Technology

Factor This

Launched in 2022, the Factor This Podcast has featured many of the most influential leaders driving the energy transition. From solar and battery storage executives to utility CEOs, the Factor This Podcast brings unique insights and answers to the energy industry’s most pressing challenges. Go beyond high-level trends and mainstream talking points with actionable takeaways.

The Factor This Podcast grew in 2023 with the addition of This Week in Cleantech, a weekly roundup of the biggest stories in climate and clean energy in 15 minutes or less. With new episodes every Friday, Factor This content director Paul Gerke and Mike Casey, a cleantech commentator and president of Tigercomm, bring listeners the most important headlines of the week while featuring the leading journalists behind the stories.

The all-new FactorThis.com is your best source for news, commentary, and analysis of renewable energy and the power grid.

Latest Episodes:

This Week in Cleantech (10/18/2024) - Big Tech revives nuclear (and coal, too) Oct 18, 2024

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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 reporter Evan Halper, who covered how a coal power plant's life was extended when Meta and Google data centers came to town.
This week's "Cleantecher of the Week" is Michael Graham of the Columbia-Willamette Clean Cities & Communities Coalition. Michael leads the EMPOWER project, which helps workplaces install EV chargers at their offices for free, and is a Workplace EV Charging Coach. Congratulations, Michael!
This Week in Cleantech — October 18, 2024

Google Backs New Nuclear Plants to Power AI — The Wall Street Journal
Is LNG worse for the climate than coal? — The Financial Times
IEA report signals "age of electricity" — Axios
Watch this robot expertly take apart electronics so they can be used again — Fast Company
A utility promised to stop burning coal. Then Google and Meta came to town. — The Washington Post

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This Week in Cleantech (10/11/2024) - A flooded solar supply chain Oct 11, 2024

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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 Maddie Stone from Grist, who wrote about how Hurricane Helene caused the temporary closure of Spruce Pine, NC's two main quartz mines, which has disrupted the solar supply chain.
This week we have multiple "Cleantechers of the Week.” The industry has truly come together to support those impacted by Hurricane Helene:

Maggie Sasser from Pine Gate Renewables has organized efforts to help rebuild.
Nico Johnson from Suncast Media and Tom Weirich from EDP Renewables have raised awareness and shared ways to support affected communities.
Jason Grumet and the American Clean Power Association co-hosted a Hurricane Helene Relief Fund Reception.
Also thanks to all the other cleantechers this week who donated and helped John Engel bring gas cans, water, food and blankets to those in Asheville, NC.

This Week in Cleantech — October 11, 2024

Cost of Producing Green Hydrogen Makes It Prohibitive, Says Study - Wall Street Journal
Form Energy raises $405mn to develop rust-powered batteries - Financial Times
U.S. Ramps Up Hunt for Uranium to End Reliance on Russia - New York Times
This country ditched coal. Here’s what the world can learn from it - Washington Post
The solar supply chain runs through this flooded North Carolina town - Grist

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Greetings from Asheville. We need your help. Oct 07, 2024

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Hello, Factor This! listeners. This is John Engel, editor-in-chief of Renewable Energy World and POWERGRID International. As many of you know, I live in Asheville, which was devastated from Tropical Storm Helene.
This conversation between myself and Renewable Energy World content director Paul Gerke was hastily recorded on Wednesday, Oct. 2, so please excuse the production quality. Some of the conditions discussed in this podcast have changed since recording-- gas is now readily available in Asheville and Duke Energy has restored power to at least 90% of the Carolinas.
I love Asheville. To see many of its best elements destroyed is beyond tragic. 10 days after the storm, most of the city remains without water. Remote mountain regions are impassable. People are still missing. We need your help.
Please consider supporting these organizations:

Thank you to all of you who continued to support Asheville's recovery. It means the world to me.

Energy policy on your mind? Check out all episodes of the Factor This Policycast

This Week in Cleantech (9/30/2024) - Interest rates and climate change Sep 30, 2024

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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 Catherine Boudrea, a Business Insider reporter who wrote about Constellation Energy's plans to restart the Three Mile Island nuclear plant in Pennsylvania.
This week’s “Cleantecher of the Week” is Robin Swanhuyser, the Executive Director of Twende Solar. Twende Solar empowers under-resourced communities with renewable energy systems. Their vision is to have renewable energy be the solution for eliminating poverty, strengthening economies, protecting ecosystems, and achieving a more equitable society. Congratulations, Robin!
This Week in Cleantech — September 30, 2024

Under a Texas sun, agrivoltaics offer farmers a new way to make money — The Washington Post
America's Oil Country Increasingly Runs on Renewables — The New York Times
What The Fed’s Interest Rate Cut Means For Climate Change — HuffPost
From Norway to New York, electric ferries are taking over the globe — NY Post
Tech bros and bankers rally around nuclear power to fuel AI's rapid rise — The Business Insider

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This Week in Cleantech - Live from RE+ 2024 Sep 20, 2024

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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 Ivan Penn from the New York Times, who wrote about how one of the country's largest coal plants, located in Minnesota, is being replaced by solar and storage. It will be the largest solar farm in the Upper Midwest when completed, but some residents are worried about the change.
This week's "Cleantecher of the Week" is President of rPlus Energies. Luigi recently called on his LinkedIn following to form a solar industry equivalent rallying cry of the “Got Milk?” campaign. He mentions that other industries have found a way to emotionally engage people, but the solar industry is lagging behind. Congratulations, Luigi!

