SunCast

Nico Johnson
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  • Natural Sciences
  • Twice a week

Nico Johnson takes you into conversations with those at the forefront of Renewable Energy. SunCast gives an inside look into what is happening in renewable energy. From conversations with the biggest Solar Panel manufacturers in the world to the small startups creating the future of renewable energy, such as carbon capture and battery technology breakthroughs. SunCast is dedicated to providing the knowledge, research, tools and expert guidance you need to understand, grow and be ahead of the curve in the fastest-growing markets in the world. Featuring over 800 conversations, Nico has interviewed people from Tesla, SolarCity, Trina Solar, Meyer Burger, Conergy, SunEdison, Energy Vault and even the US Government... to name a few. Covering topics such as Solar Power, Wind Energy, Batteries, Electric Vehicles, Carbon Capture, Finance, Hydrogen, and more. You can watch SunCast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@SunCastMedia ...or view the full archive of SunCast episodes here: https://www.suncast.media/media/podcast

  1. 2 hr ago

    The First Rule of Solar Fight Night: Nobody Wins Alone

    In solar, having the right people in your corner can help you get a project built and keep you going when the market gets tough. Solar Fight Night gives that community a place to connect, celebrate, and give back. Editor’s note: This conversation was recorded before the 2026 midterm elections. References to pre-election fundraising reflect the timing of the recording. Daniel Dus, co-founder of Solar Fight Night, joins Nico Johnson to share the story behind the annual gathering some attendees call the “Met Gala of Solar.” Nearly two decades ago, a small group of solar professionals came together to help each other survive and grow. Daniel recalls one early gathering of roughly 18 people where the room included a panel supplier, a construction partner, and someone who could help tell the story of his next project. Now, the event expects to attract 3,000 industry leaders in Las Vegas. Together, they explore why companies bring their teams and clients back, why celebrating progress matters, and how the event helps fund organizations working on clean energy’s behalf. Daniel also explains the work underway to counter the anti-solar movement and how you can still support worthwhile nonprofits even if you don’t attend the best & biggest industry event of the year. Expect to learn: 🔹 How connections made at Fight Night can help move real projects forward 🔹 Why supporters return with their teams and prospective clients 🔹 How the event supports clean energy advocacy and fact-checking 🔹 Ways to participate and contribute, whether or not you’re headed to Vegas Solar Fight Night takes place November 17, 2026, at Zouk Nightclub in Las Vegas, during RE+. Find out more and get your tickets at SolarFightNight.org. Listen for the story behind the gathering, then bring your team and come find Nico in the crowd. Episode 982: Thursday, November 5,2026 - {{Daniel Dus}} (982) Are there other technologies you’ve scouted on the frontlines of the Clean Energy Revolution that you think we should be covering here on SunCast? Hit us up - team@suncast.me with your feedback & recommendations. If you want to connect with today's guest, you’ll find links to their contact info in the show notes on the blog at https://suncast.media/episodes/. Our Platinum Presenting Sponsor for SunCast is CPS America! You can learn more about all the sponsors who help make this show free for you at www.suncast.media/sponsors. Remember, you can always find resources, learn more about today’s guest and explore recommendations, book links, and more than 950 other founder stories and startup advice at www.suncast.media. We'd love if you'd leave us a 5 ⭐ rating & review and it's never been easier: https://www.ratethispodcast.com/suncast Subscribe to Valence, our weekly LinkedIn Newsletter, and learn the elements of compelling storytelling: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/valence-content-that-connects-7145928995363049472/ You can connect with me, Nico Johnson, on: Twitter - https://www.twitter.com/nicomeo LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickalus (00:00) The Origins of Solar Fight Night (01:42) Embracing the Clean Energy Struggle (02:20) Debunking the Fight Night Myth (03:45) Closing Multimillion-Dollar Deals in the Room (04:57) Celebrating Industry Wins and Repeat Sponsors (06:56) Funding National and Grassroots Policy Advocacy (07:51) VIP Cabanas and Industry Procurement Reach (09:48) Combating Misinformation with Clean Tech Fact Check (11:08) Deploying Rapid Response Against Anti-Solar Trolls (12:20) Connecting Capital to Renewable Nonprofits (13:18) Building Political Power for Clean Energy (13:34) Event Logistics: Zouk Nightclub at RE+

