Sean White‘s Solar and Energy Storage Podcast

PV Recycling with Livia Keene and Joanne Brasch of California Product Stewardship Council

In this interview we talk about reusing and recycling solar PV modules (panels) and other products.

 

Topics Covered:

Net-metering Policy

Solar Map = map to find recyclers or reuse partners

RE-X = Reusing, repairing, refurbishing, remanufacturing, or repurposing

NorCal Solar

Arco Solar Modules

1954 Bell Labs PV Module

SNEC

Crystalline Silicon

Cadmium Telluride PV Modules

Perovskites

AB2 and AB1238

EPR = Extended Producer Responsibility Legislation for Solar Panel

Permanent Recycling Program

RE-X Prize = This three-phase competition is designed to develop innovative ways to extend the lifetimes of products or parts via reusing, repairing, refurbishing, remanufacturing, or repurposing (“Re-X”) before recycling

 

California Product Stewardship Council won during the Phase 1 of the project. The prize was used as funds to create solar map

 

Reach out Keene and Brasch here:

www.calpsc.org/cpsc-solarstewardship

info@calpsc.org

 

Learn more at www.solarSEAN.com (http://www.solarSEAN.com) and be sure to get NABCEP certified by taking Sean’s classes at www.heatspring.com/sean (http://www.heatspring.com/sean)

Water - Based Flow Batteries with Quino's CEO Eugene Beh

In this episode Sean learns all about quinone flow batteries, ferrocyanide, and a lot more, including how desalination and air conditioning are related and can use the same membrane redox-flow technology.

 

It was a pleasure to have a very intelligent guest with degrees from Harvard and Stanford. We will learn what a flow battery is and its benefits and how they expect to be a greater part of the renewable mix in the future.

 

The water-based technology is different from the acid-based vanadium redox flow batteries, which require vanadium, and much of the vanadium comes from Russia, while quinone can easily be made anywhere, lessening dependence on faraway places, which fits with where our economy seems to be headed.

 

Here are some of the topics we cover:

 

What is a flow battery?

Thermal runaway

What is LDES? Your definition and benefits

Different types of LDES

Flow batteries benefits

Benefits vs Vanadium or Zinc Bromine or others

Full to no charge how many times

How long does the electrolyte and membrane last?

Toxicity

Power block cost

DOE 250/kW

40/kWh

What did you do with that $100

Can you theoretically use electrolyte for an EV?

How did you get DOE funding?

What is quinone

Pioneered at Harvard

Energy density and specific energy?

R/T efficiency

Ferrocyanide and quinone

Temperatures

Xerox Parc = Palo Alto Research Center

Redox Flow Desalination for Xerox

Beh invented and commercialized a redox flow desalination technology as a researcher at Xerox PARC

Majove Energy Systems

Reverse Electrodialysis

Supply Chain

Liquid Desiccant Airconditioning

Water harvesting

 

Reach Eugene Beh here:

Company website: www.quinoenergy.com

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/eugbeh

 

Learn more at www.solarSEAN.com and be sure to get NABCEP certified by taking Sean’s classes at www.heatspring.com/sean

Perovskite Solar Glass with Scott Graybeal CEO Caelux

In this podcast we talk about a type of solar glass that contains a semitransparent layer of perovskite thin film solar tech that you are encouraged to put on top of your crystalline silicon modules to make a hybrid multijunction solar sandwich. The perovskite catches more of the blue side of the light spectrum and lets the red side of the spectrum that crystalline silicon likes through to get the best of both worlds.

 

This tech is made in Southern California with real rocket scientists.

 

Scott has a history with Flex, Nextracker and a lot or important companies in the industry.

 

Topics covered:

Perovskites

ABX3

Multijunction

Monolithic Tandem

Active Glass

Crystalline Silicon

Thin Film Solar

Sanyo

Panasonic

Hetero Junction Technology

Bifacial Solar

TopCon  PERC = Tunnel Oxide Passivated Contact

Mono PERC

PERC = Passivated Emitter and Rear Contact

IBC = Interdigitated Back Contact

Caelux Industry

Bandgap perovskite in the future

Vacuum Technology

JPL = NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory

NexTracker

South East Asian operations

Tariffs

IRA = Inflation Reduction Act

Perovskite’s Technology advancements at Caelux

Caelux customers

Larger modules

Flex Company

Scott’s career at Flex

Triple and Quadruple Junction

Founder of Caleux - John Iannelli

Comparison of Perovskites Initiatives of US vs China

RE+

SNEC

 

Reach out Scott Graybeal here:

Website: www.caelux.com

Caelux Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/company/caelux-corporation

News: www.caelux.com/news

Blog:  www.caelux.com/blog/

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/scottgraybeal

 

Learn more at www.solarSEAN.com and be sure to get NABCEP certified by taking Sean’s classes at www.heatspring.com/sean

Mike Moran, Executive Director of Florida PACE

PACE was first developed to creatively “finance” solar installations via property taxes, which has evolved over the years. Listen to Sean and Mike talk about the PACE program in Florida.

