Today’s guest is Stijn Vos, CEO of ESDEC Solar Group, a company that has supplied universal mounting systems for roof-mounted PV installations on flat and pitched roofs since 2004. With over 15 years of experience and over 7GW of solar panels installed, the ESDEC folks have developed themselves from a brand new company in the U.S., into the largest residential racking manufacturer. Stijn shared his thoughts on bringing two of the most popular roofing companies, Iron Ridge and Quick Mount PV, und...
Apr 14, 2020•25 min•Season 5Ep. 246
Today's guest is John Powers, CEO and Founder of Extensible Energy. He is an energy consultant, energy an economist and a serial entrepreneur with more than three decades of experience in technology development for energy markets. He's worked across a slew of different aspects of this industry, and has an incredible story and a stellar team. And I can't wait to unpack it here on SunCast. We're going to talk about what are all of the inputs that you want to consider as you help your customers del...
Apr 10, 2020•59 min•Season 5Ep. 245
Today we enjoy a conversation with Vikram Aggarwal, the CEO and Founder of EnergySage, the leading online marketplace for solar energy systems in the U.S., sometimes referred to as “the Expedia of solar". Vikram founded EnergySage after more than fifteen years with a major global financial services leader, specializing in private equity investing and strategy consulting. Gain access to all the show notes & resources from this episode here Are there other technologies you’ve scouted on the fr...
Apr 08, 2020•27 min•Season 5Ep. 244
I’ve asked my friend Pamela Wagner to join me to guide us through a discussion about the often mystical world of paid advertising, in particular, Google Ads. Pamela worked on the Google Ads team before branching out on her own to form Ajala Digital, a creative agency based in Europe that helps companies around the world with their digital marketing strategy and implementation. Pamela has been honored as a Forbes 30 under 30, and is one of my go-to experts when it comes to digital marketing and r...
Apr 02, 2020•47 min•Season 5Ep. 243
Solar energy has often been billed as a luxury item for the rich, yet as a technology it has the power to lift people out of poverty offering energy access and security to the poorest and most isolated communities. But how do we actually achieve this shift in paradigm? Today I am joined by Alexandra Wyatt, who is the policy and regulatory manager at GRID Alternatives, a nonprofit with a vision for a successful transition to clean, renewable energy that includes everyone . As we’ve highlighted in...
Mar 31, 2020•30 min•Season 5Ep. 242
Today is Part 2 of our interview with Amanda Bybee, Founder of Amicus O&M Cooperative, a company that brings together a network of independent solar companies across the U.S. to provide operations and maintenance (O&M) services for geographically distributed solar photovoltaic (PV) portfolios. Today, she will continue to share the struggles she’s gone through, how she has endured the growth curve of multiple companies, and the insight into ways you can now adapt her lens into your own ca...
Mar 26, 2020•47 min•Season 5Ep. 241
I'm really, grateful for my friend Tara Doyle, who introduced me to today's guest, Amanda Bybee. Before I began conversations with Amanda, I didn't know much about her life and work. And I must tell you, I was engrossed by Amanda's story. She had such a phenomenal background and journey to get to where she is today. And we learn all about the Amicus O&M Cooperative as well as her time at Namaste Solar, and even back to the early days of Solar Austin and the early early push to get renewable ...
Mar 24, 2020•53 min•Season 5Ep. 240
If you’ve ever pulled yourself up by the bootstrings, ever worked hard-as-hell just to get on a level playing field, ever kept at something b/c it was simply worth doing, then today’s episode is for you. Today’s Energy executive is my longtime friend and true #SolarWarrior, Kendra Hubbard. Kendra and I met in 2011 in Philly at a regional solar conference, the way I’ve met so many of you. She earned and kept my respect for her tenacity and ingenuity from the first moment we met. Today I share wit...
Mar 19, 2020•1 hr 11 min•Season 5Ep. 239
Today's guest is Rosana Francescato, Communications Director at Clean Coalition, a non-profit organization that drives policy innovation to remove barriers to procurement and interconnection of Distributed Energy Resources (DER), and also collaborates with utilities and municipalities to create near-term deployment opportunities that prove the technical and financial viability of local renewables and other DER. This conversation took place in the Podcast Lounge back at SPI 2019, and was led by P...
Mar 17, 2020•25 min•Season 5Ep. 238
Today’s guest does not consider herself an entrepreneur, so I’ll give her some other titles. Whether she would be self-referential or not, Mona Dajani is a deal machine. She’s also the only woman ever to be head of energy and infrastructure of a major law firm, and The only lawyer on the board for ACORE. In short, she’s a trusted advisor and has been the steady hand in nearly $100B in renewables transactions. Mona unpacks for me the 3 key elements of a ‘good deal’ - Reliable pathway, Risk mitiga...
