Clean Power Hour

Solar asset management inside a 35-year ownership model: CJ Colavito and Jay Smith of Standard Solar explain what it actually takes to own distributed generation projects for decades, from evaluating tracker and inverter reliability to redesigning inverter specs around eventual failure.

In this episode of Clean Power Hour, Tim Montague sits down with CJ Colavito, General Manager of Integrated Project Teams, and Jay Smith, VP of Operations and Maintenance and Asset Management, to discuss what they have learned from developing, building, owning, and operating commercial and community solar projects.

The conversation goes deep on one of the biggest challenges facing the solar industry: how to balance cost, performance, reliability, and long-term asset value.

Tim, CJ, and Jay also discuss:

• Why thorough project diligence can reduce delays, change orders, and budget overruns

• Standard Solar's integrated project team model and its focus on execution excellence

• The challenges of rooftop solar and why project scale matters

• Connector reliability, wire management, and lessons from thermal events

• What Standard Solar looks for when selecting tracker technology

• Tracker reliability, maintenance, snow shedding, and hail protection

• Standard Solar's approach to inverter selection and long-term reliability

• Why inverter failures can have a much greater financial impact than the initial equipment cost

• The importance of manufacturer support and warranties over the life of a project

• How changing supply-chain and foreign entity requirements are affecting equipment decisions

• Adding AC-coupled batteries to existing community solar projects

• How Standard Solar is adapting its business as the solar market and technology continue to evolve

The episode comes at an important moment for the industry. As solar portfolios grow and assets age, the focus is increasingly shifting from simply adding megawatts to ensuring those assets can perform reliably over the long term. 

Listen to the full conversation for an inside look at how an experienced solar owner-operator thinks about technology, reliability, O&M, project execution, and the future of distributed solar.

Connect with Guest 

Jay Smith LinkedIn

CJ Colavito LinkedIn

Standard Solar Website

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The Clean Power Hour is produced by the Clean Power Consulting Group and created by Tim Montague. Contact us by email:  [email protected]

Corporate sponsors who share our mission to speed the energy transition are invited to check out https://www.cleanpowerhour.com/support/

The Clean Power Hour is brought to you by CPS America, maker of North America’s number one 3-phase string inverter, with over 6GW shipped in the US. With a focus on commercial and utility-scale solar and energy storage, the company partners with customers to provide unparalleled performance and service. The CPS America product lineup includes 3-phase string inverters from 25kW to 275kW, exceptional data communication and controls, and energy storage solutions designed for seamless integration with CPS America systems.  Learn more at www.chintpowersystems.com

The Federal Communications Commission's new ban on foreign-produced solar inverters left the industry without clear answers on warehoused stock, firmware updates, and grid cybersecurity risk. 

On this episode of The Clean Power Hour Live, hosts Tim Montague and John Weaver break down the foreign inverter ban alongside new Section 232 solar tariffs that set a 38 cent per watt minimum price on modules. They also cover a Reuters report on Chinese electric truck exports climbing as diesel prices spike across Southeast Asia, a 30% efficient perovskite-silicon solar panel from Tandem PV headed to market this fall, and a phishing scam using fake zoning invoices to target solar contractors. Recorded live on August 21, 2026, this episode covers solar policy, battery storage, and grid security in one sitting.

EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS

• FCC added foreign inverters and communication devices to its Covered List on July 28, citing grid cybersecurity risk from remote firmware updates. (PV Magazine)
• Section 232 solar tariffs raise panel costs. New tariffs set minimum import prices of 38 cents per watt for modules, 22 cents for cells, and roughly 14 cents for wafers. (PV Tech)
• Chinese electric truck exports climb amid Iran war fuel spike . (Reuters)
• Tandem PV ships a production-quality 30% efficient perovskite-silicon panel (PV Magazine). 
• Enphase launches the IQ Battery C80 commercial battery. The 80 kWh AC-coupled unit delivers up to 40 kVA of continuous power and targets small commercial and industrial demand charge management projects. (Enphase)
• Octopus Energy customers earn nearly 100 million pounds in solar export payments. (Solar Power Portal).
• Security alert: fake zoning permit invoices target solar contractors. John shares an AI-generated phishing email built from public permit records, disguised as a $6,700 town zoning fee. (Blue Sky)

This episode is built for solar installers, project developers, and policy watchers tracking how tariffs and cybersecurity rules are reshaping equipment sourcing. With Section 232 tariffs taking effect in December and the FCC inverter ban already in force, procurement decisions made this fall carry real cost and timeline consequences.

