This Week in Solar

Exact Solar
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A weekly look at what's new in solar, brought to you by Exact Solar. Clean energy news, policy updates, and stories that matter. exactsolar.substack.com

  1. Not Everyone is Excited About Plug-In Solar

    3D AGO

    Not Everyone is Excited About Plug-In Solar

    Note: Apologies if you saw this go out on Monday and tried to watch the video. I accidentally sent it early. If you were waiting for the video, please enjoy! What’s New: Plug-in solar panels are cheap, easy to install, and massively popular in Europe. But as more states legalize them in the U.S., utilities and electrical experts are raising red flags about uniquely American safety hazards. Why it Matters: States like Utah, Virginia, Maryland, Maine, and Colorado have passed or are about to pass laws allowing consumers to bypass the complicated utility connection agreements usually required for rooftop solar. On paper, this looks great. People who normally can’t save with solar, like renters, can just buy a kit, hang it on a balcony, and save money. Plug-in solar offers true “power to the people.” So why aren’t we seeing it roll out faster? Utilities have successfully stalled similar bills in states like Georgia and Wyoming, citing the need to protect consumers and grid workers. While advocates claim that utilities are just trying to protect their monopolies, there are some legitimate, documented dangers that we need to overcome before we can deploy plug-in solar in the U.S. I’m going to go through the biggest concerns in no particular order here. The GFCI Issue: According to a whitepaper by UL Solutions, backfeeding electricity into standard branch circuits can permanently damage Ground-Fault Circuit-Interrupter (GFCI) breakers and outlets. If a GFCI fails, the circuit remains energized but loses its ability to protect against lethal shock hazards in wet locations like patios or kitchens. “Significant concerns have been noted related to the misuse of GFCIs when backfed. This damage has resulted in GFCI circuitry failure... leaving the branch circuit unprotected from electric shock hazards.” — UL Solutions Whitepaper America’s Grid is Different Than Germany’s: Advocates often point to Germany’s 1.2 million safe plug-in installations. However, the North American electrical grid is fundamentally different. Germany uses a floating system with whole-house residual current detectors. The U.S. relies on circuit-level GFCI protection. This is not an impossible problem to overcome, but it’s a difficult one. Lineworker Safety: Utilities argue that during an outage, unregulated plug-in panels could continue to push electricity back onto the grid, creating a life-threatening shock hazard for utility lineworkers trying to restore power. Shock Risk: Plug-in solar kits are designed to back-feed the grid with a standard 120V electrical plug. That means that power is flowing from the panels to the outlet. Consumers are not used to this (every appliance you own pulls power out of the wall, not puts it in). If the kits are not designed to shut off power the instant that they are unplugged, then someone could touch the prongs of the plug and shock themselves. Solar panels are always live. If they’re in the sun, they’re making power, so the inverter in a plug-in solar kit needs to be able to cut off power the second that it’s unplugged. Overloaded Circuits & Fire Risks: Unlike professional installations that use dedicated circuits, plug-in panels rely on consumer common sense. As any American knows, there’s a reason that your microwave says “please don’t put your head in here and turn it on” in the owner’s manual. Common sense is uncommon. A homeowner could easily plug a 600-watt solar array into the same outdoor circuit powering a hot tub, risking electrical fires. Overheating: Because American circuits aren’t designed for two-way power flow, there’s a chance that plug-in kits could overheat wires and cause fires, depending on how close to the electrical panel they’re plugged in. What’s next: UL Solutions launched a testing and certification program for plug-in solar in January to address these hazards. Certifications are expected within months, but could take more than a year. For those already using these kits, experts recommend buying a cheap GFCI outlet tester (they run around $10-$20) to ensure their home’s shock-protection systems haven’t been quietly fried by backfed solar power. Sources: Easy-to-use solar panels are coming, but utilities are trying to delay them Bright Saver State Tracker Clearing the way for plug-in solar Why you should never invest in “plug-in” solar panels This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit exactsolar.substack.com

    5 min
  2. Lisa Shulock: Why Isn't Solar On Every Commercial Building?

    5D AGO

    Lisa Shulock: Why Isn't Solar On Every Commercial Building?