Mar 12, 2020•56 min•Season 5Ep. 237
PV recycling is something that our industry has been working on for at least four years, maybe longer. Many question marks gravitate around recycling solar PV modules, one of them being the final destination of these assets if not recycled properly, often associated to increase the world’s pollution levels. Today we're joined by Evelyn Butler from Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and Garvin Heath of the US Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). Garvin himse...
Mar 10, 2020•24 min•Season 5Ep. 236
Today’s the second in our Women’s History Month lineup of all-star clean energy leaders. Britta von Oesen is a longtime Solar Warrior. The story about her entry into the industry is fascinating. Britta is a Managing Director with CohnReznick Capital and leads the San Francisco Office. She has 10+ years of experience in investment banking, tax equity, corporate strategy, and development in the wind, solar, and broader environmental sector. She has directly advised on over 5GW of solar, wind and b...
Mar 05, 2020•1 hr 11 min•Season 5Ep. 235
We are joined today by Erika Myers, Principal of Transportation Electrification at Smart Electric Power Alliance (SEPA). She has 16 years of experience in the clean energy sector and specializes in the nexus between the grid, electric vehicles, and renewable energy. Key ideas explored: Distribution System Infrastructure and Planning to support optimized charging and Electric Vehicles (EVs) Trends in EV infrastructure Charging amount for medium and heavy-duty trucks What are the challenges of lon...
Mar 03, 2020•23 min•Season 5Ep. 234
This Sunday, you can watch Rocky Mountain Institute on CBS’ 60 Minutes. Justin Locke and Chris Burgess from the Islands Energy Program will be featured with partners from Bahamas Power and Light and the Government of The Bahamas discussing the power of distributed renewable energy to build a more resilient future for the islands and set an example for the world grappling with climate change. Gain access to all the show notes & resources from this episode here You can connect w/host, Nico Joh...
Feb 28, 2020•14 min•Season 5Ep. 233
When former guest and industry pioneer, Jim Spano, introduced me to Joe Tassone, I never could have imagined how much I’d go on to learn from him, but I’m grateful for the introduction. Joe has been developing projects and leading teams since his twenties, and has seen the boom years come and go in the Telecom industry. We explored the path that led him to ultimately founding his own company in the telecom space, and his eventual transition to the solar energy industry. Joe impressed upon me not...
Feb 27, 2020•1 hr 10 min•Season 5Ep. 232
Gain access to all the show notes & resources from this episode here You can connect w/host, Nico Johnson, on Twitter , LinkedIn or email Thanks a ton to our podcast sponsors for continuing to help make this content FREE to You! Please check them out and let me know what you think!...
Feb 25, 2020•6 min•Season 5Ep. 231
Today’s Entrepreneur, Andrew Eisenberg, has been building a business for more than 15 years serving the renewables industry and reducing risk for his clients. His company, Green IT Energy Applications, provides a comprehensive suite of products that help renewable energy portfolio owners mitigate risk, analyze data and manage portfolios of assets around the world. He calls it “an Operating System for renewables”. Gain access to all the show notes & resources from this episode here You can co...
Feb 20, 2020•51 min•Season 5Ep. 230
This conversation took place in the Podcast Lounge live at SPI 2019 between Christian Roselund, Editorial Director of the Rocky Mountain Institute, and Sheldon Kimber, Founder and CEO of Intersect Power, a developer of utility-scale renewables. Sheldon Kimber has almost 20 years of experience in energy finance, development, and entrepreneurship. If you have been having questions around merchant power, this is your chance to sort them out! Key ideas explored: The concept of merchant power and why...
Feb 18, 2020•32 min•Season 5Ep. 229
What do Richard Branson and today’s guest have in common? You’ll have to listen to find out. Chris Burgess is Director of Projects for the Rocky Mountain Institute’s Islands Program. But he wasn’t always a non-profit guy, and I wanted to know the “why” that drove him from a successful entrepreneurial journey toward working for a non-profit. Gain access to all the show notes & resources from this episode here You can connect w/host, Nico Johnson, on Twitter , LinkedIn or email Thanks a ton to...
Feb 13, 2020•1 hr 25 min•Season 5Ep. 228
Gain access to all the show notes & resources from this episode here You can connect w/host, Nico Johnson, on Twitter , LinkedIn or email Thanks a ton to our podcast sponsors for continuing to help make this content FREE to You! Please check them out and let me know what you think!...