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The Clean Power Hour is produced by the Clean Power Consulting Group and created by Tim Montague. Contact us by email:  [email protected]

Corporate sponsors who share our mission to speed the energy transition are invited to check out https://www.cleanpowerhour.com/support/

The Clean Power Hour is brought to you by CPS America, maker of North America’s number one 3-phase string inverter, with over 6GW shipped in the US. With a focus on commercial and utility-scale solar and energy storage, the company partners with customers to provide unparalleled performance and service. The CPS America product lineup includes 3-phase string inverters from 25kW to 275kW, exceptional data communication and controls, and energy storage solutions designed for seamless integration with CPS America systems.  Learn more at www.chintpowersystems.com

Chris Koczaja grew LightWave Solar to 30 million dollars by refusing to chase every deal. This is the discipline that got him there.

Chris Koczaja is the CEO of LightWave Solar, a residential and commercial solar and storage installer in Nashville, Tennessee, now in its 20th year in business. 

In this conversation, Tim Montague asks Koczaja what actually separates a good solar company from a great one: recruiting and retaining strong teams, planning so thoroughly that execution has no surprises, a philosophy Koczaja calls building boring solar, and never betting growth on a single revenue stream, a rule he calls three ways to win. They also cover why LightWave solar refuses to install unproven technology, how residential battery storage is changing the customer conversation, and what's shifting across the Tennessee Valley as utilities adjust to rising demand and changing federal incentives.

In this episode:

• What separates a good solar company from a great one
• Why LightWave builds boring solar on purpose
• Koczaja's three ways to win growth framework
• Why LightWave waits to adopt new battery and inverter technology
• How LightWave retains talent, including its boomerang employees
• Building a strong reputation in a market with bad actors
• Residential battery storage, resiliency, and home microgrids
• The Tennessee Valley Authority and the changing grid
• The ITC phase-out and what it means for installers

The residential ITC phased out at the end of last year, and the commercial ITC begins phasing out through 2029, while the storage ITC runs through 2032, a gap Koczaja says is already changing how LightWave pairs solar with storage. 

TVA reserve margins are tightening as data center demand grows, pushing local power companies toward flexibility programs and local generation. For installers working with fewer incentives and a tighter grid, this conversation shows a Tennessee Valley strategy built for both.

Chris and Tim will both be at the Tennessee Valley Solar and Storage Conference, September 2 and 3 in Chattanooga, hosted by TenneSEIA. 

[REGISTER FOR TENNESEIA] 

Connect with Chris Koczaja

Chris Koczaja LinkedIn

LightWave Solar Website

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Connect with Tim  

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Tim on Twitter
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Review Clean Power Hour on Apple Podcasts

The Clean Power Hour is produced by the Clean Power Consulting Group and created by Tim Montague. Contact us by email:  [email protected]

Corporate sponsors who share our mission to speed the energy transition are invited to check out https://www.cleanpowerhour.com/support/

The Clean Power Hour is brought to you by CPS America, maker of North America’s number one 3-phase string inverter, with over 6GW shipped in the US. With a focus on commercial and utility-scale solar and energy storage, the company partners with customers to provide unparalleled performance and service. The CPS America product lineup includes 3-phase string inverters from 25kW to 275kW, exceptional data communication and controls, and energy storage solutions designed for seamless integration with CPS America systems.  Learn more at www.chintpowersystems.com

Enhanced rock weathering pulls carbon dioxide from the air using crushed rock. Jim Mann, CEO and founder of Undo, explains how the process works and why the technology scales fast. Undo turns rock dust into permanent carbon storage and sells credits to Microsoft and British Airways at $350 a ton, a price Mann expects to halve within years.

The atmosphere holds 1.7 trillion tons of legacy CO2, and enhanced rock weathering ranks among the few carbon removal pathways built to pull carbon out for good. Jim Mann, CEO and founder of Undo, joins host Tim Montague to break down how his company spreads crushed basalt on farmland to speed up natural rock weathering by 50,000 to 100,000 times, turning atmospheric CO2 into bicarbonate that stays locked in the ocean for around 100,000 years.

