Industrial heat is a major source of carbon emissions and there is an emerging ecosystem of next-generation solar thermal technologies targeting this sector. Phoenix Solar Thermal is one such company. Their single-axis tracker concentrating solar collectors produce high temperatures, providing heat and steam to replace fossil fuel. They are initially targeting university campuses (combined heat and power), breweries, and food processing, and then secondarily pulp and paper, and mining and mineral extraction industries. 

Matt Lensink is the founder of Phoenix Solar Thermal and CEO of CEM engineering in Ontario Canada. Phoenix Solar Thermal has a North American exclusive license to sell Absolicon technology from Sweden. CEM Engineering helps industrial customers identify and implement the best technology-based solution to reduce natural gas, electricity, and water consumption. 

Matt Lensink has over 15 years of experience in power generation, combined heat and power (chp), and biogas. Matt and Lisa Katz, the Director of Business Development & Marketing at CEM Engineering, host a popular renewable energy podcast, the Energy Radio Podcast.

They joined us on the Clean Power Hour previously to talk about how we can accelerate the decarbonization of thermal energy, why it’s crucial to clean up thermal power, and how CEM is evolving into the renewable energy space. 

In this episode of the Clean Power Hour, Matt joins Tim Montague to discuss their new tracker technology from ABSOLICON, their go-to-market strategy and how solar is decarbonizing industrial heat applications.

Key Takeaways

Their new Absolicon solar thermal tracker technology

How much of the thermal load can they reduce with solar thermal collectors 

How they are tackling the price spike of natural gas

What a success story for a Phoenix Solar Thermal installation looks like

Who is Phoenix Solar Thermal's target audience 

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Connect with Phoenix Solar

Connect with CEM Engineering

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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

Community solar allows households to tap into a local shared solar farm and see savings on their electric bill. This spreads the cost and enables a broader consumer audience to enjoy the benefits of greening the grid.

Camelia Miu is the Chief Financial Officer of Nautilus Solar Energy, a leading owner-operator of community solar projects throughout the United States. Nautilus Solar has been in the solar industry since 2006 and, through its Community Solar initiative, is making solar energy available to a broader marketplace in the Northeast and Midwest US.

Camelia has over 15 years of experience working in the renewable energy industry. Before joining Nautilus, she held positions as Vice President of Project Finance and Director of Financial Planning and Analysis at SoCore Energy.

On this episode of Clean Power Hour, Camelia joins Tim Montague to explain what Nautilus Solar is, their business model, what makes Nautilus stand out from other community solar developers, and much more.

Camelia describes her role at Nautilus and how her experience in accounting and finance has helped her there.

Listen in to understand what you stand to gain as a consumer when subscribing to community solar and how Nautilus solar is making community solar happen.

Key Takeaways
1. How Camelia got into the renewable energy industry?
2. What makes Nautilus stand out from other community solar developers?
3. What does the Nautilus’ future in solar look like?
4. Camelia’s role at Nautilus
5. What goes into financing solar projects in 2022?
6. What do you stand to gain as a consumer when subscribing to community solar?

Connect with Camelia

Nautilus Solar

Nautilus Solar on LinkedIn

Camelia on LinkedIn

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The Clean Power Hour is produced by the Clean Power Consulting Group and created by Tim Montague. Please subscribe on your favorite audio platform and on YouTube: bit.ly/cph-sub | www.CleanPowerHour.com | contact us by email: [email protected] | Speeding the energy transition!

Corporate sponsors who share our mission to speed the energy transition are invited to check out https://www.cleanpowerhour.com/support/
Twice a week we highlight the tools, technologies, and innovators that are making the clean energy transition a reality - on Apple,

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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

With the Inflation Reduction Act signed into law, the solar industry is set to grow at 40% over the baseline projections by 2027. However, this growth is hindered by the lack of enough skilled laborers in the solar industry. The solution is developing an automation platform to reduce the cost and increase the scalability of utility-scale solar.

Terabase Energy is a technology solutions company on a mission to reduce costs and accelerate deployment by digitizing and automating solar power plants' development, construction, and operations.

Matt Campbell is the co-founder and CEO of Terabase energy. Matt had joined Tim previously to talk about, what it would take to achieve a terawatt-scale solar power, and how to build solar plants faster and make the process cheaper. 

On this episode of Clean Power Hour, Matt joins Tim to discuss the automation side of solar construction, the technologies they have to help push their goals, and their automation model for the construction of solar structures.

