SunCast

"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...

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.

From overcoming community opposition to engineers writing their own press releases (spoiler: don’t), Amanda and Nico explore the gaps that often hold clean energy companies back from widespread adopti...

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 shaping the future of power-hungry infrastructure.

From fuel cells as primary power sources to grid-forming transformers and liquid-cooled AI campuses, this conversation dives deep into what’s working, what’s failing, and what’s comin...

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 unfiltered live keynote from Midwest Solar Expo, Dean reveals:

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 episode, you’ll hear why Brian believes in the future of smart substations, 2,000-volt switches, and solid-state breakers—all designed to meet utilities where they are while pushing the envelo...

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 the clean energy industry to lead. From ditching diesel in data centers to using AI to optimize dispatch and permitting, Microsoft’s commitments are already reshaping how energy is created...

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 we do solar safely and at scale.

In this episode, Nico dives deep with Rebekah to uncover the untold story of the National Electrical Code (NEC), the real r...

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 confusing lease structures, and why every building owner should be thinking like a telecom landlord. Plus: what makes a killer commercial proposal and the surprising financing products Sunstone now offers (hint: they finance...

“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 Intersect Power, Sheldon’s built one of the most forward-thinking development firms in the sector. He shares how Intersect is co-locating massive renewables with gas, batteries...

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, redundant power systems that can handle 24/7 cooling, compute, and connectivity.

In this conversation, you’ll learn how data centers are being redesigned for the AI age—everything from chilled water loops to rooftop...

What makes someone actually care about solar? It’s not the data. It’s the story.

On this special “SundayCast”, Nico sits down with the Reverend himself—Aaron Nichols (okay, not officially a Reverend, but the story behind that title is worth tuning in for). Aaron has made waves as a marketing & advocacy specialist at Exact Solar, helping the company thrive in a time when many others in solar are shrinking. His secret? Telling stories that spark action.

From a school greenhouse in Philly to a donated community solar project, Aaron shares how real narra...

What if a renewable energy power plant could achieve capacity factors above 70%? Wouldn’t that make it, finally, FIRM baseload power, dispatchable and “reliable” for the grid?

Can ai help? What else is required? 

The simple answer is hybridization, but a long-time industry pioneer is here to tell us more.

Martin Hermann has spent the last 2 decades pioneering the future of utility-scale solar. From founding 8minutenergy, one of the first to bring Utility-scale solar parks to the US, to launching BrightNight, focused now on making solar dispatchable, Martin’s mission has stayed co...

“Even the most unsinkable ship can sink.”

That’s Trevor Noah reflecting on the fragility of democracy, and he’s not just here to make you laugh—he’s here to challenge how you think. At CLEANPOWER 2025, Trevor delivers a brilliant, unscripted dialogue with Jason Grumet, the Chief Executive Officer of American Clean Power, unpacking how stories shape our national psyche—and what that means for the clean energy movement.

This episode is full of surprises. From philosophical riffs on the social power of red lights to how a “thank you” at the front door can res...

What if the biggest opportunity in solar has been hiding in plain sight?

Josh Goldberg is no stranger to solar. He’s a multi-exit founder who helped shape residential solar finance—and now he’s back to tackle the “messy middle” of commercial solar. After stepping away from the industry, Josh returned with a mission: to unlock the underfinanced, overlooked world of small-to-mid-sized commercial solar.

In this episode, Josh shares how Sunstone Credit is solving a billion-dollar bottleneck—by giving installers and non-rated businesses the financing tools they’ve always needed. He opens up about what’...

Winter is coming

If you're a solar or battery developer, especially in utility-scale or C&I, you're likely feeling it already: capital has tightened, exits have dried up, and project timelines are stretching longer than ever. Sound familiar?

Rob Sternthal, co-founder of XIP and a two-decade veteran of clean energy finance, joins Nico to deliver a tactical wake-up call. This isn’t just another “market update”—it’s a field guide for navigating what could be the most turbulent season the industry has faced in most of your careers. Rob breaks down the myths deve...

What if your rooftop solar could do more than just power your fridge?

