On the latest episode of Scaling Clean, I sat down with a leader who built his career in oil and gas with companies like Schlumberger and Halliburton. Akshay Sagar is now the CEO of the world’s largest solar O&M provider, NovaSource Power, managing more than 30 GW of solar and storage projects worldwide.

I love Akshay’s advice about focusing on people and not being intimidated when people around you bring great ideas.

Here are three big takeaways from our conversation:

🔹 Great leadership starts with people, not assets.

Akshay says every organization is made up of two things: “people and steel,” and steel can always be replaced. The true differentiator is talent. Surround yourself with people more talented than you are, invest in them, and never be intimidated by their ideas.

🔹 Turnarounds demand culture, creativity, and accountability.

Having managed three major corporate turnarounds, Akshay insists that workplace culture outweighs strategy. Success comes from setting shared values - ownership, discipline, urgency, accountability, and austerity - and adapting your business structure to fit the moment rather than copying someone else’s model.

🔹 Focus is a superpower.

Instead of chasing every new opportunity, focus on what your business does best. Expanding too far can pull attention away from your core strengths. Most of us think we can do it all, but lasting success often comes from going deeper, not wider. Identify the distractions, and have the discipline to say no.

On the latest episode of Scaling Clean, I got to interview a man who’s navigated not one, but two successful exits. Jacob Susman is the Senior VP of Development at top-tier project development company Electric Hydrogen, which recently acquired his green hydrogen company, Ambient Fuels. Jacob unpacked what it takes to build, grow, and successfully sell a clean energy company.

Here are three big takeaways from our conversation:

🔹 Start building relationships long before you need them.

Jacob’s path to multiple successful exits was paved by years of relationship-building. He served on several boards, forming lasting relationships across the sector. Those connections later became essential in opening doors to partnerships and acquisitions.

🔹 Communication in tough times should be clear, quick, honest, and direct.

After 25 years in clean energy startups, Jacob has learned that communication can make or break a team. He’s led through crises, market swings, and tough personnel calls, and says the key is to communicate clearly and quickly. When hard news hits, be honest and direct. “How you comport yourself in these moments is going to be telling about your long-term reputation around the sector.”

🔹 Know when to say no.

Early in his career, Jacob’s team pushed through a small 10 MW wind project that nearly burned them out. Just because something can be done doesn’t mean it should be. Sometimes the smartest move is to stop, reallocate people to higher purposes, and focus on projects that advance your real strategy. In fast-growing sectors like green hydrogen, discipline is a superpower.

My latest Scaling Clean guest is Alon Mashkovich, the CEO of enSights, an AI profitability software that helps solar C&I owners capture missing revenue. Alon saw that 70% of solar projects were missing production forecasts. Now, the enSights software helps 6,000+ global clean energy assets stay profitable by getting to the root cause of project failures.  

Here are Alon’s big three points: 

🔹 Local insight drives global growth: 

Global expansion requires more than a good product; it demands deep market understanding. Identify pain points and tailor your approach to local regulations, and cultural dynamics. Establish a physical presence and immerse yourself in local culture. 

🔹 Build investor trust through revenue: Build investor trust by linking business values to revenue. Sales, even small ones, prove impact and attract investors, turning ideas into scalable businesses. Addressing market pain points is easier with a strong team and culture.

🔹 Build trust for tough conversations: Every market has pain points, and a strong team and culture make solving them easier. It's challenging, but when efforts align with business impact, everything shifts.

Thomas Jam Pedersen is my latest Scaling Clean podcast guest. Thomas Jam Pedersen, the CEO of Danish startup Copenhagen Atomics, is developing compact molten salt reactors fueled by recycled nuclear waste and thorium for greater efficiency and scalability. What’s interesting about this tech is its potential to address long-term radioactive waste, reducing storage time requirements from 100,000 years to ~300 years. 

Here are the big three points: 

🔹 Energy drives prosperity: 

Every product we buy uses energy. 200 years ago, humans consumed significantly less energy. Today, it's about a hundred times more per person in the Western world. We are hungry for more energy because it's fundamental to prosperity. In the next decade, Thomas believes people globally will use 10x as much energy as today, which will strain global energy production. The only solution is generating a huge amount of energy. Countries like China and India are already realizing they need to produce everything: coal, oil, gas, wind, solar, and fusion. They want to build as much as they can, as fast as possible.

🔹 The challenge of starting in Europe: A decade of economic stagnation and resistance to new tech made Europe a tough launchpad.  In Europe, the focus is still on cutting energy consumption. However, I Thomas believes this position will change in the next five years.

🔹 Fundraising for the long haul: Unlike software startups, nuclear ventures have timelines more like pharmaceuticals, spanning decades. To address the gap, Copenhagen Atomics built a revenue model from day one by selling test systems, reactor salts and lithium-6 and -7. They have a demo reactor planned for 2027 with projected revenues of $50M by 2028.

This episode of Scaling Clean is a first on two fronts. We’ve interviewed not one, but two guests, and captured it all on video. I sat down with Nextracker founder and CEO Dan Shugar and Doral Renewables CEO Nick Cohen to hear the story behind Mammoth Solar, America’s largest solar project, and how it’s fueling prosperity in the heart of Indiana.

The project’s name comes from a woolly mammoth whose bones were discovered in the field next to the site, and are now on display at the Smithsonian. Dan and Nick share how they made it a priority to work directly with landowners and the community while introducing agrivoltaics. Nick emphasized the importance of protecting landowner rights, and Dan highlights how local steel manufacturing is essential to Mammoth’s long-term impact.

