Solar Power World

As the solar industry goes through its growing pains there’s no shortage of ebb and flow to watch. Some businesses boom, while some lose their place in the market, and still others may stumble but come back stronger than ever. We spoke with Andrew de Pass, CEO of Conergy, about how the company has bounced back after its acquisition by Kawa in 2013, and what other solar professionals can learn from his experience.

As the off-grid solar market grows, many solar professionals are considering offering services to this segment as a smart business move. But off-grid projects have different considerations that are important to note for a proper installation. To tell us more, we spoke with Sequoya Cross of off-grid supplier Backwoods Solar.

Site assessment is often discussed as an important step in planning any project, but what exactly do you need to look for? We spoke with Gwendalyn Bender of Vaisala to tell us more. She even touches on why developers of the notable Ivanpah solar project weren't as concerned as the media when the project didn't perform as hoped for its first summer. Listen to learn more.

We spoke with Jonathan Doochin, CEO of Soligent Distribution. Jonathan discussed what solar installers need to win, the evolution of residential solar financing and the emergency and proliferation of the solar loan, and where to look to reduce soft cost which can save you over 20% of the cost of selling and installing solar.

We spoke with Rick Gilbert, vice president of Florida-based solar installer Solar Source. Rick discusses his company, as well as the training and public awareness of solar it provides through the Solar Source Institute. He also shares his thoughts on Florida’s solar market and what it will take to push solar into the mainstream in the United States.

We spoke with Levent Gun, CEO of Ampt. Levent discussed a bit about Ampt and its role in the HDPV Alliance. With some of the biggest inverter, junction box and module makers in the industry, the alliance aims to advance industry adoption of lower cost, higher performance PV systems.

We talk to Paul Robusto, photovoltaic business development manager at Intertek, about the rapidly expanding concentrated PV technology, a subject he spoke on the recent Solar Power International Conference in Orlando.

We spoke with Michael Howe of Canadian solar integrator Eclipsall Energy Corporation. He discussed how the U.S. solar market varies from the Canadian market, as well as the importance of using quality raw materials in solar panels. He tells installers what to look for when talking to manufacturers about panel quality.

We spoke with Billy Parish, founder and president of Mosaic. The company has made recent headlines with its innovative approach to financing solar projects by allowing the public to invest in solar via an online marketplace.

Solar Power World editor Kelly Pickerel spoke with Brandon Cheshire, founder and director of production at SunHarvest Solar & Electrical, based in Phoenix, Arizona. The mostly residential solar installer is active in local and state governments to boost the profile of solar energy.

Remember vanadium from your high school science class? We spoke with Imergy President Tim Hennessey who told us how his company is using a lower-cost vanadium waste product to create batteries that can last longer and hold more power than many other options out there. Listen to learn more.

We spoke with Mark Kanjorski of Ampt to discuss why the solar industry is moving toward higher voltages (1500V and more), and various ways of achieving them, including with DC optimizers.

Testing is essential to helping verify functionality and performance of any component, especially inverters as the “brains of a solar system.” We spoke with Ray Hudson and Michael Mills-Price of DNV GL’s inverter testing segment to tell us more about how the organization's testing expands upon that of traditional national testing facilities.

Installations of power optimizers are reported to grow significantly through 2020. We’re here with Mike Rogerson of SolarEdge to give us some insight into these power electrics in 2015.

Yury Reznikov, vice president of product management at SunLink, a solar mounting system provider, discusses trends in the ground mount market, including key product differentiators and supply chain best practices.

Solar Power World editor Kelly Pickerel spoke with Jeff Petrini, energy manager, and Katie Van Dyke, sales and marketing manager, of A-C Solar based in Bakersfield, California. The commercial solar installer has been in the business for over a decade and shares its tips for success in SPW's Contractors Corner.

Two Mounting Systems products, the Alpha+ pitched roof system and the Lambda Leight EW+, were rated in ETL fire tests as Class A with Type 1 PV modules. What does all of that mean? Product manager Don Massa breaks it down for us in this Solar Speaks podcast.

Heating, running water, air conditioning, these are standard features in most homes. What if solar was too? Home builder Lennar is actually teaming up with partners such as Enphase to make this a reality on new homes. We spoke with Paul Nahi of Enphase Energy and David Kaiserman of Lennar to learn more.

Climate Change is one of the premier issues of our time, but solar can help solve it. We spoke with Jamie Howland, of Acadia Center, an organization which has offices throughout New England, to find out how it too is working to solve climate change and what resources it offers solar professionals. Listen to learn more, and visit acadiacenter.org.

Take a moment to picture this: You have a 51st state without an electricity market structure in place. How would you build that system from the ground up so that you maximize the amount of solar and other distributed energy resources while ensuring customers continue to have safe, reliable and affordable power? It's a fascinating idea, right? Especially given the fact that utilities have not quite figured out how to do this. In this episode of Solar Speaks SEPA's President and CEO Julia Hamm explains how this idea is the basis of the organization's 51st State Initiative. Anyone can submit their ideas for an ideal electricity market and grid structure that could accomodate solar. These suggestions will inspire more feasible ideas for existing markets who are struggling on how to incorporate solar power. Listen to learn more!