farmland. He cites the 100 acres of land for ethanol = 1 acre of land for solar stat, then asks the questions: Do we want to keep burning food for fuel? Or use a fraction of that land to power our homes, cars, and grid? This Week in Cleantech — July 18, 2025Why Americans Can’t Buy the World’s Best Electric Car — The New York TimesSupercharging Solar With Quantum Dots — The Wall Street JournalDems couldn’t save Biden’s energy programs — so they’ll try to make them a weapon against the GOP — POLITICO4.6 Billion Years On, the Sun Is Having a Moment — The New YorkerHe Voted For Trump. It Cost Him His Job – More Perfect UnionWant to make a suggestion for This Week in Cleantech? Nominate the stories that caught your eye each week by emailing Paul.Gerke@clarionevents.com

Tell us what you think of the show! This Week in Cleantech is a weekly podcast covering the most impactful stories in clean energy and climate in 15 minutes or less featuring Paul Gerke of Factor This and Tigercomm’s Mike Casey.This week’s episode features special guest Mark Gongloff from Bloomberg, who wrote about how Senate Republicans are proposing nearly $18 billion in new subsidies for fossil-fuel companies over the next decade.This week's "Cleantecher of the Week" is Mark Jacobs, co-founder of EVmath. Mark led marketing for the DOE-funded EMPOWER Project which helps workplaces install EV chargers for their employees. This Week in Cleantech — July 11, 2025 Trump’s crackdown on renewable energy has just begun — The Washington PostThe Permitting Crisis for Renewables — Heatmap NewsHow the Trump tax bill could help China win at A.I. — The Washington PostAmerica invents. Others deploy. — Latitude MediaThe GOP Wants to Give Big Oil a Handout It Doesn’t Need — BloombergWant to make a suggestion for This Week in Cleantech? Nominate the stories that caught your eye each week by emailing Paul.Gerke@clarionevents.com

Tell us what you think of the show! This Week in Cleantech is a weekly podcast covering the most impactful stories in clean energy and climate in 15 minutes or less featuring Paul Gerke of Factor This and Tigercomm’s Mike Casey.This week’s episode features special guest Maeve Allsup from Latitude Media, who wrote about how a a new startup allowed an Oracle data center using Nvidia GPUs to cut its power consumption 25% during hours of peak grid demand without sacrificing performance.This week's "Cleantecher of the Week" is JoeBen Bevirt, founder of Joby Aviation, a company developing electric air taxis for commercial passenger service. This week, its electric air taxi completed a series of piloted, vertical-takeoff-and-landing wingborne flights in Dubai. Congratulations, JoeBen! This Week in Cleantech — July 07, 2025 Ford Forced to Idle Multiple US Plants on China Magnet Shortage – BloombergChina's Clean Energy Boom Could Win the Race to Power the Future – New York TimesClimate threat to U.S. infrastructure is accelerating. Here's what's most at risk – CNBCRed States–And AI–Are Big Losers From Trump’s Clean Energy Massacre – ForbesNvidia and Oracle tapped this startup to flex a Phoenix data center – Latitude MediaWant to make a suggestion for This Week in Cleantech? Nominate the stories that caught your eye each week by emailing Paul.Gerke@clarionevents.com

Tell us what you think of the show! This Week in Cleantech is a weekly podcast covering the most impactful stories in clean energy and climate in 15 minutes or less featuring Paul Gerke of Factor This and Tigercomm’s Mike Casey.This week’s episode features special guest Michael Grunwald from the Atlantic, who wrote aobut how we won’t meet climate goals without fixing our food system.This week's "Cleantecher of the Week" is Kakani Katija, creator of the gaming app FathomVerse. This summer, Katija’s team plans to test an AI underwater robot that will search for specific marine species and collect data. The goal is to deploy a fleet of underwater AI-enabled drones constantly monitoring marine animals to gain insight into the ocean’s impact on global climate.This Week in Cleantech — June 27, 2025 The U.S. Gave Up Its Lead in Clean Energy Sectors Before. It Might Be Doing It Again. — The Wall Street JournalBlackouts, Brownouts, and Freaked-Out Grid Operators: The Summer of Load Has Arrived — Heatmap News‘Throwing us off a cliff’: Megabill could derail hundreds of planned clean energy projects — POLITICONew York to Build One of First U.S. Nuclear-Power Plants in Generation — The Wall Street JournalHumanity Can Quit Fossil Fuels—But Not Food — The AtlanticWant to make a suggestion for This Week in Cleantech? Nominate the stories that caught your eye each week by emailing Paul.Gerke@clarionevents.com

Laura Fischer and Andrea Staid from EPRI’s Energy Systems and Climate Analysis Group discuss the Climate READi initiative, which aims to bolster the power sector's resilience against climate risks. They highlight the collaborative efforts of over 40 utilities and various organizations in creating standardized guidance. The duo dives into the complexities of climate impacts on utility infrastructure and the need for improved data practices. They also emphasize the importance of workforce knowledge transfer and making climate data publicly accessible to enhance collaboration.

Tell us what you think of the show! This Week in Cleantech is a weekly podcast covering the most impactful stories in clean energy and climate in 15 minutes or less featuring Paul Gerke of Factor This and Tigercomm’s Mike Casey.This week’s episode features special guest Scott Waldman from E&E News, who wrote about how the Trump administration is "crippling" the government’s ability to research global warming.This week's "Cleantechers of the Week" are the slain and wounded MN legislators, Rep. Melissa Hortman and Sen. John Hoffman. Rep. Hortman was the key legislative leader who shepherded Minnesota’s landmark climate and clean energy bill in 2023. With the passage of that legislation, Minnesota became the 22nd state in the nation to commit to 100% carbon-free electricity, requiring the state’s investor-owned utilities to be fully carbon-free by 2040.This Week in Cleantech — June 23, 2025The winners and losers of the Senate's take on the 'One Big Beautiful Bill' – Factor This!The U.S. invested in EV battery plants. Now they may be stranded – The Washington PostEnergy Abundance Won’t Fix Electricity Bills – The AtlanticWhat a pioneering project means for ocean carbon removal – TrellisHow Trump’s assault on science is blinding America to climate change – E&E NewsWant to make a suggestion for This Week in Cleantech? Nominate the stories that caught your eye each week by emailing Paul.Gerke@clarionevents.com