Sean White‘s Solar and Energy Storage Podcast

NorCal Solar 50 Years Party

Celebrating 50 Years with NorCal Solar: Insights, Innovations, and Impact

 

In this special episode, join Sean White at the 50th NorCal Solar Anniversary Party in Oakland, California. Sean captures the essence of this vibrant gathering, filled with pioneers, innovators, and advocates for solar and energy storage. Each conversation shines a light on the diverse contributions to the solar industry and environmental sustainability. As we celebrate 50 years of NorCal Solar, join us in exploring the future of solar energy, the importance of community, and the advancements in technological and environmental advocacy.

 

Topics covered and people I talked to:

 

BMO - Bank of Montreal

Oliver Zahn of Climax Foods Check his cheese out on Colbert https://youtu.be/085iMEoqyAI?si=FiFriqxzYgFlLB5p&t=4m18s

Claudia Wentworth Past President of ASES

Tor "Solar Fred" Valenza or Probably True Solar Stories podcast

Rosemary Howley past BOD NorCal Solar

Carlo Federiconi past BOD NorCal Solar

SEER - Solar Energy Expo and Rally

Jim Augustyn

BOD NorCal Solar 48 years ago and recently! Author of Solar Cat Book - www.solarcat.com

Jerry Brown

Kevin Gao

Will Wiseman of Climatize - https://climatize.earth

Investment

Sean's www.solarcellregistry.com idea (anyone want to take it on).

EPC

Helix Electric

Wallbox Chargers

Franz Feuerherdt former NorCal BOD and of Solar4america PV manufacturing in California

Elaine Hebert former NorCal Solar President

ASES - American Solar Energy Society

Tor Allen former NorCal BOD of RAHUS INSTITUTE www.rahus.org

PG&E

Urban Solar Energy Association

Mass Bay Solar Energy Association

NESEA New England Solar Energy Association

NESEA Northeast Sustainable Energy Association

California Energy Commission

PV USA

Siemens Solar Modules

Ken Wu of International Ocean Film Foundation https://intloceanfilmfest.org

Will Draven

SF Climate Week Lana Suvorova 🕊 CEO ESGentle and New NorCal Solar Board Member

John Min

Saya Impact

Kenny Warren of SunrunSun Run

Sierra Fan Co-Founder of illu www.illu.works and New NorCal Solar Board Member

Paper Cuts

Greg Smith

RTFM

 

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

Johan Alfsen: Solar Rock Star

Johan Alfsen is the Senior DIrector of Training at K2 Systems. He was also the Director of Training at Quick Mount PV for 12 years. Johan started the Solar Battle of the Bands, the Solar Comedy Slam and seems to me that he must be in charge of the Solar Games at Intersolar. All super fun competitions. 

Topics covered:

Quick mount PV

K2 and Everest www.k2-systems.com/en-us/

Solar battle of the bands

Solar Comedy Slam competition at Intersolar

Solar installer competition-Solar Games

Warfield Theater

Solar Siblings (Sister Jennifer Alfsen)

Fidelity Roof Company www.fidelityroof.com

Quality Solar

Claudia Wentworth

ASES www.ases.org

NorCal Solar www.norcalsolar.org

Nich Pak, Johan’s Solar Band member

111 Minna www.111minnagallery.com

Intersolar www.intersolar.us

Quick Mount Band

Fronius Band

Solar City Band

Sun Power Band

SMA Band

Solectria Band “DC/AC”

Hotel Utah

CALSSA California Solar and Storage Association www.calssa.org

RE+ www.re-plus.com

Johan’s Band www.northernerband.com

HeatSpring classes

Brittany Heller

Alex Heller

Stand up comedy

San Francisco Comedy College

Rolls Battery

Solar Games Intersolar

Smarter E www.thesmartere.com (formerly Intersolar)

Eicke Weber - Listen to Podcast with Eicke on 4/29/2024

Herman Scheer

Fraunhofer Institute www.fraunhofer.de

Solar tour

Tesla tours

Diversified www.divcom.com

CSLB www.cslb.ca.gov

K2 formerly known as Everest

Company Century Roofing and Solar www.centuryroofandsolar.com

Metal flashing

Sealant based flashing and mounts

“Goop and a prayer” was Johan’s quote

Norcal Solar/ASES was first solar experience with Solar Homes Tour and the Wentworths