    Aaron Nichols talks with Lisa Shulock, Director of Commercial Programs at the Philadelphia Energy Authority. Lisa is a policy expert dedicated to proving that solar is a powerful tool for economic stability and poverty reduction (and not just for hippie tree-huggers). Listen to this episode on: * YouTube * Apple Podcasts * Spotify Connect with Lisa on LinkedIn here. Expect to learn: * Why commercial landlords often hesitate to invest in rooftop solar. * Why seasoned executives who know how to buy real estate still find solar proposals intimidating and difficult to compare. * How changing state regulations in Pennsylvania could transform empty warehouse roofs into local clean power plants. Quotes from the episode: “For commercial property owners, procuring solar is something most companies have no experience with... It doesn’t usually reach the top of an executive’s priority list to figure out how to do it because they don’t know where to turn for guidance.” — Lisa Shulock “80 years from now, I don’t think we’re going to be using fossil fuels any longer... the technologies we’re using now to convert the sun’s energy are going to be ubiquitous and incredibly inexpensive.” — Lisa Shulock Transcript Aaron Nichols: Lisa, there is so much available commercial real estate that we could put solar panels on. What do you think has held commercial solar back? Like, why don’t we see it on every warehouse in America? Lisa Shulock: Aaron, that’s such a good question. And I think there’s a number of different reasons. One is, historically, solar has a reputation of being expensive and only for elites or tree huggers like myself. But that’s not true. And I think this is a perception problem that the industry is confronting—has gotten better—challenging that, but it’s still a legacy with solar. In fact, the program that my organization, the Philadelphia Energy Authority runs called Solarize Greater Philadelphia, in our program for homeowners, in the last few years when we started offering a low cost lease option, more than 80% of the contracts signed for solar on a homeowner’s roof were with low and moderate income homeowners. So we’re totally blasting that misperception, but that’s certainly one factor. For commercial property owners, procuring solar—and this is true for residential as well, but for focusing on commercial, which is what I focus on—procuring solar is something most companies have no experience with. Like, they know how to buy office equipment, know, go buy a Xerox machine, they know how to do that. They need a vehicle, they know how to do that. If they haven’t done it at work, they’ve certainly done it at home. If they manage many, they certainly know how to lease or purchase buildings if that’s necessary. But very few people have experienced purchasing solar. And I think it’s kind of intimidating and it’s—doesn’t usually reach like the top of an executive’s priority list to figure out like, okay, if I wanna do this, how do I do it? Because they don’t know where to turn for guidance, I think. There’s two more things I would want to say. One is that even if it does get to the top of somebody’s list, it’s not always easy to compare solar proposals. So different companies, different solar developers, solar installers may make different assumptions about how much electricity they think is going to be used over the course of the 25-year lifespan each year, or what kind of financing solutions are offered, or what the rate of increase of utility prices will be. So when you’re looking at solar, one company might be comparing it to a different price than another. And sometimes, although fortunately very infrequently and obviously not Exact Solar, there are some unscrupulous actors in the market. So I think that is an impact as well. The program that we run that at again, Philadelphia Energy Authority in partnership with the Pennsylvania Solar Center, we’re addressing this problem by providing free technical assistance, including developing feasibility studies, distributing requests for proposals to solar developers, and then helping property owners to select the solar installer that provides the best value for them. So making that apples to apples comparison with the different proposals from solar developers. That’s one way we’re combating that particular issue. And then lastly, and maybe most importantly, I’m not really sure what order I would put these in, that again, I’m speaking of commercial properties. Most are owned by a developer or an investor, and then it’s rented to tenants. And it’s usually the tenants that pay for their utilities. So, while installing solar reduces electricity costs for the tenant, the owner is the one that needs to recoup the cost of the solar investment. So you’ve got this mismatch between the financial incentive. Even when a property owner has a lease that allows them to pass along the cost of the solar investment to the tenant, those leases, excuse me, are usually significantly shorter than the lifespan of the solar. So there could be a period when the owner is still paying back the cost of purchasing solar and maybe they don’t have a tenant that they can pass the cost to. So that is a significant barrier to solar on commercial properties. In Pennsylvania, we don’t have great financial incentives for solar. If you’re like me and you, when you travel and you, whether you’re driving over to New Jersey or up to New England and you look around for solar panels wherever you go, you’ll see that certain states have much more solar than we do in Pennsylvania. New Jersey has like all the same, you know, in terms of how much sun we get, it’s the same. What’s different is that some of the incentives are different in New Jersey. And even though it doesn’t feel like it right now, our commercial electricity rates are relatively low. They’re going up. We don’t want high electricity prices, of course, but higher prices do make the economics of solar pencil better. I mentioned a couple of the solutions to these problems. I can go into a lot more of them if you want me to, but that’s why we don’t see solar on every warehouse in every parking lot as much as I’d love to. Aaron Nichols: Yeah, I like to joke that, you know, a lot of people will say we don’t want solar in our neighborhood because it’s ugly, but you know, it’s very hard to make the case that you’re going to make a commercial warehouse worse to look at by putting solar panels on. Lisa Shulock: Yes, and I actually haven’t heard the ugly part before about solar. I’ve certainly heard it about wind turbines, but yeah. Aaron Nichols: Yeah. Yeah, we deal with a lot of homeowners who say like, we don’t want it on the front of the house because we just don’t like the way it looks. We deal with that. And thank you, by the way, for just, I noticed that you added that little caveat. You said there was a lot of unscrupulous actors, obviously not Exact Solar. So thank you for putting that in. I’m very— Lisa Shulock: Mmm. Some. Right. And I think there’s fewer in the market now. I think it’s a more competitive market. When we first launched Solarize in Philadelphia back in 2016, 2017, in the residential space, there were a lot of companies that were taking advantage of customers. We don’t see that nearly as much anymore. And I think that’s in part because we’ve been able to grow the market working with Exact Solar and some of the other Solarize partners in the Philadelphia region. Aaron Nichols: So going back to business owners, why do you think, like when we’re talking about the education gap, the knowledge gap, and also the lack of incentives for them to spread the word, I mean it seems like if a business owner does go solar and they dramatically lower their operating costs, they’re probably less inclined to tell another business owner about it just because of competition than say like, Jim would be if he put solar on his house and he lowers his bills and he tells all his neighbors. I think that’s one aspect. I also know that business owners are just much harder to get in touch with, but what do you think the average business owner doesn’t know about how much going solar can actually help them? Lisa Shulock: Yeah, I think a little bit back to what I spoke about earlier, I think most businesses don’t know that solar can really help their bottom line. And it’s interesting that you think that maybe they would be reluctant to share with their competitors. Maybe. But I also think that I certainly—like I think there’s lots of associations where best practices are shared. I’m not sure that it’s not like it’s an industry secret that solar can help reduce the bottom line. I think they also don’t know that it is affordable and that there are financing products that make it possible to go solar. And I certainly don’t need to tell you this, Aaron, but I think one of the most significant things about solar for anybody who has to pay for electric utilities is that it stabilizes and makes your electricity costs predictable and stable for the next 25 to 30 years. You’re hedging on the electricity market and you know whatever you’re paying to pay back a loan that you’ve taken out or if you’re paying a third party leasing company or paying through a third party like a power purchase agreement, you know what that cost is going to be every single year. We have no idea what electricity rates are going to be 20 years from now, no less, just one or two years from now. So it gives you predictability and stability. I think that is probably even if in some cases, maybe somebody would be paying a little bit more now than they might to PECO or to another utility where they are, but what they can be guaranteed is it’s gonna be a better rate than at some point soon in the future. Aaron Nichols: Yeah

