Suncast

Episode 49 - the missing link(s) to solid growthThis week's episode is one I REALLY enjoyed recording for 2 reasons. #1, it's mostly unscripted because of #2, it's after dinner with one of my favorite humans, Scott Mueller, and we aptly dubbed it the first Winecast, over a great bottle of Vino - It's officially WineCast #2 (see Episode 46 for WineCast #1) but let's not get into semantics!Today I'll keep the intro short & focused on 2 important things you need to know, that tie back to today's chat w/Scott.Thing 1: Scott is one of my solar brothers, part of my Scene, my tribe.What does that mean, and why do you care? Well, that's the topic of next week's episode, which is #50, and which celebrates 2 awesome milestones in MY Life - my 38th birthday - AND the 2nd anniversary of the launch of SunCast!So, next week's episode will take a look at how we build community, what has SunCast become over the first 50 episodes, how you all have in fact become my tribe of sorts, and what you can expect from the next 100

Welcome to SunCast, and Episode 48! Today we'll be spending time with a friend who's no stranger to the media and spotlight surrounding solar, and who has been a major voice advocating for the solar industry's maturity both as a resource and as a marketing community vying for people's attention in a crowded space.  Tor Valenza, AKA, Solar Fred, is a strategy advisor and communications consultant for a number of well-known companies, and regularly shares his insights, thoughts and recommendations with us through social media and online publications. So I thought I'd have Tor come on SunCast to not only dig into his background, but to hear his take on how solar companies can learn from the best marketers in the world and what we should be doing to up our game. In today's episode, Tor and I discuss: The making of Solar Fred What is branding, and how are solar companies getting it right What's holding many solar companies back The failures that have led to Tor's successes What you can learn from a giant solar p

Welcome to Episode 46 of SunCast. I'm your host, Nico Johnson, and I'm so glad you're back with me again this week!  My friend, and fellow podcaster, Jeff Spies, has been in the solar industry for nearly exactly the same amount of time I have (that's 11 yrs and counting!) and I don't think Anybody has spent as much time as he has thinking about how to tell the story of the dawn of the Solar PV Industry and the vanguards who ushered it out of obscurity and into mainstream. His Solar Pioneer parties are legendary, so stay tuned to hear how you can attend the 3rd and final one this November! In today's episode, we get into detail about: Jeff's journey into solar, from his early days at AEE to now What exactly is this Solar Pioneers party he keeps talking about on LinkedIn and Facebook and why you should attend? Which contractor trade Jeff expects solar to most resemble as it continues to evolve His take on Hot or Not, and of course, books, lessons learned and much more. If YOU have someone or something you thi

Welcome to Episode 46 of SunCast. Today we will be spending time with my new friend, Pamela Cargill of Chaolysti Management Consulting.  Stay tuned for: Insights into how small companies prepare for growth in solar Solid tools Pam uses to coach her clients along that path What its like leaving corporate to run your own consulting business, from a woman's perspective And about a dozen other insights gleaned from this hour with Pam Pam cut her teeth more than a decade ago schlepping modules on a crew installing in the Northeast. She then moved up to the marketing and operations teams at Sungevity before stepping out on her own. So, she understands how to help companies get to scale, address common misconceptions, and how to frame the conversation.     By the time you hear this, you may already be on a plane to Vegas, or perhaps you missed it but you're finally catching up on episodes, that's ok too! If you do hear it ahead of SPI, I still have some spots available for interviews, and there will be lots of opp

Welcome to Episode 45 of SunCast. We're here to help you unlock your potential as a leader in the solar industry. The recent Solar Pioneers Series we have begun, and some upcoming series on Solar Storage, Understanding Solar Finance, and more are aimed at helping you unlock the potential stored in the wisdom of Other people's struggles, growth and success stories, so I hope you keep coming back for more!  Today, we'll take another pause in the Solar Pioneers series, returning to Latin America and a discussion I recorded live at the SolarPlaza Unlocking Solar Capital event in Miami back in June.   The first segment of this week's show (about 11 minutes) is from the "Keys to unlocking Capital for the Offgrid Market" panel moderated by Robert Constantino, with guests   JUAN FERMÍN RODRIGUEZ CEO & CO-FOUNDER // KINGO ENERGY JOSÉ ORDÓÑEZ CO-FOUNDER // HYBRICO ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES ANDY BINDEA FOUNDER & CEO // SIGORA INTERNATIONAL ANNE GERSET SENIOR IMPACT INVESTMENT MANAGER // ENGIE FERNANDO ALVARADO PRESIDE

