80.2K
Downloads
325
Episodes
Sean White teaches solar and storage classes and seminars around the world and inside your home (online). He is known for helping people get NABCEP certified. This podcast contains an assortment of topics, with an emphasis on solar and storage technical knowledge. Up your game! Catch a photon! Save the planet! Learn more and go to www.solarSEAN.com
Episodes
Friday Apr 10, 2026
Friday Apr 10, 2026
Michael Wise, Commercial Operations Manager at LS Energy Solutions, talks string inverter technology, battery-agnostic design, and how scalable 140 kW units’ power everything from 5 MW commercial systems to the 200 MW Big Rock installation at Intersolar San Diego. The conversation covers voltage flexibility, container configurations, safety considerations, and what's next for energy storage — including sodium-ion, flow batteries, and supercapacitors.
Topics Covered:
Inverter
Power Brick
MSSP Gen 2
Battery racks
Battery modules
Battery cells
Ion ESS
DC Solutions
Big Rock
Sodium Ion
Super capacitators
Flywheels
Reach out to Michael Wise here:
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/michael-wise-17929b56
Website: www.ls-es.com/
Learn more at www.solarSEAN.com and be sure to get NABCEP certified by taking Sean’s classes at
Wednesday Apr 08, 2026
Wednesday Apr 08, 2026
Get an insider preview of Solar 2026, the American Solar Energy Society's 55th annual national solar conference, coming to Austin's Palmer Event Center October 19–21. Host Sean White and Conference Director Ella Nielsen cover keynote speakers, student programs, award nominations, technical divisions, and why this year's collaboration with the Texas Solar Energy Society makes it a can't-miss event.
Topics Covered
ASES = American Solar Energy Society
ISES = International Solar Energy Society
NorCal Solar
ASES 55th Annual National Solar Conference
Texas Solar Energy Society
EV = Electric Vehicle
Formula 1 & Formula E
Texas
ASES Chapters
Reach out to Ella Nielsen here:
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ella-nielsen
Email: conference@ases.org
Learn more at www.solarSEAN.com and be sure to get NABCEP certified by taking Sean’s classes at
Tuesday Apr 07, 2026
Tuesday Apr 07, 2026
SunPower co-founder Dick Swanson discusses his pioneering work developing Interdigitated Back Contact solar cells at Stanford and the industry's evolution from the 1973 energy crisis to today's cost-competitive technology. Topics include Bell Labs' accidental solar cell discovery, the learning curve predicting cost declines, critical partnerships with Cypress Semiconductor, major technical pivots from concentrating to flat-plate systems, and the fortuitous circumstances that transformed solar energy into the world's cheapest electricity source.
Topics Covered
NorCal Solar = Northern California Solar
ASES = American Solar Energy Society
Gerald Pearson
History of Solar
Discovery of Solar
Bell Labs
John Perlin
Selenium Solar Cell
EPRI = Electric Power Research Institute
Utility
SunPower www.sunpower.com
TPV = Thermal Photovoltaic
Stanford
Silicon Cell
Semiconductor
Dick Schwartz
Thin Film
Wafer Silicon Solar Cell
IBC Cell = Interdigitated Back Contact Cell
Germanium
PVT = Photovoltaic Thermal
Stirling Engine
Concentrating PV System
Swanson’s Law
Learning Curve
Elon Musk
Cypress Semiconductor
Sharp
Silicon Valley
James Gibbons
Semiconductor Electronics Book
Jeff Spies
Solar Roots
Hippies
Grateful Dead
Sailboat
Tom Wylie
This podcast was recorded on a phone call.
Reach out to Dick Swanson here:
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/dick-swanson
Website: www.sunpower.com
Learn more at www.solarSEAN.com and be sure to get NABCEP certified by taking Sean’s classes at
Friday Apr 03, 2026
Friday Apr 03, 2026
At Intersolar San Diego, Tim Price (CRO) and Trace Jenkins (Senior Sales Engineer) of SOLO LLC discuss how modern solar software is transforming residential sales, from accurate system design and interactive proposals to integrated financing tools. They reflect on the evolution from early platforms like OnGrid to today’s AI-driven solutions, highlighting how increased transparency and consumer awareness are shaping more informed buyers. The conversation also covers key industry shifts, including upcoming tax credit changes, the growing adoption of leases and PPAs, evolving pricing and commission structures, and the importance of getting to permit and design right the first time—alongside the expanding role of battery storage in residential solar.