  2. 2 days ago

    Know Before You Go: Your RE+ 2026 Game Plan

    RE+ 2026 is almost here! Your calendar is filling up, the industry is getting ready to descend on Las Vegas, and it's time to make your game plan. How do you make the most of three days packed with meetings, new technology, old friends, and opportunities you might not even know exist yet? For our annual SunCast Know Before You Go special, I've invited seven friends from across the clean energy industry to share how they're preparing for RE+ and what they're most excited to discover. Bryan Wagner (CPS America), Abby Hopper (GEM Advisory), Aaron Nichols (This Week in Solar), Ardes Johnson (NeoVolta), Ann Will (Groundwork Renewables), Daniel Dus (Clean Tech Industry Resources), and Chris Felkamp (Forgent) bring perspectives ranging from first-time attendee enthusiasm to decades of trade show experience. Expect to learn: 🔹 How industry veterans prepare their teams and calendars to make every day count 🔹 Why one meaningful relationship can be worth more than hundreds of business cards 🔹 Which conversations to watch, from permitting and plug-in solar to domestic manufacturing, storage, and project deployment 🔹 How to manage your energy, make valuable connections, and turn conference conversations into lasting opportunities Whether this is your first RE+ or your fifteenth, you'll walk away with practical ideas, new people to meet, and plenty of reasons to get excited about the show. Hit play, build your game plan, and show up ready! And while you're there, come say hello to the SunCast crew at our live studio in Central Hall, booth 4459. See you in Vegas!! Are there other technologies you’ve scouted on the frontlines of the Clean Energy Revolution that you think we should be covering here on SunCast? Hit us up - team@suncast.me with your feedback & recommendations. If you want to connect with today's guest, you’ll find links to their contact info in the show notes on the blog at https://suncast.media/episodes/. Our Platinum Presenting Sponsor for SunCast is CPS America! You can learn more about all the sponsors who help make this show free for you at www.suncast.media/sponsors. Remember, you can always find resources, learn more about today’s guest and explore recommendations, book links, and more than 950 other founder stories and startup advice at www.suncast.media. We'd love if you'd leave us a 5 ⭐ rating & review and it's never been easier: https://www.ratethispodcast.com/suncast Subscribe to Valence, our weekly LinkedIn Newsletter, and learn the elements of compelling storytelling: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/valence-content-that-connects-7145928995363049472/ You can connect with me, Nico Johnson, on: Twitter - https://www.twitter.com/nicomeo LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickalus (00:00) Maximizing RE+ 2026: Know Before You Go (03:04) Bryan Wagner on Team Alignment and Preparation (07:37) Intentional Networking and Managing Trade Show Energy (11:10) Geopolitical Headwinds: Tariffs, FEOC, and Inverter Compliance (13:30) Abby Hopper on Market Disruption and Execution (18:37) Federal Permitting Reform Dominating Show Floor Conversations (22:55) Aaron Nichols on the Plug-In Solar Disruption (31:53) Ardes Johnson on Storage TPOs and Onshoring (35:12) Leadership Agility and Navigating Policy Uncertainty (40:08) Ann Will on Factory-to-Field Module Quality Assurance (43:59) Curating Executive Connections and Client Dinners (49:15) The Industry Mission Behind Solar Fight Night (51:46) Rigorous Schedule Management and Team Logistics (57:32) Speed to Power and the 2027 C&I Sprint (1:03:18) Chris Felkamp on Sales Strategy and F1

