SunCast

This episode marks ten years of SunCast — and the return of its very first guest.

In 2015, a young GTM Research analyst named Adam James joined host Nico Johnson for the debut episode exploring the rise of solar in Latin America.

A decade later, Adam is a Partner at Energy Impact Partners and Chair of the Clean Energy Leadership Institute (CELI). Together, he and Nico reflect on how far both they—and the clean energy industry—have come.

This isn’t just a reunion; it’s a conversation about how work, leadership, and life e...

“Is your project really compliant?”

That’s the billion-dollar question developers across the U.S. are asking as Foreign Entity of Concern (FEOC) rules tighten their grip on clean energy tax credits. If you are(were) banking on the ITC, PTC, or 45X, you can’t afford to miss this Tactical Tuesday deep-dive.

The rules are shifting. Supply chains are murky. And guidance is still evolving. Host Nico Johnson pulls together an expert panel to decode how FEOC is reshaping the way projects are sourced, engineered, financed, and papered across the U.S. solar an...

What happens when a builder and a coder decide to fix solar’s biggest disconnect?

In this episode, SunCast host Nico Johnson sits down with Maksim Markevich and Ben Callam, the co-founders of PV Farm—a platform born from frustration with designs that look perfect on screen but fall apart in the field.

Maksim, a self-taught engineer from Belarus, learned to code his way out of rebar spreadsheets and into a global following on YouTube. Ben, an architect who traded drawings for job sites across Africa and the Middle East, discovered what buildability real...

Roofers are entering solar. Solar pros are adding roofing. 

How are these trades getting the training & resources required to level up and provide the appropriate level of service to homeowners? Is the future of residential solar trades consolidating int a new kind of contractor?

In this RE+ 2025 live session, Nico sits down with James Mason, VP of Renewable Energy at ABC Supply, to explore the once-in-a-generation convergence of two massive industries—and why the right strategy (and the right partner) makes all the difference.

From short-term wins to 30-year vision, James unp...

Did you know that more than 185,000 solar customers in the US have been abandoned by their installers? How will we take care of these “Orphaned” solar systems? Is this a golden opportunity or fool’s gold?

Nick Sherman sees opportunity where most see chaos. As CEO of Energy Aid, he’s building a national brand in solar service—scaling faster than any of his installer-focused peers. While others race for new installs, Nick is scooping up orphaned systems and building trust with a unique(to this industry at least) membership model.

He’s betting the...

Storage Isn’t Backup—It’s Infrastructure

Wildfires, heat waves, and AI-fueled data centers are pushing our grid to the edge. The question is no longer whether we need storage—it's whether we're going to unlock its full potential.

In this live episode from RE+, Nico is joined by two global leaders from Wärtsilä Energy—Tamara de Gruyter, President of Energy Storage, and David Hebert, VP of Global Sales & Strategy. Together, we  unpack the evolution of batteries from “nice toys” to essential grid infrastructure.

Tamara brings her international lens to the US market, hi...

Why are millions of apartment rooftops still empty while single-family homes cash in on solar savings?

Turns out it’s an accounting problem – a technicality known in industry jargon as the “split-incentive” and it’s keeping renters and property owners sidelined from benefiting from distributed generation on-site.

In this episode, we sit down with Dover Janis, co-founder and CEO of Ivy Energy, to explore the split incentive that’s held multifamily solar back for years. Dover and his team are building the software backbone that makes solar pencil for both property owners and renters - an...

From firehouses to jails to major manufacturing hubs, Cherry Street Energy is redefining what it means to build a distributed power plant—and they’re just getting started.

CEO Michael Chanin returns to SunCast to unpack Cherry Street’s explosive growth across the Southeast, including why customers trust them more than their actual local utilities, how hybrid systems are becoming the norm, and what it takes to build a 100-year business in solar.

With deep roots in culture and customer service, Cherry Street is proving that the future of power isn’t just clean—it...

Landfill explosions, lithium-ion firestorms, and CIA briefings—today’s guest has seen it all - or so she thought!

Kathleen McCaffery’s illustrious firefighting career includes crawling through rubble in Haiti, leading battalions as one of the first female fire chiefs in North America, and even rewriting Tesla’s global fire safety strategy. This episode takes us into uncharted territory as Tesla recruits a retired firefighter to address global concerns over battery [fire] safety.

Most solar companies are woefully underprepared to interact with firefighting agencies, and that’s increasingly going to create friction and unnece...

More batter density = more value, right? Not so fast.

In this episode, we challenge the hype around energy storage density—and reveal what really drives value for battery storage assets.

At RE+ 2025, Nico Johnson got to connect with two powerhouse product leaders from Wärtsilä Energy Storage: Neha Sinha, Head of Hardware Portfolio, and Ruchira Shah, Lead for Software Product Management. Together, they’re crystal clear about how hardware and software integration impacts performance, revenue, and long-term viability in energy storage projects. And how that translates to strategic value for battery operators.

