Clean Power Hour

Get a 15% discount to attend Midwest Solar Expo with discount code: CPH15. www.MidwestSolarExpo.com/, the premier B2B solar and clean energy event in the region. 

To speed the clean energy transition, we need innovative businesses in the renewable energy space to scale quickly. 

And perhaps the best way for entrepreneurs and executives in clean tech to accelerate their growth is to join a mastermind, leveraging the knowledge, experience and network of the group to go further faster. 

Cliff Ravenscraft is the business mentor behind the Mindset Answer Man and the facilitator of the Next Level Mastermind Group. Deacon Bradley is the business growth consultant and mastermind facilitator at Sharp Business Growth.   

On this episode of Clean Power Hour, Cliff and Deacon join Tim to share their definition of a mastermind, describing how members come together around a shared goal and learn from one another.

Cliff and Deacon explain how masterminds work, discussing the hot seat model they use in their groups to help members accelerate their results. 

Listen in for success stories from the entrepreneurs and executives in Cliff and Deacon’s programs and find out how you might benefit from the support of a mastermind group.

Key Takeaways

How Deacon defines a mastermind as a group of people who come together around a shared goal

What inspired Deacon's transition from 1:1 coaching to facilitating a mastermind

How Deacon and Cliff were introduced to the mastermind community

Cliff's take on masterminds as a small group in which every member is committed to the success of every other member

How Cliff and Deacon's mastermind groups work

The hot seat model both Cliff and Deacon use in their mastermind groups

Other structures you might see in a mastermind group, i.e.: resource round-robin, book club or ask me anything

What outcomes entrepreneurs and executives can expect from participating in a mastermind 

How CEOs and execs in Deacon's mastermind benefit from participating in the group

Cliff's insight on how participating in a mastermind accelerates your results

The common question Deacon gets from prospective mastermind members around confidentiality

How Cliff thinks about building a level of trust among members of his mastermind groups 

Connect with Cliff 

Mindset Answer Man

Connect with Deacon

Sharp Business Growth Podcast 

Deacon on LinkedIn 

Deacon on Instagram

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

Resources

Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill 

48 Days to the Work You Love: Preparing for the New Normal by Dan Miller 

Pat Flynn at Smart Passive Income 

Podcasting A to Z

Midwest Solar Expo [Discount Code CPH15] 

Sponsor 

Clean Power Consulting Group 

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

Get a 15% discount to attend Midwest Solar Expo with discount code: CPH15. www.MidwestSolarExpo.com/, the premier B2B solar and clean energy event in the region. 

Solar is a want, not a need. 

For that reason, solar contractors must find a way to differentiate themselves in the marketplace, delivering excellent customer service and making each install as efficient as possible. 

So, what can a residential solar company do to promote a culture of quality and ownership among its employees? 

Barklie Estes is President of Nova Solar, Inc., a residential solar company out of DC, Maryland and Virginia. With 15-plus years of experience in solar technologies and installations, Barklie's team is on a mission to create sustainable, cost-effective energy solutions in their communities. 

On this episode of Clean Power Hour, Barklie joins Tim to explain what makes installing solar an inherently difficult job, and how he works to make his employees' lives easier. 

Barklie discusses why ALL Nova Solar employees spend time in the field (himself included) and how a focus on efficiency allows his team of 9 to do 180 installs per year. 

Listen in for insight around the mounting and racking technologies Barklie prefers and learn how consumers benefit from the commitment to quality and collaborative culture at Nova Solar.

Key Takeaways

What the residential solar market is like in the DC, Maryland and Virginia corridor

Why Barklie's team leads with savings when they sell residential solar

How Nova works with Solar United Neighbors of Virginia to promote solar-friendly legislation

The 2 key differentiators that set Nova Solar apart from its competitors

Why Barklie still does 2 or 3 installs a month as president of the company

What makes installing solar an inherently difficult job and how Barklie makes his employees' lives easier

Why ALL Nova Solar employees spend time in the field and how Barklie sets expectations when onboarding new team members

How a focus on efficiency allows Barklie's team of 9 to do 180 installs/year

How Barklie thinks about the soft costs of solar permitting and why it will be challenging but not impossible to get below $1/watt for solar in the US

How Nova Solar navigates the challenges of working with so many different jurisdictions and what state legislatures can do to promote standardization

Barklie's response to consumers who are nervous about their roof being compromised by solar

What mounting and racking technologies Barklie's team uses at Nova Solar

Connect with Barklie

Nova Solar 

Email [email protected]  

Call (736) 679-8607

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

Resources

Solar United Neighbors of Virginia

DOE Initiative to Reduce Soft Costs of Solar 

National Solar Permitting Guidelines

Midwest Solar Expo [Discount Code CPH15] 

Sponsor 

Clean Power Consulting Group

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

Get a 15% discount to attend Midwest Solar Expo with discount code: CPH15. www.MidwestSolarExpo.com/, the premier B2B solar and clean energy event in the region. 

Many consumers would like to choose renewable energy but either can't afford it or don't know how. 

But what if you didn't need a solar panel on your own rooftop to access solar power? What if you could share a solar farm with others in the community to get affordable power when you need it? 

Bruce Stewart is President and CEO of Perch Energy, a Boston-based clean energy technology and services company focused on accelerating access to community solar. 

Bruce has decades of experience leading both energy and technology companies, and he is committed to Perch's mission of making cleaner energy options more accessible for all. 

To date, Perch has enabled more than 6,300 community solar subscriptions for homes, businesses and municipalities, providing more than $9.7M in customer savings. 

On this episode of Clean Power Hour, Bruce joins Tim to explain how community solar leverages the shared economy to help more people be carbon neutral, providing equitable availability of clean energy sources in low- and middle-income neighborhoods. 

Bruce discusses what we can do to facilitate the exponential growth of community solar, describing how he thinks about using incentives to make the transition to clean energy faster. 

Listen in to understand how Perch serves its asset owner partners in subscribing customers and learn how community solar helps consumers act on their values to choose clean energy solutions.

Key Takeaways

Bruce's background as an energy executive bringing choice to consumers

Why the opportunity to make clean energy solutions more accessible attracted Bruce to Perch 

Perch's presence in markets where community solar is enabled or emerging

Perch's commitment to providing equitable availability of clean energy sources in low- and middle-income neighborhoods

The benefits of community solar in terms of energy cost savings and economic improvement 

How community solar leverages the shared economy to help more people be carbon neutral

What we can do to facilitate the exponential growth of community solar

How Bruce thinks about using incentives to make the transition to clean energy faster

How Perch serves its development and asset owner partners in subscribing and managing customers over time 

Bruce's plans for the $7.2M in Series A funding Perch raised in March

Connect with Bruce

Perch Energy

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

Resources

Illinois Renewable Portfolio Standards

Urbana Municipal Electric Aggregation

SunPower

Illinois Power Agency

DOE Community Solar Projections

Wood Mackenzie Community Solar Projections

Nexamp

Midwest Solar Expo [Discount Code CPH15] 

Sponsor 

Clean Power Consulting Group

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

Transportation is responsible for 30% of our global carbon footprint. And it's 2/3 more efficient to drive electric vehicles than to burn gasoline. 

But the US still lags far behind China and the EU when it comes to EV adoption. 

So, what do prosumers and energy professionals need to know about furthering the electrification of transportation--in the US and beyond? 

Dr. Veronika Wright is the EV battery expert behind Electrified Veronika, a consulting business that supports auto and battery manufacturers in the pursuit of clean transportation. She is also the author of the groundbreaking book, The Drive to Electric: How Innovative Minds Are Shaping Our Future. 

On this episode of Clean Power Hour, Veronika joins Tim to discuss the resistance toward EV adoption in the US, describing the common misconceptions around electric vehicles and how batteries can be recycled or repurposed in a circular economy. 

Veronika walks us through the pros and cons of several different EV battery models and considers the challenge of coaxing the industry toward standardization. 

Listen in for Veronika's insight on the race to scale the manufacturing of EVs and learn the ins and outs of the current 'drive to electric.' 

Key Takeaways

How Veronika got interested in batteries and the electrification of transportation 

Why the US lags behind China and the EU in terms of EV adoption 

Veronica's work around predicting the lifetime of an EV battery 

The misconceptions around EV batteries depleting the lithium supply 

How batteries can be recycled and repurposed in a circular economy 

The pros and cons of structural battery packs and battery swapping solutions (and why Veronika is a fan of modular batteries) 

The challenge of coaxing the EV industry toward standardization 

How EV charging from the road works and the pilot programs in Detroit and Sweden 

The creative new business models combining EVs with the clean energy market

Connect with Veronika

Electrified Veronika 

Electrified Veronika Podcast

Electrified Veronika on YouTube 

Veronika on LinkedIn 

Veronika on TikTok 

Veronika on Instagram 

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

Resources

The Drive to Electric: How Innovative Minds Are Shaping Our Future by Dr. Veronika Wright

AVL 

Simon Moores on Clean Power Hour Live

‘Recycled Lithium-Ion Batteries Can Perform Better Than New Ones’ in Scientific American

CATL’s Battery Swap Solution

Nio’s Battery-Swapping Plan

Get a 15% discount on the Midwest Solar Expo with code CPH15. Register at https://www.midwestsolarexpo.com/.

Sponsor 

Clean Power Consulting Group

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

Jack’s Solar Garden is the largest agrivoltaics research site for vegetable production thus far in the United States!  Alongside research partners, Sprout City Farms is trailblazing larger scale crop cultivation under solar panels, in an innovative farming practice called agrivoltaics. 

Research partners include:
Colorado State University
University of Arizona
National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Colorado Agrivoltaic Learning Center

Speeding the energy transition with the latest solar, wind, and energy storage news. We also bring you interviews with leading manufacturers and technologists. If you're decarbonizing the economy we want to hear from you! [email protected] | www.CleanPowerHour.com



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

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

Installing solar energy systems in our homes and businesses is a good first step. But how do we keep those solar farms up and running?  

Is there a solar asset management service that can monitor your system, remotely diagnose problems and send a technician when necessary?  

Better yet, is there a service that offers a performance guarantee? 

Mark Liffman is the Cofounder and CEO of Omnidian, the leading provider of performance assurance for distributed energy assets in the US. Mark spent nearly five years as Senior Business Development Manager at SunPower and four years as VP of Sales, Marketing and Business Development at Clean Power Research before cofounding Omnidian in 2016.

On this episode of Clean Power Hour, Mark joins Tim to explain how his team uses actuarial data, an understanding of weather risk and advanced monitoring capabilities to offer its performance guarantee. 

Mark discusses the benefits of working with Omnidian and describes how their subscription model guarantees the performance of solar assets and pays customers in the event of a shortfall. 

Listen in for Mark’s insight around the machine learning and AI technology Omnidian uses to detect, diagnose and remediate issues in commercial and residential systems producing 1,500 Megawatts of solar energy generation across the US.  

Key Takeaways 

How Mark’s experience working at SunPower inspired the creation of Omnidian 

Omnidian‘s role as the leading provider of performance assurance for distributed energy assets in the US  

How Omnidian uses actuarial data, an understanding of weather risk and advanced monitoring capabilities to offer its performance guarantee 

Omnidian’s experience servicing assets across 40 states over the last 5 years 

How SunPower evolved to focus exclusively on its residential dealer business and spun out a family of companies in the solar space 

Maxeon’s partnership with Omnidian to bundle a one-year performance guarantee with every commercial solar system sold in the US 

How the Omnidian subscription model works to guarantee performance of solar assets and pay customers in the event of a shortfall 

Why Omnidian partners must choose equipment and monitoring systems from an approved vendor list 

How Omnidian leverages machine learning and AI to detect, diagnose and remediate issues in solar energy systems 

Connect with Mark 

Omnidian  

Call 800-597-9127 

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

Resources 

RE+ Northeast 

SunPower 

Solaria 

Clean Power Research 

Terabase Energy 

Enphase 

GoodLeap 

Sunlight Financial 

Dividend Finance 

DSD Solar Energy 

SAMNA

Sponsor  

Clean Power Consulting Group 

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

Schools, municipalities, nonprofits and small for-profit companies that want to go solar typically don’t have the resources to do so on their own. They need investors in clean energy projects to make it work.

Yet local EPCs tend to shy away from selling third-party-owned solar PPA projects to their customers and focus solely on cash deals.

So, how do we facilitate a working relationship between local EPC solar installers and the investors who want to finance these kinds of C&I projects in the small utility space?

Marc Palmer is the Cofounder and CEO of New Resource Solutions, a company developing software tools to reduce the soft costs associated with financing C&I solar projects in the US. Marc spent four years as Senior Manager of Finance at Invenergy before cofounding New Resource Solutions in 2017.

On this episode of Clean Power Hour, Marc joins Tim to explain how his team empowers local EPCs to sell third-party-owned solar power purchase agreement projects to their customers.

Marc discusses how it benefits local EPCs to sell PPAs and describes what makes the relationship between EPCs and investors such a challenge to navigate.

Listen in to understand why public entities are the sweet spot in the PPA market right now and learn how New Resource Solutions is helping the industry scale faster with tools to finance small C&I solar projects more efficiently.

Key Takeaways 

How the desire to work in a space he was passionate about led Marc to clean energy

How New Resource Solutions uses software to reduce the soft costs associated with financing C&I solar projects in the US

How Marc’s team empowers local EPCs to sell third-party-owned PPA projects to their customers

How a typical customer saves 15% on power with a solar PPA

How it benefits local EPCs to sell solar power purchase agreements

Why public entities (e.g.: schools, municipalities) serve as the majority of the solar PPA market at present

How Marc overcomes the 10-year contract limits on wastewater treatment facilities

What makes the relationship between local EPCs and investors such a challenge

Why the Massachusetts SMART and Illinois Adjustable Block solar programs have been so successful

How Marc thinks about helping the solar industry scale faster 

How the Solar Finance Fund provides grants for C&I projects in Central Appalachia 

