Scaling Clean

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

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.

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.”

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.

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.