Welcome to Episode 44 of SunCast, Solar Warrior! I'm so glad you are with me again this week! We're back with another edition of the Solar Pioneers Series, and today's guest hails from the East Coast of the US. I know what you are thinking - "Wait a minute, Nico, aren't all the solar pioneers from California?" Not all of them!  Back in the 70s and 80s, there were a number of companies in and around the DC area that were quite innovative. Among them, Solarex. Today's guest was one of the early employees at Solerex. When I met Tony back in 2010, he was the CEO of Standard Solar, a company he continues to lead today.  I have had the pleasure of watching Standard Solar become one of the fastest growing and important solar companies, not just in the North East region, but now with an established presence across the US. In today's episode, Tony and I discuss: What it was like to work for Solarex in the 70s. What Tony believes are the fundamentals or bellwether signs of a maturing industry (and where solar is along

Welcome to Episode 43 of SunCast, Solar Warrior! While I was recently in SF for the Intersolar N.America show, I was on the lookout for products that I thought were innovative.  Thanks to my friend Tor Valenza, aka Solar Fred, I was introduced to the guys from Smappee.  Smappee is WAY more than just a monitoring device, and I had the privilege to sit down with the founder, Stefen Grosjean, himself a serial entrepreneur, to dig into exactly how he his positioning the US launch of this innovative product already available in 80+ countries! I'm happy to bring you that conversation, recorded live from Intersolar. In today's episode, we learn: How Stefen and the Smappee team have been disrupting the building automation and information business for years What exactly does Smappee do, and how could it revolutionize the smart home, not just connecting solar, but basically everything in the home What Stefen means that every appliance in the home has a "fingerprint", and how smappee can "hear" it all with only ONE sen

Welcome to Episode 42 of SunCast, and episode 3 of our Solar Pioneers series. Today we're picking up on Part 2 of our Episode 40 with Cory Vaughan. If you missed the previous episode, please do take some time to go back and hear how it all started.  Cory has had the good fortune of being an early team member with a front row seat to several startups that have become industry-leading behemoths, and in today's episode, we get into detail about: The truth about Sunedison's rooftop leasing practices and whether it created an advantage How Sunedison set up regulatory affairs and other inside information on upcoming market development How SunEdison seemed to Always be ahead of the cost curve on solar project pricing What it was really like to ride the rise and fall of the MEMC acquisition and company explosion Cory's vision for financing and storage solution that will help the C&I market Hot or Not, from DG to SAAS for solar to grid stabilization Cory's advice to developers from his owned lessons learned And w

Welcome to Episode 41 of SunCast. Today we'll chat with a friend who has done some pioneering work in solar R&D and in setting the bar for Women in Solar. I had the privilege to work with Jing Tian when she first got to Trina Solar in 2014, and have been impressed from day One.  She was recently promoted as President of Trina's North America business unit. And I think that you'll understand after today's episode exactly why she has been able to achieve the great heights she presently enjoys. In today's episode, we get into detail about: Jing's journey through various startup failures to arrive at now the top regional position for one of the largest and most respected Solar manufacturers in the world. The contrast of working at solar startups in thin film and CPV versus one of the largest crystalline module manufacturers Jing's approach to new product introduction Her thoughts on career development, especially as a woman in a mostly male industry Of course we play hot or Not And I get Jing to dispel some

Wow, Episode 40 of SunCast! And you're gonna love it. This is a long-ish intro, for a longer episode, so settle in for what I hope you'll agree is a fun and fact-filled episode. Today we're continuing what I have dubbed the Solar Pioneers series. I have chosen to use the term Pioneers primarily because the folks in this SunCast interview series have indeed been pioneers of business models and companies contributing to what might be called the modern Solar PV Growth era, beginning around the mid 1990's and into the 2000's growing some of today's iconic businesses. Though as we discovered last week (and this one as well), many of my guests have been in the solar biz since the 80's, and have been instrumental in helping our industry scale to become one of global importance and dominance.    I first met Cory Vaughan in 2009, and have been dying to get him on SunCast. Cory has had the good fortune of being an early team member with a front row seat to several startups that have become industry-leading bohemoths, a

