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40,000? 50,000? More? Whatever the number, there were a lot of people at this year's RE+ in Las Vegas.

While the event's exhibits are a focal point of the event — especially for pros sourcing solar modules, inverters, and batteries — the real action takes place in the side rooms, restaurants, and bars.

Episode 61 of the Factor This! podcast features Standard Solar president and CEO Scott Wiater, who takes us inside those critical conversations.

Watch the full episode on YouTube

Wiater offers a look into the headaches linked to Inflation Reduction Act implementation and financial market turmoil, as well as the unmissable sense of optimism that the industry will continue its meteoric growth.

That's all next on Factor This!

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This Week in Cleantech is a new, weekly podcast covering the most impactful stories in cleantech and climate in 15 minutes or less. Produced by Renewable Energy World and Tigercomm, This Week in Cleantech will air every Friday in the Factor This! podcast feed wherever you get your podcasts.

This week’s episode features Washington Post business reporter Evan Halper who shares insights from his reporting on forced labor concerns linked to electric vehicle supply chains.

This Week in Cleantech — September 22, 2023

1. New battery recycling rules could be a game-changer in the EU's search for EV minerals — Grist
2. As Climate and Trade Become Intertwined, a Bipartisan Push for Carbon Tariffs is Emerging — TIME Magazine
3. How To Build A Climate-Friendly Skyscraper: Start Small. Petri-Dish Small. — Forbes
4. Inside Exxon’s Strategy to Downplay Climate Change — Wall Street Journal
5. EV makers’ use of Chinese suppliers raises concerns about forced labor — Washington Post

Watch the full episode on YouTube

Help make This Week in Cleantech the best it can be. Send feedback and story recommendations to [email protected]. And don't forget to leave a rating and review wherever you get your podcasts.

Join us every Friday for new episodes of This Week in Cleantech in the Factor This! podcast feed, and tune into new episodes of Factor This! every Monday.

This Week in Cleantech is hosted by Renewable Energy World senior content director John Engel and Tigercomm president Mike Casey. The show is produced by Brian Mendes with research support from Alex Petersen and Clare Quirin. 

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 new, weekly podcast covering the most impactful stories in cleantech and climate in 15 minutes or less. Produced by Renewable Energy World and Tigercomm, This Week in Cleantech will air every Friday in the Factor This! podcast feed wherever you get your podcasts.

This week’s episode features Bloomberg energy reporter Mark Chediak who breaks down solar's growing pains and experiencing RE+ for the first time.

This Week in Cleantech — September 15, 2023

1. A Huge Lithium Discovery That Economists Were Expecting — Bloomberg
2. Carbon-free grid? There may not be enough workers to build it. — E&E News
3. Big Batteries Are Booming. So Are Fears They'll Catch Fire — WIRED
4. Update needed for 1872 mining law to boost clean energy, report says — Washington Post
5. US Solar’s Extraordinary Boom Brings Growing Pains — Bloomberg

Watch the episode on YouTube

Help make This Week in Cleantech the best it can be. Send feedback and story recommendations to [email protected]. And don't forget to leave a rating and review wherever you get your podcasts.

Join us every Friday for new episodes of This Week in Cleantech in the Factor This! podcast feed, and tune into new episodes of Factor This! every Monday.

This Week in Cleantech is hosted by Renewable Energy World senior content director John Engel and Tigercomm president Mike Casey. The show is produced by Brian Mendes with research support from Alex Petersen and Clare Quirin. 

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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The stakes couldn't be higher.

The Inflation Reduction Act launched a market for green hydrogen. But more than a year later the Treasury Department is still working out the details for critical tax incentives.

The delay has provided room for a multi-million-dollar battle to flare up between trade groups and environmentalists. And nothing less than a pillar to achieving the Biden administration's ambitious climate goals hangs in the balance.

