Whit Fulton knows a thing or two about solving problems. Today, I interview this introverted inventor & talk about his journey to deliver a brilliantly simple yet innovative energy solution to the world: a smart meter collar adapter. After seven years as the CEO of ConnectDER, his team is delivering a technology that dramatically simplifies the way residential solar and EV chargers are connected to the grid. But of course, I always want to know how he got there. What are the real challenges ...
Aug 26, 2021•1 hr 24 min•Season 8Ep. 396
Today's Tactical Tuesday is the latest installment of our GREAT SOLAR DEBATE series, featuring two industry experts - Brian Potts, Partner at Perkins Coie and Karl Rábago, Principal at Rábago Energy. Brian and Karl debate the value of Net Energy Metering (NEM) in the residential market. Should it change to encourage more investment? Or should it remain a high value for residential solar? Join hosts Nico Johnson and Tor Valenza in this lively debate and see who won at https://mysuncast.com/suncas...
Aug 24, 2021•1 hr 11 min•Season 8Ep. 395
Unless you were under a rock last week, you prob noticed that two Solar industry SAAS titans have joined forces. Aurora Solar, hot off the heels of raising a giant $250M Round of funding, announced their first acquisition from that war chest - none other than Folsom Labs - makers of pioneering commercial solar design tool many of you use: Helioscope! Listen as Nico chats with our special guests - Paul Gibbs and Paul Grana, the co-founders of Folsom Labs. We get their ‘Hot Take’ on one of the hot...
Aug 19, 2021•17 min•Season 8Ep. 394
Today I talk to Ram Ambatipudi about his long history in energy and how that brought him into the world of Electric Vehicles. When Ram left business school in 1995 he headed straight to Southern California Gas Company. Turns out, being on the inside of the world of utilities would prove an unmatched advantage for him as moved through his career, from wind at Enron to PV at SolSource and then Large Scale Renewables for Chevron. But he didn't stop there, co-founding one of the nations leading elec...
Aug 12, 2021•1 hr 16 min•Season 8Ep. 393
Today's Tactical Tuesday is a five minute jewel from our full episode with Clean Energy Associates' VP of Sales & Marketing, Darryl Parker. In this episode, Darryl focuses on understanding the customer beyond your average sales training. How can you really listen to the customer and structure your offer based on their real concerns? Are there other technologies you’ve scouted on the frontlines of the Clean Energy Revolution that you think we should be covering here on SunCast? Hit us up - te...
Aug 10, 2021•11 min•Season 8Ep. 392
In today’s episode, we speak with a true solar pioneer, a well-known entrepreneur, Erica Mackey of GRID Alternatives. We break down her two decades of growth, entrepreneurship, and influence. Erica gives us a sense of the origin of GRID Alternatives. She talks about how she co-founded it way back in 2001 and how it evolved massively to become a major national nonprofit and off-grid solar installation company. As the California-based company started opening offices in Los Angeles and San Diego, ...
Aug 05, 2021•1 hr 5 min•Season 8Ep. 391
Today’s guest, Darryl Parker, brings more than three decades of extensive high-tech manufacturing and power electronics experience to his role at Clean Energy Associates. But he's got a truly inspiring story of growing up in the booming high tech industry, pulling up a seat at the table and opening the door for many who have followed in his footsteps! He currently leads the global sales and marketing teams focused on solving clients' solar and storage challenges with CEA’s comprehensive suite of...
Jul 30, 2021•1 hr 10 min•Season 8Ep. 390
Late last year, kWh Analytics released a report titled 2020 Solar Risk Assessment suggesting that Recent assessments of the solar industry’s pre-construction production estimates have found evidence of “an industry wide bias towards aggressive predictions,” noting that “when a typical solar project performs at the official “P90, equity cash yield drops by 50%.” This revelation has the potential to impact cash flows across the industry, as these over optimistic assumptions are netting a measured ...
Jul 22, 2021•40 min•Season 8Ep. 389
Today's story of Solar pioneer, Michelle McGee, is illustrative of the power of a good question. In this case, we learn one question that changed the course of her career. This former Tesla Exec leads us on a serendipitous journey, and explains how now as President of GivePower Foundation she supports global communities in need of power. Michele's a true serial entrepreneur having launched and scaled seven businesses, and led teams as large as 1400 people over the course of her career. When I as...
Jul 16, 2021•1 hr 6 min•Season 8Ep. 388
Last week, the first ever Cleantech Podcaster's Roundtable was held with 8 of the major clean economy podcasts, hosted by my friend Mike Casey at Tigercomm. The discussions were a lot of fun (and very interesting) as we covered favorites sector trends, where we get our insights/info, key backgrounds we expect to see in CEOs of the sector in coming years, and how best to approach this (and other) group of podcasters with topics & guests for their shows. If you listen closely, you'll even hear...
