Bill Nussey - Author, TED Speaker, and Climate Investor
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Hear from energy pioneers and visionaries from across the globe who are accelerating the shift to clean energy by making their own electric power for their homes, offices, and communities. Join TED speaker, author, and climate investor, Bill Nussey and co-host Sam Easterby as they talk to the people who are disrupting the century-old grid monopoly and making clean, local energy a reality. Visit FreeingEnergy.com for more.
Based on 6 episodes we listened to · September 2026
Clean-energy hardware becomes concrete through interviews focused on costs, permitting, manufacturing and real-world deployment.
Bill Nussie's interviews keep returning to a practical question: how does clean-energy technology move from promising hardware into systems people and organizations can actually use?
Solar panels are only part of your bill; Bill Nussey wants to know where the rest goes.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A grounded 2020 energy review that makes net metering and grid resilience feel practical.
Sam Easterby and Bill Nussie frame local energy as a 2020 gut check, moving from grid failures and critical electricity needs into the policy fight around the New England Ratepayers Association's FERC filing.
A roofing company reframes solar as something the roof itself can be built to do.
Rooftop solar gets a roofing-industry rethink here, with the familiar black rectangle giving way to a roof surface designed to generate electricity itself.
A grounded look at how public programs help move solar research toward manufacturing and the market.
Dr. Becca Jones-Albertus, Director of the Solar Energy Technologies Office at the U.S. Department of Energy, brings a practical view of how public funding can help solar ideas move toward the market.
A grounded look at how modular microgrids can link resilience with cleaner, cheaper power for large facilities.
Microgrids come into focus as an aging grid runs up against rising interest in solar and batteries. With hurricanes, wildfires, and forced outages making reliability harder to overlook, Ryan Goodman, CEO and co-founder of Scale Microgrid Solutions, argues for local generation…
A practical guide to rooftop solar, community subscriptions, and the cost and access questions that shape both.
Residential solar is often framed as a simple panel purchase, but this episode treats it as a wider household energy decision. EnergySage founder and CEO Vikram Agarwal explains how his marketplace became a major web-based destination for solar buyers and solar information in…
A clear look at how soft costs and red tape slow residential solar long before the panels go up.
Andrew Birch makes a plain case that U.S. residential solar is held back less by the panels than by the work around them: design, permitting, and sales. That framing gives the conversation its strength.
Regenerative business without the shortcut thinking.
Impact business, without the gloss.
Specialists walking through software's tradeoffs, one system at a time.
Founders and engineers on AI coding agents like Claude Code, and supply chain security.
This episode features Jigar Shah discussing how the U.S.
This episode features an interview with Bill and Melinda Nussey about the launch of Bill's book 'Freeing Energy', which explores how local-scale solar and battery innovations are disrupting the global energy industry.
This episode explores how Midwestern determination is driving Illinois' transition from coal to renewable energy sources like solar and wind, featuring insights from Tim Montague on legislative efforts and economic impacts.
This episode features an interview with energy expert Amory Lovins discussing his influential book 'Small is Profitable' and exploring the future of local energy systems in the transition to clean energy.
Bill Nussie interviews Ben Polito, president of energy storage systems at Generac, about how the 60-year-old industrial company is transforming from fossil fuel-based systems to a leader in clean, local energy through integrated solar and battery solutions.
This episode features an interview with Georgia Public Service Commissioner Tim Echols discussing his role in promoting net metering policies, the benefits of rooftop solar for grid efficiency, and lessons from other states in the transition to renewable energy.
This episode explores how Holy Cross Energy in Colorado is transforming the electric utility industry by embracing local clean energy and reimagining its relationship with customers to achieve 100% clean energy by 2030.
This episode features an interview with Garrett Nilsen, Deputy Director of the DOE's Solar Energy Technologies Office, discussing how the Department of Energy funds and supports energy tech startups through programs like the American-made solar prizes.
Michael Liebreich discusses the biggest opportunities in clean energy, focusing on distributed generation, policy, finance, and investment strategies for achieving a net zero economy.
