SunCast

As our Secretary of Energy says, deploy deploy deploy! It’s incredible to see how hard we’re pushing to modernize the grid, but, we also must maintain and ensure solar projects are delivering on every kilowatt hour that we promised. Today’s guest has been delivering on those promises for nearly two decades. 

Josh Fraughton, a renewable energy veteran with nearly two decades of experience in the solar industry, has seen firsthand the increasing need for a stable supply chain for solar O&M. So Josh collaborated with RNWBL at the founding of R7 Supply, a venture so immediately successful that it scaled to meet to start filling the gaps within 18 months and continues strong today under RNWBL.

Today, he shares his entrepreneurial journey with us. 

Expect to learn:

• Josh’s story of going from boots-on-the-roof as an installer to orchestrating O&M and supply chain operations for industry giants.
• A business idea to address a need in the solar industry that Nico and Josh both believe will be huge
• Josh’s plan to tackle obsolescence in solar components and ensure that systems remain efficient and viable over time.
• How well-intentioned entrepreneurs are creating their own inflation in the solar industry. 

Don't miss out – press play to learn more about optimizing the O&M side of the solar industry and Josh’s extensive experience solving the industry’s problems.

Increasing extreme weather events year over year are forcing all energy assets to reconsider asset protection and resilience. The solar industry has been wrongly accused of grid reliability issues in the face of these extreme events, but what does the data say from operating assets that have “weathered” the storms? 

Lightsource BP’s Kevin Christy is working to prove solar energy's resilience (especially during challenging weather conditions) and address misconceptions about renewable energy in grid stability and performance. As Head of Innovation and Operational Excellence for Lightsource BP, he and his colleague Dave Martin explore the future of solar energy, discussing advancements in technology, operational efficiency, and the crucial role of data analytics in optimizing solar plant performance.

Expect to learn:

• Strategies for managing solar assets during extreme weather events (like hail mitigation and Texas’s Winter Storm Uri)
• Exactly how reliable solar is in extreme weather
• How automation and digitalization will change solar plant operations and maintenance
• The role of renewable energy, particularly solar, in creating a more stable energy grid
• How Kevin Christy addresses common misconceptions about renewable energy's grid impact

This episode is essential listening for anyone interested in the cutting-edge of solar innovation and the pivotal role renewables will play in shaping a stable power supply.

Our guest today points out that energy efficiency is actually employing MILLIONS MORE than Renewable Energy as a sector!

Paula Glover, President of the Alliance to Save Energy, is fighting on the front lines to reduce energy waste. She uses her platform to champion energy efficiency as a cost-saving measure and a fundamental principle for achieving energy justice and economic growth. Paula believes that the "first fuel" is non-consumption. 

Paula’s a returning guest to the show (Ep 333) but it’s our first time digging into her career evolution and role in championing Energy Efficiency.

Expect to learn: 

• How many people the energy efficiency sector employs (hint: it's way more than you think)
• Why energy efficiency is foundational to achieving broader economic and environmental goals
• Paula and the Alliance to Save Energy's strategies to educate the younger generation about energy efficiency 
• An unlikely ally to black industry leadership that led to a best-selling book 
• Why Paula thinks diversity, justice, equity and inclusion have been sidelined as a conversation.

Why are you still reading…click play and find out for yourself.

Permitting. The word is enough to send shivers down the spines of most PV professionals.

Obtaining permits for solar projects, no matter the scale, is a major roadblock in the transition to renewable energy, and often causes project delays that last weeks or even months. Robin Laine, CEO & Co-founder of Transect,is working to simplify the land permitting process for solar developers.

Robin, who has a background in environmental consulting, founded Transect to address the inefficiencies plaguing the solar project permitting process. Their due diligence software is designed to streamline site assessments for land developers in the renewable energy industry. Transect reduces assessment timelines from weeks to minutes by leveraging an innovative mix of public and proprietary datasets, and helps developers ensure they are focusing their efforts on the right properties and activities to get more solar through the permitting queue.

Expect to learn: 

• How Robin and her co-founder collected and leveraged freely available land data to create a desperately needed tool for developers
• How Transect developed their Minimum Viable Product (MVP) 
• Why Transect's early success with customers like Recurrent Energy set them apart from competitors and positioned them as a leader in the field.
• What it took for Transect to acquire significant clients and secure Series A funding.
• Transect’s plan to continuously innovate and iterate products to maintain market relevance and accelerate the energy transition.

Robin Laine's story showcases the entrepreneurial spirit needed to make the clean energy transition more efficient and accessible. 

Ready to get inside the mind of a creative front-line solar warrior? Hit play!