 

Be sure to see if there is a PACE program in your area and you can see all the renewable energy incentives at www.dsireusa.org

 

Topics Discussed:

PACE = Property Accessed Clean Energy

Financing

Property Tax Bill

Hurricane Hardening

Renewable Energy

Loan

Credit Score

Solicitation

PACE Eligibility in Florida

PACE into Commercial and Residential

Florida PACE www.floridapace.gov

Tax

PACE in other states

PPE = Power Purchase Agreement

Mortgage

 

Reach out Mike Moran here:

Website: www.floridapace.gov

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/michaelmoranflorida

 

Learn more at www.solarSEAN.com and be sure to get NABCEP certified by taking Sean’s classes at www.heatspring.com/sean

 

Sequoya Cross: DC only Energy Storage System from Briggs and Stratton

An energy storage system (ESS) was always something that included an inverter…. Until now. Tune in and listen to this fun conversation with Sequoya and Sean as they shoot the breeze about how cool this new UL 9540 Edition 3 standard is and how it saves money by not having to get tested with every individual inverter.

Sequoya is also on the California Solar and Storage Association Board of Directors, so send them all your money! They are very important!!

 

Topics Discussed:

Briggs & Stratton Energy Solutions www.energy.briggsandstratton.com

DC only ESS = Direct Current only Energy Storage Systems

NorCal Solar = Northern California Solar Energy Association www.norcalsolar.org

CALSSA = California Solar and Storage Association www.calssa.org

UL 9540 A

UL 9540

LFP = Lithium Iron Phosphate Battery

NMC = Lithium Nickel Manganese Cobalt Battery

Lead Acid Battery

SOC = State of Charge

AEE Solar

Backwoods Solar

48-volt Lithium-Ion Phosphate Battery

Cylindrical Primary Cell Factor

UL 1741

SimpliPHI 6.6 Battery System

Sol-Ark

Off-Grid Solar

Propagation

Stand Alone Battery under UL 9540

IFC = International Fire Code

IRC = International Residential Code

NEC = National Electrical Code

NFPA 855 = National Fire Protection Association (Standard for the Installation of Stationary Energy Storage Systems)

UL 9540 edition 3

Electromagnetic Pulse

SEIA = Solar Energy Industries Association

Distributed Energy

D Grid

 

Reach out Sequoya here:

Website: www.energy.briggsandstratton.com

Email: sales@briggsandstratton.com 

 

Learn more at www.solarSEAN.com and be sure to get NABCEP certified by taking Sean’s classes at www.heatspring.com/sean

Powering Tomorrow: Fronius' Paul Bui Talks Inverters, Storage, and Sustainability

Sean White interviews Paul Bui from Fronius, discussing the company’s history, innovations in welding and solar technologies, new product lines including the Gen 24 hybrid inverters, and the future of energy management. They touch on Fronius' sustainable practices, industry impact, and plans for integrating renewable energy solutions, including energy storage and potential developments in EV chargers and virtual power plants. The conversation sheds light on advancements in solar inverter technologies and Fronius' commitment to sustainability.

 

topics covered:

Fronius www.fronius.com

Welding

“Energy Thieves”

Inverter

Hybrid Inverter

Robotics

Power Electronics

CMT Machine = Cold Metal Transfer Machine

ESS = Energy Storage System

Fronius’ Smallest Inverter and Largest Inverter

Load-side Connection

CL Inverter = Current Limited Inverter

Rapid Shutdown

Gen 24 hybrid inverters

High Frequency Inverter

Paul Bui’s Background

HeatSpring

NABCEP = North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners

Emmitt Muckles

Battery

BYD + Build Your Dreams www.byd.com

EV = Electric Vehicle

EV Charging

UL 1741

UL 9540

UL 9540A

Franklin Whole Home www.franklinwh.com

CATL = Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited  www.catl.com

Global Warming

Sea Level Rising

How Fronius Started

Transformer

Smart Meter

Electric Meter

CT = Current Transformer

EMS = Energy Management System

PCS = Power Control System

VPP = Virtual Power Plant

 

Check out Paul here:

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/paul-bui

Email: bui.paul@fronius.com

Phone: 2196167348 

Learn more at www.solarSEAN.com and be sure to get NABCEP certified by taking Sean’s classes at www.heatspring.com/sean

 

Mark Mrohs: 51yr Solar Industry Veteran: from making space cells for Spectrolab to VR

Description:

I first met Mark Mrohs in 2008 and have always been fascinated by his experience in the industry. Some years ago, I made a list of people I wanted to be on my podcast, and Mark’s name was at the top.

Mark has been in the industry since terrestrial solar was a pipedream. He started out working at Spectrolab, which is still making solar cells for space and is not a Boeing company. I once tried calling Spectrolab to see how much solar cells were and they told me they needed government clearance to tell me.

They also discuss his work at Arco Solar and Siemens Solar and transitioning the industry from space cells to terrestrial solar. Mark also shares his journey into training and the evolution of the solar industry.

