Podcasts about solar pioneers

When I started SunCast, it seemed like there were lots of “Pioneers”; I even did a series focused on Solar Pioneers. That was 9 yars ago. Nowadays, most people are following playbooks others have written, and true pioneers are few-and-far-between. But I do still get to bring real pioneers on the show. Today's guest has taken all 9 years to lock down, despite having first met Billy Parish in 2011, fully 4 yrs before I started SunCast! Good things come to those who wait. And you've waited a long time for this story, as Never Before Told…The Billy Parish, Mosaic Anthology!How does a social activist unexpectedly become a pioneer in solar financing, helping shape the industry while funding over $15 billion in residential solar loans?Billy Parish, Co-founder and Executive Chairman of Mosaic, turned his passion for activism into a mission to make solar power accessible and affordable for millions of homeowners. Before founding Mosaic, Parish was a youth activist and impatient budding entrepreneur. His first real breakout success was Energy Action Coalition, a youth-driven climate movement, which laid the foundation for his work in clean energy. His work brought him international acclaim, including being a Rolling Stone Climate Hero and Mother Jones Student Activist of the Year, all while he was “taking time off” from Yale! When he turned his focus to solving solar energy's finance & scalability problem, little did he realize it'd turn into a nearly 2-decade journey, much naysaying, and a few ‘pivots'. Nevertheless, through Mosaic's innovative financing models, they have empowered thousands of contractors and funded billions in residential solar loans - and in many ways, it seems they're just getting started.Billy traveled from his residence in Berkeley, CA, to Washington, DC, to sit down with Nico and share his journey, insights, and Mosaic's standout innovations. One of Mosaic's major achievements includes launching the first 20-year solar loan product and a fully digital point-of-sale system credit application process that revolutionizes solar financing. Parish explains his "theory of change," focusing on making clean energy accessible to all through engagement and equity—a journey that earned him a feature in Rolling Stone for his climate leadership.Expect to learn:Billy Parish's blend of activism and entrepreneurship as a driving force for opening solar as an accessible asset class to millions.Mosaic's shift from crowdfunding to institutional investors, scaling to $15 billion in loans.Mosaic's innovations in digital infrastructure that makes solar financing fast and easy for homeowners.Why U.S. solar installations take months, and how Mosaic is working to cut delays.How tools like SolarAPP can save thousands per project by speeding up solar permitting.Listen now as Nico finally gets to deeply connect with one of Solar's widely-accepted iconic pioneers, Billy Parish.If you want to connect with today's guest, you'll find links to his contact info in the show notes on the blog at https://mysuncast.com/suncast-episodes/.Our Platinum Presenting Sponsor for SunCast is CPS America!SunCast is proudly supported by Trina Solar.You can learn more about all the sponsors who help make this show free for you at

We were joined by two of the pioneers of solar technology, Prof. Martin Green and Prof. Renate Egan. There's so many achievements between them that we won't even list them all. Tune in to understand the movement in solar panel pricing, including a forecast of where it'll go. Their predictions on solar cell efficiency, technology and prospects for Australian manufacturing also caught our attention.Just Another Solar Podcast is hosted by Luke Beattie, Karl Jensen and Nigel Morris. It's a casual conversation that shouldn't be taken as business, financial or legal advice.

Australia's solar pioneers get together, SunDrive sets efficiency records, and ScoMo bin stickers go wild.

Australia’s solar pioneers have been awesome, and it’s sad to say goodbye. Plus: Some really crap solar stories.

Annie and Jay Warmke of Blue Rock Station are joined by Michelle and Geoff Greenfield, early pioneers in the field of solar energy.  Michelle and Geoff first installed solar on their home about 20 years ago, and have developed that passion for solar energy into one of the largest solar installation firms in Ohio.  Join us as we discuss how the industry has changed and evolved over the past two decades.

