Watt’s Up Renewables

What does it take to build a company in wind without sacrificing safety, relationships, or the people who helped you get there? Marcus Yarnold, co-owner of TNT (Torque and Tensioning), returns to Watt’s Up Renewables with a lot to talk about. Since his last appearance, Marcus has made the jump to focus on TNT full time as the company continues to grow and take on larger opportunities across the wind industry. Marcus shares what that transition has taught him about leadership, taking care of employees, solving problems for customers, and building a company culture that still feels like family as the business expands. The conversation dives deep into safety and the decisions technicians make in the field. Marcus and Adam discuss the risk-versus-reward mindset behind bypassing safety systems, why stop work authority matters, and the responsibility experienced technicians have to set the right example for people entering the industry. From growing a small business and earning customer trust to making tough decisions and refusing to take shortcuts, this episode is a conversation about building something the right way.

What if getting into renewable energy could completely change the direction of your career? In this episode of Watt’s Up Renewables, Adam sits down with Brandon Stephenson to talk about his path from the U.S. Marine Corps into solar and how a willingness to keep learning opened up opportunity after opportunity. They get into what really makes a great technician , why understanding the “why” behind a failure matters, and how Brandon went from learning the basics to troubleshooting utility-scale solar equipment, traveling site to site, and getting exposure to battery energy storage. They also talk about the reality of life in the field. The travel, the pressure, the responsibility, and the importance of speaking up when something does not feel safe. At the center of it all is a simple idea: once you get your foot in the door, there are a lot more paths in renewable energy than most people realize. If you are already working in the industry, thinking about getting into it, or wondering where a technician career can lead, this is a conversation worth taking in.

The grid was built to handle predictable peaks. What happens when electricity demand starts growing faster than the infrastructure designed to support it? In this episode of Watt’s Up Renewables, Adam sits down with Ben Kaun of Inlyte Energy to explore the growing need for long-duration energy storage and why the next generation of batteries could play a much bigger role in keeping the grid reliable. Ben brings a unique perspective to the conversation. He grew up around battery technology, worked at Tesla during its early days, spent years leading energy storage research at the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), and is now helping bring new storage technology to market with Inlyte Energy. They dig into how rising electricity demand from data centers, electrification, and changing seasonal peaks is putting new pressure on the grid. Ben explains why traditional four-hour storage may not be enough for the challenges ahead, how longer-duration systems can provide resilience during multi-day outages, and why energy storage can help unlock capacity that already exists on the grid. The conversation also explores Inlyte’s iron-sodium battery technology, built around abundant materials like iron and salt, and how a simpler manufacturing process could help lower costs while creating an opportunity to build more of the battery supply chain here in the United States. From grid reliability and backup power to AI-driven load growth, American manufacturing, and the future of energy storage, this conversation looks at what it may take to build a more resilient energy system for the decades ahead.

🔋 What if the future of energy storage isn’t lithium? In this episode of Watt’s Up Renewables, Adam sits down with Antonio Baclig, Founder and CEO of Inlyte Energy, to explore a different kind of battery built around iron, salt, safety, longevity, and a supply chain that can be supported here in the United States. 🇺🇸 Antonio breaks down how Inlyte’s sodium metal chloride battery technology compares to lithium-ion and how safer, longer-lasting batteries could play a major role in strengthening the grid. ⚡ They also dive into one of the fastest-growing energy challenges today: powering AI and data centers. Antonio explains how batteries can help data centers connect to the grid faster, manage peak demand, reduce reliance on diesel backup generators, and support cleaner, more reliable power. From growing up in Hawaii and studying battery science at Stanford to building Inlyte Energy from the ground up, Antonio shares the story behind the company and his mission to make clean energy storage more practical, scalable, and economically competitive. 📈 If you want to understand where battery storage is headed, this is a conversation you won’t want to miss. 🎙️

What happens when a job you never planned on becomes a 21-year career in wind energy? In this episode of Watt’s Up Renewables, Adam sits down with longtime wind industry professional Pat Halpin to talk about his journey from concrete and grout work in Mojave to leadership across some of the largest and most complex wind projects in the country. Pat shares how he stumbled into the industry after leaving the military and worked his way through foundations, turbine assembly, substations, installation, site management, and operations leadership. ⚡ Pat and Adam discuss how wind turbines have grown over the years and what larger machines mean for cranes, transportation, engineering, safety, and construction logistics. ⚡ They break down repowering existing wind sites and how newer technology can produce significantly more energy from the same footprint. ⚡ The conversation explores leadership in the field, mentorship, creating opportunities for the next generation, and why taking care of frontline employees is critical to building a strong workforce. ⚡ They also dig into safety, quality, and production, including why doing the job the right way can ultimately lead to greater efficiency. ⚡ And with AI, data centers, and electricity demand continuing to grow, Pat and Adam talk about what that could mean for renewable energy and the workforce responsible for building it. Along the way, Pat shares stories and lessons from more than two decades of building wind projects across the country. This is a conversation about where the wind industry has been, how much it has changed, and the people who will carry it forward. If you’ve spent time in the field, worked around renewable construction, or simply want a better look at what it actually takes to build these projects, this is an episode you won’t want to miss.