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PODCAST

SunCast

Nico Johnson takes you into conversations with those at the forefront of Renewable Energy. SunCast gives an inside look into what is happening in renewable energy. From conversations with the biggest Solar Panel manufacturers in the world to the small startups creating the future of renewable energy, such as carbon capture and battery technology breakthroughs. SunCast is dedicated to providing the knowledge, research, tools and expert guidance you need to understand, grow and be ahead of the

science natural sciences

All Episodes

27:22

703: Unlocking Great Leadership, Imposter Syndrome,...

SunCast ·

2024/05/28

Struggling with imposter syndrome? You're not alone.Returning guest (Ep 333, 687) Paula Glover, President of the Alliance to Save Energy, delves into one of the most common emotional challenges faced by leaders and entrepreneurs. Paula gets real about the self-doubt leaders face and the importance of authenticity in leadership. It’s rare to get this kind of honesty in a b2b podcast conversation, and Paula does it with guts and grace.As the head of the Alliance to Save Energy, Paula has

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01:16:37

702: From Rock Star to Serial Entrepreneur: Rue...

SunCast ·

2024/05/23

He came to America with ten thousand dollars and a dream of making it big. A few years later, he was a legitimate rock star, rocking arenas with Black Sabbath and Ozzy Osborne. So why did this British rocker who achieved the height of music stardom give it all up and start an EV charging business? How did that turn into not 1 but 3 successful exits (his most recent for north of $80M to Enphase) and a fourth energy sector startup sure to find similar outcomes? Rue Phillips, a rockstar

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23:42

701: Nextracker and JM Steel Are Reviving American...

SunCast ·

2024/05/21

US manufacturing is back!We were recently invited to a ceremony to celebrate the expansion of Nextracker’s dedicated steel torque tube manufacturing lines at JM Steel’s Leetsdale facility in Pittsburgh. This historic site, formerly Bethlehem Steel(the company that produced the landing craft for Normandy during World War II) now manufactures low-carbon steel tubes for solar trackers. Among the many dignitaries present at the event were 3 people on Nico’s yet-to-be-interviewed bucket list,

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01:12:01

700! Behind the Success of Strata Clean Energy,...

SunCast ·

2024/05/16

It only took me 8 years and 699 episodes to finally land today’s guest! But the wait was WELL worth it. You’re in for a treat. And it was recorded in-person at Strata’s HQ, so you might enjoy some of the extra footage included in the YT video version of this episode.Markus Wilhelm founded Strata Clean Energy in 2009, but readily admits that he didn’t have the right initial vision for the company. In fact, it wasn’t till the THIRD pivot that he says they really found their groove. By any

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21:47

Bonus: A love story, about Solar. w/Tor “Solar Fred”...

SunCast ·

2024/05/14

265,000! That’s how many of you/us work in Solar Energy so far (and rapidly growing!)Yet, with 4 million solar installations in the U.S alone, Solar Energy is rarely featured in mainstream media. WHY?Probably True Solar Stories, a podcast created by Tor Valenza, also known as Solar Fred, aims to bridge this content gap with engaging solar-themed fictional tales.Valenza, once a Hollywood writer for shows like "The Dead Zone," "Dharma and Greg," and "Stargate SG-1” brings a uniquely solar

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01:20:45

699: Breaking the American Electricity Monopoly |...

SunCast ·

2024/05/09

Many of us working in clean energy forget that access to clean power is still a privilege, not a right. Millions of Americans still don’t have the freedom to choose clean energy.People all over the country want to fight climate change by choosing renewable energy sources for their homes and businesses. But, in monopolized electricity markets, consumers are forced to purchase power from the only available utility (like Duke Energy here in my home state of NC).CleanChoice Energy is fighting

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18:15

698: Building the Biggest Battery Project in the...

SunCast ·

2024/05/07

Imagine that your phone rings. The person on the other end tells you: “you won the project. Now, we need you to fly to Australia and build the largest battery backup project in the entire world.”Powin, a Portland, Oregon-based battery energy storage developer, was up to the challenge.Nico got a chance to sit down with then-President of Powin, Anthony Carroll, to discuss where the energy storage market is headed and how large-scale integrators like Powin are moving the needle.Under

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01:08:17

697: Chris Nelder is Mobilizing an Army for Clean Energy

SunCast ·

2024/05/02

Chris Nelder challenges the status quo.And his efforts have, for nearly a decade, centered on mobilizing an army of supporters to help us transition away from fossil fuels. As creator & host of the podcast The Energy Transition Show, Nelder aims to "influence the influencers" through carefully researched interviews with clean energy experts. I know that many many listeners of SunCast are also listeners of Chris’s show (and many have even told me you’re paid subscribers!) which has

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16:57

696: Manufacturing Ground Mounts Here In The U.S. For...

SunCast ·

2024/04/30

The IRA gave solar manufacturers a huge incentive to manufacture on U.S. soil. How does the 45x incentive work, and are we actually gonna see anybody other than Nextracker capitalize on it?!Companies like FTC Solar are taking full advantage of this huge manufacturing tax credit. Their Vice President of Sales, Eric Frazier, shares how they’re bringing higher-paying manufacturing jobs back to American communities and what it means for developers. He also shares his career lessons in

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01:22:21

695: ‘Digital Owner’s Manuals’ for installers with...

