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 Lana Ferguson from the Dallas Morning News, who discusses the booming agrivoltaics industry in Texas.
This week’s “Cleantecher of the Week” is Joey Fiore, CEO of PowerLabs. His company builds the Roav, a portable solar generator that unfolds into a tracking solar array that looks like a metal trailer you’d pull behind a car. It is cleaner, cheaper and easier to use than a standard diesel generator. Congratulations Joey!
1.New York becomes first US state to impose data center moratorium — Data Center Dynamics
New York has become the first US state to impose a moratorium on new large-scale data centers, pausing environmental permits for any project with a capacity of 50MW or more for one year. The order, signed by Governor Kathy Hochul, gives regulators time to build out a “Generic Environmental Impact Statement” assessing data center energy demand, water use and quality, and air quality. Within 60 days, the state will also issue guidance letting local governments negotiate community benefits agreements directly with data center developers.
2. The American E.V. Has Been Crushed. Will It Take the U.S. Auto Industry With It? — The New York Times
Ford, GM and Stellantis have all pulled back from EVs even as global EV sales boom. Ford axed its three-row electric SUV and the F-150 Lightning, Stellantis ended the electric Charger and Ram, and GM delayed a Buick EV.
Under the second Trump administration, the EV tax credit was eliminated and tailpipe standards were gutted, and EV plants went dormant while battery plants were closed or repurposed. Stellantis wrote down $26 billion in EV losses this year, and Ford booked a $19 billion loss.
China now builds 75% of the world’s EVs versus roughly 5% from the US, and BYD has passed Tesla to become the largest EV maker on Earth. One research group estimates China can take a new EV from blueprint to launch about a third faster than a US automaker, and analysts warn that gap is only widening.
3. US power companies scramble to secure equipment as surging data center demand strains supplies — Reuters
Surging AI data center demand is straining the supply of critical grid equipment like transformers, driving up costs and wait times. Wood Mackenzie projects US data center capacity will hit 110 GW by 2030, up from around 24 GW today, consuming eight times more electricity than EVs over that stretch. And data centers’ share of the electrical equipment market could swell to 40% under accelerated scenarios, from just under 2% in 2020. Wood Mackenzie’s Ben Boucher says large power transformers are seeing the worst shortage right now, but circuit breakers and switchgear are set for even bigger deficits ahead.
4. Global Investment in Fusion Companies Surges 69% to $4.5 Billion — Bloomberg
Global investment in fusion climbed 69% to a record $4.5 billion over the past year, according to a new Fusion Industry Association report. Fusion developers have now raised $14.2 billion total since the FIA started tracking the data in 2021. Four companies – Commonwealth Fusion Systems, Inertia Enterprises, Helion Energy and Proxima Fusion – accounted for more than half of the last year’s investment. About 70% of companies surveyed expect a commercial fusion power plant to enter service by 2040.
5. Solar sheep: Texas ranchers, farmers’ new opportunity on solar sites – Dallas Morning News
Agrivoltaics is booming in Texas, with sheep now managing vegetation on over 130,000 acres across 500 sites in 30 states, including about 68,000 acres in Texas alone. Ranchers like JR Howard of Texas Solar Sheep contract their herds to solar farms because sheep graze cleanly around panels (unlike goats or cattle), preventing shading and fire hazards while giving landowners a new income stream as agricultural land is converted to solar use.
Advocates like Garrett Bader of American Farmland Trust and Kevin Richardson of the American Solar Grazing Association frame it as a way to keep working lands in agriculture and see it as a major growth opportunity for the sheep industry. Enel, which hosted a training tour at its Stampede solar site near Saltillo, says the practice cuts costs, emissions, and noise compared to mechanical mowing, even as some local residents remain opposed to large-scale solar development.
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Facts Only
* New York became the first US state to impose a moratorium on new large-scale data centers, pausing environmental permits for projects of 50MW or more for one year.
* Data center regulators are assessing energy demand, water use, and air quality through a "Generic Environmental Impact Statement."
* The U.S. auto industry entities, including Ford, GM, and Stellantis, have pulled back from electric vehicle development.
* EV tax credits were eliminated and tailpipe standards were modified under the second Trump administration, leading to dormant EV plants.
* China currently builds 75% of the world's electric vehicles, with BYD surpassing Tesla as the largest EV maker.
* Surging AI data center demand strains supplies of critical grid equipment like transformers.
* Wood Mackenzie projects US data center capacity will reach 110 GW by 2030.
* Global investment in fusion companies climbed 69% to $4.5 billion over the past year.
* Agrivoltaics is growing in Texas, with sheep managing vegetation on over 130,000 acres across 500 sites in 30 states, including 68,000 acres in Texas.
* Advocates frame agrivoltaics as a way to keep agricultural lands in use and a growth opportunity for the sheep industry.
Executive Summary
The discussion centers on several interconnected themes in the clean energy and climate sectors. A key focus is the burgeoning agrivoltaics industry in Texas, where ranchers are utilizing solar sites to manage vegetation with sheep, creating a new income stream alongside agricultural practices. This practice is framed by advocates as a method to maintain working lands while introducing renewable energy infrastructure, with proponents citing cost, emission, and noise reduction compared to mechanical mowing.
Simultaneously, significant shifts are occurring in the broader energy landscape. The data center sector is experiencing surging demand that strains the supply of critical grid equipment like transformers, leading to increased costs. In contrast, the electric vehicle market has seen retrenchment among major automakers following policy changes and increased competition from other nations, with China dominating global EV manufacturing.
Investment in alternative energy sources continues to grow; fusion companies have seen a significant surge in funding, and investment in solar-related applications is expanding across the land use sector. These developments illustrate a dynamic tension between rapidly evolving technological demand, shifting market dynamics, and localized land use opportunities within the energy transition.
Full Take
The narrative presents a complex interplay between technological expansion, geopolitical competition, and land-use adaptation. The data center crisis highlights an infrastructure bottleneck where physical demand (driven by AI) is outpacing supply chain capacity for essential components like transformers. This dynamic suggests that the transition to clean energy faces immediate, tangible constraints related to material supply and grid scalability, regardless of renewable generation potential.
The shift in the automotive sector reveals a power dynamic where global manufacturing capability—specifically China's scale and speed—is rapidly redefining the competitive landscape, potentially sidelining domestic policy levers if not matched by sustained industrial focus. This suggests that national control over the energy transition is increasingly conditional on manufacturing dominance rather than purely regulatory mandates.
The agrivoltaics example demonstrates a practical tension between maximizing land utility (agriculture vs. energy) and optimizing ecological outcomes (grazing vs. shade/fire risk). The framing positions this practice as a simultaneous solution—creating agricultural income while mitigating environmental risks. The challenge lies in ensuring that the economic incentives established for these novel land uses are equitable, addressing who bears the cost of development versus who realizes the benefits of diversified resource management. Future analysis must examine whether large-scale infrastructure demands or novel land use patterns create systemic winners and losers within the sustainability framework.