Gareth Evans, Founder and CEO of VECKTA and host of the Renewable Ride podcast, sits down with Rohit Yadav in this episode to break down where the energy market is actually heading — from the aging US grid and rising power costs to the rise of on-site energy systems, the prosumer model, and what climate and energy tech founders need to know in 2026.Whether you are a founder, operator, investor, or simply curious about the energy transition and the future of distributed power, this episode will sharpen how you think about energy as a category.Chapters:00:00 — Introduction: TheOnePoint Podcast and meet Gareth Evans00:37 — What is VECKTA and the on-site energy opportunity01:33 — From oil and gas to renewable energy: Gareth's journey03:18 — The changing US energy landscape03:50 — Why the US grid earned a D-plus rating05:00 — $150B in annual outage costs and the rise of on-site energy systems06:30 — Global cost comparison: Germany, China, and the competitive picture07:48 — Production vs. delivery: nuclear, gas, and the role of renewables09:30 — Why small, agile systems at the edge can move faster than mega-projects12:42 — Top three takeaways to solve the energy challenge14:12 — The state of climate and energy tech venture investing15:30 — How generalist VCs are reentering the energy market17:02 — Two hot areas in climate tech: the rise of the prosumer19:24 — Inside Gareth's fundraising journey from pre-seed to Series A23:09 — Why one word in your pitch deck can shrink your TAM25:09 — What Gareth would change about his fundraising approach25:54 — The single best fundraising tip Gareth got recently26:57 — Accelerators and competitions: what actually works28:53 — Should governments fund climate tech startups31:36 — The K2 lesson: why culture beats tools and process33:14 — Closing thoughts on the energy and venture landscape🔑 Key Insights You'll Walk Away With:➡️ Why the US grid earned a D-plus rating and what it means for businesses building for the future➡️ The shift from passive energy consumer to active prosumer who generates, stores, and trades energy➡️ Why power delivery, not generation, is the real bottleneck in the energy transition➡️ How on-site energy systems deliver resilience, lower operating costs, and stronger margins simultaneously➡️ Why small, distributed, edge-based systems can scale faster than large centralized projects➡️ Why generalist VCs are returning to climate and energy tech after years on the sidelines➡️ How one word in a pitch deck can shrink an investor's view of your total addressable market➡️ Why fundraising is a long-term relationship, not a transaction, and what changes from pre-seed to Series A➡️ The K2 lesson: why culture, behaviors, and beliefs outperform tools and processesLinks:Gareth Evans: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gareth-evans-41015726/VECKTA: https://www.veckta.com/Renewable Ride Podcast: https://veckta.com/renewable-rides-podcast/Rohit Yadav: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rohityadav23/Newsletter: https://yadavrohit.substack.com/