Here are some of the topics discussed:

SunPower Certification in Richnmond California

Ecosolar:  https://us.sunpower.com/dealers-installers/ecosolar-usa

SunEdison

Mark Mrohs’ Solar journey – beginning

Spectrolab: www.spectrolab.com

Space Solar Cells

Charlie Gay

Bill Yerkes

ArcoSolar

 Carrizo Project

Arco Module

Matt Pace

Siemens Solar: https://www.siemens-energy.com

Mark Mhros in Papua New Guinea

Sean teaching in Islamabad

IREDA = Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency

Mark Fitzgerald

SSP

NABCEP

IIT = Indian Institutes of Technology

Mark Mhros life in India (Indian Program)

AstroPower

Peter Aschenbrenner

Maxeon Solar Technologies: www.maxeon.com

Module

Inverter

Ward Bauer

Solar City

Financial Engineering

Interoperability

Changes in Policies

Space Cells

Interplay Learning

Amicus: www.amicusom.com

 

Reach Mark Mrohs here:

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/markmrohs/

 

Learn more at www.solarSEAN.com and be sure to get NABCEP certified by taking Sean’s classes at www.heatspring.com/sean

David Chen of Cold Electric talks Batteries, Predicting the Future and Anthropology

Title: David Chen of Cold Electric talks Batteries, Predicting the Future and Anthropology

 

Description:  

In this podcast Sean and David Chen take a deep dive into the grid, where it is going, what it needs and how human behavior effects technology.

They discuss David Chen's journey from Murata Electronics to Cold Electric, a Taiwanese battery company. They also tackle green technologies, challenges in clean energy adoption, and the intricacies of global energy markets.

 

Topics covered:

Murata Electronics www.murata.com

Capacitors

Hydrogen

Blue Economy

Circular Economy

Anthropology

Sociology

Cold Electric

Future of Renewable Energy

Battery

Climate Tech

Ray Kurzweil

The Singularity is Near

The Singularity is Nearer

Better Place 

EV = Electric Vehicle

Solar Today Magazine www.ases.org/solartoday

HVAC = Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning

HVAC = High Voltage Alternating Current

HVDC = High Voltage Direct Current

Solar of China

Market

IRA = Inflation Reduction Act

Climate Change

Prices Going up and down

Utility

Fossil Fuel

ESS = Energy Storage System

Transmission and Distribution

Grid

Solar Coaster

Formosa Plastics www.fpcusa.com

Thermal Runaway

UL9540A
Margaret Chen Founder of Cold Electric

Phil Chen CEO of Cold Electric www.linkedin.com/in/phil-chen

Non-Flammable Electrolyte

Inverters

Inertia

Migration

Sea Level Rising

 

Reach David Chen here:

Email: david@coldelectric.com

Linked in: www.linkedin.com/in/dachen

 

Learn more at www.solarSEAN.com and be sure to get NABCEP certified by taking Sean’s classes at www.heatspring.com/sean

 

Sean Reads the International Fire Code Section 1207 Electrical ESS

Do not listen to this podcast, unless you are an ESS nerd! Sean Reads the International Fire Code Section 1207 Electrical ESS. 

This podcast of Sean reading Code, and is not intended for normal people to listen to. Skip this, unless you already know what the IFC is and are interested in this topic. 

The International Fire Code (IFC) has the rules for non-residential ESSs that are used in the US and adopted by most states. A few starters use the NFPA 1 Fire Code. There is another NFPA Standard NFPA 855 The Standard For The Installation of Stationary Energy Storage Systems, which is used as a reference for writing the IFC, but is not meant to be adopted by any state.

Here is the Code:

www.codes.iccsafe.org/content/IFC2024P1/chapter-12-energy-systems#IFC2024P1_Pt03_Ch12_Sec1207 

www.up.codes/viewer/mississippi/ifc-2024/chapter/12/energy-systems#1207 

Learn more at www.solarSEAN.com and be sure to get NABCEP certified by taking Sean's classes at www.heatspring.com/sean 

Solar Innovations with Brit Heller

They delve into Brit's journey in the solar industry, exploring her experiences from door-to-door solar sales to her work on community solar projects and farm management. The conversation highlights the vital need for more women in solar and the innovative courses offered by Heatspring. Join us for a mix of valuable insights, captivating stories, and plenty of laughs!

 

Topics covered:

Brit’s role in HeatSpring as the Director of Program Management

PVIP = PV Installation Professional

ESIP = Energy Storage Installation Professional

Solar Roadways

PVTS = PV Technical Sales

Solar Sales

Taylor Jackson of HeatSpring Solar Sales Class

Americorps

Grid Alternatives Solar Corp Fellowship Program

Community Solar Gardens

Brit’s hostel in Chile

Sun Bottle Farms

Women to do Solar

Siblings in Solar Industry

NABCEP = North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners

HeatSpring involvement in NABCEP

NABCEP Conferences

 

Reach Brittany Heller here:

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/brittany-heller

https://www.linkedin.com/in/brittany-heller/ 

HeatSpring.: www.heatspring.com

Email: brit@heatspring.com

Learn more at www.solarSEAN.com and be sure to get NABCEP certified by taking Sean’s classes at www.heatspring.com/sean