SunCast

#161: What exactly does a Chief Policy Officer do? Tune In as I sit down with Anne Hoskins live at Solar Power Puerto Rico to ask the question “what exactly does a Chief Policy Officer do, anyway?” Anne has a fascinating story, and she is leading Sunrun into unchartered waters by paving the way for their DER products, opening key new markets like Illinois and Puerto Rico, and much much more....

#160: Sunrun’s strategy for new markets and innovative storage initiatives. Chris Rauscher is one of the folks responsible for Sunrun’s strategy regarding new markets and innovative storage initiatives.  Perhaps you heard they won a DER auction in the Northeast earlier this year? Chris was involved. And you see that Sunrun is now leading the charge to help Puerto Rico achieve a 100% renewable stan...

#159: Founded Sun Light & Power in 1976 Today’s entrepreneur has been building an iconic solar business since before many of you were even born! Gary Gerber founded Sun Light & Power in 1976, and has built one of the most trusted brands in the California market. It was humbling and educational to finally sit down with Gary and chat about his 4 decades of experience. Gain access to all the show not...

#158: Jonathan Pinzon, Carlos Abad & Jamie Dowswell If you’re familiar at all with the Mexico market, then you’ll have heard of the Mexico International Renewable Energy Congress, now know universally as Mirec. Like many of you, I’ll be headed to Mexico City next week to participate in what is essentially the SPI of Mexico, so thought it a good time to tell you both about the conference and a bit...

#157: Virginia’s fastest-growing solar company Devin Welch is Chief Strategy & Development officer at Sun Tribe Solar a relatively young but extremely impressive bunch of corporate renegades taking the Virginia market by storm. I recently had the chance to visit them in their new expanded Charlottesville VA office and tried to capture the essence of the culture at the heart of this fast-paced mark...

#156: EarthX Cleantech Woman of the Year Sandra Kwak is a serial entrepreneur and one really smart and savvy leader. Sandra founded 10 Power to provide light and hope to the people of Haiti and beyond, and today we dig deep into the details on the who, what, when where and why of the Impact she seeks to make. Gain access to all the show notes & resources from this episode here - Join the Tribe? Ch...

#155: Prana Power VP Jose Jove discusses the market dynamics Jose Jove is VP of Distributed Energy at Prana Power, one of the fastest growing and most well-capitalized clean energy developers in Mexico. Today I take a peek behind the curtain to hear how Jose feels about the current state of the solar union in Mexico Gain access to all the show notes & resources from this episode here - Join the Tr...

#154: Founded & sold groSolar, now focused on EV charging king Tritium. When I first started my solar company in 2006, one of the distributors I relied on was a smaller New England company called groSolar.  Over 18 yrs, groSolar deployed more than 150 megawatts (MW) (2,000 installations) of solar PV systems across the US. Jeff sold the RESI piece of the business to SolarCity in 2011, and the rest...

Opportunity Zones for clean energy. Opportunity Zones are all the buzz in investment circles, but few in the solar industry understand them or how they can be leveraged to finance deals. Jon Bonanno from New Energy Nexus has built an extensive repository of resources directed at helping you figure it out. We dive deep on the subject in today’s SunCast. Gain access to all the show notes & resources...

Mastermind with local industry insiders in a unique 1-day intensive. Today is a mini-sode with James Ellsmoor, specifically focused on an upcoming opportunity for us to spend some time in real life together really getting into the mechanics of improving your business and market penetration. Specifically, Puerto Rico and the broader Caribbean markets. Gain access to all the show notes & resources f...

#151: 100% renewables in Puerto Rico by 2050.  PJ Wilson is the Founder and President of the Solar + Energy Storage Association of Puerto Rico (SESA). SESA successfully advocated for what some are calling PR’s New Green Deal, Senate Bill 1121 which will help Puerto Rico reach the ambitious requirement of 100% renewables by 2050. The bill is currently waiting to be signed onin law by the Governor,...

#150: Tetris Inc. & Blue Planet Energy Founder, Henk Rogers, one of the world’s leading advocates and activists for weaning humankind from fossil fuels. Henk's efforts through Blue Planet Foundation have helped pave the way for Hawaii’s 100% renewable energy commitment by 2045. Through Blue Planet Energy, Henk has led the development of a leading energy storage system advancing safety, reliability...

Welcome to Episode 149 of SunCast!  Today’s Guest doesn’t consider herself an entrepreneur, but after listening in I’m sure you’ll agree most corporate leaders and startup founders alike can learn a lot from Bernadette del Chiaro. Her accolades are many, and we discuss them in the episode, but I thought it would be great to round out this Women’s History Month with someone who has made an indelibl...

