In this episode, we covered how renewable energy could reduce global conflict, Asia’s temporary shift back to coal amid gas shortages, and growing concerns about U.S. grid vulnerabilities. We also explored the rise of virtual power plants as a fast, scalable energy solution and the UK’s push to require solar panels and heat pumps in new homes, highlighting how resilience and energy security are becoming central to the clean energy transition.
Paul Gerke (00:02)
Hey everybody, and welcome back to This Week in Clean Tech, your favorite 15-minute roundup of the biggest stories in climate and clean energy each week.
You’re listening on Friday, March 27, 2026—or some date in the future. We can’t go back in time, but we do move forward.
If you don’t know me by now, I’m Factor This Content Director Paul Gerke, joined as always by clean tech commentator Mike Casey of Tigercomm.
Mike, no guest today—we’ve scared them all away. High five.
Mike Casey (00:31)
Great success!
Paul Gerke (00:34)
Very nice. Is Borat still funny? I think it’s coming back around.
Mike Casey (00:39)
Borat is eternally funny.
Paul Gerke (00:44)
Good—we’ve got a safe space for that.
Mike Casey (00:50)
Before we start, I want to acknowledge something serious—members of our armed forces losing their lives overseas. We’ll set aside commentary, but it’s important to recognize that loss.
Now, onto energy.
We talked about this last week, but seeing the Interior Secretary approve a billion-dollar payout to halt offshore wind development is incredibly frustrating. At a time when we clearly need more power, pulling back on clean energy projects like that is hard to understand.
Also, quick shoutout to listeners Stefano Palumbo and Brian Willis—thanks for listening.
Paul Gerke (02:34)
Just to clarify for listeners, Mike is referring to TotalEnergies stepping back from offshore wind lease areas, with roughly a billion dollars being redirected—reportedly toward natural gas infrastructure.
But offshore wind isn’t dead. We’ve had two major milestones recently—projects in Virginia and off Connecticut and Rhode Island are now delivering power to the grid after years of development.
Still, paying a company to walk away from clean energy projects says a lot about current policy priorities.
If you want to reach us, email us at:
TWIC@tigercomm.us
(we may update that soon).
Alright Mike—story number one.
Story 1: Renewables and Global Conflict
Mike Casey (04:03)
From ABC News: Could a global economy powered by renewables mean less war?
Paul Gerke (04:24)
The research here is interesting. Between 25% and 50% of interstate wars from 1973 to 2007 were linked to oil.
Nearly three-quarters of the global population lives in countries dependent on imported fossil fuels.
Fossil fuel reliance drives conflict through resource competition, scarcity, and economic vulnerability.
We’re seeing this play out right now with disruptions around the Strait of Hormuz, impacting global energy markets.
There’s growing urgency to reduce dependence on imported fossil fuels—not just for climate reasons, but for stability.
Mike Casey (05:28)
This isn’t a new idea—military leaders have been making this connection for years.
Renewable energy is tied directly to national security.
If energy is more distributed and locally produced, you reduce the likelihood of conflict over resources.
A cleaner energy system doesn’t just reduce emissions—it can reduce geopolitical tensions.
Solar, for example, is widely available and scalable. You can deploy it almost anywhere.
The bottom line: energy independence through renewables could reshape global stability.
Story 2: Asia Turns Back to Coal
Paul Gerke (07:08)
Story two—from the New York Times: Asia is turning back to coal as war disrupts natural gas supplies.
Mike Casey (07:15)
The shutdown in the Strait of Hormuz has removed about 20% of global LNG supply.
Asia depends heavily on LNG—especially from Qatar—so this disruption is significant.
Countries are now rationing energy, tapping emergency funds, and in some cases turning back to coal.
LNG is cleaner than coal, but it still relies on steady supply chains—which are vulnerable in times of conflict.
Paul Gerke (08:03)
Analysts expect this shift to coal to be temporary, but it highlights the fragility of fossil fuel supply systems.
Long-term, countries will either return to LNG or accelerate investment in renewables.
We’ve seen examples like Pakistan rapidly scaling solar to reduce vulnerability.
Distributed energy—like rooftop solar paired with storage—can provide resilience when centralized systems fail.
Story 3: U.S. Grid as a National Security Risk
Mike Casey (09:12)
Alright—story three from Bloomberg: JPMorgan warns that aging U.S. power grids pose a national security risk.
If you’re sensing a theme this week, that’s intentional.
Paul Gerke (09:27)
This is something we talk about a lot—grid infrastructure is becoming a major vulnerability.
JPMorgan is warning that aging systems are exposed to everything from extreme weather to cyberattacks.
