SunCast

Did you know that clean energy hardware startups can benefit from millions of dollars in testing at world-class labs? Today's expert industry guide, Tenley Dalstrom, will explain everything you need to know.  But don’t queue it up and forget… the next deadline is August 19th! As Director of the California Testbed Initiative ( CalTestBed ) at New Energy Nexus , Tenley works with all types of c...

Entrepreneur and community builder, Steph Speirs, aims to unlock the possibility of solar power for the roughly 90 million households that are locked out of the solar market in the US. Some rent their homes, others have less than optimal credit scores, or their roof is too shaded or otherwise unsuited to a solar array.  Steph is the co-founder and CEO of Solstice , which wants to turbocharge...

This solar industry is crossing the chasm, and the consumers at the “table” today, while they look similar, are much different from those consumers before who were predisposed to taking higher risks, trying technology in advance.  We're now moving to the early mass market, and they're going to be more risk averse.  The way we sold to the early adopters to get our first 3 million solar in...

If your mobile phone or laptop has ever become uncomfortably hot, you have first-hand experience with a concept called thermal runaway. It's one of the primary risks related to lithium-ion batteries, and it happens when the lithium-ion cell enters an uncontrollable, self-heating state.   Catherine Von Burg, CEO of SimpliPhi Power, recently returned from the National Fire Prevention Assoc...

Showing up is half the battle. “Wow, 500! How did you do it, Nico?” Seems a lot of folks had this question on their mind as the date drew nearer to hit this milestone on the pod. And, when I asked you listeners “what can I do that’s special for Episode 500?”, time and time again I got a common reply, “Have someone interview you, Nico! We want to know what you’ve learned!” The answer to “How I got...

My collaborator and industry veteran, Mike Casey of Tigercomm, and I convene a quarterly conversation with several leading podcasters to discuss what’s new, trending and impactful for your business. Mike moderates the lively discussion, and I get to join in and enjoy simply participating (we also produce the finished products that wind up here on this podcast feed and that of several of hte guests...

There’s so much good content (especially right here on SunCast) but I always get asked "what podcasts to you listen to, Nico?"  This week, we’d like to introduce you to one podcast I’ve been really enjoying - it’s a new deep-dive podcast for the solar industry called " Factor This ".  Host John Engel from Renewable Energy World breaks down the biggest stories in solar with leaders who mo...

If you missed Part 1 of this epic 2-part interview, I recommend you queue that one up first…that’s why they go in order ;-)  In Part 1, we learned what a technology entrepreneur, a musician turned engineer and a corporate attorney have in common: They built TradeWind Energy and had not one but TWO successful exits as a team on virtually the same platform. If you haven’t heard of Tradewind, or...

What do a technology entrepreneur, a musician turned engineer and a corporate attorney have in common? They built a company in middle America called Tradewind Energy that became one of the largest developers of wind energy projects in the U.S., and had not one but TWO successful exits as a team on virtually the same platform. If you haven’t heard of Tradewind, perhaps you heard of Savion?  An...

In uncertain economic times, investors look for something — anything — to shore up their portfolios. But in 2022, there aren't many obvious options.  Cryptocurrencies have crashed, bonds and equities are down, and globalization has rendered the idea of expanding from domestic to international markets moot. As Tyler Hurlburt , a licensed financial advisor and wealth manager, explained, "It see...

Founded in a Wisconsin barn more than 60 years ago, Generac is a global leader in designing and manufacturing residential, commercial and industrial power generation equipment. Generac practically created the market for home standby generators and still commands an impressive market share in that category. Now it's fueling its transition to the renewable energy reality through an acquisition spree...

Today’s Tactical Tuesday is a compilation of my favorite moments from the recent George Hershman 2-part interview. If you missed that one, then you’ll for sure want to queue up this more snack-able episode (but I’ll bet it will leave you ready to commit to the longer version!) It was packed with great stories and advice, but it was also a long interview, and maybe you're short on time. So think of...

