SunCast

Host Nico Johnson speaks with Emilie Oxel O'Leary, CEO of Green Clean Solar, about the utility-scale solar industry's waste challenges in today's podcast.  The US Dept. of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) estimates 80 million metric tons of solar photovoltaics (PV) could reach end of life by 2050. Many million tons of additional waste are generated during the construction...

On today's Tactical Tuesday, Nico Johnson leads a conversation on the growing presence of renewables at CERAWeek, the world's leading annual global energy conference. Nico delves into the language surrounding the energy transition conversation and talks with three solar industry leaders about the importance of attending this event, held annually in Houston.  You'll hear from Meghan Nutting, E...

Christine Todd Whitman gained prominence as the 50th person — and the only woman — to serve as a New Jersey governor. When her eight years in office ended in 2001, she spent two years as head of the Environmental Protection Agency in the administration of President George W. Bush. Now the former Republican is working with ex-Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang and others on a new politic...

“‘No one knows where the equity metrics are’... This is completely false. Communities that have had to endure environmental racism and exclusion...they know exactly what success looks like.” Dana Clare Redden shares how her solar entrepreneurship has created success for communities and in business on today's Tactical Tuesday episode with Nico.  Founder of Solar Concierge and Solar Stewards, D...

Emily Sanders Cohen talks with Nico Johnson about her 20-plus years of renewable project development, including more than 15 gigawatts of operational wind & solar projects.  Emily has spent the past three years at Primergy Solar as Chief Development Officer, responsible for project development, power marketing and origination activities associated with the company's growing portfolio of N...

How do you ensure people remain the priority no matter how complex your product or service — and persuade investors to overcome unconscious bias against an untraditional woman-led technical company? In today's Tactical Tuesday, Nico talks with Piper Foster Wilder, the self-described non-technical co-founder and CEO of 60Hertz Energy. The Alaska-based company offers computerized maintenance managem...

A startup spun out from Rutgers University called RenewCO₂ is rewriting the ways we make plastics and chemicals — along with the ways these industries will handle carbon emissions, regardless of the price of carbon or credits. Can we truly create carbon-negative plastics? How do we better capture and utilize the CO2 in existing chemical processes in a climate-positive way? Join Nico Johnson for an...

Mechanical engineer Shannon Miller is the CEO and co-founder of Mainspring Energy, which aims to increase grid reliability and resilience while accelerating the transition to clean fuels.  She leads the design, manufacture, and commercialization of the Mainspring Linear Generator, whose fuel-agnostic design enables it to adjust dynamically for varying fuel qualities and types, including bioga...

Today's conversation is a deep and wonderful exploration of both the entrepreneurial journey and the built environment  — specifically, how we control it and how it controls us. My guest, Tanya Barham, is the CEO and founder of Community Energy Labs, which aims to make smart energy management and decarbonization accessible and affordable for public building (think schools, municipalities, etc...

Solar veteran Dell Jones is the key account manager for TrinaPro, the all-in-one smart solar utility solution offered by Trina Solar. Since 1997, Trina has pioneered sustainable solar energy solutions, including solar modules, tracker systems, and inverters. On today's Tactical Tuesday, Dell explains how to maximize profits when installing or specifying tracker systems for utility-scale or large d...

Today’s episode guest, Wenbo Shi, goes Deep with me on how he’s built his Boston-based energy startup, including detailed answers on the how, when, why and who of his fundraising strategy like I’ve rarely gotten into with a guest. Wenbo honed his interest in solar and decarbonization during an intensive academic journey stretching from undergraduate studies at Xi'an Jiaotong University in Xi'an to...

Recently in REsource Labs, we’ve been keying in on things from how to measure your carbon footprint to how to invest your hard-earned dollars into climate-tech startups.  If you’ve been following me for long, you know that I’ve been involved in a few groups working to unlock retail investor access to capital and I’ve even done a little Angel Investing myself ! Kyle Cherrick is an entrepreneur...