If y...

1 in 5 solar panels are failing—and it’s not because of hail.

A quiet reliability crisis is cracking open across the industry, and it starts with glass.

In this eye-opening conversation, Nico Johnson sits down with Tristan Erion-Lorico (Kiwa PVEL) and Dr. Teresa Barnes (NREL) to uncover why glass breakage has become the #1 cause of solar module failure. Backed by PVEL’s latest reliability data, they expose how design shortcuts, material stress, and quality-control lapses are pushing failure rates to an alarming 20%.

You’ll learn:

🔹 Why “tempered” glass isn’t always truly te...

Is the world’s most powerful energy data set hiding in plain sight?

Justin Locke, former RMI leader and now Executive Director of Global Energy Monitor, joins Nico to uncover how real data—not just rhetoric—is shaping the future of global energy. If you've ever looked at a chart on coal retirements, gas pipelines, or solar growth, chances are it came from GEM. Or at least, the person who created it was likely using this little-known FREE Open-source data set.

In this episode, we go deep into the data warehouse purpose-built to help i...

The $2/Watt Challenge: Can We Get There?

Is $2/watt solar a pipe dream—or a real target we can hit in the next few years?

Patrick Crane, Global Head of Growth at OpenSolar (and solar pioneer since Sungevity), says not only is it possible, but we already know how to get there. In this conversation, Patrick breaks down the most bloated parts of the cost stack—from customer acquisition to permitting delays to clunky tech stacks—and lays out a clear path to radically cheaper solar installs.

Drawing on two decades in sol...

Why is solar so expensive in the U.S.?

Nick Josefowitz has the receipts—and a plan to fix it.

In this episode, we dig into one of the largest hidden reasons rooftop solar costs $35,000+ for the average American homeowner (while in Australia it's closer to $6K). Spoiler: It’s not the panels—it’s the paperwork.

Nick is the founder of Permit Power, a nonprofit laser-focused on making solar faster, cheaper, and easier to install by tackling the bottlenecks that most people overlook: permitting and interconnection. Drawing from his experience as both...

Planning to attend NYC Climate Week?

Already there!? 

When Nico realized he had to make a last-minute trip to NYC this week during climate week, he reached out to two friends who could give him a solid education on what to expect (and where to focus) for this week’s NYC Week. 

Whether you’re flying in from the West Coast or crossing borough lines, this episode is your essential survival guide to one of the most chaotic, inspiring, and decentralized climate events on the planet.

Nico did a live s...

Nearly 1 billion people still live without reliable electricity. Nedjip Tozun co-founded d.light to change that—starting with a $10 solar lantern and growing into one of the world’s most influential off-grid solar companies.

Today, d.light has already impacted hundreds of millions of lives and aspires to reach 1 billion by 2030, bringing affordable, clean energy to the people and places traditional grids overlook.

In this conversation, Nedjip shares the spark that launched d.light, the toughest hurdles they faced, and the financial and leadership innovations that helped them scale globally. A masterclass in entr...

The Wake-Up Call We Can’t Ignore

Clean energy isn’t losing the economics game—it’s losing the political one.

Jigar Shah returns to SunCast live at RE+ 2025 with an urgent message: the energy transition will stall unless we, as an industry, stop underestimating the role of political power. The economics are there. The technology is there. What’s missing? Unity, speed, and ground-level influence.

This isn’t just another policy chat—Jigar breaks down:

🔹How residential solar can reach $2.50/watt (including storage!)

🔹Why storage-first thinking is flipping the sola...

Straight from Day 3 at RE+ 2025, this replay of the PowerUp Live Morning Show and Daily Round Up wraps up an incredible week of insights from the clean energy leaders driving the industry forward.

Nico Johnson, Lisa Ann Pinkerton, and Sylvia Leyva Martinez close out the final day with bold takeaways, surprising perspectives, and a few laughs. From the future of tribal energy to the flow of investment capital and the race to build a domestic supply chain, this finale captures the urgency and optimism powering clean tech.

Brendan Bell – Aligned Climate Capital

• Why clea...

Straight from Day 2 at RE+ 2025, this replay of the PowerUp Live Morning Show and Daily Round Up continues our mission to bring you insights from the leaders shaping the clean energy transition.

Nico Johnson, Lisa Ann Pinkerton, and Sylvia Martinez welcome industry voices who share fresh perspectives on the policies, technologies, and strategies pushing renewable energy forward. From SEIA’s advocacy work to storage breakthroughs and how homes can become part of the grid, this episode captures the fast-moving conversation in Las Vegas.

Straight from Day 1 at RE+ 2025, this replay of the PowerUp Live Morning Show and Daily Round Up brings you a fast-moving mix of leaders shaping the clean energy transition—from domestic steel to EVs, hydrogen, DG, big-grid storage, and much more.