Topics Covered:
SOLO = Speed of Light Operations
Slack
Mike Bishop
OnGrid
Pizza
Bitcoin
Solar Games
EPC Installer
TPO = Third Party Ownership
Corporate Tax Credit
TAM= Total Addressable Market
Red line
Flat Commission Rate
.io = Indian Ocean
Energy Storage
Reach out with Tim Price and Tracey Jenkins here:
LinkedIn
Tim Price: www.linkedin.com/in/timpricepdx/
Trace Jenkins: www.linkedin.com/in/trace-jenkins-27059629b/
Website: www.gosolo.io/
Learn more at www.solarSEAN.com and be sure to get NABCEP certified by taking Sean’s classes at
Wednesday Apr 01, 2026
Wednesday Apr 01, 2026
Rapid shutdown was designed to protect firefighters, but could simpler systems be the smarter path forward? A 10-year fire veteran turned solar installer shares hard-won lessons from the field, including why fewer electronics in the array might mean safer, more reliable solar for everyone. A bold conversation about building a better solar future.
Topics Covered
Rapid Shutdown
Firefighter
Energy Wise Services www.energywiseservices.com
Energy Wise Lighting
Feed in Tariff Program in Oregon
Solar Coaster
Solar Games
Boys and Girls Club at Corvallis Oregon
Solar Fire
MC4 Connector
UL 3741
Tax Credit
Corporate Tax Credit
Corporate Personhood
Tank Solar
Hans Joseph Fell
Why Republicans Love Solar
Reach out to Peter Greenberg here:
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/peter-greenberg
Energy Wise: www.energywiseservices.com
Learn more at www.solarSEAN.com and be sure to get NABCEP certified by taking Sean’s classes at
Sunday Mar 29, 2026
Sunday Mar 29, 2026
Energy industry veteran Sasson Peress examines why standard metrics like watts and kilowatt hours fail to capture real-world performance. From solar panel ratings under idealized test conditions to battery storage variables, including degradation, C-rates, temperature constraints, and cycle limitations, the gap between nameplate specifications and actual delivered value has significant implications for developers, financiers, and end users navigating today's energy landscape.
Topics Covered
Mohawk Indigenous Land
First Nations in Canada
Currency in Energy
Solar in 1989
STC = Standard Test Condition
ESS = Energy Storage System
Battery
C-rate
Degradation
Depth of Discharge and State of Charge
Energy Demand
Data Center in Space
Home Power Magazine
ASES = American Solar Energy Society
ISES = International Solar Energy Society
NorCal Solar = Northern California Solar Energy Association
EV = Electric Vehicle
Market
ICP = Intersolar Consumer Product
Parasitic Load
Solar Roots
Reach out to Sasson Peress here:
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/sassperess
Learn more at www.solarSEAN.com and be sure to get NABCEP certified by taking Sean’s classes at
Friday Mar 27, 2026
Friday Mar 27, 2026
What does it take to install solar in one of the most regulated cities in the country? From specialty flat-roof racking in Brooklyn and Queens to navigating NYC's newly adopted 2020 electrical code, this episode explores the technical and business realities of urban solar plus why younger designers see opportunity where others see complexity.