  3. 29 Oct

    From Policy to Power: What It Takes to Get Energy Built

    America needs more electricity. But between recognizing that need and actually putting new power on the grid sits a complicated mix of policy, manufacturing, permitting, interconnection, capital, and community trust. Recorded live at the CHESSA Energize Summit, this conversation looks at that challenge from three different points in the industry. Robin Dutta, Executive Director of the Chesapeake Solar & Storage Association, explains how policy and industry advocacy shape the market companies are trying to build in. Carlos Class, CEO of Goldi America, offers a firsthand look at the capital, certification, supply-chain work, and risk involved in bringing solar manufacturing back to Virginia. And Drew Price, co-founder of Hexagon Energy, shares what years of project development have taught him about interconnection uncertainty, resilient project portfolios, and why relationships with local communities can determine whether a good project ever gets built. Together, the conversation gets beyond the simple call to “build more power” and into what doing that actually requires. Expect to Learn: 🔹 Why interconnection and permitting delays are killing viable solar projects 🔹 How changing federal policies threaten domestic manufacturing investments 🔹 Why building American solar supply chains takes years, not months 🔹 How community trust can determine whether a project gets built If you build, finance, manufacture, permit, or advocate for energy projects, this episode offers a practical look at the work between policy and power. The technology is ready. The demand is here. What's stopping deployment? Are there other technologies you’ve scouted on the frontlines of the Clean Energy Revolution that you think we should be covering here on SunCast? Hit us up - team@suncast.me with your feedback & recommendations. If you want to connect with today's guest, you’ll find links to their contact info in the show notes on the blog at https://suncast.media/episodes/. Our Platinum Presenting Sponsor for SunCast is CPS America! You can learn more about all the sponsors who help make this show free for you at www.suncast.media/sponsors. Remember, you can always find resources, learn more about today’s guest and explore recommendations, book links, and more than 950 other founder stories and startup advice at www.suncast.media. We'd love if you'd leave us a 5 ⭐ rating & review and it's never been easier: https://www.ratethispodcast.com/suncast Subscribe to Valence, our weekly LinkedIn Newsletter, and learn the elements of compelling storytelling: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/valence-content-that-connects-7145928995363049472/ You can connect with me, Nico Johnson, on: Twitter - https://www.twitter.com/nicomeo LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickalus (00:00) Bridging the Clean Energy Deployment Gap (02:16) Navigating Post-IRA Federal Policy Shifts (04:31) Local Siting Moratoria and Storage Regulation (05:51) Fixing Clean Energy's Main Street Messaging (08:48) Overcoming Local Resistance to Domestic Manufacturing (13:55) The Ecosystem Behind Domestic Solar Content (16:51) Capital Disparities: Clean Energy vs Data Centers (20:54) Supply Chain Lead Times and Tariff Volatility (27:32) Interconnection and Permitting as Deal Killers (29:02) Surging Power Demand vs Decadal Timelines (30:33) Risk Management and Portfolio Resiliency (32:50) Building Community Trust to Win Local Permits (37:44) Reforming Virginia Interconnection and Shared Solar (38:23) Unifying the Industry Against Collective Headwinds

