Suncast

209: SPI'2019 Podcaster Roundtable: Jon Powers, Barry Cinnamon and Nico discuss using Podcasts as a marketing channel This Flashback Friday is with my good friend Jon Powers, whose podcast, Experts Only, is also required listening If you are into the solar and finance of our business, as well as the respectable Mr. Barry Cinnamon, one of the entrepreneurs I admire most in our business. He's got a long track record not just as a solar entrepreneur, but also as a broadcaster with his show the Energy Show that has been syndicated in California for quite some time. I admire both this gentlemen for their ability to navigate the conversations so their deep and rich, and I invited them to join me at the Podcast Lounge Live at SPI 2019 specifically to talk about what is going on today within the podcasting activity, and how folks in business are leveraging the power of podcasting to broadcast their message, and not just to start their own podcast as the 3 of us have done it. We give some tips on how you as well can l

208: SPI'2019 Community Solar Roundtable This is one of the few Community Solar sessions that we've hosted here on SunCast. In fact, one of today's guests is a returning guest: Mr. David Amster-Olszewski of SunShare, and he graced the SunCast pages as it were back in January of 2019. He's joined by another alumnus, Mr. Jake Rozmaryn of Antenna Group, and a longtime friend and someone I've wanted to get onto the show Mr. MJ Shiao of Arcadia power. I've wanted to interview MJ since his Green Tech Media days so I’m thrilled he was able to participate in this Community Solar Roundtable. We dig into the hot markets, the how and why of Community Solar, where are the stumbling blocks, but also how do we really see this as a model that can/would expand? Remember you can always find me on Twitter, LinkedIn or email and you can get the resources and learn more about how to find our guests or their recommendations on the SunCast Blog. While you're there, I’d be honored if you’d take 2 min and fill out our Listener Surve

207: 2020 Megatrends Report w/Brian Sifton Brian Sifton is the Sustainability Program Manager for Black & Veatch, one of the most respected engineering consulting firms in the power & infrastructure sector. And he’s also one of the authors of the new Megatrends report that B&V is releasing today Dec 17th. B&V surveyed hundreds of customers from Water, Infrastructure, Power and other industries and the report triangulates convergence in these Megatrends.  Today we highlight for you some of the opportunities to think about how these trends might correlate to your own business.  There’s a link to the report over on the blog at www.mysuncast.com where you can find more Tactical Tuesdays like this one. While you're there, I’d be honored if you’d take 2 min and fill out our Listener Survey.  Remember you can always find me on Twitter, LinkedIn or email and you can get the resources and learn more about how to find Tim or his recommendations on the SunCast Blog. Thanks to our podcast sponsors for con

206: Unlocking Financing for Unrated Organizations I had the honor of sitting down with the Chief Operating Officer of Energetic Insurance, Jeff McAulay, and the Executive Vice President of Energy and Infrastructure Group of Live Oak Bank, Jordan Blanchard, to discuss a recurrent barrier in the Commercial & Industrial solar industry: unrated small organizations. If you love this episode, let me know on Twitter, LinkedIn or email! And Let Adam know too! Twitter I hope you’ll take advantage of my current Coaching and SunCast Guild offers - have you checked them out?  Remember you can always find the resources and learn more about today’s guest & recommendations on the SunCast Blog.  Thanks to our podcast sponsors for continuing to help make this content free to You! IF you have stuck Commercial Solar projects, you really should consider how they can help: Energetic Insurance and Extensible Energy Learn more by clicking on their respective company links.

