Technology

Clean Power Hour

The Clean Power Hour podcast is speeding the clean energy transition. Tim Montague and John Weaver highlight clean energy innovations shaping the next generation of renewable energy sources. We discuss the latest solar PV, battery storage, wind, water, wave, and other low-carbon technologies. We answer the question: How can we decarbonize the economy? We promote the economic opportunity of electrifying everything – transportation, energy, industry, and the built environment. Let’s speed up the clean energy transition together. Join the movement – www.CleanPowerHour.com

Latest Episodes:

Organic Flow Batteries with Nate Kirchhofer, CEO of BioZen Batteries EP 133 Mar 14, 2023

Show notes

Welcome to the Clean Power Hour! On today’s show, we are joined by Nate Kirchhofer, CEO of BioZen Batteries a company that makes Bio-inspired batteries for a green energy grid.

Nate Kirchhofer completed his PhD in 2016 the Materials Department at UC Santa Barbara with a focus in Physical Electrochemistry, tailoring biologically-inspired electronic reactions towards sustainable energy conversion technologies. Prior to that, he studied Physics and Mathematics at the University of Colorado (2008) and worked at the biofuels startup OPXBIO. Nate then joined Oxford Instruments Asylum Research to develop, produce, and sell advanced nano-electrochemical scanning probe microscopy techniques. Now, he is pursuing truly-sustainable, bio-inspired large-scale long-duration energy storage with BioZen Batteries.

Today Nate joins Tim Montague to discuss the energy storage landscape, why Nate thinks there is space for Organic Flow Battery, the difference between the BioZen Organic Flow Battery and Vanadium Flow Batteries, how BioZen Batteries are produced and work, the BioZen technology and their path to commercialization, Nate’s vision for the energy storage, how you can be part of the BioZen Batteries process and much more.

Key Takeaways

How Nate got interested in Energy Storage?
What the Energy Storage Industry looks like?
Why Nate thinks there is room for Organic Flow Battery?
The difference between Organic Flow Battery and Vanadium Flow Battery
The production process for the BioZen batteries
The path for Commercialization for BioZen Batteries
Nate’s vision for the Energy Storage Landscape
How to be part of the BioZen Batteries process

BioZen Batteries

Connect with Nate Kirchhofer

Follow BioZen Battery on LinkedIn

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The Clean Power Hour is produced by the Clean Power Consulting Group and created by Tim Montague. Contact us by email: CleanPowerHour@gmail.com

Corporate sponsors who share our mission to speed the energy transition are invited to check out https://www.cleanpowerhour.com/support/
The Clean Power Hour is brought to you by CPS America, maker of North America’s number one 3-phase string inverter, with over 6GW shipped in the US. With a focus on commercial and utility-scale solar and energy storage, the company partners with customers to provide unparalleled performance and service. The CPS America product lineup includes 3-phase string inverters from 25kW to 275kW, exceptional data communication and controls, and energy storage solutions designed for seamless integration with CPS America systems. Learn more at www.chintpowersystems.com