    34 min

  3. MAY 1

    Four Republicans Are Trying to Save Solar Tax Credits

    We decided to try something new for this episode! I invited Anders Alexander to give commentary on this developing story, but kept it under 5 minutes. If you like this format, let us know in the comments, and we’ll do more of them! You can listen to this episode here, or on: * YouTube * Apple Podcasts * Spotify What’s New: Four GOP House members have introduced the American Energy Dominance Act, a bill designed to revive renewable energy and efficiency tax incentives that were phased out by 2025’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA). Why it matters: The OBBBA’s jarring rollback of federal tax credits created market uncertainty in clean energy industries, stalled projects across the country, and forced almost $35 billion in in-progress projects to be cancelled. Representatives Brian Fitzpatrick, Mike Lawler, Max Miller, and Mike Carey partnered with North America’s Building Trades Unions to draft the legislation. The bill removes accelerated expiration dates for commercial solar, clean hydrogen, and building efficiency tax credits to secure domestic supply chains and protect union jobs. Unfortunately, the bill does nothing to extend or reinstate 25D, the tax credit for residential solar installations. Anders Alexander weighs in below: Transcript: Aaron Nichols Anders, you messaged me on LinkedIn in response to a post I had put up about the four Republican representatives who have proposed that we extend the commercial tax credits rather than phasing them out as the one big beautiful bill would have done. One of them is actually Exact Solar’s representative, Fitzpatrick, who was one of two no votes on the one big beautiful bill. Now know you had some commentary, you messaged me, you were like, I have something to add on this, and so I decided to bring you on for a news roundup on a Friday morning. So let’s hear what you have to say. Anders Alexander Yeah, I think that extending them is brilliant. consistency, the market still has a lot of growth, a lot of building to do. But to be clear, when it comes to the residential side, you’re still talking about third party owned solar, which has a really great place in the market. It’s really what the market has grown around. You have good longer term guarantees, easy to participation in utility programs, you know, all that’s great. And we lost 25 D, which accomplishes honestly all the same things just in a different way. Aaron Nichols Just really, really quickly for anyone who’s listening who’s not in the industry, what is 25D? Anders Alexander Yeah, 25D being the tax credit specifically for you own your home, you own your solar, you may have gotten a loan, but 25D is ownership. 48E is third party owned leases and PPAs. And so when you look across the country, some states are really heavy on ownership and loans. And so when you have tax credits for one financing type for not another, it’s not like it’s evenly spread throughout the United States. You have basically a lot of the Midwest, a lot of the rural areas, the Northwest, that, you know, we are almost five months into not having 25D and only having 48E and the third party financing options have not rushed into those markets and probably won’t long term when you look at utility prices and what they need to compete with, but also just the availability of the products. And so I think when you have both, you have a more balanced market that feeds the whole country. But as I wrote to you before, a step in the right direction is the step in the right direction and we’ll always welcome that. Aaron Nichols Yeah, so to succinctly try to phrase it, if this is going to be equitable and be a win for the solar industry, we need to make sure that we’re extending the residential tax credit alongside the commercial tax credit. And as it stands, it’s only the commercial tax credit that would be extended by this legislation. Anders Alexander Exactly. And if you would say that, well, yes, there’s going to be holes in the markets when there’s only a two year time frame and extending this will mean that, you know, 48E and this third party ownership will extend to the whole country, you know, not necessarily. And the other thing about like ownership and loans, it’s very recognizable way of buying things for your home, for participating in utility programs. And so once again, it just creates, yes, a more balanced, equitable market spread throughout the United States. And when I was looking at the data, just to remind myself this morning of where TPO is and where cash ownership is, you know, really has to do with the rural divide with the cities. And so honestly, I live rurally. And so that’s a lot of what you’re doing is you’re basically, it looks on the map, like you’re really just reducing more access in the rural areas and kind of leaving the rural areas behind. And I’m from a city, but I’ve been living in rural areas for years. now and between internet and other services we really do leave the rural part of our country behind and 25D is just a real clear way to make sure that they’re included and so that’s why you know once again both are great different types of homes different types of utility programs but when you put them together I think you get a really strong policy for the country. Aaron Nichols Yeah, I grew up in a small town and if there’s one thing I hate, it’s big city people making decisions for small towns. So thank you for coming on today, Andish. It has been wonderful to have you. For everyone listening, that’s been This Week in Solar and we will see you next week. Sources: House Republicans introduce bill to extend renewables tax credits Republican legislators seek to restore clean energy tax credits Republican lawmakers propose bill to preserve commercial solar tax credits This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit exactsolar.substack.com

