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Terms like “AMI 2.0” often mean different things to different teams, depending on a utility’s current infrastructure and future goals. This lack of consensus is why Matt Wakefield, Director of Information, Communication & Cyber Security at EPRI, argues that the industry may need to shift from hardware versions to core capabilities. By positioning AMI as a cross-cutting platform for grid visibility and DER integration, utilities can move far beyond simple meter-to-cash functions.

The “NextWave AMI” framework is designed to provide that capability-based lens, focusing on long-term value rather than the integration of a specific tool. Matt joins the Factor This podcast to explore how aligning people and processes with high-value AMI use cases allows utilities to achieve "stacked benefits" that address mounting pressures like affordability and grid resilience. He unpacks the limitations of viewing AMI 2.0 as a fixed technology stack and shares the resources available to help utilities plan their next transformational upgrades.

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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 Jennifer McDermott from the Associated Press, who reported on Revolution Wind, an offshore wind project targeted by Trump administration that is now sending power to the New England grid.

This week's "Cleantechers of the Week" are Martin Mulvihill, a partner at Safer Made, and Arlene Blum, a chemist, mountaineer and executive director of the Green Science Policy Institute. Safer Made is a venture capital fund that invests in companies reducing human exposure to harmful chemicals, including through PFAS-alternatives, and the Green Science Policy Institute is a nonprofit that advocates for safer use of chemicals. 

This Week in Cleantech — March 20, 2026

1. How Ann Arbor, Michigan, is creating its own clean energy utility — Grist
2. Trump Officials Weigh New Plan to Stop Offshore Wind Farms — The New York Times
3. Surging Gas Prices Reignite EV Interest — Bloomberg
4. Oil and gas prices are soaring. Some countries are ready with solar panels and EVs — NPR
5. Offshore wind project targeted by Trump administration starts sending power to the New England grid — The Associated Press

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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 Chuck McCutcheon from Axios, who wrote about a new coalition of companies, including tech giants like Google and Tesla, which is aiming to make better use of underutilized capacity on the U.S. power grid

This week's "Cleantecher of the Week" is Samir Pendse, CEO at Coral. New York–based Coral provides instant rebates for energy and HVAC upgrades and recently raised $7.5 million in pre-seed and seed funding. The company is working to expand access to affordable financing for sustainable home upgrades at a time when energy bills are rising. Congratulations, Samir!

This Week in Cleantech — March 13, 2026 

1. Jefferies Makes the Case to Double Down on Clean Tech Investments — Bloomberg
2. Demand for AI Data Centers Sends Prospectors Hunting for Land and Power – The New York Times
3. Solar group takes revenge on Chip Roy over tax credits — E&E News
4. The Electric: Its Sales Sliding, BYD Fights Back With a New Battery — The Information
5. Exclusive: Google, Tesla unite to fight energy costs — Axios

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The energy landscape has entered a volatile era of climate disruption. Regions once considered safe now face the devastating reality of escalating wildfires and extreme weather. In this episode, we sit down with Don McPhail, VP of Market Development at eSmart Systems, to discuss why traditional, asset-focused mitigation is no longer enough for utilities across the United States.

We explore the critical shift to community-first resilience models, where protecting life-sustaining infrastructure takes priority over mere compliance. How exactly are digitization and AI-powered digital twins transforming grid safety? What does it mean to use high-resolution imagery to identify minute defects like upside-down cotter pins in a way that creates quantifiable value? Don provides a roadmap for utility leaders ready to trade siloed data practices for predictive insights that save time, money, and lives.

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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 Evan Halper from the Washington Post, who wrote about some MAGA figures who are warming to solar despite Donald Trump’s longstanding criticism of it.

This week's "Cleantecher of the Week" is David Jankowsky, CEO of Francis Energy. Francis Energy provides ultra-fast charging stations for EVs, and focuses on expanding charging access to underserved and rural communities to ensure no community is left behind in the transition to electric vehicles. Congratulations, David!

This Week in Cleantech — March 06, 2026 

1. Don’t Look Now, but the Green Transition Is Still Happening — The New York Times
2. What Trump’s war on Iran means for the US energy crunch — The Verge
3. What AES’ $33.4 billion take-private says about energy and AI — Latitude Media
4. Europe Is Learning An Uncomfortable Truth About Local Battery Production — InsideEVs
5. Why Katie Miller and other MAGA influencers suddenly love solar power — The Washington Post

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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 Elizabeth Weise from USA Today, who wrote about how clean energy bans are "skyrocketing" under the second Trump administration.