Listen in to understand why automation of some tasks of solar construction doesn't necessarily mean eliminating the need for human labor force but instead creating quality jobs.

Key Takeaways

1. What is the Status of Terabase energy, its technologies, and priorities?
2. What are the challenges that Terabase energy is tackling?
3. What is their solution to the lack of enough skilled labor force in the solar industry?
4. How will automation of some of the tasks of solar plant construction improve the quality of jobs and solve the lack of enough skilled labor?
5. How do their technologies help reduce the cost of solar construction?

You can watch Matt's previous episode here; https://bit.ly/3S1qRtN

You can listen to that episode here;https://bit.ly/3d7vrIp

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Terabase Energy 

Terabase on LinkedIn

Matt on LinkedIn

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Resources

SunPower 

RE|Plant Solutions

PlantPredict

Mammoth Solar Farm Project

Ultra Low-Carbon Solar Alliance 

Solar Power International 

The Clean Power Hour is produced by the Clean Power Consulting Group and created by Tim Montague. Please subscribe on your favorite audio platform and on Youtube: bit.ly/cph-sub | www.CleanPowerHour.com | contact us by email:  [email protected] | Speeding the energy transition!

Matt Campbell

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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

Subscribe: https://bit.ly/cph-sub

The Clean Power Hour live brings you the latest cleantech and clean energy news, thought leaders, and innovators. Our motto is ‘Speeding the Energy Transition!’

The podcast is available on Youtube and audio platforms like Spotify, Apple, Google, and Amazon. Each week, we bring you interviews with cleantech entrepreneurs, investors, manufacturers, and energy professionals writ large.

Listen, like, comment, and share! Get all of our content at www.CleanPowerHour.com and reach out to Tim Montague @tgmontague on Twitter or Gmail.

The Clean Power Hour hosts and cleantech professionals Tim Montague and John Weaver (the Commercial Solar Guy) bring you the latest solar, wind, and energy storage news.

Here is what we discussed;
1. “Rivian activates solar canopy charging yard: Trucks will receive their first charge at the Rivian factory from renewable energy produced by the 783 kW solar parking canopy.”

2. New Chevy EV truck launch, the bed opening into the cab suggests a tented structure that can be nicely used

3. 100 MPGe or greater EV list: 17 models, there were a total of 37 unique configurations that achieved 100 MPGe or higher. The Tesla Model 3 in rear-wheel drive configuration achieved the highest rating for MY 2022 with 132 MPGe.

4. “First half of 2022- Renewables entirely met the rise in demand, so...🏭No increase in coal and gas worldwide

5. The price of electricity is going up a lot in New England due to gas pricing being very strong, the chart showing the jump

6. EIA says LNG exports are a key to the US Henry Hub spot price about doubling in 2022 compared to 2021. Record-high LNG exports are a growing source of gas demand. Since 2021, the volume of LNG exports has exceeded the gas consumed in the commercial sector

7. Coupled with the above story is that residential solar has increased a bit in price by 20-40 cents/Wdc, but the price of electricity will more than make up for that in ROI savings

8. “World’s Largest Storage-as-Transmission Project Announced by Fluence and TransnetBW to Strengthen Energy Security and Renewable Integration in Germany…reduce the need for conventional network reinforcement and operating costs…at a strategic network node…allows maximization of powerlines’

9. The IRA is going to the IRS for comments to define certain aspects - these are questions being asked via lawyers from developers
https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/irs-asks...

10. The price of shipping is WAY down from the covid peak - equivalent to a few pennies per kWh 

11. Republicans and Democrats both feel similarly to saving money when polled about solar - and it matters more that climate change or other matters

12. Tracking the sun report by Lawrence Berkeley National Lab - one thing to note - residential solar in Hawaii is coupled with batteries 93% of the time!!

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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

Solar inspection in an industrial solar farm is an enormous task, even for large companies. It takes days or even weeks for teams to do a complete sweep of the solar project from the ground. Aerial solar inspection has become the easiest and best way to inspect solar.

Mark Culpepper is the general manager of DroneBase, the leader in intelligent aerial imaging and data analytics for the entire lifecycle of renewable energy assets. Dronebase uses manned and unmanned drones with thermal and RGB (visible light) cameras to inspect solar farms from above.

Mark joined DroneBase in 2021 when his Precision XYZ, a solar-focused drone data services firm Mark founded in 2016, was acquired by Dronebase. He previously worked as the Chief Technology Officer, GM Global Asset Management, from 2005 to 2011 for SunEdison.