Welcome to Episode 148 of SunCast!  Today’s entrepreneur has spent the better part of a decade following a very inspiring mission to provide clean electricity and energy access to the world. The medium is a company she cofounded called SimpliPhi Power, and Catherine Von Burg is an inspirational and thoughtful leader with an impressive track record. They have delivered Gigawatts of storage to the U...

Welcome to Episode 147 of SunCast!  If you haven't listened to yesterdays mini-episode with Jon Bonnano , please go check that out, as it’s the prologue to this interview you’re about to hear! This episode is the first up in a new series we’re calling Impact Positive. Today's guest is Ms. Katherine Ryzhaya, Chief Commercial Officer at Lightsource BP. Our aim is to shine a light on under-represente...

Welcome to Episode 146 of SunCast!  - For resources from today's episode and more information on how you can support Suncast, head over to  www.mysuncast.com/suncast-episodes  to the blog. (the direct URL is ...episodes/146) Join the Tribe? Check out  Episode 86 , in which I explain how YOU can become an Energy Tribe member and support the growth and stability of SunCast moving forward!  www.mysun...

Welcome to Episode 145 of SunCast! If you’ve jumped straight to this episode and haven’t yet listened to Part 1 with Tara, well I strongly encourage you to go back and check that one out first. Today is Part II, picking up where we left off to go further into her story and discuss regular topics such as Lessons Learned and Hot or Hype. - For resources from today's episode and more information on h...

Welcome to Episode 144 of SunCast! Today’s entrepreneur just took a HUGE leap, literally taking her company with her. Tara Doyle and her solar lab tech nerds at PVEL sold their company, then called, PV Evolution Labs, to DNV-GL half a decade ago ( you can hear more on that here ). In January, they spun it back out as a separate business retaining the PVEL brand. - For resources from today's episod...

Welcome to Episode 143 of SunCast! Luis Morales has been involved in growing the Latam and Caribbean solar market for nearly a decade, having run Latam for Enphase and dominating markets like Puerto Rico & Mexico. Today we hear his insights into the common mistakes he sees when entering new markets. - For resources from today's episode and more information on how you can support Suncast, head over...

Welcome to Episode 142 of SunCast! Costa Nicolaou has been at the helm of PanelClaw since it’s inception, guiding the company to a 40% market share of the flat roof solar racking market. As employee #1 he’s watched as the racking market has exploded to a healthy $1.5Billion little niche! Costa’s energy and enthusiasm are infectious, but we also dig into some hard-won lessons, like how much it cost...

Welcome to Episode 141 of SunCast! Today’s exceptional entrepreneur, Rick Ivins, was introduced to me by Chris Grablutz, who happens to work for one of Rick’s companies, PV Pros. Thanks Chris! Rick has an insatiable appetite for learning, and it has manifested in his building not 1 but 3 companies in the last decade (you’ll learn why he killed one of them and how the other 2 are now thriving).   ...

Welcome to Episode 140, Solar Warrior! Matthew Britt, CEO of Switch Energy, is a Canadian entrepreneur and startup junkie who is one of the best networkers I’ve ever met. We dive deep on how he retired at 30 from his first career and is plowing all the earnings and next decade of his life into the school of hard knocks that is revolutionizing the energy industry. You can find more great founder st...

Welcome to Episode 139, Solar Warrior! Today’s #solarwarrior is a true pioneer in the industry, and described as “the founding father of renewable-energy legislation in New Jersey’’ by the New York Times!  Thanks to John Moran for putting Mr. Lyle Rawlings on my radar. His company Advanced Solar Products has been crusading for solar in New Jersey and beyond for nearly 30 years. You...

Welcome to Episode 138, Solar Warrior! In October 2009, Mike Eman was sworn in as Prime Minister of the small island state of Aruba, a dutch territory in the Caribbean, and over the course of 8 years established a leadership position in championing renewables. Aruba became the first Caribbean island to declare a 100% renewable target, way back in 2012, long before the recent fanfare we’ve covered...

Welcome to  Episode 137  of SunCast!     In ’02, Andrew Beebe took a much-needed sabbatical from tech after selling his startup Big Step, in order to find new direction.   Ignoring advice from solar legend Dick Swanson, he scaled a solar EPC business long before being an EPC subcontractor was a popular model, and was still able to sell his solar company to then-market...