Dan Shugar is the CEO of Nextracker, a FLEX company. Dan, or Shug as his friends call him, has been in the solar industry for nearly 30 years and in some way always thought about trackers. In this interview we talk about his background and how he has built several companies in solar with success and why Nextracker is a market share leader in most markets around the world. This is an interview you don't want to miss. Some links to things we talked about in the podcast. His testimony to Congress https://www.nextracker.com/2020/09/testimony-of-dan-shugar-founder-and-ceo-nextracker-house-committee-on-natural-resources-subcommittee-on-energy-and-mineral-resources/ A video about his band https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMkjEmAtMOc Solar Battle of The Bands at the Warfield https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2aFYeRau0ME

SolarWakeup Live! with Yann Brandt

14. Dan Shugar, CEO of Nextracker, on his 30 years in solar and how the growth will keep going

13. CEO of SEIA, Abby Hopper, Reflects On Biden Victory And McConnell's Senate by Yann Brandt

13. CEO of SEIA, Abby Hopper, Reflects On Biden Victory And McConnell's Senate

In this episode of the SolarWakeup podcast, Yann talks to Mike O’Boyle from Energy Innovation where he is the Director of Electricity Policy. Energy Innovation recently published a report authored by Mike that looks at the southeastern US energy market if it were based on competitive power markets instead of monopolies. The results are as expected, consumers would have cleaner electricity at lower prices while more jobs are created. This RTO would span from Florida to the Carolinas and into the Gulf Coast. These energy service areas are largely served by the largest IOUs in the Country that have incredible regulatory capture. We talk about the politics of implementing this and where it has been done before. If you enjoy this episode, check out our other SolarWakeup podcasts. Please subscribe and leave a 5 star rating for us. You can find Yann on twitter @YannBrandt Energy Innovation Report on Southeast RTO Subscribe to SolarWakeup

12. Deregulating Energy Monopolies In the Southeast with Mike O'Boyle From Energy Innovation

In this episode Yann talks to Gabe Phillips, the CEO and founder of Catalyst Power. Catalyst received the backing of BP Energy Partners to the tune of $60million in order to scale their retail energy business. Gabe describes the novel approach to distributed generation development in coordination with the retail energy business under the same business umbrella. Gabe was the CEO and founder of GP Energy Management which was acquired by Genscape a few years ago. If you enjoy this episode please tell a friend, rate and subscribe on your favorite podcast app. Subscribe to SolarWakeup's newsletter at solarwakeup.com/subscribe-2 Follow Yann on twitter @yannbrandt Learn about SolarWakeup Buyer's Group at solarwakeup.com/pricing

11. C&I Solar Fixed By Retail Energy Company Startup with Catalyst Power's Gabe Phillips

In this episode Yann talks to Tim Rochman who leads all things solar at EagleView Technologies. Eagleview works with municipalities and insurance companies around the Country to provide data on real estate or after a natural disaster. Eagleview entered the solar market to help solar installers get better data through imagery for faster and more accurate sales and installation processes. If you enjoy this episode please tell a friend, rate and subscribe on your favorite podcast app. Subscribe to SolarWakeup's newsletter at solarwakeup.com/subscribe-2 Follow Yann on twitter @yannbrandt Learn about SolarWakeup Buyer's Group at solarwakeup.com/pricing

10. There Is Data In Aerial Imagery with Tim Rochman from EagleView Technologies

In this episode Yann talks to Eric Clifton of Extensible Energy. Extensible sells the DemandEx platform which is referred to as a virtual battery. The virtual battery allows buildings to operate more efficiently with minimal hardware, lowering the cost of implementation and speeding up the process. By managing thermal loads, DemandEx is targeting the solar industry as an additional solution to lower demand charges. Please like and 5-star this episode on your podcast app. www.extensibleenergy.com

9. What Is A Virtual Battery? With Extensible Energy's CEO Eric Clifton

In this episode we talk with the CEO of Inovateus Solar, TJ Kanczuzewksi, about their recently released sustainability report. Inovateus sees sustainability in two parts, first being the sustainability of their customers and why they are going solar and second, the sustainability of the solar construction and life cycle. Inovateus is based in South Bend Indiana and we talk about the future of solar in the midwest, a market that has been quiet but ready to take off. TJ explains how they were able to build a solar farm with zero waste. You can read the sustainability report at inovateus.com

8. Inovateus Solar Leads MidWest Solar And Industry Into Sustainability With TJ Kanczuzewki

Eric Clifton is the CEO of Orison which announced a recent close of their $8.5million seed round. The latest capital came from Australia's Origin Energy. Orison has a wall mounted energy storage platform that is meant to be simple enough for homeowners to install. With their recent capital raise, I talk with Eric on the future of the company. The company is getting publicity around their platform's simplicity but also questions around how they will meet the code requirements. Eric and I talk about this and more in this episode of SolarWakeup Podcast. www.orison.com https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/introducing-energy-storage-as-an-appliance-orison-seed-funding

