Scaling Clean

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Jun 2026

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Scaling Clean is the podcast for renewable energy leaders, investors, and advisors. Think of this as a cross between NPR's "How I Built This" and The New York Times' "Corner Office." Host Melissa Baldwin interviews CEOs, founders, and executives across solar, wind, storage, EVs, and more. Guests share founder journeys and insights on fundraising, M&A, retention, marketing, and hard-earned lessons on building resilient, profitable companies in the clean economy. Produced by Clare Quirin and powered by Tigercomm, the leading U.S. cleantech communications firm.

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59 recent

June 8, 202634 min

Episode 59: Marco Krapels of Enphase on EVs, VPPs, and Unlocking America's Hidden Energy Capacity

Imagine your EV sitting in the driveway overnight - not just charging, but powering your home, supporting the grid, and earning money while you sleep.That's not a distant vision. It's what Marco Krapels, Chief Marketing Officer at Enphase Energy, says is coming soon. Marco is my latest guest on Scaling Clean. He's spent decades shaping the clean energy industry, from early EV charging infrastructure to some of the sector's hardest-fought policy battles. Now he's focused on turning millions of homes into grid assets.Here are three takeaways from our conversation:🔹 Your EV may soon become an energy asset.Marco believes bidirectional EV charging could change the role of EVs. Instead of consuming electricity, EVs could store energy, power homes during outages, and provide flexible capacity to the grid when demand spikes. As a Mach-E owner myself, I found this fascinating.🔹 Utilities and distributed energy don't have to be opponents.The solar industry spent years fighting utilities over net metering. Marco believes the next era is about partnership. As utilities face growing demand from electrification and AI-driven data centers, distributed energy resources can help solve capacity constraints faster than traditional generation.🔹 We have a deployment problem.The U.S. already has untapped energy potential. 10 million homes with 10 kW of solar and 10 kWh of storage could unlock roughly 100 GW of dispatchable capacity. As electricity demand surges from AI, data centers, and electrification, the challenge may be less about building new generation and more about deploying the solutions we already have.

May 11, 202639 min

Episode 58: Daniel Dus, CEO of Cleantech Industry Resources, on Reinventing Clean Energy Project Delivery

Most clean energy companies fit into a category: developer, EPC, IPP.My latest Scaling Clean guest, Daniel Dus, has spent his career working across all of them.Daniel is the CEO of Cleantech Industry Resources and co-founder of one of our industry’s famous social gatherings: Solar Fight Night.CIR is an on-demand operating system for clean energy project delivery, providing service to developers wherever they need it: everything from diligence to asset management.We talk about why Daniel believes the future of the industry depends as much on community and storytelling as it does on technology.Here are three takeaways from our conversation:🔹 The traditional development model is under pressure. Daniel argues that many developers built for a different market environment. Today, variable project pipelines, tighter margins and permitting delays are forcing companies to rethink how they staff and execute projects.🔹 AI is becoming an accelerant, not a replacement. CIR uses AI and software tools to advance nearly every workflow. But Daniel emphasized keeping the “human in the loop” still matters, especially when billions of dollars and critical infrastructure are involved.🔹 Clean energy needs better storytelling. One of the strongest themes in our conversation was communication. Daniel believes the industry is losing ground to misinformation, despite having a fundamentally better story to tell around affordability, reliability, and energy independence. His latest initiative, cleantechfactcheck.org, is designed to help the industry respond faster and more effectively with a robust database of myth busters, videos, job boards and more. We also talked about:⚡ Why procurement inefficiency is costing the industry millions⚡ What developers get wrong about operational scaling⚡ Why community and relationships still matter in an AI-driven industry⚡ How Solar Fight Night became one of clean energy’s biggest networking events