Undo counts Microsoft, Barclays, British Airways, and McLaren Racing among its customers, selling durable carbon removal credits at roughly $350 a ton today, with a path toward half that price as the company scales. Mann and Montague debate whether net zero targets go far enough, why the EU's carbon border adjustment mechanism forms the backbone of a real carbon market, and what enhanced rock weathering needs to move from thousands of tons a year to the gigaton scale the IPCC says the world needs.

Here is what you will learn in this conversation about enhanced rock weathering and carbon removal economics:

• You'll learn how Undo speeds up natural rock weathering by 50,000 to 100,000 times by spreading crushed basalt on farmland.
• Find out why bicarbonate formed through enhanced rock weathering stays locked in the ocean for around 100,000 years.
• Understand how Undo prices carbon removal credits near $350 a ton today, and why Mann expects the price to fall by half.
• Hear Tim push back on net zero as a partial solution, since 1.7 trillion tons of CO2 already sit in the atmosphere.
• Learn how the EU's carbon border adjustment mechanism links carbon removal to emissions trading and builds a real compliance market.

The EU's carbon border adjustment mechanism now stands in force, and similar rules move through the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Vietnam, and Cambodia. Regulators start linking carbon removal directly to emissions trading, moving today's voluntary carbon market toward a compliance market with real teeth. 

If you are trying to figure out where permanent carbon removal fits next to renewables and storage in your own project pipeline or client conversations, this episode gives you the numbers to start that conversation. 

Connect with Jim Mann, Undo 

Jim Mann | LinkedIn 

UNDO Website 

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Connect with Tim  

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Tim on LinkedIn 

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Review Clean Power Hour on Apple Podcasts

The Clean Power Hour is produced by the Clean Power Consulting Group and created by Tim Montague. Contact us by email:  [email protected]

Corporate sponsors who share our mission to speed the energy transition are invited to check out https://www.cleanpowerhour.com/support/

The Clean Power Hour is brought to you by CPS America, maker of North America’s number one 3-phase string inverter, with over 6GW shipped in the US. With a focus on commercial and utility-scale solar and energy storage, the company partners with customers to provide unparalleled performance and service. The CPS America product lineup includes 3-phase string inverters from 25kW to 275kW, exceptional data communication and controls, and energy storage solutions designed for seamless integration with CPS America systems.  Learn more at www.chintpowersystems.com

Dual-use solar financing in action: Sunrise Solar's Richard Stoltzfus built a 700 kW behind-the-meter array for Harbor Sales Company. The build stacks a USDA REAP grant with a Maryland MEA grant and drives the customer's levelized energy cost to near zero.

A 700 kW behind-the-meter solar array now offsets 70 percent of the electric load at Harbor Sales Company, a plywood and sign-panel distributor that has run out of Sudlersville, Maryland since 1931. 

Richard Stoltzfus, CEO of Sunrise Solar, and Kendrick Tice, COO of Sunrise Solar, join host Tim Montague to walk through their Chestertown-based company's build for Harbor Sales. 

Montague and Stoltzfus dig into the mechanics of commercial solar incentives in Maryland, the sunset of the 30 percent federal ITC, and why rural electric cooperatives in the PJM region are capping new solar interconnections even as demand for grid capacity grows.

Here is what you will learn in this conversation about dual-use solar and commercial solar incentives:

• Learn how Sunrise Solar stacked a USDA REAP grant with Maryland's MEA grant to push a customer's levelized cost of energy toward zero on a 700 kW system.
• Find out how a 700 kW array offsets 70 percent of Harbor Sales Company's load and pencils out to more than 3 million dollars in savings over 25 years.
• Understand why the 30 percent ITC sunset and Delmarva Power's tightening interconnection limits pushed this project from planning into construction.
• Hear Kendrick Tice explain why Sunrise Solar sources its racking from one manufacturing partner instead of juggling multiple vendors, and what that does for project timelines.
• Hear Tim Montague weigh in on whether rural cooperatives in the PJM region can keep pace with rising demand for grid capacity and where incentive structures differ from state to state.

Maryland's grant-stacking model, layering a USDA REAP grant on top of a state MEA grant, offers a template for other states as the federal 30 percent ITC winds down. At the same time, rural cooperatives across the PJM footprint are capping new solar interconnections, a constraint Stoltzfus and Tice say is already blocking chicken farmers and dairy operations from going solar. Professionals financing behind-the-meter projects in cooperative territory will find the co-op discussion directly relevant to deals in the pipeline right now.

