Solar Builder Radio
The podcast home for Solar Builder magazine, a go-to resource for solar professionals. We go in-depth on new solar PV systems, products and services (inverters, modules, tracker systems, etc.), and we chat with experts about solar design and installation trends -- from residential and small C&I to large utility-scale solar plants. Here, we connect installers, EPCs and developers right to what’s happening in the marketplace. Solar Builder Radio is the hub for all of Solar Builder’s podcasts, video shows, and articles in audio form. Recurring shows include: | The Pitch | Explore new products in the solar industry with the manufacturers and suppliers | Power Forward! | A solar business discussion series in conjunction with BayWa r.e. | The Buzz | Giving our 2 cents per kW on the hottest solar industry headlines
Episodes
Get a closer look at Qcells’ newest home energy storage system — the Q.HOME CORE G3, an AC-coupled battery and energy management system designed for installers who want more flexibility in both retrofits and whole-home backup. Here to make The Pitch is Kam Sihota, Head of System Engineering for Qcells.
0:29 - Overview of Qcells' AC-coupled platform
1:41 - Q.HOME CORE G3 compared to G2
4:46 - Q.HOME CORE Hub
6:35 - Q.OMMAND app for ...
In this episode of The Pitch, Solar Builder editor Chris Crowell interviews SMA America’s Tyson Schoelzel and Hasan Taylor about the Sunny Highpower PEAK3 — a 1500-V high-density string inverter that will soon be manufactured and skidded in the United States with a Create Energy partnership that enables domestic content bonus eligibility.
The discussion focuses on the specific ways PEAK3 reduces O&M cost, improves uptime, eases...
The residential solar market is heading into major changes as the 25D tax credit sunsets at the end of 2025. What comes next for financing, installers, and homeowners?
In this live Power Forward session recorded on the PowerUp Live Stage at RE+ 2025, Solar Builder’s Chris Crowell sits down with Josh Tinaglia, Finance Program Manager at BayWa r.e., to unpack the outlook for residential solar financing. Thanks to SunCast Media for l...
Artificial intelligence is showing up in every corner of the solar industry—from proposal software to microinverters—and it’s reshaping how installers work. In this Solar Builder interview, Editor-in-Chief Chris Crowell talks with Jason Higginson, Head of Marketing for North America at APsystems, about how AI tools are improving design, sales, customer service, and long-term system performance.
We cover:
- Why AI is no longer optio...
Solar energy compensation programs continue to change across the country, as states move away from retail net metering. A great resource for following these trends is the NC Clean Energy Technology Center.
The Center is home to the Database of States Incentives for Renewables and Efficiency (DSIRE), a public good that provides information on policies and programs related to clean energy at the federal, state, local, and utility lev...
Solar panels make a great pair with metal rooftops – as long as you have the right attachment system and support team that understands the nuances of the application. Today on the Pitch we’re talking all about solar mounting on metal roofs with Jesse Winternitz, application engineer with S-5!
The Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) is signed, as is the death warrant for the residential solar tax credit. On Power Forward, Solar Builder Editor-in-Chief Chris Crowell discusses what solar installers should do next with David Dunlap, VP of product strategy with BayWa r.e.
0:36 - How to handle the Dec. 31, 2025, deadline for end of ITC
3:08 - What qualifies as a "project" to qualify for tax credit by Dec. 31.
5:40 - What should solar i...
The residential solar market has changed, which means residential solar business models need to change too. Over the next few episodes of Power Forward! we’ll discuss some actionable strategies for restructuring your approach so that your solar installation business can be more resilient in the years ahead. To kick things off we’re zooming in on the concept of “repowering,” and how you can turn that into a profit center, with Travi...
A quality solar installation starts with respecting your customer’s roof. Today on the Pitch, Rick Gentry and Ben Hedrick from QuickBOLT discuss common issues on the roof and advancements in solar mounting designs over the years. Then, they explain QuickBOLT's latest roof protection product: QuickPATCH.
0:21 - Overview of common problems seen on the roof 1:06 - How rooftop solar mounting has evolved 3:01 - Avoiding (and dealing wit...
