Watt It Takes: The Promise of Electric Buses With Proterra CEO Ryan Popple

<p>This week on <em>Watt It Takes</em>: How Ryan Popple’s experience in the military, Tesla and venture capital helped him lead electric bus maker Proterra.</p><p>“It’s good for the ‘keep calm and carry on mentality’ when people tend to bring me a box of broken parts. So if you’re the founder or CEO of an organization, you shouldn’t be surprised when most of what is brought to you is bad news.”</p><p>Proterra is on a roll. The company is a leading manufacturer of heavy-duty electric buses in North America, with over 50 customers, a one-year backlog and vehicles on the road in two dozen cities. The company’s current pipeline represents 10 percent of the US transit fleet.</p><p>It took many years to reach this stage. Proterra faced numerous difficult technical re-designs and slow customer adoption over the last decade. In this interview, Popple reflects on how the company moved through the valley of death. </p><p><em>Watt It Takes</em> is a collaboration between Powerhouse and Greentech Media. The series is recorded in front of a live audience at Powerhouse headquarters in Oakland, California.&nbsp;<a href="http://powerhouse.fund/events/" target="_blank">Buy tickets</a>&nbsp;for upcoming events.</p><p>The Energy Gang<em>&nbsp;is brought to you by Mission Solar Energy, a solar module manufacturer based in San Antonio, Texas.&nbsp;Mission Solar's high-performance solar panels have the highest testing ratings among any North American manufacturer in the market.&nbsp;</em><a href="http://www.missionsolar.com/" target="_blank"><em>Learn more</em></a><em>&nbsp;about Mission's high-efficiency modules.</em></p><p><em>Subscribe to&nbsp;</em>The Energy Gang<em>&nbsp;podcast via&nbsp;</em><a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-energy-gang/id663379413?mt=2" target="_blank"><em>Apple Podcasts</em></a><em>,&nbsp;</em><a href="https://play.google.com/music/listen#/ps/Ib4rxvbxzjtlvwhncbctz4uwdka" target="_blank"><em>Google Play</em></a><em>,&nbsp;</em><a href="https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/the-energy-gang" ta