    4 min
  4. How Any Homeowner Can Choose the Right Solar Company: Laura Gutierrez

    APR 29

    How Any Homeowner Can Choose the Right Solar Company: Laura Gutierrez

    Aaron Nichols sits down with Laura Gutierrez, seasoned solar professional and co-founder of SolarSync. Laura shares her journey from journalist and yoga teacher to the front lines of international solar business development. They dive into what solar companies do wrong when communicating with homeowners and what the U.S. market can learn from the necessity-driven clean energy innovation happening across Latin America and the Caribbean. You can listen to this episode here, or on: * YouTube * Apple Podcasts * Spotify Connect with Laura on LinkedIn here. Expect to Learn: * How local solar installers can actually foster 25-year relationships by solving the orphan system crisis. * Why extreme weather and grid instability in Latin America and the Caribbean have turned solar into a non-negotiable tool for community resilience. Quotes: “We measure our industry in megawatts, but customers measure us in watts... our reputation is being measured on uptime and what is actually being delivered to the light switch.” — Laura Gutierrez “Installers should shift their mind from ‘new solar and on to the next’ to how they can cultivate this relationship. You are in energy management; there is a lot more for you to capture from that customer over a lifetime.” — Laura Gutierrez Transcript Aaron Nichols: Laura, when we spoke before recording, you told me that we measure our industry in megawatts, but customers measure us in watts. It’s a great quote, and I would love to hear you elaborate on it. Laura Gutierrez: Yeah, well because you know during my time in solar distribution we would see you know what were the gigawatts sold, the megawatts sold, how much you know equipment was being sold and out there but when the solars call you Hey, the inverters or something’s going wrong with the system, know, the homeowners are upset that they’re not thinking about megawatts or gigawatts. They’re thinking, hey, my light switch isn’t working or I’m paying X amount of kilowatt hours that, you know, I wasn’t supposed to be paying on my bill. You know, they’re not looking at megawatts, gigawatts. They’re counting on the watts that they’re paying. So even though as company, we think, OK, our growth was projected on the megawatts. our reputation and what we’re delivering is still being measured on watts delivered or on know uptime of these watts so it’s a macro but the micro level is still so important and and every Aaron Nichols: Mm-hmm. Yeah, you mentioned before we were recording that we’re thinking nationally and we’re forgetting about the local. Did I paraphrase that right? Laura Gutierrez: No, that’s exactly where my thoughts are. We’re thinking about how can we advance global renewable energy targets and deployment, but we forget that it’s still happening at a micro level, at a regional level. It’s how many homes went solar in this community, in the one next door. Okay, what about the city 20 minutes north of it, or the city 20 minutes and it’s out of it. this is still happening at a very slow boots on the ground level and it’s still individual homeowners, individual families that are saying yes to the idea, that are saying yes to the solution. So we still have to think about every single watt. Promise needs to be delivered and broken promises not only you know affect that single homeowner, but these are business models that rely a lot on referrals. So one unhappy customer is going to tell their neighbor or their sibling or their family members and once the word starts getting around that, I you know my solar doesn’t work. or something went on with my solar, or they told me that I was gonna have savings and I’m still paying double bills. The word gets around fast and installers still need to deliver on their promises so that they can continue to get referrals. And coming from door-to-door sales, coming from working from one of the larger installers in the US, referrals. Aaron Nichols: Amen. For anyone listening, welcome back to This Week in Solar. As always, I’m your host, Aaron Nichols, the storytelling and policy specialist here at Exact Solar in Newtown, Pennsylvania. And I’m very excited about my guest today, Laura Gutierrez, because when I made a post on LinkedIn and just celebrated the women who have come onto This Week in Solar so far, which it still amazes me that anyone wants to come onto a brand new show. And when I asked... who, which women in the industry I should interview next, there were four people that messaged me and said, you have to talk to Laura Gutierrez. No one else had as many responses or as many people pointing to them as someone awesome. So I’m very excited that I’m meeting you, Laura. And would you like to just spend some time introducing yourself? Laura Gutierrez: Please. Well, first of all, Erin, thank you so much. I’m more than humbled that industry colleagues or friends were kind enough to recommend me. I still sometimes, you know, think, my god, six years in solar, wow, what a long time. But yeah, I guess I started six years ago. I was telling you a little earlier. My background was in journalism when I moved to the US pre-pandemic. I had a full-blown yoga business. I was teaching at hotels in Miami, different yoga studios, private classes online. I had a full-blown wellness business going for me. The pandemic hit. I was, you know, my God, what’s gonna happen? I need to find a new way to develop income. At the same time, I had started my master’s degree in sustainability. And you know, casually one of my good friends was working in the solar industry and said, hey, you should come learn about solar. I think you would really like this. And you know, I wasn’t not only intrigued because I was doing, you know, hundreds of sun salutations a day. So I was, you know, thinking about solar and then think, how can I bring this energy into my life? And someone says, hey, you should really think about solar. You should come and learn about this. And I’m like, well, okay. Yeah, this sounds great. So they invited me to this trip to Texas. Midland, Texas. Midland Odessa. know, small place, oil town in Texas. And you know, this is my first trip. I don’t know really much about solar besides the clean energy and you know, it’s free energy. Aaron Nichols: you Laura Gutierrez: I go and you know, what’s this all about? So take my trip. I’m out there, you know, chilly Texas, December, and suddenly this blizzard hits. my God, power’s out, nobody has power, thousands of homeowners, what’s happening? know, it’s Texas, it’s hot, what is this blizzard? Everything is frozen, nothing is working. So I got to see it like real time. What is the impact of, you know, having solar, having backup power and how it can... either improve homeowners’ lives or really put them in a really uncomfortable spot. I think the communities were out of power for more than a week in some instances. So that was really a key moment of like, wow, this really has the power to impact a lot of homes and a lot of families. So I was like, wow, this isn’t really... maybe it’s just something that can bring income to my life for a while, this is something that is huge. So I went back to Florida and I’m like, okay, I really think that this is something that we need to bring to our community. And of course, know, Florida being in a hurricane zone, we’re always also in these moments where we need to have... Community resilience we need to have backup power for hurricanes for storms and and that’s kind of where it all started so I went from working in Door-to-door sales and then you know escalated got into solar distribution and ultimately that led me to to start my own business and And that’s kind of where where I’m at today Aaron Nichols: I love non-traditional paths. It’s always just, I mean, I got really excited when you told me that story before we started recording because as anyone listening to this show knows, I fell into solar because two circus girls that I met on the beach in Ecuador invited me to knock doors with them. Laura Gutierrez: Thanks, all. Aaron Nichols: and I’m now talking to major news outlets and trying to represent the industry and it’s just amazing seeing someone like you who didn’t follow a traditional path. We also have yoga teaching in common. you’re the first person I’ve met who has kind of a similar story to how I got into the industry, which is amazing. Laura Gutierrez: in. Let’s some sea we belong. Aaron Nichols: We do, or yeah, we’re just fiery enough to make our own space here. Laura Gutierrez: That’s a beautiful way to put it. And honestly for me, given the years, what keeps me here is the purpose. You’re really helping people. You’re really doing something to advance clean energy and doing it in a responsible and ethical way. Aaron Nichols: Totally. Laura Gutierrez: That’s what I think is going to be the most important thing. The industry is changing so much. Installers are working with so many different variables. The rules are changing almost on a monthly basis. If you stick to the reason why you’re doing this, why you believe in it, the path is always going to be rocky, but there’s always going to be a north star that will drive you there. Aaron Nichols: Right. And I know that you’ve since ended up working with a lot of service customers. And as we both know, especially having come from door to door, there’s been a dark side to the solar industry in the last few years. And there’s been just companies that didn’t set expectations well or installed something and then vanished, leaving people with something that didn’t quite work on their roofs. And... I think that there’s something that is often missed. I’m very lucky that I work for a really established, fantastic company that’s been around for 20 years, but I think there’s something that is often missed in the initial convers

