Factor This

Factor This
  • 4.8 (42)
  • Technology
  • Updated Weekly

Launched in 2022, the Factor This Podcast has featured many of the most influential leaders driving the energy transition. From solar and battery storage executives to utility CEOs, the Factor This Podcast brings unique insights and answers to the energy industry’s most pressing challenges. Go beyond high-level trends and mainstream talking points with actionable takeaways.    The Factor This Podcast grew in 2023 with the addition of This Week in Cleantech, a weekly roundup of the biggest stories in climate and clean energy in 15 minutes or less. With new episodes every Friday, Factor This content director Paul Gerke and Mike Casey, a cleantech commentator and president of Tigercomm, bring listeners the most important headlines of the week while featuring the leading journalists behind the stories. The all-new FactorThis.com is your best source for news, commentary, and analysis of renewable energy and the power grid. 

  1. 2d ago

    This Week in Cleantech (09/25/2026) - Iran war energy crisis backs Bangladesh into a corner

    Tell us what you think of the show! [Reupload] 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. On this episode, Clarion Events Content Director Jeremiah Karpowicz is filling in for Paul Gerke. This week's episode features special guest David Fickling from Bloomberg, who discusses how the Bangladesh's garment industry is coping with the Iran war's disruption of the energy supply chain.  This week’s “Cleantecher of the Week” is Dr. Joe Romm, a physicist and one of the most influential voices in the fight against climate change, who passed away unexpectedly this month. Joe served at the Department of Energy under President Clinton and turned his focus to climate after his brother lost his home in Hurricane Katrina. He founded the blog Climate Progress, which Time called the web's most influential climate-change blog, and he was chief science advisor for the Emmy-winning series Years of Living Dangerously. Rest in peace, Joe.  This Week in Cleantech — September 25, 2026  The New Clean Tech Meta and Google Are Turning to Power AI — BloombergSenate inches closer to US infrastructure permitting reform bill — ReutersAfrica's cement boom signals next great shift in global energy use — ReutersIran war causes global pain at the pump — AxiosYour $30 Jeans Are Running Out of Cheap Power in Bangladesh — BloombergEnergy policy on your mind? Check out all episodes of the Factor This Policycast

  2. 4d ago

    Scaling DERs for reliability and resilience | Factor This Policycast

    Tell us what you think of the show! Utilities and grid operators face immense pressure to meet rising electricity demand, harden systems against extreme weather, upgrade and replace aging infrastructure, adapt to changing state and federal policies, and keep rates affordable. It's a juggling act, and with all of those balls in the air, the 'old-school' utility method of building more supply-side solutions just doesn't cut it anymore. As a result, distributed energy resources (DERs), or customer-sited technologies, are moving beyond the margins of reliability planning to the center of attention. This episode of the Factor This Policycast, presented in partnership with national business association Advanced Energy United, explores how mostly behind-the-meter tools like batteries, smart thermostats, backup generators, microgrids, rooftop solar, and flexible load can be aggregated and operated as dependable grid assets. Extending a conversation that began at DTECH Reliability & Resiliency 2026 in Chicago, Illinois, moderator Paul Gerke leads a discussion alongside Emma Heins, policy principal at Advanced Energy United, about what it takes to scale virtual power plants and other DER programs. The conversation, featuring Bart Jackson of Sunrun, ENERGYHUB's Maxwell Burke-Scoll, and Kahri Gerke at Alliant Energy, highlights practical lessons from states and utilities moving past pilots to full-scale implementation, focusing on how DERs can improve reliability, reduce peak demand, support resilience during emergencies, and lower customer costs. Also on the table: utility partnerships, market design, customer enrollment, dispatch performance, interconnection, data visibility, and compensation. Energy policy on your mind? Check out all episodes of the Factor This Policycast

    Scaling DERs for reliability and resilience | Factor This Policycast

  3. Sep 21

    How academic research and utility partnerships can enable grid modernization and decarbonization