Connect with Guests 

Richard Stoltzfus | LinkedIn 

Kendrick Tice | LinkedIn 

Sunrise Solar | Website 

Support the show

Connect with Tim  

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Clean Power Hour on YouTube
Tim on Twitter
Tim on LinkedIn 

Email [email protected] 

Review Clean Power Hour on Apple Podcasts

The Clean Power Hour is produced by the Clean Power Consulting Group and created by Tim Montague. Contact us by email:  [email protected]

Corporate sponsors who share our mission to speed the energy transition are invited to check out https://www.cleanpowerhour.com/support/

The Clean Power Hour is brought to you by CPS America, maker of North America’s number one 3-phase string inverter, with over 6GW shipped in the US. With a focus on commercial and utility-scale solar and energy storage, the company partners with customers to provide unparalleled performance and service. The CPS America product lineup includes 3-phase string inverters from 25kW to 275kW, exceptional data communication and controls, and energy storage solutions designed for seamless integration with CPS America systems.  Learn more at www.chintpowersystems.com

Georgia is the second-largest data center market in the country, and its grid is straining under load growth no one predicted five years ago. Michael Chanin, CEO of Cherry Street Energy, joins Tim to break down how behind-the-meter solar and storage are stepping in, why utilities need private capital to keep rates in check, and what a multi-gigawatt data center outside Savannah means for the region.

Tim sits down with Michael Chanin, CEO of Cherry Street Energy, a vertically integrated power company based in Georgia that develops, owns, and operates behind-the-meter solar and storage for commercial and industrial customers across the Southeast.

Georgia repealed its ban on third-party solar ownership in 2015, opening the door for "Solar Energy Procurement Agreements" (Georgia's version of a PPA). Since then, Cherry Street has built a customer base that includes Delta Air Lines, Porsche Cars North America, Gulfstream, and the City of Atlanta, offering no-cost, no-upfront-investment solar that cuts customers' energy bills and carbon footprint.

Chanin and Tim dig into what is driving unprecedented load growth in Georgia: the state is now the second-largest data center market in the US after Virginia, and OpenAI recently announced its "Project Camellia" data center campus near Savannah in Effingham County, a $20 billion, 3.2-gigawatt (3,200 MW) project built in partnership with Georgia Power. On the recording, Chanin describes the project as a joint Anthropic/OpenAI announcement and cites 4,000 megawatts of capacity; public reporting on this specific project ties it to OpenAI at roughly 3,200 MW, so that detail is worth a quick check with Chanin or Cherry Street before publishing.

Other topics covered:

• How Cherry Street's economics pencil out: average customer electricity cost of 10-12 cents/kWh, build costs under $1.50/watt, and how real-time pricing has made solar competitive even against historically cheap fossil generation
• Cherry Street's solar-plus-storage pilot with Georgia Power and the emerging value stack for behind-the-meter batteries (capacity payments, energy payments, demand management)
• Georgia's Public Service Commission, including Chair Jason Shaw and newly elected Democratic commissioners Alicia Johnson and Peter Hubbard
• Cherry Street's vertically integrated delivery model: in-house engineers, general contractors, and site supervisors that take a project from signed contract to energized system in under 100 days

Cherry Street Energy shows what happens when a state removes one legal barrier and lets the market do the rest. Georgia's 2015 shift on third-party ownership opened the door. Rising load growth from data centers and electrification is now forcing utilities, regulators, and private developers to work together on a scale nobody planned for a few years ago. Chanin's take is clear: solar and storage are not a side story in Georgia's power future. They are becoming part of how the state keeps the lights on and the bills manageable. Listen to the full conversation for the details on Cherry Street's build process, its storage pilot with Georgia Power, and what EPCs and developers should know before entering the Southeast market.

Connect with Michael Chanin, Cherry Street Energy
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelchanin/
Website: https://www.cherrystreet.com/

Support the show

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Email [email protected] 

Review Clean Power Hour on Apple Podcasts

The Clean Power Hour is produced by the Clean Power Consulting Group and created by Tim Montague. Contact us by email:  [email protected]

Corporate sponsors who share our mission to speed the energy transition are invited to check out https://www.cleanpowerhour.com/support/

The Clean Power Hour is brought to you by CPS America, maker of North America’s number one 3-phase string inverter, with over 6GW shipped in the US. With a focus on commercial and utility-scale solar and energy storage, the company partners with customers to provide unparalleled performance and service. The CPS America product lineup includes 3-phase string inverters from 25kW to 275kW, exceptional data communication and controls, and energy storage solutions designed for seamless integration with CPS America systems.  Learn more at www.chintpowersystems.com

The U.S. needs 400 GW of new capacity over the next two decades. Michael Grasso, CEO and founder of Grid Rails, tells Tim Montague that roughly twice that much flexible capacity is already plugged in, and explains why only 20% of eligible devices are enrolled in virtual power plant programs today.

