Top Episodes
VAN JONES · CNN HOST, AUTHOR, AND CHANGEMAKER
Van Jones has led the way on instilling justice into American social discourse and the clean energy industry. Van has founded numerous organizations focused on energy justice and social reform and now serves as a political commentator and host of CNN’s The Van Jones Show.
LYNN JURICH · SUNRUN
Lynn Jurich is the Co-Founder and CEO of Sunrun. Lynn started Sunrun in her co-founder’s attic, weathered the 2008 recession, and grew Sunrun to become what is now the country's leading residential solar and battery storage company.
DONNEL BAIRD · BLOCPOWER
Donnel Baird is the Founder & CEO of BlocPower, a Brooklyn-based energy technology startup rapidly greening American cities. Through their proprietary software, BlocPower markets, finances, and installs air source heat pumps in apartment buildings, churches, and schools in financially underserved neighborhoods.
MATT ROGERS · NEST
Matt is a builder at heart. He started at Apple, building the software team for 10 generations of the iPod, was one of the first engineers on the original iPhone, and was involved in the development of 5 iPhone generations and the first iPad. As co-founder of Nest, Matt built the team that created the first machine learning thermostat and the leading connected home brand.
STEPH SPEIRS · SOLSTICE
Steph is the Co-Founder & CEO of Solstice, which is expanding access to clean energy through community solar. Steph previously spearheaded Acumen's renewable energy impact investment strategy in Pakistan, developed Middle East policy as the youngest policy director at the White House National Security Council, and managed field operations in seven states for the 2008 Obama campaign.
Past Episodes
EMILY KIRSCH · POWERHOUSE
On March 3rd, we turned the mic around to interview Emily Kirsch, Founder & CEO of Powerhouse and Managing Partner of Powerhouse Ventures, on Watt It Takes. Industry heavyweight Shayle Kann served as guest host and asked some tough questions, not excluding what animal Emily would be and why. Stay tuned for the full episode release.
MATT DUESTERBERG · OHMCONNECT
Matt Duesterberg is the CRO and Co-Founder of OhmConnect, the residential demand response company that pays users to save energy. In 2020, OhmConnect users reduced 1 GWh of electricity demand in California during the August heat wave. Stay tuned for this episode’s release on The Energy Gang.
STEPHEN LACEY · THE ENERGY GANG & THE INTERCHANGE
Stephen Lacey is the Founder and Executive Producer at Post Script Audio. A veteran cleantech journalist, Stephen has created some of the most popular podcasts in the energy and climate world and previously served as the editor-in-chief of Greentech Media.
CATHY ZOI · EVgo
Cathy Zoi is the CEO of EVgo, America's largest public electric vehicle fast charging network. Previously, Cathy served in the Obama Administration as Assistant Secretary and Acting Under Secretary at the Department of Energy, where she oversaw more than $30 billion in energy investments.
DAN YATES · OPOWER
Dan Yates co-founded Opower, the leading cloud-based software platform for utilities, in 2007. As CEO until 2017, Dan led the company's $1B+ IPO in 2014 and $532M sale to Oracle in 2016. Under Dan’s tenure, Opower saved customers more than 13 terawatt-hours of energy. Currently, he is an active technology investor and serves as Executive Chairman at Dandelion, the pioneering home geothermal startup.
MICHAEL LIEBREICH · BLOOMBERG NEW ENERGY FINANCE
Michael Liebreich founded New Energy Finance in 2004, serving as Chairman & CEO until its sale to Bloomberg LP in 2009. Michael now serves as a Senior Contributor at BNEF and is a leading voice on climate and energy issues. Prior to founding New Energy Finance, Michael helped build over 25 companies as a venture capitalist, entrepreneur and executive.
GIA SCHNEIDER · NATEL ENERGY
Gia Schneider is the co-founder and CEO of Natel Energy, which she co-founded with her brother Abe in 2009. Natel develops small-scale, climate-resilient hydropower that maintains the health of watershed ecosystems and surrounding communities. Prior to founding Natel, Gia worked in Accenture’s utility practice and started the energy trading desk and carbon emissions trading desk at Credit Suisse.
SAUL GRIFFITH · OTHERLAB
Saul Griffith is the Founder and Principal Scientist at Otherlab, where he focuses on engineering solutions for a zero-carbon world. He is founder or co-founder of numerous companies, including Otherlab, Sunfolding, Makani Power, Volute, Roam Robotics, and Instructables.com. Saul has a Ph.D. in Programmable Assembly and Self Replicating machines at MIT and was named a MacArthur Fellow in 2007.
ROBYN BEAVERS · BLUEPRINT POWER
Robyn Beavers is the Co-Founder & CEO of Blueprint Power, a technology company that transforms commercial buildings into power plants and connects them to new energy markets. Previously, Robyn worked as the executive assistant to Google's co-founders and served as the SVP of Innovation at NRG.
CHRISTINE HO · IMPRINT ENERGY
Christine Ho is the Co-Founder & CEO of Imprint Energy, the energy storage company commercializing breakthrough low-cost, flexible, and rechargeable batteries. Developed by Christine while pursuing her PhD at UC Berkeley, Imprint’s technology enables scalable print-based manufacturing of ultra-thin batteries from abundant non-lithium materials.
ETOSHA CAVE · OPUS 12
Etosha Cave is the Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Opus 12, the groundbreaking startup recycling CO₂ into cost-competitive chemicals and fuels. Using only water and electricity, Opus 12's technology any source of CO₂ emissions into some of the world's most critical chemical products. Etosha received her PhD from Stanford University.
