It’s time to bet on the future. Climate change is here, disasters are daily, and even financial systems are strained to breaking. In Episode One of our Green Hydrogen Mini-Series, Sheldon Kimber is thinking outside the grid and betting on dramatic change, with his eyes set on five inevitable technologies of the zero carbon future. What markets will be both profitable and scalable? Why is Green Hydrogen a giga-ton clean gas solution? And how does it even work? We talk about his vision of the carb...
Dec 13, 2021•47 min•Season 8Ep. 425
Hydrogen, the most abundant element on earth, has been hailed for decades as a beacon of the coming clean energy revolution. So why has it still not arrived? And why is everybody all of a sudden talking about Green Hydrogen? In this mini-Series, in partnership with Intersect Power, we will help you filter hope from hype and reality from fiction to see where the true opportunities exist with Green Hydrogen. If you’ve been looking for one place to understand whether there really is a pathway for r...
Dec 11, 2021•3 min•Season 8Ep. 424
I’ve said it a lot from the pulpit of SunCast, but there really is a LOT that the Renewable energy sector can still learn from the traditional power sector. The fundamentals of how the power sector works can often feel like a lost art. Today’s guest, Mitchell Samuelian, recounts the many stories and examples where he helped fill those gaps in skills and knowledge from his early days in Renewables as the first O&M Hire at First Solar to his roles leading site maintenance & operations at N...
Dec 10, 2021•1 hr 12 min•Season 8Ep. 423
Bill Nussey’s book comes out TODAY! Freeing Energy: How Innovators Are Using Local-Scale Solar and Batteries to Disrupt the Global Energy Industry from the Outside In is a handbook for navigating the clean energy transition. Last week, we released a 2+ hour in depth interview with Bill. Today, we’ve got a highlights reel, to help you get to know the author and share some key points from that longer episode. There is A LOT that we trimmed in this abridged episode, so if you want to get the FULL i...
Dec 07, 2021•1 hr 5 min•Season 8Ep. 422
The transition to clean energy is moving far too slowly. Trapped by a century of fossil fuel investments and politicians that struggle to plan beyond the next election, the “Big Grid” that powers our modern world is outdated and in dire need of an upgrade. Bill Nussey is on a mission to understand how this transition will benefit us all, especially with regard to what he refers to as “Local Energy”. In his brilliant forthcoming book, “Freeing Energy”, Nussey explores the history and future of th...
Dec 03, 2021•2 hr 13 min•Season 8Ep. 421
Today is Giving Tuesday , yes, yes it is a real thing, and each year we highlight the GivingTuesday campaign of one Nonprofit that we see doing world-changing things. This year we are thrilled to highlight GivePower, one of the most impactful nonprofits in both rural electrification and clean water. If you missed it, we had GivePower’s President, Michele Magee, on Episode #388 of SunCast and we were inspired, but we also didn’t dive deep enough into how their partnership programs work! This time...
Nov 30, 2021•46 min•Season 8Ep. 420
Today’s Thanksgiving Episode features Youness Scally, the Co-Founder and Executive Director of the non-profit, Everybody Solar. Over the past ten years, they’ve developed systems to aid other nonprofits and charitable organizations in installing their on solar projects, and he did it all as a side-project! Hear what it’s like to tackle the details of solar installation from the nonprofit perspective, how many “no’s” he got before he found a “yes”, how they get a job done now, the ups and downs o...
Nov 25, 2021•57 min•Season 8Ep. 419
FRIDAY BONUS EPISODE. Today’s episode is EXTRAORDINARY and is not limited to energy professionals. It’s about storytelling, and I bring it to you, solar warrior, because I love this industry and I want to inspire each one of you to tell your unique story to the world. You give me hope. Your hard-earned skills, aspirations, drive and creativity are making this industry a permanent fixture in the Energy Transition, not just a passing fad. Sure, you’re an expert. That’s why you’re here. But I hate ...
Nov 19, 2021•47 min•Season 8Ep. 418
Few Clean Energy entrepreneurs are as familiar with the bumpy road from coal to clean energy as Kiran Bhatraju. The son of an immigrant doctor, Kiran grew up in a rural Kentucky town where the economy practically depended on coal. His knowledge on the subject is deep enough and his perspective unique enough that he even wrote a book on the subject. From author, (check out his biography of Eulla Hall called Mud Creek Medecine ) to Capitol Hill, Kiran has learned how to read people, policy and tre...
Nov 18, 2021•55 min•Season 8Ep. 417
You need to tell compelling stories. Rain Bennett can help. In his recent TED Talk, “You Don’t Get Hired for Your Expertise” Rain breaks down what you DO get hired for in a very personal and compelling way. Moreover, in today’s Tactical Tuesday, Rain and I break down exactly how he does it, and I extract the lessons you can apply to your very next creative project. Rain is an accomplished film producer and storyteller, and every presentation he gives is engaging and memorable. But how does he do...
