Sean White‘s Solar and Energy Storage Podcast

Dan Fletcher, Co-Founder and Head of Ecosystems at dcbel, joins Sean White to explore the technical and commercial realities of residential energy management - including what it means to run a true private grid at home. Topics include DC home charging, on-device energy optimization, vehicle-to-grid integration, UL 1741 SB certification, virtual power plants, compatible EV models, and California's...

President of Blue Water Battery Logistics, LLC.They discussed the company's business of handling surplus and recycling batteries, solar panels, and other energy equipment. Steve explained how Blue Water handles various battery types including LFP (lithium iron phosphate) and NMC (lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide), with recycling values ranging from $2 per pound to 10-20 cents per pound depend...

Plug-in solar legalization, large solar company closures, and the One Big Bogus Bill are examined in this episode. Aaron Nichols and Sean White bring decades of combined industry experience to each topic, covering state-level policy developments, market consolidation, and the potential impact of shifting federal tax credit structures on solar businesses and homeowners.   This podcast was stolen fr...

This podcast episode featured Sean White's interview with Heather Newport, Director of Community Relations at Aileron, a Chicago-based community engagement and public affairs firm that works on renewable energy projects across the United States. Heather discussed the challenges of community opposition to renewable energy projects, particularly battery energy storage facilities, explaining that con...

Dan Fletcher, Co-Founder and Head of Ecosystems at dcbel, discusses Ara - the company's integrated home energy station combining solar, battery storage, bidirectional EV charging, and grid connectivity in a single device designed to give homeowners greater control over their own energy supply. The conversation covers how vehicle-to-home technology works, its role in reducing grid stress during pea...

Millions of solar systems installed between 2010 and 2018 are approaching inverter end-of-life, creating a $3 billion repowering market. GoodWe Sales Manager Manny Aponte breaks down what repowering actually involves, why functional panels rarely need replacing, how modern inverters improve system performance, and where energy storage fits into the upgrade conversation. Recorded at the 2026 NABCEP...

Bruce Anderson, CEO of 247Solar, explains how concentrated solar power using air and ceramic pellets can deliver reliable electricity around the clock. Unlike photovoltaic systems, 247Solar heats air to 1,000 degrees Celsius, stores that energy in insulated ceramic pellet silos, and uses a modified turbine to generate power at night. The system pairs with daytime solar PV, requires no exotic mater...

Recorded at the NABCEP conference, solar educator Sean White and Rudy Saporite discuss the InterSolar Solar Games, a competitive installation event where certified teams race to complete a 4 kW rooftop system under timed, judged conditions. They also explore solar education strategies, the carbon lifecycle of renewable energy systems, and the importance of safety and code compliance in professiona...

Eric Partyka, Director of Business Development at Standard Solar, explains how community solar works and why it matters. The conversation covers how renters, low-income households, and small businesses can subscribe to solar energy without rooftop panels, which states have adopted community solar programs and why others have not, and how utility deregulation shaped today's market. Standard Solar o...

Recorded live at the NABCEP 2026 conference, Sean White and Brian Hayden discuss the current state of NABCEP credentials, including updates to the PV Associate, the ESIP (Energy Storage Installation Professional), and the upcoming OMAT (Operation and Maintenance Associate Technician credential. They also cover Spanish language exam availability, the history and growth of HeatSpring as an online re...

David Taylor, Solutions Expert at Anker Innovations, discusses the Anker Solix E10, a modular home energy storage system scalable from 6 to 90 kilowatt hours. The conversation covers solar compatibility, smart panel integration, generator pairing, and time-of-use optimization. Taylor also addresses installation options for both DIY homeowners and licensed electricians, portable power stations, and...

Gwendoly Espe, Product Manager at Yaskawa Solectria Solar, discusses the technical and commercial advantages of DC-coupled solar-plus-storage systems at utility scale. The conversation covers DC versus AC coupling architecture, energy harvest optimization through clipping recovery, and Yaskawa’s American-manufactured PVS 500 inverter solution. Additional topics include NABCEP-accredited training p...

Dylan Rup, Director of Marketing at EG4 Electronics, discusses the company's acquisition of Outback Power and plans to continue manufacturing its legacy product line. The conversation also covers EG4's current battery pricing at $260 per kilowatt hour, the upcoming XR 60 all-in-one energy storage system, UL 9540A safety certification, and why technical knowledge matters in solar sales.   Topics Co...

