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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:

How we benefit from transmission competition | Factor This Policycast Jun 18, 2026

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Welcome to the premier edition of the Factor This Policycast, a brand-new podcast partnership with national industry association Advanced Energy United, tackling the legislation, rulemaking, and market design that matter to clean energy leaders.

Hosted by Factor This content director and Emmy-Award winning journalist Paul Gerke, this series of discussions will feature voices from across the energy policy landscape and spotlight issues shaping the evolution of our electric grid.

The first topic is one that you may have spotted in recent headlines: competitive transmission solicitation. It's no secret that large-scale, critical electrical infrastructure projects like high-voltage transmission lines cost a LOT to build and take some time to come online.

About 15 years ago, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, or FERC, mandated that utilities competitively bid out such projects, but that mandate isn't being enforced, for reasons we'll get into on the program. New data points to tremendous benefits from competitive transmission, though, including billions of dollars ultimately saved by ratepayers. Detractors argue the bidding process delays timelines and subjects projects to hidden costs, and a group of Midwest utilities has even asked FERC to halt bidding in MISO and SPP.

On this episode of the podcast, Factor This's Paul Gerke is joined by Caitlin Marquis, managing director at Advanced Energy United, and Paul Cicio, chair of the Electricity Transmission Competition Coalition (ETCC). Both are advocates for competitive transmission and share findings to support their case. They discuss that utility request to ban competition outright, talk about FERC's role in all of this, and explore the finer points complicating broader transmission build-out- at a time we really need it.

New episodes of the Factor This Policycast go live at 6 am ET every other Thursday.

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

Unifying awareness, control, and settlements to solve grid instability Jun 15, 2026

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Talk about systems and solutions is everywhere across the utility sector, but the biggest challenges the grid is facing are more about coordination than hardware. As utilities, retail suppliers, and operators all compete to manage the same DERs like electric vehicles, solar infrastructure, and smart appliances, the biggest challenges are associated with alignment, timing and expectations on every side.

Michael Grasso, CEO and founder of GridRails, has a keen awareness of these challenges. His decades of experience in the industry has exposed him to teams and processes that have become paralyzed by fragmented tech silos and sluggish financial settlement cycles that take anywhere from 30 to 120 days to resolve. That's why his company is working to solve these challenges by introducing an agnostic, software-as-a-service (SaaS) orchestration layer that unifies these fragmented endpoints into a single platform, giving energy suppliers direct control over their network operations.

We caught up with him to explore why his platform structures its solution around three core pillars, what it means for consumers to receive instant financial gratification in a digital wallet for adjusting their energy usage in the moment, the importance of shifting the utility paradigm from a penalty-based framework to a real-time incentive model, and much more.

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

This Week in Cleantech (06/12/2026) - Europe and Asia are feeling the pressure from Iran war energy crisis Jun 12, 2026

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This Week in Cleantech is a weekly podcast covering the most impactful stories in clean energy and climate featuring Paul Gerke of Factor This and Tigercomm’s Mike Casey.

This week's episode features special guest Akshat Rathi from Bloomberg, who discusses the energy crisis caused by the war in Iran, which is causing some governments to pursue structural shifts away from fossil fuels toward renewables.

This week’s “Cleantecher of the Week” is Varun Sivaram, Founder & CEO of Emerald AI. Emerald AI uses AI to let data centers flex power consumption on command without losing compute performance. Congratulations, Varun!

This Week in Cleantech — June 12, 2026

LS Power Said to Near Deal for EDF’s American Renewables Arm – Bloomberg
Big US Solar and Battery Project Lines Up $3.5 Billion Financing –– Bloomberg
G.M. Plans to Develop Energy Storage Batteries as E.V. Sales Flag — The New York Times
New Qcells plant doubles current US capacity to make solar cells – Canary Media
Iran Shock Jolts Asia and Europe to Speed Up Energy Transition – Bloomberg

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

This Week in Cleantech (06/04/2026) - Why are some Democratic governors backing Trump's gas pipelines? Jun 05, 2026

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This Week in Cleantech is a weekly podcast covering the most impactful stories in clean energy and climate featuring Paul Gerke of Factor This and Tigercomm’s Mike Casey.

