This Week in Solar

What’s New: Inspired by Europe’s balcony solar boom, more than two dozen U.S. states are considering legalizing plug-in solar systems. These kits allow anyone (yes, even renters) to generate their own power by simply mounting their panels somewhere that receives direct sunlight and plugging their panels into a standard 120V wall outlet. The panels then “backfeed” the grid and lower the residents’...

In this episode of This Week in Solar , host Aaron Nichols talks with Belle Sherwood, Clean Energy Advocate at PennEnvironment, about why we don’t see more solar on warehouse rooftops. Warehouses represent billions of square feet of flat, unshaded roof space, perfect for solar. Yet less than five percent of warehouses have solar. What gives? Listen to this episode here, or on: * YouTube * Apple Po...

What’s new: Solar Power World just launched a new series,  Projects of Impact, in   which they interview the owners and installers of the highest-impact solar projects across the country. Exact Solar is proud to announce that the first project highlighted was our Habitat for Humanity project in Strawberry Mansion, Philadelphia. * The Build: The project added solar to five newly constructed rowhome...

In this episode of This Week in Solar , host Aaron Nichols sits down with Phil Horwich, co-founder of AMH Enterprises, to talk about where the solar industry overcomplicates its messaging. You can connect with Phil on LinkedIn here . He’s created a simplifying solar guide for This Week In Solar listeners that he’ll send you if you DM him the word “podcast.” Listen to this episode here, or on: * Yo...

What’s new: A new poll commissioned by US manufacturer First Solar reveals that a majority of Trump voters support solar power, with higher approval ratings if the panels are made in America. * The Numbers: The survey of 800 “GOP+” voters (Republicans, leaning independents, and Trump voters) found 51% in favor of solar power. * An “America First” Bump: When asked if they’d support solar panels mad...

In this episode of This Week in Solar , host Aaron Nichols sits down with Jessica Fishman, a longtime renewable energy communicator and the voice behind some of the most clear, compelling energy explainer content on LinkedIn. Jessica has spent more than 15 years working across nearly every segment of the solar and clean energy value chain, from modules and inverters to batteries, software, recycli...

What’s new: On January 27th, Maryland Governor Wes Moore announced the “Lower Bills and Local Power Act” (LBLPA), a legislative package designed to provide immediate cash relief to families while aggressively modernizing the state’s power grid. Here’s what it would do at the state level: * Solar financing: A new $70 million “Gap Financing Program” will fund local solar and storage projects, explic...

In this episode of This Week in Solar , host Aaron Nichols sits down with Brett Simon, Director of Commercial Strategy at e-Zinc, a long-duration battery storage manufacturer. Brett explains what makes e-Zinc’s zinc-based hybrid flow battery different from the lithium systems most people know (and why that’s huge under the current administration). You can connect with Brett on LinkedIn here . List...

What’s new: New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill wasted no time Wednesday, signing six executive orders before she finished her inaugural address. Two of them were related to energy. Sherrill declared a formal State of Emergency regarding utility costs, allowing the state to bypass red tape, expedite power projects, and get new generation on the grid as fast as possible. * (EO #1) Freezing Rates: The or...

Aaron sits down with Dan Crawford, Senior Vice President at Echo Communications Advisors, a policy-first communications firm that works exclusively with climate and clean energy clients. Dan spends his days helping clean energy companies and nonprofits shape public narratives, place op-eds, and talk to policymakers in ways that actually move votes. He and Aaron dig into how energy prices became on...

What’s new More than 60 top scientists from around the world just released a report on Nature.com (linked in today’s sources) saying that solar power is taking over as the top power source faster than anyone expected. Experts from labs in the United States, Germany, Japan, and other countries found that the world now has more than 2 terawatts of solar power, double what we had just four years ago,...

In this episode, Aaron talks with Abby Hopper, President and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA). Reflecting on her nine-year tenure, Abby discusses how she transformed SEIA by creating a culture of vulnerability and embracing thought leadership. (She also spills the beans on what she’s doing next). Listen to this episode on: * YouTube * Apple Podcasts * Spotify Connect with Abby...