205: Adam Browning of Vote Solar Today’s Entrepreneur knows all about the power of voting with your feet!  Since 2002, Vote Solar has been working to make solar affordable and accessible to more Americans, supporting the policies and programs needed to repower our grid with clean energy. Adam Browning and Vote Solar have served a critical role in the rollout of successful state solar policies nationwide. When Adam sat down with me at the Podcast Lounge in Salt Lake City this past September, I wanted to dig into the origin story, and Adam gave me much more. Today you’ll learn the 4 pillars of policy success Vote Solar stands on, the 5 focus areas they’re leaning into, hardest won battles (and States), Adam’s Theory of Change model and his 2050 prediction. If you love this episode, let me know on Twitter, LinkedIn or email! And Let Adam know too! Twitter I hope you’ll take advantage of my current Coaching and SunCast Guild offers - have you checked them out?  Remember you can always find the resources and learn

204: How Storage is Disrupting Caribbean Thermal Generation Models I'd love to hear your thoughts on SunCast! Take our survey here: https://www.mysuncast.com/survey Tim Effio is responsible for Latam & Caribbean markets for the global energy storage market leader, Fluence.  We discuss the role of storage in the evolution of the Caribbean energy markets, and we go down the rabbit hole of Utility grid services, solar plus storage and even business development concepts that just might help your company grow! Gain access to all the show notes & resources from this episode here You can connect w/host, Nico Johnson, on Twitter, LinkedIn or email  Thanks a ton to our podcast sponsors for continuing to help make this content FREE to You! Please check them out and let me know what you think!

203: Marketing Agency Roundtable I'd love to hear your thoughts on SunCast! Take our survey here: https://www.mysuncast.com/survey Flashback Friday is my way of giving you a glimpse back at something we did recently that I think you should have a listen to. Today's episode is from our SPI Podcast Lounge where we had a Marketing Agency Roundtable. You can connect w/host, Nico Johnson, on Twitter, LinkedIn or email  Thanks a ton to our podcast sponsors for continuing to help make this content FREE to You! Please check them out and let me know what you think!

202: Mikhail Gofman of Green Think Energy I'd love to hear your thoughts on SunCast! Take our survey here: https://www.mysuncast.com/survey Today’s entrepreneur is a young gun but is no stranger to hustle and has proven his grit and worth in the startup world. Mikhail Gofman started Green Think Energy, a solar design firm, from his graduate school dorm room while pursuing a Masters in Mechanical Engineering. Today his company is doing thousands of designs per month and these savvy Millenials are here to teach us about the value of hard work, starting early and taking risks to get ahead! Mikhail and I get into the company’s humble beginnings, how they’ve 100% bootstrapped the venture to date and the future of engineering automation. This is one up-and-comer’s story you won’t want to miss! I hope you’ll take advantage of my current Coaching and SunCast Guild offers - have you checked them out? (I discuss more in the episode) Looking for today’s guest on Social Media?Remember you can always find the resources a

#201: Kristina Skierka, Founder of Power For All Today I’m doing my first ever episode dedicated to Giving Tuesday, a fitting way to kick off Season 5 of SunCast! Today’s Entrepreneur, Kristina Skierka has been a catalyst since early childhood, and today is dedicated to inspiring and empowering entrepreneurs, governments and nonprofits globally to lift others out of energy poverty. She started Power For All in 2015 with a bold mission: delivering access to energy for the 85 percent of the 1.1 billion people without reliable power that live in rural areas by the year 2025. And we’re closer than you might think! I hope you’ll also be inspired to give back, and we provide some thoughtful ways to do that near the end of today’s episode. Gain access to all the show notes & resources from this episode here Thanks to our podcast sponsors for continuing to help make this content free to You! IF you have stuck Commercial Solar projects, you really should consider how they can help: Energetic Insurance and Extensi

#200: SPI, American-Made Solar Prize Winners Episode number 200 of SunCast!  I hope you’re having a restful day as many of you here in the US are enjoying a holiday, and likely still feeling stuffed and grateful from yesterday's Thanksgiving celebration. The last 4 years have really flown by, but so have the last 100 episodes! We have done our 2nd 100 episodes in 1/3rd the time it took for the first 100, and I tell you the feedback is amazing. I love hearing from you all, and am so grateful for the tribe we’ve built. If you’re not subscribed to our email, then you already missed out on our first announcement today of our Black Friday weekend special on membership to the SunCast Tribe, so I encourage you to pause the intro and go ahead over to mysuncast.com (we’ve even linked to it in the description right there in your podcast player) and subscribe. This is the lowest it’s ever going to be to join our Tribe, so take advantage now. Ok, welcome back… To celebrate our 200th episode, you guessed it, I’m releasing

