SunCast

Heat pumps are the EVs of HVAC—so why aren’t we all using them? Stephen Lake, a highly successful engineer turned climate-tech entrepreneur, is here to explain why heating and cooling is the most overlooked piece of the decarbonization puzzle. After selling his last company to Google, Stephen founded Jetson to tackle one of the biggest—and slowest-moving—sectors of home energy: HVAC. From cold-wea...

A new wave of power demand is here. Is the grid ready? And can States keep up? Doug Scott, now in his second term as Chairman of the Illinois Commerce Commission, joins Nico to share how Illinois is navigating the accelerating pace of the energy transition. From integrating energy storage to regulating gigawatt-scale data centers, the ICC isn’t moving at glacial speed anymore—it’s sprinting. Does...

So what’s the secret to building influence in a Trillion-dollar industry? Perhaps it’s “start when it’s only a Billion-dollar industry!” But in today’s episode a few more “secrets” are discussed.  In this rare role-reversal, Nico Johnson—the voice behind SunCast—is interviewed by solar industry legend (and fellow podcaster), Barry Cinnamon. It’s a full-circle moment packed with lessons on sto...

Most warranties aren’t worth the paper they’re written on. In a solar market defined by price pressure and disappearing installers, consumers are more skeptical than ever—and they’re asking smarter questions. Who’s responsible when something breaks? Will anyone answer the phone in 10 years? 5 years? In this live session, Nico Johnson sits down with Dean Chiaravallotti of Solar Insure at NABCEP 202...

Why is residential solar still so hard in the US? Andrew McGuigan will wager an answer. After 13 years in the solar trenches—from knocking doors at Sungevity to leading OpenSolar’s global expansion—Andrew has seen every twist of the solar coaster. Now at OpenSolar, he’s got a front row seat to helping 25,000+ installers worldwide streamline their businesses and survive the industry’s many curvebal...

Are Coal and clean energy still at odds?? It might sound like a contradiction, but today’s guest is proving that innovation often comes from the most unexpected places - in this case, Coal Mines. Listen in as Nico sits down with Mark LaVerghetta , co-founder of ReElement Technologies , a company turning the coal industry on its head by extracting critical minerals from coal’s waste stream — and do...

What if the tools you use to sell solar are setting you up to fail? That’s the uncomfortable truth Jason Steinberg, CEO of Scanifly, is tackling head-on. In this episode recorded live at NABCEP 2025, Jason and Nico dig into the disconnect between sales and operations in solar—where remote designs sell the dream, but outdated imagery and manual measurements leave teams scrambling on install day. Ja...

In a market flooded with cheap imports and geopolitical risk, one company is standing its ground. Did you know there’s only one North American battery management system (BMS) provider at utility scale—despite growing pressure from subsidized Chinese competitors offering systems at zero cost? Michael Worry, CEO of Nuvation Energy, joins Nico to share how his company became that lone provider. ...

Nextracker just made yet another bold move… What if a robot could detect a solar failure before it happens—and build the repair plan to deploy the right resources to the precise location, in real time? That’s not science fiction. It’s what OnSight Technology is already doing on numerous utility-scale solar farms across the US.  And Nextracker have officially acquired OnSight Technology !&nbsp...

Is This The Reality Check We All Needed? Layoffs. Shrinking margins. Policy gut punched. If you’ve been wondering how the solar industry will make it through this, hang tight - I’ve got a 20+ yr veteran who’s seen enough dips & turns on the SolarCoaster to provide ample insight. Barry Cinnamon returns to SunCast for a brutally honest conversation with Nico Johnson about what’s unraveling in th...

What if the smallest line item in your solar project budget could unlock millions in financing? Solar projects don’t get financed on hope—they get financed on data. Meet Ann Will , founder of GroundWork Renewables , the company solving one of utility-scale solar’s biggest pain points: uncertainty. GroundWork has quietly enabled over 1,000 met campaigns and helped developers secure billions in fund...

Commercial & Industrial solar is no longer just about getting panels up on the roof (Or over the parking lot, as the case may be). I wanted to explore something that’s been bugging me…given the increase in C&I traction lately, what’s still holding the sector back from adopting batteries at scale? For the answer, I turned to Jayson Smith, Solutions Engineer at CPS America, to better underst...

Nextracker has proven its market dominance for more than a decade, and has practically rewritten the playbook on utility-scale solar globally. Lately, they’ve been on an acquisition spree, further fueling their market dominance and diversifying to better serve their customers. If you, like us, are on the outside looking in wondering “how they heck do they do it?”, then this episode will give you a...

