This Week in Cleantech

Mike Casey

Paul Gerke and Mike Casey cover the week after the 2026 midterms. Tom Matzzie of the Investing in Tomorrow Coalition calls the results a rebuke of Trump energy policy. Stories include the SunZia wind and transmission project, old jet engines converted to power data centers, OpenAI’s Grid Protectors pledge and its Georgia campus, and an IEA report finding Spain saved $26 billion on gas imports thanks to renewables. Politico’s Kelsey Tamborrino explains what Democratic wins mean for permitting reform, tax credits and state energy policy. Plus, a Cleantecher of the Week.

Paul Gerke and Mike Casey return from a two-week break to cover the looming copper shortage and how cheap solar quietly passed nuclear in global power output. They look at why vehicle-to-grid tech hasn’t taken off and whether Ford’s new Fathom pickup can change that, plus how solid-state transformers could ease grid bottlenecks for the AI boom. The New York Times’ Brad Plumer explains how heat batteries like Antora’s turn cheap power into industrial steam. Cleantecher of the Week is Endurance Energy’s founder, who tested the first subsea geothermal plant in an underwater volcano.

Paul Gerke and Mike Casey cover how old batteries, solar panels, wind blades and grid gear are becoming a new source of critical minerals, and how Britain plans to balance a fast-growing grid. They dig into Zeke Hausfather’s analysis showing wind and solar avoided 3.7 billion tons of carbon pollution in 2025, and why tandem solar panels could help the US catch China. Grist’s Benton Graham explains the battery-powered commuter trains coming to Boston, Chicago and the Bay Area. Cleantecher of the Week is chef Christopher Galarza, whose study found unsafe NO2 levels in gas-fired kitchens.

Paul Gerke and Mike Casey cover the week's top climate and clean energy stories. They dig into whether the Invest in Tomorrow Coalition PAC can make clean energy a real political force, the Trump administration's rollback of fuel economy rules as gas tops $4.50 a gallon, and new research showing a new EV beats keeping a gas car. They break down Plug Power's 280 MW electrolyzer deal for Arcadia eFuels' Project ENDOR in Denmark. Heatmap's Jillian Goodman explains the Senate's bipartisan permitting deal and its odds. Cleantecher of the Week is Worden Marine founder James Worden.

This Week in Cleantech covers Georgia Republicans rallying behind Qcells solar manufacturing jobs despite federal tax-credit rollbacks; Google, Nvidia and major utilities launching a coalition to make data centers flexible grid partners; oil executives warning that a long-predicted fuel crisis, driven by Strait of Hormuz disruptions, has now arrived; and a new S&P Global report arguing rich and developing economies need different transition playbooks. Guest Jake Spring of The Washington Post joins to unpack the EPA's rollback of Biden-era power plant rules. The episode closes with Dulcie Madden of Dig Energy as Cleantecher of the Week.

This Week in Cleantech covers five stories: Massachusetts now requires large data centers to bring their own clean power or pay into a ratepayer fund; a new UN report finds carbon capture is falling far short of what's needed to meet climate targets; California weighs extending Diablo Canyon and lifting its nuclear moratorium; and China's cleantech exports keep widening its global energy lead. Semafor's Tim McDonnell joins to unpack his story on China's solar capacity surpassing coal, plus record global coal demand. The episode closes with Kofi Asante of Bluecore Energy as Cleantecher of the Week.

A pro-cleantech super PAC's primary wins against Republicans who gutted clean energy tax credits; officeholders losing races over data center fights; electricity replacing gasoline as a political flashpoint; Fervo Energy's geothermal deal to power Google data centers; and a Washington Post investigation into how a Trump donor benefited from a canceled offshore wind settlement. Reporter Evan Halper joins to break down that story. The episode closes with Cleantecher of the Week Emily McAteer of Odyssey Energy Solutions.

This episode of This Week in Cleantech, guest-hosted by Jeremiah Karpowicz alongside Mike Casey, covers OpenAI's 20-year, 10-gigawatt Ohio data center lease backed by Nvidia; a New York Times look at the aging transformers leaving the U.S. grid vulnerable to a lasting blackout; a Bloomberg report on battery storage projects stuck for years in interconnection queues; Paul Gerke's piece on the DOE scrapping its last three transmission corridor reviews; and WIRED's Molly Taft on the growing, cross-partisan backlash against AI data centers. This week's Cleantecher of the Week is Heron Power's Drew Baglino.

This week's episode covers Base Power's $1 billion funding round and new 36-hour home battery, the Trump administration's $3 billion critical minerals push that's inadvertently boosting EV supply chains, a Nebraska tax program funneling renewable energy revenue into rural schools and counties, a federal judge's order forcing the Pentagon to lift its freeze on wind project reviews, and a deep dive with returning guest Mark Chediak of Bloomberg on new tariffs targeting imported polysilicon. The episode closes with "Cleantecher of the Week," honoring a UK dairy farm's milk-powered heat pump innovation.

This week on This Week in Cleantech, Paul Gerke and Mike Casey cover China's solar capacity closing in on coal, a pro-solar super PAC's role in unseating Rep. Andy Ogles in his primary, and the world crossing 3 terawatts of installed solar capacity. They also dig into the US critical minerals mining boom at sites like Thacker Pass, and welcome first-time guest Heather Clancy of Trellis to discuss why Equinix and Oracle are turning to Bloom Energy fuel cells for data center power. The episode closes with Aytaç Yilmaz of Ore Energy as Cleantecher of the Week.