The recent wrap-up of COP28 in Dubai has catalyzed a renewed sense of urgency and reflection on the global efforts to address climate change. A key takeaway emerged from the event: the world is finally willing to say outloud “we need to chart a definitive course to wean ourselves off fossil fuels!” Moving beyond the main headlines and chatter, the real progress is found in the collective efforts of disparate stakeholders working towards a common purpose - and as the Chamber of Commerce noted, th...
Dec 22, 2023•1 hr 7 min•Season 13Ep. 660
There’s a name in Solar that everybody who’s ever been involved in module manufacturing surely knows, but many, many of you who have only interacted on the commercial side may have missed up to now - Meyer Burger. The 70 yr old Swiss company is, in many ways, the ‘brand behind the brand’, the veritable “intel inside” of the solar industry. It’s their carefully crafted and highly engineered production lines, afterall, that have provided scale, speed and quality assurance for many of those name-br...
Dec 21, 2023•1 hr 31 min•Season 13Ep. 659
As we close out another transformative year for cleantech, it seems the pace of the energy transition still falls short of what will be needed to meet our global climate goals. That's the consensus from our panel of experts in our annual end-of-year Cleantech Podcasters Roundtable discussion. This semi-annual review recognizes both the triumphs and the hurdles within the global renewable energy sector in the past year. From the IRA to our favorite tech company interviews, the challenges of grid ...
Dec 19, 2023•1 hr 6 min•Season 13Ep. 658
How can solar developers and landowners at the community solar level free up capital, lower lease costs and improve the overall economics of these longterm deals? SolaREIT has positioned itself as a strategic financial provider to the community solar market by addressing this very question. Laura Pagliarulo, the Founder & President of SolaREIT, leverages her extensive finance & renewable energy experience to execute on an innovative land acquisition strategy that gives solar developers m...
Dec 14, 2023•1 hr 22 min•Season 13Ep. 657
Have YOU had trouble procuring modules lately? I know I’ve heard from dozens of folks that they are hurting in this specific area. If that’s you, I want to hear from you…shoot me an email “HELP ME GET MODULES NICO!” in the Subject line and we’ll get right on it. (Nico at mysuncast dot com) How are solar modular manufactures vetted? Where do buyers turn when the much sought-after Bloomberg “Tier 1” suppliers are sold out of modules, making it harder for developments under 20 MW in scale to find v...
Dec 12, 2023•36 min•Season 13Ep. 656
How do you fund a solar project? What about the business operations costs necessary to get the project going to begin with? What structures can you consider, and HOW do you choose the one that’s right for you? We’re pulling back the veil so you don’t have to wander in the darkness here. The business of developing solar power projects is complex, time-consuming, and capital intensive. And for the last decade, hundreds of entrepreneurs have endeavored to apply their creative efforts and work ethic...
Dec 07, 2023•2 hr 6 min•Season 13Ep. 655
Domestic manufacturing is vital in helping to mitigate supply chain risks that arise from tariffs or other supply chain disruptions. Trina Solar, one of the largest solar module manufacturers globally and the leading provider of solar panels to the US this year, has at long last made a significant investment towards advancing the U.S. renewable energy market. Steven Zhu, President of Trina Solar divulges the timeline and magnitude of their new state-of-the-art (5 GW) solar module manufacturing f...
Dec 05, 2023•45 min•Season 13Ep. 654
COP28 is the 28th annual Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention (UNFCC) on Climate Change which will be held in Dubai (UAE) and runs from November 30-December 12. If that's more than you already knew, you're in luck because today we learn from folks who have participated in multiple COP events and learned the ins and outs from the inside. This year's COP marks the pivotal halfway point between when the Paris Agreement was established at COP21, and its 2030 targets. ...
Nov 30, 2023•1 hr 8 min•Season 13Ep. 653
Each year we highlight one non-profit making a big impact in the world, and we ask you to join us in supporting their mission on Giving Tuesday. Nonprofits play a crucial role in international development, often solving equity gaps and civic/infrastructure gaps that for-profit, corporate and even governmental organizations are incapable of addressing. They envision a better world and strive to make it reality, particularly for the underserved and marginalized. This year’s nonprofit for our annua...
Nov 28, 2023•49 min•Season 13Ep. 652
Hey there, SunCast listeners! As those of us here in the United States of America gather around the table on this Thanksgiving Day, I wanted to take a moment to express my heartfelt gratitude to each and every one of you for tuning into the SunCast podcast over the years. Your support has meant the world to me, and it's because of you that this podcast has thrived for eight incredible years . When I started SunCast, I had a vision of creating a platform that would elevate the voices and stories ...