This week's episode features special guest Benjamin Storrow from E&E News, who discusses how some Democratic governors are more open to natural gas pipeline expansion as energy costs rise.

This week’s “Cleantecher of the Week” is Kevin Doffing who runs a group of veterans involved in cleantech. He has 50 caliber shell casings he uses as lobby swag. Congratulations, Kevin!

This Week in Cleantech — June 5, 2026

The Sorry State of Carbon Removal — Heatmap News
Solar energy helps US farms stay afloat – but Republicans’ bill could change that — The Guardian
America’s Data-Center Build-Out Is Falling Way Behind Schedule — The Wall Street Journal
7 states sue Trump administration over nearly $1 billion deal to halt offshore wind farm — ABC News
‘Ready to cave’: How liberal governors warmed to Trump’s pipelines — E&E News

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

Stalled federal funding is freeing up to aid homeowners eyeing energy efficiency Jun 01, 2026

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The U.S. Department of Energy is moving forward with releasing billions of dollars in rebate funding to states earmarked by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) for two home energy programs: Home Efficiency Rebates (HER/HOMES), which enables whole-home retrofits that cut overall energy use by at least 15%, and Home Electrification and Appliance Rebates (HEAR), providing point-of-sale coupons for high-efficiency electric appliances like heat pumps and electric stoves for low- and moderate-income households.

On this episode of the Factor This podcast, host Paul Gerke is joined by Advanced Energy United policy principal Kate Shonk, who explains why the funding was stalled, where it's headed, and how it can really help people at a time when electricity prices are climbing almost everywhere, and affordability is on the menu for dinner table discussion. She dives into examples from a few of the roughly dozen states that are rolling out unique programs to take advantage of the efficiency rebates and shares what's working. Rebecca Puck Stair, a director for the State of New Mexico's Energy, Minerals, and Natural Resources Department, also joins the show and explores the real, tangible, human impact programs like HER and HEAR can have on communities in need. She details her state's efforts to optimize and consolidate programs to maximize the use of federal dollars and reveals a bit of the behind-the-scenes bureaucracy involved in translating policies from paper to practice.

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

This Week in Cleantech (05/29/2026) - Local pushback against data centers hits a new high May 29, 2026

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This Week in Cleantech is a weekly podcast covering the most impactful stories in clean energy and climate featuring Paul Gerke of Factor This and Tigercomm’s Mike Casey.

This week's episode features special guest Robison Meyer from Heatmap News, who discussed how local opposition to data centers hit a new record in the first quarter of 2026.

This week’s “Cleantecher of the Week” is Tom Sisto, CEO of XL Batteries. XL Batteries makes an organic flow battery that lasts for 250 hours. The technology runs on non-toxic, non-flammable electrolytes, meaning these batteries can be deployed in population-dense communities without the heavy permitting scrutiny that is required for similar-sized lithium-ion installations. Congratulations, Tom!

This Week in Cleantech — May 29, 2026

Rep. Chip Roy loses runoff for Texas attorney general to a MAGA challenger – POLITICO
U.S. Aims to Give Cold War Plutonium to Start-Ups for Nuclear Fuel – The New York Times
China’s world-beating solar industry is in turmoil — The Economist
Wind-Permit Stall Is Threatening $50 Billion in US Developments – Bloomberg
Exclusive: Local Opposition to Data Centers Explodes in 2026 – Heatmap News

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

This Week in Cleantech (05/26/2026) - Iran conflict makes clean energy look more secure May 26, 2026

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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 featuring Paul Gerke of Factor This and Tigercomm’s Mike Casey.

This week's episode features special guest Akshat Rathi from Bloomberg News, who discussed how the Iran conflict is boosting the security benefits of clean energy.

This week’s “Cleantecher of the Week” is a tribute to a life and career that left an indelible mark on the clean energy community. Jake Clark spent his career at Encore Renewable Energy, most recently pivoting from Vice President of Project Development to stand up the company's Community Engagement program. Those who knew him describe him as one of those rare people who made the whole field better through both his work and who he was. The clean energy community is smaller without him. We honor his memory and the standard he set for all of us.