Relive this New Product Showcase session, live from the Hub stage at Intersolar & Energy Storage North America in San Diego! Solar Builder Editor-in-Chief Chris Crowell interviews three entrants in the New Product Showcase:
- Dave Dong, Director Vertical Growth NAM, nVent,
- Stephanie Choi Brookes, CMO, Emtel Energy USA
- Cody Sellers, Business Development-Enterprise Solutions, GME Supply
Domestic content is one of the most important topics in the solar industry, but what do solar contractors need to know about it right now? We go in-depth on the topic with David Dunlap, VP of product strategy at BayWa r.e.
0:48 - Has the Trump Administration changed the domestic content outlook? 3:02 - Available U.S. solar manufacturing (modules, inverters, racking, batteries) 7:12 - Overview of changes to Safe Harbor Tables 9:38 -...
Time is money, but so are the errors that result from working too fast. Today on The Pitch we’re chatting with Kamal Shah, CEO of SiteCapture, about how solar contractors can leverage technology to achieve efficient field operations without sacrificing quality.
Start your free trial of SiteCapture here: https://sitecapture.com/solar/?utm_campaign=5460234-Solar%20Builder%20Product%20of%20the%20Week%20-%20Jan%2025&utm_source=Sola...
We close out 2024 and look ahead to solar business in 2025 the way we always do with David Dunlap, VP of product strategy with BayWa r.e.
0:37 - Look back at key solar storylines from 2024
4:43 - Lasting takeaways from bankruptcies and financing shift?
7:17 - Expectations for residential solar market in 2025
16:31 - Product oversupply still an issue in 2025?
19:30 - How can/will the Trump administration change the IRA or ITC?
22:49...
This is an Audio Article from the Q4 2024 issue of Solar Builder Magazine. Editor-in-Chief Chris Crowell reads "Domestic Influence: Calculating the Unintended Consequences of the Domestic Content Tax Credit Adder in Small-Scale Solar."
0:01 - How Trump could influence this even more
0:58 - Explanation of the domestic content adder calculation
3:44 - Lopsided MLPE vs String calculations
7:21 - Overview of U.S. inverter & racking...
Solar Builder's 2024 Project of the Year 101 kW to 1 MW is the Camino Real Mobile Estates in Lathrop, Calif.
Property owner Sansome Skyline Development tapped developer and EPC Solar Gain to install a 419 kW ground-mount solar system for the Camino Real Mobile Estates in Lathrop, California. Mobile homes don’t have enough rooftop space to make the economics of solar work, so the only feasible option was using a narrow but steep ret...
Solar Builder's 2024 Project of the Year Over 10 MW is the Escalante Solar Project in Prewitt, N.M.
Escalante Solar was built by Gridworks across 1,714 acres on the site of the former 253 MW coal-fired Escalante Station in Prewitt, New Mexico, which was retired in 2020, as Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association continues to pursue its landmark Responsible Energy Plan.
Developer: Tri-State Generation and Transmission As...
Developer: Cincinnati Zoo
EPC/Installer: Melink, Terrasmart
Modules: VSUN
Inverters: CPS
Mounting/Racking: Terrasmart
Solar Builder's 2024 Project of the Year 1 MW to 10 MW is the the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden.
The zoo completed a 2.8 MW solar parking canopy in August 2024. This was the zoo's third solar system, having installed its first solar system in 2006 with a ground-mount system and then its second in 2011 ...
Solar Builder's 2024 Project of the Year, Under 100 kW, is the Adventure Science Center in Nashville, Tennessee. The center partnered with Everybody Solar to install a 72.32 kW rooftop solar array. In addition to reducing the museum's electricity bills by approximately $10,956 annually, the project also provides hands-on education and community impact.
- Developer: Everybody Solar, ReNew Solar Solutions
- EPC/Installer: ReNew Sola...
Generac is now selling its next generation home energy storage system, the PWRcell 2 Series. On The Pitch, Beto Fonts, product manager at Generac, explains what's new with PWRcell 2, key features of the installation, the differences between the PWRcell 2 and PWRcell 2 MAX, and how they fit in the broader Generac home energy ecosystem.
0:27 - Comparing PWRcell 2 Series with PWRcell 1
1:54 - Step by step PWRcell 2 installation
Jeff Spies, president of Planet Plan Sets, is increasingly concerned that the solar and storage industry is facing the biggest safety challenge of its 50-year history. Solar Builder published the article The Lithium Battery MESS in our Q3 2024 magazine, explaining why. This episode of The Buzz is digs deeper into differentiating safe and legal home batteries, and how decisions by California regulators have helped set the market con...
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