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 (11/14/2025) - Can rising electricity prices be a winning issue for Democrats? Nov 14, 2025

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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 in 15 minutes or less featuring Paul Gerke of Factor This and Tigercomm’s Mike Casey.

This week's episode features special guest Rachel Frazin from The Hill, who wrote about Democrats' plans to continue to focus on rising electricity prices in hopes that it's a winning strategy.

This week's "Cleantecher of the Week" is Tyler Norris, Head of Market Innovation at Google. Tyler wrote an op-ed in The New York Times about how we can manage rising electricity demand without driving up costs for households. His main point is that load growth presents an opportunity to offset upward pressure on electricity rates, if we plan the system to make fuller use of the infrastructure we’ve already paid for. Congratulations, Tyler!

This Week in Cleantech — November 14, 2025

China’s clean-energy revolution will reshape markets and politics — The Economist
10 Years After the Paris Climate Agreement, Here's Where We Are — The New York Times
New U.S. nuclear power boom begins with old, still-unsolved problem: What to do with radioactive waste — CNBC
Data Centers and Natural Gas Are Bending the Climate Transition Curve, IEA Says – Heatmap News
Democrats see electricity prices as a winning issue for 2026 – Rachel Frazin

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

GridFAST and furious: EPRI initiative expediting EV infrastructure deployment Nov 12, 2025

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Ready or not, electric vehicle adoption is happening in America. It feels like we’ve reached an inflection point- especially as range increases, EVs are simply proving to be a better mousetrap- and now there’s a race coast-to-coast to bulk up the charging infrastructure needed to enable the scaling of fleets and longhaul trucking.

That’s no easy thing to figure out- developers must work closely with utilities to bring these power-sucking sites online without overworking the local grid. And since everyone needs power YESTERDAY, there’s a timeliness component to this too- and we all know time means money.

The Electric Power Research Institute, better known as EPRI, is taking on the challenge of connecting the dots and facilitating a planning process for the deployment of EV charging projects.

On this episode, Factor This Content Director Paul Gerke is joined by EPRI director of transportation Britta Gross to discuss GridFAST, a central, secure portal designed to improve communication between stakeholders, bringing them together early on to ensure everyone gets what they want, when they want it- or as close to it as possible.

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

This Week in Cleantech (11/07/2025) - What does a pragmatic 'climate reset' look like? Nov 07, 2025

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This Week in Cleantech is a weekly podcast covering the most impactful stories in clean energy and climate in 15 minutes or less featuring Paul Gerke of Factor This and Tigercomm’s Mike Casey.

This week's episode features special guest David Roberts, host of the Volts podcast, who recently sat down with clean-energy analyst Michael Liebreich to discuss calls for a “climate reset” that emphasizes costly technologies over proven clean energy solutions.

This week's "Cleantechers of the Week" are:

Andrew Otazo who has hauled more than 17 tons of trash, mostly from the islands around Biscayne Bay. Otazo wants to clear as much trash as he can.
Forrest Smith, former chief petroleum engineer for the National Park Service. Forrest was the only individual responsible for cleaning up dozens of abandoned oil and gas wells at national parks across the country. Last month, he was forced to step down and the NPS is not looking to replace him.
Juan Naula. Juan struggled to find funding for his ride-sharing startup, so he quit his job to pick up trash on the streets of L.A. Juan started a social media account titled, “Clean L.A. With Me,” and started a nonprofit to raise money and recruit volunteers to help him.

This Week in Cleantech — November 07, 2025

How virtual power plants could meet data centre energy demand — The Financial Times
White House Fossil Fuel Bet Is Losing to Green Energy — Bloomberg
Slow rollout throttled Biden’s big clean energy ambitions, former staffers say — POLITICO
$615,000 a Day: Order to Keep Coal Plant Open Ignites Debate in Michigan — The Wall Street Journal
Michael Liebreich on a "pragmatic climate reset" – Volts

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

This Week in Cleantech (10/31/2025) - Are data centers really to blame for rising electricity costs? Oct 31, 2025

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This Week in Cleantech is a weekly podcast covering the most impactful stories in clean energy and climate in 15 minutes or less featuring Paul Gerke of Factor This and Tigercomm’s Mike Casey.

This week's episode features special guest Shannon Osaka from The Washington Post, who wrote about a new study that blames rising electricity bills on the rising fixed costs of the power grid, rather than just data center growth.

This week's "Cleantecher of the Week" is Jonathan Shaw, CEO of Nuru. Under his leadership, Nuru commissioned the Democratic Republic of Congo’s first commercial solar mini-grid in 2017, followed by three more that are now powering communities across the country. The company is currently building the largest solar mini-grid in sub-Saharan Africa. Congratulations, Jonathan!

