Sean White‘s Solar and Energy Storage Podcast whitehousesolar

Joe McCabe has been in the solar industry since before there was a solar industry. In this podcast we talk about many things. 
 
Here is a list of topics:
ASES Fellow
American Solar Energy Society www.ASES.org
International Solar Energy Society www.ISES.org
MREA = Midwest Renewable Energy Association
SMUD = Sacramento Municipal Utility District
PVUSA Davis California
PV Policy
SAM software
PV Reliability Workshop Nerdfest
Golden Colorado
SANDIA
Community Solar Gardens
Bifacial Solar
Vertical Bifacial produces more than tilted south no matter what the direction
Higher latitude better for vertical bifacial
Vertical bifacial requires smaller wires because of lower Isc
Clipping
Hanging vertical bifacial to swing in the wind.
North facing PV for used PV
PV module size increasing
PV efficiency not important; LCOE (levelized cost of electricity) is important. 
Monofacial
Agrivoltaics
Agrisoltaics
Dual use of land
Mark Fitzgerald
Jane Wiseman
IREC = Interstate Renewable Energy Council
NABCEP Entry Level
Praise Ward Bower!
George Kelly
NREL
NABCEP Exam Committees
Photovoltaic effect
Conduction band
Photoelectric effect
Becquerel
Einstein
Quantum mechanics
Thermodynamics
Nuclear engineering
Schrödinger’s equation
Straw bale construction
SERF = Solar Energy Research Facility
SERI = Solar Energy Research Institute
Neutron Scatter
Cadmium rods
Neutron magazine
Smart Inverter Working Group
Dan Shugar
Howard Wenger
PG&E
PV for $9/watt in 90s
Richard Swanson and Swanson’s curve
Colorado Public Utilities Commission
CALISO
California Independent System Operator
BIPV
California Energy Commission (CEC)
Community Solar Garden
Solar Shares
Stupid grid vs. smart grid
Grid following and grid forming inverters
Reactive power
Rule 21 Smart Inverter Working Group
Smart Inverter Classes
Hermann Scherr
Frieberg Germany 
Smarter E in Munich (formerly Intersolar)
Intersolar in San Diego and Long Beach
RE+ conferences
Making education fun
University of Arizona Reactor
How PV works
Photons
Grid Forming and Grid Following Inverters
Donating a kidney to Bill Brooks
Freiburg Germany
NABCEP Certification
Energy Ideas
Renewable Energy Steward
Giant Bifacial module 
Joe Mccabe recommends Bill Brooks on LinkedIn 
Blue light inside a reactor
Integrated Resource Plan (IRP)
Carl Weinberg
Paul Fenn
Community Choice Aggregation = CCA 
Eicke Weber
RE+ Texas
Sean Sings ABC 123 at NABCEP Conference
 
Homework Assignment read: Leverage Points, Places to Intervene in a System by Donella Meadows
 
Joe McCabe LinkedIn Page
 
Joe’s email: energyideas@gmail.com
 
Learn more at www.solarSEAN.com and be sure to get NABCEP certified by taking Sean’s classes at  www.heatspring.com/sean

In this podcast, we learn how UL issues first certification to UL 9741 (and UL 1741 SA) for an AI-Driven Vehicle-to-Grid Compliant EV Charger to Fermata Energy.https://www.ul.com/news/ul-solutions-issues-first-certification-ul-9741-and-ul-1741-sa-ai-driven-vehicle-gridAlex Cattelan has been working on EVs for 2 decades and has experience engineering many famous electric and hybrid vehicles, including the Chevy Volt for GM. She also has extensive experience working for Polaris, Johnson Controls and many others.At the end we decide to go to Burning Man together on a bidirectional electric bus and she is going to teach me how to do wheelies on an electric motorcycle. Nothing can compete with the torque of electric motors, much more than those old fashioned explosion driven motors.Here are some of the topics we cover:
UL 9741 EVPE (Electric Vehicle Power Export Equipment)John Deere EVsAI for EVPESoftware engineeringDrive trainsElectric vehicles  
Nissan LeafChevy Volt
Lithium-ion batteriesHybridEPA (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency)Mechanical DrivetrainCO2UL 9741 & UL 1741VPP (Virtual Power Plant)Cost SavingsPublic utility commission (PUC)Stationary StorageNissan LeafNissan KicksBidirectional chargingCommercial fleetsBus fleetJohnson ControlsPop a WheelieFord F-150Cyber TruckTeslaDeveloping SoftwareAI Driven Data ScienceResidential bidirectional chargersCheck out Alex on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/alexandra-cattelan-59abbb11Email: alex.catelan@fermataenegy.comCheck out the Fermata website: https://fermataenergy.com/Learn more at www.solarSEAN.com and be sure to get NABCEP certified by taking Sean’s classes at www.HeatSpring.com/Sean

