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
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...
OneEthos is the fintech affiliate of Climate First Bank, which bills itself as the world’s first FDIC-insured digital community bank founded to combat the climate crisis. On the Pitch, Chris Cucci, EVP at Climate First Bank and OneEthos, discusses how they set their solar loan business apart for installers and homeowners with 30 year fixed rate, no dealer fees, and 100% financing for resi and C&I loans.
OneEthos: https://www.on...
Solar Builder Editor-in-Chief Chris Crowell gets a crash course in third-party ownership (TPO) solar programs from BayWa r.e. Finance Program Manager Joshua Tinaglia.
Questions asked:
0:35 - Why should I consider offering solar systems via leases – aka third-party ownership?
1:48 - Questions to ask of my business before offering TPO?
4:06 - Fundamental differences in leases vs loans, as a business model?
5:49 - Is there more work ...
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