My latest Scaling Clean guest is Blake Nixon, CEO of Geronimo Power, formerly known as National Grid Renewables. Blake discusses Geronimo’s rebrand and what it signals for the company’s future. He also shares the inspiring story of his mentor, Geronimo Power founder, Noel Rahn.

A few more standout moments from our conversation:

1️⃣  Be a risk taker. It doesn't get easier to take risks as you grow older. So take them young.

2️⃣ At any point in your career, you can choose how much you want to grow in your role. You can stick to a job description, or you can add your own ideas. You get to decide. 

3️⃣ Mistakes come with leading a company. It’s your job to experiment, push limits, and learn what works or doesn’t. Get comfortable with not knowing and needing to ask questions.

My guest on the latest episode of Scaling Clean, Robert Laubach, knows what it’s like to weather industry headwinds. In his words:

“We’ve gotten a lot of solar whiplash over the years. But you just keep going. You keep building.”

Robert is the CEO of MBL Energy, a California-based solar EPC contractor that has designed and installed over 800 megawatts of commercial and industrial solar energy projects. He brings more than 25 years of experience in commercial roofing and solar construction, and today, three generations of his family work together in the business.

This episode isn’t just about how to build a successful solar EPC company. It’s about resilient leadership, family legacy, and navigating the clean energy transition in a rapidly changing environment.

MBL Energy has delivered high-impact projects like solar canopies over hospital parking structures, EV charging infrastructure for commercial vehicle fleets, and even solar arrays installed over aqueducts—a growing trend in dual-use infrastructure. As Robert puts it:

“We’ll do as much or as little as needed to make our customers successful—from blank dirt to final delivery.”

Cleantechers –

My latest Scaling Clean episode is with a familiar guest: data center developer John Belizaire, the CEO of Soluna Computing.

Because we’ve already talked to John about hiring and firing, I had more time to explore a topic near and dear to my heart: generating attention.  

A committed pro himself, John’s advice on how to build profile was excellent. Belizaire made three points I wholeheartedly agree with, I’m paraphrasing them below. 

1. Just do it. If you are just getting started, you've got to put in the time. In John’s words, “The more you do it, the more fruitful it becomes. So I think the first piece of advice is if you're not doing it, start doing it.” Say yes to opportunities—panels, podcasts, anything— so you can hone your interview and stage presentation skills. I’ll add to that: even experienced public speakers know that each new audience is another opportunity to test material and tweak your stump speech. 

2. You need a voice. You have to have a unique point of view. One way (not the only way) is to play contrarian: flip the script. The media love controversy, and outlier narratives. Can you offer something different than what everyone else is saying?  

3. Tell a story. Practice not just talking about it, but telling a story around it. In Belizaire’s words, “What will be true if what you're saying is true? What will change and how will that affect different communities? What role will you play to make that happen?” 

Thanks again to John for being a repeat guest, and for sharing your wisdom with the cleantech community. And congrats to Soluna on their first solar-powered data center — Project Annie,  a 75 MW site co-located with a 114 MW solar farm in Texas! 

Our most recent guest brings two decades of electrical industry experience. Brandon Moss is the CEO of Shoals Technologies Group, one of the major players in our industry. Brandon's leadership journey includes roles at Southwire Company, Lutron Electronics, and Stanley Black & Decker. Shoals Technologies Group is the leading provider of electrical balance of systems, or eBOS — electrical solutions that enable the rapid deployment of large-scale solar energy projects. Shoals is well respected in our field and among the more mature clean economy companies, having gone public in 2021. 

Here are Brandon’s B3P’s:

6:36 - Despite recent headlines and political noise, solar energy remains in a strong position and is expected to stay that way for years. It’s the fastest energy source to deploy and continues to offer one of the lowest levelized costs of energy. With rising electricity demands, the growth trajectory for solar looks very promising.

8:41 - One neat thing about solar plants is their immense size. Even small adjustments, like modifying a product or its delivery, can lead to major efficiency gains for solar power projects and EPC customers.

14:50 - Early in your career, the most valuable thing isn’t chasing titles or higher pay. It’s finding a role where you can learn, grow, and have the support of mentors who are genuinely invested in your development. Leadership opportunities will come with time, but long-term success is about playing the marathon, not the sprint.

#Cleantechers - 

After more than 40 interviews with some of the clean economy’s most thoughtful leaders, I’ve recorded my last episode as host of the Scaling Clean podcast.

Since launching the show in 2021, I’ve had the privilege of learning from – and sharing the wisdom of – executives driving the clean energy transition. Their insights have made me a better leader and hopefully offered our audience tools to lead with more clarity, purpose, and resilience.

I’m thrilled to pass the microphone to my colleague and friend, Melissa Baldwin. As Tigercomm’s Senior Vice President, Melissa brings a fresh perspective to the mic. She’ll be asking smart questions about everything from AI’s role in marketing to what clean economy CEOs are doing to sustain high performance in turbulent times.

Melissa started her series by interviewing me about what I’d learned. I’m probably the least impressive guest she’ll have, so we should probably get this episode out of the way. The good news is that we kept it short! We reflect on the journey so far and talk about the themes and takeaways that emerged from these 40+ episodes. In the coming weeks, we will condense these insights into a resource that will live on the Tigercomm website. 

Thank you to every guest who shared their story, and thank you to our listeners.