As more devices connect to the grid, especially at the edge, there are more access points for bad actors.
At the same time, electricity demand is surging—driven by AI, electrification, and data centers.
Layer on geopolitical instability, and countries are starting to rethink reliance on fossil fuels versus building more resilient, renewable systems.
JPMorgan is trying to identify grid bottlenecks and direct capital toward solving them.
They’ve also announced a $1.5 trillion, 10-year plan to fund critical sectors like energy infrastructure, semiconductors, and data centers.
Mike Casey (10:44)
A quick correction—we should probably be directing that message to Jamie Dimon, not J.P. Morgan himself.
But here’s the key point: the U.S. grid is not federally managed like highways.
It’s a patchwork of regional systems built independently over time.
That makes large-scale upgrades and coordination more difficult—especially when it comes to permitting and deploying new technologies.
Grid constraints are already slowing data center development and impacting broader economic growth.
Investors are starting to treat the grid as strategic infrastructure—not just aging equipment to maintain.
Story 4: Virtual Power Plants (VPPs)
Paul Gerke (11:54)
Story four—from the Washington Post: “How to Get Big Tech to Pay Your Energy Bills.”
Mike Casey (12:10)
This is a great one.
Big Tech is driving massive electricity demand. McKinsey estimates $2.7 trillion will be invested in U.S. data centers by 2030.
To meet demand, companies are turning to everything—diesel generators, modified jet engines, even restarting coal and nuclear plants.
But there’s another solution: your home.
Virtual power plants—VPPs—connect thousands of homes using software to coordinate energy use.
They can reduce demand or dispatch stored energy from home batteries when needed.
Instead of building new power plants, VPPs can provide capacity in months.
They store cheap off-peak power and release it during peak demand—effectively creating new supply.
Paul Gerke (13:19)
If you’ve followed this space, VPPs aren’t new—but awareness still lags.
Now we have real data showing how effective they can be.
For example, in California, over 100,000 home batteries delivered 535 megawatts of power—enough to supply half of San Francisco for two hours.
That’s significant.
The Department of Energy estimates building equivalent natural gas capacity would cost at least twice as much—and take much longer.
The challenge is scaling this.
Homes need smart devices, batteries, and software integration.
Some companies are already doing this—installing home batteries, reducing bills, and allowing homeowners to sell energy back to the grid.
We’re also seeing early examples of data centers integrating VPPs into their energy strategies.
Story 5: UK Mandates Clean Energy in New Homes
Mike Casey (15:13)
Final story—from CNBC: the UK is introducing new rules requiring solar panels and heat pumps in all new homes.
Paul Gerke (15:32)
Interesting timing given everything we’ve been talking about.
Mike Casey (15:13)
Exactly. In response to the economic fallout from the Iran conflict, the UK government is requiring developers to install solar panels and low-carbon heating systems—like heat pumps—in new homes.
Some homes will also include balcony solar and heat networks.
The idea is to strengthen energy security by reducing reliance on volatile fossil fuel markets.
UK officials are explicitly framing clean energy as a national security tool.
Paul Gerke (16:13)
We’re already seeing the impact.
According to Octopus Energy, interest in solar has jumped by at least 50% since the conflict began.
Heat pumps and EVs are also seeing increased demand.
Analysts expect this geopolitical instability to accelerate the shift toward renewables—because they improve resilience, reduce pollution, and avoid exposure to global fuel markets.
There’s also a growing focus on domestic supply chains.
If you can guarantee energy pricing and avoid geopolitical disruptions, that’s a huge advantage for developers and utilities alike.
That’s really the throughline of this entire episode—energy independence, resilience, and stability.
Clean Techer of the Week
Mike Casey (17:21)
Alright, time for our Clean Techer of the Week.
Paul Gerke (17:42)
This week’s Clean Techer is Robert Piconi, CEO of Energy Vault.
The company recently acquired the 175-megawatt Cross Trails battery storage project in ERCOT North, Texas.
That brings Energy Vault’s total portfolio—owned, operating, and under construction—to 715 megawatts globally.
Congratulations to Robert Piconi, this week’s Clean Techer of the Week.
Wrap-Up
Mike Casey (18:30)
We’ll also thank our producer Brian Mendez—who is, apparently, a very confident musician—and our team members Alex Peterson and Claire Quirin for helping pull these stories together.
Paul Gerke (18:50)
And thank you to all of you for listening.
If you like the show, make sure to subscribe, leave feedback, and send us story ideas using the email we mentioned earlier.
You can read all the articles we discussed in the episode description or at FactorThis.com.
Until next time—be good people.