Welcome to Episode 39 of SunCast. We're going to continue our trip down memory lane this week, in what might be more like a Back-to-the-Future style episode for SunCast. Today I'm launching what I call the Solar Pioneers series, and I'm honored, and super excited, to have the first in this series be with none other than Mr. Solar, Shugar Magic, Mr. Dan Shugar, CEO of NEXTracker, and one of the most successful folks I know in the business. This conversation diverges from my typical interview format but is nonetheless packed with information on how one of our industry's leaders thinks about starting and scaling a business. Along the way, we touch on Dan's roots as an engineer and researcher and how that has influenced his career path and leadership style The 3 keys to growth of any startup The practical side of institutionalizing a corporate culture that is both aggressive and forgiving, empowering yet accountable, fun and fast-paced with industry-leading low turnover Dan's thoughts on squeezing even more pow

Today we are going to take a trip down memory lane, to a time when names like Trina and Jinko Solar were yet unheard of in the solar industry, a time when the largest brands were BP, and Conergy, and countless other mainly western names you may or may not recognize.  When I joined Trina solar back in 2011, I became aware of a legendary figure who had been responsible for building the sales team there, and who had subsequently moved on to another Chinese company.  That mythical figure is the eponymous Arturo Herrero, and at long last we got a chance to sit down at the Miami Solarplaza event. Arturo has forgotten more things about growing a solar business than most of us have learned. I learned a lot from Arturo, and I think you will too.  We cover How Arturo climbed the ranks at BP Solar, and how he was ultimately enticed to move to China for a fledgling solar panel startup! The contrast between growing Trina Solar's team and later moving over to repeat the process at Jinko Solar How Arturo, who travels a to

Welcome to Episode 37 of SunCast. Bob Blenker is CEO of WRB Energy, an Independent Power Producer who is perhaps most well known in the solar space for the 28MW solar plant they built after winning the first Jamaica solar tender.   Bob has done development in just about all types of energy, and is one of the most knowledgeable people I know and trust when it comes to learning about how this "game" works.  He's also traveled the world developing all types of projects and his stories are some of the funniest and interesting I've ever heard. I loved hearing his insights into how they think about new market development, project funding, diversification, and many other topics. This week's episode is a bit long, at 82 minutes, but well worth it.  You can get the full show notes and links to books and other resources if you head over to the blog at mysuncast.com.  If you like what you hear, please SHARE it! SunCast is brought to you by Solrates. SolRates helps solar installers provide instant online financing quotes

Welcome to Episode 36 of SunCast. Today we will be spending time with Edgar Arvizu, VP of Development at major global IPP, Sonnedix.  Edgar was one of my original guests back in Episode 4 of the SunCast launch!  Stoked to have him back for round 2. Edgar is one of the top solar development leaders in the world today. I had fun asking him some probing questions, specifically about who, what when and where to build development teams, skills and strategy. Stick around if you're interested in hearing: What markets Edgar is spending most of his time in these days Advice he'd give to himself now 8 yrs riding the solarcoaster Key takeaways from mentors in his career Critical things developers should STOP doing And what areas of solar development Edgar sees around the corner that excites him the most You can get the full show notes and links to books and other resources if you head over to the blog at mysuncast.com. If you like what you hear, please SHARE it! SunCast is brought to you by Solrates. SolRates helps s

Welcome to another minisode here on SunCast. If you're new here, I'm your host, Nico Johnson, and we're here to help you unlock your potential as a leader in the solar industry. The show is usually long-form narrative, so these minisodes are brief 20 min or so morsels of sunlight to get you through the workweek. I'd like to wish a belated happy birthday to today's guest, Santiago Barcon, who I had the distinct pleasure of spending time with on a recent trip down to Mexico.  The recording was done on the terrace of a café on a busy Mexico City street, so while we've tried to clean it up, you will certainly hear the usual street noise. Nonetheless, I think you'll get value from the conversation today if you'd like to know more about: The recent Mexico energy auctions and his thoughts on the energy reform What Santiago believes more energy professionals should do to strengthen their creativity and analytical capabilities Details of the historical 120MW energy contract with the capital city Metro company The 4 t