Karl Andersen believes it can—and should—power the future of AI.

Karl unpacks the grid’s biggest vulnerabilities, why data centers lack critical power infrastructure, and how we can turn solar-powered homes into the building blocks of a decentralized compute network. Lektra’s tech fuses distributed energy with cloud computing—think “Raspberry Pi meets Tesla Powerwall meets AI.” The result? A game-changing business model where solar homeowners become micro data centers—and start earning like one.

From national securit...

If you think batteries are just for backup, think again. The post-NEM 3.0 world has flipped residential solar economics—and companies like TeraHive are leading a storage revolution that’s all about ROI, not just resilience.

Ram Bhat, Head of Product at TeraHive, explores how software-first thinking and DC-coupled architecture are transforming what’s possible in home energy systems. Ram brings deep expertise from Enphase, fuel cells, and flywheels into a conversation that’s equal parts technical and strategic.

You’ll hear why the next big winners in storage will nail low cost, modularity, and softwa...

What if your truck could power your house—and save you hundreds a month on electricity?

Could your EV be a secret energy arbitrage opportunity?

Barry Cinnamon, a true solar pioneer, shows that it’s possible right now with Vehicle-to-Home (V2H) systems. Listen in as Barry breaks down why V2H is finally ready for prime time—and why the utility-centric V2X model is failing to deliver real value for homeowners.

Barry's message is clear: customers want control, not complexity. And with a 240V inverter in your EV (at least...

Why haven’t more homeowners installed batteries—despite growing outages and rising rates? I tend to agree with Vinnie Campo, co-founder and CEO of Haven Energy, who believes the answer lies in who owns the asset. 

But beyond who owns the asset (and assuming, then, that it should not be the homeowner?), is there a way to deliver a truly zero-cost, fully managed battery system that benefits both homeowners and the grid?

In this episode, Vinnie shares how Haven is flipping the script on residential energy storage. Backed by strategic investors (and co-founded by fo...

The biggest threat to scaling community solar isn’t cost. It’s interconnection.

Live from the PowerUp Stage at RE+ Northeast, Samantha Weaver of the Coalition for Community Solar Access dives into why so many promising clean energy projects never make it past the planning phase. Spoiler: it’s not because the technology isn’t ready—it’s because the system isn’t.

With jaw-dropping examples (a 100-project backlog that would take 50 years to process?!), Samantha breaks down how sluggish utility review processes, outdated cost models, and data black holes are bringing progress to a crawl.

You can buy solar panels in many places around the world for around 10 cents-a-watt— so why are Americans still paying an average of about $3.70 for every watt installed?

In this candid and fiery live episode, Nico Johnson sits down with long-time clean energy champions Andrew Birch and Kerim Baran to unpack what’s really slowing down solar deployment in the U.S. The verdict? Bureaucracy, bad trade policy, and a lack of open-market access are dragging us down.

From SolarApp to tariffs to balcony solar, this conversation delivers a clear-eyed exploration of clean ener...

What if the utility bill you barely understand holds the key to stabilizing the grid, accelerating electrification, and saving you money?

Rachel Bryant has spent nearly 20 years navigating the complex world of energy regulation—as both an engineer and a lawyer. Now at GridX, she’s helping utilities across the country translate convoluted tariff structures into clear, actionable decisions for customers. The result? Better engagement, smarter energy use, and a grid that can flex with our electrifying future.

Recorded live at RE+ Northeast, this conversation unpacks why traditional cost-of-service rate structures are crumbling unde...

Texas: where oil and gas once reigned supreme—and now, renewables are rewriting the rules.

In this special live episode recorded at Intersolar & Energy Storage North America 2025, Doug Lewin and Nico Johnson flip the script. Doug takes the mic to interview Nico about his biggest takeaways from the show, and the two dive deep into what’s fueling Texas' meteoric rise in solar, storage, and energy expansion.

Expect a candid, behind-the-scenes conversation about why Texas has become the unexpected juggernaut of clean energy—and what risks could upend that growth if policymakers aren't carefu...