Clean energy is winning on cost.

Solar and storage are cheaper than ever. Deployment is accelerating. The economics are undeniable.

So why does it still feel like the industry is losing the broader public narrative?

In this live conversation, Nico Johnson sits down with journalist Sammy Roth to explore the gap between technical success and cultural influence. After more than a decade covering energy and climate for the Los Angeles Times, Sammy now writes the independent newsletter Climate-Colored Goggles, where he examines how media, identity, and storytelling shape the energy transition.

Sammy argues that the challenge isn’t just policy or technology — it’s narrative. While clean energy has focused on cost curves and deployment, it has often underinvested in the cultural work required to build public trust, identity, and long-term support.

This conversation digs into what the industry gets wrong about communication, why reacting to politics is a losing strategy, and what it would actually take to win the long-term cultural battle.

And asking a bigger question: what if the clean energy industry is fighting the wrong battle?

Expect to learn:

🔹 Why Sammy believes clean energy is losing a cultural battle, not just a political one

🔹 What the industry got wrong in communicating the Inflation Reduction Act

🔹 Why facts, economics, and climate science are not enough to win public support

🔹 How entertainment, sports, media, and advertising shape energy narratives over time

This is a conversation about branding, belief, and what it will really take to make clean energy feel as essential and American as the incumbents it is trying to replace.

Listen in.

Are there other technologies you’ve scouted on the frontlines of the Clean Energy Revolution that you think we should be covering here on SunCast?

Hit us up - team@suncast.me with your feedback & recommendations.

Check out OpenSolar OS 3.0 at: https://suncast.media/opensolar

If you want to connect with today's guest, you’ll find links to their contact info in the show notes on the blog at https://suncast.media/episodes/.

Our Platinum Presenting Sponsor for SunCast is CPS America!

SunCast is also sponsored by Nextpower!

You can learn more about all the sponsors who help make this show free for you at www.suncast.media/sponsors.

Remember, you can always find resources, learn more about today’s guest and explore recommendations, book links, and more than 875 other founder stories and startup advice at www.suncast.media.

Subscribe to Valence, our weekly LinkedIn Newsletter, and learn the elements of compelling storytelling: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/valence-content-that-connects-7145928995363049472/

You can connect with me, Nico Johnson, on:

Twitter - https://www.twitter.com/nicomeo

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickalus

910: Clean Energy Is Winning on Cost — So Why Is It Losing the Narrative? | Sammy Roth

SunCast