Clean Power Hour LIVE March 9, 2023 Mar 10, 2023

Show notes

🔥Stay up to date with the latest in solar, wind, and energy storage news with Tim Montague and John Weaver (Commercial Solar Guy)! 🤩 We break down the tools, technologies, and trends that are speeding the energy transition. Tune in LIVE on Thursdays at 12 noon EST/ 9 AM Pacific/ 11 Central/ 10 Mountain and give us a rating and review on Apple or Spotify. 📝 Don't forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel too! If you have any questions or feedback, reach out to us at tim@cleanpowerhour.com or visit our website www.cleanpowerhour.com.🔌 🔋 💡
This week John Weaver and I discuss,
1. Meyer Burger is shifting to glass modules - and it's cool because these modules will be 90% of the original output in fifty years
2. Recap of the RE+ Event
3. Agrivoltaics Discussion and shoutout to Spade/Alexis Pascaris
4. Faux paux of the week - placing construction gear on top of a solar panel setup on a roof
5. Four large powerlines moving forward in the USA worth $13 billion in total
6. A Tesla Semi delivering potato chips on the highway
7. 100% wind-powered mine in Australia
8. 100 LG batteries stolen from California BESS project while awaiting recycling
9. Analysis of the UK carbon Emissions Report
Subscribe: https://bit.ly/cph-sub
The podcast is available on YouTube and audio platforms like Spotify, Apple, Google, and Amazon. We bring you interviews with cleantech entrepreneurs, investors, manufacturers, and energy professionals weekly.
What technologies are trending?
Why are we excited about agrivoltaics or dual-use solar?
What are the challenges and opportunities for renewable energy, electrification of transportation, and decarbonizing the economy?
Listen, like, comment, and share! Get all our content at www.CleanPowerHour.com and reach out to Tim Montague @tgmontague on Twitter or Gmail.
Subscribe: https://bit.ly/cph-sub
The podcast is available on YouTube and audio platforms like Spotify, Apple, Google, and Amazon. We bring you interviews with cleantech entrepreneurs, investors, manufacturers, and energy professionals weekly.
What technologies are trending?
Why are we excited about agrivoltaics or dual-use solar?
What are the challenges and opportunities for renewable energy, electrification of transportation, and decarbonizing the economy?
Listen, like, comment, and share! Get all our content at www.CleanPowerHour.com and reach out to Tim Montague @tgmontague on Twitter or Gmail.

Support the show

Connect with Tim

Clean Power Hour
Clean Power Hour on YouTube
Tim on Twitter
Tim on LinkedIn

Email tim@cleanpowerhour.com

Review Clean Power Hour on Apple Podcasts
The Clean Power Hour is produced by the Clean Power Consulting Group and created by Tim Montague. Contact us by email: CleanPowerHour@gmail.com

Community Solar in California and Beyond with Kelly Roache of Renewable Properties EP 132 Mar 07, 2023

Show notes

Welcome to the Clean Power Hour! On today’s show, we are joined by Kelly Roache, Director of Policy & Community Solar at Renewable Properties. Renewable Properties is a team of solar project developers working on community solar and utility-scale solar development in the 1-20 megawatt range.

Kelly Roache is the Director of Policy & Community Solar for Renewable Properties. Kelly’s responsibilities include identifying, monitoring, and entering key energy markets across the US, as well as, executing and managing Renewable Properties’ community solar strategy.

Kelly has been in the renewable energy space for seven years and joined Renewable Properties in 2021. Prior to joining the team, she worked as the Director of Inclusion for Solstice Initiative where she led policy efforts, financial innovation, and pilot projects to increase low-to-moderate income access to community solar, in collaboration with solar developer, finance, governmental, utility, and community partners.

Kelly also worked as a Research and Communications Specialist for the Energy and Policy Institute where she exposed attacks on renewable energy and countered misinformation by fossil fuel and utility interests. She earned both her Bachelor of Arts cum laude and Master in Public Affairs from Princeton University’s School of Public and International Affairs.

Today Kelly joins Tim Montague to talk about her extensive background in Clean Energy, her responsibilities at Renewable Properties, why California has struggled with Community Solar, the story around AB 2316 the new California Solar Bill, the future of community solar and how it can be improved upon and much more.

Key Takeaways

Kelly Roache’s background in Clean Energy, position and role at Renewable Properties
Why California has struggled with Community Solar
The AB 2316 California Solar Bill
Importance of storage when it comes to community solar and solar in general
What makes the New York solar market different from other markets in the US
The future of community solar and how can it be improved upon

Renewable Properties
Follow Renewable Properties on LinkedIn
Connect with Kelly Roache

Support the show

Connect with Tim

Clean Power Hour
Clean Power Hour on YouTube
Tim on Twitter
Tim on LinkedIn

Email tim@cleanpowerhour.com

Review Clean Power Hour on Apple Podcasts
The Clean Power Hour is produced by the Clean Power Consulting Group and created by Tim Montague. Contact us by email: CleanPowerHour@gmail.com

Clean Power Hour LIVE | March 2, 2023 | Speeding the Energy Transition Mar 03, 2023