Welcome to Episode 57 of SunCast, and episode #5 in the Solar Pioneers series.   Today is the much-anticipated Part 2 of Episode 39 with Dan Shugar!   As founder and CEO, Dan Shugar helped build NEXTracker into one of the fastest growing cleantech companies in the U.S. Dan was responsible for spinning NEXTracker out of Solaria Corp. where he also served as CEO, and then merging with FLEX almost 2 years ago. Nextracker has become the largest tracker company in the world by volume shipped, and I wanted to know more about what has driven that success. If you don't know Dan's backstory, and it's a GREAT one, please be sure to listen to Episode 39!   Tune in today as we discuss: The similar evolution of the Auto and Solar industries. The Best Advice Dan has been given by his Mentors. Advice to budding Entrepreneurs. The book Dan has given away the most. What's in Dan's crystal ball? This episode is brought to you in partnership with Solrates.com, the fast and Free online platform for providing your commercial customers with a credible lease financing proposal. If you have projects over $100K value, and you'd like to see how Solrates can help You quickly and easily deliver a financing proposal to your customers, Head over to www.mysuncast.com/SolRates and click on the Request an Invitation button.   Thanks again for setting aside THIS time in your day.  Enjoy this week’s episode of SunCast, with Dan Shugar.

Welcome to Episode 57 of SunCast, and episode #5 in the Solar Pioneers series.   Today is the much-anticipated Part 2 of Episode 39 with Dan Shugar!   As founder and CEO, Dan Shugar helped build NEXTracker into one of the fastest growing cleantech companies in the U.S. Dan was responsible for spinning NEXTracker out of Solaria Corp. where he also served as CEO, and then merging with FLEX almost 2 years ago. Nextracker has become the largest tracker company in the world by volume shipped, and I wanted to know more about what has driven that success. If you don't know Dan's backstory, and it's a GREAT one, please be sure to listen to Episode 39!   Tune in today as we discuss: The similar evolution of the Auto and Solar industries. The Best Advice Dan has been given by his Mentors. Advice to budding Entrepreneurs. The book Dan has given away the most. What's in Dan's crystal ball? This episode is brought to you in partnership with Solrates.com, the fast and Free online platform for providing your commercial customers with a credible lease financing proposal. If you have projects over $100K value, and you'd like to see how Solrates can help You quickly and easily deliver a financing proposal to your customers, Head over to www.mysuncast.com/SolRates and click on the Request an Invitation button.   Thanks again for setting aside THIS time in your day.  Enjoy this week’s episode of SunCast, with Dan Shugar.

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 think should be on Suncast, you can shoot me an email, a LinkedIn message, or even just pop over to the website and leave me a quick Voicemail, right from your smartphone! That website is www.mysuncast.com and email is nico@mysuncast.com. This episode is brought to you in partnership with Solrates.com, the fast and Free online platform for providing your commercial customers with a credible lease financing proposal. If you have projects over $100K value, and you'd like to see how Solrates can help You quickly and easily deliver a financing proposal to your customers, please reach out to me directly for an invitation code to join the platform. Enjoy this week’s episode of SunCast, with Jeff Spies of Quick Mount PV.

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 think should be on Suncast, you can shoot me an email, a LinkedIn message, or even just pop over to the website and leave me a quick Voicemail, right from your smartphone! That website is www.mysuncast.com and email is nico@mysuncast.com. This episode is brought to you in partnership with Solrates.com, the fast and Free online platform for providing your commercial customers with a credible lease financing proposal. If you have projects over $100K value, and you'd like to see how Solrates can help You quickly and easily deliver a financing proposal to your customers, please reach out to me directly for an invitation code to join the platform. Enjoy this week’s episode of SunCast, with Jeff Spies of Quick Mount PV.