Nov 16, 2021•22 min•Season 8Ep. 416
This is the Full-length interview with Energy Ogre founder and CEO Jesson Bradshaw, who also appeared on the podcast a couple of weeks ago on a Tactical Tuesday. In this episode, I learned: Why TX is an attractive place for industry How deregulated markets work The perspective of a retail energy provider How you can be sure you're getting the best electricity prices I was surprised to hear Jesson say that he and his team are really in the education business, bringing attention to Texas’s deregul...
Nov 11, 2021•1 hr 20 min•Season 8Ep. 415
For the las six months, the solar industry has been under a shroud of confusion and uncertainty with regard to a handful of policies that are affecting all of us. Whether you have felt it yet or not, the WRO (Withhold Release Order) has slowly crept into the solar industry consciousness and is impacting everything from project equipment and project delivery timelines to supply chain and equipment pricing. As much of the news is coming through the filter of international media and is targeted tow...
Nov 09, 2021•48 min•Season 8Ep. 414
Nathan Jovanelly believes everyone should have the right to purchase clean energy. In today's discussion, we talk about his childhood in a blue collar family, how he almost enlisted in the military, and how discipline and diligence paved the way to success, first in engineering and now as the Director of Business Development for IGS Solar. As is often the case, good relationships and excellent work reputation brought him to IGS, the largest retailer of energy in the US(!), where he helped divers...
Nov 04, 2021•1 hr 45 min•Season 8Ep. 413
In Today's Tactical Tuesday we spend 15 minutes diving into the reality of deregulated markets with of Jesson Bradshaw of Energy Ogre. Most of us in the US do not have choice when it come to who powers our homes. But in Texas, and a several other "choice markets" (deregulated energy markets), energy is as competitive as telecom services. Much like the airline industry and natural gas, deregulation can bring lower prices to the consumer. But there's still no Priceline.com for powering your home. ...
Nov 02, 2021•18 min•Season 8Ep. 412
Auston Taber launched Solar Support after years behind the scenes at companies like REC, SMA, Huawei and GInlong, where he learned how to repair systems and mitigate damages from failing hardware. From aging inverters to hurricanes, there's always something threatening productivity of a solar array and Auston's mission is to keep those unproductive hours to a minimum. We talk about how he pivoted from employee to CEO of his own company while retaining his previous employer as a client...all the ...
Oct 28, 2021•1 hr 44 min•Season 8Ep. 411
Today's Tactical Tuesday is our Final Debate of the Great Debate Series for 2021, and features four solar industry experts - 2 who represent Distributed Generation, and 2 who represent Utility-scale "Central" Generation. The hot topic being debated: "Distributed vs Central Generation - How do we create the 100% Renewable Grid of the Future? " Barbara Lockwood of Arizona Public Service, and Emilie Wangerman of Lightsource BP square off against Barry Cinnamon of Cinnamon Energy Systems, Meredith M...
Oct 26, 2021•59 min•Season 8Ep. 410
Starting, failing, transparency, humility, organization, leadership, family, burnout...these are just some of the themes that emerged in today's riveting discussion with Reid Wuntke. Reid is a highly intentional and focused leader. You may recognize him as President of one of the world's leading solar software platforms, Energy Toolbase, but he came into the Renewables field with the same thoughtful intention that led him to the Royal Canadian Airforce, McKinsey, various high-growth startups, an...
Oct 21, 2021•1 hr 22 min•Season 8Ep. 409
The Solar Power World 2021 Top Solar Changemaker award-winner is Kate Gold, director of community engagement at Solar Landscape . From the Article feature on SPW's website: "Talking about diversity and inclusion in the solar industry is a good start, but the 2021 Top Solar Changemaker is actively bringing underserved communities into the green economy. Kate Gold’s mission as director of community engagement at Solar Landscape is to train and develop the future renewable energy workforce in New J...
Oct 19, 2021•24 min•Season 8Ep. 408
Welcome back, Solar Warrior. This is a SunCast Rewind that’s also a Tactical Tuesday, typically a short form conversation with subject matter experts designed to give you the practical tools, tips, and advice for building your solar business or career. Today is a special collaboration with Mike Casey from Tigercomm as host of our Quarterly Podcasters Roundtable. Originally recorded live as a video interview ( watch it on youtube !), this idea was inspired by Tigercomm's quarterly Cleantech Edito...
Oct 13, 2021•58 min•Season 8Ep. 407
When Eric White met a group of Louisiana oil guys at an OPEC Summit while studying abroad in Vienna, he scarcely could have imagined that his career would soon center around two of the most powerful sectors in the world: Finance & Energy. And when he began to see the renewable energy sector scaling, his traditional finance & energy training suggested that the solar sector in particular was facing capital barriers inhibiting acceleration of a distributed energy future. Since 2014, Eric Wh...