April 9, 202636 min

Episode 57: Emilie Flanagan, CEO of Carson Power, on Finding Signal in the Noise

A reminder for our developer friends: The loudest voice in the community isn’t the only voice in the community. It’s easy to mistake social media comments, public hearings, or a handful of vocal opponents as the full picture. But that’s not reality.My latest Scaling Clean guest, Emilie Flanagan, CEO of Carson Power, shared a perspective that cuts through that noise, especially for developers navigating local permitting.Here are three big takeaways from our conversation:🔹 “Slow is smooth, and smooth is fast” - a motto borrowed from the Navy SEALs. In the early days of starting a company, it’s common to want to rush into things. But in high-stakes environments, Emilie reminds us it’s more important to slow down and do things properly. 🔹 The real community sentiment comes from direct conversations. Sitting down with landowners, neighbors, and local officials, often long before permitting, reveals a much more nuanced (and often more supportive) reality.🔹 Leadership is about helping teams “see the signal.” Emilie described her role less as a decision-maker and more as someone who helps her team step back, filter noise, and focus on what actually matters moving forward, especially in a fast-moving industry.

March 9, 202634 min

Episode 56: Eli Andrews, CEO and Co-Founder of civicIQ, on Turning Community Opposition into Dialogue

Community opposition isn’t constant. It's dynamic. What communities believe, fear, or support can shift at a moment’s notice.My latest Scaling Clean guest, Eli Andrews, CEO and Co-Founder of civicIQ, is building a new model for community engagement that treats public sentiment as something to listen to, measure, and respond to over time. civicIQ helps developers gauge community sentiment, counter misinformation, and build genuine local support long before projects reach a planning board. Here are three big takeaways from our conversation:🔹 Opposition isn’t static. It changes over time. civicIQ’s data shows that shifts in national narratives can quickly influence what people believe. Developers who assume sentiment is fixed risk missing these changes.🔹 Invite the community into CapEx-friendly decision-making. Instead of asking communities if they support or oppose a project, civicIQ invites neighbors into the design process – choices like pollinator grasses, buffer zones, or solar grazing. 🔹 AI could help re-ground conversations in shared facts. Eli described early experiments using transparent AI conversations trained on narrow, trusted knowledge bases to help people explore information and question misinformation. The goal isn’t persuasion, it’s what he calls “narrative regrounding.”

February 6, 202638 min

Episode 55: Chris Finley, TruGrid CCO, on What Actually Breaks Battery Storage Projects

Battery storage capacity has grown +5x in the U.S. since 2021. But as storage scales, so does the complexity around controls, labor, and integration. My latest Scaling Clean guest, Chris Finley, Chief Commercial Officer at TruGrid, has spent more than 20 years building utility-scale solar and storage projects across 16 countries, totaling over 8 GW of deployed capacity. At TruGrid, he helps developers, asset owners, and utilities navigate the messy middle of storage deployment, where projects are won or lost long before commissioning.Here are three big takeaways from our conversation:🔹 Most storage issues come from the blind spots between OEMs, controls providers, EPCs, and asset owners. Each stakeholder is focused on their slice of risk. Without clear integration planning before construction, those gaps turn into lost revenue.🔹 Labor may be the biggest constraint ahead. With massive infrastructure buildout competing for the same tradespeople, risk comes down to workforce availability.🔹 Speak less, listen more. You don’t have all the answers, so surround yourself with the people who do and learn as much as you can.

January 20, 202634 min

Episode 54: Abby Hopper

Abigail Hopper, CEO of Solar Energy Industries Association, has steered our sector through turbulent waters and overseen tremendous growth. That includes a 7-fold expansion in U.S. solar from 36 GW to 255 GW.On January 30, Abby will step down as CEO, marking the end of a remarkable 9-year tenure. As a female executive, Abby has been a particularly inspiring leader for me. I was struck by her sense of self and her advice on receiving feedback: Be open to it, but don’t let it become your identity. Your sense of what’s right, and who you are, can’t be built from other people’s opinions.Here are three big takeaways from our conversation:🔹 Impact and empathy can coexist. Leadership isn’t just about growth, but about making people feel welcome in the process.🔹 Clear is kind. Abby navigated COVID layoffs and policy fights by seeing that honesty and being direct build far more trust than just being “nice.”🔹 A new chapter in life does not always need to start with a job title. As Abby prepares to step down, she’s focused less on what role comes next and more on the quality of life she wants to build.

