Factor This!
Factor This! is a weekly podcast for the solar industry that provides in-depth and actionable content not available anywhere else. The podcast features solar energy leaders who actually move the needle, in hopes of making you smarter, your solar job easier, and moving the industry forward. Factor This! is produced by Renewable Energy World and Clarion Energy, and is hosted by John Engel. Have an idea for an episode or want to sponsor the show? Email john.engel@clarionevents.com for more information. Find show notes, transcripts, and resources at RenewableEnergyWorld.com. Subscribe today to renewable energy's newest podcast.
Episodes
134 episodes since 2022
This Week in Cleantech (9/6/24) — Cleantech hits a rough patch
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 Tim De Chant from TechCrunch, who wrote about a possible path to re...
September 06, 2024
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Season 1
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Episode 117
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16:49
Can we collaborate? Utilities and developers work to mend fences
The energy transition was always going to produce some form of tension. That isn't altogether negative— friction keeps a speeding train on the tracks, after all. In the energy industry, it's electric utilities and clean energy developers who mo...
September 02, 2024
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Season 1
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Episode 116
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30:20
This Week in Cleantech (8/30/24) — Does clean energy need a Marshall Plan?
his 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 Dan Gearino from Inside Climate News, who wrote about how progress i...
August 30, 2024
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Season 1
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Episode 116
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18:54
This Week in Cleantech (8/23/24) — The human side of virtual power plants
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 CNET senior editor Jon Reed, who visited an energy-efficient home i...
August 23, 2024
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Season 1
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Episode 115
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23:00
This Week in Cleantech (8/16/24) — What are the friendliest states for solar?
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 Business Insider reporter Catherine Boudreau, who wrote about Con E...
August 16, 2024
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Season 1
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Episode 114
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16:07
This Week in Cleantech (8/09/2024) - Turning air conditions into batteries
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 MIT Technology Review reporter Casey Crowhart, who covered how new ...
August 09, 2024
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Season 1
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Episode 113
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16:10
This Week in Cleantech (8/02/2024) - Permitting bill pits clean energy industry against climate activists
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 Jael Holzman, a senior reporter at Heatmap, who reported on how the...
August 02, 2024
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Season 1
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Episode 112
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18:22
Going inside utilities to scale DERs
The energy industry often pits utilities and clean energy advocates as enemies duking it out from opposite corners of the ring.As the narrative goes, utilities drag innovation in favor of the status quo. They're lobbying, some say, has ...
July 29, 2024
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Season 1
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Episode 111
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52:10
This Week in Cleantech (7/26/2024) - Can solar survive another supply glut?
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 Financial Times' Brett Christophers, who reported on China's expon...
July 26, 2024
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Season 1
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Episode 110
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17:57
Can a utility lead the energy transition? Inside the rebirth of PG&E
Five years ago, PG&E's reputation was shattered. California's largest utility had filed for bankruptcy after admitted missteps led to catastrophic wildfires. The climate crisis had wreaked havoc in the state most committed to fighting it. <...
July 22, 2024
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Season 1
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Episode 109
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52:33
This Week in Cleantech (7/19/2024) - Storms batter the world's power grids
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 Heatmap writer Katie Brigham, who reported on rising interest in so...
July 19, 2024
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Season 1
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Episode 109
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18:30
Hype aside, virtual power plants are breaking through
Virtual power plants were always doomed to fall into clean tech's notorious hype cycle. There are plenty of reasons for that, but start with the name. 'Virtual power plant' means everything and nothing all at once. Then there's the orig...
July 01, 2024
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Season 1
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Episode 108
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40:38
This Week in Cleantech (6/28/2024) - AI could strain the grid, or make it a lot smarter
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, who reported on AI...
June 28, 2024
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Season 1
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Episode 108
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27:27
This Week in Cleantech (6/21/24) — What would a Donald Trump victory mean for historic clean energy incentives?
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 Newsweek editor Jeff Young, who reported on President Biden's effor...
June 21, 2024
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Season 1
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Episode 107
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19:56
This Week in Cleantech (6/14/24) — Renewable energy projects keep getting bigger
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 Michael Thomas, author of the "Distilled" newsletter, who reported ...
June 14, 2024
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Season 1
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Episode 106
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19:34
A new solar tariff fight is here. It may be even worse than the last
Christian Roselund has a strategy for when a new solar tariff petition drops. Turn off your phone. Then get to reading. Had he failed to follow these rules in April, Roselund, a senior policy analyst at Clean Energy Associates, would ha...
June 10, 2024
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Season 1
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Episode 105
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51:51
This Week in Cleantech (6/7/24) — Michigan fights off NIMBY push against clean energy
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 Guardian's Dharna Norr, who reported on an effort by Vermont le...
June 07, 2024
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Season 1
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Episode 105
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17:48
This Week in Cleantech (5/31/24) — How Texas topped California for utility-scale solar
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 Stephen Robert Miller, who wrote for Yale E360 about an effort to c...
May 31, 2024
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Season 1
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Episode 104
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17:21
What FERC did, and didn't, do to jumpstart transmission
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has unveiled landmark new rules in attempt to jumpstart the beleaguered transmission system in the U.S. Many are already calling it the most impactful action by the agency in decades, providing a path to...
May 20, 2024
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Season 1
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Episode 103
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49:56
This Week in Cleantech (5/17/24) — Biden slaps new tariffs on Chinese imports
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 Oliver Milman, an environment reporter for The Guardian, who cover...
May 17, 2024
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Season 1
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Episode 102
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16:30
This Week in Cleantech (5/10/24) — The giant battery boom is here
This Week in Cleantech is a new, weekly podcast covering the most impactful stories in cleantech and climate in 15 minutes or less.
May 10, 2024
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Season 1
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Episode 101
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15:21
This Week in Cleantech (5/3/24) — The EPA is cracking down on power plant emissions. Will it stick?
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 Maxine Joselow, who reported on a ...
May 03, 2024
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Season 1
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Episode 100
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15:50
This Week in Cleantech (4/26/24) — A new solar tariff fight begins
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 AP News climate solutions reporter Alexa St. John, who reporte...
April 26, 2024
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Season 1
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Episode 99
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16:34
This Week in Cleantech (4/5/24) — The final battle over green hydrogen tax rules
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 E&E News reporter Christian Robles who covered the controv...
April 05, 2024
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Season 1
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Episode 98
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18:25
This Week in Cleantech (3/29/24) — Can the White House stop China's clean energy dominance?
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 Kelly Livingston of ABC News who covered the EPA's new vehicle stan...
March 29, 2024
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Season 1
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Episode 97
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14:20