Show notes

🔥Stay up to date with the latest in solar, wind, and energy storage news with Tim Montague and John Weaver (Commercial Solar Guy)! 🤩 We break down the tools, technologies, and trends that are speeding the energy transition. Tune in LIVE on Thursdays at 12 noon EST/ 9 AM Pacific/ 11 Central/ 10 Mountain and give us a rating and review on Apple or Spotify. 📝 Don't forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel too! If you have any questions or feedback, reach out to us at tim@cleanpowerhour.com or visit our website www.cleanpowerhour.com.🔌 🔋 💡
This week John Weaver and I discuss,
1. How Much Land Would it Require to Get Most of Our Electricity from Wind and Solar?
2. Solar developers getting involved in solar panel factories
3. Clean Energy production distribution in 2022
4. Distributed ownership for distributed manufacturing - Germans seeking to own a solar panel manufacturing factory
5. Ford gets an order - USPS to purchase 9,000 electric vehicles and install 14,000 charging stations
6. World first! Charging a Chevy Bolt EV on a Tesla Supercharger using Magic Dock
7. CATL starts a battery price war - lithium pricing has been falling recently, way off the peak
8. California seeking 85 GW of generation resources by 2035
Subscribe: https://bit.ly/cph-sub
The podcast is available on YouTube and audio platforms like Spotify, Apple, Google, and Amazon. We bring you interviews with cleantech entrepreneurs, investors, manufacturers, and energy professionals weekly.
What technologies are trending?
Why are we excited about agrivoltaics or dual-use solar?
What are the challenges and opportunities for renewable energy, electrification of transportation, and decarbonizing the economy?
Listen, like, comment, and share! Get all our content at www.CleanPowerHour.com and reach out to Tim Montague @tgmontague on Twitter or Gmail.
Subscribe: https://bit.ly/cph-sub
The podcast is available on YouTube and audio platforms like Spotify, Apple, Google, and Amazon. We bring you interviews with cleantech entrepreneurs, investors, manufacturers, and energy professionals weekly.
What technologies are trending?
Why are we excited about agrivoltaics or dual-use solar?
What are the challenges and opportunities for renewable energy, electrification of transportation, and decarbonizing the economy?
Listen, like, comment, and share! Get all our content at www.CleanPowerHour.com and reach out to Tim Montague @tgmontague on Twitter or Gmail.

Support the show

Connect with Tim

Clean Power Hour
Clean Power Hour on YouTube
Tim on Twitter
Tim on LinkedIn

Email tim@cleanpowerhour.com

Review Clean Power Hour on Apple Podcasts
The Clean Power Hour is produced by the Clean Power Consulting Group and created by Tim Montague. Contact us by email: CleanPowerHour@gmail.com

The Next Generation of Energy Professionals with Michael Wood, Duke University Student and Cleantech Podcaster EP131 Feb 28, 2023

Show notes

Welcome to the Clean Power Hour! On today’s show, we are joined by fellow energy podcaster Michael Wood III, a Duke University Student and host of the Energy-Terminal podcast. The Energy-Terminal podcast is a media platform with a mission to build the next generation of energy leaders and to catalyze youth involvement in energy.

Michael Wood III launched his podcast in January of 2022 and in December 2022 he won Duke’s Clean Energy Prize for his efforts to build the next generation of leaders to advance the energy transition. The Energy Terminal podcast, which has published over 20 episodes to date, features Duke students’ conversations with energy experts who reflect on their career pathways and share advice. The students also publish a weekly newsletter, weekly reading lists, regular social media posts on hot energy topics, and blog posts with students’ insights on the energy transition.

Michael Wood III is a senior engineering student at Duke University studying Mechanical Engineering with certificates in Energy and Innovation & Entrepreneurship. He has previously worked for two energy startups in Texas and interned with bp’s Innovation & Engineering group in the Summer of 2022.

Today Michael joins Tim Montague to talk about why and how he got interested in energy, and how to convince people to make the energy transition faster. We discuss how young people think about climate change and the energy transition, the Energy Terminal podcast performance, guests' and audience reactions to the content, and much more.