    34 min
  5. Federal Judge Rules Against Trump's Clean Energy Blockade

    APR 24

    Federal Judge Rules Against Trump's Clean Energy Blockade

    What’s New: On Tuesday, Chief Judge Denise Casper of the U.S. District Court for Massachusetts issued a preliminary injunction halting five Trump administration policies designed to stall solar and wind development. Why it Matters: The ruling protects over $905 million in already-invested capital and ensures developers will be able to access between $8-$25 billion in federal tax credits that were at risk due to delays. Judge Casper noted that stalling these projects harms the public interest by weakening a power grid already struggling to meet record demand from AI data centers and new manufacturing. The ruling effectively “unfreezes” projects that were trapped in administrative limbo. The court found that the administration likely violated the Administrative Procedure Act by creating “arbitrary and capricious” barriers to renewable energy. This ruling protects approximately 57.2 GW of clean energy capacity. That much power is capable of powering millions of homes. Those projects were at risk of cancellation or delay after 2029. Key Policies Overturned The injunction targets specific bottlenecks used by the Department of the Interior (DOI) and the Army Corps of Engineers. These included: * Political Sign-off: The ruling struck down the requirement for Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to personally approve every solar and wind permit. This is a task historically handled by career experts who have industry knowledge about these technologies, not by the Secretary of the Interior. * The Capacity Density Rule: The ruling also blocked an order that prioritized energy projects based on land-use efficiency. This specifically favors coal and natural gas over solar and wind farms, since fossil fuel technologies typically take less land. If you’re reading or listening and you think that the land use argument is a good one, take a moment to think about the ways we use land in our cities. Parks, golf courses, public land, and anything else we deem a public good are also not financially efficient uses of land. But we agree to use land for those things because we all agree that our lives are better with them around. Clean energy technology is no different. * Offshore Barriers: The ruling also paused a legal opinion that effectively barred new offshore wind projects if they conflicted with any other ocean use, such as fishing. What’s Next While the preliminary injunction is a win for the industry, the legal battle continues as the case moves toward a full trial. The Trump administration has not yet stated if it will appeal, but proponents of this injunction, like Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-NM), say they now expect a flood of permit approvals in the coming weeks. The decision may also jumpstart stalled bipartisan “permitting reform” talks in the Senate. Lawmakers are now considering legislation to prevent any future administration from unilaterally canceling lawfully issued energy permits. Sources: Federal judge blocks Trump administration restrictions on wind and solar projects Court curtails Trump administration moves to stifle wind, solar development A judge blocked Trump’s clean energy blockade. Are projects out of limbo? This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit exactsolar.substack.com