Nov 23, 2023•9 min•Season 13Ep. 651
In this bonus episode, we’ll introduce you to the Earthlings 2.0 podcast with Lisa Ann Pinkerton, which is now a part of REsource Labs, our Creator Network! In today’s episode, hear an innovative approach to improving the modern EV battery with guest, Virginia Klausmeier President & CEO of Sylvatex! As electric vehicles become more common worldwide, battery production must rapidly scale to meet the rising demand. The burgeoning electric vehicle market, however, faces limitations imposed by b...
Nov 21, 2023•37 min
Tax equity has long presented barriers for distributed energy projects to access financing. However, a new provision in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) now enables tax credits to be transferred, opening up liquidity for project developers and BILLIONS of dollars in opportunity. Billy Lee, Co-founder & President of Reunion Infrastructure has over 15 years of experience in renewable energy project finance, having worked on some of the earliest solar tax equity deals while at SunEdison. After...
Nov 16, 2023•1 hr 19 min•Season 13Ep. 650
Did you know that more than 90% of today’s energy storage technology is based on a 140+ year-old concept? Care to guess what that is? Hint - has to do with moving water, waiting, then moving water again. Humans have been harnessing the energy of river currents for centuries, using water wheels spun by rivers initially to process grains and cloth. Today, hydropower provides about 16 percent of the world's electricity, generating power in all but two U.S. states. Contrary to popular belief, howeve...
Nov 14, 2023•27 min•Season 12Ep. 649
With carbon emissions from heavy industry and power generation at record highs, reducing industrial emissions on a large scale is imperative. Pioneering this mission are the innovative leaders at 8 Rivers, who are leading the field with their carbon capture and oxy-combustion technologies. Damian Beauchamp, President and CDO at 8 Rivers, discusses their in-house approach to technological innovation, the first outcome of which is their industry-leading carbon capture technology. Beauchamp, a mult...
Nov 09, 2023•1 hr 24 min•Season 12Ep. 648
Utility-Scale solar has predominantly been developed on flat terrain due in part because conventional solar trackers are not well-suited for undulating terrain. But now, Nevados is opening up new frontiers with their innovative All Terrain Trackers. These trackers are designed to accommodate the curvatures and gradients of undulating landscapes, which opens up new opportunities for solar deployment as well as minimizing the impact on the land from grading. In this conversation, Yezin Taha, Nevad...
Nov 07, 2023•18 min•Season 12Ep. 647
Timing is everything along with finding a gap in the market! Before 2016 not much work was going into real-time tracking and forecasting of clouds using satellite data. But a professional meteorologist from Down Under found his niche utilizing a game-changing global fleet of Japanese weather satellites to track cloud movement, weather patterns, and aerosols that affect albedo and solar irradiance impacting solar panel performance. James Luffman is the CEO of Solcast, a weather-tech data company ...
Nov 02, 2023•1 hr 31 min•Season 12Ep. 646
High interest rates and inflation have had a major impact on market potential for residential solar customers this year. Unfortunately, Homeowners generally view solar as a high dollar discretionary purchase rather than a valuable investment. Thus, we are seeing a bottoming out of residential solar sales compared with years’ past. In today’s discussion, we get to the bottom of what the data suggest is going on, and what you can do about it. Brian Ghiglia, Senior Director of Business Development ...
Oct 31, 2023•57 min•Season 12Ep. 645
Over a decade ago, the majority of the large scale solar projects announced, in the queue across the US and backed by major PE firms were not the flat panel PV farms we now see covering the landscape. No, the majority of solar when I entered the industry at the turn of the first decade of this century was concentrating solar thermal power (CSP) and it’s a technology that is both highly promising and has been highly fraught with challenges. As China leaned into building large manufacturing comple...
Oct 26, 2023•1 hr 21 min•Season 12Ep. 644
As interest rates rose, residential solar companies’ sales have declined, with figures down by 5-10% compared to previous years. For many, it’s possibly the first time you have experienced an industry downturn, as we as an industry have ridden high on low interest rates and widely-available financial products for the better part of the last decade. Yet, some regional installers who are embracing diversification, innovative financing options, and a dedicated approach to customer service, are hand...
Oct 24, 2023•34 min•Season 12Ep. 643
It’s a foregone conclusion at this point that to reach the necessary level of renewable energy penetration on the grid that will meaningfully address climate change, energy storage is a must. All that wind & solar energy also needs to be dispatchable. And, while batteries are seen as a crucial component of energy storage systems, the limitations with today’s battery chemistries and energy densities suggest that we still need storage alternatives. Both lithium-ion batteries and pumped hydro s...
