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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 Dana Clare Redden from our “Cleantecher of the Year” committee, who announced our “Cleantechers of the Year.”

This Week in Cleantech — December 19, 2025 

1. Electricity Is Now Holding Back Growth Across the Global Economy — Bloomberg
2. Ford pulls the plug on the all-electric F-150 Lightning pickup truck – NPR
3. There’s a New Color for Hydrogen: Orange – Heatmap News
4. Trump moves to dismantle major US climate research center in Colorado – USA Today
5. How the planet fared in 2025 — the good, the bad, and the ugly — Grist

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Transforming the grid to meet skyrocketing energy demand isn't just about switching generation sources but is instead about fundamentally redesigning the entire energy market. It's going to require unlocking the true potential of every Distributed Energy Resources (DER) that we have, and integrating them seamlessly into a complex, resilient system. 

That’s easy to say but exceptionally complicated to do logistically and in a way that makes sense for a given market, which is why we wanted to talk with someone who isn’t just supporting this transformation, but is also actively working with utilities to better understand what’s happening at the grid edge to make informed decisions. Jo-Jo Hubbard is the Co-founder and CEO of Electron, which helps network utilities and grid operators adopt and scale flexibility markets to manage grid congestion, improve connection rates, and lower bills. Among other things, we discuss:

• Why utilities need to shift from a static view of the distribution grid to a real-time, dynamic model
• How smart coordination of DERs creates a resilient and efficient grid
• What it means to make DER orchestration simpler and more compelling to utilities
• How tiny efficiencies can lead to billions in savings at scale.
• The single biggest lesson learned that utilities need to have top of mind when designing their own DER aggregation and dispatch programs

Want to make a suggestion for an upcoming episode? Get in touch to let us know what people, projects and technology you’d like to see us to further explore. 

Want to make a suggestion for This Week in Cleantech? Nominate the stories that caught your eye each week by emailing [email protected]

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 Jael Holzman from Heatmap News, who wrote about several senators who came out against the SPEED Act, a bill that would change the National Environmental Policy Act, or NEPA.

This week's "Cleantecher of the Week" is Ryan Johnson, the CEO of Culdesac Tempe, a rental development outside of Phoenix. He modeled a blueprint for living in a walkable place, so residents don’t need to use cars. Johnson said quote, “It’s one of the best things we can do for climate, health, happiness, low cost of living, and even low cost of government.” Congratulations, to Ryan!

This Week in Cleantech — December 12, 2025 

1. Federal judge throws out Trump order blocking development of wind energy – AP News
2. How a Nuclear-Fossil Fuel Alliance Is Winning the Fight for Energy Dominance — Bloomberg
3. Driving Xiaomi's Electric Car: Are we Cooked? — Marques Brownlee
4. Will the Self-Driving Cars of the Future Lower Emissions? — The New York Times
5. Exclusive: Key Senate Democrats Oppose Permitting Bill — Heatmap News

Want to make a suggestion for This Week in Cleantech? Nominate the stories that caught your eye each week by emailing [email protected]

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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 Justin Worland at TIME Magazine, who wrote about the fires that hit Los Angeles in January 2025, and how to prevent similar disasters in the future. 

This week's "Cleantecher of the Week" is Josh Silverman, the CEO of Windfall Bio, which figured out how to create microbes that consume leaking methane from cow manure lagoons as their food source. His team’s system tackles one of agriculture’s toughest climate challenges with a low-cost, farm-ready solution. Congratulations, Josh!

This Week in Cleantech — December 5, 2025

1. Climate urgency means bypassing COP is necessary, says COP30 boss — The Financial Times
2. Data center boom drives internal fight at largest US grid operator — Semafor
3. India’s Desert State Reignites Coal-Fired Power Debate — Bloomberg
4. Kentucky officials will appeal decision they say is unfair to Kentucky Power ratepayers – Kentucky Lantern
5. Amid the Ashes — TIME

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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 Amy Harder from Axios, who wrote about an oil industry lobbying group spending big to advertise during Paramount’s second season of “Landman."

This week's "Cleantecher of the Week" is Glenna Gannon, an assistant professor at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Glenna led research for an agrivoltaics project in Alaska, helping grow potatoes, kale and spinach underneath the panels. Congratulations, Glenna!

This Week in Cleantech — November 21, 2025 

1. Hydropower Is Getting Less Reliable as the World Needs More Energy — The New York Times
2. Why the Time Has Finally Come for Geothermal Energy – The New Yorker
3. US loans Constellation $1 billion for Three Mile Island reactor reboot — Reuters
4. World Is Off Course on Pledge to Rein in Emissions of Heat-Trapping Methane — Bloomberg
5. "Landman" TV show reflects oil industry's renewed swagger — Axios

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Sponsored content.

In this episode of the Factor This podcast, Content Director Jeremiah Karpowicz interviews Henrik Mannesson, General Manager of Energy Infrastructure at Texas Instruments (TI). The two explore how TI's analog and embedded processing chips are driving a shift in energy and expectations in both the short and long term as well as:

• the need for deeper utility collaboration
• innovation at market inflection points
• semiconductors as a short-term grid solution that open up long term opportunities

Want to make a suggestion for an upcoming 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/

Want to make a suggestion for This Week in Cleantech? Nominate the stories that caught your eye each week by emailing [email protected]

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 

1. China’s clean-energy revolution will reshape markets and politics — The Economist
2. 10 Years After the Paris Climate Agreement, Here's Where We Are — The New York Times
3. New U.S. nuclear power boom begins with old, still-unsolved problem: What to do with radioactive waste — CNBC
4. Data Centers and Natural Gas Are Bending the Climate Transition Curve, IEA Says – Heatmap News
5. Democrats see electricity prices as a winning issue for 2026 – Rachel Frazin

Want to make a suggestion for This Week in Cleantech? Nominate the stories that caught your eye each week by emailing [email protected]

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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.

Want to make a suggestion for This Week in Cleantech? Nominate the stories that caught your eye each week by emailing [email protected]

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 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

1. How virtual power plants could meet data centre energy demand — The Financial Times
2. White House Fossil Fuel Bet Is Losing to Green Energy — Bloomberg
3. Slow rollout throttled Biden’s big clean energy ambitions, former staffers say — POLITICO
4. $615,000 a Day: Order to Keep Coal Plant Open Ignites Debate in Michigan — The Wall Street Journal
5. Michael Liebreich on a "pragmatic climate reset" – Volts

Want to make a suggestion for This Week in Cleantech? Nominate the stories that caught your eye each week by emailing [email protected]

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 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 

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

Want to make a suggestion for This Week in Cleantech? Nominate the stories that caught your eye each week by emailing [email protected]