Jul 13, 2021•1 hr 14 min•Season 8Ep. 387
Nisha Desai, is a serial entrepreneur, TX clean energy pioneer, and founder and CEO of Ennuity Holdings. This "Startup Queen" has 25+ years of experience in the energy business, and has started companies that span 2 continents and multiple energy sectors. Listen in for critical steps of creating a company and how to skillfully navigate your way through the energy industry. In addition, we learn what she learned on an expedition to the South Pole! Are there other technologies you’ve scouted on th...
Jul 08, 2021•1 hr 13 min•Season 8Ep. 386
Do You understand Reactive Power? How's it different from Real Power? You're not alone, but we're here to help! ICYMI from 2020, this SunCast Rewind answers these 2 questions from one of our SunCast Summit speakers, Jacqueline DeSouza Jacqueline's company, Apparent, Inc, specializes in helping folks take advantage of the 3 elements of this complex topic, Real, reactive and apparent power. Are there other technologies you’ve scouted on the frontlines of the Clean Energy Revolution that you think ...
Jul 06, 2021•10 min•Season 8Ep. 385
Today we get to soak in the wisdom of an industry pioneer in the solar-distribution business model. Boaz Soifer has been a solar pioneer for the last 20+ years. He is the Director of Solar Trade at BayWa r.e., where he oversees the company’s distribution activities in the US, Canada, and Mexico. Today we get into Boaz’s focus on co-creating a culture that truly values and contributes to personal and professional development, something that we care a lot about here on SunCast. We’ll also take a l...
Jul 01, 2021•1 hr 16 min•Season 8Ep. 384
We will continue our SunCast Rewing theme, this time, dipping into the vault of one of our LinkedIn Live sessions from last year. I had a great conversation with John Powers of Extensible Energy about the value of capacity building in an organization during difficult times. In truth, this happened just as the pandemic started back in April of 2020. I recently looked back and asked myself, “ where can I glean some insight from one of our past guests about how the world has changed or how it might...
Jun 29, 2021•31 min•Season 8Ep. 383
Today's entrepreneur is Aviv Shalgi. He has several successful M&A VC investments and joint ventures under his belt, in addition to two successful startups prior to his current venture, Solar Simplified. Aviv has been a mentor and advisor to many entrepreneurs, startups, investors, VCs, nonprofits, and is a captain in the Israeli Defense Force or IDF, as many call it the eyes in the sky. We'll talk a little bit about that, as we get into today's episode of how he is simplifying solar and cha...
Jun 24, 2021•1 hr 13 min•Season 8Ep. 382
We wanted to add a different touch to this Tactical Tuesday, so we thought “why not create a rewind with the Top 3 Tactical Tuesdays of 2020?”. The first episode will disseminate practical advice on fundraising for solar start-ups by the hand of Josh Beck of BCI Technology Investments. Why do startups fail to raise capital? Josh and his team know the answer to this question! The second episode includes an in-depth look at the ins and outs of building a project that incorporates a massive battery...
Jun 22, 2021•1 hr 30 min•Season 8Ep. 381
Today's entrepreneurs are Texas solar pioneers. The story we're about to unwrap today is unprecedented. If you haven’t heard about Speir Innovations, they are one of the leading sustainable energy providers in Texas. Not only that, they are developing the largest floating solar voltaic system in Texas, and we will get all the details from their EVP of Operations, and their EVP of Commercial Business Development, Craig LoValvo and Mark Rangel. Founded by a group of friends who share the common go...
Jun 17, 2021•1 hr 7 min•Season 8Ep. 380
What you're about to hear is a conversation between Eric and me rolling out an overview of the clean energy economy where we draw inspiration not just from his book, but from both our decades-long careers in building solar companies and helping others do the same. Today's content specifically is actually part of our exclusive coaching program, but this is an abbreviated version, intentionally. So if you'd like to hear all of the content and access the full episode, which is actually a video inte...
Jun 15, 2021•39 min•Season 8Ep. 379
Today's entrepreneur has impressed me through the years with his ability to be a diplomat and translator between technical and laypeople, helping folks dial in their product-market fit with his entrepreneurial sense. From pizza.com to rooftop solar, Jeff Weiss has pioneered innovation across multiple sectors. Today’s episode will glean into his insights, and hopefully, you will be able to add them to your toolkit. Are there other technologies you’ve scouted on the frontlines of the Clean Energy ...
Jun 10, 2021•1 hr•Season 8Ep. 378
Are the monopoly utilities attacking your individual rights to make energy from the sun, power your life and become more financially independent? If you’re in California, the answer might be yes. Today we’ll find out in this special report from Dave Rosenfeld, the Executive Director of Solar Rights Alliance, what you need to know to be informed on the NET energy metering policies currently under siege in the state of California. Are there other technologies you’ve scouted on the frontlines of th...
