Factor This

Tell us what you think of the show! When Jenny Chase speaks or, more frequently, tweets, the solar industry listens. For nearly 20 years, Chase has chronicled the twists and turns of solar's meteoric growth as a market analyst for BloombergNEF. Her research is indispensable. Her annual prediction mega-threads are legendary. As much as the moniker makes her squirm, Chase is the closest solar h...

Tell us what you think of the show! This Week in Cleantech is a new, weekly podcast covering the most impactful stories in cleantech and climate in 15 minutes or less. This week’s episode features reporter Renee Fox from WOSU Public Media, which launched a new podcast series chronicling the $61 million bribery scandal involving FirstEnergy and former Ohio House of Representatives Speaker Larry Hou...

Tell us what you think of the show! Battery storage is booming in the U.S., and for good reason. So much intermittent renewable energy on the grid demands flexible resources to fill gaps. And, short of reverting back to fossil fuels, batteries are the best answer to support the energy transition. Investors have poured billions of dollars into battery storage development to cash in, largely based o...

Tell us what you think of the show! This Week in Cleantech is a new, weekly podcast covering the most impactful stories in cleantech and climate in 15 minutes or less. This week’s episode features science journalist Maddie Stone who reported in Grist about the challenges facing electric vehicle battery repair. This Week in Cleantech — Dec. 15, 2023 This week’s “Cleantecher of the Week” is Robin La...

Tell us what you think of the show! This Week in Cleantech is a new, weekly podcast covering the most impactful stories in cleantech and climate in 15 minutes or less. This week’s episode features Inside Climate News reporter Dan Gearino who breaks down plummeting prices for batteries, and why it's good news for the climate. This Week in Cleantech — Dec. 8, 2023 This week’s “Cleantecher of th...

Tell us what you think of the show! I first met Dominion Energy CEO Bob Blue at a shipping terminal in Norfolk, Virginia. We stood two years ago at the site that would one day support Dominion's buildout of the first commercial-scale offshore wind project in the U.S. Since then, Siemens Gamesa, the turbine manufacturer plagued by a billion-dollar quality control flop, has pulled out of that p...

Tell us what you think of the show! This Week in Cleantech is a new, weekly podcast covering the most impactful stories in cleantech and climate in 15 minutes or less. This week’s episode features Associated Press green energy reporter Jennifer McDermott who breaks down a monumental achievement for enhanced geothermal energy. This Week in Cleantech — Dec. 1, 2023 This week’s “Cleantecher of the We...

Tell us what you think of the show! Jeff Waters is always looking for a challenge. He thrives on chasing growth and the rush that comes by solving hard problems. And a maturing market often signals the need for a fresh start. So it may come as no surprise that Waters found his way to battery storage, and one of its darlings, Oregon-based Powin Energy. The company, with 3 GWh of assets in operation...

Tell us what you think of the show! Solar, wind, and battery projects are displacing fossil fuel assets in an urgent push to address the threats of climate change. But the race to decarbonize has created a new problem: In the absence of clear reliability standards, inverter-based resources are misbehaving and messing up the grid, despite repeated warnings. Episode 67 of the Factor This! podcast fe...

Tell us what you think of the show! This Week in Cleantech is a new, weekly podcast covering the most impactful stories in cleantech and climate in 15 minutes or less. This week’s episode features Washington Post climate reporter Shannon Osaka, who reports why car dealer skepticism could be one of the biggest threats to electric vehicle adoption. This week's "Cleantecher of the Week&quot...

Tell us what you think of the show! George Hershman's term as chair of solar's leading trade group began with optimism and excitement. He stepped into the role with the Solar Energy Industries Association, or SEIA, in January 2020, when the industry's meteoric rise was all but cemented. Today, we know the tumultuous stretch that quickly followed. A pandemic, supply chain constraints...

Tell us what you think of the show! This Week in Cleantech is a new, weekly podcast covering the most impactful stories in cleantech and climate in 15 minutes or less. This week’s episode features The Hill energy and environment reporter Zack Budryks for a deeper look at Maine's public power referendum. This Week in Cleantech  — Nov. 10, 2023 This week's Cleantecher of the Week is Karl S...

Tell us what you think of the show! What does AI really mean for clean energy? These days, the answer is increasingly hard to find. The AI craze, fueled by the popularization of tools like ChatGPT, has produced a frothy layer of contenders and pretenders. But under it all are applications that could have a big impact on the energy transition. And we need all the help we can get. To make sense of w...

