Factor This

Tell us what you think of the show!
This Week in Cleantech is a weekly podcast covering the most impactful stories in clean energy and climate featuring Paul Gerke of Factor This and Tigercomm’s Mike Casey.
This week's episode features special guest Oliver Milman from The Guardian, who discussed how the clean energy industry is pushing forward despite Trump's aggressive efforts to suppress it.
This week’s “Cleantecher of the Week” is Sean Park, the CEO of Point2. Data centers rely heavily on copper cables, but copper has physical limits on efficiency and is subject to major price swings. Point2 has developed a way to transmit data using radio waves through plastic materials instead, cutting out copper entirely. The company claims this halves power consumption compared to traditional high-speed copper cables. Congratulations Sean!
This Week in Cleantech — May 1, 2026 
Why Is Your Electric Bill Going Up? Blame the Broken Grid. – The New York Times
Trump administration to pay 2 more companies to walk away from US offshore wind leases – The Associated Press
Why electricity markets are stuck on the gas price rollercoaster — The Financial Times
The Rise of the High-Range, Less Expensive E.V. — The New York Times
Trump’s attempt to crush clean energy progress not going to plan, experts say — The Guardian
Want to make a suggestion for This Week in Cleantech? Nominate the stories that caught your eye each week by emailing  [email protected]

Tell us what you think of the show!
This Week in Cleantech is a weekly podcast covering the most impactful stories in clean energy and climate featuring Paul Gerke of Factor This and Tigercomm’s Mike Casey.
This week's episode features special guest Bianca Giacobone of Latitude Media, who discussed how Iran's strikes on aluminum smelters in the UAE and Bahrain last month pushed prices up 11% to their highest level since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. 
This week’s “Cleantecher of the Week” is Michael Chanin, CEO of Cherry Street Energy. Through Shine On, Cherry Street’s Solar School partnership with the nsoro Foundation, they prepare young adults aging out of Georgia’s foster care system for careers in power infrastructure. He highlights Emmanuel, who recently transitioned out of foster care and now helps build and maintain solar at Delta Air Lines’ rooftop at Hartsfield-Jackson.
This Week in Cleantech — April 24, 2026 
Swedish Green Steel Startup Stegra Gets $1.65 Billion Funding to Complete New Plant – The Wall Street Journal
Data centers’ mad dash for the Texas grid – POLITICO
Renewable energies overtook global electricity demand last year, led by solar growth in China, India – The Associated Press
Why the U.S. Is Such an Outlier on EVs – The Wall Street Journal
Why the US grid will end up paying for Iran’s aluminum strikes – Latitude Media
Want to make a suggestion for This Week in Cleantech? Nominate the stories that caught your eye each week by emailing  [email protected]

Tell us what you think of the show!
Headlines talking up the surge in energy demand driven by AI and connected to data center development highlight how much has changed across the sector. But what if the capacity to meet this demand is already there, just hidden behind outdated assumptions? 
To better understand what it means to utilize the existing capacity of the grid to meet this demand, we connected with Shaneez Mohinani, Head of Strategy and Operations at GridCARE. She talked through what it means to utilize the hidden capacity in the grid, the importance of moving beyond worst-case scenario planning, how all of it impacts affordability, and much more.  
Want to make a suggestion for This Week in Cleantech? Nominate the stories that caught your eye each week by emailing  [email protected]

Tell us what you think of the show!
This Week in Cleantech is a weekly podcast covering the most impactful stories in clean energy and climate featuring Paul Gerke of Factor This and Tigercomm’s Mike Casey.
This week's episode features special guest Jennifer Hiller of The Wall Street Journal, who wrote about U.S. utilities' plans to spend about $1.4 trillion over the next five years to upgrade the aging power grid and meet surging electricity demand driven largely by AI data centers.
This week’s “Cleantecher of the Week” is Kerry Bowie, President and Founder of Browning the Green Space, or BGS, a nonprofit in Massachusetts that creates job and business opportunities in clean energy for people of color through training programs, startup support, and career pipelines. It also brings together companies and partners to remove barriers and expand access to affordable, equitable energy solutions. Congratulations, Kerry! 
This Week in Cleantech — April 17, 2026 
Stung by Iran war, countries are turning against U.S. fossil fuels — The Washington Post
US power and natgas prices turn negative in Texas and California as mild weather cuts demand — Reuters
Michigan regulators to utilities: Incorporate virtual power plants, or else — Factor This
Great Britain households to be urged to use more power this summer as renewables soar | Renewable energy — The Guardian
Utilities Plan to Spend $1.4 Trillion Over Next Five Years to Power AI Boom — The Wall Street Journal
Want to make a suggestion for This Week in Cleantech? Nominate the stories that caught your eye each week by emailing  [email protected]

Tell us what you think of the show!
This Week in Cleantech is a weekly podcast covering the most impactful stories in clean energy and climate featuring Paul Gerke of Factor This and Tigercomm’s Mike Casey.
This week's episode features special guest Kelsey Tamborrino from POLITICO, who wrote a story in E&E News about a new survey of renewable energy developers that found federal permitting requirements are significantly slowing clean energy deployment.
This week's “Cleantechers of the Week” are Sam and Juliana Bendek, co-founders of Elastic Energy. The company developed a new tech that stores energy using natural tree sap. Congratulations Sam and Juliana!
This Week in Cleantech — April 10, 2026 
Wisconsin city passes nation’s first anti-data center referendum — POLITICO
Exclusive: Record funding for fusion power lands as Trump eyes cuts — Axios
State Climate Laws Targeted Around US as Iran War Spikes Gas Prices — Bloomberg
Will the Iran war derail the energy transition? — The Financial Times
Federal permitting obstructs clean energy deployment, survey finds — E&E News
Want to make a suggestion for This Week in Cleantech? Nominate the stories that caught your eye each week by emailing  [email protected]