#199: SunCast Live w/Aurora Co-Founder Today’s entrepreneur is Sam Adeyemo, Co-founder and COO of Aurora Solar. I’m sure many of you have heard of Aurora, as their flagship design software has been used to design over 2 Million solar projects since they launched in 2013! And believe me, they are just getting started. This interview introduces a lot of never-before-asked-on-SunCast questions and a lot of things that even Sam admits he hasn’t really talked about in public before. But today’s episode is even more special because it was also recorded in front of a live audience at the Aurora headquarters in San Francisco last month at our first ever SunCast Live event! Gain access to all the show notes & resources from this episode here - Join the Tribe? Check out Episode 86, in which I explain how YOU can become a SunCast Tribe member and support the growth and stability of SunCast moving forward! www.mysuncast.com/member to join today! If you like what you see and hear, please SHARE it with this pre-filled

#198: Karin Berardo Tactical Tuesday I got great feedback on episode 183 back in September with my friend and returning guest Karin Berardo where we touched on the topic of ESG. It’s clear that ESG is a hot topic these days, and it’s also clear that it’s not one that’s well understood. So, Karin is back to give us a primer on the subject to which she’s now dedicating most of her time. Today we discuss the increasingly important role sustainable and socially responsible investing is commanding for Corporate and Institutional investors, and the Environment, Social and Governance criteria that are driving the adoption worldwide. Gain access to all the show notes & resources from this episode here - Join the Tribe? Check out Episode 86, in which I explain how YOU can become a SunCast Tribe member and support the growth and stability of SunCast moving forward! www.mysuncast.com/member to join today! If you like what you see and hear, please SHARE it with this pre-filled tweet!

Hey there solar warriors, I know many of you have been waiting for us to release the episodes recorded LIVE at the Podcast Lounge SPI 2019. We're kicking things off with this dynamic duo, by no means strangers to the renewables industry: Julia Hamm and Abigail Hopper. Together, they run two of the most prominent organizations providing advocacy for the solar and smart-power industries. Julia is the President and CEO of the Smart Electric Power Alliance (SEPA). And, Abby is the President and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA). While I'm sure many of you, as I, still refer to this tradeshow as SPI, one of the first things we discussed is the rebrand to being North America Smart Energy Week (NASEW). Our conversation was framed by many other questions that perhaps some of you have asked yourselves recently, such as why Salt Lake City for this year's SPI, or how much time they plan in advance to decide venues? Julia and Abby also gave their insights into the expectations for SPI as the largest c

#196: John Chaimanis, Kendall Sustainable Infrastructure Today’s entrepreneur, John Chaimanis, is co-founder and Managing Director of Kendall Sustainable Infrastructure. And our discussion swings from what to consider in a career change, to Lessons learned from working in a predominantly coal-fired portfolio. John found a way to merge his Distrust of the stock market, love of real assets, and passion for doing good while doing well and carved out a slice of the market he’s dubbed “value-added finance”. Learn how John and his team achieve what they refer to as a “frictionless closing” while building long term value and relationships with their development partners. Gain access to all the show notes & resources from this episode here - Join the Tribe? Check out Episode 86, in which I explain how YOU can become a SunCast Tribe member and support the growth and stability of SunCast moving forward! www.mysuncast.com/member to join today! If you like what you see and hear, please SHARE it with this pre-filled t

#195: Robert Styler, SunCrew Today’s entrepreneur happens to be one of the best salesmen in our business, or maybe any business.  Jigar Shah has said of Robert Styler that he’s an expert in bringing multi-level marketing to solar. In fact, his current company, SunCrew, was launched from a phone call with Jigar Shah.  Robert and I dig deep into the pains of failure, the hardships he’s endured being what he called “The stuttering networker” and how he overcame the impediment.  Today we also discuss his new model for re-envisioning customer acquisition and sales commissions, which he calls SunCrew. And Robert is the first to point out, SunCrew is not a network marketing company - it’s what he calls a Capitalist Cooperative. Stick around to learn more about that, and some really great sales advice, life tips, and book recommendations. This is one of the most vulnerable and insightful interviews you may hear all year. Gain access to all the show notes & resources from this episode here - Join the Tribe? Check