Data centers, EVs, heat pumps, and new construction are pushing U.S. electricity demand up by roughly 50%, about 400 gigawatts over the next two decades. The reflex answer is to build more generation. Michael Grasso thinks we are solving the wrong problem.

Grasso is the CEO and founder of Grid Rails, and he spent 17 years getting to that conclusion. He helped deploy the first residential storage batteries at Sunrun, first on LG Chem hardware and then on Tesla, and he ran the largest residential storage virtual power plant in the country at Sunnova, supporting Luma's grid in Puerto Rico. His argument: the flexible capacity sitting inside the devices causing the load growth is close to double the load growth itself. What is missing is the orchestration and settlement layer that turns those EVs, batteries, thermostats, and water heaters into dispatchable grid capacity, and pays the consumer for it in real time instead of months later as a buried bill credit.

Thirty-four states now have some form of demand response or VPP program on the books, and by Grasso's numbers, only about 20% of eligible devices are actually enrolled. Tim pushes hard on why, and on whether any of this pencils for a homeowner who does not want one more app sending notifications.

What you will learn:

• Why 80% of eligible devices are still on the sidelines, and why Grasso calls that a program design problem rather than a hardware problem
• How real-time settlement changes consumer behavior, and what it unlocks for utilities beyond incentives: collateral, cost of capital, bad debt, and new products like prepaid or unlimited EV charging
• Why Grid Rails is built for the moment a customer opts out, not for constant notifications, and how opt-out recovery keeps programs from quietly bleeding participants
• The ERCOT math driving utility urgency: roughly $50 per MWh bought forward against spot exposure that can run to $5,000
• What Grasso says a simple VPP application is worth to a household, around $500 a year in most markets and into the thousands in some, and why he thinks a more dynamic market leaves a lot more on the table
• Why per-device budgets matter, from capping EV charging at $15 a week to holding air conditioning to 20% of the bill

Grasso points to headlines warning that the largest utility in the country is signaling blackout risk as soon as 2027, and treats that as the pressure finally moving utilities toward orchestration. Tim comes at it as a customer, not an analyst: he does not have a battery yet, his own rate just jumped 25%, and he wants a number before he buys. That exchange is the heart of the episode.

Connect with Michael Grasso, Grid Rails
Michael Grasso | LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelpgrasso/
Grid Rails: https://gridrails.ai/
Email: [email protected]

Support the show

Connect with Tim  

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Clean Power Hour on YouTube
Tim on Twitter
Tim on LinkedIn 

Email [email protected] 

Review Clean Power Hour on Apple Podcasts

The Clean Power Hour is produced by the Clean Power Consulting Group and created by Tim Montague. Contact us by email:  [email protected]

Corporate sponsors who share our mission to speed the energy transition are invited to check out https://www.cleanpowerhour.com/support/

The Clean Power Hour is brought to you by CPS America, maker of North America’s number one 3-phase string inverter, with over 6GW shipped in the US. With a focus on commercial and utility-scale solar and energy storage, the company partners with customers to provide unparalleled performance and service. The CPS America product lineup includes 3-phase string inverters from 25kW to 275kW, exceptional data communication and controls, and energy storage solutions designed for seamless integration with CPS America systems.  Learn more at www.chintpowersystems.com

Wildfire smoke from Canada cut solar production across New England by as much as 40 percent, according to ISO New England, a loss of 2,500 megawatts at peak hours compared to the forecast. 

Tim Montague and John Weaver dig into that data, including John's own project numbers, on the Clean Power Hour Live. They also cover a massive BYD battery storage deal in Abu Dhabi, a new gas car ban in China, rising copper prices, and a wave of new battery products hitting the market. 

Whether you're an installer, developer, investor, or simply following the clean energy transition, this episode covers the trends you need to know.