What happens when a solar technician calls themselves a “Level 2,” but no one knows what that actually means? For years, solar O&M has lacked the structure and standardization seen in other trades. The result? Confusing job titles, wage inflation, inconsistent training, and safety risks. But that’s all about to change. In this Tactical Tuesday episode, Nico Johnson is joined by Amanda Bybee, C...

Your solar project is one storm away from financial disaster! That’s not just fear-mongering—it’s the reality many developers are waking up to. In this episode, Nico sits down with Jason Kaminsky, CEO of KWH Analytics , the data-driven company reshaping how solar projects are financed and insured. You’ve probably already read this year’s Solar Risk Assessment —that’s the genius and hard–work of Ja...

Is the “Big Beautiful Bill” about to choke the life out of solar & wind? Can energy storage be solar’s savior? Isn’t Solar inevitable? We don’t need no stinking subsidies, right?  Right? If you haven’t had a chance to catch up yet on all that the bill implies, keep reading (seriously at the bottom I’ve linked a ton of recommended reading!)  In this episode, policy analyst, Christian...

Solar projects getting canceled? Clean tech CEOs burned out doing their own PR? Amanda Foley has seen it all. As the CEO of Kiterocket, Amanda leads one of clean energy’s most influential PR firms, helping clients go from misunderstood to market-ready. Recorded live at CleanPower 2025, this conversation dives into why even great technology companies struggle with messaging—and what to do about it....

The AI boom isn’t just reshaping tech—it’s redefining the energy grid. As data center demand skyrockets, clean energy providers are scrambling to keep up with unprecedented power needs, speed requirements, and reliability expectations. In this special live panel, hosted by Jessica Fishman of Kiterocket , we hear directly from leaders at Equinix, Clayco, QTS , and MGM Transformer —key players shapi...

What would you do after taking your company public and becoming a billionaire? If you’re Dean Solon , you start over—with even bigger ambitions. The outspoken founder of Shoals Technologies is back with his new venture, Create Energy , and a mission to tear down the solar industry’s bloated, outdated playbook—and rebuild it from the ground up with speed, precision, and American grit. In this unfil...

How do you bridge the gap between fast-moving renewables and slow-moving utilities? Brian Nelson has spent the last two decades doing exactly that—from building house-sized transformers to now leading ABB’s renewables segment. At ACP 2025, he sat down with Nico to pull back the curtain on how utilities think, why they’re cautious, and what it really takes to bring innovation to the grid. In this e...

Can one of the world’s biggest tech companies actually go carbon-free, not just today, but retroactively, all the way back to 1975? In this powerhouse keynote from Intersolar 2025, Hanna Grene, leader of Microsoft’s Global Energy and Resources team, lays out a bold vision for this tech giant’s energy future. She makes one thing clear: Microsoft isn’t here to play catch-up. They’re partnering with...

What if the biggest threat to your solar business wasn’t competition—but compliance? Rebekah Hren has spent over 20 years helping the solar industry avoid costly mistakes and dangerous shortcuts - by writing the very codes and standards that govern it. From fieldwork and training at SEI to consulting for AirBnB and now co-founding Solar Tech Collective, Rebekah has seen it all—and helped shape how...

Inflation, interest rates, tariffs—most markets flinch. But according to Josh Goldberg, commercial solar doesn’t blink. In this Tactical Tuesday, Josh pulls back the curtain on how Sunstone Credit is adapting—and thriving—by making it easier than ever to finance clean energy upgrades for America’s businesses. You’ll hear why commercial solar might be more resilient than resi, how to decode confusi...

“AI is the greatest threat to your business ever.” That’s how Sheldon Kimber opens this episode—and it only gets bolder from there. Live from the Kiterocket Lounge during ACP CleanPower 2025, Sheldon returns to SunCast to unpack the real story behind energy-hungry data centers, the rise of hybrid power solutions, and why clean energy is no longer about purity—it’s about pragmatism. As CEO of Inter...

Forget what you thought you knew about data centers. Ryan Abbott of Clayco (a major datacenter design/build firm) joins Nico to explain how today’s hyperscale data centers are flipping traditional construction and energy planning on their heads. With AI workloads multiplying and compute demand skyrocketing, the real constraint isn't land—it’s power . And not just any power. Reliable, sustainable,...