This Week in Cleantech — October 31, 2025

DOE's latest move the most direct yet to smooth data centers' path – Axios
Simpler Solar Regulations Would Save Americans $1.2 Trillion — Heatmap News
US government and Westinghouse strike $80bn nuclear reactor deal — The Financial Times
Georgia has lost $2.9B in clean energy projects amid fed pullback, report says — The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The real reason electricity prices are rising, and it’s not data centers — The Washington Post

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

Understanding ERCOT's strategy for grid transformation Oct 27, 2025

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In this episode of the Factor This podcast, Content Director Jeremiah Karpowicz interviews Eric Meier, Planning Modeling Supervisor at ERCOT. The two discuss Meier's thoughts around how ERCOT is pioneering methods to integrate rapid load growth while maintaining system reliability as well as...

why timing is everything
the nature of new large loads
market-based solutions and the role of flexibility

Want to make a suggestion for an upcoming Factor This episode? Get in touch to let us know what people, projects and technology you’d like us to further explore: https://www.renewableenergyworld.com/contribute-content/

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

This Week in Cleantech (10/24/2025) - Why are Democrats suddenly downplaying climate change? Oct 24, 2025

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This Week in Cleantech is a weekly podcast covering the most impactful stories in clean energy and climate in 15 minutes or less featuring Paul Gerke of Factor This and Tigercomm’s Mike Casey. Clarion Events Content Director Jeremiah Karpowicz is filling in for Paul Gerke while Paul is on paternity leave.

This week's episode features special guest Kate Yoder from Grist, who wrote about how Democrats are downplaying the term “climate change” after the 2024 election.

This week's "Cleantecher of the Week" is Cédric Ringenbach, creator of the card game Climate Fresk. The game is based on the latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and helps people understand the connections between climate science and climate disasters. Congratulations, Cédric!

This Week in Cleantech — October 24, 2025

Oil, gas and the tax code — The New York Times
Why Nucor and Meta are supporting a new low-carbon iron factory — Trellis
DOE cancels more than $700M in battery, manufacturing projects — E&E News
New England Says Goodbye to Coal as Merrimack Station Powers Down — Inside Climate News
Why Democrats aren't talking about climate change much anymore — Grist

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

This Week in Cleantech (10/17/2025) - Who's winning the renewables race? Oct 17, 2025

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 in 15 minutes or less featuring Paul Gerke of Factor This and Tigercomm’s Mike Casey.

This week's episode features special guest Evan Halper from The Washington Post, who wrote about how global economics are accelerating a renewable surge led by China and India.

This week's "Cleantecher of the Week" is Rishan Wong, former CEO of Reddit and CEO of Terraformation. Terraformation just rolled out its latest product, which is a subscription-based model where individuals can fund reforestation for the monthly cost of a streaming service.

This Week in Cleantech — October 17, 2025

Resilience of the lambs: Some US solar projects are farming much more than sunlight – Factor This
How mega batteries are unlocking an energy revolution – The Financial Times
Trump administration quietly canceled the nation’s largest solar project – CNN
Base Power, a Battery-Focused Power Company, Raises $1 Billion — The New York Times
The real winners of Trump’s attack on clean energy aren’t American — The Washington Post

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

The reality of residential solar Oct 13, 2025

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The U.S. residential solar industry has seen better days.

Electricity bill credits in rooftop solar-saturated states like California are a fraction of what they once were. Tariffs have made components more expensive, just as federal tax credits are set to sunset. Anti-renewables legislation is casting a long and dark shadow, and a series of bankruptcies among established names in the space has cast further doubt on whether the dollars and cents still make dollars and sense.

But at least one man thinks residential solar can reach a point of profitability. In fact, he's actively proving it.

TJ Rogers, the CEO of SunPower, has led an illustrious career in the solar and semiconductor space. An outspoken free-market evangelist, Rodgers possesses a clear vision of what he believes an American home solar company should be. In this episode of the Factor This podcast, Rodgers shares his recipe for success with host Paul Gerke, detailing the challenges and opportunities in the market. Topics of discussion include:

The acquisition of SunPower and its plans for the future
SunPower's path to profitability and the company's lean, quality-focused approach
Tariffs, subsidies, and their impact on industry efficiency
The potential of virtual power plants and microgrids

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

This Week in Cleantech (10/10/2025) - Private equity's bet on utilities Oct 10, 2025

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 in 15 minutes or less featuring Paul Gerke of Factor This and Tigercomm’s Mike Casey.

This week's episode features special guest Alexandra White from the Financial Times, who wrote about how private equity firms are rapidly acquiring utilities to capitalize on soaring electricity demand.

This week's "Cleantecher of the Week" is Baltimore-based blind man, Kevin Stanley. A Bloomberg story notes that Kevin survives on disability payments, but says his energy bill payments are 80% higher than they were 3 years ago, demonstrating the ripple effect of data center buildout. Kudos to Yann Brandt for recommending this Bloomberg story!

This Week in Cleantech — October 10, 2025

China's Clean Energy Exports Are Beating US Fossil Fuels — Bloomberg
Buildings are turning to 'ice batteries' for sustainable air conditioning – The Associated Press
Renewables overtake coal as world's biggest source of electricity — BBC
US Hydrogen Gets Another Look From Investors — Bloomberg
Private equity bets big on utilities — The Financial Times

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

This Week in Cleantech (10/03/2025) - Rick Perry's nuclear bet Oct 03, 2025

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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 in 15 minutes or less featuring Paul Gerke of Factor This and Tigercomm’s Mike Casey.

This week's episode features special guest Claire Hao from The Houston Chronicle, who wrote about a Texas-based nuclear and data center start-up co-founded by former Gov. Rick Perry that went public on Wednesday after being founded just earlier this year.

This week's "Cleantecher of the Week" is Samuel Gantner, founder of the Miombo Woodland Restoration Project. His new initiative in Zambia aims to employ 50,000 farmers to protect forests from being cleared for charcoal and to plant tens of thousands of trees, removing about 2 million metric tons of carbon dioxide each year by 2030. Congratulations, Samuel!

This Week in Cleantech — October 3, 2025