January 6, 202633 min

Episode 53: Jan Andersen

With the interconnection queue topping 2.6 terawatts of proposed generation and storage, we need faster, smarter ways to build transmission. My latest Scaling Clean guest, Jan Andersen, CEO and founder of Jubilee Transmission, is doing exactly that.What stood out most in our conversation was Jan’s take on a clean energy blind spot: Opposition is playing to win while we’re playing to be right.Here are three big takeaways from our conversation:🔹 The belief that clean energy is noble can blind us to the reality of how communities and politics actually work. Opposition plays hardball and fills the void when developers don’t address local concerns directly.🔹 The hard part about building transmission is the routing, land access, and stakeholder alignment, not the wires themselves. But early outreach and planning decisions can make the buildout process easier, and determine whether opposition ever gains traction. 🔹 You can’t outsource community relationships. The developer has to own local engagement. Otherwise you’re handing your project’s fate to someone who isn’t accountable for the outcome.

December 4, 202531 min

Episode 52: Gareth Brown

I recently chatted with Gareth Brown, CEO and co-founder of Clir Renewables, for Scaling Clean. Gareth's company built a risk intelligence platform that helps investors manage massive wind, solar, and storage portfolios — over 200 GW of data!What I loved most was Gareth's point on go-to-market strategy. You could have the world's best technology, but if you don't nail a repeatable sales process, you can’t scale.Here are three big takeaways from our conversation:🔹 In renewables, the “fuel” is free, but it’s also difficult to measure! 🔹 Go-to-market discipline is just as important as product quality.🔹 Great teams run on impact.

November 4, 202533 min

Episode 51: Akshay Sagar

On the latest episode of Scaling Clean, I sat down with a leader who built his career in oil and gas with companies like Schlumberger and Halliburton. Akshay Sagar is now the CEO of the world’s largest solar O&M provider, NovaSource Power, managing more than 30 GW of solar and storage projects worldwide. I love Akshay’s advice about focusing on people and not being intimidated when people around you bring great ideas. Here are three big takeaways from our conversation:🔹 Great leadership starts with people, not assets.Akshay says every organization is made up of two things: “people and steel,” and steel can always be replaced. The true differentiator is talent. Surround yourself with people more talented than you are, invest in them, and never be intimidated by their ideas.🔹 Turnarounds demand culture, creativity, and accountability.Having managed three major corporate turnarounds, Akshay insists that workplace culture outweighs strategy. Success comes from setting shared values - ownership, discipline, urgency, accountability, and austerity - and adapting your business structure to fit the moment rather than copying someone else’s model.🔹 Focus is a superpower.Instead of chasing every new opportunity, focus on what your business does best. Expanding too far can pull attention away from your core strengths. Most of us think we can do it all, but lasting success often comes from going deeper, not wider. Identify the distractions, and have the discipline to say no.

October 30, 202531 min

Episode 50: Jacob Susman

On the latest episode of Scaling Clean, I got to interview a man who’s navigated not one, but two successful exits. Jacob Susman is the Senior VP of Development at top-tier project development company Electric Hydrogen, which recently acquired his green hydrogen company, Ambient Fuels. Jacob unpacked what it takes to build, grow, and successfully sell a clean energy company.Here are three big takeaways from our conversation:🔹 Start building relationships long before you need them. Jacob’s path to multiple successful exits was paved by years of relationship-building. He served on several boards, forming lasting relationships across the sector. Those connections later became essential in opening doors to partnerships and acquisitions.🔹 Communication in tough times should be clear, quick, honest, and direct. After 25 years in clean energy startups, Jacob has learned that communication can make or break a team. He’s led through crises, market swings, and tough personnel calls, and says the key is to communicate clearly and quickly. When hard news hits, be honest and direct. “How you comport yourself in these moments is going to be telling about your long-term reputation around the sector.”🔹 Know when to say no.Early in his career, Jacob’s team pushed through a small 10 MW wind project that nearly burned them out. Just because something can be done doesn’t mean it should be. Sometimes the smartest move is to stop, reallocate people to higher purposes, and focus on projects that advance your real strategy. In fast-growing sectors like green hydrogen, discipline is a superpower.