There’s something I haven’t stopped thinking about for nine months. At the American Solar Energy Society’s conference last summer, one of the speakers mentioned that 70% of the carbon reduction we’ve seen since the turn of the century from deploying clean energy has come as a direct result of state and local policy. That means that federal policy isn’t nearly as important as we think it is, and th...

Aaron talks with Annalisa Farrell, a solar data and monitoring specialist. Annalisa has spent years troubleshooting the gap between how solar energy systems are modeled to perform and how they actually behave in the field. Expect to learn: * Where the industry’s biggest education gaps are, from electricity bills and performance expectations to who is actually responsible when something breaks. * W...

1. The “One Big, Beautiful Bill.” The biggest news of the year for the solar industry happened with the Trump Administration signing the so-called “ One Big, Beautiful Bill.” The new bill phased out tax credits that made solar cheaper for companies and families. It pulled hope away from thousands of Americans like Jennifer McCoy, a single mother in Georgia working three jobs. She’d been approved f...

In this episode, Aaron talks with Ayelet Hines, the Community Acceptance Strategist at Tigercomm. With 30 years of experience running issue campaigns and the last several focused on clean energy, Ayelet brings a political organizer’s mindset to one of solar’s biggest bottlenecks: local opposition and permitting. She argues that what many solar developers treat as a technical or PR problem is actua...

Eight months ago, we decided to host our little solar news channel on Substack. Now that we’re almost at 500 subscribers, we thought it was time for a breakdown! I first started using Substack to host my own blogs in 2020, and it’s since grown into a powerful hub for news, thought leadership, and culture. I love Substack. It’s pretty amazing what you can do with it as a creator. I’m fully sold on...

In today’s episode, Aaron sits down with Meghan Stimmler of Solar Hut. Meghan shares her journey from: * Sweeping floors at her dad’s solar company * Being dragged “kicking and screaming” into sales * Becoming a veteran solar consultant and board member at the California Solar & Storage Association (CalSA), and actively shaping solar policy in California. Listen to this episode on: * YouTube *...

What’s new A Climate Power report using U.S. Energy Information Administration data finds Americans’ electric bills are up 13% nationwide in 2025. That’s the national average, but in more costly states like New Jersey, bills are up more than 20%. The group links higher costs to Trump’s July spending bill, saying it is “driving up utility costs and destroying jobs by removing cheaper, cleaner energ...

In this episode of This Week in Solar , host Aaron Nichols talks with Sean Swentek, Vice President of Marketing at Omnidian, about one of the solar industry’s biggest blind spots. They discuss why many solar companies fail to plan for long-term operations and maintenance (O&M), how that’s created a wave of stranded customers, and what needs to change across the industry to restore trust. You c...

According to a report released by the Smart Energy Consumer Collaborative earlier this year, 59% of Americans surveyed agreed that “it sometimes seems like parts of their electric bills are written in another language.” After 20 years of sitting with potential customers and discussing how going solar can save them money, we can confidently say that most home and business owners don’t realize how e...

Aaron Nichols talks with Hervé Billiet, co-founder of SunVoy and former CEO of Ipsun Solar, about how frustration with off-the-shelf tools led him to build a white-labeled software platform just for solar installers. Hervé explains how SunVoy helps established solar installers centralize data, keep customers informed, and tap into their “gold mine” of legacy customers to lower acquisition costs an...

What’s new: Earlier this week, the Department of Energy rebranded the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, or NREL, as the National Laboratory of the Rockies, effective immediately, and to be “reflected in all public communications and official correspondence.” NREL is responsible for many of the advances in solar and battery technology that we’ve seen in the past few decades. Why it matters: The...

Aaron Nichols talks with Matthew Britt, a Canadian entrepreneur at the intersection of renewable energy and regenerative food systems. Matthew explains how his companies, Food Forest Abundance and The Commonstead, are helping families, schools, churches, and communities set up sustainable free food systems that pair naturally with solar and battery backup. You can connect with Matthew on LinkedIn...

Energy bills in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware are going up again in 2026. Here is our detailed article explaining why. In June 2025, ratepayers in our service area (PA, NJ, and DE) saw their electric bills rise by up to 20%. Electricity prices have increased dramatically for two straight years. There’s a lot of blame and finger-pointing happening in the media right now about who’s fault t...