    4 min
  6. How AI Can Actually Help Solar Companies: Tim Montague

    APR 22

    How AI Can Actually Help Solar Companies: Tim Montague

    Aaron talks with Tim Montague, host and creator of the Clean Power Hour podcast and a WSI Certified AI Business Consultant. Tim is a 30-year industry veteran. Today, he helps solar EPCs and developers use AI as an accelerant to automate repetitive workflows and scale twice as fast. If you’re ready to cut through the hype and find practical uses for AI, this episode’s for you. Listen here, or on: * YouTube * Apple Podcasts * Spotify Connect with Tim on LinkedIn here. Expect to learn: * Why you should use AI as an accelerant, not a replacement. * How to master bot wrangling and lead a digital workforce. * What you should and shouldn’t outsource to AI Quotes from the episode: “If you can build an AI agent that works 24/7 and doesn’t take vacation—that’s pretty amazing. That’s going to help you do things faster, cheaper. And in business, that really matters.” — Tim Montague “Meaning is so subjective. We truly create meaning... Find your mission and then go find people who share that mission and find a tribe.” — Tim Montague Transcript: Aaron Nichols: Tim, you’ve recently made a pivot to AI in your solar consulting business. Now, obviously there’s a ton of hype around AI, as there is around any new technology, and some of that hype is complete nonsense. So in your opinion, where can solar companies deploy AI for real ROI and what’s fluff? Tim Montague: In my opinion, it is all about using AI as an accelerant. And the place where I think it will most often be applied is in workflows. You know, these are processes—any workflow that has repetitive manual elements to it, where you’re entering data or sending a message, exchanging information. That takes time and can be sped up with AI. Not everything can be, not every process can be sped up with AI, okay, we have to be careful. But ultimately, yes, it is gonna be an accelerant for solar companies, for all companies. If you deal with knowledge work, you can benefit from AI. And soon, if you deal with physical work, you can benefit from AI and robotics. Solar panel installation robots are a thing. Aaron Nichols: Yeah. Yeah, I mean, I’ve certainly fully embraced Gemini Pro and it’s become like an incredible assistant for me, especially for research... Now I’m curious, where have you seen it fail? Where have you seen people implement it and then it was just AI for AI’s sake and it just didn’t really help? Tim Montague: Well, let me caveat this by saying I’m very new as an AI consultant. I am a technology stack consultant... My fundamental value proposition, Aaron, is that I am an accelerant. I will help you as a company go where you need to go twice as fast as you would on your own. First of all, not getting in the game, I think is the biggest mistake, Aaron. You’ve got to get in the game because you will get left behind. If you can build an AI agent that works 24/7 and doesn’t take vacation—that’s pretty amazing. And then it’s always a question of: do you build or buy? And it’s a “both and” probably. You need the foundation like the LLM, you need a professional subscription so your intellectual property is protected... You have to keep a human in the loop and then yeah, make mistakes. Hire people that are curious. Those employees who are more friendly to working with AI as an assistant are gonna go further. If you’re an employee or a leader, you get in the game and be a good “bot wrangler.” Aaron Nichols: Well, I’m excited to one day add “bot wrangler” to my LinkedIn. Big fan of the term. For everyone listening, welcome back to This Week in Solar. I’m your host, Aaron Nichols, the research and policy specialist here at Exact Solar in Newtown, Pennsylvania. And my guest today is—is it Tim Montague or Montague? Tim Montague: We say Montague. The Montagues that came to America in the 1600s were from England, although the name is French origin, montagne, which means mountain. Aaron Nichols: Nice. Tim, would you please introduce yourself and just talk a bit about who you are in the industry and your background? Tim Montague: Sure, I am a solar professional. I’m a consultant to the industry. I’ve made it my business to be an expert in commercial industrial (C&I) solar, behind-the-meter solar. I’ve also developed some community solar projects... and I’m also a podcaster like yourself, Aaron. My show is The Clean Power Hour. I learned that I’m not a great writer, but podcasting was a great outlet. This work is very important for energy professionals to learn more about how this works. It’s not smoke and mirrors; there’s really an economy here creating jobs and cleaning the air. Aaron Nichols: If you were the head of a small to mid-sized solar installer, what would you do right now to make sure you thrived in 2026? What pivots would you be making? Tim Montague: The biggest one is to fully embrace batteries. Any place there’s electricity is a place that a battery is useful because it’s a sponge—it absorbs electricity and generates it on demand. Batteries are great for resiliency, but they also are great for the grid operator and can help the facility owner reduce their energy bill. Lithium-ion is the big dog right now, but it’ll change. If you’re an industrial facility owner, on a big building, you could save $250,000 a year with a solar array in Illinois. With a battery, you can 5X the savings over 15 years. In Illinois, we have battery-specific incentives—a cash incentive of $250 per KWH. That juices the economics. If you’re a legislator or a policy person, copy what’s being done in Illinois, New York, or Massachusetts. Aaron Nichols: Yeah, I’m very bullish on local groups and local impact as we face an unfriendly federal administration. Tim Montague: Yes, the state lever. Our Governor Pritzker here in Illinois has made it clear that he’s very pro-clean energy. We’re shutting down coal and natural gas and replacing those facilities with solar, wind, and batteries. Google just announced a deal with Energy Dome, which is super cool—compressed CO2 storage. The state levers are very important. Aaron Nichols: I heard at a conference that 70% of the locked-in carbon reduction we’ve seen since the turn of the century has been a direct result of deploying clean energy locally due to state and local policy. Tim Montague: The federal policy is impactful—the phase-out of the ITC (Investment Tax Credit) for residential solar is a thing, though there’s an extended ITC for commercial batteries. Residential solar is in decline nationally because of the ITC phase-out, but I went to Tennessee and met installers with a 90%+ attachment rate of batteries. Aaron Nichols: Your mission is to speed up the energy transition. What do we need to do right now to make that future come true? Tim Montague: We’re making the energy transition, but China is on track to green their grid by 2050 while the US is on track for 2148—100 years slower. We have a climate chaos problem. There’s an emerging science called “climate restoration” to get back to pre-industrial levels of 300 PPM of CO2. One biomimetic technology is ocean iron fertilization. Phytoplankton take sunshine and iron to suck carbon out of the atmosphere. For $1 or $2 billion a year, we could suck a lot of carbon out. I’m more hopeful than ever that we can solve the climate crisis, but I am less confident in the AI crisis. When superintelligence emerges, it’s going to be thousands of times smarter than us. We have to be careful. Aaron Nichols: What advice would you give to anyone like me who’s just starting out here? Tim Montague: Establish a mission. Having a focus will help you find your passion. Find your tribe—I love working in this industry because there’s a lot of mission-driven people. And travel. My global travel experiences have been some of the best in my life. You get to see how other people live and realize that while America is a great place, there are other ways of living. Aaron Nichols: My grandma turned 80 last year. Everything from the invention of PV to it becoming the cheapest power source has happened within her lifetime. What do you think energy looks like 80 years from now? Tim Montague: We should build a “Dyson sphere” around the Earth—an HVDC network (high-voltage direct current) that connects the whole globe. We could take wind power from where it’s windy and sun power from where it’s sunny to any other part of the globe instantaneously. We would have a superabundance of energy. I think UBI (universal basic income) will be a thing because AI will do a lot of jobs. And then there’s transhumanism—the ability to be connected to the internet via something like Neuralink. Ask me when I’m 80; if I’m falling apart physically and it could give me an extension of high-quality life, I might go for it. Aaron Nichols: Where do you like to be found? Tim Montague: LinkedIn is the best place. Come to a trade show—I’m going to RE+, NABCEP, ACP, and Intersolar. My aim this year is to meet 100 listeners in the flesh. Aaron Nichols: Thank you for coming on, Tim. That’s been This Week in Solar. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit exactsolar.substack.com