Comp shingle roof in japan

Asphalt shingle

Asphalt impregnated underlayment

Butyl Roofing

Tim Montague's podcast www.cleanpowerhourpodcast.com

Heatspring Classes

SEIA Solar Energy Industry Association www.seia.org

NYSERDA = New York State Research, Energy Research Development Association www.nyserda.ny.gov

CALSSA formerly known CALSEA

 

You can find Johan Alfsen here:

LinkedIn: Johan Alfsen

Facebook: Sol Riders

Instagram: 510Johan

 

Johan’s free HeatSpring class for NABCEP credit: www.heatspring.com/courses/k2-pro-certified-installer-training-composition-shingle-roofs

 

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

Richard Lawrence of IREC on Apprenticeships and More!

Richard Lawrence has a long history in the solar industry and is very knowledgeable in many areas (He was formerly the Executive Director of NABCEP among other things). Our main focus of this podcast was apprenticeship programs. This is a big deal, since to qualify for the Inflation Reduction Act 30% Investment Tax Credit (ITC) for projects over 1MW, fulfilling the apprenticeship and prevailing wage standards are required.

 

Topics covered:

 

Richard Lawrence career:

IREC Program Director currently 5 years irecusa.org

IBTS 2 years - Institute for Building Technology and Safety

NABCEP Executive Director 3.5 yrs<

Solar (PV) Instructor Training Network Hudson Valley Community College

Topics covered and questions answered:

What is an apprenticeship?

What is prevailing wage?

Union vs. non-union

Is prevailing wage different for different places?

Right to work states (anti-union)

Registered apprenticeship programs

Unregistered apprenticeship programs<

How does someone set up an apprenticeship program?

Who to register an apprenticeship program with, like the DOL (Department of Labor)

Local and federal programs

IRA-apprenticeship - tax credits - pay workers prevailing wage 1MW and up

15% of labor hours requirement

What is IREC doing for apprenticeship and What is IREC

Drama with different unions and non-unions-everyone wants the work

$200k/yr electrician cost

Prevailing wage for small vs. large projects

Can election results take away these benefits

Veterans

California C46 solar license and batteries

Solar PV Instructor Training Network

Hudson Valley Community College

SPI

NYSERDA www.nyserda.ny.gov

Massachusetts Clean Energy Center www.masscec.com

Burnham Energy

AHJ

Multi Junction Technology

Apprenticeship programs.

Solar Energy International

Department of Energy www.energy.gov

Larry Sherwood

Soul Smart Program in Puerto Rico

Zoning laws

Donations

Cod community college

Non-Profit Organizations

SEAC Sustainable Energy Action Committee www.sustainableenergyaction.org

ANSI Standards

Jane Weissman

Solar ABC's www.solarabcs.org

Solar ready veterans network

John Kim

American Battery Factory

IBEW International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers www.ibew.org

UBC United Brotherhood of Carpenters www.carpenters.org

ITC

Eike Weber

Herman Scheer

NREL www.nrel.gov

 

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

Cameron Fearey NABCEP PVIP talks about his NABCEP Experience

Cameron works and lives in New York where having a NABCEP PV Installation Professional (PVIP) helps you qualify for the NY State program that helps fund projects.

 

Here are some of the topics we discuss:

NYSERDA = New York State Research, Energy Research Development Association www.nyserda.ny.gov
NY Sun Program
NABCEP Certifications
Indent Builders www.indentbuilders.com
IBEW = International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers www.ibew.org
3 Pathways
Dobbs Ferry
Best Investment is Education
Heatspring Courses Bundles
NFPA  855
NFPA  70 = National Electrical Code (NEC)
IBC = International Building Code
IFC = International Fire Code
IRC = International Residential Code
ICC = International Code Council
NFPA 70E
OSHA = Occupational Safety and Health Administration www.osha.gov
NABCEP PV Commissioning and Maintenance Specialist (PVCMS) Exam
NABCEP Energy Storage Installation Professional exam = ESIP
NAPCEP Website www.nabcep.org
Professional Directories
Companies directory
Spanish Class
Tim Montague
C&I = Commercial and Industrial
Clean Power Hour www.cleanpowerhour.com
NABCEP PV Technical Sales = PVTS
NABCEP PV Installer Specialist Certification = PVIS
NABCEP PV System Inspector Certification = PVSI
FAA  Drone Pilot Class = Federal Aviation Administration https://www.heatspring.com/courses/nabcep-solar-pv-associate-faa-part-107-drone-pilot-exam-prep?aff_id=t3nlgw
UL Certification
120 percent rule for backfeed breaker
NEC 690 Photovoltaic Systems
NEC 690.12 Rapid Shutdown
Italian Class for NABCEP PV Associate
Giulia Suriano<

