This Week in Cleantech is a weekly podcast covering the most impactful stories in clean energy and climate featuring Paul Gerke of Factor This and Tigercomm’s Mike Casey.
This week’s episode features special guest Andrew Moseman from Heatmap News, who discusses Ford’s efforts to rebuild its struggling EV program from the ground up.
This week’s “Cleantecher of the Week” is Brad Rouse, the volunteer Executive Director of Energy Savers Network. This small non-profit provides free weatherization and appliance upgrades to income-qualified families. Brad co-founded ESN in 2016 and has helped reduce the power bills for over 1500 families in western North Carolina. Congratulations Brad!
According to new research by the USGS, the Appalachian region of the US holds enough lithium to reduce America’s reliance on imports for centuries. The area covers Maine, New Hampshire, and the Carolinas with an estimated 2.3 million metric tons of undiscovered, economically recoverable lithium. That’s enough to replace 328 years of US imports at last year’s level, power 130 million EVs, or supply 1.6 million grid-scale batteries. The US imports half of its consumption of lithium, with only one domestic producer right now.
Brussels has told European partner banks to stop financing renewable projects using Chinese, Iranian, or Russian grid equipment from November 1st. The measure targets inverters — the “brains” of solar panels that control how much electricity is fed to the grid — and if enough of them were hijacked and shut down simultaneously, they could trigger widespread blackouts.
The decision primarily affects the European Investment Bank, which alone funded 20% of all EU solar deployment in 2025, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and national lenders like Germany’s KfW. The restriction applies to any project connecting to the EU’s grid, including in Morocco and the Balkans.
Plug-in solar systems, or “balcony solar,” are small solar arrays that can be plugged into existing home outlets with minimal setup, often no electrician even required. The systems are typically about 20 square feet and generate up to 800 watts.
Many Americans have already installed them without utility permission, as they’re in a regulatory gray area. Late last year, Utah became the first state to explicitly allow balcony solar – ditching the standard interconnection requirements you would need for rooftop solar, so long as the panels have a low power cap and are certified by a national testing facility.
Chile is seeing a wave of thefts from solar farms, feeding black markets for panels, copper and other components. Criminal gangs are running coordinated raids, scaling fences, disabling cameras and hauling off dozens of panels at a time before police can respond.
One service delivery manager overseeing more than 60 solar parks said panel theft was rare five years ago. Since March of last year, his portfolio has recorded more than 30 thefts, with one site hit five times in a single month. Cables are actually the most common target, at 86% of cases. Thieves strip the plastic sheathing and sell the copper for scrap.
Ford has launched a secretive California-based “skunkworks” team to rebuild its struggling EV program from the ground up. The group is developing a lower-cost EV platform and an affordable electric pickup truck due next year.
Inspired by Tesla and Rivian, Ford is rethinking manufacturing, software, and battery design to cut costs and speed up production. The effort reflects Ford’s urgency to compete with cheaper Chinese EVs and stronger rivals like GM and Hyundai.
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