Oct 07, 2021•1 hr 3 min•Season 8Ep. 406
Solar Module Recycling and Refurbishing is a critical (if often overlooked) element of our green, clean energy future. Janette Freeman is passionate about saving the landfill from the millions of solar panels which will be coming to end-of-life in the years ahead. She is the Director of Business Development for FabTech Solar Solutions, which does solar panel refurbishing and recycling; giving panels a second life or a proper cremation. As we've discussed here before, the solar industry has a pro...
Oct 05, 2021•37 min•Season 8Ep. 405
Residential Solar finance is a hot hot market, and few companies have stormed the proverbial castle and taken a leadership position so decisively as Sunlight Financial. On the surface, it looks like a rather traditional "this banker left his banking job for another banking job" kind of story. But as you'll hear in today's interview with Sunlight's CEO, Matt Potere, it's anything but "traditional". Son of a gas station owner, Matt says "I grew up in the Hamptons like many did, but now quite in th...
Sep 30, 2021•57 min•Season 8Ep. 404
Despite their widespread use in the renewable energy industry, using an 8760 to project financial performance can lead to significant errors in revenue models. In particular, revenue models that pair an 8760 with historical prices miss the impact of hourly renewable energy generation on hourly power prices. Because wind and solar plants are relatively inexpensive sources of generation, there tends to be a negative correlation between generation and power price in markets with high renewable pene...
Sep 28, 2021•32 min•Season 8Ep. 403
Today's guest is Amy Simpkins, CEO of Mu Grid. We talk about her life as a clean energy consultant, her history in astronautics and her new podcast, Power Flow. Growing up in a culture of theater, music and performance, Amy has deep love for words and a connection to story. But she spent years taming the right brain and training the left as an engineer, studying aeronautics and astronautics at MIT, interning with NASA and working for the Space Systems Division of Lockhead Martin. Amy still has a...
Sep 23, 2021•1 hr 14 min•Season 8Ep. 402
Welcome, #SolarWarrior, to another Tactical Tuesday, a short-form conversation with subject-matter experts designed to give you practical tools, tips, and advice for building your solar business or career. Ten years ago, if you called on a solar company to give you a rooftop solar system proposal, one of your installer’s first steps was to come to your house, climb up on your roof, and take a bunch of measurements and pictures to evaluate the project. This process is now starting to change, howe...
Sep 21, 2021•44 min•Season 8Ep. 401
Today, Nico shares his 400th conversation with clean energy experts on Suncast. Each episode investigates a small piece of the big puzzle by asking CEO's, founders, entrepreneurs and thought-leaders to share their story and answer questions like "how did you get here?" and "where are you going?" One by one, these intimate conversations help unite a tribe of energy professionals from all sectors, walks of life and stages in their careers, recognizing that we have so far to go and many, many more ...
Sep 16, 2021•1 hr 11 min•Season 8Ep. 400
This is Part Two of our two-part series with Reagan Farr, CEO of Silicon Ranch, a pioneer of solar development in the Southeastern US. If you missed part 1, it's probably useful to queue that one up first, as it sets the tone for this episode. And, this one is a longer episode, as we get into the details of how Reagan and his cofounders Matt Kisber and former Governor Phil Bredesen, put the business together and grew it over the last 10 yrs to become one of the largest and most respected Indepen...
Sep 09, 2021•1 hr 33 min•Season 8Ep. 399
This is Part One of a two-part series with Reagan Farr, CEO of Silicon Ranch, a pioneer of solar development in the Southeastern US. We talk about his childhood in Baton Rouge, where "curiosity ruled the day" in a home of educators, law school, and 8 years as a commissioner with the Governor of Tennessee. Reagan was there when the state decided to attract clean energy companies both for headquarters and production in TN, tweaking the tax code to encourage entrepreneurship and the light bulb mome...
Sep 09, 2021•46 min•Season 8Ep. 399
Solar Power International was officially cancelled last Friday. 😩 Our thoughts and prayers are with those who are suffering and in the arduous process of Rebuilding that great city, yet again. In today's Tactical Tuesday Nico chats w/Danielle Danko of Solar Power Events (the org that produces SPI) about how we can support the NOLA community, and what the next events are that you can get ready for (assuming we can still meet in person in the near future). Next, Nico has Jake Rozmaryn back to sha...
Sep 07, 2021•32 min•Season 8Ep. 398
What does it look to disrupt an industry? What does it take to make a career of it? And as Jim Collins suggested, WHO do you need to get on the bus? In Today's episode Nico gets into these details with Solar pioneers Daniel Flanigan and Charles Pimentel as we navigate their clean energy career paths through Offgrid solar, Hydrogen (Plug Power), Solar modules & Development (Canadian Solar, Solar Frontier), Installation & Construction (Zep Solar, Solar City, Tesla, Depcom) & more! Alon...
Sep 03, 2021•1 hr 35 min•Season 8Ep. 397