On this episode of Clean Power Hour, Mark joins Tim Montague to discuss Dronebase’s unique solar inspection model, the limitations and challenges Dronebase is facing using manned and unmanned aircraft for solar inspection, and much more.

Marc explains how a gap in the market drove him from SunEdison to the drone solar data market and Precision XYZ’s acquisition by Dronebase.

Listen in for insight on how drones are used to gather data on solar projects and much more.

Key Takeaways
1. How Mark got involved with solar energy?
2. His work at SunEdison?
3. The thinking behind founding Precision XYZ.
4. The challenges he faced in the early days at Precision XYZ.
5. How he got involved with drones to do topography mapping, construction inspection, and thermal inspection?
6. The Dronebase acquisition process of Precision XYZ.
7. Dronebase’s business model.
8. The challenges of using manned and unmanned drones for solar assessment.

Subscribe: https://bit.ly/cph-sub
Bringing you the latest cleantech and clean energy news, thought leaders, and innovators. Our motto is ‘Speeding the Energy Transition!’
The podcast is available on YouTube and audio platforms like Spotify, Apple, Google, and Amazon. Each week, we bring you interviews with cleantech entrepreneurs, investors, manufacturers, and energy professionals writ large. What technologies are trending? Why are we excited about agrivoltaics or dual-use solar? What are the challenges and opportunities for renewable energy, electrification of transportation, and decarbonizing the economy?

Listen, like, comment, and share! Get all of our content at www.CleanPowerHour.com and reach out to Tim Montague @tgmontague on Twitter or Gmail.

The Clean Power Hour hosts and cleantech professionals Tim Montague and John Weaver (the Commercial Solar Guy) bring you the latest solar, wind, and energy storage news.

Connect with Tim  

Clean Power Hour  

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Support the show

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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

According to the International Energy Agency, three quarters of the energy used by industry is not in the form of electricity. It's in the form of heat. 

And that industrial heat accounts for about a quarter of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions.

But what if we could turn low-cost, intermittent wind and solar energy into continuous heat and successfully decarbonize industrial heat?

John O’Donnell serves as CEO of Rondo Energy, a company delivering the world’s lowest cost zero-carbon industrial heat.

He has made a career of bringing new technologies out of the laboratory and deploying them at scale in the computer, semiconductor and solar industries.

On this episode of Clean Power Hour, John joins Tim to explain how the Rondo Heat Battery captures intermittent solar and wind electricity and converts it into heat 

John describes how factories benefit from replacing existing boilers or furnaces with Rondo batteries and how the technology works with or without a grid connection.

Listen in to understand how the Rondo Heat Battery applies across multiple industries and learn how John’s solution can knock out 15% of the world’s total CO2 in 15 years!

Key Takeaways

John’s mission to provide the economical decarbonization of industrial heat

How Rondo’s batteries capture intermittent electricity and convert that electricity into heat

The one-megawatt hour per square meter physical footprint of Rondo Heat Batteries

What VC firms and grant funding contributed to Rondo’s first raise

How factories benefit from replacing existing boilers or furnaces with Rondo batteries

What makes Rondo a better method for decarbonizing industry than other existing options

How Rondo’s solution can knock out 15% of the world’s total CO2 in 15 years

How John thinks about deploying his solution where renewable energy is less accessible

How Rondo batteries work with or without a grid connection  

The 4 major market segments Rondo is targeting with its steam-generated heat battery

Why John’s sales team gets such a positive response from industry

The areas of greatest opportunity for Rondo in the US and around the world

 Connect with John

Rondo Energy 

Email [email protected] 

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Resources

IEA

Breakthrough Energy Ventures

Energy Impact Partners 

Rondo’s Zero-Emissions Cement Plant Project

Catalyst with Shayle Kahn

Greentech Media

Matt Campbell on Clean Power Hour EP075

Inflation Reduction Act of 2022

National Renewable Energy Lab

Sponsor 

Clean Power Consulting Group

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

Historically, it has been challenging for solar and wind developers to find an appropriate parcel of land, conduct an accurate valuation, and then make contact with the landowner.

But now there is a marketplace for land resources where developers can go to find parcels that meet their buy criteria and connect with landowners who want to get a deal done.

Yoann Hispa is Founder and CEO of LandGate, a data intelligence platform and marketplace for land and its resources.