Key Takeaways

Why and how Michael got interested in Energy?
Ways people can be convinced to make the energy transition faster.
What are the thoughts of young people about Climate Change and the energy transition?
The Energy Terminal podcast, guests, audience reaction to the content, and what the future holds for the show
How Michael convinces people about the energy transition?
What the Emerging Leaders Program is and who is eligible to apply
The challenges young people face when trying to join the clean energy industry

Energy Terminal
The Energy Terminal Podcast
Follow the Energy Terminal on LinkedIn
Connect with Michael Wood

Support the show

Connect with Tim

Clean Power Hour
Clean Power Hour on YouTube
Tim on Twitter
Tim on LinkedIn

Email tim@cleanpowerhour.com

Review Clean Power Hour on Apple Podcasts
The Clean Power Hour is produced by the Clean Power Consulting Group and created by Tim Montague. Contact us by email: CleanPowerHour@gmail.com

Clean Power Hour LIVE Thur Feb 23, 2023 Feb 24, 2023

Show notes

All RE+ Events: https://re-plus.events/

Feb 2023 - RE+ Northeast (Boston)

March 13-15, 2023 - Solar Farm Summit - North America’s Agrivoltaics Expo (Chicago, IL)

March 28-29, 2023 - RE+ Northern California (CA)

April 5-6 2023 - RE+ Texas (TX)

May 1-3, 2023 - Midwest Solar Expo 2023 (Chicago, IL)

May 17-18, 2023 - RE+ Southeast

June 26-2, 2023 - RE+ Mid-Atlantic (Philadelphia, PA)

Sept 11-14, 2023 - RE+ (SPI) Las Vegas, NV

Oct 18-19, 2023 - RE+ Florida

Nov 14-15, 2023 - RE+ Midwest, Chicago IL

This week John Weaver and I discuss,
1. An activist group spreading misinformation to stop solar projects in rural America.
2. A solar power “peaking facility” that starts construction - “137 MW of solar, coupled with 150 MW/600 MWh of battery energy storage”
3. New wind and solar energy that is cheaper than 99 percent of coal power plants
4. EVs hit 18 percent in CA - The Gregor Letter
5. Total EV sales break $1T total - almost 50% of that was in 2022
6. World’s largest used EV battery power facility in California

Support the show

Connect with Tim

Clean Power Hour
Clean Power Hour on YouTube
Tim on Twitter
Tim on LinkedIn

Email tim@cleanpowerhour.com

Review Clean Power Hour on Apple Podcasts
The Clean Power Hour is produced by the Clean Power Consulting Group and created by Tim Montague. Contact us by email: CleanPowerHour@gmail.com

Clean Battery Manufacturing with Tom Jensen, CEO of Freyr Battery EP 130 Feb 21, 2023

Show notes

Welcome to the Clean Power Hour! On today’s show, we are joined by Tom Jensen, CEO Freyr Battery, a company offering a clean Nordic solution to the rapidly growing global demand for high-density and cost-competitive battery cells for stationary energy storage (ESS), electric mobility, and marine applications.

Mr. Jensen has been in the sustainability space for over 15 years working on scaling disruptive technology with a core focus on renewable energy. He currently serves as Chief Executive Officer of FREYR. But prior to and concurrently with FREYR, Mr. Jensen served as the Co-Founder and Partner of EDGE Global LLC and most recently as Partner and Senior Advisor at SYSTEMIQ Ltd.

In 2017, a friend introduced the idea of establishing Gigafactories of battery cell manufacturing in Norway and that is how he started the journey to where he is now. Today Mr. Jensen joins Tim Montague to talk about his journey to clean and cost-competitive battery production, Freyr’s business model, their collaboration with 24M, who their target customers are, and much more.

Key Takeaways

Mr. Jensen’s journey in the solar industry
Freyr’s journey to producing clean and cost-competitive battery
Freyr’s business model
Freyr’s collaboration with 24M technologies
Their plans to build a gigafactory in Georgia in the southeastern US.

Freyr

Connect with Jensen

Follow Freyr on LinkedIn

Support the show

Connect with Tim

Clean Power Hour
Clean Power Hour on YouTube
Tim on Twitter
Tim on LinkedIn

Email tim@cleanpowerhour.com

Review Clean Power Hour on Apple Podcasts
The Clean Power Hour is produced by the Clean Power Consulting Group and created by Tim Montague. Contact us by email: CleanPowerHour@gmail.com

Renewable Energy as Real Estate with Joe Tassone Jr., Founder of onCORE Origination; Ep129 Feb 14, 2023

Show notes

Welcome to the Clean Power Hour! On today’s show, we are joined by Joe Tassone Jr. founder of onCORE Origination, a leading renewable energy origination team dedicated to identifying and procuring strategic locations for various types of renewable energy and battery storage projects.

