The Clean Energy Edge

Electricity is no longer just a utility expense—it's becoming a strategic business issue.

As AI, data centers, electrification, and rising electricity demand place increasing pressure on the grid, organizations face growing risks related to reliability, resilience, and energy costs. Yet many business leaders still aren't thinking about energy strategically.

In this episode of The Clean Energy Edge Podcast, Russ Bates sits down with Elena Yearly, CEO of EMY Consulting and author of You Can Do This: Enterprise Risk Management Made Simple, to discuss why energy is becoming a major business risk and what leaders should be doing about it.

We discuss:

⚡ Why energy is increasingly becoming a strategic business issue

Whether you're a business owner, executive, facility manager, investor, or energy professional, this conversation offers practical insights into the changing energy landscape and why energy strategy is quickly becoming business strategy.

Connect with Elena Yearly:

Website: emyconsulting.biz

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/elenayearly

#CleanEnergy #EnergyStrategy #GridReliability #BusinessRisk #EnergyManagement #AI #DataCenters #Electrification #BusinessLeadership #EnergyTransition

Electricity demand is rising faster than it has in decades.

AI data centers are consuming enormous amounts of power. Manufacturing is returning to the United States. Electric vehicles are growing. Utilities are warning about future capacity challenges.

So why are critical energy projects being delayed, canceled, or slowed down?

In this episode of The Clean Energy Edge Podcast, Russ examines the growing disconnect between America's rising electricity needs and the policies, permitting delays, and project cancellations that are slowing the deployment of new energy infrastructure.

Topics include:

This isn't a debate about politics.

It's a conversation about whether America is building enough energy infrastructure to support the future economy.

#Energy #Electricity #PowerGrid #AI #DataCenters #CleanEnergy #Infrastructure #Utilities #BatteryStorage #EnergyPolicy #RenewableEnergy #GridReliability

The biggest challenge in solar today isn’t demand—it’s speed.

Projects are taking too long to deploy, and that’s becoming a major bottleneck as electricity demand continues to rise from AI, data centers, electrification, and more.

So what if there was a way to build solar faster… without sacrificing quality?

In this episode of The Clean Energy Edge Podcast, Russ Bates sits down with David Griffin, CEO of 5B, to break down how their modular solar technology is changing the way projects are deployed.

We cover:

-Why traditional solar construction is too slow

-How 5B’s Maverick system enables rapid deployment

-The impact on labor, cost, and scalability

-Why speed is becoming one of the most important factors in energy

This is a practical, real-world conversation about how we scale clean energy faster.

Learn more at 5b.co or email NXTGEN: [email protected] 

Artificial Intelligence is driving one of the biggest increases in electricity demand in modern history, and most people have no idea what’s coming.

As AI data centers multiply across the United States, utilities are being forced to rethink how they generate, deliver, and prioritize power. In Nevada, a growing dispute involving utility service and rapidly expanding data center demand is raising questions about what happens when electricity demand grows faster than the grid can keep up.

Could AI eventually compete with communities for electricity capacity? Is America prepared for the massive power needs of AI, electric vehicles, domestic manufacturing, and an increasingly electrified economy?

In this episode of The Clean Energy Edge Podcast, Russ breaks down:

The future economy runs on electricity. The question is whether we can build enough of it.

#AI #DataCenters #Electricity #PowerGrid #Energy #CleanEnergy #ArtificialIntelligence #Utilities #BatteryStorage #GridModernization #Infrastructure #Technology

Electricity demand is surging from AI, data centers, electrification, and aging infrastructure — yet many renewable energy assets are still underperforming and leaving valuable power on the table.

In this episode of The Clean Energy Edge Podcast, Russ Bates sits down with Gareth Brown of Clir Renewables to discuss why “every electron counts” in today’s energy environment and how AI, analytics, and asset optimization are becoming critical to the future of renewable energy, grid reliability, and business resilience.

We discuss:

As electricity demand accelerates worldwide, the ability to maximize every available electron may become one of the most important challenges facing the energy sector.

Learn more about Clir Renewables: clir.eco 

What if renters, apartment residents, and condo owners could generate their own electricity without needing rooftop solar?

In this episode, Russ explores the growing rise of plug-in balcony solar systems already expanding across parts of Europe and now beginning to gain attention in the United States.

These compact solar systems can mount directly to balcony railings, patios, or small outdoor spaces and plug into a standard outlet to help offset electricity use.

Topics discussed include:

• how balcony solar systems work

• why they’re gaining popularity

• rising electricity prices

• energy independence for renters

• recent policy discussions in states like Ohio

• and why small-scale distributed energy could become a much bigger part of the future grid

The future of solar may not just belong to homeowners anymore.

While the United States continues fighting political battles over clean energy, China is rapidly building the industries that are shaping the future of global power generation, battery storage, electric vehicles, and manufacturing.

In this episode, Russ Bates breaks down:

This episode explores the intersection of energy, economics, manufacturing, infrastructure, and geopolitics — and why the future of global competitiveness may increasingly depend on who controls the technologies powering the modern grid.

For years, critics of renewable energy have relied on one core argument:

“What happens when the sun isn’t shining and the wind isn’t blowing?”

In this episode, Russ breaks down why that argument is rapidly becoming outdated.

Battery costs have collapsed nearly 90% over the last decade, utility-scale storage deployment is accelerating across the U.S., and clean energy paired with storage is now competing directly with traditional fossil fuel generation on cost.

Russ explains:

This isn’t theory anymore.

It’s already happening.

Sources discussed include BloombergNEF, Lazard, and the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).

The rules around clean energy tax credits are more complicated.

Between the Inflation Reduction Act and the so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill,” developers, businesses, and project owners are trying to figure out:

👉 What actually changed

In this episode of The Clean Energy Edge Podcast, Russ Bates sits down with Abby Massey of Capstan Tax Strategies to break down the latest changes impacting the Investment Tax Credit (ITC), safe harboring, and ITC adders like domestic content and energy communities.

We cover:

This is a practical conversation focused on helping projects move forward while these opportunities are still available.

👉 To connect with Abby Massey, find her on LinkedIn or email her at [email protected] 

Everyone says the same thing about clean energy:

“That money is just going to China.”

But is it?

In this episode, we break down what’s really happening—and why that argument completely misses the bigger picture.

Here’s the reality:

We also connect this to what’s happening right now:

So the real question isn’t whether some clean energy components come from overseas…

👉 It’s why we’re still okay with sending far more money abroad for fossil fuels—forever.

If you want a clear, no-nonsense breakdown of the “China argument” and where our energy dollars actually go, this episode is for you.