Michael Orshan is a solar expert who has helped implement more than 10 gigawatts worldwide during the past 15 years. In that time, he’s become a trusted advisor and contributor to the growth of the global solar tracker industry. Presently, Mike serves as VP of US Sales for Valencia, Spain-based solar tracker vendor PVH and also is a founding board member at Breeze, a startup using existing oil and...

Miles Braxton is a solar developer who has carved out his own path as an up and coming clean energy leader. Miles has experience in financial modeling, project development and business development and a technical background in environmental science and engineering.  When I last interviewed him, he worked for Goldman Sachs Renewable Power Group's solar energy assets, coordinating risk manageme...

Serial entrepreneur Alex Stuart is the president of Carbon Block, which he co-founded in 2018, and Standard Carbon, which he launched three years later.  An expert in greenhouse gas assurance, small-scale renewable energy and the carbon markets, his companies synergistically support his beliefs in transparent, accurate climate data.  They're the latest projects for the busy Canadian, who...

Cary Hayes is a solar industry veteran with nearly two decades of sales and business development experience. But his journey was anything but typical. From Ski Bum to Investment Banker, to Tree Climber and finally to Solar with REC Solar. He exudes fun and confidence while remaining among the most fiercely competitive people I know — and has excellent practical advice to share in today's Tactical...

  Bill Jordan capitalized on decades of experience in renewable energy, building materials and sustainable agriculture markets to create the Troy, New York-based solar development company that bears his name. Since he founded Jordan Energy in 2009, it's grown into a leader in solar photovoltaics (PV) system design, installation, and operations, in particular for the agriculture and dairy indu...

We might be 1 month into the year, but it’s not too late to tighten up your pla. Today’s Tactical Tuesday brings you Two industry experts — Gustavo Gomes Monteiro and Michelle Davis — who share insights on the state of the global and domestic distributed generation markets and forecast what we can expect throughout 2023.  Gustavo is the CEO of the distributed generation business at EDP Renewa...

Kevin Conroy wants to make investing in sustainable assets as simple as buying stock in Robinhood. In 2019, he established Finite to give individuals access to sustainable institutional quality investment opportunities. The minimum initial investment is a mere $500.  He describes Finite as the first platform to mobilize investor capital seamlessly into sustainable assets through publicly list...

Gregg Patterson is a former Hewlett Packard executive who ran multiple global businesses before jumping into renewables in 2006 — partly, he says, to help "save the world." In today's podcast, he explains how he parlayed a background in engineering, research and development and executive management into a solar career. After successfully leading two solar and energy startups to successful exits, G...

Today we look back at some of the best moments from our 2022 podcasts. It was a year full of learning and notable contributions from rocket scientists, industry icons, and some of our favorite content partnerships. If these nuggets inspire you, I hope you'll queue up the full episodes featuring: Sergio Blanco, renewable project finance director at Partner Engineering & Science, Inc., an engine...

Marquis Matthews understands the challenges of dramatic career transitions. He shares his experiences in today's excellent podcast.  In 2014, the U.S. Navy veteran and diver refocused from the sea to the sun. After years in the offshore oil and gas industry, he pivoted to solar. Marquis indulged an entrepreneurial itch in 2017, then reinvented himself three years later to work as an employee...

Each quarter, Tigercomm & SunCast Media convene the brightest stars in cleantech podcasting to discuss what they have been observing vis-a-vis their podcast and industry research. This is the 7th such gathering, and it proved an eventful hour of insights, differing opinions and more than a few laughs. Join hosts Mike Casey & Nico Johnson, along with a lineup of all-star podcasters from acr...

Hugh McDermott is the senior vice president for business development and sales for ESS Inc., a provider of long-duration energy storage (LDES) solutions for commercial and industrial (C&I), utility, microgrid, and off-grid applications. In today's podcast, he explains the critical issue of energy storage, which he warns could impede our quest for a clean, green future. "We can build and have a...

What percentage increase in productivity would you say would need to be achieved by all the individuals in a building in order to pay for ALL The energy used by that building ?  5%?  20%?  Would you believe it if I told you only 1%? Yes, a mere 1% increase in productivity. Curious about the math? Well, today you’ll learn how Daylighting can actually bring just as much ROI to your bu...