Feb 11, 2020•7 min•Season 5Ep. 227
Teague Egan, is a young titan with an established track record of successful ventures, investments and philanthropy who has turned his eye toward the rise of renewable energy. Today’s discussion broadly focuses on the technology Teague’s company, EnergyX, is working to bring to market, focused on improving the lithium extraction process and vastly lowering the cost. Gain access to all the show notes & resources from this episode here You can connect w/host, Nico Johnson, on Twitter , LinkedI...
Feb 06, 2020•55 min•Season 5Ep. 226
Today, I'm turning the show over to Mr. Bill Gallagher, President at Solar-Fit and host of the Solar-Fit Renewable Energy Show, and Daniel Glaser, Sales Engineer at Panasonic. The conversation took place in the Podcast Lounge live at SPI 2019, and it focused on the technology that Panasonic introduced back then called EverVolt. We also discussed the increasing interest in solar energy and storage in Solar Power International over the last decade, and how other trends within the energy sector hav...
Feb 04, 2020•34 min•Season 5Ep. 225
Today’s Entrepreneur is Martin DeBono, the President at GAF Energy, a company that is transforming the roofing industry by integrating solar into every roof. Martin’s tech background at industry giants Cisco and Siebel gave him key skills in channel management that he’s now translated to the growth of some of the most respected brands in the rooftop solar business. Indeed, his tenure at SunPower marked one of the most incredible growth of that company’s history. Gain access to all the show notes...
Jan 30, 2020•56 min•Season 5Ep. 224
We're going to kick this week off with another episode from the Podcast Lounge live at SPI 2019. This was a really cool session about responsive energy management, and I was joined by folks who are by no means stranger to this topic: representing Lumin, we had Kevin O'Shea, Co-Founder and CCO and Michael Hibshman, Head of product at Lumin, and representing Cape Fear Solar Systems, we had John Donoghue, Founder and President, and Jason Ortiz, Residential Project Manager. Gain access to all the sh...
Jan 28, 2020•28 min•Season 5Ep. 223
Today, we are going to have some time with Mr. AJ Perkins, President and Co-Founder of DR Microgrid. His company is still young, but they are working on very interesting entities. AJ and I sifted through the implications around the rise of resiliency and battery storage, solar plus storage, and more. AJ talks about the initial stages of his introduction to the grid resiliency side of the business, and what is leading his vision towards DR Microgrid. Gain access to all the show notes & resour...
Jan 24, 2020•20 min•Season 5Ep. 222
Jeff Ressler, CEO of Clean Power Research, has had a remarkable career. From designing the park experience at Disneyland to designing the user and audience experience at Microsoft, he’s learned first-hand how worldclass thinkers leverage data and software to improve the lives of customers. Tune-in to today’s episode to learn how he graduated college without a job and ultimately ended up traveling the world with Bill Gates for 2 yrs! And hear what compelled him to leave the nest at MSFT to run th...
Jan 23, 2020•1 hr 5 min•Season 5Ep. 221
We have Josh Beck from BCI technology investments. He's the Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer. Josh and the BCI Technologies team know a thing or three about raising money and about investing in companies. Josh has brought a checklist of tips and tricks you should definitely take a look at in order to facilitate the whole fundraising process of your solar company. Gain access to all the show notes & resources from this episode here You can connect w/host, Nico Johnson, on Twitte...
Jan 21, 2020•35 min•Season 5Ep. 220
This Flashback Friday is with an illustrious panel of professionals who unpack some of the underlying assumptions and assessments that need to be made around the installation quality part of the solar business. Gain access to all the show notes & resources from this episode here You can connect w/host, Nico Johnson, on Twitter , LinkedIn or email Thanks a ton to our podcast sponsors for continuing to help make this content FREE to You! Please check them out and let me know what you think!...
Jan 17, 2020•33 min•Season 5Ep. 219
Kevin Foreman, understands how to work with and through Utilities better than most. And his company, Powerley, seamlessly empowers Utilities to offer a customized service that improves the experience for millions of homeowners who want to understand and interact w/their energy data. Kevin and I had a wide-ranging conversation about the birth and evolution of Powerley, and we get into the weeds busting myths about residential user data, IoT, and the future of software in energy. It’s a conversati...
Jan 16, 2020•1 hr 12 min•Season 5Ep. 218
Gordon Baier and Cindy Baier of GoSolar joined us for a conversation at the SunCast Podcast Lounge at SPI 2019. He has experience in the rise of the solar market in Germany (his accent is as pronounced as the experience he brings to our market), and today you can find out how he first got into the solar journey, and how he has undergone a knowledge transition process from the German market to the US. Gain access to all the show notes & resources from this episode here You can connect w/host,...
Jan 14, 2020•22 min•Season 5Ep. 217
