Solar Power World

Swinerton Renewable Energy's George Hershman, senior vice president and general manager, talked with Solar Power World about the struggles and successes of being a large-scale solar installer in North America.

We spoke with Troy Miller, director of grid solutions at the S&C Electric Company to find out more about the company's role in solar + storage, as well as some recent projects. Listen to learn how a solar+storage installation, approaching ribbon-cutting, will help the village of Minster, Ohio.

We talk with SunPower by EmPower Solar CEO David Schieren about the company's new role as SunPower Master Dealer and what's new with the New York market.

As Enphase celebrates ten years and ten million microinverters shipped, co-founder Raghu Belur shares what he sees as the company's biggest successes and most exciting plans for the future. He also discusses how adding solar and storage to the grid isn't just a matter of nuts and bolts, but an effort to create a better, smarter energy system.

We spoke with founder of Princeton Power Darren Hammell, who founded his solar storage company in his dorm room. The company now celebrates 15 years. Hammell shares what has made Princeton Power successful, his view of the storage market and advice for other solar startups.

Chattanooga-based solar contractor Tennessee Solar Solutions spoke with Solar Power World about the local market and how the company stands out in the crowd.

Energy storage, though currently in its infancy, is predicted to be crucial to the growth of solar. To learn more about the market and technology, we spoke with Laurent Mahuteau, Saft’s Technical Sales & Project Manager.

Two breweries open every day in the U.S., and 75% of Americans live within 10 miles of one. And as it turns out, many brewery owners are conscience of the environment and energy usage, making them perfect potential solar customers. This is especially true as breweries mature and make plans for their next phase of growth, said Bart Watson, chief economist of the Brewers Association. “It makes good business sense,” Watson said. “Breweries are energy intensive. It’s a manufacturing business. When you’re constantly heating water for your boil kettle or hot liquor tank having a reliable source of energy that over the long term reduces your costs makes sense.” Listen to this Solar Speaks podcast to learn more about the micro-brew business and whether breweries could be good prospects for your solar business. Photo © Brewers Association

The latest IHS PV Inverter Customer Insight Survey revealed a growing acceptance of Chinese inverters in the North American market in recent years. To help shed some insight into why more solar contractors are choosing Chinese inverters, we spoke with Ed Heacox of Chint Power Systems. Ed discusses how CPS overcame initial customer hesitation, and grew to have a major market presence in North American.

We talk with American Sentry Solar in Bel Air, Maryland, about the solar business and outlook into the future.

Michael Wiener, marketing manager of SolarRoofHook.com, shares information about building codes as they relate to sloped-roof solar installations in this Solar Speaks podcast. SolarRoofHook.com is a division of Quickscrews International Corporation. The company offers a wide range of products for mounting solar panels onto residential roofs. In this podcast, Wiener discuses fire, drainage and wind resistance codes. He discusses how IBC code defines roof hooks and how solar installation companies can ensure their projects meet standards.

RER Energy Group in Reading, Pennsylvania, coaches the community through issues and concerns to bring solar to the masses.

There’s been lots of news coming from the 21st Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP21) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). We spoke with Lior Handelsman, SolarEdge's VP of Marketing and Product Strategy, who attended the conference. He shares what he heard on the solar side of the discussion at the conference, as well as his view on what the industry can do to help solar be the best solution to climate change it can.

It's a micro-trend in the micro-brew business to go solar, with breweries nationwide becoming advocates for sustainability. And AllEarth Renewables, a Vermont-based solar tracker manufacturer and developer of solar projects, is becoming a go-to solar firm for breweries in the Northeast, with installations at The Alchemist, Woodchuck Cider and Maine Beer Company. In this Solar Speaks podcast, Andrew Savage, chief strategy officer at AllEarth, discusses the business side of breweries going solar. He talks about the bankability of beer makers, the importance of virtual net metering and how other EPCs should approach breweries with project proposals.

How will storage be important to solar's long-term success? Do contractors know enough about storage? How have utilities responded to solar-plus-storage? We spoke with Ray Kubis, in light of his recent appointment to Gridtential’s board of directors. Ray is a storage veteran, with 35 years of experience in the industrial and automotive sectors of the battery industry. He answered our storage questions, and explained how Gridtential is licencing its storage technology to a network of manufacturers to ramp-up scale and standardize solutions to make them easier to implement.

We spoke with Jing Tian, head of global marketing for Trina Solar, about the company's recent milestone of 15 GW of solar modules shipped globally and learn of Trina's future plans.

We chat with Stephen Condon of Solar-Log about a Connecticut solar project that uses Solar-Log monitoring systems for measurement and feed-in management. Stephen also tells us the benefits of these monitoring systems for both end users and solar installers.

In this edition of Solar Speaks, SunLink CEO Michael Maulick discusses the solar mounting manufacturer’s business strategy going toward 2017, when the solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC) may expire or be reduced. Maulick discusses international expansion—including a pair of projects in Honduras—global supply chains and how his experience in the tech industry can apply to solar. He also offers clues about a new SunLink product yet to be unveiled. Learn more about SunLink in this Solar Speaks podcast.

SPW talks with the family team at CBS Solar about the emerging solar market in Michigan.

Troy Miller, director of grid solutions for S&C Electric Company, discusses the impact of solar on the electric grid in this Solar Speaks Live video, powered by Unirac, from the 2015 Solar Power International tradeshow.