SunCast

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...

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 pro...

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...

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 innovatio...

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 deploymen...

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...

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...

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 a...

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 d...

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 dens...

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 entrepren...

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 sto...

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...

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 industr...

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 presen...

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 navigati...

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...

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-...

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...

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 P...

The next best thing to being at RE+ Vegas, is catching the PowerUp Live Show.  Get the lowdown from Nico and Lisa Ann Pinkerton for the PowerUp Morning Show, LIVE with Nico Johnson & Lisa Ann, presented by Meyer Burger, and  RE+ Daily Round Up with Nico Johnson & Josh Porter,  presented by Modern Energy to share their experiences of Day 2 at RE+ Vegas.   If you wan...

The next best thing to being at RE+ Vegas, is catching the PowerUp Live Show.  Get the lowdown from Nico and Lisa Ann Pinkerton for the PowerUp Morning Show, LIVE with Nico Johnson & Lisa Ann, presented by Meyer Burger, and  RE+ Daily Round Up with Nico Johnson & Josh Porter,  presented by Modern Energy to share their experiences of Day 1 at RE+ Vegas.   If you wan...

Let’s be honest, the rapidly accelerating demand for clean, renewable energy has outpaced the development and implementation processes in the solar sector. As the queue for interconnection lengthens and the need for efficiency grows, utility-scale solar developers face mounting challenges. From the scarcity of skilled engineers and designers to bottlenecks in site selection and grid optimization,...

In this special episode recorded from the tradeshow floor at RE+ Mid Atlantic, we explore a pressing question: Is there a workforce issue in the solar industry? Will it work itself out in the medium term? We've assembled a group of industry experts to share how their companies (and clients) are navigating the workforce challenges facing the renewable energy sector as we scale up. Catherine McLean...

What can the solar industry learn from the efficiency and scalability that have characterized the oil and gas industries for the last hundred years? As the world grapples with the urgent need to transition away from fossil fuels, solar power has emerged as a crucial player in this global shift. This change is not without its challenges, however, such as the need for significant capital investment,...