Episode 60 of the Factor This! podcast features Andy Marsh, CEO of Plug Power, which wants to become the everything green hydrogen company, from manufacturing electrolyzers, to producing, storing, and transporting green hydrogen itself.

Marsh believes the U.S. could become a green hydrogen superpower. Or it could squander the opportunity of a lifetime.

That's all next on Factor This!

Watch this episode on the Renewable Energy World YouTube channel

Show notes:
-Episode 12: "Green hydrogen: What’s next for the energy transition’s secret weapon?"
-Episode 53: "Will the U.S. get green hydrogen right? One decision has big climate implications" - Featuring Princeton University professor Jesse Jenkins

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 new, weekly podcast covering the most impactful stories in cleantech and climate in 15 minutes or less. Produced by Renewable Energy World and Tigercomm, This Week in Cleantech will air every Friday in the Factor This! podcast feed wherever you get your podcasts.

This week’s episode features MIT Tech Review climate and clean energy reporter Casey Crownhart, who shares insights around the Biden administration's $400 million loan to alternative battery maker Eos Energy.

This Week in Cleantech — September 8, 2023

1. Texas fracking billionaire brothers fuel rightwing media with millions of dollars — The Guardian
2. Batteries helped keep Texas grid afloat, but operators worry ERCOT rules could 'chill' the industry — San Antonio Express-News
3. Powered by wind, this $10B transmission line will carry more energy than the Hoover Dam — Associated Press
4. White House launches billion-dollar effort to speed EV production — Axios
5. Zinc batteries that offer an alternative to lithium just got a big boost — MIT Tech Review

Watch the show on YouTube

Help make This Week in Cleantech the best it can be. Send feedback and story recommendations to [email protected]. And don't forget to leave a rating and review wherever you get your podcasts.

Join us every Friday for new episodes of This Week in Cleantech in the Factor This! podcast feed, and tune into new episodes of Factor This! every Monday.

This Week in Cleantech is hosted by Renewable Energy World senior content director John Engel and Tigercomm president Mike Casey. The show is produced by Brian Mendes with research support from Alex Petersen and Clare Quirin. 

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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Clogged interconnection queues and an inefficient permitting process have the attention of federal policymakers. At last. But even big recent wins leave much work to be done.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's Order 2023 is a positive first step, advocates say, despite its favoring utility interests. Siting guidelines for transmission and clean energy projects on federal land, meanwhile, remain cumbersome and require immediate overhaul to achieve sustainability goals.

Episode 59 of the Factor This! podcast features Luigi Resta, a clean energy industry veteran and president of rPlus Energies, a developer of utility-scale solar, wind, battery storage, and pumped hydro projects.

Resta breaks down the impact of FERC's interconnection reform plan and shares his vision for the policy battle still ahead.

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 new, weekly podcast covering the most impactful stories in cleantech and climate in 15 minutes or less. Produced by Renewable Energy World and Tigercomm, This Week in Cleantech will air every Friday in the Factor This! podcast feed wherever you get your podcasts.

This week’s episode features Reuters correspondent Nichola Groom, who shares insights from a lackluster offshore wind auction in the Gulf of Mexico.

This Week in Cleantech – September 1, 2023

1. Google to begin selling maps data to companies building solar products, hopes to generate $100 million in first year — CNBC
2. Tennessee secured $7B in clean energy business this past year — representing nearly 80% of new investments — WPLN News
3. MSG Sphere announces plan to power 70% of Las Vegas arena with renewable energy, pending approval — USA Today
4. Chemical fertilizer is a climate disaster. Can high-tech biology fix it? — Canary Media
5. First US offshore wind auction in Gulf of Mexico attracts paltry interest — Reuters

Watch the show on YouTube

Help make This Week in Cleantech the best it can be. Send feedback and story recommendations to [email protected]. And don't forget to leave a rating and review wherever you get your podcasts.

Join us every Friday for new episodes of This Week in Cleantech in the Factor This! podcast feed, and tune into new episodes of Factor This! every Monday.