  4. 27 Oct

    The Scariest Question in Solar Finance: What If Your EPC Fails? | Gage Kellogg

    Lenders spook easily. And for good reason. Their job is to protect capital, so a solar project can have solid economics, proven technology, and an EPC that knows how to build it, yet still hit a financing wall if the lender isn’t convinced the project will reach commercial operation when something goes wrong. That’s the nightmare Gage Kellogg, Managing Director of Renewable Energy at Partner Engineering & Science, helps us unpack in this Halloween-special Tactical Tuesday. What happens if the EPC fails halfway through construction? Who keeps the subcontractors on site? Who funds the remaining work? And does having a performance bond actually mean someone is ready to finish the project? Gage has spent more than two decades across development, project finance, construction, surety, and independent engineering. He explains the warning signs that show up before contractor failure, why a stalled project can become more expensive by the day, and how Partner’s Completion Commitment and SureBuild address different layers of completion risk. Expect to learn: 🔹 Why a technically capable EPC can still create a bankability problem 🔹 What a performance bond does, and what it may not solve 🔹 What needs to happen immediately when an EPC fails 🔹 How contractor default and borrower default create two different risks If you’re developing, financing, or building solar and storage projects, this is one scary scenario worth solving before financial close. Are there other technologies you’ve scouted on the frontlines of the Clean Energy Revolution that you think we should be covering here on SunCast? Hit us up - team@suncast.me with your feedback & recommendations. You'll find more resources and learn about SunCast's guest(s), recommendations, book links, and more than 850 other founder stories and startup advice at www.mysuncast.com. You can learn more about partnering with SunCast here: https://mysuncast.com/sponsors You can connect with me, Nico Johnson, on: Twitter - https://www.twitter.com/nicomeo LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickalus Subscribe to Valence, our weekly Linkedin Newsletter, and learn the elements of compelling storytelling: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/valence-content-that-connects-7145928995363049472/ (00:00) The Solar Construction Risk Dilemma (03:16) How Construction Completion Agreements Work (04:35) Navigating Market Volatility on the Solar Coaster (06:06) Limitations of Traditional EPC De-Risking Tools (07:49) The Hidden Traps of Surety Bond Indemnification (09:31) Why Performance Bonds Do Not Guarantee Completion (10:50) Early Warning Signs of Solar Contractor Distress (14:35) The First 24 Hours After an EPC Walkoff (16:25) Compounding Risks of Stalled Solar Construction (17:18) Contractor Default, Borrower Default, and SureBuild (19:37) Case Study: Covering a $4M Project Cost Overrun (22:04) Lessons from Large-Scale Developer Bankruptcies (23:35) Unifying Technical Diligence and Completion Protection (24:31) Solving Surety Barriers for Vertically Integrated Developers (26:27) Solving Completion Risk Before Financial Close

  5. 22 Oct

    Solar + Farming, Part 2: How Developers Earn Lasting Community Trust | Lauren Glickman

    Getting a solar project approved is one thing. Building enough trust that the community welcomes the next project is another. In this Part 2 of Nico Johnson’s conversation with Lauren Glickman, the focus shifts from what solar and agriculture can accomplish together to what developers must do to make those benefits credible and durable. Lauren explores why agrivoltaics cannot be treated as a one-size-fits-all practice. Grazing, crops, pollinator habitat, and other agricultural uses have very different economics, which means the policies and incentives designed to encourage them may need to differ as well. She also explains why permitting certainty and agricultural tax treatment can sometimes matter more than another financial subsidy. But the larger lesson is about trust. Lauren shares what can happen when agricultural commitments disappear after a project changes ownership, why farmers should be compensated for the expertise they bring to project development, and why showing up only when you need a permit means starting the relationship at a disadvantage. For developers, the responsibility extends beyond getting today’s project built. Every promise kept or broken influences how that community responds to the next solar project. If you missed Part 1, we made the case for solar + farming; in this Part 2, we ask what it takes to make that partnership last. Are there other technologies you’ve scouted on the frontlines of the Clean Energy Revolution that you think we should be covering here on SunCast? Hit us up - team@suncast.me with your feedback & recommendations. If you want to connect with today's guest, you’ll find links to their contact info in the show notes on the blog at https://suncast.media/episodes/. Our Platinum Presenting Sponsor for SunCast is CPS America! You can learn more about all the sponsors who help make this show free for you at www.suncast.media/sponsors. Remember, you can always find resources, learn more about today’s guest and explore recommendations, book links, and more than 950 other founder stories and startup advice at www.suncast.media. We'd love if you'd leave us a 5 ⭐ rating & review and it's never been easier: https://www.ratethispodcast.com/suncast Subscribe to Valence, our weekly LinkedIn Newsletter, and learn the elements of compelling storytelling: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/valence-content-that-connects-7145928995363049472/ You can connect with me, Nico Johnson, on: Twitter - https://www.twitter.com/nicomeo LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickalus (00:00) Developing Project Certainty in Agrivoltaic Policy (02:55) Financial Incentive Limitations Across Diverse Agrivoltaic Practices (05:10) Permitting Reform and Farm-By-Right Statutes (10:00) Ensuring Durability in Long-Term Developer Commitments (12:10) Embedding Agricultural Obligations into Land Lease Options (15:28) Compensating Farmers and Proactive Community Pre-Engagement (18:00) Overcoming Post-Energization Host Community Ghosting (20:08) Maryland's Agricultural Tax Treatment and Certification Model (22:16) Aligning Clean Energy and Conservation Through Uncommon Dialogue (26:48) Spotting Agrivoltaic Greenwashing and Enforcing Practical Accountability (29:39) Rapid Fire Insights on Agrivoltaics and Policy (31:03) The 10-Year Future of Solar and Agriculture Integration (32:39) Rewarding Long-Term Commitments Beyond Project Energization