Topics Covered
How to make solar more exciting
Decreasing Pollution
Coal
Oil
Heating
New York City Solar
Dubai Chiller Buildings
Installation
Racking
Commercial and Residential System
NEC = National Electrical Code
Code Cycles
Reach out to Cameron Feary here:
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/cameron-fearey
Indent Builders Website: www.indentbuilders.com
Learn more at www.solarSEAN.com and be sure to get NABCEP certified by taking Sean’s classes at
Wednesday Mar 25, 2026
Wednesday Mar 25, 2026
At Intersolar San Diego, Sean sits down with Curtis Merring, Director of Product Marketing at Aurora Solar, about how Aurora and its C&I product HelioScope help installers design and sell solar remotely using aerial imagery, lidar, and accurate simulations, reducing soft costs and improving safety. Merring explains Aurora’s go-to-market marketing approach and notes the company has 7,000+ customers, with 70–80% of the industry touching its tools during a project lifecycle. They discuss why Aurora and HelioScope remain separate products, and how growing U.S. complexity—net metering shifting to net billing, rising electricity rates, grid uncertainty, and increased demand for storage and control—drives new needs like peak shaving and export decisions. He also describes Aurora’s AI-driven 3D modeling, trained on millions of projects, now generating models in under 10 seconds and increasingly used by both sales and designers.
Topics Covered:
Ethos = Essence of the product creating
Solar software
Helioscope
Lidar
CNI
Solar design
Product marketing
On Grid
Excel spreadsheet
Clean Power Finance
Virtual power plants
Bidirectional EVs
Macrotrends
Energy Management System
Chris and Sam
AI design
Reach out to Curtis Merring here:
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/curtismerring
Email: c.merring@aurorasolar.com
Website: www.aurorasolar.com
Learn more at www.solarSEAN.com and be sure to get NABCEP certified by taking Sean’s classes at
Sunday Mar 22, 2026
Sunday Mar 22, 2026
Solar industry veteran Mike Bishop discusses two decades of photovoltaic market transformation on Sean White’s Solar and Energy Storage Podcast. From California's $4/watt rebates and OnGrid financial modeling software to current net metering policy, AI data center power demands, and Energy Net protocols, they analyze economic trends, regulatory impacts, and technological developments. The discussion examines distributed versus utility-scale generation, battery storage evolution, and whether rising fixed utility charges could make grid disconnection economically viable.
Topics Covered
OnGrid www.ongrid.wtf
Solar History
Software
NorCal Solar www.norcalsolar.org
Market
Battery
Rebate
Governator
Expected Performance Based Buydown
Tax Credit
Net Metering
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Energy Net
Broadband Internet
Galvanic Isolation
Slow Power www.slowpower.wtf
Slow Power Blog www.slowpower.wtf/blog
AI = Artificial Intelligence
AI Utilizing Jobs
Swanson’s Law
Price of Solar
Arco Solar
Used Module
Podcast with Alfredo Ignacio (AI)
NABCEP = North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners
Reach out to Mike Bishop here:
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/michael-c-bishop/
Learn more at www.solarSEAN.com and be sure to get NABCEP certified by taking Sean’s classes at
Friday Mar 20, 2026
Friday Mar 20, 2026
At Intersolar San Diego, Sean meets again with Eric Holvik of EnergySage (which was acquired by Schneider Electric) about the shifting U.S. residential solar market. Holvik says residential solar is projected to contract by about 30% this year and notes the customer-owned residential tax credit has expired, swinging the market toward 80–90% third-party ownership after a recent 50/50 owned-versus-leased split. They discuss how rising utility rates, time-of-use pricing, batteries, and virtual power plants may create new value even as net metering and policy changes pressure demand. Holvik argues the industry harms itself through misleading sales tactics, especially the “red line” commission model that inflates prices and contributes to installer failures and explains how Energy Sage improves consumer choice and pricing transparency, typically saving customers about 20%.
Topics Covered:
Schneider Electric
Energy Sage
Solar Energy
Tax credits
Residential systems
TPO = Third party ownership
Bernadette Del Chiaro
CALSSA = California Solar and Storage Association
Environmental Working Group
Red line model
Polygraph Test
1099 salesperson
Tony Diaz
Schneider Electric
PV Associate Class
PV Technical Sales Class
Reach out with Erik Holvik here:
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/erik-holvik
Email: erik.holvik@energysag.com
Website: https://www.energysage.com/
Podcast episode link for the previous episode:
Erik Holvik: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/energy-saging-with-erik-holvik-of-energysage/id1441958371?i=1000705129177
Bernadette Del Chiaro: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bernadette-del-chiaro/id1441958371?i=1000741834340
Learn more at www.solarSEAN.com and be sure to get NABCEP certified by taking Sean’s classes at