Jun 08, 2021•38 min•Season 7Ep. 377
Today’s guest is a pioneering cleantech entrepreneur and product developer as chief Commercial Officer of the company Invinity Energy Systems. We’re talking about Matt Harper! He's transforming the evolution of what we call the Grid storage and value creation to enable the energy transition that we all desire so much. Matt has been in this industry for a long time and he's looked at product creation from a number of different angles. Are there other technologies you’ve scouted on the frontlines ...
Jun 03, 2021•1 hr 3 min•Season 8Ep. 376
Last year, we hosted the first Great Solar Debate featuring clean-energy thought leaders sharing two contrasting perspectives on critical solar and storage topics. This time for our first Great Solar Debate of 2021, representatives from the residential solar financing industries will discuss the value of their respective financing solutions for consumers and installers. This episode is a replay of the first debate where we covered the following points: The value of each financing product for con...
Jun 01, 2021•1 hr 9 min•Season 8Ep. 375
Today's entrepreneur has been in the renewables industry since 1999. My friend Ryan Mayfield started Mayfield Renewables back in 2007, blending his technical expertise with his affinity for writing and education. He is the CEO of a company that now provides PV system technical engineering services to hundreds of companies across the United States and probably around the world. Ryan discovered his passion for renewable energy early in his college career at Humboldt State while pursuing his degree...
May 27, 2021•1 hr 15 min•Season 8Ep. 374
Today’s topic is Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG), and to give us the ins and outs of this hot topic we have one of the top guests we’ve had on the show: Mona Dajani, Global Co-Head of Energy, Infrastructure, Mobility, Renewables & Water at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP, an international law firm with a particular focus on the technology & media, energy, financial services, and real estate & construction sectors. If you're unfamiliar with ESG, then listen to this epis...
May 25, 2021•24 min•Season 8Ep. 373
Today's entrepreneur is redefining the way that clean energy buyers and sellers think about Risk Management. Lee Taylor founded REsurety before ever finishing his MBA, and he amassed a portfolio of over 5 Gigawatts of renewable energy generation with his unique insurance product. Despite Insurance not being always the most compelling topic in clean energy, Lee's story of the what when, where, how and why of his entrepreneurial journey is worth sticking around. He founded the company in 2012 to c...
May 20, 2021•51 min•Season 8Ep. 372
Today’s Tactical Tuesday will be longer than usual, as we have the honor to bring Dr. Tamika Jacques to the show. She is the Director of Workforce Development for the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center, and she's also the CEO of Fruitful Vision Enterprise. She's been in workforce development for over 18 years and has the honor of assisting with the distribution of nearly 30 million training programs in workforce development targeted for women, minorities, college students, youth unemployed, and u...
May 18, 2021•40 min•Season 8Ep. 371
Today's entrepreneur has been elevating the solar industry for more than 20 years across different roles. More recently, he’s been an inventor of breakthrough solar ovens and outdoor gear that's caught my attention. As a Social Entrepreneur, Patrick Sherwin focuses on appropriate technology with measurable impact. Patrick maintains a diverse background in construction, engineering, marketing, design, and integration of renewables. His thirst for solutions has put him at the center of several tec...
May 13, 2021•57 min•Season 8Ep. 370
Many of you have probably listened to today's guests Joe Tassone Jr. from episodes 232 where we told his journey from the telecom industry to solar. He was also in episode 341 helping us give an overview of the clean energy industry. Joe is an experienced industry executive with access to the frontline conversations about what's happening in the world of project development. We brought Joe back to discuss what is happening in the world of solar project development in the United States, get his s...
May 11, 2021•45 min•Season 8Ep. 369
Today’s guest is Martin DeBono, and he is by no means a stranger to distributed energy and high growth working in the startup industry. However, he didn't cut his teeth in solar energy. In fact, he has had a bit of an unorthodox entry into alternative energy. We talked about this especially in his first episode about a year ago where he mentioned being a decorated officer on a nuclear submarine in the US Navy. He has led sales and marketing for companies you'd recognize such as Cisco, Siebel, In...
May 06, 2021•57 min•Season 8Ep. 368
On April 21st, the team of 17TeraWatts hosted a panel with a group of communication experts to answer the question, “How do we effectively communicate the severity of climate change and the solutions in a way that compels people to also take action?”. During the conversation moderated by a previous SunCast guest, Scott Nguyen from 17TeraWatts, we spoke to Susannah Bradley, Director of Emerging Audiences at SunCommon, Brooke Betts, VP US Climate Campaign at Rare, and Carter Lavin, the Director at...
May 04, 2021•50 min•Season 8Ep. 367