Check out his website and connect on LinkedIn:
www.indentbuilders.com
Linkedin: Cameron Fearey
 
Youtube Video Podcast:https://youtu.be/aoeex-QK3bw
 
Learn more at www.solarSEAN.com and be sure to get NABCEP certified by taking Sean’s classes at www.heatspring.com/sean

Eicke Weber: Hermann Scheer's 80th BD 4/29/1944 (Scheer founded the solar revolution)

Hermann Scheer (RIP) was a German politician who is responsible for making grid-connected solar profitable in about the year 2000 as he brought the German policy for reimbursing people for solar energy, so that they would make a profit. This brought about years where over half of the World’s installed PV was in Germany. This created the modern solar industry and kick-started modern PV manufacturing. If it were not for Hermann Scheer, we would probably be 10 years behind where we are now with PV
prices and installed capacity. Eicke Weber was a friend of Hermann Scheer and Eicke was also the director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems for 10 years, which is the European equivalent of NREL. Eicke brought Intersolar to San Francisco, he was on UC Berkely Faculty and has done a million other things, while remaining a really nice person. I am proud to call Eicke a friend.

 

Topics Covered:

 

Hermann Sheer’s Legacy www.ilsr.org/hermann-scheers-feed-tariff-legacy-75-worlds-solar-pv/

Bill Brooks www.brooksolar.com

Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems www.ise.fraunhofer.de/en

Madam Mi

Fusion

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) www.NREL.gov

Governor Jerry Brown

California Solar Initiative (CSI)

SNEC World’s Largest Renewable Energy Conference www.pv.snec.org.cn

Nancy and George Lightman

Hans-Josef www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans-Josef_Fell

Swanson’s Law

Feed in Tariff (FIT)

Sultan Al Jaber

Irena www.IRENA.org

International Solar Energy Society (ISES) www.ises.org

PV manufacturing in China

Deng Xiaoping

IRA

John Kerry

Deng Xiaoping

CO2

PV Technology and Market Developments

Global Shifts in Energy Policy

Clean Tech Business Club www.cleantechbusiness.club

 

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

Solar Roots with Jeff Spies

Where do we start, in this podcast we covered many things and Jeff Spies is very active and connected in the solar industry.

 

Here is a short list of what Jeff does and has done:

 

Owner of Planet Plansets www.planetplansets.com

NABCEP Board of Directors www.nabcep.org/about-us/board-of-directors

CALSSA Board of Directors www.calssa.org

Solar Roots, the Pioneers of PV Documentary, Executive Producer www.solar-roots.com

The Solar Panel Podcast www.linkedin.com/company/the-solar-panel-podcast

 

Here are some of the many topics we covered:

Solar PV origin in Humboldt and Mendocino Counties in Northern California

Marijuana wars with guns in Northern California: solar using weed growers vs. the Feds

Hippie Definition

Rednecks and Hippies

Hipnecks

AEE Solar

David Katz is a genius

DC Power

Solar Depot

Real Goods 

Solar Living Institute

Ironridge

Quickmount

Stuart Wentworth

Claudia Hansen Wentworth

Johnny Weiss

Go Green Solar

Home Power Magazine

Humboldt Country

Nika Show

Oregon Solar Energy Industry

Boogy rough cut version

Plastics

Blue grass

Solar Pioneer Party

Bell Labs

BriceLand, CA

Brian Tittlebaum

Solar PV Magic

Nobel Prize

Solar Pioneers group in Facebook

John Burdner

Brian Teitelbaum

Davey Rittner

Jason Vetterli

Wendy Dankof

Gov. Jerry Brown
Bob McKee

Joseph Marino

Keisha

Johnny Hill

Sam Vanderhoof

Ron Kennedy

John Schaefer

Arthur Rudin

Ezra Auerbach

Richard Perez

Bob O. Schultz

Kathleen Schultz

Mark Moroz

Charlie Gay

Albert Einstein

Edmund Becquerel

Adams and Day

Charles Fritz

 

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

American Battery Factory President John Kem

This is my first interview with a real US Military General and I am honored that he took the time to meet with me. I am not worthy!

