This Week in Solar

In today’s episode, Aaron talks with solar recycling advocate and industry veteran Kate Collardson. Kate shares how asking the simple question, “What are we going to do with all this stuff at the end of its life?” and repeatedly hearing the answer “Huh. Someone should probably figure that out” led her to try to… figure it out. She walks us through co-founding SolarRecycle.org with Amanda Bybee, an...

What’s new: According to a new report released by Grid Strategies on Tuesday, U.S. utilities now project that we’ll need 166 GW of extra peak demand by 2030, with roughly 90 GW (more than 54% ) tied to data centers. That’s a sixfold jump from energy forecasts made in 2022, meaning that we now need six times the energy we thought we would before generative AI hit the scene. Why it matters: Utilitie...

Aaron Nichols talks with Exact Solar’s own Dave Hammes, a 20-year clean-energy veteran who specializes in helping non-profit organizations go solar. Dave shares how learning about the true cause of 9/11 sparked his pivot into renewables. He outlines his path from Solar Energy International training through launching a premium solar panel brand in the Americas, developing solar water-pumping projec...

What’s new Qcells is temporarily furloughing approximately 1,000 workers and reducing hours and pay at its Dalton and Cartersville, Georgia, factories due to repeated detentions of imported solar cells and other components by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Why it matters Qcells has committed $2.5 billion to build a U.S. solar supply chain and is ramping American cell manufacturing, including...

Aaron Nichols talks with Jim Gregory and Justin Mason of the Conservative Energy Network (CEN). Jim is a former Pennsylvania state representative and now serves as the Executive Director of the Conservative Energy Network. Justin is a grassroots organizer who started installing solar on rooftops and is now the Director of Programs and Operations of the Conservative Energy Network in Pennsylvania....

What’s new New Jersey just elected Mikie Sherrill as governor. During her campaign, she promised to use clean energy to lower bills and strengthen the grid. Her plan promises to use executive orders to freeze utility rates while New Jersey builds more solar and battery storage, with faster grid upgrades to handle growing demand. Why it matters A pro-solar governor in Trenton means more rooftop and...

Aaron Nichols sits down with off-grid specialist Kenny Grigar, who started living in an off-grid home powered by solar in the early ’90s. This was long before incentives or slick door-to-door sales tactics. Kenny tells his stories from the DIY roots of modern solar and explains how even without tax credits, rising power rates make solar energy systems a great investment for homeowners. Expect to L...

Note: We experienced technical difficulties that resulted in audio issues during this episode. We apologize for the inconvenience! Happy Halloween from Exact Solar! I’m interested to hear how you’ll be celebrating in the comments. I’ll personally be officiating my friend’s wedding in Oaxaca, Mexico. What’s new YEAH Philly, a youth empowerment nonprofit in Philadelphia, just switched on a 12-kW roo...

Aaron Nichols talks with Dhanur Grandhi, CEO of Wattbot and a 15-year veteran of working with national residential solar companies. They cover why Dhanur believes the future of solar is local and how he’s building a product (Wattbot) that will make it easier for homeowners to choose the best local solar companies. Expect to Learn: * Why 70–75% of U.S. rooftop solar is installed by local contractor...

The big idea: If cities and states cut solar permitting costs, families nationwide could save up to $1.2 trillion over 25 years. Why it matters Solar permits are a maze that change state to state and town to town. In a Heatmap article that came out yesterday, non-profit Permit Power released a new analysis showing that permitting reform could save Americans more than $1.2 Trillion over the next 25...

Today on This Week In Solar, Aaron Nichols welcomes Emmitt Muckles. He’s a solar trainer, consultant, DJ, and self-described “social nerd.” We focused this conversation on why solar is the greatest career path out there, how to teach technical topics people actually remember , and why love and empathy make better trainers and teams. Emmitt is an absolute joy to interview and listen to. Expect to L...

What’s New: Back in August, the EPA pulled funding for Solar for All, which we spoke about in a previous video. The grants would have helped more than 900,000 households save hundreds or even thousands of dollars a year by installing rooftop solar on low-income homes and investing in community projects. Last week, several groups, including Solar United Neighbors and cities all across the country,...

In this episode of This Week in Solar , Aaron Nichols sits down with Pennsylvania solar pioneer Ron Celantano, a consultant, engineer, and long-time policy advocate who helped shape the state’s net metering and Alternative Energy Portfolio Standards (AEPS). Ron has been working in renewable energy since the Carter administration, and brings four decades of solar experience to this episode (hard fo...