Tell us what you think of the show! This Week in Cleantech is a new, weekly podcast covering the most impactful stories in cleantech and climate in 15 minutes or less. This week’s episode features Semafor climate and energy editor Tim McDonnell. This Week in Cleantech — Nov. 3, 2023 Congratulations to Lauren Glickman, and the Encore Renewable Energy team, for being named the first "Cleanteche...

Tell us what you think of the show! Corporate demand for renewables, and the urgency of fighting climate change, fueled a decade of meteoric growth in clean energy. But the facilitator of that surge — cheap capital — has all but disappeared. Inflation, high interest rates, and insufficient tax equity now call into question whether the growth trajectory can continue. Episode 64 of the Factor This!...

Tell us what you think of the show! This Week in Cleantech is a new, weekly podcast covering the most impactful stories in cleantech and climate in 15 minutes or less. This week’s episode features Bloomberg senior reporter for climate Akshat Rathi, author of the forthcoming book Climate Capitalism . This Week in Cleantech — Oct. 20, 2023 1. The Great Cash-for-Carbon Hustle — The New Yorker 2. Why...

Tell us what you think of the show! More than 100 years ago, the electric grid was built by, and for, large industrial companies. What started with on-site power supply evolved into a network of factories that would later extend to nearby homes. But along the way, the focus, at least for utilities, changed. Expensive upgrades, prolonged timelines, and reliability shortfalls are now fueling a trend...

Tell us what you think of the show! This Week in Cleantech is a new, weekly podcast covering the most impactful stories in cleantech and climate in 15 minutes or less. This Week in Cleantech — Oct. 13, 2023 1. Vermont Utility Plans to End Outages by Giving Customers Batteries — The New York Times 2. Saudi oil giant Aramco announces pilot project to suck CO2 out of the air, but some scientists are...

Tell us what you think of the show! Monetizing clean energy tax credits is already tough enough. Critical to clean energy deployment, tax equity financing is both inefficient and undersupplied. And it could get a lot worse. A rule proposed by banking authorities could have big impacts on the few remaining tax equity financiers by upending how they weight project risk. Simply put, the rule would qu...

Tell us what you think of the show! This Week in Cleantech is a new, weekly podcast covering the most impactful stories in cleantech and climate in 15 minutes or less. Produced by Renewable Energy World and Tigercomm, This Week in Cleantech will air every Friday in the Factor This! podcast feed wherever you get your podcasts. This week’s episode features Wall Street climate finance reporter Amrith...

Tell us what you think of the show! 40,000? 50,000? More? Whatever the number, there were a lot of people at this year's RE+ in Las Vegas. While the event's exhibits are a focal point of the event — especially for pros sourcing solar modules, inverters, and batteries — the real action takes place in the side rooms, restaurants, and bars. Episode 61 of the Factor This! podcast features St...

Tell us what you think of the show! This Week in Cleantech is a new, weekly podcast covering the most impactful stories in cleantech and climate in 15 minutes or less. Produced by Renewable Energy World and Tigercomm, This Week in Cleantech will air every Friday in the Factor This! podcast feed wherever you get your podcasts. This week’s episode features Washington Post business reporter Evan Halp...

Tell us what you think of the show! This Week in Cleantech is a new, weekly podcast covering the most impactful stories in cleantech and climate in 15 minutes or less. Produced by Renewable Energy World and Tigercomm, This Week in Cleantech will air every Friday in the Factor This! podcast feed wherever you get your podcasts. This week’s episode features Bloomberg energy reporter Mark Chediak who...

Tell us what you think of the show! The stakes couldn't be higher. The Inflation Reduction Act launched a market for green hydrogen. But more than a year later the Treasury Department is still working out the details for critical tax incentives. The delay has provided room for a multi-million-dollar battle to flare up between trade groups and environmentalists. And nothing less than a pillar...

Tell us what you think of the show! This Week in Cleantech is a new, weekly podcast covering the most impactful stories in cleantech and climate in 15 minutes or less. Produced by Renewable Energy World and Tigercomm, This Week in Cleantech will air every Friday in the Factor This! podcast feed wherever you get your podcasts. This week’s episode features MIT Tech Review climate and clean energy re...