CT CleanTech Talk — Solar, Batteries, EVs, AI

Podcast

CleanTech Talk — Solar, Batteries, EVs, AI

CleanTechnica CEO Zach Shahan interviews cleantech leaders, top researchers, and investment experts in the fields of electric vehicles (EV), batteries and mining, solar energy, climate change, artificial intelligence (AI), and more.

Website ↗ Last published 2 November 2026 301 posts collected by Sputnik

Said on CleanTech Talk — Solar, Batteries, EVs, AI

“We've been pretty much the only large manufacturer with these kinds of plug-in solar products this year, but I'm sure there'll be a ton more competitors coming into the industry as more states open up and pass this. … You've got millions of people who could never put in a rooftop solar system. They might only have a balcony.” — Brian Essenmacher, CleanTech Talk — Solar, Batteries, EVs, AI
Brian Essenmacher · 2 Nov 2026 Listen →
“If I'm bringing in 500 watts of solar energy, I'm pushing 500 watts into my home and consuming 500 watts less from the utility. … These are under $700 and they're simple to plug in. There's no permitting. It's all plug and play.” — Brian Essenmacher, CleanTech Talk — Solar, Batteries, EVs, AI
Brian Essenmacher · 2 Nov 2026 Listen →
“We know a lot of states are under a lot of strain with utility, with people drawing more power. You talk about data centers consuming more power. This plug-in solar really allows millions more to come into the fold and help out utilities with offsetting peak energy rates.” — Brian Essenmacher, CleanTech Talk — Solar, Batteries, EVs, AI
Brian Essenmacher · 2 Nov 2026 Listen →
“We had balcony solar legislation in Hawaii that did not pass this past year. There were lots of reasons, but the only truly viable one was that there was not a UL certification to provide that sort of safety. Now that is very much in place, and it seems like this is going to open a pretty good floodgate for the market.” — Scott Cooney, CleanTech Talk — Solar, Batteries, EVs, AI
Scott Cooney · 2 Nov 2026 Listen →
“A lot of the innovation a few years ago was hardware driven, with better battery chemistry and faster charging. But over the next five, ten years it's really going to be software driven: time of use, even whole-home systems forecasting weather. We have power stations now that dial into your local weather, and if there's a storm projected in your area, they'll even charge your power station.” — Brian Essenmacher, CleanTech Talk — Solar, Batteries, EVs, AI
Brian Essenmacher · 2 Nov 2026 Listen →
“These are not for recreation anymore. They're really for load balancing from a utility perspective. … I really think this plug-in solar with storage is the next appliance in every home. A lot of utility companies are looking at potentially aggregating them, charging at one time and powering at another.” — Brian Essenmacher, CleanTech Talk — Solar, Batteries, EVs, AI
Brian Essenmacher · 2 Nov 2026 Listen →

Hosts

CleanTech Talk — Solar, Batteries, EVs, AI is hosted by Zach Shahan , Michael Barnard , Scott Cooney , Jo Borras , Zachary Shahan , Steve Hanley , Chanan Bos , Jo Borrás and Kyle Field .

Recent Episodes

  1. 2 Nov 2026

    Solar for all: The ins and outs of balcony solar

    With Brian Essenmacher

  2. 25 May 2026

    Planning & Scaling Up Top-Quality Solar Panel Recycling

    With Suvi Sharma

  3. 17 May 2026

    The Importance of Conservative Leadership in Clean Energy

    With Britt Zwierzchowski Tisler and Bradley Pischea

  4. 1 Apr 2026

    How States Are Powering America’s Clean Energy Future

    With Dylan McDowell and Chris Lee

  5. 24 Mar 2026

    Battery-Equipped Induction: A New Path to Clean Home Electrification

    With Sam Calisch

  6. 10 Feb 2026

    Quilt's Paul Lambert on Making Heat Pumps Cool (and Smart)

    With Paul Lambert

  7. 21 Jan 2026

    Scaling Solar Smarter: Innovation, Supply Chains, & the Future of Clean Energy

    With Marty Rogers

  8. 12 Jan 2026

    Common Charge and Advancing Distributed Energy

    With Mary Rafferty

  9. 18 Dec 2025

    Can Bio-Credits Save the Rainforest? The New Market for Nature

    With Drea Burbank and Doug Heske

  10. 8 Dec 2025

    Electrification Beyond the Road: The Taiga Story

    With Sam Bruneau

  11. 25 Nov 2025

    Electric School Buses & V2G — Match Made in Heaven

    With Gagan Dhillon

  12. 12 Oct 2025

    Slash Energy Consumption Costs while Safeguarding the Planet

    With Richard Halsall

Guests

Rodney Hooper (8 episodes), Howard Klein (7 episodes), Mark Z. Jacobson (7 episodes), David Havasi (6 episodes), Alf Poor (5 episodes), Jose Pontes (4 episodes), Paul Martin (4 episodes), Roger Atkins (3 episodes), Ross Gerber (3 episodes), Nick Chaset (2 episodes), Sam Spofforth (2 episodes), Will McDonough (2 episodes), and 191 more.