One week before recording this podcast, Garret Little passed his NABCEP PVIP exam. In this podcast we talk about his experience taking the exam 9 years after his first try and getting a really good score! We also talk about the exam experience, memory techniques, taking the Ecotech class vs. the HeatSpring class for preparing for the exam. There is nothing more important for passing an exam than knowing what to study.
 
Here is the class Garret took to pass the NABCEP PVIP exam:
 
NABCEP PV Installation Professional (PVIP) Certification Prep
 
Garret also has installed PV systems in Nepal and Colombia.
 
Here is a list of topics we covered:
 
Exam Prep
NABCEP PV Installation Professional (PVIP) exam
NABCEP Energy Storage Installation Professional (ESIP)
NABCEP PV Associate (PVA)
NABCEP PV Technical Sales (PVTS)
NABCEP PV Design Specialist (PVDS)
NABCEP PV Commissioning and Maintenance Specialist (PVCMS)
NABCEP PV Installer Specialist (PVIS)
NABCEP PV System Inspector (PVSI)
Meazure Online exam platform
Taking the exam in person like Garret did
Kaplan CleanTech (no longer in business)
Brian Hayden the Founder of HeatSpring and super cool dude
Tom Chatagnier Solar Saint from Diablo Valley College
Live online proctoring from home vs. testing center for NABCEP exam
Dry erase board for test notes
ESIP = Energy Storage Installation Professional NABCEP Certification
Colombian Comedian into solar
Brittany, Brit, Brian, South, James and Nycx
Learning techniques
Memory techniques
State dependent memory
Short term memory
Long term memory
Quantum memory
Memorizing Pi
 
Here is from the email Garret sent me after passing the exam:
 
Hey Sean,
I just wanted to express my gratitude towards you for the classes you teach through Heatspring. Hopefully my name rings a bell as I have sent a few messages recently via the 58-hour course, one particular about question 30 on the 1-30 bonus practice exam - looks like the Heatspring team is pretty dang on top of it to make changes, so kudos to them!
 
I took the PVIP yesterday morning and passed with an 87%. I can't express enough just how instrumental this course was in my confidence and ultimately, results. I took the PVIP nine years ago and was far underprepared and it's been a dark cloud looming over me since and when I finally would apply to retake it, I never really had direction in what to study, so I honestly just didn't take it and wasted money and time applying. This time around, after finding out about Heatspring, I signed up back in September of last year and went to work, and boy am I happy I did. 
 
The very first thing I noticed during the start of the 40-hour course was how easy it was to stay attentive. The videos and lectures are engaging. Listening to you isn't a chore like many online courses, and please for the sake of everyone, don't ever stop cracking little jokes throughout like the white house being your house, or pointing out the solar "clip art" guy with the blue shirt who appears to be "measuring a module with a fluorescent wire...?". These things make the biggest difference and I absolutely wish more online lecturers leaned a little more into that!
 
This course really covered everything I experienced on the exam and in all honesty, to me it seemed it presented quite a bit more information and material than the NABCEP covered, at least from my experience . For example, I don't think I had one string sizing question, conduit fill, or even conductor sizing with derates (if my memory serves me right). It was not nearly as much calculations as I had anticipated, aside from interconnection calcs, which were all fairly similar. With that being said, I feel tremendously more knowledgeable than I was even just a few months ago prior to taking this course and I am so thankful for that.
 
Thank you again so much for working with Heatspring on these courses to provide such  thorough, entertaining, and educational content. It feels so incre

I came across a really cool YouTube video, rivaling Mr. Beast, but for solar, which was a purple bearded solarboi going off on Rapid Shutdown UL 3741 PV arrays, I immediately contacted him and a week later, here we are recording this podcast. This guy is entertaining and we are lucky to have him in the industry. This industry needs to be fun!!
 
derek the solarboi has 3 NABCEP Certifications
 



PVIP (PV Installation Professional)PVCMS (PV Commissioning and Maintenance Specialist)PVSI (PV System Inspector)


Altogether that looks like:
 
derek the solarboi, NABCEP PVIP, PVCMS & PVSI
 
That is a total of 18 letters after his name, making him super special!
 