Nico Johnson, Lisa Ann Pinkerton and Sylvia Martinez welcome leaders, influencers and clean tech podcasters onto the stage. Here is who you can expect to hear from in this episode, straight from Day 1 at RE+ 2025:

“Storage Was Never Just an Add-On”

What if we’ve been thinking too small about batteries?

In this rebroadcast from RE+, Kiran Kumaraswamy, former VP of Growth at Fluence, makes a bold case for reimagining energy storage—not just as a renewable add-on, but as a foundational tool for grid transformation. Kiran breaks down how the energy storage sector evolved from supporting solar to replacing gas peakers, enhancing transmission, and becoming central to resiliency planning.  Long before the IRA supercharged the market, he was urging utilities and regulators to rethink what batteries could do—and no...

Heading to Las Vegas for RE+ 2025? This episode is your ultimate field guide.

We’ve got the inside scoop from SunCast host Nico Johnson and some of the industry leaders shaping this year’s event—from Abby Hopper’s optimistic industry outlook to Jigar Shah’s no-nonsense advice for finding your tribe in the midst of uncertainty. You’ll also hear from RE+ content architect Kathy Schott, social media guide Derek Mast, sales pro Ethan Ehlers, and Daily Morning Show co-host Lisa Ann Pinkerton as they break down how to navigate the largest clean energy show in Nort...

"You're not in the solar industry anymore."

That bold declaration from Jigar Shah at RE+ 2023 sparked debate, shifted mindsets—and now, two years later, is being realized.

Nico Johnson recently revisited the discussion with Jigar for a current-day check-in before diving into the full, original conversation that started it all. As the then-Director of the DOE Loan Programs Office, Jigar laid out a compelling case: the future for solar installers is not solar at all. It’s storage, VPPs, and full-blown grid integration.

If you think you’re just in solar, you’re...

Is the U.S. solar manufacturing boom standing on a hollow foundation?

In this live episode from PV ModuleTech USA, Nico sits down with solar industry veteran Arndt E. Lutz, a global exec who’s seen it all—from Germany’s early solar rise to hydrogen innovation and now leading EliTe Solar’s manufacturing efforts.

Despite America’s massive build-out of module assembly plants, there's a gaping hole in the supply chain: solar cell manufacturing. Arndt lays out the challenge with clarity—and urgency. It's not just about economics. It’s water, power, permitting, an...

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-weather performance to noise, he busts the myths about heat pumps and outlines why they haven’t hit mass adoption in North America.

Spoiler: it’s not the tech...

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 Illinois provide a glimpse into the agency that individual States have in managing their way through this energy transition? Doug reveals the behind-the-scenes challenges of regula...

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 storytelling, scaling influence, and building a media brand that moves the clean energy industry forward.

Nico shares how podcasting became his outlet for deeper industry insight—and how a singl...

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 2025 to unpack how modern solar companies are rethinking service, liability, and the real value of a system warranty. Dean outlines the pitfalls of relying solely on manufacturer coverage—and why smart co...

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 curveballs.

In this live conversation from the NABCEP 2025 stage, Andrew unpacks the economic and operational bottlenecks plaguing U.S. residential solar—and how he’s helping contractors fight back. From per...

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 doing it cleaner and cheaper than China. Born from a contrarian bet on distressed coal assets, ReElement is now on the frontlines of the U.S. effort...

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.

Jason shares how his team is transforming the design process by putting drones and data at the center of solar workflows. The result? Fewer change orde...

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. 

But the core of this episode brings a critical warning: what happens when over 80% of the U.S. battery infrastructure is owned or influenced by foreign governments? And how shoul...

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!  So, if you’re here because you’re asking yourself “What the heck? Why did NXT Buy this company, and what do they actually do?!” then you’re in luck!

In this...

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 the solar and storage space—and what smart companies are doing to stay ahead.

From Capitol Hill chaos to customer acquisition woes, this conversati...

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 funding with high-accuracy irradiance and resource assessment data.

In this episode, you’ll discover how Ann turned a mid-life career pivot into a multimillion-dollar clean energy business that developers and financie...

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 understand how footprint, lead times, and complexity have historically stalled C&I battery storage adoption.  But that’s all rapidly changing thanks to smarter tech, tighter energy ma...

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 glimpse inside the magnificent machine that is NXT!

Jonathan Eastwood, Nextracker’s SVP of Sales, has seen the clean energy industry evolve from the ground up—literally. In this long-await...

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, CEO of Amicus O&M Cooperative, and Karo Fernandez, Technical Training manager at AES Clean Energy. Together, they have helped create and rollout ANSI/SEIA 301, the first ANSI-accredited standard defini...

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 Jason’s team on full display, and the latest SRA dropped in Mid-June, so we’re here to cover the details for you.

We’re presently in a...

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 Roselund, returns to SunCast to unpack the real implications of the recently passed Megabill—a sweeping piece of legislation that r...