An experienced entrepreneur in the energy and real estate space, Yoann built LandGate to make land and land resource deals more efficient for landowners, developers, real estate agents and investors.

On this episode of Clean Power Hour, Yoann joins Tim to explain how LandGate functions as the Zillow of land resources, helping landowners understand the potential in leasing to solar and wind developers.

Yoann describes LandGate’s valuation tools, discussing how the platform helps its developer and investor subscribers identify hot and high-value leads.

Listen in for insight on LandGate’s success in attracting investors of its own and learn how its marketplace can help you develop renewables projects and accelerate the clean energy transition.

 Key Takeaways

How making land resource deals more efficient inspired the creation of LandGate

How LandGate functions as the Zillow of land resources

How landowners benefit from using the LandGate resource valuation tools

How LandGate provides its developer, investor and private equity subscribers with hot leads

What Yoann’s team is doing to raise awareness of LandGate among landowners

Why LandGate focuses on serving real estate agents that specialize in land

How developers can use LandGate to identify parcels that fit their buy criteria

The hot and high-value leads available to developers through the LandGate marketplace

How much landowners can earn by leasing to energy developers for solar and wind projects

How the energy market has evolved over the last 7 years in favor of renewables

LandGate’s success in attracting investors like NextEra and Kimmeridge

The onboarding process for integrating LandGate’s API with other applications 

Connect with Yoann

LandGate

Email [email protected] 

 Connect with Tim  

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Tim on Twitter

Tim on LinkedIn 

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Resources

RE+

CoStar

LAND Magazines

Rice Investment Group

NextEra Energy

Kimmeridge

LandGate Raises $10M in Series B Funding Round Led by NextEra Energy Resources

Lightsource bp

Sponsor 

Clean Power Consulting Group

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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

When a grid gets congested, the excess energy generated at renewable plants is wasted. 

 But what if there was something we could do to mitigate that curtailment and monetize our excess wind, solar or hydroelectric power? 

John Belizaire is Founder and CEO at Soluna Computing, the leading developer of green data centers for batchable computing, powered by wasted renewable energy. 

With 25 years of experience as an enterprise software entrepreneur, John is passionate about using flexible computing to unleash the potential of renewable energy. 

On this episode of Clean Power Hour, John joins Tim to discuss the curtailment assessment Soluna uses to determine how much power is wasted at a plant and simulate the revenue recovery potential of building an on-site data center. 

John walks us through examples of batchable computing applications that Soluna can run through its facilities and describes how crypto adoption is likely to increase our need for computing power. 

Listen in for John's insight on viewing data centers as a service to the grid and learn how Soluna can help you sell every megawatt of renewable energy your power plant generates.

Key Takeaways

John's 25 years of experience as an enterprise software entrepreneur

How helping a stranded power plant in Morocco monetize power until the grid arrived led to the creation of Soluna Computing

Soluna's work with wind, solar and hydroelectric power plants

How Soluna's flexible computing facilities monetize excess power generated at renewable power plants

How Soluna's curtailment assessment determines how much power is wasted and simulates the revenue recovery associated with building an on-site data center

Soluna's presence in Texas, the Midwest and Northeast US as well as Canada and Europe

Examples of batchable computing applications that Soluna can run through its facilities (e.g.: the Netflix recommendation engine)

What differentiates batchable from real-time computing processes

How Soluna's data centers might accelerate renewable energy development

Why the promise of crypto adoption increases our need for computing power

John's aim to educate the energy industry around data centers as a service to the grid (not a load)

John's concerns around driving mass adoption of the Soluna solution

Connect with John

Soluna Computing

Soluna on Twitter

Soluna on LinkedIn

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Clean Power Hour  

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Tim on Twitter

Tim on LinkedIn 

Email [email protected] 

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Resources

ERCOT

SPP

Sponsor  

Clean Power Consulting Group

Support the show

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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

With the signing of the Inflation Reduction Act, the solar industry is projected to grow by leaps and bounds in the next several years. 

But such rapid growth is not without its challenges. How do we address the labor shortage in clean tech? And make sure that the abundance of new solar projects are built with a focus on quality?

Michael Eyman is Managing Director at Origis Services, a subsidiary of Origis Energy that delivers on the promise of clean power via operations and maintenance and asset management services for large-scale solar and energy storage facilities across North America. 

Michael spent 21 years as a pilot in the US Navy before transitioning to renewable power in 2012. He served in O&M and business development roles at SunPower and MaxGen Energy Services before joining the Origis team in 2018. 