  6. 20 Oct

    Solar + Farming, Part 1: How Solar Can Help Save American Farmland | Lauren Glickman

    For years, the solar industry has defended development on agricultural land by arguing that solar can help keep farms in the family and protect them from more permanent forms of development. Lauren Glickman thinks the opportunity may be bigger than that. For nearly five years, Lauren has helped shepherd policy and communications at Encore Renewable Energy, one of the Northeast's leading community-scale renewable energy developers and a longtime advocate for brownfield redevelopment and more sustainable land use. In Part 1 of this two-part SunCast conversation, she makes the case for thinking about solar and farming as partners rather than competing land uses. Lauren points to SEIA analysis showing that far more prime farmland is sitting fallow than is occupied by solar, and shares an Encore project in Vermont where a former gravel pit now generates electricity while providing pasture for a local sheep farmer. Nico and Lauren explore what current agrivoltaics research is actually showing, where the evidence is still developing, how grazing and larger livestock can expand the opportunity, and why farmers themselves may be the most credible voices for explaining the benefits. The bigger question is not simply how much farmland solar occupies. It is how much agricultural value solar can preserve, restore, or create. And this is only Part 1. On Thursday, Lauren returns to tackle the harder half of the equation: how developers earn community trust, design better incentives, and make sure agricultural promises survive for the life of the project. Expect to Learn: 🔹 Why the 43-to-1 farmland statistic changes the solar debate 🔹 How Encore turned a former gravel pit into productive pastureland 🔹 What current agrivoltaics research reveals about crops and livestock 🔹 Why farmers must lead the conversation about solar's agricultural benefits If we're serious about protecting American farmland, maybe it's time to stop asking how much land solar occupies and start asking how much agricultural value it creates. Listen in for a different perspective on the future of solar and farming. Are there other technologies you’ve scouted on the frontlines of the Clean Energy Revolution that you think we should be covering here on SunCast? Hit us up - team@suncast.me with your feedback & recommendations. If you want to connect with today's guest, you’ll find links to their contact info in the show notes on the blog at https://suncast.media/episodes/. Our Platinum Presenting Sponsor for SunCast is CPS America! You can learn more about all the sponsors who help make this show free for you at www.suncast.media/sponsors. Remember, you can always find resources, learn more about today’s guest and explore recommendations, book links, and more than 950 other founder stories and startup advice at www.suncast.media. We'd love if you'd leave us a 5 ⭐ rating & review and it's never been easier: https://www.ratethispodcast.com/suncast Subscribe to Valence, our weekly LinkedIn Newsletter, and learn the elements of compelling storytelling: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/valence-content-that-connects-7145928995363049472/ You can connect with me, Nico Johnson, on: Twitter - https://www.twitter.com/nicomeo LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickalus (00:00) Reframing the Solar and Farmland Debate (03:35) Dismantling the False Solar vs Farming Narrative (06:01) How Solar Is Creating New Farmland (08:31) Turning Compromised Land into Active Grazing Pasture (13:13) Research and Crop Performance in Agrivoltaic Systems (17:02) Dual-Use Solar Lessons from European Markets (17:45) Connecting Agrivoltaics to Farm-to-Table Markets (22:32) Elevating Farmer Voices in Clean Energy Storytelling (24:24) Integrating Cattle and Large Livestock into Solar (27:07) Local Economic Benefits of Solar Weed Management (29:55) Land Reversibility and Long-Term Grid Energization (33:06) Key Takeaways on Solar and Agricultural Stewardship