Oct 19, 2023•1 hr 50 min•Season 12Ep. 642
Innovative technologies are key to driving the clean energy transition. Prizes like the American-Made Solar Prize offered through the Dept. of Energy’s Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) reward innovators who are making solar power more efficient, more affordable, and more accessible. The competition's 6th round has recently concluded, with millions in prizes awarded to trailblazing entrepreneurs who are at the forefront of advancing solar technologies. Garrett Nilsen, SETO’s Deputy Directo...
Oct 17, 2023•24 min•Season 12Ep. 641
Few companies have contributed to the progress being made toward more scalable battery storage solutions than Fluence Energy (FLNC). With a deep heritage in power and energy from its founding as a JV between AES and Siemens, the Fluence technology and leadership team has weathered the test of time better than most of their peers. However, there are still challenges that influence battery storage availability, such as global supply chain disruptions, rising demand for affordable and efficient ene...
Oct 12, 2023•28 min•Season 12Ep. 640
Solar developers often find themselves encountering complex project challenges, including varying regulations across jurisdictions, obtaining community approval, and supply chain complications, all in the face of looming deadlines. All too often, projects are delayed or shelved, which further impedes our progress towards cleaning up the grid. This episode brings together experts across the project supply chain who are committed to overcoming these barriers. Rob Anders from EDP Renewables discuss...
Oct 10, 2023•34 min•Season 12Ep. 639
In today's fast-evolving, tech-driven world, there is a need for diverse perspectives more than ever before. While the renewable energy sector advances at a rapid pace, there remains a disparity in the representation of women contributing to this progress. The potential innovation and fresh perspectives brought by women are often overlooked due to persistent barriers and gender bias in the industry. The call for women to join the field is out there, the question is how to inspire women to make t...
Oct 05, 2023•29 min•Season 12Ep. 638
In a world dominated by technology and data, we often lose sight that people are at the heart of the matter. Building connections & partnerships in communities is essential to any project's success. Building (and Telling) compelling narratives helps us connect with our target audience on a deeper level and significantly enhances the impact of marketing strategies. However, capturing and presenting these stories in campaigns effectively is challenging, especially given the rapid shifts in med...
Oct 03, 2023•38 min•Season 12Ep. 637
As clean energy continues to dominate global conversations, understanding the intricacies of this high-growth sector are more critical than ever. Supply chain disruptions, surging financing costs, and complex regulatory landscapes continue to slow progress, especially in the areas of battery storage and M&A. We recently had the opportunity to speak with the folks responsible for navigating these waters at one of the most respected banking & advisory practices in the game: Keybanc Capital...
Sep 28, 2023•49 min•Season 12Ep. 636
I finally got around to a complete recap and takeaways from this year’s RE+ main event, a milestone in the clean energy industry that saw an astounding attendance of over 40,000 people. Joining me is industry expert Nate Jovanelly, who for the past 2 years has hosted the Industry Pulse segment at our PowerUp Live Podcast Stage, and hosts his own podcast called Limitless (you really should already be subscribed to this one!). Nate is also co-founder of Sunraise Capital and one of my go-to resourc...
Sep 26, 2023•1 hr 7 min•Season 12Ep. 635
While businesses grapple with skyrocketing energy costs, increasingly frequent power outages, and mounting pressure to reduce carbon emissions, clean energy & energy efficiency providers struggle with how to find & convert them as customers. The complexity of on-stie energy challenges often leaves businesses feeling overwhelmed with options for transitioning to cleaner, more resilient, on-site energy solutions, also known as distributed energy resources. Adding to this complexity are the...
Sep 21, 2023•1 hr 31 min•Season 12Ep. 634
The solar energy sector is witnessing momentous identify shifts. I’d call it an identity crisis, but we’re not that far yet. Jigar Shah, however, might be so bold. As homeowners transition from merely generating energy to storing and redistributing it to the grid, there's a growing sense that our traditional understanding of "solar" as the industry in which we participate might be too narrow. But what does this mean for installers, utilities, and everyday consumers? Jigar Shah, the director of t...
Sep 19, 2023•24 min•Season 12Ep. 633
The next best thing to being at RE+ Vegas, is catching the PowerUp Live Show. Get the lowdown from Nico for the PowerUp Morning Show, LIVE with Nico Johnson & Lauren Glickman, presented by Meyer Burger, and RE+ Daily Round Up with Nico Johnson & Josh Porter, presented by Modern Energy to share their experiences of Day 3 at RE+ Vegas. If you want to catch the whole PowerUp Live show, make sure to visit suncast.live to hear from some of the top voices speaking on the state of the industry ...
Sep 15, 2023•1 hr 14 min•Season 12Ep. 632
