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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:

Bonus Episode: Manchin makes a deal Jul 28, 2022

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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.

The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 includes:

10-year extensions of the ITC for residential and commercial solar
A new ITC for standalone energy storage
Credits for domestic solar manufacturing
Credits for new and used EVs

Jose Zayas, EVP of Policy and Programs, American Council on Renewable Energy, joined the Factor This! podcast for a rapid reaction to the reconciliation news. You can read our recap of the legislation at Renewable Energy World here.
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

Betting big on 'Made in America' solar with Nextracker CEO Dan Shugar Jul 18, 2022

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In Episode 7 of the Factor This! podcast, Nextracker founder and CEO Dan Shugar explains his company's decision to invest heavily in U.S. manufacturing amid supply chain constraints and trade disputes facing the solar industry.
Plus, he gives a sneak peek at Nextracker’s next manufacturing announcement.

Enjoying Factor This!? Leave a rating and review. Programming note: Factor This! will publish every Monday beginning Aug. 1.
Show notes:

'Big Horn' green steel solar farm in Colorado
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.
Email me! john.engel(a)clarionevents.com and let me know what you think of Factor This

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

Rooftop solar's biggest fight is back on with Vote Solar executive director Sachu Constantine Jul 01, 2022

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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 frontlines of the policy fight and shares how he plans to move one of the leading solar advocacy groups to its next chapter.
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.
Are you enjoying Factor This? Please leave a rating and review wherever you get your podcasts. Show notes and an episode transcript are available 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

Special Edition: Shaping the grid of the future with GE Digital's Jim Walsh Jun 27, 2022

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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!, 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.
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

A lifeline from President Biden Jun 20, 2022

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In Episode 4 of the Factor This! podcast, Abigail Ross Hopper, CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association trade group, shares how the solar industry swayed President Joe Biden to pause new tariffs on module imports from Southeast Asia, while also boosting domestic manufacturing.
And later in the episode, Intersect Power CEO Sheldon Kimber discusses the early days of Recurrent Energy, tariffs, and solar's path forward.
This is the fourth and final episode of the Factor This! Auxin Solar tariff petition series. The full series is available wherever you get your podcasts.
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 a production of Renewable Energy World and Clarion Energy, and is hosted by John Engel.

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

Supply chain sacrifice Jun 06, 2022

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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. For show notes, visit here.

This episode is the third installment of a four-part series on the Auxin Solar tariff petition. If you missed our exclusive interview with Auxin Solar CEO Mamun Rashid, listen here.
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

Solar's political risk May 23, 2022

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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.
Also in this episode, American Clean Power Association CEO Heather Zichal, a former Obama administration climate and energy official, takes us behind the scenes of the $5 million to oppose the Biden Administration on tariffs.

The episode is the second in a 4-part series on the Auxin Solar petition. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. If you missed the first episode, and our exclusive interview with Auxin Solar CEO Mamun Rashid, listen here.
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

Who is Auxin Solar? Exclusive interview with Auxin Solar CEO Mamun Rashid May 09, 2022

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For the first episode of the "Factor This!" podcast, Auxin Solar CEO Mamun Rashid gives his first extensive interview since filing the tariff petition that has rocked the solar industry.
The episode is the first in a 4-part series on the Auxin Solar petition.
Find more information about the Auxin Solar tariff petition, show notes, and a transcript from this episode at Renewable Energy World. And don't forget to subscribe, wherever you get your podcasts so that you don't miss an episode of the series.
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

Introducing Factor This! Apr 21, 2022

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Factor This! is a weekly podcast that takes on solar's biggest stories with industry leaders who actually move the needle.
After launching with a four-part series on the Auxin Solar tariff petition, featuring an exclusive interview with Auxin Solar CEO Mamun Rashid, Factor This! became required listening for solar industry leaders.
Join us every Monday for a new episode of Factor This! And make sure to leave a rating and review wherever you get your podcasts.
Factor This is produced by Renewable Energy World and Clarion Energy, and is hosted by John Engel. Find show notes, transcripts and resources at RenewableEnergyWorld.com

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

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