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 PRESIDENT & CEO - SUSTAINABLE ENERGY CENTRAL AMERICA   They discussed: How to obtain financing for off-grid projects Keys to making off-grid business models bankable and best practices in risk mitigation Opportunities for telecom integration in Latin America and possibilities for PAYG business model Overview of business models with potential in mini-grid and off-grid segments   I wish I had recorded the whole thing, but hopefully, the bits we got were insightful! And the second segment of the show (about 30 min) is from a session we called   CEO Spotlight: Two Off-grid companies with vastly different approach to the market Andy Bindea and Juan Fermin tell-all with Nico Johnson   It's a candid live session with 2 previous guests of the show, Episodes 031 & 032 respectively.  These are two of the smartest and hardest-working young entrepreneurs I've had the pleasure to interview, and they've both raised a lot of money!  I hope you enjoy this unscripted free-form session where I get into the differences between their two approaches to building an off-grid solar company in Latam. I hope you enjoy both segments, and that you consider attending a future SolarPlaza conference.  Thanks again to SolarPlaza for all the support and for letting me run around like a reporter at this event. Also mentioned in the show, SPI is in a couple of weeks! Let's meet up! I'll be attending the annual Tweetup put on by my friend Tor Valenza, aka Solar Fred, and Kiterocket Tue, September 12, 2017 5:00 PM – 6:30 PM PDT LOCATION Flex House (Booth 6340) Mandalay Bay Convention Center http://bit.ly/spitweetup Hey I'd love to know, what are you struggling with? What one thing is in your way that you'd like help solving? Are there areas specific to your business, or the industry as a whole, that you wish you knew how to do better, or where you're getting stuck? Let me know; I love brainstorming ideas and helping people think through these types of problems. And if I don't know it, I just might know someone who does, and we'll get them on the show! If you'd like to schedule a 1:1 call w/me, you can now do that at www.callnico.com You can also just shoot me an email, a LinkedIn message, or pop over to the website and leave me a quick Voicemail, right from your smartphone! That website is www.mysuncast.com and email is nico@mysuncast.com.

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 PRESIDENT & CEO - SUSTAINABLE ENERGY CENTRAL AMERICA   They discussed: How to obtain financing for off-grid projects Keys to making off-grid business models bankable and best practices in risk mitigation Opportunities for telecom integration in Latin America and possibilities for PAYG business model Overview of business models with potential in mini-grid and off-grid segments   I wish I had recorded the whole thing, but hopefully, the bits we got were insightful! And the second segment of the show (about 30 min) is from a session we called   CEO Spotlight: Two Off-grid companies with vastly different approach to the market Andy Bindea and Juan Fermin tell-all with Nico Johnson   It's a candid live session with 2 previous guests of the show, Episodes 031 & 032 respectively.  These are two of the smartest and hardest-working young entrepreneurs I've had the pleasure to interview, and they've both raised a lot of money!  I hope you enjoy this unscripted free-form session where I get into the differences between their two approaches to building an off-grid solar company in Latam. I hope you enjoy both segments, and that you consider attending a future SolarPlaza conference.  Thanks again to SolarPlaza for all the support and for letting me run around like a reporter at this event. Also mentioned in the show, SPI is in a couple of weeks! Let's meet up! I'll be attending the annual Tweetup put on by my friend Tor Valenza, aka Solar Fred, and Kiterocket Tue, September 12, 2017 5:00 PM – 6:30 PM PDT LOCATION Flex House (Booth 6340) Mandalay Bay Convention Center http://bit.ly/spitweetup Hey I'd love to know, what are you struggling with? What one thing is in your way that you'd like help solving? Are there areas specific to your business, or the industry as a whole, that you wish you knew how to do better, or where you're getting stuck? Let me know; I love brainstorming ideas and helping people think through these types of problems. And if I don't know it, I just might know someone who does, and we'll get them on the show! If you'd like to schedule a 1:1 call w/me, you can now do that at www.callnico.com You can also just shoot me an email, a LinkedIn message, or pop over to the website and leave me a quick Voicemail, right from your smartphone! That website is www.mysuncast.com and email is nico@mysuncast.com.

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 what he'd do differently if he could start over with SunEdison again Really Cory just doles out so much advice and insight in this follow-on episode, gleaning from 20+ yrs of experience selling solar! I hope you have as much fun as we did recording it. Head over to the blog for more details and the show notes.

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 what he'd do differently if he could start over with SunEdison again Really Cory just doles out so much advice and insight in this follow-on episode, gleaning from 20+ yrs of experience selling solar! I hope you have as much fun as we did recording it. Head over to the blog for more details and the show notes.

