Scaling Clean: Jan Andersen on Why Clean Energy Needs to Start Playing to Win

In this episode of Scaling Clean, I sat down with Jan Andersen, CEO and founder of Jubilee Transmission, a small but fast-moving transmission developer focused on building transmission lines that help interconnect systems and shore up grid reliability.

Jan’s work sits at the center of one of the biggest bottlenecks in clean energy right now: the grid is running out of room. Experts estimate the U.S. will need to double or triple transmission capacity by 2050, and by early 2025, the interconnection queue had grown past 2.6 terawatts of proposed generation and storage, nearly double today’s total installed grid capacity.

Here are his big three points:

Opposition is playing to win, while clean energy is playing to be right.

Jan believes the clean energy industry has spent too long assuming it will win on merit. Our mission is “noble,” our technology is sound, and the facts are on our side.

But this mindset creates an opening for opposition to organize and win locally. Developers often underestimate how quickly local resistance can take shape when communities feel ignored or dismissed.

“We as an industry love to show up with fact sheets… but it just doesn’t work.”

Transmission is hard because of routing, land, and stakeholder alignment.

Unlike generation projects that may touch one or two counties, transmission lines often cross five or six counties (and sometimes multiple states). 

Jan explained that linear infrastructure development is a problem of siting, landowner negotiations, and routing complexity.

“If you’ve got to tack around somebody on a transmission line… every mile you have to do that is another three, four million dollars.”

He also said transmission can face less opposition when developers site projects strategically (e.g. by building in established transmission corridors rather than proposing entirely new pathways).

“If you site it correctly… in a transmission corridor, next to an existing line, the impact tends to be a lot smaller.”

Clean energy isn’t spending enough on community engagement or politics.

The industry isn’t investing enough to protect projects from local opposition and moratoriums. Renewable infrastructure is backed by major capital, but developers often hesitate to invest in the “soft costs” that ultimately determine whether a project gets penciled in.

“God forbid somebody spends… the cost of a turbine annually on local community engagement.”
Companies mention they might not want to invest in community engagement because they don’t want to be political, but as Jan said, “Any type of infrastructure is political by nature.”

“It is pay to play. And if you don’t pay, you don’t get to play.”

Why This Conversation Matters

For me, this episode highlights several points about transmission and community engagement:

• Permitting success depends on a community engagement strategy. The industry can’t assume it wins because it’s “right.” It has to be willing to compete.
• Early development is where projects are won or lost. Routing decisions, landowner relationships, corridor choices, and early outreach determine whether projects stay on track.
• Creating meaningful relationships with communities isn't optional. If developers don’t invest in community relationships and politics, they should expect more moratoriums, cancellations, and delays.

Listen to the full conversation on Apple, Spotify, Radio Public, Amazon Music, and iHeart.