    Tell us what you think of the show! As increasing energy demand and affordability challenges reshape the electric grid, bridging the gap between academic research and real-world utility execution has never been more important. What works in the lab doesn’t always translate in the field, but at the same time, developments like rapid electrification and inverter based resources have pushed the grid passed the limits of legacy modeling. It’s why utilities rely on universities and national labs to deliver the field-ready tools, training frameworks, and specialized insights needed to modernize the grid. That process is something that Dr. Leo Jiang, Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering and Director of the Center for Electric Power Systems Research at Clarkson University, will be exploring in detail at DTECH Northeast during the Standardizing Power Quality Modeling for DER Grid Compatibility at Scale session. We caught up with him for the latest episode of the Factor This Podcast to get a sense of how utilities can leverage university research to modernize legacy assets, what it means to refine dynamic modeling, how to cultivate the technical talent needed for a resilient grid and much more.  Energy policy on your mind? Check out all episodes of the Factor This Policycast

  4. Sep 18

    This Week in Cleantech (09/18/2026) - Is Trump's EPA going too far?

    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 Jake Spring from The Washington Post, who discusses the EPA's move to repeal Biden-era limits on carbon pollution from power plants. This week’s “Cleantecher of the Week” is Dulcie Madden, co-founder and CEO of Dig Energy. Her small startup spent five years developing its technology in a New Hampshire barn, and this month it completed its first commercial job, drilling a set of geothermal wells for a Boston office building using a high-pressure water jet that cut water use by 90%. The approach could cut geothermal drilling costs by up to 80%, and the company's already booked with jobs into mid-2027. Congratulations Dulcie! This Week in Cleantech — September 18, 2026  A solar industrial complex is turning Republicans into believers — POLITICOTech giants launch flexible-power coalition for data centers — AxiosOil Executives Say the Great Fuel Crisis Is Here — The Wall Street JournalThere is no ‘one size fits all’ solution for the energy transition — The Financial TimesTrump’s EPA is ending one of the nation’s biggest climate protections — The Washington PostEnergy policy on your mind? Check out all episodes of the Factor This Policycast

  5. Sep 11

    This Week in Cleantech (09/11/2026) - China's solar gambit pays off

    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 Tim McDonnell of Semafor, who discusses how solar has overtaken coal as China's top power source for the first time, after a massive build-up.  This week’s “Cleantecher of the Week” is Kofi Asante, founder and CEO of Bluecore Energy. Just two months after launching out of stealth, Asante's startup closed an oversubscribed $50 million seed round this week to build small nuclear reactors mounted on floating barges, generating clean power for ports and nearby infrastructure without needing a fixed site.  This Week in Cleantech — September 11, 2026  Massachusetts Will Require New Data Centers to Use Clean Energy — BloombergCarbon Capture Won’t Save Us Anytime Soon — The New RepublicWhy California Is Reconsidering Its Decision to Shun Nuclear Power — The New York TimesChina’s cleantech exports are widening the “energy dominance” gap — Latitude MediaChina's solar beats coal — SemaforEnergy policy on your mind? Check out all episodes of the Factor This Policycast

  6. Sep 10

    This is CITAP: Accelerating transmission permitting | Factor This Policycast

    Tell us what you think of the show! In April 2024, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced a final permitting reform rule to streamline the authorization process for large electric transmission projects without sacrificing environmental reviews. The Coordinated Interagency Transmission Authorizations and Permits (CITAP) program uses the Federal Power Act to establish the DOE as a coordinating entity between federal agencies and the state and local stakeholders responsible for permitting decisions needed to site transmission lines. CITAP sets a binding two-year schedule for a process that has historically taken four years or longer. It also requires developers to submit a comprehensive public participation plan to ensure that communities and key stakeholders are included in the permitting process. By acting as the lead agency, DOE aims to reduce duplication of effort that would otherwise be expended across several distinct agencies, processes, and procedures. Ultimately, by enabling faster buildout of new electric transmission infrastructure, CITAP promises to increase access to a diversity of energy sources, reduce transmission congestion and energy prices, and deliver reliable, affordable power to consumers when and where they need it.  More than two years have passed since the final rule was issued- so where is the first wave of streamlined transmission projects? This episode of the Factor This Policycast, the latest in a series presented in partnership with national business association Advanced Energy United, explores that question. Hosted by Factor This content director Paul Gerke, the podcast features Advanced Energy United managing director Dylan Reed and Ashley Kang, senior director of external affairs and communications for transmission developer Grid United. They dive into the details of the CITAP program and share why community engagement plays a critical role. The group discusses the value of grid-to-grid projects and gets into why they're so tricky to build. They also highlight the early fruits of the feds' efforts, including the North Plains Connector project, which just broke a record for the fastest turnaround on an environmental impact statement. Energy policy on your mind? Check out all episodes of the Factor This Policycast