Host Sam Easterby interviews Bill Nussey about his journey from venture capital to clean energy entrepreneurship and the vision behind his initiative Freeing Energy.
This episode features an interview with Steph Speirs, CEO of Solstice, discussing how her company is making solar energy accessible to middle and lower-income households through innovative community solar programs.
This episode explores how Ford's new electric pickup truck could disrupt the century-old electric grid, with host Bill Nussie interviewing EV expert Loren McDonald about the broader implications of electric vehicles beyond transportation.
Samir Ibrahim, CEO of Sun Culture, discusses how his company's affordable solar-powered irrigation system is transforming agriculture and livelihoods for smallholder farmers in East Africa while addressing climate challenges.
This episode features an interview with Jorge Elizondo, co-founder and CTO of HALA Technologies, discussing how computer science is simplifying microgrid design and operation to address energy and carbon challenges.
This episode explores how peer-to-peer electricity trading through platforms like PowerLedger can transform local energy markets, reduce costs and emissions, and enhance grid stability using blockchain technology.
This episode features an interview with Tom Jensen, CEO of FREYR Battery, discussing the company's expansion from its efficient European battery plant to a new $2.6 billion facility in Georgia, focusing on speed, scale, and sustainability in clean energy manufacturing.
This episode explores how principles from Google's reliable software on unreliable hardware can be applied to manage a dynamic, zero-carbon electric grid with decentralized resources.
Gabriela Herculano discusses the creation of the first publicly traded fund focused on local energy solutions and distributed energy technologies.
Host Bill Nussie interviews Danny Kennedy, founder and CEO of New Energy Nexus, about California's clean tech ecosystem and how it accelerates climate tech startups globally.
This episode features an interview with clean energy expert Nico Johnson discussing insights from Bill Nussey's book 'Freeing Energy' and exploring the surprising connection between tequila and clean energy innovation.
This episode features an interview with Michelle Moore about her book Rural Renaissance and her work with Groundswell to bring clean power benefits to America's smaller rural communities through solar, energy efficiency, and economic development.
This episode explores how Generation 180's educational programs, particularly Solar for All Schools, are accelerating clean energy adoption by inspiring community action and cultural change.
Karl Rabago discusses how local distributed energy resources can lower costs and improve grid reliability while countering arguments against them.
This episode features an interview with John Farrell about the challenges and opportunities in transitioning to clean, locally-controlled energy systems.
Abigail Ross Hopper discusses the top policy priorities shaping the solar industry's future, including diversity, grid improvements, and cost competitiveness under the new administration.
Host Bill Nussie introduces Michael Liebreich, a leading expert in renewable energy, for a two-part interview discussing which renewable energy solutions deserve attention as energy production shifts toward communities.
This episode explores how potential changes to California's net metering policy could severely impact the residential solar market, featuring insights from Bernadette Del Chiaro of the California Solar and Storage Association.
This episode features an interview with Katherine Von Burg, CEO of Simplify Power, discussing how climate tech founders can achieve success while staying true to their mission, focusing on her company's innovative battery technology.
This episode features an interview with the co-founders of SunKing, a solar and battery startup that is improving lives in Africa by providing off-grid electricity access while building a successful climate tech company.
This episode features an interview with Erwin Spolders, CEO of Redavia, discussing how their rental solar power systems are transforming energy access for businesses in Africa through cost-effective, scalable solutions.
This episode explores how the U.S.
This episode features an interview with Bryan Hassin about Third Derivative, a radical new climate tech accelerator that integrates startups, investors, corporations, and policy experts to increase innovation success and speed.
This episode features a roundtable of clean tech podcasters introducing themselves and their shows, focusing on topics like clean energy, climate action, and solar development.
Host Bill Nussie interviews energy expert Michael Bernard to discuss his data-driven predictions on which clean energy technologies like nuclear, solar, wind, hydrogen, and batteries will succeed in addressing climate change.
This episode features an interview with Sophie Purdom and Kim Zhou, founders of Climate Tech Venture Capital, discussing their data-driven analysis of climate tech venture investing trends in 2022, including funding diversification and sector performance.