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, and in today's episode, we get into detail about: His early days in retail and his pivot to working at British Petroleum A group of fellow pioneers who call themselves the Solar Cowboyz Cory's thoughts on selling in the pre and post china era of low-cost solar panels Being one of the first in and last out at SunEdison How Cory thinks about growing his sales teams, and bringing in strategies from other industries A revised version of Hot or Not And really so much more. So much more, in fact, that this will be part 1 of 2. So, hope you enjoy Part 1 today, and get ready for an audio-history journey with a true storyteller. If YOU have someone or something you think should be on Suncast, you can shoot me an email, a LinkedIn message, or even just pop over to the website and leave me a quick Voicemail, right from your smartphone! That website is www.mysuncast.com and email is nico@mysuncast.com.  

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, and in today's episode, we get into detail about: His early days in retail and his pivot to working at British Petroleum A group of fellow pioneers who call themselves the Solar Cowboyz Cory's thoughts on selling in the pre and post china era of low-cost solar panels Being one of the first in and last out at SunEdison How Cory thinks about growing his sales teams, and bringing in strategies from other industries A revised version of Hot or Not And really so much more. So much more, in fact, that this will be part 1 of 2. So, hope you enjoy Part 1 today, and get ready for an audio-history journey with a true storyteller. If YOU have someone or something you think should be on Suncast, you can shoot me an email, a LinkedIn message, or even just pop over to the website and leave me a quick Voicemail, right from your smartphone! That website is www.mysuncast.com and email is nico@mysuncast.com.  

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 power out of PV power plants, including machine learning and so much more. So while we didn't get into Hot or Not, or book recommendations, or his Bold prediction, you'll want to listen all the way through especially if you have any interest at all in peering inside the mind and thought process of a guy who's built some of our industry's most iconic brands and largest power plants. 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! If YOU have someone or something you think should be on Suncast, you can shoot me an email, a LinkedIn message, or even just pop over to the website and leave me a quick Voicemail, right from your smartphone! That website is www.mysuncast.com and email is nico@mysuncast.com. I also am grateful for those who choose to collaborate with SunCast, and this episode is brought to you in partnership with Solrates.com, the fast and Free online platform for providing your commercial customers with a credible lease financing proposal. If you have projects over $100K value, and you'd like to see how Solrates can help You quickly and easily deliver a financing proposal to your customers, please reach out to me directly for an invitation code to join the platform. Did I mention it's free?

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 power out of PV power plants, including machine learning and so much more. So while we didn't get into Hot or Not, or book recommendations, or his Bold prediction, you'll want to listen all the way through especially if you have any interest at all in peering inside the mind and thought process of a guy who's built some of our industry's most iconic brands and largest power plants. 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! If YOU have someone or something you think should be on Suncast, you can shoot me an email, a LinkedIn message, or even just pop over to the website and leave me a quick Voicemail, right from your smartphone! That website is www.mysuncast.com and email is nico@mysuncast.com. I also am grateful for those who choose to collaborate with SunCast, and this episode is brought to you in partnership with Solrates.com, the fast and Free online platform for providing your commercial customers with a credible lease financing proposal. If you have projects over $100K value, and you'd like to see how Solrates can help You quickly and easily deliver a financing proposal to your customers, please reach out to me directly for an invitation code to join the platform. Did I mention it's free?

The Solar Pioneers, many people don't understand how this billion dollar industry in America grew from a few people trying to solve a problem. This episode I talk with fellow solar educator and business person Mr. Jeff Spies. Jeff is a great educator and passionate person about the future of our plant and the human condition. Jeff's interview is an affirmation to follow your heart to gain happiness in life. Chase experiences not things. We talk about the importance of education and responsibility of gaining the knowledge you need to prosper, often it goes beyond college. Education is a lifelong occupation. Jeff has a real human passion for AEE solar founder David Katz as a mentor/friend. The time with AEE solar along with his introduction to Solar energy changed his life in so many positive ways.   Hang out and Have a listen Go live The Billionaire Lifestyle

