The Power Connect is back and we’re taking you to the EV Charging Summit and Expo where Fred Davis will host, MC and interview as part of the three-day affair in Las Vegas from March 29-31. As a lead up to the Summit - we’re sitting down with different speakers from the event who have established themselves as key voices and operators in the EV Charging sector. We start with Irina Filippova, Chief Operating Officer from Electrada. Irina gives us a quick glimpse at the state of Fleet EV Charging, the culture Electrada is building and how its team is one of the fastest moving and forward-thinking companies in the clean energy industry and Irina gives us a hot Las Vegas take to close out the discussion - and what we can expect from her panel on March 30th.

For more info on the Summit - go to their site here and save 50 percent off registration by entering the promo code EVCS2023.

The Bedding and Sleepwear industry will never be the same. Climate Tech and sustainability is invading the textile space as well and entrepreneurs Phoebe Yu and Kat Dey have teamed up with a clean take on bamboo fabric that’s both good for the environment and remarkably comfortable with their Eco-friendly with an attitude bedding and sleepwear company - Ettitude. The two paired up nearly five years ago as Yu was looking for a US partner and met marketing guru and veteran startup founder Dey. The stars aligned - literally - and Yu, based in Australia, knew she found the right partner and the two got to work marketing their sustainably made bamboo sheets and sleepwear. Slowed but not stopped by Covid, they’re now looking to get into retailers after having gone direct-to-consumer and have an obscenely low return rate and have raised more than $1.7M to date. Phoebe breaks down what makes their fabric so special - and comfy - and what’s next for the burgeoning retailer.

Just in time for Christmas and the holidays - go to Ettitude and enter Promo Code ‘Power Connect’ for 10 percent off!

Learn more about Phoebe Yu and Kat Dey.

It’s the biggest company you’ve heard of but didn’t know they exactly how important they are — 30-year Schneider Veteran Brad Wills stopped by The Power Connect to break down the next great conquest for the Electric Giant. Wills, Schneider’s Director for Strategic Customers and Programs, talks about how the traditional B2B company is taking its expertise in that market and venturing into the B2C market and is primed to ‘explode.’ Working with the Top 100 Builders in the United States, Wills discusses how their newest features, including the Weiser Energy Solution, The Energy Center and the groundbreaking ‘Grid-to-Plug’ Feature, are following the latest trend of the home being the new Energy Hub, except Schneider wants to give the homeowner access and control to better energy efficiency, understanding and operation - all from an easy-to-use App. It’s an amazing development from a company that according to Wills, was not only named the most sustainable company in the world - they also claim 80 percent of all electrons in the US run through Schneider Equipment.

For more on Schneider Electric and Brad Wills.

While money was already flowing into the clean tech and renewable spaces even before the Government dumped another $394 Billy in tax breaks and new money — the stage is being set for who survives, who won’t make the cut and perhaps most importantly - who will stand out and lead in their sector. Well, if you’re taking bets - put some action on Electrada and their CEO Kevin Kushman. A 25-year veteran of the data, analytics and clean tech and DER space, Kushman is leading a savvy group of energy professionals who are using Charging-As-A-Service and have created their ‘Mobile Microutility’ model and are redefining how fleet electrification will be done by working with Commercial fleets, utilities and investing into the tech and infrastructure of how the charging gets done. It’s a brilliant strategy and after you listen to Kushman, it’ll make sense why he’s the man leading the way.

For more on Kevin Kushman and Electrada.

The future of forecasting is here and Innowatts comprehensive digital energy platform isn’t just helping retailer energy providers with accurate forecasting, but their enhancing their profitability and reducing their carbon footprint - all at the same time. Contact Innowatts for a demo to get started today.

While nicknames are the norm in Sports Radio - energy podcasting doesn’t quite lend itself to coining the movers and shakers in the energy space - but we did that with our guest today - the Godfather of the PPA in Europe - Dr. Harald Overholm - the found and CEO of Alight Energy. The leader in PPAs in Europe, Overholm tells us how he’s always been destined to make moves in clean energy, why the United States has the best entrepreneurs in the world, whether or not Alight will ever venture into the US market and how a chance comment in a Cambridge University cafeteria led to him connecting with Jigar Shah.

Learn more about Dr. Harald Overholm and Alight Energy.