    33 min
  7. Freedom Forever Files for Bankruptcy as More States Pass Plug-In Solar

    APR 17

    Freedom Forever Files for Bankruptcy as More States Pass Plug-In Solar

    What’s New: Freedom Forever, the second-largest residential solar installer in the U.S. as of 2025, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Wednesday. The company reported a massive capital gap, with estimated liabilities between $500 million and $1 billion against assets of $100-$500 million. Why it matters: This bankruptcy filing follows a string of national solar contractors that have filed for bankruptcy, including: * The original SunPower * Sunnova * Posigen * Titan Industry experts point to the expiration of the residential solar tax credit and a shift toward third-party ownership (TPO) models (leases and PPAs) as the reason so many larger solar companies have recently failed. Go Deeper: Freedom Forever faces claims from 50,000 to 100,000 different creditors. Just weeks ago, the Texas Attorney General targeted Freedom Forever in a crackdown on “fraudulent and deceptive” sales practices. At its peak, Freedom Forever had more than 3,000 employees, but the company recently shuttered 10 state markets and laid off 20% of its staff before filing for bankruptcy. If you’re a homeowner or commercial building owner who sees news about large solar companies like Freedom Forever going out of business and feels hesitant, we want to reassure you. Solar is a great thing when done right. At Exact Solar, we’ve watched hundreds of people feel empowered when they escape the cycle of ever-rising utility bills. If you or your friends are considering solar, and you live in New Jersey or Pennsylvania, talk to us at Exact Solar, and we’ll build you a solar energy system the right way. If you live outside those states, look up Amicus Solar Cooperative or WattBot. These tools are designed to help you find locally owned, reputable solar companies that have been in business for decades and treat their customers right. Plug-In Solar May Soon Be Legal in Five States Last week, Maine became the second state to legalize balcony (plug-in) solar after Utah legalized it last year. Plug-in solar in Virginia still awaits the governor’s signature. Last week and earlier this week, Colorado and Maryland became the fourth and fifth states to advance legislation to their governor’s desks. This legislation allows residents to buy and install solar panel systems that plug directly into standard wall outlets, allowing renters and those who cannot afford traditional rooftop installations some relief from exponentially rising utility bills. These systems require no utility interconnection applications or expensive permits. If you want to see where your state stands on legalizing plug-in solar, go to Bright Saver’s State Tracker or to pluginsolarguide.com. Both are linked in the sources section below. Sources: Residential solar installer Freedom Forever files bankruptcy Residential solar company Freedom Forever files chapter 11 bankruptcy Major Residential Solar Installer Files for Chapter 11 Bright Saver State Tracker pluginsolarguide.com Maine passes balcony solar law, Virginia and Colorado to follow [Colorado] Senate Approves Bill to Allow Plug-In Solar Panels Maine’s plug-in solar law takes effect in July and some companies are already selling products in the state This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit exactsolar.substack.com

