Insights
Scaling Clean
The phony Solyndra non-scandal of 2010-12 was catalyzed by a highly publicized FBI raid. It was then driven by an Iron Triangle of fossil fuel-funded front groups, fossil fuel-funded politicians running three congressional investigations, and conservative media echoing the resulting themes.
Just before the holidays, we hosted a year-end episode of the Cleantech Podcasters Roundtable. Our lineup changed a bit, with the happy addition of John Belizaire.
Here are our “B3Ps,” or Big 3 Points from that episode. You can read the full transcript below.
1. At the risk of sounding like a broken record: The Cleantech sector needs to invest more time and resources into messaging. Fossil fuel front groups are still working the mainstream media refs, spreading misinformation about the Inflation Reduction Act, painting ESG investing as “woke capitalism,” and the messaging that next-generation nuclear fission will be our climate savior. We have the tools to accelerate the energy transition, and our industry conversations should reflect that confidence I our public communications.
2. Expect grid resiliency, distributed energy resources, retrofitting, and workforce employment to be big topics for the new year — and more stories about people leaving “dirty” jobs for clean ones.
3. Let’s celebrate the people and organizations that helped prevent a pro-fossil fuel wave in the recent elections. Our participants gave laurels to: the Environmental Voter Project, Governor Kathy Hochul, Governor Gavin Newsom, and the California Public Utilities Commission.
Listen to the full episode on the SunCast Podcast:
