Solar Power World

From a teahouse in the sky, to an underground moss museum, Founder and CEO of SolTerra Brian Heather uses story ideas like these to make sustainability visible in his company's projects. Listen to learn more about the Washington solar company.

Other than batteries, what other components make up solar storage systems? What should you consider when selecting these components? We spoke with John Vernacchia, global segment manager for renewable energy at Eaton to learn more.

Four years ago, former MIT lab mates Leila Madrone and Saul Griffith started working together to help bring solar to the next level. “Across the solar industry, it was clear the tracker was the unsolved problem,” Madrone says in this Solar Speaks podcast. “Everyone wants tracker performance, but no one wants tracker complexity.” Sunfolding, a new type of solar tracker that has just emerged from stealth, is the outcome of their research and development. The tracker eliminates motors, gearboxes, torque tubes, bearings and wires. “We created a system that has the ease of installation and versatility of fixed tilt,” Madrone says. The tracker uses distributed actuation with a pneumatic drive system that lets solar developers install trackers in small, uniform sections, like fixed-tilt mounting. The drive is made of durable polymers developed by DuPont and already used in harsh automotive applications. Learn more about Sunfolding in this Solar Speaks podcast. Sunfolding is also exhibiting at Solar Power Intern

EagleView Technologies uses patented software to produce 3D models from aerial roof and wall measurements that are extremely accurate and detailed. Reports for the solar industry deliver all measurements needed for any solar installation project, including azimuth, square footage, line lengths and a CAD file of the property. Tim Rochman, director of strategic sales, discusses EagleView Technologies' products and innovation for the solar industry in this Solar Speaks podcast.

SPW editor Kelly Pickerel talks with Siva Power CEO Brad Mattson about solar panel companies breaking efficiency records in R&D labs, and how those panels compare to the ones installed in the field.

SPW talks with Omar Melo, director of corporate strategy and development at Titan Solar, about installing solar in competitive California.

Solar Power International offers events specifically for women each year. Perhaps one of the longest running is a panel discussion and reception put on by the Professional Women in Solar Group. We spoke with founder Isabelle Christensen to find out more about the event at SPI and the group in general.

We spoke with Teri Carter, a consultant for global sustainable solutions and community development. She discussed how USOL Energy is making solar panels in Mexico for Mexico, how her non-profit Power of Green L.A. is training and retraining the solar industry, and how she's making solar fun and attracting youth by merging it with entertainment. Listen to learn more.

Horizon Solar Power, a southern California-based solar installation company, was founded in 1998 and has installed more than 2,000 residential installations since 2008. Over the past three years, the company has undergone tremendous growth: 95 employees in 2012 turned into 540 in 2014, and 2/3 of the company's total installation capacity was installed just last year. I spoke with David Kingery, Director of Sales with Horizon to ask what has enabled their success as a company and if any particular challenges came as a result from growing so quickly. The company has offices in Hemet, Redlands and Palm Springs, and offers free solar site inspections, as well as financial analysis, solar system design and panel installation.To learn more, visit them at horizonsolarpower.com.

Collegiate Solar, a Buffalo, NY-based contracting company, was started in 2009 by company president Chris Jablonski after 15 years of experience in the roofing industry. With a growing number of employees and a market of primarily residential installations, Collegiate’s basis is its focus on family-oriented business.

It’s common for solar projects in the Northeast to be situated on difficult terrain. Sometimes installations require tree clearing, access roads, earth moving, even rock blasting! In rural areas, endangered turtles or Indian burial grounds can present problems. And in the city, projects can encounter limited space, people trying to go about their day and thieves. Inclement weather can play the antagonist during any solar array installation. In this Solar Speaks podcast, New Jersey-based Pro-Tech Energy Solutions President Rich Cooper discusses how his company makes the best of a difficult situations while keeping projects profitable. Cooper also touches on the ITC reduction and what will happen after 2017 along the East Coast.

How do you stay on top of knowing your customers' needs? What are their biggest challenges and how can you help? Is talking to them on the job site enough? We spoke with Trent Mostaert, Vice President and general manager of solar at Mortenson Construction to find out how his company conducts a survey to learn more about the needs of its customers.

Asset management is a buzzword in today's solar industry. But what does it really mean and how does it relate to overall operations and maintenance? We spoke with Ken Kostok of O&M provider Alectris to find out. He shares his lessons learned from over 150 MW of solar installations. He also tells us about a special symposium taking place during Intersolar NA 2015 where you can learn more.

After 24 years in Minnesota solar, contractor Innovative Power Systems has some insight to share on how to survive in the solar market. We spoke with Eric Pasi, VP of business development to learn more.

We spoke with Ed Heacox and Casey Miller of Chint Power Systems to discuss the adoption of 3-phase string inverter architecture in North America, and what Chint offers in this space.

KACO new energy and Ampt have partnered to offer KACO’s blueplanet 50 TL3 inverter with an option to pair with Ampt’s string optimizers. This is in an effort to increase energy production and lower costs in commercial solar projects. We spoke with Mark Kanjorski of Ampt, and Bill Reaugh of KACO new energy to find out more.

Solar Power World editor Kelly Pickerel spoke with Jon Reese, CEO of Brightstar Solar, based in Marlborough, Massachusetts. The company has grown with the state's solar boom.

Intersolar North America will return to San Francisco for its eighth year July 14 to 16. We spoke with Markus Elsässer, CEO of Solar Promotion International, which helps organize the show, to learn more about what to expect and why to attend.

In this podcast, SolarRoofHook.com Executive Vice President Rick Gentry talks about the company, its products and why customers would choose SolarRoofHook.com over its competitors. SolarRoofHook.com is a division of Quickscrews International Corporation, offering a wide range of products for mounting solar panels onto residential roofs. The company can produce custom products in 60 days and are continually working with solar installers to deliver the exact products needed for any type of roof. Products are stocked in Livermore, California, and Rock Hill, South Carolina, allowing SolarRoofHook.com to meet the needs of any company or individual nationwide.

Thomas Conroy, the new president of solar tracker manufacturer Array Technologies, has decades of experience in power generation. In this Solar Speaks podcast, Conroy discusses parallels between the solar and windpower industries. He also discusses technology coming soon from Array Technologies, including a new generation of its single-axis tracker.