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:

Celebrating clean energy risk takers Sep 26, 2022

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Before the Inflation Reduction Act, working and succeeding in clean energy came with quite a bit of risk. Now with the historic legislation in place, it's time to honor those risk takers for laying the groundwork for a 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 joined Episode 18 of the Factor This! podcast from Renewable Energy World to share some highlights from the book before it's released on October 1st.
Show notes:
-You can purchase "We Took the Risk" here
-Read the full article for this podcast episode here
Sponsor notes:
This episode of Factor This! is sponsored by Nextracker.
Learn more about Nextracker's proprietary TrueCapture software in a new white paper that's available for free download here. TrueCapture combines advanced sensing and machine-learning technologies to help mitigate energy losses and boost plant performance. Nextracker is the only tracker company with proven, third-party verified data and measured results that meet or exceed modeled predictions. See the results for yourself.

Factor This! is produced by Renewable Energy World and Clarion Energy. Connect with John Engel, the host of Factor This!, on LinkedIn and Twitter.

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

Solar’s report card is coming. And a reckoning could follow Sep 19, 2022

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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, asset owners, and 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 its implications for the industry.

Show notes:
-Read the article on DroneBase's announcement here
Sponsor notes:
Learn more about Nextracker's proprietary TrueCapture software in a new white paper that's available for free download here. TrueCapture combines advanced sensing and machine-learning technologies to help mitigate energy losses and boost plant performance. Nextracker is the only tracker company with proven, third-party verified data and measured results that meet or exceed modeled predictions. See the results for yourself.

Factor This! is produced by Renewable Energy World and Clarion Energy. Connect with John Engel, the host of Factor This!, on LinkedIn and Twitter.

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

FERC Commissioner Allison Clements on record heat, resiliency, and smart grids Sep 12, 2022

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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! podcast. 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.
Show notes:
-Full article: FERC Commissioner Allison Clements on record heat, resiliency, and smart grids

Sponsor:
-This episode is sponsored by Nextracker, the industry’s most advanced smart solar tracking systems. Learn more about how Nextracker is ramping up domestic manufacturing capacity to 10 GW here.
Factor This! is produced by Renewable Energy World and Clarion Energy. Connect with John Engel, the host of Factor This!, on LinkedIn and Twitter.

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

Beware of the clean energy gold rush with Leyline Renewable Capital CEO Erik Lensch Sep 05, 2022

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The Inflation Reduction Act established historic incentives for clean energy and climate change. It may have also created a gold rush with potentially dangerous consequences.
In Episode 15 of the Factor This! podcast, Erik Lensch, founder and CEO of Leyline Renewable Capital, shares how the Inflation Reduction Act is impacting clean energy capital markets, which he said were already oversaturated with investors chasing projects before the climate bill passed.
Remember to leave a rating or review of FactorThis! wherever you get your podcasts.
Show notes:
-Check out Episode 10, "What's going on in clean energy capital markets" with Pine Gate Renewables CEO Ben Catt, who shared a developer's point of view of clean energy capital markets.
-Read the full article for this episode, ‘Gold rush’ fever stoked by new climate law is a real concern, investor warns
-Have questions for our next guess, FERC Commissioner Allison Clements? Email me! john.engel(at)clarionevents.com
-Subscribe to the free Renewable Energy World newsletter to stay up-to-date on the latest news in solar, wind, energy storage, green hydrogen, and more.
Factor This! is produced by Renewable Energy World and Clarion Energy. Connect with John Engel, the host of Factor This!, on LinkedIn and Twitter.

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

Rethinking solar development from the ground up with Terabase CEO Matt Campbell Aug 29, 2022

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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.
Show notes:
-Subscribe to the free Renewable Energy World newsletter to stay up-to-date on the latest news in solar, wind, energy storage, green hydrogen, and more.
Factor This! is produced by Renewable Energy World and Clarion Energy. Connect with John Engel, the host of Factor This!, on LinkedIn and Twitter.

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

Going beyond the PPA with Clearloop CEO Laura Zapata Aug 22, 2022

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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.
Show notes:
-Subscribe to the free Renewable Energy World newsletter to stay up-to-date on the latest news in solar, wind, energy storage, green hydrogen, and more.
Factor This! is produced by Renewable Energy World and Clarion Energy. Connect with John Engel, the host of Factor This!, on LinkedIn and Twitter.

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

Green hydrogen: What’s next for the energy transition’s secret weapon? Aug 19, 2022

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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.
Show notes:
-Read the roundtable recap article here
-You can watch this +Series webinar on-demand here and check out the full +Series archive here.
-Subscribe to the free Renewable Energy World newsletter here

Factor This! is produced by Renewable Energy World and Clarion Energy. Connect with John Engel, the host of Factor This!, on LinkedIn and Twitter.

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

Taking on solar's recycling imperative with SOLARCYCLE CEO Suvi Sharma Aug 15, 2022

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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 can solar recycling scale 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.
Show notes:
-Read the article: Can solar avoid a recycling problem? Suvi Sharma is convinced it can
-Register for the free RENEWABLE +Series on green hydrogen, featuring panelists from Generate Capital, EDP Renewables, and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
-Subscribe to the free Renewable Energy World newsletter to stay up-to-date on the latest news in solar, wind, energy storage, green hydrogen, and more.
Factor This! is produced by Renewable Energy World and Clarion Energy. Connect with John Engel, the host of Factor This!, on LinkedIn and Twitter.

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

What's going on in clean energy capital markets? Pine Gate Renewables CEO Ben Catt Aug 08, 2022

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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.

Show notes:
-Register for the free RENEWABLE +Series on green hydrogen, featuring panelists from Generate Capital, EDP Renewables, and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
-Subscribe to the free Renewable Energy World newsletter to stay up-to-date on the latest news in solar, wind, energy storage, green hydrogen, and more.
Factor This! is produced by Renewable Energy World and Clarion Energy. Connect with John Engel, the host of Factor This!, on LinkedIn and Twitter.

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

Breaking down FERC's interconnection reform plan with AEE managing director Jeff Dennis Aug 01, 2022

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Up until a few days ago, Congress had been a frequent disappointment to clean energy advocates. Even the current optimism around budget reconciliation is... cautious.
But a few blocks north of Capitol Hill, seismic change has been underway.
In June, FERC laid out a set of proposed rules to address what possibly is 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, joined Episode 9 of Factor This! to break down what's in the FERC interconnection NOPR and what comes next.
Show notes:
-Register for the free RENEWABLE +Series on green hydrogen, featuring panelists from Generate Capital, EDP Renewables, and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
-Subscribe to the free Renewable Energy World newsletter to stay up-to-date on the latest news in solar, wind, energy storage, green hydrogen, and more.
Factor This! is produced by Renewable Energy World and Clarion Energy. Connect with John Engel, the host of Factor This!, on LinkedIn and Twitter.

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

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