This Week in Cleantech — September 20, 2024

Trump vows to pull back climate law’s unspent dollars — POLITICO
America’s New Climate Delusion — The Atlantic
Natural Gas Is Critical To Achieving Global Climate Goals. Here’s Why — Forbes
What If We Get Fusion — But Don’t Need It? — Heatmap
Coal Power Defined This Minnesota Town. Can Solar Win It Over? — New York Times

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This Week in Cleantech (9/6/24) — Cleantech hits a rough patch Sep 06, 2024

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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 Tim De Chant from TechCrunch, who wrote about a possible path to reduce or eliminate carbon emissions from the airline and shipping industries: a startup working to develop "green" methanol, which is made without fossil fuels.
This week's "Cleantecher of the Week" is Nora Zacharski, Press Secretary at Center for Climate and Energy Solutions. Nora recently graduated with her Master’s in Political Communications, and shared her Capstone project online, which analyzed Facebook messaging by opponents of land-based and offshore wind energy. Congratulations, Nora!
This Week in Cleantech — September 6, 2024

What Will We Do With Our Free Power? — New York Times
How much more water and power does AI computing demand? Tech firms don't want you to know — LA Times
Local opposition is now a ‘leading cause’ of canceled clean energy projects — Latitude Media
More cleantech companies fail as fundraising challenges emerge — Financial Times
Oxylus Energy strikes 'beautiful balance' to make e-fuels for aviation and shipping — TechCrunch

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Can we collaborate? Utilities and developers work to mend fences Sep 02, 2024

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The energy transition was always going to produce some form of tension. That isn't altogether negative— friction keeps a speeding train on the tracks, after all. In the energy industry, it's electric utilities and clean energy developers who most often collide, one positioned as the gatekeeper of the grid and the other a disrupter.

Plenty of challenges face the energy transition, but one underpins nearly all of them: interconnection. Utilities and developers, meanwhile, are beginning to recognize the importance of collaboration, and that fences must be mended to reach our goals.

Episode 82 of the Factor This! podcast features Carrie Gill, the head of electric regulatory strategy at Rhode Island Energy, and Ed Brolin, the vice president of policy and distributed government relations at RWE. Both will be featured speakers at the interconnection event GridTECH Connect Forum - Northeast, which will be held in Newport, Rhode Island in October.

Gill and Brolin break down the challenges and solutions to interconnection in the Northeast and preview what you can expect at GridTECH Connect Forum. Register today using the promo code PODCAST to receive 10% off your admission.

That's all next on Factor This!
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Energy policy on your mind? Check out all episodes of the Factor This Policycast

This Week in Cleantech (8/30/24) — Does clean energy need a Marshall Plan? Aug 30, 2024

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his 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 Dan Gearino from Inside Climate News, who wrote about how progress in solid-state battery technology may soon enable electric vehicles to achieve up to 600 miles of range.
This week's "Cleantecher of the Week" is Emilie Oxel O’Leary, founder of Green Clean Wind LLC. Emilie is actively urging her LinkedIn followers to reach out for their solar recycling needs, highlighting the growing concern over solar components ending up in landfills. She’s asking for every steel pile, aluminum racking component, nut, and bolt, so she can help clean up your site. Congratulations Emilie!

This Week in Cleantech — August 30, 2024

Far-Right ‘Terrorgram’ Chatrooms Fuel Wave of Power Grid Attacks — Bloomberg
The Case for a Clean Energy Marshall Plan — Foreign Affairs
Scoop: Swell is shutting down — Latitude Media
Hungry for Clean Energy, Facebook Looks to a New Type of Geothermal — New York Times
Want an EV With 600 Miles of Range? It’s Coming — Inside Climate News

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This Week in Cleantech (8/23/24) — The human side of virtual power plants Aug 23, 2024

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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 CNET senior editor Jon Reed, who visited an energy-efficient home in Vermont that will eventually be part of a virtual power plant, or VPP.
This week's "Cleantecher of the Week" is Jim Kapsis, CEO of the Ad Hoc Group, who recently wrote about his 531-mile trip from Virginia to Maine in an electric vehicle. Jim wrote about his experience traveling the long electric miles, both the good and bad. We’ll link his piece in our YouTube bio. Congratulations Jim!
This Week in Cleantech — August 23, 2024

Big Tech’s bid to rewrite the rules on net zero — The Financial Times
EVs are starting to overtake gas-powered cars in a surprising place — CNN
Clean Fuel Startups Were Supposed to Be the Next Big Thing. Now They Are Collapsing. — The Wall Street Journal
Coal Power Defined This Minnesota Town. Can Solar Win It Over? — The New York Times
The US Power Grid Has a Problem. Your House Could Help Solve It — CNET

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This Week in Cleantech (8/16/24) — What are the friendliest states for solar? Aug 16, 2024

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Tell us what you think of the show!

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 Business Insider reporter Catherine Boudreau, who wrote about Con Edison's plans to capture heat from data centers and large commercial buildings to power underground thermal energy networks.
This week's "Cleantecher of the Week" is Samuel Truthseeker, CEO of Solvari Solar. His system view of rooftop solar enables panels to be installed in 2 minutes rather than 20 minutes, and is based on over 20 years developing solar products. Congratulations Samuel!
This Week in Cleantech — August 16, 2024

How Solar-Friendly Is Your State? We Scored Them All — CNET
This Texas Energy Is So Bountiful, They Pay You to Take It Away — New York Times
Americans tapped $8 billion in tax credits on home energy upgrade — Washington Post
Delays hit 40% of Biden’s major IRA manufacturing projects — Financial Times
How New York City's data centers and Rockefeller Center could help power a climate solution — Business Insider

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