 

John Kem is in the civilian sector now and is the President of American Battery Factory! In this podcast we discuss their huge Gigafactory, which they are building in Arizona and which will go online towards the end of 2025 making made in the USA lithium iron phosphate (LFP) lithium-ion batteries. They are working on prismatic battery cells, which are as big as 1kWh each! In the podcast we talk about the manufacturing processes and how the battery materials are put together in a factory that can produce 4GWh per year of battery cells.

 

Topics covered:

 

American Battery Factory

Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP)IRA = Inflation Reduction Act

Army Corps of Engineers

Civil WorksMining

Battery cell production and safety

Investment and manufacturing scale of American Battery Factory

The process and challenges of battery cell manufacturing

Battery factory

American Lithium Mining

Cobalt in the Congo

Gigafactory

Abundance and toxicity of Lithium, Iron and Phosphorous

Big Battery Cell

Folding Cells

Prismatic Battery Cell

314 Ah cells x 3.2V = 1kWh/cell

Half of a shoebox size cell

Bigger is better

Pouch and cylindrical battery cell comparison

Prismatic folding speed increased

Longer cycle life

Fiji Water bottle shape comparison

Chemical Mixing

Anode and Cathode layers

Thin coating

Isotropic graphite = consistent shape

Narrow film

LFP is the cathode

LFP mix in vats

Absorption capacity for ions to flow

Buy pre-mixed LFP

Separator between anode and cathode

Foils

Cans - Aluminum

Food can people making battery can for prismatic battery (cell casing)

Stationary Energy Storage Systems

Smart grid

Underground mining operations

Drag racing and LFP

Range anxiety

Home to GWh ESS

Tax credit survival vs. competitive manufacturing

Made in America with Chinese parts

Smartest people in the world come to America

Energy storage is required for net zero

Investing and buying American Battery Factory

Privately held now

Series A and Series B funding defined

Accredited investors and venture capital

 

Check out the American Battery Factory website: www.americanbatteryfactory.com

 

For good luck, give this podcast 5️s

 

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

Joe McCabe American Solar Energy Society (ASES) Fellow, historical figure and a lot more!

Joe McCabe has been in the solar industry since before there was a solar industry. In this podcast we talk about many things. 

 

Here is a list of topics:

 

ASES Fellow

American Solar Energy Society www.ASES.org

International Solar Energy Society www.ISES.org

MREA = Midwest Renewable Energy Association

SMUD = Sacramento Municipal Utility District

PVUSA Davis California

PV Policy

SAM software

PV Reliability Workshop Nerdfest

Golden Colorado

SANDIA

Community Solar Gardens

Bifacial Solar<

Vertical Bifacial produces more than tilted south no matter what the direction

Higher latitude better for vertical bifacial

Vertical bifacial requires smaller wires because of lower Isc

Clipping

Hanging vertical bifacial to swing in the wind.

North facing PV for used PV

PV module size increasing

PV efficiency not important; LCOE (levelized cost of electricity) is important. 

Monofacial

Agrivoltaics

Agrisoltaics

Dual use of land

Mark Fitzgerald

Jane Wiseman

IREC = Interstate Renewable Energy Council

NABCEP Entry Level

Praise Ward Bower!

George Kelly

NREL

NABCEP Exam Committees

Photovoltaic effect

Conduction band

Photoelectric effect

Becquerel

Einstein

Quantum mechanics

Thermodynamics

Nuclear engineering

Schrödinger’s equation

Straw bale construction

SERF = Solar Energy Research Facility

SERI = Solar Energy Research Institute

Neutron Scatter

Cadmium rods

Neutron magazine

Smart Inverter Working Group

Dan Shugar

Howard Wenger

PG&E

PV for $9/watt in 90s

Richard Swanson and Swanson’s curve

Colorado Public Utilities Commission

CALISO

California Independent System Operator

BIPV

California Energy Commission (CEC)

Community Solar Garden

Solar Shares

Stupid grid vs. smart grid

Grid following and grid forming inverters

Reactive power

Rule 21 Smart Inverter Working Group

Smart Inverter Classes

Hermann Scherr

Frieberg Germany 

Smarter E in Munich (formerly Intersolar)