This Week in Cleantech is hosted by Renewable Energy World senior content director John Engel and Tigercomm president Mike Casey. The show is produced by Brian Mendes with research support from Alex Petersen and Clare Quirin. 

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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On a quest to find the cutting edge of the energy transition, Utah is unlikely to be the first stop. It may not even make the itinerary.

A Republican governor and supermajority legislature lead the state. Rocky Mountain Power, a historically conservative, vertically integrated utility, supplies most of its electricity (and the biggest source is coal).

But the Beehive State has laid out an improbable blueprint for clean energy and resilience. Here, more than 3,000 home batteries are intelligently managed to serve seven critical grid functions. Every single day. And, no, it's not a pilot.

Episode 58 of the Factor This! podcast features Blake Richetta, CEO of the American division of sonnen, a German battery manufacturer and provider of the virtual power plant software that makes Rocky Mountain Power's innovative program tick.

Richetta breaks down the nuances behind the ambiguously named VPP and shares the fascinating story of how unlikely collaborators helped launch one of the most sophisticated programs in the country.

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 new, weekly podcast covering the most impactful stories in cleantech and climate in 15 minutes or less. Produced by Renewable Energy World and Tigercomm, This Week in Cleantech will air every Friday in the Factor This! podcast feed wherever you get your podcasts.

This week’s episode features Bloomberg energy and environmental policy reporter Jennifer Dlouhy for a breakdown of the Commerce Department's final ruling in the Auxin Solar tariff case.

This Week in Cleantech – August 25, 2023

1. Fixing our failing electric grid ... on a budget – NPR
2. Europe’s Gas-Guzzling Days Are Fading – Wall Street Journal
3. Pioneering wind-powered cargo ship sets sail – BBC
4. Solar panels to surround Dulles Airport will deliver power to 37,000 homes – Associated Press
5. Chinese Solar Makers Face New Tariffs After US Says They're Dodging Duties – Bloomberg

Notes:
Mike Casey will be participating in a discussion at RE+ in Las Vegas titled: "From NIMBYs to Neighbors: Emerging Patterns in Developer Experiences and the Views of Rural Americans the Clean Energy Industry Needs to Win Over" in Veronese 2405, Level 2, The Venetian from 2:30-3:00 p.m. PT on Sept. 13.

Watch a video version of the show on YouTube.

Help make This Week in Cleantech the best it can be. Send feedback and story recommendations to [email protected]. And don't forget to leave a rating and review wherever you get your podcasts.

Join us every Friday for new episodes of This Week in Cleantech in the Factor This! podcast feed, and tune into new episodes of Factor This! every Monday.

This Week in Cleantech is hosted by Renewable Energy World senior content director John Engel and Tigercomm president Mike Casey. The show is produced by Brian Mendes with research support from Alex Petersen and Clare Quirin. 

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!

In the year since the Inflation Reduction Act supercharged clean energy manufacturing, rarely does a week go by without a new solar factory notice. Rich incentives have led to unprecedented investments.

But making solar panels is really hard. Not only does it require a lot of energy, but complicated global supply chains leave profit margins razor thin. And existing technology is bumping up against theoretical efficiency limits.

Industry heavyweights see perovskite solar cells as the heir apparent to the crystalline chemistries that currently dominate global supply. They're betting that perovskites will offer a domestically produced, higher-efficiency, flexible, and cheaper alternative.

The perovskite revolution is not without its detractors, though. Sizeable achievements are needed to take perovskites from labs to commercial viability.

Episode 57 of the Factor This! podcast features Joseph Berry, a Senior Research Fellow at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, and Paul Warley, the CEO of Ascent, a company working to commercialize perovskites for agriculture and space applications.

Perovskites could be the missing link as terawatt-scale solar and broad decarbonization are pursued. Or, they could end up on the proverbial ash heap of history. Which is it?

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