Joe Tassone has over 20 years of experience directly developing more than 5,000 projects across the telecom and renewable energy industries. Prior to starting onCORE, he was the CEO of HPCW LLC, a highly specialized wireless and infrastructure consulting firm and in 2019 he co-founded ABOVEgrid.

Today he joins Tim Montague on the Clean Power Hour to discuss how the solar industry is maturing and things developers can do to be more successful. It's good for everyone involved when developers become more methodical and sophisticated about stakeholder relations. Joe highlights his vast experience in real estate and solar, how electrification of transportation and batteries are changing the grid, and handling NIMBYism.

Key Takeaways

How Joe got into Solar and Real Estate
The difference between his two companies, onCORE and ABOVEgrid
His thoughts on the solar maturation
Thoughts on NIMBYism and opportunities for developers.
What makes onCORE unique from the competition

Connect with Joe Tassone

Support the show

Connect with Tim

Clean Power Hour
Clean Power Hour on YouTube
Tim on Twitter
Tim on LinkedIn

Email tim@cleanpowerhour.com

Review Clean Power Hour on Apple Podcasts
The Clean Power Hour is produced by the Clean Power Consulting Group and created by Tim Montague. Contact us by email: CleanPowerHour@gmail.com

Clean Power Hour LIVE w/ Guest Co-Host Julia Pyper, GoodLeap | Feb 8, 2023 Feb 09, 2023

Show notes

Julia Pyper of GoodLeap joins me as guest co-host Wed Feb. 8, 2023, Noon Pacific (1 Mountain, 2 Central, 3 Eastern) for a Residential Solar Update and Clean Energy News Roundup. We ask: What does the #InflationReductionAct mean for American households? What does NEM3 mean for CA solar? What can America expect from the residential solar market in 2023 and beyond?!
🔥Stay up to date with the latest in solar, wind, and energy storage news with Tim Montague and guest co-host Julia Pyper🤩 We break down the tools, technologies, and trends that are speeding the energy transition. Listen to all of our content at www.CleanPowerHour.com; give us a rating and review on Apple or Spotify. 📝 Don't forget to subscribe to our Youtube channel too! If you have any questions or feedback, reach out to us at tim@cleanpowerhour.com or visit our website www.cleanpowerhour.com.🔌 🔋 💡

Support the show

Connect with Tim

Clean Power Hour
Clean Power Hour on YouTube
Tim on Twitter
Tim on LinkedIn

Email tim@cleanpowerhour.com

Review Clean Power Hour on Apple Podcasts
The Clean Power Hour is produced by the Clean Power Consulting Group and created by Tim Montague. Contact us by email: CleanPowerHour@gmail.com

“Old White Men Are Sacrificing the Future of Young People” by Peter Montague; EP128 Feb 07, 2023

Show notes

Welcome to the Clean Power Hour! On today’s show, Tim Montague will be reading an article by our special guest Peter Montague. Peter Montague is an author, historian, activist, journalist, and expert on environmental health. He is the author of two books: Mercury and No World Without End and has written over 1, 000 articles on the subject of climate change, environmental health, and democracy.

On today’s show we read the article, Old White Men Are Sacrificing the Future of Young People. It tells how the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) contains a poison pill that incentivizes oil companies to pump hard to get oil using enhanced oil recovery with CO2. Tune in to hear this insightful article from an environmental health expert and an activist who cares deeply about the future of our planet and the young people who will shape it.

Peter Montague on Medium

Peter Montague Article

Fifty Years of Lies and Deception by Big Oil Document

Committee on Oversight and Reform, Dec. 9, 2022.

Inside Climate News, 2015.

“Advocating inaction: a historical analysis of the Global Climate Coalition.”

Committee on Oversight and Reform, Dec. 9, 2022 investigation report.

Committee on Oversight and Reform, Dec. 9, 2022, Committee Releases

House Natural Resources Committee Staff Hearing Report

The Petroleum Papers;

The Climate Deception Dossiers;

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The Clean Power Hour is produced by the Clean Power Consulting Group and created by Tim Montague. Contact us by email: CleanPowerHour@gmail.com

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