What’s new In the first half of 2025, wind and solar made more electricity than coal worldwide for the first time ever. Clean power grew faster than the world’s rising need for electricity, meaning that demand for coal was ever so slightly driven down. Solar led the way. It jumped by about one-third from last year and met 83% of the new electricity demand worldwide. The International Energy Agency...

This week, I sat down with Cesar Barbosa, founder & CEO of Nulife Power Services . I’ve been curious (and admittedly undereducated) about solar recommissioning and repowering, and today’s interview caught me up. This was eye-opening for me. Exact Solar builds solar energy systems that actually last 25-30 years, but this is not the case across the entire solar industry. Cesar explains why so ma...

What’s new: 90% of new U.S. power plant capacity added from January–July 2025 came from solar + wind. In July, solar provided 96% of new capacity. Why it matters: The vast majority of new power being added to the grid in 2025 is from renewable sources, not fossil fuels. Through July, 9 out of 10 new U.S. power-plant megawatts came from solar + wind. July kept the streak alive, with solar supplying...

This week, Aaron Nichols sits down with Joe Tassone, co-founder of Oncore Origination. Joe shares how Oncore carved out a niche by sourcing land for solar, storage, and EV projects across the U.S., what he’s learned from decades in development, and why he’s still bullish on renewables despite the uncertainty created by the repeal of the IRA. Here’s his LinkedIn Expect to Learn: * How Oncore Origin...

What’s New Governors from 11 states across the mid-Atlantic and Midwest are fed up with PJM, the non-profit entity that manages the region’s electricity grid. PJM’s capacity auctions (the system that pays power plants to promise future supply) have hit record highs two years in a row. At a multi-state summit in Philadelphia to address concerns over PJM, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro warned th...

This week, Aaron Nichols sits down with Zoë Gaston, Principal Analyst for Distributed Solar at Wood Mackenzie, to dig into her data. Zoë shares what her team is seeing in 2025 installation trends, how the repeal of the Inflation Reduction Act RA is shaping the market, and why third-party ownership (TPO) is likely to surge. Here’s her LinkedIn What You’ll Learn in This Episode: * How Q1 and Q2 2025...

Hello readers and listeners of This Week In Solar! I’m out on vacation, so I thought now would be the perfect time for a check-in. We just published our 28th episode of This Week In Solar. I’d love to know how we’re doing, so I wrote a few survey questions. I don’t expect anyone to answer all of them, but any feedback, no matter how brutal, is welcome. See you next week! One: Two: Three: Four: Fiv...

This week, Aaron Nichols sits down with Nicole Burford, VP of Market Development and Sustainability at Clean Energy Credit Union. Here’s her LinkedIn Expect to Learn: * How the loss of the federal tax credit is pushing solar financiers toward simpler, more transparent loans for homeowners. * How state incentives in places like New Jersey and Colorado are driving adoption, even without federal supp...

Enphase’s New EV Charger Turns Your Car Into a Home Battery What’s new: Enphase announced that its EV charger, which can fill your electric car and let your EV’s battery send power back to your home in an outage, will be available in the second half of 2026. Why it matters: This technology, known as “bidirectional charging,” is already available for Tesla owners and homeowners with Tesla solar pan...

This week, Aaron Nichols sits down with homeowner and clean energy enthusiast Thomas Crookham, who shares his journey of going solar with Exact Solar in 2024. Expect to learn: * Why Thomas finally chose to go solar in 2024 after decades of wanting panels. * How Exact Solar’s customer service and communication stood out compared to competitors. * How Thomas cut his electricity bills by 65–80% . Quo...

Trade Court Okays Retroactive Tariffs on 2022–24 Solar Imports What’s new: The U.S. Court of International Trade ruled that President Biden’s 2022 two-year pause on AD/CVD collections for solar cells/modules from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam was unlawful. The court cleared U.S. Customs and Border Protection to assess retroactive duties on entries between Apr. 1, 2022, and June 6, 2024...

Quick Note: Due to technical difficulties during the interview, today’s episode will be available as audio only. You can still listen to this episode as a podcast right here on Substack, on Apple Podcasts , or on Spotify . Thanks for tuning in and enjoy the interview! Show Notes: Liz Robinson is the Executive Director of the Philadelphia Solar Energy Association and a 40-year veteran of Pennsylvan...