The proverbial light bulb that sparked Tasha McCarter's interest in energy was an actual light bulb.A third grade experiment using a hand crank to produce electricity led to an accomplished career developing power plants for SunPower, Silicon Ranch, and most recently RWE as their vice president of solar engineering.For McCarter, who is Black, the rise to become one of the energy industry's foremost engineering leaders was anything but easy. While the industry's well-known diversity problem is slowly improving, there's still a long way to go.McCarter joined Episode 37 of the Factor This! podcast to talk about her career, Black History Month, and the energy industry's pursuit of a more diverse workforce.   We're just a few weeks out from the GridTECH Connect Forum being held in Newport Rhode, Island Oct. 23-25. Register today using promo code PODCAST at checkout to save 20% off admission. Join host developer Nexamp, and host utilities National Grid and Rhode Island Energy, for this groundbreaking event hyper-focused on DER interconnection in the Northeast.  You've heard me talk a lot about the GridTECH Connect Forum - Northeast event being held in Newport, Rhode Island Oct. 23-25. Well, registration is now LIVE. We're excited to partner with the DOE to bring together DER developers, utilities, and regulators around the critical issue of interconnection in the Northeast. Click here to register today.  The Factor This!  podcast is growing! We're adding a weekly climate and clean energy news roundup episode to the feed, co-hosted by John Engel and cleantech PR veteran Mike Casey.  Beginning July 21, "This Week in Cleantech" will give you all of the top stories in 15 minutes or less, and feature a leading journalist or market analyst to share the juice behind the headlines. Email story ideas and topics to ThisWeekinCleantech@tigercomm.us.