In this episode:

• BYD secures an 11.275 GWh battery storage contract for one of the world's largest clean energy projects. (BYD Energy press release)
• Wildfire smoke cuts solar production by up to 40% in parts of New England. (WBUR)
• China's Hainan province set a 2030 deadline to ban new combustion engine car sales, with plans for new energy vehicles to reach 45 percent of the province's fleet. (Dialogue Earth)
• Massachusetts expanded its vehicle-to-grid and virtual power plant programs through the ConnectedSolutions initiative (regional VPP program).
• SEIA data shows utility-scale solar occupies just 0.07% of America's prime farmland. John Weaver corrects the math live, and SEIA's own figures show roughly 43 acres of abandoned prime farmland for every acre solar currently occupies. Tim and John debate the politics behind the farmland argument. (PV Magazine)
• Octopus Energy launches the Nook Cube smart battery for renters. (Renewable Energy Magazine)
• Copper prices continue climbing and what that means for future solar project costs. (BlueSky)

This episode fits solar developers, battery storage professionals, EPCs, and clean energy investors tracking both hardware innovation and real-world grid risk. The BYD deal and Octopus battery launch show where storage economics are heading, while the wildfire smoke data is a preview of a grid challenge more regions will face. Anyone pricing projects around copper costs or watching global EV policy will find useful detail here.

Support the show

Connect with Tim  

Clean Power Hour 
Clean Power Hour on YouTube
Tim on Twitter
Tim on LinkedIn 

Email [email protected] 

Review Clean Power Hour on Apple Podcasts

The Clean Power Hour is produced by the Clean Power Consulting Group and created by Tim Montague. Contact us by email:  [email protected]

Corporate sponsors who share our mission to speed the energy transition are invited to check out https://www.cleanpowerhour.com/support/

The Clean Power Hour is brought to you by CPS America, maker of North America’s number one 3-phase string inverter, with over 6GW shipped in the US. With a focus on commercial and utility-scale solar and energy storage, the company partners with customers to provide unparalleled performance and service. The CPS America product lineup includes 3-phase string inverters from 25kW to 275kW, exceptional data communication and controls, and energy storage solutions designed for seamless integration with CPS America systems.  Learn more at www.chintpowersystems.com

Power generation is changing fast. As utilities struggle with interconnection delays and growing electricity demand, businesses are looking for faster, more reliable ways to secure power.

In this episode of Clean Power Hour, Tim Montague sits down with Walt Jordan, Chief Revenue Officer at dGEN Energy Partners, to explore one of the least talked-about emerging technologies in distributed energy: linear generators.

Unlike traditional generators, linear generators have no crankshaft, no spark plugs, no engine oil, and very few moving parts. They are designed to operate continuously, and they run on multiple fuel sources, including natural gas, propane, hydrogen, ammonia, and biogas. Combined with solar, battery storage, and microgrids, they may offer commercial and industrial facilities a new path to reliable, behind-the-meter power that can lower their LCOE.

The conversation also explores why dGEN  Energy is combining roofing, solar, battery storage, and distributed generation into integrated energy solutions that help businesses reduce costs, improve resilience, and avoid lengthy utility interconnection delays.

Whether you work in commercial solar, microgrids, energy storage, EPC development, or distributed energy resources, this episode offers valuable insights into important technology options.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• What a linear generator is and how it differs from diesel generators
• Why dGEN Energy believes linear generators can complement solar and battery storage
• How the technology operates without spark plugs, oil, or traditional engine components
• The fuels linear generators can use, including hydrogen, propane, natural gas, ammonia, and biogas
• How behind-the-meter generation is helping businesses overcome utility interconnection delays and rising energy costs
• Why "speed to power" is becoming a competitive advantage
• How commercial roofing and solar can be combined into a single engineered capital project
• Where batteries, microgrids, and linear generators work together
• The emissions profile and efficiency of modern linear generators
• Real-world commercial and industrial applications for distributed generation
• What EPCs, facility owners, and developers should know before adopting this technology

As utilities struggle to keep pace with growing electricity demand and interconnection delays continue to slow new projects, businesses are being forced to rethink how they generate and manage power. This conversation with Walt Jordan explores why linear generators are emerging as a compelling option alongside solar, battery storage, and microgrids, especially for commercial and industrial facilities that cannot afford to wait years for grid upgrades.

Whether linear generators become a mainstream technology or remain a specialized solution, the bigger story is clear. Speed to power, energy resilience, and flexible distributed generation are becoming just as important as the cost of electricity itself. 

