This Week in Cleantech (05/09/2025) - Are Trump's cleantech cuts undermining his mineral plans?

05/09/25 • 21 min

This Week in Cleantech is a weekly podcast covering the most impactful stories in clean energy and climate in 15 minutes or less featuring Paul Gerke of Factor This and Tigercomm’s Mike Casey.

This week’s episode features special guest Alex Kaufman, who wrote for the The Atlantic about how Trump’s administration is fast-tracking domestic mining projects, pushing executive orders and green-lighting new rare earth and mineral ventures to reduce reliance on foreign sources like China.

This week's "Cleantecher of the Week" is Meredith Connolly, who shared a story from her first road trip in an electric vehicle. Charging her car cost just $22, but the station was in front of a Target so she ended up spending more inside the store than she did on charging. Her point: businesses should want EV chargers, because they bring in more customers.

This Week in Cleantech — May 6, 2025

Why Going Nuclear Is the Only Good Choice: Merryn Talks Money — Bloomberg
Republicans say EVs don’t pay their fair share. Here’s the math. — The Washington Post
India Sees a Future Making Solar Panels for Itself, and Maybe the World — The New York Times
United Bets on Photosynthesis and Limestone to Fuel Net-Zero Flight Path — The Wall Street Journal
The Missing Part of Trump’s Minerals Math — The Atlantic

Nominate the stories that caught your eye each week by emailing [email protected]

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 in 15 minutes or less featuring Paul Gerke of Factor This and Tigercomm’s Mike Casey.

This Week in Cleantech — May 6, 2025

Why Going Nuclear Is the Only Good Choice: Merryn Talks Money — Bloomberg
Republicans say EVs don’t pay their fair share. Here’s the math. — The Washington Post
India Sees a Future Making Solar Panels for Itself, and Maybe the World — The New York Times
United Bets on Photosynthesis and Limestone to Fuel Net-Zero Flight Path — The Wall Street Journal
The Missing Part of Trump’s Minerals Math — The Atlantic

Nominate the stories that caught your eye each week by emailing [email protected]

Previous Episode

This Week in Cleantech (05/02/2025) - Is the NRC stifling nuclear innovation?

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 in 15 minutes or less featuring Paul Gerke of Factor This and Tigercomm’s Mike Casey.

This week’s episode features special guest Molly Taft from WIRED, who wrote about how several states and startups are suing the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), arguing its strict, slow regulations stifle innovation in small nuclear reactor development.

This week's "Cleantecher of the Week" is Maddy Mowrey, Event Specialist at National Grid Renewables. She was the point person for the National Grid Executive Parnter Summit event in Nashville last week. Congratulations Maddy!

This Week in Cleantech — May 2, 2025

U.S. Needs More Power for AI—but Critical Equipment Is Pricey and Scarce — The Wall Street Journal
Video: Underwater windmills could revolutionize our energy systems — CNN Business
How a Carbon Pipeline Is Turning Iowa Against Wind — Heatmap News
Farmers are making bank harvesting a new crop: Solar energy — Grist
States and Startups Are Suing the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission — WIRED

Nominate the stories that caught your eye each week by emailing [email protected]

Next Episode

Utilities, data centers, and grid flexibility: How does the customer benefit?

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Utilities are doing all they can to accommodate large load customers like AI data centers, but some worry those efforts come at a cost to other customers. On this episode of the Factor This podcast, West Monroe Partner Sam Uyeno explains how the proliferation of data centers could actually lower electricity prices. In a far-reaching discussion, Uyeno and host Paul Gerke touch on demand flexibility, the potential benefits of AI in grid planning, and the complexities of co-location and supply chain issues. Uyeno also previews his participation in the upcoming DTECH Data Centers & AI event in San Jose, California.

Nominate the stories that caught your eye each week by emailing [email protected]