Welcome to Episode 33 of SunCast Today you'll meet my friend, Sarah Chapman, Co-Founder & CEO of Faro Energy.  I Some Takeaways from today's episode: Looking at the C&I solar market in Latin America from a developer perspective How to partner with financing sources who are targeting this market The transition from boutique social impact investment to mainstream investor interest in Latam The importance of diversification and paying attention to energy market dynamics, in particular how they can dramatically change your business model And, Sarah's take on What's Hot & What's Not in Latin America DG solar finance Faro Energy is a solar financing firm focused on the distributed generation market in Latin America. Faro offers long-term solar finance contracts to commercial & industrial customers, and has built a local team of expert solar professionals who are leading the charge in these frontier markets, many of which are in their infancy regarding solar financing or solar energy at all.  I've

Welcome to Episode 32 of SunCast Today we spend time with Andy Bindea of Sigora International, a company revolutionizing energy access in Haiti and beyond.  Listen in if you're interested in hearing: How Andy thinks about scaling electrification to serve the 1.3B people in the world without energy What it means to be the first Micro-utility with a concession to bring electricity to an entire region of Haiti, the largest market in Latin America for electrification and energy access The reason he believes building a technology-first company is what will empower their growth And using a franchise-like model for expanding their technology and business model beyond Haiti Sigora is a specialty provider of micro-utility energy systems designed for frontier markets.  They have focused on Haiti as a proving ground for their innovative grid-control hardware and software, and have built a very promising model for community empowerment that I hope you enjoy learning more about. I sure did. You can get the full show not

Welcome to Episode 31 of SunCast Today we will be spending time with Juan Fermin Rodriguez of Kingo Energy.  Stick around if you're interested in hearing: The strategy behind starting an off-grid solar company focused on Latam instead of Africa and Asia The size of the Latam offgrid market The difference in technology's role in Latam versus other markets How Kingo has become one of the best-capitalized solar startups in Latin America And a detailed discussion of both their fundraising and go-to-market strategy   Today's episode is a doosy.  I'll be honest; it was NOT what I expected.  I would say that I enjoyed this conversation as much as any I've done, and I believe it's one of the most valuable we've brought to you yet.   You can get the full show notes and links to books and other resources if you head over to the blog at mysuncast.com.   If you like what you hear, please SHARE it!   Juan will be a speaker at the upcoming Unlocking Solar Capital LATAM event in Miami June 15th & 16th, hosted by this

Welcome to Episode 30 of SunCast (woohoo, Thirty!). Today, we will be spending time with Patrick Doyle of MGM Innova Capital.  You should have a listen if you're interested in: Structured finance for the DG Solar market in Latin America Lessons learned financing private sector deals at the IDB And how to compete as a developer for the limited capital available to the DG market  Patrick knows what he's talking about when it comes to financing private sector renewables, having been among the first to do so for the Latam DG sector during his tenure at the Inter-american Development Bank (IDB).  Today, he continues doling out financing, but this time for more than just renewables, and on behalf of private investors. You can get the full show notes if you head over to the blog at mysuncast.com. And as always, you can check the blog page for resources from today's show. If you like what you hear, please SHARE it! Patrick will be a speaker at an upcoming event hosted by this week's SunCast partner, Solarplaza. Sol

Welcome to Episode 29 of SunCast.  Today we will be spending time with Latin America solar veteran, Alejo Lopez of Nextracker.  You should keep listening if you're interested in What's happening in the Mexico market Where else in Latin America Alejo believes hot, or not What it's like to convert from the Dark Side of Oil & Gas to the Renewables industry Key lessons and takeaways from one of the regions veteran developers And some fantastic book recommendations!  Alejo has been a leader in the Mexico solar industry for nearly 6 years now, and has been involved in some of the most important deals in that country.  We turn over a lot of stones in this conversation.  Thanks again for taking the time to be here.  Enjoy this week’s episode of SunCast, with Alejo Lopez. And as always, you can check the blog page for resources from today's show. If you like what you hear, please SHARE it! This episode is brought to you by Solrates. SolRates helps solar installers provide instant online financing quotes for com