    This is CITAP: Accelerating transmission permitting | Factor This Policycast

  7. Sep 4

    This Week in Cleantech (09/04/2026) - Why is a Trump donor profiting from offshore wind cancellations?

    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 Evan Halper from The Washington Post, who breaks down new drama surrounding the Trump administration's settlement requiring RWE to abandon offshore wind leases in exchange for $1.2 billion. This week’s “Cleantecher of the Week” is Emily McAteer, co-founder and CEO of Odyssey Energy Solutions, which just closed $74 million to scale a platform that connects more than 6,000 solar installers and EPCs across 50-plus countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America with financing and bulk equipment procurement. The company's already facilitated $3.6 billion in capital and unlocked 1.5 gigawatts of distributed solar projects, with activity in India up 205% over the past year. This Week in Cleantech — September 4, 2026 Meet the super PAC working to crush clean energy's political foes — Canary MediaData Center Backlash Reaches the Ballot Box — Data Center KnowledgeIs electricity dimming oil’s political power? — POLITICOFervo bets big on geothermal energy — CNBC$900 million from a canceled wind deal will benefit a Trump donor — The Washington PostEnergy policy on your mind? Check out all episodes of the Factor This Policycast

  8. Aug 31

    How autonomous BVLOS drones and physical AI are transforming grid reliability with Trevor Perrott

    Tell us what you think of the show! Modern grid management is about much more than routine efficiency. Utility teams are under pressure to enable proactive wildfire mitigation, rapid storm response, and continuous oversight across thousands of miles of aging infrastructure, but maintaining and scaling these tasks can be a major challenge when teams are constrained by traditional field inspection methods that are slow, expensive, and visually limited. How are autonomous, long-range drone platforms and Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) operations transforming grid monitoring across massive service territories? And what does it actually take to deploy and scale these capabilities? Trevor Perrott, CEO and Co-Founder of Censys Technologies, sat down with us to answer those questions and more. He breaks down the operational realities of moving from reactive maintenance to predictive asset management, explores how utilities can achieve "asset omniscience" to protect critical infrastructure, and outlines strategies for turning massive aerial datasets into actionable intelligence. Perrott also outlines how to navigate ever-evolving FAA regulations, what approaches are being used to scale pilot programs into high-ROI enterprise deployments, and more.  Energy policy on your mind? Check out all episodes of the Factor This Policycast

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4.8
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42 Ratings

About

Launched in 2022, the Factor This Podcast has featured many of the most influential leaders driving the energy transition. From solar and battery storage executives to utility CEOs, the Factor This Podcast brings unique insights and answers to the energy industry’s most pressing challenges. Go beyond high-level trends and mainstream talking points with actionable takeaways.    The Factor This Podcast grew in 2023 with the addition of This Week in Cleantech, a weekly roundup of the biggest stories in climate and clean energy in 15 minutes or less. With new episodes every Friday, Factor This content director Paul Gerke and Mike Casey, a cleantech commentator and president of Tigercomm, bring listeners the most important headlines of the week while featuring the leading journalists behind the stories. The all-new FactorThis.com is your best source for news, commentary, and analysis of renewable energy and the power grid. 

Information

  • Creator
    Factor This
  • Years Active
    2022 - 2026
  • Episodes
    264
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Factor This
  • Show Website
    Factor This

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