Factor This

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, 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 

1. LS Power Said to Near Deal for EDF’s American Renewables Arm – Bloomberg
2. Big US Solar and Battery Project Lines Up $3.5 Billion Financing –– Bloomberg
3. G.M. Plans to Develop Energy Storage Batteries as E.V. Sales Flag — The New York Times
4. New Qcells plant doubles current US capacity to make solar cells – Canary Media
5. 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

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 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 

1. The Sorry State of Carbon Removal — Heatmap News
2. Solar energy helps US farms stay afloat – but Republicans’ bill could change that — The Guardian
3. America’s Data-Center Build-Out Is Falling Way Behind Schedule — The Wall Street Journal
4. 7 states sue Trump administration over nearly $1 billion deal to halt offshore wind farm — ABC News
5. ‘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

Tell us what you think of the show!

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

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 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

1. Rep. Chip Roy loses runoff for Texas attorney general to a MAGA challenger – POLITICO
2. U.S. Aims to Give Cold War Plutonium to Start-Ups for Nuclear Fuel – The New York Times
3. China’s world-beating solar industry is in turmoil — The Economist
4. Wind-Permit Stall Is Threatening $50 Billion in US Developments – Bloomberg
5. 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

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

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

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

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 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 

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

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

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

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

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

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 

1. Why Is Your Electric Bill Going Up? Blame the Broken Grid. – The New York Times
2. Trump administration to pay 2 more companies to walk away from US offshore wind leases – The Associated Press
3. Why electricity markets are stuck on the gas price rollercoaster — The Financial Times
4. The Rise of the High-Range, Less Expensive E.V. — The New York Times
5. 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

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 Bianca Giacobone of Latitude Media, who discussed how Iran's strikes on aluminum smelters in the UAE and Bahrain last month pushed prices up 11% to their highest level since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. 

This week’s “Cleantecher of the Week” is Michael Chanin, CEO of Cherry Street Energy. Through Shine On, Cherry Street’s Solar School partnership with the nsoro Foundation, they prepare young adults aging out of Georgia’s foster care system for careers in power infrastructure. He highlights Emmanuel, who recently transitioned out of foster care and now helps build and maintain solar at Delta Air Lines’ rooftop at Hartsfield-Jackson.

This Week in Cleantech — April 24, 2026 

1. Swedish Green Steel Startup Stegra Gets $1.65 Billion Funding to Complete New Plant – The Wall Street Journal
2. Data centers’ mad dash for the Texas grid – POLITICO
3. Renewable energies overtook global electricity demand last year, led by solar growth in China, India – The Associated Press
4. Why the U.S. Is Such an Outlier on EVs – The Wall Street Journal
5. Why the US grid will end up paying for Iran’s aluminum strikes – Latitude Media

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

Tell us what you think of the show!

Headlines talking up the surge in energy demand driven by AI and connected to data center development highlight how much has changed across the sector. But what if the capacity to meet this demand is already there, just hidden behind outdated assumptions? 

To better understand what it means to utilize the existing capacity of the grid to meet this demand, we connected with Shaneez Mohinani, Head of Strategy and Operations at GridCARE. She talked through what it means to utilize the hidden capacity in the grid, the importance of moving beyond worst-case scenario planning, how all of it impacts affordability, and much more.  

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