Arnold Andrade and Stephan Engel of Engel Electric, a San Antonio-based solar and electrical contracting company, sit down with Sean White at the 2026 NABCEP Conference to discuss microgrid design, energy storage, and hybrid inverter technology. The conversation also covers the rise of DIY solar in Texas and a large-scale off-grid ranch retrofit currently underway, featuring four hybrid inverters...

Professional engineer and sailor Marc Lopata discusses two decades of solar development across the Caribbean (which includes the Midwest), focusing on off-grid microgrid design for privately owned islands in The Bahamas. Topics include achieving 90% diesel offset, hurricane survivability engineering, utility-scale solar for small island communities, and the economic case for solar in markets indep...

Recorded at the NABCEP Conference, this episode features a conversation between Sean White and Marlene Brown, a solar energy educator and advocate with over three decades of experience. Topics include the grassroots origins of the photovoltaic industry, early off-grid solar installations, international solar development work in Vietnam and the Solomon Islands, and Marlene's ongoing efforts to incr...

Turning lemons into lemonade after a plane full of solar professionals was diverted to Chicago due to a blizzard, Travis and Sean podcasted the entire Lyft ride to the NABCEP conference in Milwaukee. Montana Solar founder Travis Jordan breaks down the company's patented high-clearance ground-mount racking system. Topics include the chain-hoist lifting mechanism, agrivoltaic applications, installat...

Bruce Anderson, CEO of 247 Solar, details his company's concentrated solar technology that delivers round-the-clock clean electricity without combustion or emissions. The system uses heliostats to heat air to 1,800°F, stores that thermal energy in ceramic pellets, and converts it to electricity via a modified turbine. Paired with solar PV during daylight hours, the solution addresses intermittency...

Jason Sharp, CEO of Namaste Solar, discusses the company's worker-owned cooperative model, where employees hold equal ownership and elect the board of directors. The conversation covers solar installation practices in Colorado, electrical apprenticeship programs, the evolving role of energy management systems and meter collars, distributed energy policy, and the future of bidirectional EV charging...

From Intersolar San Diego, this conference-end wrap-up takes a tour through the world's solar and energy conferences — from SNEC in Shanghai to ASES in Austin, Texas. Learn which events are worth your time, how the solar industry has shifted from Germany to China, and why building a global network matter. Whether you're chasing NABCEP credits or your first industry connection, conferences might be...

Sungrow's Power Stack 2.0 represents a shift in commercial and industrial energy storage, from backup power to a scalable, revenue-generating financial asset. This episode explores the system's specifications, deployment flexibility, and real-world applications including demand charge reduction, EV charging support, and grid resilience. Topics also include market trends across key U.S. states, the...

Utility-scale batteries are far more complex than they appear. Ty Fenton, Director of Data Analytics at FlexGen, breaks down how software keeps massive battery systems running — from detecting a single failing cell among thousands to predictive diagnostics powered by machine learning. The episode dives into real-world degradation versus lab data, operators who intentionally voided warranties for s...

Jack West has over 100 patents, including patents sold to Solar City (Tesla) and NextPower (NexTracker) and probably most importantly to Jack, guitar patents.    We hear about Elon’s personable and calm demeanor (joking) and Jack’s Steel Pulse solar roof invention, which Elon cancelled.    Jack started his solar career in 1993 with a $5/hr job in Concord, CA with a job where he alone sold, designe...

Ever wonder what's actually inside a DC-to-DC converter (optimizer) or inverter? Recorded live at InterSolar San Diego, this episode breaks down the inner workings of solar optimizers, from maximum power point tracking and energy recovery to the software that makes them last 20 years. The conversation also dives into how inverter IGBTs turn DC into clean AC power, how Tigo's approach differs from...

Enphase Energy has evolved from a microinverter company into a full energy systems platform enabling virtual power plants (VPP) nationwide. In this episode, CMO Marco Krapels explains how aggregated home batteries, AI-driven capacity forecasting, and a new bidirectional EV charger could reshape the grid, turning ordinary homes into small-scale power plants that generate income for homeowners while...