SELLEST OSAST
On this episode, recorded live at Climate Week NYC, I talk with Matt Traldi. He’s the founder and CEO of Greenlight America, which finds the local meetings where clean energy’s fate is being decided and recruits supporters to attend. Traldi argues that siting and permitting approvals turn on who shows up, and that local partners, conservative groups included, outperform outside advocates. We discuss how to measure impact, recent wins and losses, blue-state resistance, data center backlash, and Greenlight’s growth.
Chapters:
00:00 – Introduction
02:09 – What Greenlight does and why Matt started it
04:41 – How Greenlight finds the decisions that matter
07:27 – Growth, and the tax credit deadline sprint
13:38 – Who shows up to local hearings
19:39 – Winning in conservative communities
22:35 – Bodies in the room, measuring impact, and win rates
27:46 – Losses, wins, and “there is no bag”
32:44 – Blue-state obstacles and organized opposition
36:31 – When data center backlash spills over onto clean energy
42:31 – Which projects Greenlight won’t back
45:38 – Lessons from housing and growing an organization
50:17 – Audience Q&A: disinformation and state permitting reform
54:39 – Audience Q&A: developers and elections
59:30 – Audience Q&A: funding local groups and designing community input