7. Eric Clifton From Orison Wants To Plug A Battery Into Your Outlets

Nick Chaset is the CEO of East Bay Clean Energy, a Community Choice Aggregator (CCA for short) based in Alameda County. Nick is a lifelong energy professional and has taken the relatively new organization to new heights. We talk about virtual power plants including their ongoing RFP for community microgrids and their pilot project with Sunrun. Nick also gives an update on the local resource adequacy ruling from the CPUC and how that loss of control will impact further energy storage procurement by CCAs across California. Lastly, I ask Nick how he will use his leadership position to help other utilities copy the work they've done. He makes a commitment that you will have to hear in the podcast.

6. Nick Chaset and the world of virtual power plants with solar and energy storage

John Farrell leads ILSR Energy Democratization Initiative and his plan to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic is to install 30 million solar roofs across the Country. In his thoughtful post, John outlines how, where and why this is the way to build our clean energy economy. Yann and John discuss what this means for the market, what is the cost and how it can be done. If you enjoy this episode, subscribe and rate the SolarWakeup Live! podcast and share it with a friend.

5. Let's Build 30 Million Solar Roofs With John Farrell From ILSR

In this episode Yann talks with Rob Newman, the CEO of Nearmap. With online design tools becoming the only way solar is done anymore, aerial imagery data is more important than ever. Nearmaps flies a plan over your house 3 times a year, every year and can measure the roof dimensions with precision. This allows the remote salesforce to also answer the important question of how much solar fits on the roof. Make sure to subscribe and rate the SolarWakeup Podcast, a conversation about tech, finance and politics in energy.

4. Aerial Imagery Changes Solar In World of Virtual Sales and Designs with Nearmap's CEO Rob Newman

Andy Klump is the CEO of Clean Energy Associates (CEA). CEA is a team of specialists that oversee and manage purchasing, quality control and quality assurance programs for manufacturers, suppliers and other cleantech companies. For example, large installers will hire CEA to ensure their modules are the highest quality possible. In recent days, Andy (who is usually based in China) has had to shelter in place in Texas like many others. We talk about the impact on supply chain and quality that COVID has. Relatedly, CEA has also expanded into the energy storage markets. On predictions, Andy gives us his view on where solar module and battery pricing is going to go in the future.

3. Andy Klump Talks About Supply Chain, Battery Pricing and Quality Solar

Yann is joined by Palmetto's CEO, Chris Kemper, and President, Sean Hayes. Palmetto has been serving the residential solar market for a decade since Chris drew up the concept. Over the years Palmetto has had to pivot many times to keep up with the changes in the market. As a mostly remote organization serving residential solar consumers and installers, Palmetto has been able to keep up with the post-COVID new normal. Recently the company launched a working capital product where installers are able to work with Palmetto to minimize the volatility that comes with the ups and downs of installing residential solar.

2. Chris Kemper and Sean Hayes from Palmetto talk remote solar operations and pivots

Yann talks with Tom Matzzie, the CEO of Clean Choice Energy. Clean Choice is a retail energy provider that serves customers with renewable energy and also has a community solar development division. With a data driven marketing model, Tom shares his views on how to acquire customers in the new normal. We also talk about the value of sharing your business issues with politicians and reporters. Especially in a noisy news environment, Tom says that it is important to be talking to your representation.

1. CleanChoice's Tom Matzzie talks energy markets and politics

Taped at MREA's Energy Fair, I speak with Deb Erwin (Xcel Energy), Eric Udelhofen (One Energy Renewables) and Nick Hylla (MREA). We talk about the future of solar in the Midwest and how to grow it faster and bigger! Deb Erwin is the manager of regulatory policy for Xcel Energy in Wisconsin, supporting Xcel’s efforts to lead the clean energy transition and help customers and communities reach their clean energy goals. Eric Udelhofen is a Development Director for OneEnergy Renewables and spends his time working to develop as many community-scale renewable energy projects as he can for customers, communities and utilities throughout the Midwest. Nick Hylla is the executive director of the Midwest renewable energy association and spends every day working to increase the market potential for everyone in the Midwest. This event was sponsored by Panasonic!

Future Of Solar In Midwest at MREA's The Energy Fair

SolarWakeup Live! is the insider's guide to the solar and energy markets. Hosted by Yann Brandt, the managing editor of SolarWakeup and CEO of Wakeup Media. Yann Brandt is a veteran executive of the solar industry. After several startups, Yann also founded SolarWakeup, the most influential newsletter in the industry. SolarWakeup is now a big part of Wakeup Media and Yann continues to work in solar investing hundreds of millions of dollars across the Country. Join Yann as he walks you through the most important issues in energy. With expert guests and insiders that have been in your shoes and tell you what creates an impact in your business every day.

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SolarWakeup Live! with Yann Brandt

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