May 30, 2023

599: How To Effectively Clear The Way For More Renewables Investment And Deployment, w/Nexamp’s Zaid Ashai and DWS’ Priscilla Lu, live from MWSE ’23

1 hour 1 minute

Live from Midwest Solar Expo ‘23, listen in as I speak with two established industry experts about how we can work more effectively with corporate investors, policymakers, and utilities to grow solar and storage.

Dr. Priscilla Lu serves as Managing Director at Deutsche Bank DWS Asset Management Sustainable Investments Group where she helps the world's largest corporations lower their carbon footprint and understand and manage their ESG metrics.

Zaid Ashai has been CEO of Nexamp, one of the country's largest solar and storage developers, for a decade. In that time, he has overseen the development of the largest portfolio of owner-operated community solar projects in the Nation and has helped develop most of the thriving markets. His perspectives on what is needed to continue to grow this critical 4th vertical of solar is insightful for those who wish to bolster their portfolio with this highly valuable asset.

In our interview, Priscilla talks about how industry leaders and advocates can make it easier for corporates to invest in US solar and storage. We can push our government to take a more proactive role in helping developers, bankers, and leasing companies report the valid and verifiable data needed to determine the investment viability of large-scale renewables projects. And she brings perspective from Europe and Asia that can inform how we consider our operations and client engagements here in the USA.

Zaid describes how we can build “a groundswell of support for solar” by altering public and government perceptions of this critical infrastructure via stronger civic engagement about how we are delivering long-term value. He also explains what companies can do to reshape the narratives with utilities and local government. Zaid’s view is one I share, that we are not doing enough as an industry at all levels to engage with our local officials and stakeholders to counter the lobby being presented against renewable energy by the incumbents from fossil fuels. We can and must do more. Zaid and I discuss how, and where, to put your time, money and effort.

Listen to my entire interview with Priscilla and Zaid to learn more about what we can do to effectively clear the way for renewables investment and deployment.

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By Nico Johnson

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