Connect with Marc

New Resource Solutions 

Conductor Solar

Email [email protected]

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

Resources

SMART Massachusetts Solar Program

Illinois Adjustable Block Solar Program

Conductor Solar

SunSpec Alliance

SolarAPP+

Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA)

Appalachian Solar Finance Fund

DNV

Midwest Solar Expo 

Sponsor 

Clean Power Consulting Group

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

The Clean Power Hour is brought to you by the Clean Power Consulting Group
All content can be found at: www.CleanPower.Group/podcast

Simon Moores is the CEO of London-based Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, the world’s leading Price Reporting Agency (PRA), data and intel provider for the lithium ion battery to electric vehicle supply chain. He has has been specializing in the supply chain for lithium ion batteries since 2006 with an expert focus on lithium. He regularly speaks to international press, gives keynote presentations, summoned to testify / brief to the US Senate (3 times), The White House, Pentagon, and other governments.

Benchmark offers market price and data assessments for lithium, graphite, cobalt and nickel - the foundation of a lithium ion battery which in turn is the foundation of the energy storage revolution.

Their specialist team of analysts offer a number of price assessment, analysis and forecasting services and is 100% focused on lithium ion batteries and energy storage technologies. We advise major actors in the entire supply chain, from mine to battery cell to electric vehicle and energy companies.

Learn more: https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/con... 
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The Clean Power Hour is speeding the energy transition with the latest solar, wind, and energy storage news and interviews with leading manufacturers and technologists. If you're decarbonizing the economy we want to hear from you! [email protected] | www.CleanPowerHour.com

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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

Clean Power Hour LIVE with Tim Montague | March 3, 2022

Check out these events:

April 5-7 Oakland, CA - Solar Plaza: SAMNA Solar Asset Management North America

Jun 20-22 Minneapolis, MN - Midwest Solar Expo

Simon Moores is coming on the Clean Power Hour LIVE show next week for our LIVE on Thursdays.  Watch that interview here.

Elon Musk is right. We should go to Mars and spend a small percentage (~1%) of our GDP on establishing an outpost and then full-blown colony on Mars. The big rock that will snuff out life on earth yet again is somewhere out there. 

Check out all of our content: www.CleanPower.group/podcast

Please subscribe to the Youtube channel too. Give the podcast a rating and review.

In the clean energy news today:

The Guardian: IPCC issues ‘bleakest warning yet’ on impacts of climate breakdown.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/feb/28/ipcc-issues-bleakest-warning-yet-impacts-climate-breakdown

Greenest Steel in America coming to Colorado powered by 300 mw solar farm 

https://www.constructiondive.com/news/worlds-largest-solar-powered-steel-mill-breaks-ground-in-colorado/619381/

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

Thomas Folker describes Leap as the Stripe for energy. 

The same way that Stripe provides the infrastructure for online payment processing, Leap allows anyone with energy resources (battery or EV companies, for example) to connect to the grid and trade energy as if they were a power plant.

In other words, Leap is a one-stop shop for grid services.

Thomas is the Cofounder and CEO of Leap Energy, a virtual power plant that connects EV, solar storage, battery and smart thermostat companies to the grid. To date, Leap serves customers in California, Texas and New York, with plans to expand and decarbonize electric grids across the US and internationally. 

On this episode of Clean Power Hour, Thomas joins Tim to share his  background building wind farms in the Netherlands and explain how he realized the value in selling grid services to utilities.

Thomas walks us through the concepts of demand response and demand flexibility, describing what differentiates Leap from traditional DRMS.

Listen in for Thomas’ insight around the legislation that allows virtual power plants like Leap to exist and learn what Leap can do to make global energy markets accessible to you.

Key Takeaways

How Thomas developed an interest in renewable energy and grid services

Why the Dutch were early adopters of wind technology and what inspired Thomas’ move to the US

How Thomas realized the value in selling grid services to utilities

How Leap functions as a virtual power plant to connect EV, solar storage, battery and smart thermostat companies to the grid

Leap’s ideal customer and how the company makes money

The concepts of demand response and demand flexibility

What differentiates Leap from traditional demand response aggregators (DRMS)

The 3 markets where Leap is active now and Thomas’ plans to expand to all relevant US markets

The legislation in the US that allows virtual power plants like Leap to exist

How Thomas navigates friction with utility companies (e.g.: the net metering fight in CA)

Connect with Thomas

Leap Energy 

Leap on Twitter

Leap on LinkedIn

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

Resources

Enphase 

California Independent System Operator

ev.energy

EV Connect

Stem

Sunnova

Sunrun

GridPoint

EnergyHub

Resideo

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

Electric Reliability Council of Texas

Sponsor

Clean Power Consulting Group

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