On this episode of Clean Power Hour, Michael joins Tim to share his approach to recruiting and staffing, explaining the benefit of hiring people from adjacent industries and the job opportunities at Origis in the next five years.

Michael discusses Origis’ key customers, offering insight into why his team focuses on building deep, long-term relationships with developers with recurring business versus transactional opportunities.

Listen in to understand how cost-down pressure on solar leads to substandard infrastructure and learn how EPCs, developers and the finance industry can work together to ensure the long-term viability of the industry.

Key Takeaways 

Michael's transition from a career as a pilot in the US Navy to renewable power

Michael's approach to recruiting and staffing in clean tech and the benefit of hiring people from adjacent industries

Job opportunities for field personnel at Origis in the next 5 years

Why Michael’s team focuses on investing in its employees for the long-term

What the onboarding process looks like at Origis Services 

Why Origis focuses on building deep, long-term relationships with developers and owners with recurring business

How cost-down pressure on the solar industry leads to low-quality infrastructure

Why we’ve got to get realistic about cost and production capacity

What EPCs, solar developers and the finance industry can do to ensure that construction is high quality

How the demand for short-term profit hurts the long-term viability of solar energy

Connect with Michael

Origis Services

Michael on LinkedIn

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Tim on Twitter

Tim on LinkedIn 

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Resources

Inflation Reduction Act

NABCEP Certifications

OSHA 10-Hour Training Course

NFPA 70

FLSA Guidelines

Solar ITC

Renewable Electricity PTC

RE+

Sponsor 

Clean Power Consulting Group

Support the show

Connect with Tim  

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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

In the early days of solar development, we built solar farms and then locked the gate and walked away, completely missing the opportunity to the use the land under the panels for a productive, long-term purpose.

Enter agrivoltaics or dual-use solar, a technique where solar farms are built to allow for grazing or growing crops, creating a win-win situation for the farmer, the solar developer and the community at large.

Michael Marsch is Chief Development Officer at BlueWave Solar, a DG-scale regional solar developer and thought leader in the realm of agrivoltaics. Mike joined BlueWave in 2013, building and managing its Solar Project Development and Construction Team as the startup grew into a nationally-recognized impact company.

Prior to BlueWave, Mike was a traditional real estate developer in Southern California, serving as Principal at Beckett Holdings, Development Associate with The Ratkovich Company and Portfolio Manager at Briarwood Capital, 

On this episode of Clean Power Hour, Mike joins Tim to discuss the advantages of agrivoltaics, describing the synergies between active agricultural land use and solar development.

Mike addresses the partnership between Axium and BlueWave, explaining how the two organizations align around energy justice and how Mike’s team is using the capital to build clean energy infrastructure at scale.

 Listen in for insight on diversifying the workforce in the solar industry and learn how Mike thinks about communicating the benefits of agrivoltaics, community solar and battery storage. 

Key Takeaways

What inspired Mike’s transition from conventional real estate to mission-driven solar developer

BlueWave’s role as a DG-scale regional solar developer

What inspired the partnership between BlueWave and Axium and their alignment around energy justice

BlueWave’s thought leadership in the realm of agrivoltaics or dual-use solar

The opportunity to use the land under solar panels for grazing and growing crops

How BlueWave is working to get community solar in low- and moderate-income communities

How a capital partner like Axium allows BlueWave to build clean energy infrastructure at scale

Why it’s crucial for solar developers to do community outreach and be responsible in how we use land

How BlueWave leans on the InSPIRE Working Group, Jack’s Solar Garden and local farmers for innovative ideas in agrivoltaics 

What we can do to diversify the workforce in the solar industry

Why it’s important to communicate the value prop of battery storage to policymakers and utilities

Connect with Michael 

BlueWave Solar

Resources

Inflation Reduction Act

Solar Revolving Fund

BlueWave’s Partnership with Axium

Solar Energy Industries Association

Perch Energy

Qcells

Energy Investment Tax Credit

Nextracker

Array Technologies

NREL’s InSPIRE Working Group

Jack’s Garden with Byron Kominek on Clean Power Hour

Revolutionary Power: An Activist’s Guide to the Energy Transition by Shalanda Baker

Women in Cleantech & Sustainability

Update to BlueWave’s Anti-Racist Action Plan

Sponsor 

Clean Power Consulting Group

Support the show

Connect with Tim  

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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]

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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