This Week in Cleantech — May 26, 2026

China’s $3 Billion US Clean Tech Exit Is an Investment Warning — Bloomberg
'Paying their fair share': EV drivers could see new fees in proposed bill – USA Today
A new mega-utility is at ground zero for AI. Here’s what could happen. — E&E News
The World Can’t Get Enough U.S. Energy, Keeping Prices High for Americans — The Wall Street Journal
Zero: Iran War Boosts Clean Energy’s Security Benefits — Bloomberg

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

This Week in Cleantech (05/15/2026) - xAI grows data center gas fleet despite legal scrutiny May 15, 2026

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This Week in Cleantech is a weekly podcast covering the most impactful stories in clean energy and climate featuring Paul Gerke of Factor This and Tigercomm’s Mike Casey.

This week's episode features special guest Molly Taft from WIRED, who discusses Elon Musk's AI company xAI's decision to add 19 natural gas turbines to its Colossus 2 data center in Southaven, Mississippi.

This week’s “Cleantecher of the Week” is fourth grader Christian Mango. At 10 years old, Christian researched electric vehicles, cited facts, and wrote to his U.S. congresswoman Virginia Foxx proposing a $5,000 federal EV tax rebate. When she responded by reprimanding Christian as foolish and his teachers as propagandists, Christian made national news for writing the letter. Congratulations Christian!

This Week in Cleantech — May 15, 2026

Solar trade group taps former GOP governor as new chief — POLITICO
Organic flow battery company CMBlu closes €50 million Series C — Energy Storage News
Fervo IPO ushers geothermal energy into mainstream — Axios
EDPR upbeat on US renewables market, sees profitable growth and new opportunities — Reuters
xAI Adds 19 New Gas Turbines Despite Ongoing Lawsuit — WIRED

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

This Week in Cleantech (05/08/2026) - Can Ford revive its struggling EV program? May 08, 2026

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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 featuring Paul Gerke of Factor This and Tigercomm’s Mike Casey.

This week's episode features special guest Andrew Moseman from Heatmap News, who discusses Ford's efforts to rebuild its struggling EV program from the ground up.

This week’s “Cleantecher of the Week” is Brad Rouse, the volunteer Executive Director of Energy Savers Network. This small non-profit provides free weatherization and appliance upgrades to income-qualified families. Brad co-founded ESN in 2016 and has helped reduce the power bills for over 1500 families in western North Carolina. Congratulations Brad!

This Week in Cleantech — May 8, 2026

Untapped lithium on East Coast could replace US imports, USGS finds — E&E News
Brussels bars Chinese-made ‘brains’ of solar panels from EU funding — Euractiv
The balcony solar boom is coming to the US — MIT Tech Review
Thieves Are Stealing Chile’s Solar Panels and Cashing In on the Black Market — Bloomberg
Inside Ford’s Secret EV Skunkworks — Heatmap News

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

This Week in Cleantech (05/01/2026) - Are Trump's efforts against clean energy in vain? May 01, 2026

Show notes

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 featuring Paul Gerke of Factor This and Tigercomm’s Mike Casey.

This week's episode features special guest Oliver Milman from The Guardian, who discussed how the clean energy industry is pushing forward despite Trump's aggressive efforts to suppress it.

This week’s “Cleantecher of the Week” is Sean Park, the CEO of Point2. Data centers rely heavily on copper cables, but copper has physical limits on efficiency and is subject to major price swings. Point2 has developed a way to transmit data using radio waves through plastic materials instead, cutting out copper entirely. The company claims this halves power consumption compared to traditional high-speed copper cables. Congratulations Sean!

This Week in Cleantech — May 1, 2026

Why Is Your Electric Bill Going Up? Blame the Broken Grid. – The New York Times
Trump administration to pay 2 more companies to walk away from US offshore wind leases – The Associated Press
Why electricity markets are stuck on the gas price rollercoaster — The Financial Times
The Rise of the High-Range, Less Expensive E.V. — The New York Times
Trump’s attempt to crush clean energy progress not going to plan, experts say — The Guardian

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

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