Solar Energy International (SEI) holds a special place in the hearts and minds of many #SolarWarriors who tune in regularly to SunCast. And SEI is equally important to me because it's partnered with SunCast for the entirety of our existence in support of nearly all our in-person and virtual events through the years. So I'm especially delighted to welcome SEI Executive Director Elizabeth Sanderson...

You need a way to define winning solar projects fast, while eliminating all doubt that you've selected the most optimum configuration. And it’s frustrating to commit to a design strategy knowing that if you had the time or data, you could find something better. Furthermore, in the current procurement process, constrained by module availability, trade concerns and interconnection timelines, the nee...

Yoann Hispa has four science and math degrees, speaks four languages and cultivates a singular obsession with knowledge acquisition. I think you’ll have a lot in common with Yoann; you’re both insatiable infinite learners, that much we know. ;-) Yoann is the CEO and co-founder of LandGate , a company that aims to revolutionize the ways US environmental resources for everything from solar and wind...

What does it look like to build a career of purpose that also engages your natural talents for educating and relationship building? This week’s Tactical Tuesday will show you! In today’s episode, we feature Miguel Gil Mast of Schneider Electric. Are there other technologies you’ve scouted on the frontlines of the Clean Energy Revolution that you think we should be covering here on SunCast? Hit us...

If you’ve been following along the touchstones that make up the community solar market… “In this final episode of our 5-part series, we still have one more segment of this quilt of knowledge left to weave - the money - how does it work? You heard David Sandbank in Episode 1 refer to the Value Stack. The ways in which the market participants are incentivized to participate is an important element o...

So far, we’ve taken a look at how Policy works at both the State & Federal Level. And we’ve also heard from a solar developer about the nuance and important differences for community solar from the other verticals. In Episode 4 of this series, we’ll hear from Kate Henningsen, Co-founder and COO at Arcadia Power. Prior to joining Arcadia Power as its sixth employee, Kate spent several years as...

The US Department of Energy considers community solar “an indispensable source in our future energy mix.”  In Episode 3 of our Community Solar Series, we’ll hear from Nicole Steele, Senior advisor for Energy Justice & workforce at the Department of Energy’s Solar Energy Technologies Office. Nicole runs the National Community Solar Partnership, which as you heard in Episode 1 has set an am...

In  today’s Episode 2 of the Community Solar Series, our solar expert is David Kane, a seasoned developer at EDP Renewables. Dave gives us the view from the developer’s perspective: What exactly is entailed in his role as project developer? How does the organization rely on he and his team for progress? How does a developer think about policy as an enabler or driver for how to structure his/h...

Over the years, a segment of the industry has emerged as what has been referred to as the fourth vertical for solar. It’s not just a phenomenon in the United States, but worldwide, and it’s called Community Solar. Community solar is the model where community members can collectively purchase clean electricity from a central offsite solar array, and this model has been gaining massive attention and...

When VCs told Catherine Von Burg that she probably wasn’t cut out to run (or raise money for) the kind of business that she had mapped out for SimpliPhi, she could have capitulated and sacrificed her personal dignity & self worth on the altar of company mission & vision. Except, the company mission & vision was something that carried her DNA, her blood, sweat & tears. And, ultimate...

Today we’re sharing 2 snippets from the >2hr juggernaut of an interview we had with one of the early EV & solar power electronics pioneers, James Worden. Many of you in the Solar industry might recall James from his Inverter business, Solectria Renewables. But, did you know that technology was birthed from a 2-decades love-affair with electric vehicles? We get into ALL the backstory in the...

SunCast Media has partnered with EDP Renewables to produce a special 5-part series focused on the fundamentals of the fastest growing segment of the solar industry - Community Solar.  If you’re a participant in the solar industry, or even if you’re considering where & how to make the plunge into solar, or more specifically, Community Solar, then you’ve no doubt contemplated “What is Commu...

Dean Vukovic moved to the US with visions of revolutionizing the way we manufacture and ultimately reuse/repurpose consumer goods. Embracing the circular economy philosophy, he crossed the pond from Oz to help pioneer that movement here in the USA for his prior employer. Now, he’s GM at Terrasmart (the entity formed by Gibraltar’s roll-up of RBI Solar, Terrasmart, Sunfig and SolarBOS) and leads th...