The ZENERGY Podcast: Energy Leadership, Finance, and Technology

Welcome to The Zenergy Podcast! Today, Karan has the absolute pleasure of speaking with John Podesta. Mr. Podesta has had an immensely impactful career in government. He has been the Chair of Hillary for America; Counselor to President Obama; Chief of Staff to President Clinton; Senior Adviser to President Biden for Clean Energy Innovation and Implementation, and much more. He is also the Founder of the Center for American Progress. Today, they discuss his journey into energy and politics, inflection moments working with President Clinton, President Obama, and President Biden, how future administrations could structure energy and climate policy to make it more resilient, and so much more. This is such an insightful episode, and we would love it if you would share it with anyone who you think might enjoy listening. Thank you, as always, for tuning in!

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Editing/Graphics: Desta Wondirad, Wondir Studios

Welcome to The Zenergy Podcast! Today, Karan speaks with Jeff Marootian, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy at the U.S. Department of Energy. They dive deep into what first drew Jeff into the world of public service and energy as well as how he ended up working in the Department of Transportation and, ultimately, the DOE. They discuss learnings he’s had over his career, specifically on the public communication front, and Jeff speaks about his proudest moment in government: Constructing the Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge on time and on budget. Karan and Jeff also look into how different levels of government can work more efficiently together to get projects done faster. If you enjoy today’s episode, please consider subscribing to the podcast and letting us know in the comments. As always, thank you for being here.

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Editing/Graphics: Desta Wondirad, Wondir Studios

Welcome to The Zenergy Podcast! Today, Former Chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Neil Chatterjee, returns to the podcast. This episode, Karan and Neil discuss bridging the political left and the political right in terms of climate and energy and how it has gotten so contentious in the past few years. Neil shares how he believes AI could bring bipartisanship to climate issues and if he thinks we will get permitting reform this congressional cycle. He gives his predictions for where clean energy and natural gas will be in the next 10 years and provides insight into his time at FERC. They wrap up with some advice for those fresh out of college and those in their 30s who are on the energy track. As always, thank you for listening!  

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Editing/Graphics: Desta Wondirad, Wondir Studios

Welcome to The Zenergy Podcast! Today, host Karan Takhar sits down for a chat with Rodolfo Bitar, VP of Business Development at PVH USA. They chat about what it takes to build a solar factory in the U.S. in 2025 including what inspired him to work in solar, how solar has evolved, how they made the decision to launch a factory in the U.S., the investments and strategic positions PVH has made to give it an advantage in the U.S. market, and more. They discuss the first steps to getting the factory up and running, what cost constraints need to be considered when manufacturing in the U.S., and how automation is playing a role in moving the industry forward. They also talk about the ways the company is adjusting after the passing of the One Big Beautiful Bill, their partnership with JP Morgan and PNC, and what role Rodolfo hopes the company will play in U.S. solar within the next 5 to 10 years. Be sure to subscribe if you haven’t already so you don’t miss out on new episodes!

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Editing/Graphics: Desta Wondirad, Wondir Studios

Welcome to The Zenergy Podcast! Today, Karan has the honor of speaking with Pajani Singah, Co-Founder of Amazonia Impact Ventures. The company’s website shares their mission best with a homepage statement of: “Amazonia Impact Ventures is an impact investor taking action to mitigate climate change and enhance biodiversity by protecting the Amazon rainforest and improving the lives of its people.” On this episode, we learn what inspired Pajani to launch Amazonia and what the early days of Amazonia looked like, including where they allocated their first 1 million dollars. We discuss Pajani’s leadership style, the challenges his company faced, and where he sees Amazonia going in the next 5 years. If you like today’s episode, don’t forget to subscribe so you don’t miss any future episodes.

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Editing/Graphics: Desta Wondirad, Wondir Studios

Welcome to The Zenergy Podcast! Host Karan Takhar has the pleasure of speaking with Sophie Bakalar, Partner at Collaborative Fund, for a conversation about investing in companies that ‘do good’ and are ‘doing well economically.’ They discuss what drew her to the intersection of sustainability and venture capital, how she met her partner, Craig, and what consumer trends made an impression on them both. Sophie shares how Collaborative Fund chooses which companies to invest in, what she believes a successful pitch looks like, and how they use “The Villian Test” for analyzing investments. Sophie gives advice to entrepreneurs about navigating the uncertainty in the world today, and then gives advice to her younger self. Thanks so much for tuning in!

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Editing/Graphics: Desta Wondirad, Wondir Studios

Welcome to The Zenergy Podcast! Today, Karan speaks with Lynn Heller, Founder and CEO of Climate Access Fund. Climate Access Fund’s mission is “to reduce the energy burden of Maryland’s financially vulnerable households through access to discounted clean energy via community solar.” With that in mind, Lynn and Karan discuss what drew her to launch CAF and why she felt she wanted to deploy social impact capital into this space. They chat about the process of launching a company, how community solar has evolved over the years, and ways in which community solar can benefit lower income and underserved communities. This interview was recorded prior to the passing of the ‘Big Beautiful Bill,’ however, Lynn expresses her thoughts on the impact of the ITC being eliminated if it were to be so and how it could affect developments on the ground. Finally, Lynn breaks down what gives her optimism for the future and what advice she’d give her young, graduate self. Thank you for checking out the podcast.

This episode was recorded on May 23, 2025.

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Editing/Graphics: Desta Wondirad, Wondir Studios

Welcome to The Zenergy Podcast! A few weeks ago, we posted an episode with Derrick Flakoll, Senior Policy Associate at BloombergNEF. That episode was recorded prior to the passing of the One Big Beautiful Bill, and so, we thought it fitting to have Derrick back on for a follow up discussion post its passing. Derrick walks us through an overview of the major changes in the bill, what the biggest takeaways for the renewables market are, how policy changes will affect wind and solar, what the ends and outs of the material assistance cost ratio policy are, what areas will be impacted most by the place-in-service deadlines, and so much more. If you’ve been wanting to learn more about how this new bill will affect the renewables industry, this is the episode for you. Thanks for tuning in!

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Editing/Graphics: Desta Wondirad, Wondir Studios

Welcome to The Zenergy Podcast! Today, Karan speaks with Lynn Heller, Founder and CEO of Climate Access Fund. Climate Access Fund’s mission is “to reduce the energy burden of Maryland’s financially vulnerable households through access to discounted clean energy via community solar.” With that in mind, Lynn and Karan discuss what drew her to launch CAF and why she felt she wanted to deploy social impact capital into this space. They chat about the process of launching a company, how community solar has evolved over the years, and ways in which community solar can benefit lower income and underserved communities. This interview was recorded prior to the passing of the ‘Big Beautiful Bill,’ however, Lynn expresses her thoughts on the impact of the ITC being eliminated if it were to be so and how it could affect developments on the ground. Finally, Lynn breaks down what gives her optimism for the future and what advice she’d give her young, graduate self. Thank you for checking out the podcast.

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Editing/Graphics: Desta Wondirad, Wondir Studios

Welcome to The Zenergy Podcast! Today, Karan sits down with Brandon Oyer, Head of America’s Power & Water at Amazon Web Services. Brandon shares his role at Amazon and how he became involved at the company. They then discuss how Amazon is using AI to get more power onto the grid, how much demand comes from traditional cloud computing vs AI, and Amazon's plan to be net-zero carbon by 2040. Brandon shares several sustainability projects Amazon is currently involved in, and we get a behind-the-scenes look into what it takes to supply a region with more power. If you enjoy today’s episode, be sure to like and subscribe to the podcast so you don’t miss other episodes.

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Editing/Graphics: Desta Wondirad, Wondir Studios