Scaling Clean

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:

🔹 Star...

My latest Scaling Clean guest is Alon Mashkovich, the CEO of enSights, an AI profitability software that helps solar C&I owners capture missing revenue. Alon saw that 70% of solar projects were missing production forecasts. Now, the enSights software helps 6,000+ global clean energy assets stay profitable by getting to the root cause of project failures.  

Here are Alon’s big three points: 

🔹 Local insight drives global growth: 

...

Thomas Jam Pedersen is my latest Scaling Clean podcast guest. Thomas Jam Pedersen, the CEO of Danish startup Copenhagen Atomics, is developing compact molten salt reactors fueled by recycled nuclear waste and thorium for greater efficiency and scalability. What’s interesting about this tech is its potential to address long-term radioactive waste, reducing storage time requirements from 100,000 years to ~300 years. 

Here are the big ...

This episode of Scaling Clean is a first on two fronts. We’ve interviewed not one, but two guests, and captured it all on video. I sat down with Nextracker founder and CEO Dan Shugar and Doral Renewables CEO Nick Cohen to hear the story behind Mammoth Solar, America’s largest solar project, and how it’s fueling prosperity in the heart of Indiana.

The project’s name comes from a woolly mammoth whose bones were discovered in the field...

My latest Scaling Clean guest is Blake Nixon, CEO of Geronimo Power, formerly known as National Grid Renewables. Blake discusses Geronimo’s rebrand and what it signals for the company’s future. He also shares the inspiring story of his mentor, Geronimo Power founder, Noel Rahn.

A few more standout moments from our conversation:

1️⃣  Be a risk taker. It doesn't get easier to take risks as you grow older. So take them young.

2️⃣ At ...

My guest on the latest episode of Scaling Clean, Robert Laubach, knows what it’s like to weather industry headwinds. In his words:

“We’ve gotten a lot of solar whiplash over the years. But you just keep going. You keep building.”

Robert is the CEO of MBL Energy, a California-based solar EPC contractor that has designed and installed over 800 megawatts of commercial and industrial solar energy projects. He brings more than 25 years of...

Cleantechers –

My latest Scaling Clean episode is with a familiar guest: data center developer John Belizaire, the CEO of Soluna Computing.

Because we’ve already talked to John about hiring and firing, I had more time to explore a topic near and dear to my heart: generating attention.  

A committed pro himself, John’s advice on how to build profile was excellent. Belizaire made three points I wholeheartedly agree with, I’m paraphrasin...

Our most recent guest brings two decades of electrical industry experience. Brandon Moss is the CEO of Shoals Technologies Group, one of the major players in our industry. Brandon's leadership journey includes roles at Southwire Company, Lutron Electronics, and Stanley Black & Decker. Shoals Technologies Group is the leading provider of electrical balance of systems, or eBOS — electrical solutions that enable the rapid depl...

#Cleantechers - 

After more than 40 interviews with some of the clean economy’s most thoughtful leaders, I’ve recorded my last episode as host of the Scaling Clean podcast.

Since launching the show in 2021, I’ve had the privilege of learning from – and sharing the wisdom of – executives driving the clean energy transition. Their insights have made me a better leader and hopefully offered our audience tools to lead with more clarity, ...

#Cleantechers -

The latest episode of Scaling Clean will be my last hosting the show, because someone else at Tigercomm will be taking over the microphone. I get to end my tenure in the host chair with a guest who’s spent a lot of time growing companies. Mark Lewis is a veteran of some small, obscure companies you've never heard of, such as @Credit Suisse and @General Electric.

From those, he became the CEO of Toronto-based ONEne...

#Cleantechers –

My most recent Scaling Clean guest is a rare, career-long cleantecher. Zoe Gamble is a lawyer-turned-CEO who now serves as President of CleanChoice Energy, founded by my long-time buddy, Tom Matzzie. But this isn’t her first time leading a company. Zoe already served as CEO of Pine Gate Renewables, where she grew the company from 8 to 86 employees in just two years. I think you’ll find her a wealth of management expe...

Cleantechers - 

We have had guests on Scaling Clean with a lot of different backgrounds, but I think my most recent guest is the first who combines journalism, corporate communications, legal, renewable energy development, and an operations background on her rise to be the CEO of Indianapolis-based Geneex Solar. If we've ever had a Renaissance CEO on the show, Emily Williams is it. 

Here are her B3P's:

14:37: An effective CEO&...

Cleantechers - 

My most recent Scaling Clean guest started in software and then migrated to digital marketing. But for the last 15 years, she's helped lead GroundWork Renewables, a California-based company offering on-site solar meteorological stations for utility-scale power developers, operators and owners. I had the pleasure of meeting Ann last year at RE+, and within five minutes of talking with her, I knew we had to have he...

#Cleantechers - 

On the show, we've had leaders with a variety of backgrounds. Some, like my guest in this episode, have come from investment and finance. But few have achieved so much so quickly in their careers as Jo-Jo Hubbard. This McKinsey veteran got her start in a fintech startup, then moved into renewable energy finance. From there, she helped found the UK-based Electron, a SaaS company, out to transform energy trading to m...

#Cleantechers - 

My most recent Scaling Clean guest has a compelling background. You might say he’s not afraid to get his hands dirty. 

Russ Bates grew up in the southern Indiana coal fields, starting his career as a union electrician, then moving up the ladder to foreman, and eventually VP. At the 26-year mark, he moved into company ownership, and he's now the founder of the Cleveland-area NXTGEN Clean Energy Solutions. NXTGEN...

My most recent Scaling Clean guest has been at the helm of her company for 16 years. Geraldine Gray runs Endiem, a Salesforce practice based in Houston. Her company works to help companies drive commercial growth by aligning their strategic goals with their Salesforce options. She has served clients in a wide number of sectors, not just in cleantech.

Geraldine has also been very public about her successful battle with cancer, and I...

My newest Scaling Clean guest is Katie Mehnert. She got her start in oil and gas, and she’s become a leading thinker and evangelist for growing the clean energy talent pool as CEO of Ally Energy, a global consultancy based in Texas. Katie’s journey through the incumbent parts of the energy sector has given her an enhanced perspective on being a clean economy CEO. 

Here are Katie’s B3P’s

12:38 - As a leader, you have to surrender th...

Cleantechers - 

My recent Scaling Clean guest, Scott Case, is deeply experienced in starting successful ventures. He came to cleantech by way of Priceline, as that company’s founding Chief Technology Officer.

Among nearly 20 other different experiences, Scott now runs ZettaWatts, which has pioneered what it calls the “Additionality Rec Market” (AREC). It's offering fixed-price forward contracts to buy AREC from new projects und...

George Hershman is one of the most prominent leaders in U.S. clean energy. He spent his career running SOLV Energy, formerly known as Swinerton Renewable Energy. He also recently served as the Chairman of the Solar Energy Industries Association. 

SOLV is a widely recognized EPC. It has built 8 GW of utility scale solar capacity and now manages over 9 GW across more than half the states in this country. 

If there is anyone who has c...