New clean energy policy podcast launched by Factor This and Advanced Energy United
Factor This, the digital media publication of the Clarion Events North American Energy vertical, and the national industry association Advanced Energy United, team up for a new podcast focused on policy and regulation
JUNE 18, 2026 – With America’s electricity system quickly evolving and the stakes higher than ever for the decision-makers shaping it, the energy industry news outlet Factor This is teaming up with the national multi-technology business association Advanced Energy United to launch a new podcast that explores the policy decisions impacting the energy transition.
The Factor This Policycast, in partnership with Advanced Energy United, is a conversation series for leaders who want to better understand the clean energy policy landscape. Hosted by Emmy-winning journalist Paul Gerke, the Factor This Policycast will be the place to hear from real industry players about the legislation, regulation, and energy market design changes reverberating across the economy. Featuring esteemed guests from across the energy policy landscape, the show spotlights the biggest challenges facing decision-makers and how to solve them, including barriers to building projects, hurdles to planning a better electricity grid, expediting the deployment of grid-edge technologies, and much more.
“With economic growth increasingly dependent on the speed of energy deployment, decision-makers across the country are looking to the advanced energy industry for solutions, and we’re proud to be a trusted resource for them,” said Heather O’Neill, President and CEO of Advanced Energy United. “In addition to technological innovation and consumer preferences, public policy is a major driver of deployment. We’re delighted to have a partner in Factor This creating with us a new venue for these important policy discussions.”
“The energy industry is, pardon my pun, an electric space right now. Power prices are no longer an afterthought – they’re dinner table discussion, and people have a real appetite for conversations that can help them better understand our energy systems,” said Paul Gerke, Host of Factor This Policycast. “We’ll be bringing on leaders from utilities, grid operators, project developers, technology providers, regulators, legislators, and consumers to explore the policies impacting how we power our economies. We’re thrilled to be collaborating on this with Advanced Energy United, an industry association at the forefront of that policy change, and the voice of the entire advanced energy industry, both grid-scale and distributed.”
The first episode of the Factor This Policycast is about how the public benefits from the competitive solicitation process for constructing large-scale, high-voltage transmission lines. As electricity prices increase in many places across the United States, there is renewed attention on a federal order mandating that utilities competitively bid out large-scale transmission projects. How we benefit from transmission competition explores why that mandate isn’t being enforced, highlights a new push by some utilities to ban competition outright, and dives into recent data showing how cost and speed-to-power are impacted by the bidding process. This episode features Caitlin Marquis, Managing Director at Advanced Energy United, and Paul Cicio, Chair of the Electricity Transmission Competition Coalition (ETCC) – both advocates for competitive transmission.
New episodes of the Factor This Policycast will be published biweekly on YouTube and Factor This. You can also find the show anywhere you download your podcasts, including Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music.
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Factor This is the digital media publication of the Clarion Events North American Energy vertical. The brand is a consolidation of legacy energy magazines Renewable Energy World, POWERGRID International, and Hydro Review. Factor This publishes news, features, and case studies relevant to utilities, project developers, policymakers, and professionals from across the energy landscape. Through various media, including articles, videos, podcasts, e-newsletters, and live web events, Factor This reports on the people, projects, and technology accelerating our electric future. Find us at RenewableEnergyWorld.com.
Advanced Energy United is a national industry association representing businesses that provide the full range of advanced energy and transportation solutions. We advocate for public policies that enable competition and work alongside our member companies to create economic opportunity, lower consumer costs, and bolster energy reliability and resilience across the country. Together, we are united in our mission to create an economy built on advanced energy. Advanced Energy United is online at AdvancedEnergyUnited.org.