Scientists at Bell Labs made the first solar cell in 1954. A dozen years later entrepreneurs started installing solar panels on rooftops. Now we have over one million homes and businesses powered by solar panels. We owe much of this success to the thousands of men and women who pioneered the solar industry. They are the ones who had visions of solar panels on every sunny rooftop. Jeff Spies, now with Quick Mount PV, had the idea to get these solar pioneers together. “In October 2015, a group of dedicated solar professionals gathered in southern Humboldt County for the first-ever Solar Pioneers Party,” said Jeff. “These incredible people assembled to celebrate the birth of the solar industry and recognize the contributions of those intrepid backwoods solar engineers and mad scientists that made solar home power possible.” The second Solar Pioneers gathering is coming up in the middle of October. And it's not just a gathering of solar old-timers, or an opportunity to test that solar powered defibrillator. The strategies, tactics and sheer force of will that got our industry off the ground is in just as much need today. So please join me on this week's Energy Show on Renewable Energy World as my special guest, Jeff Spies, talks about the next Solar Pioneers Gathering. Copyright 2016 All Rights Reserved

The publicly-owned Sacramento Municipal Utility District, or SMUD, had already installed the first utility-scale PV array in the nation back in 1984. By the early 1990s, the utility saw a potential for rooftop solar and launched its PV Pioneer program, placing dozens of solar arrays on their customer's rooftops, for a fee. The standardized rollout meant dramatic declines in the cost of solar, long before the industry had launched anywhere else. In June, ILSR's Director of Democratic Energy John Farrell spoke with Brent Sloan, the “solar dude” at SMUD, to talk about these ahead-of-the-curve PV Pioneer programs and how his utility was created a viable rooftop solar market 20 years before other utility's have “waved the white flag.” From the Ground Up In the 1980s and ‘90s, the electric utility industry was all about Big: big mergers, building bigger power plants, selling big amounts of energy. But the Sacramento Municipal Utility District in California decided to go another direction. Unlike investor-owned utilities, beholden to shareholders, SMUD was and is owned by the local government. It had a history of being responsive to its customers, such as when it closed the Rancho Seco nuclear power plant just 14 years after it began operations. The closure, in 1989, was one of the catalysts for the utility's search for energy alternatives like solar. The PV Pioneer program launched in 1993, with the intention of rapidly driving down the cost of solar. The “secret sauce” was the utility's buying-down power and providing a standardized solar panel package to its ratepayers, and  standard permit application to local governments. “You can have any solar system you want in Sacramento as long as it's a black Model T,” Sloan says about the 2 kilowatt solar system then offered to all SMUD customers. The popular program asked customers to pay a $4 per month premium to host a SMUD-owned solar array on their rooftop. By the late 1990s, the utility felt that cost reductions made customer ownership of solar more feasible, and its Pioneer II program offered subsidized, utility installed solar arrays to customers. In 2001, the total cost of a 2 kW solar array purchased under the program was $9,000 ($4.50 per Watt) with the customer's share at just $6,000. That installed cost was nearly 10 years ahead of its time: $4.50 per Watt was the weighted average installed cost of all solar PV tracked by the Solar Energy Industries Association in 2011. Sloan couldn't vouch for the linked study where we got our numbers from, but he said the price drop from PV wasn't magic. Before most others, SMUD workers were learning best solar installation practices, and potential solar contractors and building officials were then trained by the utility. Sloan and his team were crawling through attics, determining how many pounds of solar equipment could fit on the roof, long before industry-approved numbers became the norm. Softening the Costs Alongside the PV Pioneer program, SMUD created a standardized permit package for its several jurisdictions. That meant solar contractors could get a permit within 24 hours of submission and, for some time, all involved cities waived rooftop solar application fees for SMUD customers. The ultimate goal was to drive down the installed cost of solar far enough that SMUD and subsidies would not be necessary. SMUD's efforts were superseded—to some extent—by the statewide California Solar Initiative program, which dramatically diversified the solar market (to the potential disadvantage for cost reductions). Although solar installations have continued steadily for some time,

The publicly-owned Sacramento Municipal Utility District, or SMUD, had already installed the first utility-scale PV array in the nation back in 1984. By the early 1990s, the utility saw a potential for rooftop solar and launched its PV Pioneer program, … Read More