Intersolar in San Diego and Long Beach

RE+ conferences

Making education fun

University of Arizona Reactor

How PV works

Photons

Grid Forming and Grid Following Inverters

Donating a kidney to Bill Brooks

Freiburg Germany

NABCEP Certification

Energy Ideas

Renewable Energy Steward

Giant Bifacial module 

Joe Mccabe recommends Bill Brooks on LinkedIn 

Blue light inside a reactor

Integrated Resource Plan (IRP)

Carl Weinberg

Paul Fenn

Community Choice Aggregation = CCA 

Eicke Weber

RE+ Texas

Sean Sings ABC 123 at NABCEP Conference

 

Homework Assignment read: Leverage Points, Places to Intervene in a System by Donella Meadows

 

Joe McCabe LinkedIn Page

 

Joe’s email: energyideas@gmail.com

 

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

Bidirectional EVs with Alex Cattelan, COO Fermata Energy and UL 9741 EV Power Export Equipment

In this podcast, we learn how UL issues first certification to UL 9741 (and UL 1741 SA) for an AI-Driven Vehicle-to-Grid Compliant EV Charger to Fermata Energy.

 

https://www.ul.com/news/ul-solutions-issues-first-certification-ul-9741-and-ul-1741-sa-ai-driven-vehicle-grid

 

Alex Cattelan has been working on EVs for 2 decades and has experience engineering many famous electric and hybrid vehicles, including the Chevy Volt for GM. She also has extensive experience working for Polaris, Johnson Controls and many others.

 

At the end we decide to go to Burning Man together on a bidirectional electric bus and she is going to teach me how to do wheelies on an electric motorcycle. Nothing can compete with the torque of electric motors, much more than those old fashioned explosion driven motors.

 

Here are some of the topics we cover:

UL 9741 EVPE (Electric Vehicle Power Export Equipment)

John Deere EVs

AI for EVPE

Software engineering

Drive trains

Electric vehicles  

Nissan Leaf

Chevy Volt
Lithium-ion batteries

Hybrid

EPA (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency)

Mechanical Drivetrain

CO2

UL 9741 & UL 1741

VPP (Virtual Power Plant)

Cost Savings

Public utility commission (PUC)

Stationary Storage

Nissan Leaf

Nissan Kicks

Bidirectional charging

Commercial fleets

Bus fleet

Johnson Controls

Pop a Wheelie

Ford F-150

Cyber Truck

Tesla

Developing Software

AI Driven Data Science

Residential bidirectional chargers

 

Check out Alex on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/alexandra-cattelan-59abbb11

 

Email: alex.catelan@fermataenegy.com

 

Check out the Fermata website: https://fermataenergy.com

 

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

Garret Little, NABCEP PVIP - Garret just passed his NABCEP exam!!! Celebrate!!!

One week before recording this podcast, Garret Little passed his NABCEP PVIP exam, scoring impressively after nine years since his first attempt. In this episode, we discuss his exam experience, memory techniques, and the differences between the Ecotech and HeatSpring prep classes. Garret shares insights on what’s essential for passing exams and highlights the NABCEP courses available.

Garret also brings his international experience, having installed PV systems in Nepal and Colombia.

Topics Covered:

• Exam prep and strategies
• NABCEP certifications (PVIP, ESIP, PVA, and more)
• Online vs. in-person testing
• Memory techniques and learning methods
• Insights from Garret’s exam journey

Garret expresses his gratitude to Sean for the impactful HeatSpring courses that helped boost his confidence and knowledge:

This course really covered everything I experienced on the exam and in all honesty, to me it seemed it presented quite a bit more information and material than the NABCEP covered, at least from my experience . For example, I don't think I had one string sizing question, conduit fill, or even conductor sizing with derates (if my memory serves me right). It was not nearly as much calculations as I had anticipated, aside from interconnection calcs, which were all fairly similar.

With that being said, I feel tremendously more knowledgeable than I was even just a few months ago prior to taking this course and I am so thankful for that. Thank you again so much for working with Heatspring on these courses to provide such  thorough, entertaining, and educational content. It feels so incredibly good to not only have passed the exam, but to feel that much more educated.

To prepare for any NABCEP exam, check out Sean's online classes at HeatSpring.com/SEAN and explore more at SolarSEAN.com.