This episode features an interview with Greg Wetstone, president of ACOR, discussing how policy obstacles affect connecting local renewable energy to the U.S.
This year-end episode features comedian Esteban Gast joining hosts Bill Nussie and Sam Easterby to humorously review 2021 clean energy headlines, share guest quotes, and discuss the local energy industry's outlook for 2022.
This episode explores how supply chain disruptions, geopolitical factors, and energy crises are impacting U.S.
This episode discusses Sunnova's proposal to build a neighborhood powered by local solar and storage energy, exploring its benefits, regulatory challenges, and industry opposition.
This episode explores how monopoly utilities are clashing with consumers over local energy, discussing necessary rule changes and the role of investor-owned utilities in shaping energy policy.
This episode explores how Mist AI's artificial intelligence platform is transforming electricity supply and demand forecasting with localized data to improve grid reliability and costs, featuring insights from co-founder Titiaan Palazzi.
This episode explores how Donnel Baird founded BlocPower to retrofit buildings with cleaner, cheaper electric heating, creating a business model that saves low-income communities 70% on energy costs while building a clean tech company.
This episode features an interview with Arshad Mansoor, CEO of EPRI, discussing the future of grid R&D and the integration of local energy resources like DERs into a safe, clean, and resilient energy system.
This episode features an interview with energy expert Peter Kelly-Detwiler about his book 'The Energy Switch', discussing the transformation of the electric grid into a cleaner, more complex system and its implications for society.
This episode explores how recent innovations in battery technology, despite being invented 220 years ago, are now critical to the clean energy transition and economic shifts away from internal combustion.
This episode features an interview with Acumen founder Jacqueline Novogratz about how two decades of patient capital and off-grid solar have transformed lives for hundreds of millions and what's next for their impact investing approach.
This episode features Michael Chanin, CEO of Cherry Street Energy, discussing a large on-site solar project at Emory University in Atlanta, which aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and lower electricity costs.
This episode explores how simplifying permitting and inspections for residential solar systems can create a surge in solar jobs, with insights from industry leaders Yann Brandt and Mike Casey on the role of local advocates in driving growth.
Andrew Birch, co-founder and CEO of Open Solar, discusses how soft costs like permitting and regulation make U.S.
This episode explores how community solar provides accessible clean energy solutions for those unable to install rooftop solar, featuring insights from Jeff Kramer of CCSA on its workings, benefits, and policy challenges.
["The Freeing Energy Podcast revisits 2020 with Sam Easterby and Bill Nussie, opening with Bloomberg battery data that pushed lithium-ion packs below $100 per kilowatt hour and left the average at about $137 per kilowatt hour.", "The episode tracks 2020 solar milestones, including 14 gigawatts of new U.S.
["Martin DeBono says GAF Energy is trying to replace 'black rectangles bolted to a frame' with a roof that generates electricity itself.", "Bill Nessie frames the conversation around GAF, which the episode says supplies materials for over 2 million new roofs a year and works through a 5,000-partner contractor network.", "DeBono traces his clean-energy thinking to 80 to 90 days underwater on the USS Georgia, where a nuclear power plant was the sole source of life.", "He argues that building integrated photovoltaics now make sense because solar-cell prices have fallen from about $1 to $0.15, but the system still has to function as a roof, a water barrier, a fire barrier, and a 25-year power plant."]
Dr.
Ryan Goodman says microgrids matter because the IEEE pegs sustained outage costs at $59 billion a year, with 70% hitting commercial customers and 28% industrial customers.
Bill Nussie talks with EnergySage founder and CEO Vikram Agarwal about why rooftop solar is growing and why EnergySage is described as a leading source of solar information in the United States.
Bill Nussey and Sam Easterby compare electricity innovation with other industries, noting that electricity prices rose 6% while computing costs fell about 250 times.
Greg Nemet says solar’s cost decline came through a five-country relay: the US, Japan, Germany, Australia, and China each contributed distinct capabilities.
The Freeing Energy Podcast’s Emily Morris episode examines Emergy’s distributed hydropower as a 24/7 energy source that uses existing water infrastructure instead of expensive dams.