SunCast

David Holmes has spent decades at the intersection of energy and technology, giving him a front-row seat to one of the biggest shifts our industry has ever faced.

As Global Industries CTO at Dell Technologies, he works with utilities, hyperscalers, developers, and data center operators who are all asking the same question: how do we power the rapid growth of AI?

But David argues that's only half the story.

The bigger opportunity is us...

Battery recycling is about to become one of the most important pieces of the clean energy transition. But before we can build a true circular economy, there's a problem hiding in plain sight.

Today's recycling process often starts by shredding batteries with different chemistries into the same stream, creating inconsistent feedstock that's harder to refine, harder to value, and harder to return to the supply chain.

Sheeba Dawood

Heather Reams spends her days at the intersection of clean energy and public policy, helping shape conversations with lawmakers about how the U.S. meets rapidly growing electricity demand. As President and CEO of Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions (CRES), she brings an insider's perspective on the political shifts redefining how Washington talks about solar—and why those shifts matter far beyond Capitol Hill.

In this co...

One of the most common assumptions in business is that responsibility should be earned only after years of experience.

After more than two decades as a Navy F/A-18 fighter pilot and instructor, Jason Knapp came to a different conclusion: capability often follows responsibility, provided organizations are willing to invest in training, honest feedback, and continuous learning.

That philosophy shaped his transition into clean energy, w...

A single battery cell can shut down an entire storage plant.

It's one of the many operational realities that make battery storage fundamentally different from solar, and one of the reasons software, analytics, and automation are becoming just as important as the batteries themselves.

Ty Fenton, Director of Data Analytics at FlexGen, joins Nico Johnson to explore what really happens after a battery project is commissioned. From managi...

Last year, solar and storage accounted for more than 80% of all new power generation capacity added in the United States.

So why does our industry still behave like the underdog?

In this special collaboration between SunCast and Energy Empire, Nico Johnson and Jigar Shah sit down with Dan Shugar, one of the most accomplished entrepreneurs in solar, to explore a question that reaches far beyond technology, manufacturing, or policy.

Per...

For decades, the energy industry has treated its biggest challenge as building more power.

Sean Kelly thinks that's the wrong question.

As CEO and co-founder of Amperon, Sean spends his days helping utilities, traders, generators, and some of the world's largest electricity users anticipate what's coming next. And what he's learned is surprisingly simple: the grid's biggest challenge isn't producing enough electricity. It's knowing w...

Everyone agrees we need more distributed energy. The harder question is: who pays for it?

That's the question Molly Bauch has been wrestling with.

As North American Connected Energy Lead at Accenture, Molly helped develop a new model that connects one of the fastest-growing sources of electricity demand with one of the country's biggest energy challenges.

The idea is surprisingly simple.

Data centers need community support and faster p...

What determines whether a battery project performs safely over its lifetime?

According to Kathleen McCaffery and Jeff Zwijack, the answer has as much to do with process, preparation, and quality assurance as it does with the battery itself.

In this special live SunCast broadcast, Nico Johnson sits down with Kathleen McCaffery, retired Battalion Chief and former Global Fire Liaison for Tesla, and Jeff Zwijack, Associate Director of En...

There are 43 years of decisions compressed into this episode.

And if you work in energy, utilities, infrastructure, manufacturing, or public policy, it's worth your attention.

Tom Fanning spent four decades at Southern Company, including 13 years as CEO, helping guide one of the largest and most influential power companies in the United States through extraordinary change. Along the way, he oversaw everything from international devel...

Leadership transitions reveal what companies value most.

When FTC Solar recently tapped Anthony Carroll as the new CEO, they chose someone who has spent more than two decades helping build some of clean energy's most recognizable companies. From helping scale Power Electronics from a small Spanish manufacturer into a global powerhouse, to leading Powin during a period of extraordinary growth, Anthony has experienced both the excitem...

What if the most compelling case for clean energy isn't climate change, economics, or energy independence?

What if it's public health?

Former EPA Administrator Michael Regan has spent his career connecting pollution, environmental protection, and energy policy to the everyday health of American communities. In this special collaboration between SunCast and Energy Empire, Nico Johnson and Jigar Shah sit down with Regan to explore why ...

Rare earths are having a moment. And if you work anywhere near clean energy, batteries, EVs, data centers, defense, or domestic manufacturing, this conversation should be on your radar.

And, when it comes to rare earths (aka critical minerals), it seems everyone talks about mining.

But according to Mark LaVerghetta, that's not where the real critical minerals challenge lies.

Nico got a chance to sit down with Mark, co-founder of ReEle...

Risk looks different depending on where you're standing.

In Episode 936 (Jason Kaminsky & 2026 The Solar Risk Assessment), we explored risk through the lens of data, operations, and asset performance.

Today’s episode looks at it through the eyes of someone who spent four decades preparing organizations for uncertainty, disruption, and worst-case scenarios.

General Robert Neller served as the 37th Commandant of the Uni...

Solar projects are increasingly being financed and operated as long-life infrastructure assets. That means the industry can no longer rely on assumptions about risk—we need evidence.

In this episode, Jason Kaminsky, CEO of kWh Analytics, walks us through what the latest Solar Risk Assessment reveals, and answers a deceptively simple question: Which solar risks actually matter?

Drawing on dozens of partners’ fleet-scale op...

A solar moratorium nearly shut down Alabama’s emerging solar market before most of the industry even saw it coming.

For years, the prevailing assumption has been that clean energy growth would be concentrated in politically progressive states while places like Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi lagged behind.

But that’s not what Monika Gerhart is seeing (and doing!) on the ground.

As Executive Director of the Gulf States ...

Climatetech is entering a different phase.

The era of easy capital, oversized narratives, and growth-at-all-costs expectations is giving way to something more demanding: disciplined execution, durable business models, strong commercialization pathways, and teams that can scale proven solutions in real markets.

In this live conversation, Nico Johnson sits down with longtime investor David Kirkpatrick, Managing Director at SJF Ventures...

Clean energy has made tremendous progress on technology.

Solar is cheaper. Batteries are scaling. Virtual power plants are becoming real grid assets. Electrification is accelerating.

But many people still do not understand why these technologies matter to them personally — or whether they are actually worth the cost.

So what’s missing?

In this conversation, Nico sits down with Jessica Fishman to explore why the next phase o...

Battery storage is becoming one of the most complicated sales conversations in residential solar.

Installers are now navigating different sizing requirements, shifting homeowner expectations, changing utility rate structures, evolving battery chemistries, and a flood of new products entering the market at wildly different price points.

And underneath all of it is a harder question:

Who can you actually trust to still be standing behin...