We talk about some controversial subjects, including Rapid Shutdown and I always try to be bifacial and take both sides for educational purposes, but encourage my guests to have strong opinions. If you have a strong opinion, let’s get you on the show!
 
Here are some of the topics we covered:
 
Other rad solar creators, like Solar Goat (https://linktr.ee/solargoat) and The Solar Slayer (https://thesolarslayer.com/)Rapid shutdown methodsUL 3741 PVHCS (PV Hazard Control Systems)Array level rapid shutdown2019 NEC (serious joke)NABCEP CertificationsSocial mediaWater flow in conduit (link to video: https://youtube.com/shorts/5mmDOiH-Res)DC arc faults and ground faultsIronridge (press release and installation addendum can be found here: (https://www.ironridge.com/2024/02/27/flush-mount-systems-listed-to-ul-3741/)SollegaSMAResidential UL 3741 (solarboi’s video - https://youtu.be/1MTCvYhjHzA)Peter Greenberg the String Inverter ActivistRE+Purple
 
solarboi has decided to remain anonymous for this podcast. This is really cool, my first anonymous guest!
 
You can see all of solarboi’s links at www.solarboi.comYouTube: https://youtube.com/@derekthesolarboiMastodon: https://mastodon.energy/@solarboiTikTok: https://tiktok.com/@thesolarboiInstagram: https://instagram.com/thesolarboi
 
Learn more at www.solarSEAN.com and be sure to get NABCEP certified by taking Sean’s classes at www.HeatSpring.com/Sean

Great conversation with Tyler Hortin! His company does everything from Wh to GWh and focuses on prismatic cells that are almost 1kWh! This makes for less cells and less connections that can go wrong. The technology here is Lithium-Iron Phosphate (LFP) and we will talk about the supply chain and implications of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). They are affiliated with American Battery Factory, so we talk a little bit about manufacturing in the USA towards the end.
 
Key Words:Lithium Iron PhosphatePrismatic Battery CellBattery Manufacturing in the USAHow he get the IronLPFLithium (L)Iron (FE)Phosphorus (P)Great Salt LakeBattery management system (BMS)Marine BatteryNMCAlternatorDC to DC ChargerShore PowerEnergy Storage SystemUL 9540 & 9540ADC Interconnected SystemCabinet sizeAmerican Battery FactoryHow long does it take to build a battery factory?
 
Check out Tyler on LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/tyler-hortin-90469945/
 
Check out his website:https://lionenergy.com
 
Learn more at www.solarSEAN.com and be sure to get NABCEP certified by taking Sean’s classes at www.HeatSpring.com/Sean

Tor "Solar Fred" Valenza is a regular in the solar industry. Tor has a podcast called Probably True Solar Stories, which takes his expertise as a former Hollywood writer and merges that with the solar industry. Some of his Hollywood work was on popular shows, such as Stargate SG-1, Dharma & Greg, and The Dead Zone. Tor's current day job is he is a chief solar public relations geek at UnThink Solar, a solar PR and communications firm.
 
In this podcast we talk about how Tor Valenza became Solar Fred and how he made stories about solar.
 
Topics covered:The history of branding about Solar FredHow his fascination in solar energy began as a kid in NYC Central Park
Solar on the White House
Sungevity
Danny Kennedy
Solar Head of State
Great way to promote solarProbably True Solar Stories PodcastMurder by Solar DronePresident of the US as a solar installerThe 6000 Year Story of Solar Energy book by John PerlinClean nuclear power being used as a disguise for a nuclear weapons programSolar installation war (Green War).Nuclear brosEnergy deep stateSean almost killed by carbon monoxide as a kidSolar makes you the most money
Steam turbines for solar PV energy storage with hot rocks
www.powermag.com/volcanic-rock-offers-new-take-on-energy-storageAgrivoltaicsCSP = Concentrated Solar PowerCadmium TellurideRecycle, Reuse and ReduceSolar feasibility on the north side of the roofSolar wedding at a Tweet Up at SPICheck out Tor on Linkedin:
linkedin.com/in/tor-solar-fred-valenza-3150015Check out his website:
www.unthinksolar.com
Here is where to find Tor's Podcast:
www.probablytruesolar.com/
 
Learn more at www.solarSEAN.com and be sure to get NABCEP certified by taking Sean’s classes at www.HeatSpring.com/Sean