This week's "Cleantecher of the Week" is Gonzalo Castro de la Mata, Executive Director at Earthna, who recently published an op-ed about how the climate conversation is now shifting from goals to implementation, focused on energy security, finance, and scalable solutions, especially as surpassing 1.5°C appears more likely. He pushes for us to move faster from climate agreements to execution.

This Week in Cleantech — February 27, 2026 

1. Data centers done right? Xcel and Form Energy team up to power Google operation in Minnesota — Factor This
2. US particle accelerators turn nuclear waste into electricity, cut radioactive life by 99.7% — Interesting Engineering
3. Clean Energy Manufacturers Set to Muddle Through Fresh Tariff Turmoil — The Wall Street Journal
4. Data Center Outlook: Half of 2026 Pipeline May Not Materialize — Sightline Climate
5. Clean energy bans skyrocket under Trump, USA TODAY analysis finds — USA Today

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With global energy demand at an all-time high, battery storage is evolving from a flexible filler into a critical grid resource. Success in this new era depends less on the hardware itself and more on the digital intelligence used to run it. By leveraging a digital layer to optimize the economics of battery assets, utilities are now rethinking BESS as a high-value, GW-scale engine for reliability and market participation.

To understand what this means on a practical level, we sat down with Brian Fellon, the Senior Vice President of Power Solutions at Xpansiv. He explains why battery energy storage systems are no longer an optional add-on but a critical backbone for grid operators. We also explore how utilities are moving from small-scale pilots to gigawatt-scale operations, the role of batteries in managing volatile demand from data centers, how real-time market participation demonstrates measurable value to regulators and ratepayers and much more. 

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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  Arcelia Martin from Inside Climate News, who wrote about how Texas is using hundreds of retired, repurposed EV batteries as grid-connected energy storage.

This week's "Cleantecher of the Week" is David Kirkpatrick, Managing Director at SJF Ventures. David recently published a piece titled, “Climate Tech is Not Endangered” on LinkedIn. The piece argues that even with the Trump Administration rolling back federal climate policy, market and global momentum toward electrification and decarbonization will continue. Congratulations, David!

This Week in Cleantech — February 20, 2026 

1. Why Living in China Is Like ‘Living in the Future’ — The New York Times
2. Ford turns to F1 and bounties to build a $30,000 electric truck — TechCrunch
3. Data Centers and Your Power Bill — The New York Times
4. Supreme Court strikes down Trump’s sweeping tariffs, upending central plank of economic agenda — AP News
5. Retired EV Batteries Scored a New Gig: Bolstering Texas’ Grid — Inside Climate News

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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 Matthew Daly from The Associated Press, who wrote about how the EPA has rescinded the 2009 “endangerment finding,” the scientific and legal basis under the Clean Air Act that allowed the federal government to regulate greenhouse gas emissions to address climate change.

This week's "Cleantecher of the Week" is Brian Hurley, executive director of Friends of Deckers Creek. He and his team are turning toxic, rust-orange acid coal mine drainage into clean water again with low-tech pond systems that bring back fish, salamanders, and frogs. And the cleanup is now helping recover rare earth minerals too, turning pollution into a resource that can fund even more restoration. Congratulations, Brian!

This Week in Cleantech — February 13, 2026 

1. Are faked public comments about to tank an Ohio solar farm? — Canary Media
2. Trump Administration Is Delaying Hundreds of Wind and Solar Projects — The New York Times
3. Wind and solar beat fossil fuels in EU power mix in 2025, energy think tank says — Reuters
4. Geothermal could replace almost half of the EU’s fossil fuel power — Grist
5. Trump's EPA revokes scientific finding that underpinned US fight against climate change — The Associated Press

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As energy demand reaches historic levels, the utility industry needs to build a 21st-century grid while also keeping monthly bills affordable for the average family. What does it mean to do so on a practical level?

To find out, we connected with Exelon EVP and COO Mike Innocenzo. Drawing on a career that began as a field engineer, he explains why affordability has become the starting point for every conversation at Exelon. He shares how the company navigates the massive costs of data center integration and EV adoption while overseeing a $38 billion capital plan. We also explore the reality of hardening the grid, the regulatory innovations needed to streamline costs, how Exelon uses AI to protect their customer’s bottom line and much more.

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