#194: Dave Buemi, Energy Materials Corporation Today’s Entrepreneur has enjoyed a broad 22-year history in the solar PV, clean energy innovation, climate change activism and climate resiliency consulting sectors. Rarely do I meet executives with such passion and wide-ranging interests as Dave Buemi. Our mutual love of kitesurfing and energy issues created a fun and inviting atmosphere to discuss topics as wide ranging as the economic viability of the Perovskite technology he’s currently commercializing to Dave’s top 3 list of interests to pursue in the workplace. The founding story and team of Energy Materials Corporation has deep credibility, so I now believe that if anyone can pull of commercial scale perovskite it’s them, but don’t take my word for it, have a listen and judge for yourself! Gain access to all the show notes & resources from this episode here - Join the Tribe? Check out Episode 86, in which I explain how YOU can become a SunCast Tribe member and support the growth and stability of SunCas

#193: Ed Heacox, CPS Energy Today’s entrepreneur has been a power electronics executive for 3 decades. From his early days at GE till today, Ed Heacox has established credibility as a power executive. And since moving into the solar power industry with AE mid 2000’s, he’s been at the helm of not one but two inverter companies that have taken #1 market share in their respective segments. I’ve been an admirer of Ed and his business partner, Casey, for years and have long-awaited the opportunity to learn more about how they have blended their entrepreneurial and corporate endeavors. Today we dig deeper into Ed’s trajectory, including his first startup experience post-graduation from Standford. The stories are telling of an entrepreneur with grit, insight, intuition and perseverance. I hope you’ll get as much out of this discussion as I did. Gain access to all the show notes & resources from this episode here - Join the Tribe? Check out Episode 86, in which I explain how YOU can become a SunCast Tribe member

#192: Sishir Garemella, Sunvest Capital Sishir is the founder of Sunvest Capital, Sunvest brings years of deep solar intelligence combined with expertise in financing to make solar possible by inspiring trust in good quality equipment, providing easy affordable EMIs and monitoring performance across the life of your solar loan. Gain access to all the show notes & resources from this episode here - Join the Tribe? Check out Episode 86, in which I explain how YOU can become a SunCast Tribe member and support the growth and stability of SunCast moving forward! www.mysuncast.com/member to join today! If you like what you see and hear, please SHARE it with this pre-filled tweet!

The clean energy landscape has changed dramatically in the 10 years since Laura Taylor founded Silverline Communications. During that year, newly elected President Barack Obama announced the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) to bring the country back from the brink of recession. The ARRA included billions of federal dollars to fund clean energy research and development, as well as a substantial investment in businesses to drive job growth and economic expansion. Since then, the clean energy industry and the regulatory environment have evolved dramatically. With that advancement, PR and marketing implications have emerged. Our responsibilities as renewables advocates and communicators have shifted, as we work towards the common goal of a bright, sustainable clean energy future.  This discussion was hosted by Silverline Communications during SPI 2019 in Salt Lake City as part of their 10th anniversary celebration. Silverline invited Nico to Emcee the morning session, and introduce the speakers. It w

#190: Antenna Group VP & Forbes 30 Under 30 Jake Rozmaryn has been a starter, an influencer, a leader, and a true industry advocate for more than a decade, belying his youth and making him one of the most connected people in cleantech, let alone solar. If you’ve been longing for more founder stories, especially from the young ones in our business, then stay tuned! Gain access to all the show notes & resources from this episode here - Remember you can always find me on Twitter, LinkedIn or email and you can get the resources and learn more about how to find Jake or his recommendations on the SunCast Blog. Thanks to our podcast sponsors for continuing to help make this content free to You! IF you have stuck Commercial Solar projects, you really should consider how they can help: Energetic Insurance and Extensible Energy Learn more by clicking on their respective company links. If you like what you see and hear, please SHARE it with this pre-filled tweet!