SunCast ·

2024/04/25

We’ve heard that we need to focus on workforce development. Yet many times the workforce we’ve developed has to re-invent the wheel for lack of reliable systems to a) know what good looks like, and b) replicate it in the field with minimal oversight.What if any solar installer had reliable, step-by-step installation guidance straight from any manufacturer? Would this improve the process?Solar projects are custom-built each time, often with components from a range of OEMs. This means that

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14:42

694: LG Proves There’s More Than One Home Battery...

SunCast ·

2024/04/23

What if solar installers could easily integrate energy storage with any inverter on the market? LG Energy Storage Systems (ESS) makes that possible, and in an important and elegant way.At the 2024 NABCEP Conference, Jim Brown, Senior National Sales Manager at LG ESS, highlighted LG's new "Home 8" AC-coupled energy storage system, a game-changing product for solar installers. In today’s episode, Jim and Nico discuss AC vs. DC-coupled systems, homeowner misconceptions, and a new technology

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01:17:19

693: Off-Grid Solar Products As A Form Of Wealth...

SunCast ·

2024/04/18

We often take access to electricity, refrigeration, and running water for granted. In many parts of the world, these are luxuries.In today’s episode, Andi Kleissner and Kurt Kuhlmann, Co-founders and Co-CEOs of Amped Innovation, discuss how they’re changing lives by installing high-performance off-grid solar systems and appliances across Asia and Africa. Nico visited with the pair in their CA headquarters; Seated on two of their high-efficiency solar freezers, they share insights from

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10:44

692: Hydrogen's Role in New York's Green Future with...

SunCast ·

2024/04/16

New York set an ambitious goal for a zero-emission electricity sector by 2040. What will it take to get there?Turns out, hydrogen may be a key component to New York's climate strategy, especially for difficult-to-electrify sectors.Haiyan Sun is the program manager and team leader for hydrogen and clean fuels at the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA). With over a decade of experience in the power sector (much of which was in GE’s gas division), she has

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48:25

691: Adding Storage to Solar is Harder Than We...

SunCast ·

2024/04/11

Is solar plus storage magically going to fix our grid? If you listen to many of the conversations I’ve heard the last 2+ years, you’d easily assume “we got this, just throw some batteries out there and we’re well on our way to 100% RE!”Turns out it’s not that simple.Building hybrid power (solar+storage) projects requires a deep understanding of the unique challenges they present, from how to forecast revenue to building integrated software solutions that can handle massive complexity

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17:33

690: Can We Squeeze More Power Through The Existing...

SunCast ·

2024/04/09

How do we solve yesterday’s interconnection problems with today’s technology?Alexina Jackson, Vice President of Strategic Development at The AES Corporation, pulls back the curtain to show us how AES is using cutting-edge technology to integrate MORE renewable energy into the grid. Because we need to add new energy fast and our current grid isn’t up to the challenge, AES is inventing solutions as they go.Expect to learn:How AES’s new technology can push more power through existing wiring

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01:13:13

689: O&M: How to Keep Existing Solar Projects...

SunCast ·

2024/04/04

As our Secretary of Energy says, deploy deploy deploy! It’s incredible to see how hard we’re pushing to modernize the grid, but, we also must maintain and ensure solar projects are delivering on every kilowatt hour that we promised. Today’s guest has been delivering on those promises for nearly two decades.Josh Fraughton, a renewable energy veteran with nearly two decades of experience in the solar industry, has seen firsthand the increasing need for a stable supply chain for solar

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57:55

688: Debunking Myths About Solar's Resilience in...

SunCast ·

2024/04/02

Increasing extreme weather events year over year are forcing all energy assets to reconsider asset protection and resilience. The solar industry has been wrongly accused of grid reliability issues in the face of these extreme events, but what does the data say from operating assets that have “weathered” the storms?Lightsource BP’s Kevin Christy is working to prove solar energy's resilience (especially during challenging weather conditions) and address misconceptions about renewable energy

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01:19:02

687: Are Diversity and Efficiency being downplayed in...

SunCast ·

2024/03/28

Our guest today points out that energy efficiency is actually employing MILLIONS MORE than Renewable Energy as a sector!Paula Glover, President of the Alliance to Save Energy, is fighting on the front lines to reduce energy waste. She uses her platform to champion energy efficiency as a cost-saving measure and a fundamental principle for achieving energy justice and economic growth. Paula believes that the "first fuel" is non-consumption.Paula’s a returning guest to the show (Ep 333) but

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15:37

686: Fixing Solar’s Waste Problem | Kelly Weger,...

SunCast ·

2024/03/26

By 2050, around 80 million metric tons of solar photovoltaic (PV) modules will reach the end of their life globally (according to NREL). 10 million metric tons will be in the United States. But this is not an issue for a far-off future. As we transition to renewable energy, we create a massive volume of waste just from manufacturing and transporting batteries and solar panels. So, what can we do to improve this process now, rather than in 25 years?Kelly Weger, the Director of

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01:11:26

685: How this Zillow-like Software Simplifies the...

SunCast ·

2024/03/21

Permitting. The word is enough to send shivers down the spines of most PV professionals.Obtaining permits for solar projects, no matter the scale, is a major roadblock in the transition to renewable energy, and often causes project delays that last weeks or even months. Robin Laine, CEO & Co-founder of Transect,is working to simplify the land permitting process for solar developers.Robin, who has a background in environmental consulting, founded Transect to address the inefficiencies

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932 results

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