    4 min
  8. Operations Steps Most Solar Companies Miss: Jesse Callahan

    APR 15

    Operations Steps Most Solar Companies Miss: Jesse Callahan

    In this episode of This Week in Solar, host Aaron Nichols sits down with Jesse Callahan to explore how she built a high-growth solar division within an established roofing company. They discuss her secret to creating “boring” systems that scale businesses by holding the weight so the people don’t have to. You can connect with Jesse on LinkedIn here. Listen to this episode here, or on: * YouTube * Apple Podcasts * Spotify Expect to learn: * How the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS) can bridge the gap between a visionary leader’s big ideas and daily technical execution. * Why putting design and engineering at the center of your workflow ensures every project passes inspection on the first go-around. Quote from the episode: “The further you go downstream, the more difficult it is to catch the chaos before it becomes chaotic... Operations is oftentimes invisible until something breaks.” — Jesse Callahan Transcript: Aaron Nichols: Jesse, you built a solar company inside an established roofing company. Is that right? Did I get that right? And if that is right, what did that take and how did you make that happen? Jesse Callahan: I did. I started the position back in April of last year, and we really started the business within the roofing company in June or July. So we had about six months to get to output—basically starting to install these systems from sales to install. Initially, I was hired to build out the division, the team, and develop the product. Then we got someone else on board who focused on the sales and development component. When it comes to selling solar, especially in the climate we were in just about to lose the ITC (Investment Tax Credit), the selling component was pretty straightforward and captured a lot of interest. Going that route with the solar and roof model does two things: it presents the customer with two types of investment where the solar sits under the lifetime of the roof. One pinch point I’ve noticed in the residential industry is the R&Rs—the remove and reinstalls of old systems for a reroof. This model solves that. It also takes advantage of the capital the customer already has; they’ve already recognized they need a roof and established financing. Aaron Nichols: Mm-hmm. Jesse Callahan: The branding and marketing wasn’t a barrier. I noticed the real challenge was the ops infrastructure—acting as the architect of the entire solar division. I see a disconnect often in this industry between what’s sold versus what’s installed. I was able to catch that during development to ensure we maintained client promises. Because of the year-end rush, everyone with solar experience was already employed. I had to hire a crew with no previous solar experience and, in a very short window, get them ready for that push. We actually exceeded our benchmarks with a small crew. Aaron Nichols: Nice. Jesse Callahan: And we had more than just solar-only scopes. Here in Oregon, we’re moving into more complex territory with battery incentives and utility encouragement. We haven’t done whole-home backup yet, but we were able to exceed industry benchmarks even with complex scopes, like working on metal standing seams in the height of the Oregon winter on 50 to 72-panel installs. We ended Q4 with a lot of pride. Aaron Nichols: That’s amazing. Congratulations. And for anyone listening, welcome back to This Week in Solar. I’m your host, Aaron Nichols, the Research and Policy Specialist here at Exact Solar in Newtown, Pennsylvania. Today we are interviewing Jesse Callahan from Ironhead Roofing. Jesse, would you just introduce yourself real quick and talk about your day-to-day job? Jesse Callahan: Absolutely. I’ve been in solar for seven to eight years, but in construction since I was 17. I started as a drafter/designer. In an EPC (Engineering, Procurement, and Construction) model, design and engineering are the center of the workflow. I kept recognizing a disconnect between what was promised and what was technically possible. I found myself bridging that gap through SOPs and workflows, which eventually landed me in operations. Today, my day-to-day is a mix of execution, standardization, and building systems. Aaron Nichols: Fantastic. You’ve worked in a lot of home service companies. What is one thing you often see these companies struggling with, and what is the best way to fix it? Jesse Callahan: Specifically in solar, I believe the “Ops-led EPC” is the best model because there are so many variables. Design and engineering dictate the middle ground between the promise to the customer and the physical install. It has a massive influence on your KPIs. For example, every install we’ve done passed inspection on the first try. The key is developing workflow standards and guardrails. Residential solar is complex because you are retrofitting into existing electrical systems. If you don’t catch technical issues early, the homeowner might suddenly have to dish out an additional $14k. You can’t expect the sales team to catch what an electrician would, so you need handoff standards and risk assessment early in the process. Aaron Nichols: Right, and it often lives in one person’s head somewhere, right? Jesse Callahan: Exactly, and that’s not sustainable. When I built systems in previous roles, the system stayed with me. If I left, it would break. Now, my priority is making sure the systems hold the weight, not the person. Aaron Nichols: So, what do you have to keep an eye on as a company grows and things start to break? Jesse Callahan: You need to develop a system that is “boring” and scalable. You need to train your team to make decisions without you. I’m a big fan of EOS (Entrepreneurial Operating System). It emphasizes roles over titles. You have a “Visionary” at the top for big ideas, and an “Integrator” below them to implement those ideas. Without an integrator, you end up with three different departments developing three different ways of doing things. Aaron Nichols: Right. And meetings can often be just what people schedule when they don’t know what else to do. Jesse Callahan: Definitely. I’ve been in so many meetings where I walk away with more questions than answers. Aaron Nichols: I was a freelancer before Exact Solar, and I noticed entrepreneurs can be very wordy. They aren’t always good at filtering their big ideas. Jesse Callahan: There’s definitely a disconnect there. Being in ops, I’m in the details every day. It’s hard to rip out of that and speak at a high level. But you have to learn to make it concise—three sentences with numbers involved to get the point across to leadership. Aaron Nichols: How did you structure your messaging to customers when you launched solar inside a roofing company? Jesse Callahan: Honesty. Solar customers need honesty right now. We are selling a “generating facility” to a homeowner. We have to be transparent. If something is caught in design that changes the plan, we have to explain the “why” using tech specs they can visualize. I also view the “onboarding” or handoff as a quality control measure. If I stay involved and see how a system performs a year later, that’s quality control. It’s about forming a relationship. Aaron Nichols: Well, Jesse, I could nerd out about these details all day, but we are coming up on time. I ask everyone the same closing question. My grandma is 80; she was born before PV was even invented. Within her lifetime, solar went from non-existent to the lowest-cost form of electricity. What do you think clean energy looks like 80 years from now? Jesse Callahan: I think the solar market will finally be standardized and won’t be a “separate” construction project. I’d like to see batteries become more efficient and environmentally friendly. I hope the jurisdiction and bureaucracy clean up so it isn’t so politicized. Ideally, a solar system will be built into new construction and last the 50-year lifetime of the home. Aaron Nichols: Nice. We might just paint it on and it’ll beam electricity to our homes. Jesse Callahan: Maybe! If we could mimic photosynthesis—the most efficient way to convert sunlight—it wouldn’t even be a question of what resource to use. My ultimate goal for renewable energy is a “closed-loop” system that mimics the environment. Input, output, input, output. Aaron Nichols: Thank you so much, Jesse. Where can people find you? Jesse Callahan: LinkedIn under Jesse Callahan. We are Ironhead Solar in the Willamette Valley. I also want to shout out “Solar for Women.” Riley is an excellent leader there. Aaron Nichols: I know Riley! She lives right down the road from me. Jesse Callahan: No way! That’s crazy. Yeah, it’s a great resource to get more women involved in technical leadership. Aaron Nichols: Well, thank you, Jesse. And for everyone listening, that’s been This Week in Solar. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit exactsolar.substack.com

    32 min
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About

A weekly look at what's new in solar, brought to you by Exact Solar. Clean energy news, policy updates, and stories that matter. exactsolar.substack.com

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  • Creator
    Exact Solar
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    94
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Exact Solar
  • Show Website
    This Week in Solar

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