Connect with Walt Jordan:
Walt Jordan | LinkedIn
Website: https://dGEN energy.com

Support the show

Connect with Tim  

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Clean Power Hour on YouTube
Tim on Twitter
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Email [email protected] 

Review Clean Power Hour on Apple Podcasts

The Clean Power Hour is produced by the Clean Power Consulting Group and created by Tim Montague. Contact us by email:  [email protected]

Corporate sponsors who share our mission to speed the energy transition are invited to check out https://www.cleanpowerhour.com/support/

The Clean Power Hour is brought to you by CPS America, maker of North America’s number one 3-phase string inverter, with over 6GW shipped in the US. With a focus on commercial and utility-scale solar and energy storage, the company partners with customers to provide unparalleled performance and service. The CPS America product lineup includes 3-phase string inverters from 25kW to 275kW, exceptional data communication and controls, and energy storage solutions designed for seamless integration with CPS America systems.  Learn more at www.chintpowersystems.com

America's electric grid wasn't built for AI, electric vehicles, battery storage, or the rapid growth of renewable energy.

So how do we modernize a system that was built and started in the late 1800s and early 1900s, more than a century ago?

In this episode of Clean Power Hour, Tim Montague sits down with Zaid Ashai, CEO of Nexamp, the nation's largest community solar developer, to discuss community solar, battery storage, grid modernization, and why policy certainty is essential to building a cleaner, more reliable, and more affordable energy system.

Nexamp operates across 19 states and has become one of the leading developers of community solar, distributed generation, utility-scale solar, and battery storage. The conversation centers on the Clean and Reliable Grid Affordability Act, Illinois' new storage law that targets 3,000 megawatts of storage by the end of 2030, with the first procurement round set for August 2026 and two more rounds to follow in 2027 and 2028. Ashai lays out why 

In this episode, you'll learn:

• Why America's electric grid needs modernization 
• How community solar benefits homeowners, renters, businesses, and utilities 
• Why the Clean and Reliable Grid Affordability Act uses an indexed storage credit contract instead of a merchant revenue model 
• How storage unlocks additional generation capacity without new transmission and distribution buildout 
• What a Massachusetts ISO study found about grid size when storage is left out of the equation 
• Why Illinois requires 14 percent of a participating project's workforce to be equity eligible 
• How Nexamp's renewable energy fellowship with City Colleges of Chicago grew from 20 students toward a projected 80 by year-end 
• Why affordable clean energy starts with predictable regulation 
• How flexible interconnection and curtailment could unlock more capacity on the existing grid 
• Which states Nexamp is watching next for community solar and storage growth, including Ohio, Michigan, Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania

If you work in solar, battery storage, utilities, project development, energy policy, grid modernization, or renewable energy investing, this episode offers practical insights into where the industry is headed next.

The first Clean and Reliable Grid Affordability Act (CRGA) procurement round opens in August 2026, with two more rounds following in 2027 and 2028, so the pricing structure Ashai describes will shape Illinois storage economics for years. 

Illinois already holds the only B grade on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance Community Power Scorecard, ahead of New York, Massachusetts, and California, at a moment when federal support for clean energy programs is pulling back. For developers and investors watching how states balance affordability, reliability, and equity, Illinois is currently the clearest test case in the country.

About Zaid Ashai

Zaid Ashai is the CEO of Nexamp, the largest community solar developer in the United States. Under his leadership, Nexamp has expanded into battery storage, utility-scale solar, and integrated clean energy solutions across 19 states. He is passionate about building an affordable, reliable, and equitable clean energy future through innovation, smart policy, and grid modernization.

Connect with Zaid Ashai 

Zaid Ashai LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zaid-ahmad-ashai-aa1683/

Nexamp Website: https://www.nexamp.com/

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Review Clean Power Hour on Apple Podcasts

The Clean Power Hour is produced by the Clean Power Consulting Group and created by Tim Montague. Contact us by email:  [email protected]

Corporate sponsors who share our mission to speed the energy transition are invited to check out https://www.cleanpowerhour.com/support/

The Clean Power Hour is brought to you by CPS America, maker of North America’s number one 3-phase string inverter, with over 6GW shipped in the US. With a focus on commercial and utility-scale solar and energy storage, the company partners with customers to provide unparalleled performance and service. The CPS America product lineup includes 3-phase string inverters from 25kW to 275kW, exceptional data communication and controls, and energy storage solutions designed for seamless integration with CPS America systems.  Learn more at www.chintpowersystems.com