MATEO JARAMILLO · FORM ENERGY
Mateo Jaramillo is the Co-Founder and CEO of Form Energy, which is developing ultra-low-cost, long-duration energy storage to store renewable energy at scale. Before founding Form Energy, Mateo was Vice President of Products and Programs at Tesla, launching their stationary energy storage program.
XAVIER HELGESEN · ZOLA ELECTRIC
Xavier Helgesen is the Co-Founder, President, and CTO of Zola Electric, the fastest growing solar leasing company in Africa. The company was founded on a vision to make solar-powered electricity affordable and accessible to the 1.3 billion people around the world who live without electricity.
LAURA SCHEWEL · STREETLIGHT DATA
Laura Schewel is Co-Founder and CEO of StreetLight Data, the leading provider of on-demand transportation analytics. Laura has worked in the advanced transportation sector for her entire career, focused on accelerating innovative solutions from the start-up, academic, governmental and non-profit vantage points.
GENE BERDICHEVSKY · SILA NANOTECHNOLOGIES
Gene is the Co-Founder & CEO of Sila Nanotechnologies, the materials company that is revolutionizing energy storage. Prior to co-founding Sila, Gene was the seventh employee at Tesla Motors where he served as Principal Engineer on the Roadster battery.
KATHY HANNUN · DANDELION
Kathy is the Co-Founder and President of Dandelion, an Alphabet X spinout that provides affordable geothermal heating solutions for individual homes. Before starting Dandelion, Kathy was a product manager at X and led a team in extracting carbon dioxide from seawater to create a carbon-neutral fuel.
TERRY JESTER · SOLPAD
Terry brings decades worth of solar engineering expertise to her current role as CEO of SolPad, a leading provider of innovative solar + storage solutions. This episode was recorded at the Women of Renewable Industries and Sustainable Energy (WRISE) forum in Denver, CO.
DAVID CRANE · NRG
David Crane took over as President & CEO of NRG Energy when the company faced bankruptcy in 2003. David piloted them to a Fortune 200 placement while developing a clean energy strategy that produced 5 GW of solar and wind, a strategy that ultimately led to his firing by NRG’s board.
BRYAN BIRSIC · WUNDER CAPITAL
Bryan Birsic is the Co-Founder and CEO of Wunder Capital, the largest commercial solar financing platform in the country. Before founding Wunder, Brian gained expertise in finance at Bain and as a VC in New York.
BERTRAND PICCARD · SOLAR IMPULSE
Bertrand Piccard is a Swiss-balloonist-turned-futurist who co-piloted Solar Impulse, the first solar-electric airplane to navigate the globe. The culmination of a 15 year project, the flight aimed to demonstrate the immense possibilities of renewable energy.
JOHN BERGER · SUNNOVA
John Berger is the Founder and CEO of Sunnova Energy Corporation. A serial energy entrepreneur, John founded three solar companies including Sunnova, which is now one of the top residential solar providers in the U.S.
SUSAN KENNEDY · AMS
Susan Kennedy is the Founder and former CEO of Advanced Microgrid Solutions. Susan went from the highest levels of California politics to founding AMS, which uses energy storage technology and analytics software to aggregate battery storage.
RYAN POPPLE · PROTERRA
Ryan Popple is the President and CEO of Proterra, the pioneering Silicon Valley–based electric bus manufacturer. Prior to Proterra, Ryan was a partner at Kleiner Perkins and the Senior Director of Finance at Tesla Motors.
LEILA MADRONE · SUNFOLDING
Leila Madrone is the Founder and CTO of Sunfolding, which designs and manufactures simplified solar trackers. Leila speaks to how she went from building robots at MIT and NASA to questioning the very nature of the machines we use for solar plants - and how that led her to found Sunfolding .
BILLY PARISH · MOSAIC
Billy Parish, Founder and CEO of Mosaic, explains how he went from creating the Energy Action Coalition, the world’s largest youth clean energy organization, to founding Mosaic, the largest residential solar-plus lender in the U.S.
JIGAR SHAH · GENERATE CAPITAL
Jigar Shah, Co-Founder and President of Generate Capital, tells his story of founding SunEdison and leading The Carbon War Room, as well as his latest musings on all things clean energy.
SARA ROSS · SUNGAGE FINANCIAL
Sara Ross, Co-Founder and CEO of Sungage Financial, turns her struggle to go solar into a thriving proprietary online platform that enables homeowners to apply, qualify, and contract for solar financing.
NANCY PFUND · DBL PARTNERS
Nancy Pfund, Founder and Managing Partner of Double Bottom Line Partners, describes her path from policy to finance to building the premiere impact investing firm in the country. DBL Partners was an early investor in Tesla, Solar City, and more.
SCOTT CLAVENNA · GREENTECH MEDIA
Scott Clavenna, Founder and CEO of Greentech Media, tells the story of applying a successful business model in telecommunications market research to found GTM, the leading energy news and market research company that was acquired by Wood Mackenzie in 2016.
DAN SHUGAR · NEXTRACKER
Dan Shugar, Founder and CEO of NEXTracker, recounts his journey and shares lessons learned after founding and leading two successful solar companies, Powerlight and NEXTracker.
ANDREW BIRCH · SUNGEVITY
Andrew Birch shares the story of founding Sungevity, reflects on the company's recent bankruptcy, and shares how the company lives on abroad.
DICK SWANSON · SUNPOWER
Dick Swanson, Founder and former CEO of SunPower, discusses the early days of solar and how his ground-breaking solar cell research at Stanford became SunPower, one of the longest standing and most successful solar companies in the country.