There’s a reason former athletes often go on to great business careers thanks to years of training and mental preparation. Buck Martinez is no exception as the former college baseball player carved out a 35-year career as an executive with Florida Power & Light and helped usher in an era of renewables for the utility giant before they were widely accepted as they are now. Martinez dishes on what made the change at FPL so dramatic, how bringing in non-energy professionals helped change the culture and maintaining a singular focus brought huge results. But it might be his post FPL career that Buck is most proud of as the Founder of Student ACES, a high school program in South Florida that has grown from a classroom of students nearly a decade ago to now schools from all over the state and country are interested in what Buck and his team are doing to educate kids through empowerment, education, athletics and group training. It’s an incredible story of an old school athlete with a huge heart who is working to help kids navigate their own lives in a rapidly changing society.

For more on Buck Martinez and Student ACES.

We continue on with all things Neal Dikeman in the second part of our conversation with the long-time entrepreneur, CleanTech veteran and political upstart. You can catch Part One here. We may not see the political upstart aspect anytime soon, we’ll let Neal tell you about that, but in today’s episode he dives into the origins of CleanTech, why Silicon Valley and Houston need to communicate more and how the two very different ecosystems complement each other well. Neal gives us insight into what he tells startups, what he looks for in a pitch, why networking is always important and why you have to have your own to tap into - and finally - why the Inflation Reduction Act was not necessary.

Learn more about Neal here.

Check out our podcast partner Innowatts’ latest webinar - “Finding a Rhythm: Forecasting and Innovating in a Renewable Age.”

We celebrate the half century mark of the podcast with one of the best minds and pioneers of the Clean Tech space - the incomparable Mr. Neal Dikeman. One the most colorful characters in the energy space, Neal, a proud Texas A&M Aggie (haven’t met one that isn’t yet in fairness), shares how he couldn’t get a job out of college to how he found his way to Silicon Valley and now uses a lot of the same principles and processes today as he’s one part of the Clean Tech Venture Capital Firm - Energy Transition Ventures - alongside Craig Lawrence. In this first part of our two-part interview, the never dull Dikeman details his 270 day process when evaluating startups, why history matters, speed kills and living in a cul-de-sac— in the start-up world - can be a death knell. Whether you’re in energy, clean tech or have the greatest widget idea that no one’s ever heard of - today’s discussion with Neal is a Mini-Masterclass in Startup Founding 101.

For more on Neal Dikeman and Energy Transition Ventures.

And don’t miss the webinar ‘Finding a Rhythm - Forecasting and Innovating in a Renewable Age’ with podcast partner Innowatts - this Thursday, 1p EDT. Sign Up here Today.

Jaime Andres Diez is fighting an uphill battle but it wouldn’t be the first time he’s come from nowhere to posing a legitimate political challenge, albeit this time on a much larger stage. The 26-year-old Libertarian candidate for the Texas Railroad Commission seat is battling against Republican incumbent Wayne Christian and upstart Democratic candidate Luke Warford. Diez is not necessarily a political neophyte, having taken second in a school board race in his native Brownsville. However the stakes are much different at the state level, he’s running as a third party candidate and he’s lacking in one major category compared to the other two in the race — Money. Diez isn’t flinching and in today’s episode discusses why he chose the Libertarian party, or perhaps why they chose him, his disenchantment with political groups that claim to help Hispanic candidates, his platform for Railroad Commission, fixing the state’s renewable transmission problems and whether he has a viable shot at winning - or at the very least affecting the race.

Learn more about Jaime Andres Diez.

A Jack-of-All trades on a mission for mastery - John Belizaire has a knack for starting businesses in some of the most difficult and cut-throat industries in American business - and thriving. The native New Yorker has been a serial entrepreneur in the insurance and finance spaces and then at the behest of a mentor and investor colleague, took his knack for solving problems to the energy space and is now running one of the fastest-growing companies in energy - Soluna. Determined to show the world how computing can help solve the energy gap, they’re taking unused energy that would normally get wasted and monetizing it for its clients. He also runs The CEO Playbook, an insightful blog where Belizaire shares his notes, thoughts and input on what makes CEOs tick and how they can continue to evolve and improve because as he puts it - it’s a flashy job, but it’s a lonely one as well.

Learn more about Soluna and John Belizaire here.

Finally, The Power Connect is brought to you by the webinar ‘Getting into a Rhythm - Forecasting and Innovating in a Renewable Age.’ This timely discussion focuses on what companies are doing for their short-term and long-term forecasting needs and how renewables are playing a vital part in adding to grid complexity. Join Innowatts’ Chief Innovation Officer Krishnan Kasiviswanathan and Rhythm Energy’s Roozbeh Amirazodi on Nov. 10th at 1p et / Noon Ct and come ready with questions and comments - we’ll see you Nov. 10th.