  7. 15 Oct

    976: AI Can Pay 100X More for Power. Is This Clean Energy's Moment? | Hans Royal, David Siap, & Peter Kelly-Detwiler

    AI is changing electricity demand faster than the grid was built to accommodate it. But the more interesting question may not be how much power data centers need. It may be what that electricity is worth to them. If AI workloads can economically justify power prices far above those of traditional industrial customers, that creates enormous economic headroom. Could that help pay for grid modernization, new capacity, flexibility and cleaner generation? And what happens if utilities, developers and investors build for demand that ultimately arrives more slowly, or not at all? That is the question at the center of this episode. Hans Royal, Co-Founder & President of RP Energy, began thinking about it while on sabbatical from Schneider Electric. He came across the traditional gas heat-rate concept and started asking whether there was a similar way to measure the conversion of electricity into AI intelligence. That led him to create Compute Heat Rate, a metric for estimating how much different AI workloads can afford to pay for power. David Siap, Senior Manager for Energy at CREO, brings the other side of the equation. His work asks what it actually costs to add reliable capacity, how investors should evaluate the AI-driven demand boom, and which investments still make sense if the forecasts prove too optimistic. Peter Kelly-Detwiler, co-founder of NorthBridge Energy Partners and a longtime demand-response operator, tests both ideas against the realities of power markets, interconnection, flexibility and ratepayer risk. Episode 976: Thursday, October … Expect to learn: 🔹 Why AI may behave very differently from traditional industrial electricity customers 🔹 How Compute Heat Rate helps explain the economics of AI power demand 🔹 Why flexibility may depend more on grid access than electricity price alone 🔹 Which investments still look sensible if data center demand falls short of today's forecasts 🔹 How AI could become a source of capital for a stronger grid, and what has to go right for that to happen If you're trying to understand where AI, power markets and clean energy investment are actually headed, this conversation gives you a much better map. Are there other technologies you’ve scouted on the frontlines of the Clean Energy Revolution that you think we should be covering here on SunCast? Hit us up - team@suncast.me with your feedback & recommendations. If you want to connect with today's guest, you’ll find links to their contact info in the show notes on the blog at https://suncast.media/episodes/. Our Platinum Presenting Sponsor for SunCast is CPS America! You can learn more about all the sponsors who help make this show free for you at www.suncast.media/sponsors. Remember, you can always find resources, learn more about today’s guest and explore recommendations, book links, and more than 950 other founder stories and startup advice at www.suncast.media. We'd love if you'd leave us a 5 ⭐ rating & review and it's never been easier: https://www.ratethispodcast.com/suncast Subscribe to Valence, our weekly LinkedIn Newsletter, and learn the elements of compelling storytelling: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/valence-content-that-connects-7145928995363049472/ You can connect with me, Nico Johnson, on: Twitter - https://www.twitter.com/nicomeo LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickalus (00:00) The Explosive Surge in Data Center Load Growth (02:33) What Is a Megawatt Hour Worth to AI? (05:53) Defining Compute Heat Rate: Converting Electrons to Intelligence (09:14) Quantifying AI’s $5,630/MWh Willingness to Pay (10:41) Frontier Models vs. Commodity Inference Workloads (14:41) The Economic Paradox of Data Center Flexibility (18:09) Speed to Power and Interconnection Delay Economics (22:35) Beyond LCOE: The Marginal Cost of Firm Capacity (27:41) How AI Capital Distorts Clean Energy Investments (35:21) Grid Interconnection Rules and Jurassic Park Analogies (38:19) How Training vs. Inference Loads Impact the Grid (45:07) Proving Empirical Demand Response for Large Data Centers (48:53) Phantom Loads and Capacity Price Spikes in PJM (55:09) Social License to Operate and AI’s Power Future

