#146: Fixing the Clean Energy Logjam with Daniel Dus

Feb 3, 2026

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In this episode of Earthlings 2.0, we sit down with Daniel Dus, Founder and CEO of Cleantech Industry Resources (CIR), to unpack the oftentimes quiet development work that determines whether clean energy projects ever reach construction. We explore CIR’s commoditized development-as-a-service (DaaS) model, which combines deep engineering expertise, advanced software, and AI-enabled workflows to bring projects to true bankability and construction readiness. The conversation spans repowering aging solar assets, the rise of battery storage, data center-driven power demand, policy uncertainty, and why community engagement is becoming one of the most critical success factors for developers navigating today’s clean energy landscape.

Key Points:

Development, not deployment, is slowing clean energy scale-up – Permitting, interconnection, engineering, financing, and documentation remain the biggest sources of delay, often adding years to otherwise viable projects.
Development-as-a-service replaces rigid teams with flexible expertise – CIR allows developers to access on-demand, end-to-end development or targeted services without carrying large internal teams through uneven project cycles.
AI is embedded across the entire development workflow – From engineering validation and procurement to communications and process optimization, AI enables CIR’s global team to operate at several times the traditional capacity.

Daniel Dus, CEO of Cleantech Industry Resources (CIR), LinkedIn
Luis de Leon, Earthlings 2.0 Guest Host, Sr. Public Relations Account Executive at Technica Communications

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