  8. 13 Oct

    975: Powerful Branding: How to Build a Brand Your Team Can Actually Use | Aimee Tuck

    A strong brand should do more than make your company recognizable. It should help your people understand what the company stands for, who it serves, and how to make better decisions as the business grows. Aimee Tuck has spent more than 25 years helping clean energy companies do exactly that. She is the founder of Corbae Creative and author of Powerful Branding, a remarkably practical workbook that takes branding far beyond logos, colors, and websites. In this conversation, Aimee and Nico dig into the mechanics behind the book: how to get a founder’s vision out of their head, interview employees and customers, uncover gaps between what leadership believes and what the market experiences, and decide which parts of a brand should remain fixed as the company evolves. They also get very practical about the work most companies skip. Why should you interview former customers? What can an asset review reveal? How do customer profiles keep marketing focused without limiting sales? And what happens when company values become actual tools for hiring, performance conversations, and leadership decisions? Aimee’s book provides the worksheets and process. This episode gives you a guided tour through some of the most useful parts. If your company is growing, fundraising, entering a new market, or considering a rebrand, start here before approving the next logo or website. Are there other technologies you’ve scouted on the frontlines of the Clean Energy Revolution that you think we should be covering here on SunCast? Hit us up - team@suncast.me with your feedback & recommendations. If you want to connect with today's guest, you’ll find links to their contact info in the show notes on the blog at https://suncast.media/episodes/. Our Platinum Presenting Sponsor for SunCast is CPS America! You can learn more about all the sponsors who help make this show free for you at www.suncast.media/sponsors. Remember, you can always find resources, learn more about today’s guest and explore recommendations, book links, and more than 950 other founder stories and startup advice at www.suncast.media. We'd love if you'd leave us a 5 ⭐ rating & review and it's never been easier: https://www.ratethispodcast.com/suncast Subscribe to Valence, our weekly LinkedIn Newsletter, and learn the elements of compelling storytelling: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/valence-content-that-connects-7145928995363049472/ You can connect with me, Nico Johnson, on: Twitter - https://www.twitter.com/nicomeo LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickalus (00:00) Moving Beyond the Logo in Clean Energy Branding (02:48) Why 90% of Rebrands Misdiagnose the Problem (05:10) Lessons from 25 Years in Solar Marketing (08:29) Translating Technical Hardware into Customer Benefits (12:38) Why Successful Brand Strategy Starts Internally (16:25) The Branding Tree: Roots, Identity, and Touchpoints (18:51) Defining Vision, Mission, and Target Customer Profiles (22:22) Exposing Organizational Dissonance Through Team Interviews (29:38) The Strategic Value of Interviewing Lost Customers (33:01) Navigating Rebrands During Series A and M&A (36:18) Turning Brand Values into Management Rules and KPIs (41:57) The Framework: Non-Negotiable vs Evolving Brand Assets (44:01) Practical Brand Audit Questions for Clean Energy CEOs (52:22) Using Brand as an Executive Decision-Making Filter

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Trailer

About

Nico Johnson takes you into conversations with those at the forefront of Renewable Energy. SunCast gives an inside look into what is happening in renewable energy. From conversations with the biggest Solar Panel manufacturers in the world to the small startups creating the future of renewable energy, such as carbon capture and battery technology breakthroughs. SunCast is dedicated to providing the knowledge, research, tools and expert guidance you need to understand, grow and be ahead of the curve in the fastest-growing markets in the world. Featuring over 800 conversations, Nico has interviewed people from Tesla, SolarCity, Trina Solar, Meyer Burger, Conergy, SunEdison, Energy Vault and even the US Government... to name a few. Covering topics such as Solar Power, Wind Energy, Batteries, Electric Vehicles, Carbon Capture, Finance, Hydrogen, and more. You can watch SunCast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@SunCastMedia ...or view the full archive of SunCast episodes here: https://www.suncast.media/media/podcast

Information

  • Creator
    Nico Johnson
  • Years Active
    2015 - 2026
  • Episodes
    991
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © SunCast Media
  • Show Website
    SunCast

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